Some people here say that Biden's VP choice has always been Harris.

[MoonRiver]

I like her a lot, but don't understand why it was always her.

[qazplm135]

1. always? No

Do I think she's the smartest choice? Yes. But I would be pretty surprised if he just immediately decided on Harris. Due diligence should always be part of the process as should an open mind.

I do think all of these articles about a horse race are baloney. Once he announced a within two weeks date for announcing a pick, that told me, he's already decided. They may not have told all of the candidates yet, but I'd be surprised if the selection doesn't already know.

You can't rush this stuff out. You should have a well thought out plan, takes timing, coordination, stuff has to be wrapped up if say a legislator (Harris or Bash for example) is chosen. Or a Governor is picked for sure.

So I think he definitely knows now, and I think the selection knows as well.

[MoonRiver]

2. I just know that people on DU have said "it was always Harris."

So just asking why they thought that and if they had/have some inside info.

[qazplm135]

5. it's an opinion

people have them.

[Hortensis]

18. I've said that in 2015 it was Sen. Warren because some of his staffers

revealed that Biden had wanted Warren, and "only" Warren, if he ran. Biden and Warren even met to discuss it, and she left the door open to the possibility.

That's not the same as claiming "it was ALWAYS" her. I never saw anyone saying that.

What it does mean, though, is that all those phonies who've been claiming "duels" and intractable differences between them were badly misleading their readers. Which is why I inserted some pertinent information into the discussions.

As for now, who knows? Here's some more very pertinent information though:

As a presidential candidate, VP Biden has already adopted several of Warren's proposals, including her specific bankruptcy plan, her specific plan to forgive student debt, and her specific plan to boost social security payments. Among others I don't remember and others still we probably haven't heard about yet. ("Specific" because there are many proposals for each.)

That is the kind of thing that would happen if he intended to choose Warren; she would have discussed and negotiated what she wanted their administration to accomplish if she became VP.

It's ALSO the kind of thing that would happen if he chose someone else as his running mate while valuing Warren's policies and abilities and wanting his administration to benefit from them.
Warren's a big policy person, and this next administration and congress are going to have to come up with big new policies. Warren's unofficially already part of Biden's policy team.

Given their relationship and her own iconoclastic abilities, Warren's going to be a very influential and powerful figure in whichever position she holds: in the senate critically helping decide on, create, and pass big legislation, as a cabinet official in charge of implementing big national policies, or in the White House as VP or special adviser.

[Takket]

3. I don't think anyone really knows.

If it is Kamala or not.

[elleng]

4. Right

[NightWatcher]

6. Did he formally announce a pick?

[Wounded Bear]

7. Not sure how to respond to a "some people think" post, TBH...

[Trumpocalypse]

8. Wishful thinking by some

Nothing more than that.

[Mosby]

9. People should consider Jill Bidens words

Questions about the impact of the stinging debate exchange on Harris’ vice presidential outlook had been raised in light of Biden’s comments in her 2019 book that while her husband doesn’t hold grudges, she often does.

"I remember every slight committed against the people I love. I can forgive, sure—but I don’t believe in rewarding bad behavior," Biden wrote.

[Lucinda]

60. And Biden and Harris have both said it was not an issue. n/t

[Autumn]

10. I hope not. Susan Rice is by far the best choice out of the ones floated.

Link to tweet

[Trumpocalypse]

11. Benghazi

We don’t need that kind of distraction.

[Autumn]

12. Benghazi means nothing. Pukes will go with the kitchen sink no matter who, she will throw it back.

[Trumpocalypse]

13. Why take the chance?

This election is too important

[Autumn]

17. All the women under consideration have "baggage",if you want to call it that, and you can be

sure the republicans will go after them with anything they can. I see no reason to attempt to find one that they will approve of. That would be a waste of time. Susan Rice can take anything they throw at her and toss it right back.

