Announcements
Related: About this forumKamala Harris is now the presumptive Democratic nominee -- what this means for DU
This year, we did what we always do on Democratic Underground during a presidential election year. While the presidential nomination was still up for grabs, we were in Primary Season. Since Joe Biden had no serious opposition this year and essentially ran unopposed, we called an end to Primary Season on March 6, immediately after Super Tuesday. At that point, we switched to General Election Season.
The difference between the two seasons is subtle but significant. DU's "Don't bash Democratic public figures" rule states, in part, "Do not post anything that could be construed as bashing, trashing, undermining, or depressing turnout for any Democratic general election candidate."
When we are in Primary Season, Democratic candidates for office are not considered "general election candidates" -- they are still fighting to win that honor -- and so DU members have lots of leeway to advocate for their own candidates and criticize their opponents as part of the primary campaign. Once the primaries are over, the winners become "Democratic general election candidates" and as such, receive a lot more protection under the rules. They cannot be bashed, trashed, or undermined once Primary Season is over.
We've done things this way for 20 years on DU because allowing people to continue to oppose Democratic nominees once the primaries are over is counterproductive, provides an obvious entry point for trolls, and is contrary to DU's Core Principles ("...to elect more Democrats and fewer Republicans to all levels of American government" ).
I don't regret sticking to the policy this year. For as long as Joe Biden remained the Democratic nominee, it would not have been right to abandon the policy, and doing so would have set a confusing precedent. For as long as he was in the race, Biden was the Democratic nominee, and he deserved to be protected in the same way that previous nominees had been protected before him. I know some people disagreed with this decision, but I believe it was the right thing to do.
As soon as Joe Biden dropped out of the race, however, we were in unprecedented territory. The logical thing to do seemed to be to return to Primary Season, since the Democratic Party no longer had an official nominee, so that's what we did on Sunday.
48 hours later, Kamala Harris has already secured enough pledged delegates to become the presumptive nominee. Therefore I see no reason at this time to remain in Primary Season. The vast majority of the Party has lined up behind the Vice President, and with enough pledged delegates to secure the nomination, it is now highly unlikely that anyone but Kamala Harris will be declared the official Democratic nominee when all is said and done.
And so, we are now returning to General Election Season with Kamala Harris as our nominee and we're ready to move forward. Thank you all for your patience while we navigated these tricky waters. Hopefully we are now ready to unite and move on to the next goal which is the most important of all -- to defeat Donald Trump this November, take control of Congress, and put MAGA out of business for good.
Thank you for reading!
EarlG, on behalf of Elad -- The DU Administrators
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spooky3
(35,504 posts)![](/emoticons/hi.gif)
TwilightZone
(26,868 posts)I've always been in favor of shortening campaign season. While this situation is unique, of course, it's proof positive that shorter campaigns would be a very good thing. It's silly that House members, for example, have to start running their campaigns the day after the prior one ended.
CincyDem
(6,814 posts)Chipper Chat
(9,906 posts)malaise
(274,653 posts)Rhiannon12866
(216,078 posts)I'm on board! (And so is my cat!)
JohnSJ
(94,630 posts)relayerbob
(6,856 posts)Renew Deal
(82,655 posts)![](/emoticons/evilgrin.gif)
madinmaryland
(65,054 posts)😄
sop
(11,078 posts)JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,651 posts)Equally meaningful.
AllaN01Bear
(22,149 posts)the prosocutor takes on the con. make it so. anyone to defeat the evIl trump.
sheshe2
(85,867 posts)Vote Harris 2024 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
honest.abe
(9,238 posts)![](https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/V20210305LJ-0043-cropped.jpg)
msfiddlestix
(7,564 posts)honest.abe
(9,238 posts)llmart
(16,093 posts)Can't wait to see it hanging in our White House and Capitol and on the covers of major publications.
onetexan
(13,460 posts)![](/emoticons/patriot.gif)
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InAbLuEsTaTe
(24,469 posts)Thank you, EarlG.
