Harris 2024

[Mori Chu]

Tulsi weighs in. Some people here like her, right?

[Nodack]

She was the one and only candidate I ever donated to. Now I can’t stand her. It reminded me of Rush Limbaugh. I would turn to his channel and he would almost make a lot of sense. And then he would say something utterly ridiculous and lose me. She sounded smart and together. She loves Putin almost as much as Trump does. She was on Bill Maher and I had to turn it off because I couldn’t stand listening to her.

[Superbone]

Yeah, she’s another piece of work. No, I don’t think anybody likes her. You can’t hold Nodack to his momentary lapse in judgement.

[virtual9mm]

So far, so good, on the Kamala front. She has to recover from what was a disastrous pivot leftwards in 2020. Running as prosecutor-in-chief will work.

[Superbone]

It's pretty much official now that Harris is the presumptive nominee.

https://www.threads.net/@keithboykin/po ... n308Jw736g

Vice President Kamala Harris has secured the support of enough Democratic delegates to become her party’s nominee against Republican Donald Trump, according to an Associated Press survey.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/pol ... 499622007/

[Mori Chu]

They're just straight up saying Harris is a "DEI" hire. They can't help themselves. This racist/sexist bs is going to be off-putting to voters.

[virtual9mm]

They're just straight up saying Harris is a "DEI" hire. They can't help themselves. This racist/sexist bs is going to be off-putting to voters.

Will it? I mean, she was selected from a pool of equally well-qualified folks because of her demographics.

Doesn't mean that she isn't good, though. If she proves it like we hope she does, the messaging won't stick except with the racists and sexists, who wouldn't vote for her anyway.

[Mori Chu]

Will it? I mean, she was selected from a pool of equally well-qualified folks because of her demographics.

I don't agree with that statement and I don't think most people would agree with it. I'll happily concede that demographics played a part in the decision, but I don't think it's right to reduce her qualifications down to only that.

Demographics factor into lots of decisions, like whether Biden should step aside (age) or who Kamala should pick as her running mate (likely a straight white male). But there's a difference between that and being a "DEI Hire."

[BigLewy]

I mean, Biden literally said he would choose a black woman as his running mate, so whether intentional or not, he shoehorned himself into a much smaller candidate pool. Had he said that he would choose who he thought was best, and it ended up being her, then this wouldn't even be a conversation. But, you see so many instances of oh I'm hiring a black woman, or I'm hiring this demographic, and it can come off as being a pick based mainly on demographics. Same thing with his SCOTUS appointment-he came out and said he was appointing a black female, which can come across as immediately excluding a wide range of potentially qualified individuals. Is KBJ the most qualified justice? I have no idea because I know nothing about her, but I can certainly see where the DEI hire stuff can come from, deserved or not.

[AmareIsGod]

I mean, Biden literally said he would choose a black woman as his running mate, so whether intentional or not, he shoehorned himself into a much smaller candidate pool. Had he said that he would choose who he thought was best, and it ended up being her, then this wouldn't even be a conversation. But, you see so many instances of oh I'm hiring a black woman, or I'm hiring this demographic, and it can come off as being a pick based mainly on demographics. Same thing with his SCOTUS appointment-he came out and said he was appointing a black female, which can come across as immediately excluding a wide range of potentially qualified individuals. Is KBJ the most qualified justice? I have no idea because I know nothing about her, but I can certainly see where the DEI hire stuff can come from, deserved or not.

I looked into this more since people seem to be off put by it or something, it seems.

In March 2020, during a Democratic primary debate, Biden committed to selecting a woman as his vice presidential candidate if he won the party's nomination.

In July 2020, Biden stated that he was considering four Black women for his running mate, but he did not commit to specifically choosing a Black woman.

Biden said, "I am not committed to naming any (of the potential candidates), but the people I've named, and among them there are four Black women".

He also stated, "Black women have supported me my whole career," and promised that his administration would "look like America".

Biden pledged to appoint a Black woman to the Supreme Court if given the opportunity as president.

While Biden expressed strong consideration for Black women as potential running mates and committed to choosing a woman, he never explicitly stated he would choose a Black woman as his vice presidential candidate. His approach was to emphasize diversity and representation in his potential administration while keeping his options open regarding the specific choice of running mate.

[virtual9mm]

Will it? I mean, she was selected from a pool of equally well-qualified folks because of her demographics.

I don't agree with that statement and I don't think most people would agree with it. I'll happily concede that demographics played a part in the decision, but I don't think it's right to reduce her qualifications down to only that.

Demographics factor into lots of decisions, like whether Biden should step aside (age) or who Kamala should pick as her running mate (likely a straight white male). But there's a difference between that and being a "DEI Hire."

In theory, I would agree. But in practice, I don't think she can make a strong case against the "DEI hire" argument because I do think that there is some truth behind it. The only way to beat that argument is to make it irrelevant by being awesome.

[virtual9mm]

I mean, Biden literally said he would choose a black woman as his running mate, so whether intentional or not, he shoehorned himself into a much smaller candidate pool. Had he said that he would choose who he thought was best, and it ended up being her, then this wouldn't even be a conversation. But, you see so many instances of oh I'm hiring a black woman, or I'm hiring this demographic, and it can come off as being a pick based mainly on demographics. Same thing with his SCOTUS appointment-he came out and said he was appointing a black female, which can come across as immediately excluding a wide range of potentially qualified individuals. Is KBJ the most qualified justice? I have no idea because I know nothing about her, but I can certainly see where the DEI hire stuff can come from, deserved or not.