Link to tweet

[Trumpocalypse]

19. Some baggage is worse than others

Like it or not, Rice went on every Sunday show and claimed the Benghazi attack was caused by a video. That turned out to be untrue. The GOP will run attack ads questioning her credibility using clips from those shows. It will be a huge distraction. Add to that she has no experience running for office and doesn’t help in any swing state. There are better choices for VP.

[Autumn]

32. Imo she's the best and like it or not it was not a deliberate lie. The GOP is questioning Biden's

credibility and they will question the credibility of anyone he picks as a running mate so fuck the GOP, fuck their opinions and fuck their dirty bullshit.

[Trumpocalypse]

33. True they will

But in this case they will have videos to back up their attack. This election is too important. No reason to take the chance on someone who has never run for office with that baggage. There are many other great candidates available.

[Autumn]

34. Which one has been put out there as VP that has no baggage and that the GOP will approve of?

[Trumpocalypse]

35. None

And they will attack who ever is picked. Which is why we need someone who has run for office before, not a novice who went on National television and gave information that turned out to be untrue.

[Autumn]

36. Then I will continue hoping for Susan Rice and believing she's the best choice. nt

[Trumpocalypse]

38. Hope for whatever you want

But she’s not the best choice to win the election

[misanthrope]

44. And if it's Harris the name "Willie Brown" will be uttered

Is that any less scandalous?

[Trumpocalypse]

45. There are better choices

than Harris as well.

[madinmaryland]

14. I don't want the veep choice to become a lightning rod. I think she will play an important

Role in the Biden administration.

Biden, Kaine, and Gore were good choices. LIEberman and Edwards, not so much.

[Sugarcoated]

21. I thought Kaine was a poor choice

[RhodeIslandOne]

56. In hindsight it really was

Not as bad as Lieberman, who was a flat out fucking snake. But just uninspired, very, very safe. And I don't think it won Virginia because government employees realized how bad Trump would be anyway. It was just meh, and a very Clinton thing to do.

[Sugarcoated]

64. Playing it too safe, in that election

was a bad move. My pick was Sherrod Brown. Imagine if she had picked a fighter for blue collar folks...

[Autumn]

37. Anyone who Biden picks will be a lightning rod.

IMO I would also put Kaine in the category with LIEberman and Edwards.

[tinrobot]

20. When they say "Benghazi", we say "Russian Bounties"

It won't be an issue.

I'm not saying Rice should be the pick, but Benghazi will not work as an attack.

[Sugarcoated]

22. Rice brings Hillary back

Right or wrong we need to stay a million miles away from Hillary Clinton.

[Trumpocalypse]

23. Why take the chance?

This election is too important.

[tinrobot]

24. Give up our best people because of a pointless investigation?

Seriously, if we reject candidates based on stuff like that, we might as well let the GOP pick our candidates for us.

Again, I'm not saying Rice should be the pick, but using Benghazi as the reason is just a sign of weakness. You're letting them control the narrative.

Start fighting back. Jeez.

[Trumpocalypse]

26. There are other great candidates

She isn’t the only one or the best one. Again why take the chance when there are other great candidates. Most of whom have run for office before which Rice hasn’t. Some come from swing states which Rice doesn’t.

[tinrobot]

28. Stop playing defense. Every great candidate is going to be attacked.

There's no avoiding it. Playing defense does not work.

We need to be on the attack. Put them on their heels for once.

[Trumpocalypse]

29. Not playing defense

but being strategic. In picking a running mate each candidate’s positives and negatives need to be weighed. The is that their positives outweigh their negatives. Rice having never run for office before and not coming from a swing state doesn’t bring a lot of positives. And like it or not Benghazi is a major negative. Why hand the GOP an easy line of attack when there are other great candidates who bring more positives without such a big negative?

[CTyankee]

55. Yes, but offset Benghazi with the fact that she brings Barack Obama and that makes some

folks get reminising (if even subconsciously) about how very good that feeling was when he was POTUS. We're not gonna get the Obama haters anyway.

One thing I don't like about Harris: she brings "That little girl was me" from the debate and Biden's deflated look after she said it. I felt like I wanted to give him a big hug and to tell her to back off, please.