Is it appropriate for us to discuss the pros and cons of her possible running mates (in a respectful manner)?
EarlG
(22,371 posts)I understand why you asked the question since this year has obviously been unprecedented when it comes to the selection of our nominee, but as far as I can recall, we have never had any problems on DU when it comes to discussion of a nominee's VP choice, so I don't think there's anything special I need to say about it this time around. Members are free to discuss the pros and cons of VP choices -- provided that they stay within normal DU rules of course.
riversedge
(71,919 posts)PCIntern
(26,296 posts)lindysalsagal
(21,669 posts)hlthe2b
(104,705 posts)(Not attacking the non-endorsers but merely questioning why they are not/have not). It would be helpful if you could touch on these more subtle adjacent issues. Thanks, EarlG
Bettie
(16,720 posts)for keeping it all together.
Easterncedar
(2,879 posts)Thanks, as ever, for making this great place.
Maeve
(42,726 posts)I know we drive you crazy sometimes (well, I know I do!) And we are lucky you put up with the madness.
ImNotGod
(460 posts)usaf-vet
(6,609 posts).... and sworn in for a second term in 2028.
NewHendoLib
(60,281 posts)![](/emoticons/clap.gif)
MustLoveBeagles
(12,268 posts)![](/emoticons/hi.gif)
oasis
(51,232 posts)![](/emoticons/dem.gif)
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FalloutShelter
(12,421 posts)Thanks Earl.
solara
(3,861 posts)"Kamala Harris is now the presumptive Democratic nominee" !!
Thank you for staying on it.. and for doing everything you do.
samsingh
(17,716 posts)duhneece
(4,194 posts)Especially in these uncharted waters.
DU remains my touchstone, my sanity , my sanctuary, my family and my friends.
Thank you, EarlG and all of the DU family.
Martin68
(23,961 posts)Mountainguy
(894 posts)Marianne Williamson is gonna be pissed.
Butterflylady
(3,841 posts)![](/emoticons/applause.gif)
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Ford_Prefect
(8,148 posts)ornotna
(10,999 posts)As it should be.
sarchasm
(1,140 posts)Fighting For The People and Delivering For America.
FailureToCommunicate
(14,241 posts)Thanks EarlG for your sound leadership.
donate here:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218885532
FSogol
(45,981 posts)/s?
liberal N proud
(60,707 posts)All in for Kamala!
Think. Again.
(14,903 posts)I'm looking forward to strong, positive posts in support of all our Democratic candidates, and strong, NEGATIVE posts against all the others.
Fighting FOR Kamala!
Fighting AGAINST trump!
ONWARD!
msfiddlestix
(7,564 posts)![](/emoticons/clap.gif)
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spicysista
(1,723 posts)Yes we KAM!
Tetrachloride
(8,264 posts)Response to EarlG (Original post)
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claudette
(4,154 posts)be careful? I ❤️ Kamala Harris and will vote for her.
gademocrat7
(10,961 posts)Your efforts in this endeavor are greatly appreciated.
AmBlue
(3,357 posts)Thank you EarlG!
WheelWalker
(9,114 posts)Initech
(100,999 posts)I actually told a coworker of mine that I'd rather throw my TV out the window than watch 5 minutes of election coverage.
Now I'm back in and ready to help sink Trump and Project 2025 for good!
yankee87
(2,284 posts)Go HARRIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wild blueberry
(6,984 posts)Wise decisions.
EarlG, Elad, DU Administrators, you're the BEST! Thank you.
Paladin
(28,591 posts)In all my many years here, I've never been happier or prouder to be a DU participant.
Eliot Rosewater
(31,986 posts)Comma La
TBF
(33,207 posts)Absolutely ready to put in the work to get rid of MAGA! Now that I've seen Project 2025, it's not just Trump - it's all of them.
Dem2theMax
(10,019 posts)You forgot one thing. We need some new avatars. Pretty please.