I do think that Kamala circa early 2019 was a strong, strong VP candidate. She screwed herself pretty badly swinging to the left during her presidential campaign...and I have to agree that she wouldn't have been made VP had race and gender not been in play.

Once again, it really depends on whether we get 2020 blundering Kamala or the mid-2024 version who has been executing flawlessly (so far).

[Mori Chu]

I guess we can agree to disagree. My main point is that the term "DEI hire" is pretty offensive and demeaning; it implies that you don't have any actual merit or qualifications and were picked entirely because of your skin or gender or some other personal demographic. Kamala Harris is an accomplished politician and public servant who has many accomplishments and was qualified for the position for which she was chosen. If they'd taken, say, Oprah Winfrey or Michelle Obama or some random person who has no experience in elected office or public service, maybe that would be closer to a "DEI hire." I do concede, as I said previously, that demographics did play a part in the choice, but the term "DEI hire" is more extreme than I think is fair. I understand that you disagree so we can leave it for now. We seem to agree that the best thing for her to do is to excel and be awesome and silence any doubt about why she is where she is.

[virtual9mm]

I guess we can agree to disagree. My main point is that the term "DEI hire" is pretty offensive and demeaning; it implies that you don't have any actual merit or qualifications and were picked entirely because of your skin or gender or some other personal demographic. Kamala Harris is an accomplished politician and public servant who has many accomplishments and was qualified for the position for which she was chosen. If they'd taken, say, Oprah Winfrey or Michelle Obama or some random person who has no experience in elected office or public service, maybe that would be closer to a "DEI hire." I do concede, as I said previously, that demographics did play a part in the choice, but the term "DEI hire" is more extreme than I think is fair. I understand that you disagree so we can leave it for now. We seem to agree that the best thing for her to do is to excel and be awesome and silence any doubt about why she is where she is.

Certainly agree to respectfully disagree, I think we're more or less on the same page otherwise, thanks.

[specialsauce]

I mean, Biden literally said he would choose a black woman as his running mate, so whether intentional or not, he shoehorned himself into a much smaller candidate pool. Had he said that he would choose who he thought was best, and it ended up being her, then this wouldn't even be a conversation. But, you see so many instances of oh I'm hiring a black woman, or I'm hiring this demographic, and it can come off as being a pick based mainly on demographics. Same thing with his SCOTUS appointment-he came out and said he was appointing a black female, which can come across as immediately excluding a wide range of potentially qualified individuals. Is KBJ the most qualified justice? I have no idea because I know nothing about her, but I can certainly see where the DEI hire stuff can come from, deserved or not.

I looked into this more since people seem to be off put by it or something, it seems.

In March 2020, during a Democratic primary debate, Biden committed to selecting a woman as his vice presidential candidate if he won the party's nomination.

In July 2020, Biden stated that he was considering four Black women for his running mate, but he did not commit to specifically choosing a Black woman.

Biden said, "I am not committed to naming any (of the potential candidates), but the people I've named, and among them there are four Black women".

He also stated, "Black women have supported me my whole career," and promised that his administration would "look like America".

Biden pledged to appoint a Black woman to the Supreme Court if given the opportunity as president.

While Biden expressed strong consideration for Black women as potential running mates and committed to choosing a woman, he never explicitly stated he would choose a Black woman as his vice presidential candidate. His approach was to emphasize diversity and representation in his potential administration while keeping his options open regarding the specific choice of running mate.

Stop getting it so twisted.

This is so fucking dumb. He's an imbecile. Even if that was going to be his approach why would you verbalize that?

All of that is totally discriminatory. And don't jump at me with "blah blah white privilege"

How about to middle eastern women? Asian men? Hispanic candidates?

It's complete political bullshit, and not smart either.

He could have just kept his big ass mouth shut and picked Kamala and it would have been applauded.'instead he has to be a racist old man making an awfully ignorant statement and ruining the moment.

[virtual9mm]

On another note, FT IIRC ran an article saying that the VP list is down to Josh Shapiro, Roy Cooper...and Mark Kelly. All 3 are solid choices. Shapiro is probably riskiest because he runs extremely pro-Israel but offers the biggest prize (PA). Can Cooper put NC back into play? Kelly certainly would put Harris in a good position in AZ.

Incidentally, I was on a conference call with Kelly about six months ago via the American Chambers of Commerce in Asia -- he was clear, coherent, and had well-reasoned comments.

[specialsauce]

Kelly please

[Mori Chu]

Kelly seems like a strong choice. Another name I saw mentioned was Andy Beshear, governor of Kentucky. I've seen a few clips of him and he seems ... okay? I certainly like Mark Kelly more, but maybe it's tougher to grab Kelly because then it vacates his Senate seat?

[Nodack]

My wife works at the airport and Mark and Gabby were checking in a year or two ago and she found him rude and offensive. He was especially rude and demeaning towards Gabby, which offended my wife the most. Maybe it was just a bad day for him and airports can be stressful but, she walked away not liking him at all.

[virtual9mm]

My wife works at the airport and Mark and Gabby were checking in a year or two ago and she found him rude and offensive. He was especially rude and demeaning towards Gabby, which offended my wife the most. Maybe it was just a bad day for him and airports can be stressful but, she walked away not liking him at all.

Think we've had this conversation, respect your take. He does comport himself well in public, though, and I have been impressed.