And here's a difficulty: if the candidate has no baggage, well, she "doesn't have enough experience." And, "how do we know what she really believes." So that is imperfect as well because then the sky is the limit to what absurd scenarios they want to dream up.

I get the feeling that wanting a VP candidate to "bring a swing state" isn't what it used to be. This election is different in the stark differences we have in choices to lead us. I think experience counts here: we have some almost heart stopping thoughts about what will be handed to us to deal with, if Biden wins (please god) and has to clean up considerable damage to even our CAPACITY to get into gear and going.

I am so anxious about all of this that I almost wish we had the scenario where we get Nancy Pelosi as President of the United States. This woman is made of steel. With her I think we could lead the world again.

[Trumpocalypse]

57. Experience doesn't matter

and never has in elections. Any VP candidate will have pluses and minuses. The important thing is for their pluses to outweigh the minuses. Unfortunately Benghazi is a big minus for Rice. She went on all the Sunday shows to claim the attack was because of a video which turned out to be untrue. Those clips will be running in GOP attack ads, on FAUX News on a loop and CNN & MSNBC as well questioning her judgement and credibility. It will be a distraction that we don't need right now. And she will only bring Obama for political junkies. Not for the masses. Add to that she has never run for office before and doesn't help in any swing states. So she has a really big minus and not many pluses.

And don't dismiss the appeal of the VP candidate in their home state. Despite is other deficiencies, Kaine probably helped to keep Virginia in the Democratic column in 16. So there is a value in picking someone who can help in a key swing state.

[CTyankee]

58. In your opiinion, which possible candiidate do you see as the best bet from a key swing state?

[Trumpocalypse]

59. Have no idea

I think there are positives and negatives for all of them. I assume that the campaign is doing polling and focus groups to determine who is the best choice.

[CTyankee]

62. FL is the big swing state. Go for Demings!

How does Illinois look? Go for Tammy!

Being a former cop, Demings could be helpful in blunting the inevitable "support the police" agenda from the republicans. OK.

Illinois is blue, of course, and Tammy more than fills the bill for military. She is commitment, loyalty to country and sacrifice for country. All in one candidate. Roosevelt had to hide his disability. Tammy is a great example for showing what people with disabilities can do rather than what they cannot. I worked with the disabled community a while back and was moved by what I learned. It would be a great experience for people who have never thought too much about what it is like to live and work with a disability.

[Trumpocalypse]

63. Take a look

[CTyankee]

65. Please go on...

[Trumpocalypse]

67. About what?

I was just providing information. Not making a conclusion.

[CTyankee]

68. You have theories about the influence or non influence of running partners in Pres. elections.

Were you saying the VP pick doesn't matter much in the outcome of the election. I was wondering if you had more information about your own thinking here. I enjoy such conversations which is why I like DU.

[Trumpocalypse]

69. Most people vote for the top of the ticket

That is well documented. But a good VP pick can enhance a ticket helping in a swing state or with a particular constituency. A bad VP pick can be a distraction and hurt a ticket. I believe McCain would have lost anyway in 08 but Palin made things worse for him.

[CTyankee]

70. So, for instance, Biden did not hurt Obama. However, Biden was supposed to help with the union

voters. Do you think he helped or just did no harm?

[Trumpocalypse]

71. Not sure about union voters

but in 08 the Obama campaign was concerned about Pennsylvania. Biden helped with that. He also made older white moderate voters more comfortable voting for Obama. If he helped is hard to say but he definitely didn’t hurt the ticket.

[CTyankee]

72. I think it is hard to know what outcomes we will have with a woman on Joe's ticket.

And a WOC.

One thing doesn't get enough attention in this conversation is Jill Biden's input, which we downplay at our peril, IMO. It's pretty clear she doesn't like Harris, for obvious reasons.

[Trumpocalypse]

73. Jill doesn't like Harris?

I didn’t know that. I wonder why?

