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White girls to the back of the bus

Morrison

All-Big Ten
Aug 28, 2001
4,238
5,464
113
Northern California
I’m a raw politics guy, not a policy wonk, although I enjoy reading and learning about the intricacies of policy from several on this board. That said, I think this board could come up with a much needed infrastructure bill, since actually governing is not a priority in DC at the moment.

But this is about the raw politics of winning the next presidential election, specifically Biden’s choice of a running mate. In my opinion, the accepted view that the VP choice has little to no impact on the election has always been false. I won’t argue here why I believe the VP choice has always carried more weight than it’s given credit for, but pundits are unanimous in believing that Biden’s choice in this election will have a significant impact on the election results.
Let’s see who the serious contenders are, along with the pretenders. I think we can all agree that the tragedy in Minneapolis has given rice to African American contenders.

Contenders that are no longer serious options:

Amy Klobuchar- I think Biden was on the verge of pulling a Hillary and selecting her before the Minneapolis tragedy. She refused to prosecute police brutality cases when she was prosecutor, and referred them over to a grand jury. Progressive voices in the party are openly calling for her to drop out of the vetting process which tells us how serious of a contender she is (was). She’s done as far as being picked for VP, and although she’s a great talent, she’s the female version of Tim Kaine and not who you want to pick to excite the base.

Elizabeth Warren-I could still see an outside shot of her getting picked, although not likely. She polls the highest among contenders, but her real strength is pulling in progressives from the left. No way your giving up a senate seat though, and Mass has a republican governor that would pick her replacement.

Gretchen Whitmer-Biden is strong in Michigan and she’s a little green. Not getting picked.

Tammy Baldwin-not happening

Catherine Cortez Masto-dropped out of consideration.

Michelle Lujan Grisham-Nope

Now the serious contenders, the Sisters:

Susan Rice-Very capable, was U.N. secretary and NSA to Obama. I doubt Biden wants to hear the word Benghazi for 3 months. Not getting picked.

Stacy Abrams- Biden is a traditionalist and probably is turned off by her aggressive campaigning for the job. She’s also not ready right now. I can see her as the first African American female Supreme Court justice.

The real serious contenders:

Keisha Lance Bottoms-She has shined in a big way with her leadership of Atlanta during two crises since becoming mayor. She’s young, attractive, and straight shooter. She was also one of the first politicians to openly support Biden from the beginning and stayed loyal through the early primaries. She has a real legitimate shot to be picked if Biden thinks he needs to stay away from contenders with law enforcement backgrounds.

Val Demings-Her stock is rising every day and has a compelling life story. Former police chief of Orlando and a House Impeachment manager. Smart and comes across as tough and serious. If Biden wants to gamble on trying to win Florida and/or Georgia to strangle Trump’s electoral path, he may go with Bottoms or Demings. Otherwise:

All things considered, and if Biden doesn’t overthink things, here is your next VP:

Kamala Harris- She’s smart, attractive, has executive experience and national campaign experience. She’ll take the fight to Trump and is ready to be President from day one. She will excite the base and represent the future of the party. She is a fundraising juggernaut. Her presence on the ticket will excite black voters enough in Detroit, Milwaukee, and Philly to flip those states, and possibly even Georgia and North Carolina. It may rattle Trump into impulsively dumping Pence for Haley, which will backfire.

Under the current climate, this is the easiest VP sweepstakes to handicap in a while.

Any differing opinions?
 
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I’m a raw politics guy, not a policy wonk, although I enjoy reading and learning about the intricacies of policy from several on this board. That said, I think this board could come up with a much needed infrastructure bill, since actually governing is not a priority in DC at the moment.

But this is about the raw politics of winning the next presidential election, specifically Biden’s choice of a running mate. In my opinion, the accepted view that the VP choice has little to no impact on the election has always been false. I won’t argue here why I believe the VP choice has always carried more weight than it’s given credit for, but pundits are unanimous in believing that Biden’s choice in this election will have a significant impact on the election results.
Let’s see who the serious contenders are, along with the pretenders. I think we can all agree that the tragedy in Minneapolis has given rice to African American contenders.