Conjuay
(1,855 posts)This is the only thing that kept me sane since 2015. I salute your efforts, and , again say 'Thank You'.
LuvJoesPartner
(92 posts)Lets do this !!! 💄
I am happy and excited right now! Let's go!
electric_blue68
(16,723 posts)redqueen
(115,164 posts)Seriously that is what is at stake this year so I'm glad to hear you didn't allow people to go ham on Biden and I'm BEYOND thrilled that Kamala has locked up the delegates already, so anyone who as a problem with it can be quiet about that and reflect on their priorities!
Let's get it on!
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lpbk2713
(43,044 posts)Many thanks for keeping this place running.
hibbing
(10,333 posts)AKwannabe
(6,053 posts)Silver Gaia
(4,689 posts)Fired up! Ready to go!
Let's win this!
greatauntoftriplets
(176,430 posts)The last few days have been such a whirlwind. Thanks for providing the means to keep up with developments as they happen.
Cha
(302,367 posts)![](/emoticons/candle.gif)
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barbtries
(29,317 posts)and I for one am very happy about it. She can win, she will win, there are more of us than there are of them, this is reason for hope.
Joe Biden's brilliance is greater than i ever gave him credit for, and I'm sorry about that.
calimary
(83,367 posts)I appreciate the thoughts in this announcement, especially THIS part:
"...and put MAGA out of business for good."
OKAY, TEAM, Game ON! Let's ROCK!!!!!
Stinky The Clown
(68,277 posts)Escurumbele
(3,536 posts)stop seeing trump in the news because, and I have no doubt, that once he loses, republicans who know he is bad for everyone will leave him behind, even the media will stop talking about him.
And I do believe that Kamala will be a great President, she is tough, brilliant, she will bring a different perspective to our government. The one thing we all need to do is make sure that both Congress and the Senate become a Democratic majority to allow bills that benefit the country, and the World, can be passed without republican obstruction.
Iggo
(48,027 posts)All day Sunday I was having waking nightmares of a contested nomination process. Dems In Disarray!
No one was happier than I was when I saw Monday that it united us instead of dividing us.
Again, excellent news!
I_UndergroundPanther
(12,799 posts)proud patriot
(100,947 posts)![](/emoticons/patriot.gif)
B.See
(2,699 posts)flying-skeleton
(724 posts)maspaha
(338 posts)Time for falling in/out of love is over. Time to fall in line
.
Or, if you prefer, just chop wood, carry water, no complaining, we have work to do
.
Or, provide and follow your own favorite marching order
.
Dem4life1970
(210 posts)The White House, House, Senate, and reform the Extreme Court.
COL Mustard
(6,534 posts)Kamala will rock as President. I am looking forward to her mopping the floor with TSF.
As I told someone yesterday, I would walk over broken glass or hot coals (or maybe both) to see Trump defeated. Let's git 'r done!
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Looking forward to helping her campaign save American from the fascists!
hard2figure
(5 posts)w/o ANY input from those of us who voted for President Biden.
Ranting Randy
(39 posts)Aussie105
(5,940 posts)Dead are their attack points like 'too old', 'his son is a criminal', etc.
But I'm sure their 'think tanks' are furiously digging to find the dirt on Kamala.
I'm going to ignore them all!
Meanwhile, Trump is still Trump - a lifelong acquired collection of nastiness and stupidity.
AverageOldGuy
(1,812 posts). . . beat the shit out of Trump, Vance, and MAGAts in general???
Hekate
(93,384 posts)Shyguy24
(5 posts)I always felt Biden needed to pass the torch, this forum was always kind of against that idea, but I'm glad to see that now that it's happened there's so much energy behind it and online is exploding with support for Kamala. Thank you Joe Biden for doing the right thing.
akbacchus_BC
(5,720 posts)AllyCat
(16,738 posts)beaming with enthusiasm and energy two days later!
Love this!
samnsara
(18,029 posts)..may as well buy from fellow DUers who are creative and can do this stuff..