[CTyankee]

74. If you are nice I'll tell you why.

Jill has gone on record for not liking Harris's "that little girl was me" remark. It was about a busing or other school desegregation bill that Biden opposed and Harris said affected her.

I can't recall the entire portion of the debate because I am old and my memory is not what it used to be. But I'm not dead yet.

[Rice4VP]

42. Exactly!

[RhodeIslandOne]

50. There is no evidence they've ever been able to make hay of that

I do not believe yelling Benghazi helped Trump steal the 2016 election. It was a very small part of a larger systemic campaign against Hillary for 20 plus years.

[Trumpocalypse]

53. we ignore

at our peril.

[RhodeIslandOne]

54. Okay maybe Joe should just pick John Kasich

I mean, that would be acceptable enough, right?

Let's bend the knee and apologize for every bullshit conspiracy since 2008.

[Trumpocalypse]

66. Never said that

So don’t put words in my mouth.

[Happy Hoosier]

39. She has never held elected office.

That doesn't disqualify her, but the VP position is inherently political. She is mainly a policy wonk.

[Autumn]

46. We need someone good on policy. nt

[Happy Hoosier]

47. You don't need tp be VP to formulate policy.

In fact, I’d argue that the VP slot is not the best place for a policy wonk. Make her Secretary of State. That’s the ideal position for her. The VP is a usually a more political position. Just my opinion. She’s fine, but I don’t see her as brining much to the ticket she couldn’t bring to administration better in another position.

[Autumn]

48. I didn't say we did. She's good at everything, I like her and I prefer her over any of the others.

[Happy Hoosier]

49. Fair enough. I just see her as SoS instead of VP.

Or perhaps the National Intelligence Chief to rebuild our ravaged intelligence infrastructure.

[RhodeIslandOne]

51. I do agree with this

I feel there are many other more important positions Rice would be good for in the Biden WH. The VP needs to have a political edge to them. Which is why I am pro-Kamala.

[rogue emissary]

15. Because she's doing the job of a VP.

Last edited Mon Aug 3, 2020, 06:12 PM - Edit history (1)

I was a supporter of her presidential run so I know I'm biased. When I look at all of the other candidates that have been talked about I don't see any of them doing as much as Harris.

Harris is introducing legislation that a Biden administration can work on and get passed. Harris has been doing fundraiser with Biden and other Democrats. She has also endorsed a lot of down ticket candidates.

She's making it hard for Biden to pick anyone else. Even if I wasn't a big supporter of hers. I'd feel she's doing the job of VP. She's not asking to be picked, she is demonstrating she should be picked as VP.

[PunkinPi]

52. +1 nt

[ElementaryPenguin]

16. I think it's going to be Susan Rice.

[Iggo]

25. Not enough to argue about this morning? Some are saying?

[BluesRunTheGame]

27. Jeez, everyone knows it's always been Marianne Williamson.

Get with the program people!

[moonscape]

30. Between her and Gabbard! n/t

[Totally Tunsie]

31. "Some people" don't know any more than the rest of us.

[JI7]

40. Because Black Women were Biden's Biggest Supporters and many of them wanted Harris

to be his VP pick early on . Many went with Biden because they thought we needed the experience after the Trump mess and that they could get Harris as VP and future President .

[Rice4VP]

41. I think he wants to pick her but she has too much baggage

He will pick Susan Rice because they worked successfully together for 8 years. He knows what he’s getting with Rice

[Xolodno]

43. Nonsense! Its always been Oprah!

OPRAH! I tell you OPRAH!

[onetexan]

61. LOL

Long as it's Kamala or Susan i'm fine. Karen Bass just has too much baggage. Biden camp should stick to the DO NO HARM mantra.

[Trumpocalypse]

76. So if it's Bass

you won't vote for Biden?

[onetexan]

77. DUH, no

I didnt say i wouldnt vote for Biden. I said i meant it would be better if it was either of the other 2 ladies.

[Trumpocalypse]

75. No, it's Leslie Knope