Contenders that are no longer serious options:

Amy Klobuchar- I think Biden was on the verge of pulling a Hillary and selecting her before the Minneapolis tragedy. She refused to prosecute police brutality cases when she was prosecutor, and referred them over to a grand jury. Progressive voices in the party are openly calling for her to drop out of the vetting process which tells us how serious of a contender she is (was). She’s done as far as being picked for VP, and although she’s a great talent, she’s the female version of Tim Kaine and not who you want to pick to excite the base.

Elizabeth Warren-I could still see an outside shot of her getting picked, although not likely. She polls the highest among contenders, but her real strength is pulling in progressives from the left. No way your giving up a senate seat though, and Mass has a republican governor that would pick her replacement.

Gretchen Whitmer-Biden is strong in Michigan and she’s a little green. Not getting picked.

Tammy Baldwin-not happening

Catherine Cortez Masto-dropped out of consideration.

Michelle Lujan Grisham-Nope

Now the serious contenders, the Sisters:

Susan Rice-Very capable, was U.N. secretary and NSA to Obama. I doubt Biden wants to hear the word Benghazi for 3 months. Not getting picked.

Stacy Abrams- Biden is a traditionalist and probably is turned off by her aggressive campaigning for the job. She’s also not ready right now. I can see her as the first African American female Supreme Court justice.

The real serious contenders:

Keisha Lance Bottoms-She has shined in a big way with her leadership of Atlanta during two crises since becoming mayor. She’s young, attractive, and straight shooter. She was also one of the first politicians to openly support Biden from the beginning and stayed loyal through the early primaries. She has a real legitimate shot to be picked if Biden thinks he needs to stay away from contenders with law enforcement backgrounds.

Val Demings-Her stock is rising every day and has a compelling life story. Former police chief of Orlando and a House Impeachment manager. Smart and comes across as tough and serious. If Biden wants to gamble on trying to win Florida and/or Georgia to strangle Trump’s electoral path, he may go with Bottoms or Demings. Otherwise:

All things considered, and if Biden doesn’t overthink things, here is your next VP:

Kamala Harris- She’s smart, attractive, has executive experience and national campaign experience. She’ll take the fight to Trump and is ready to be President from day one. She will excite the base and represent the future of the party. She is a fundraising juggernaut. Her presence on the ticket will excite black voters enough in Detroit, Milwaukee, and Philly to flip those states, and possibly even Georgia and North Carolina. It may rattle Trump into impulsively dumping Pence for Haley, which will backfire.

Under the current climate, this is the easiest VP sweepstakes to handicap in a while.

Any differing opinions?
Nope. Kamala has been my choice all along and I think she’s even more likely to be the choice, given the last two weeks.
 
Nope. Kamala has been my choice all along and I think she’s even more likely to be the choice, given the last two weeks.

It’s interesting that Harris does not get a lot of support from my friends of color. She’s a safe choice but not likely to move the needle one way or the other. I like Abrams but Deming would be a smart choice. I think Georgia, Florida and even Texas is in play.
 
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I’m a raw politics guy, not a policy wonk, although I enjoy reading and learning about the intricacies of policy from several on this board. That said, I think this board could come up with a much needed infrastructure bill, since actually governing is not a priority in DC at the moment.

But this is about the raw politics of winning the next presidential election, specifically Biden’s choice of a running mate. In my opinion, the accepted view that the VP choice has little to no impact on the election has always been false. I won’t argue here why I believe the VP choice has always carried more weight than it’s given credit for, but pundits are unanimous in believing that Biden’s choice in this election will have a significant impact on the election results.
Let’s see who the serious contenders are, along with the pretenders. I think we can all agree that the tragedy in Minneapolis has given rice to African American contenders.

Contenders that are no longer serious options:

Amy Klobuchar- I think Biden was on the verge of pulling a Hillary and selecting her before the Minneapolis tragedy. She refused to prosecute police brutality cases when she was prosecutor, and referred them over to a grand jury. Progressive voices in the party are openly calling for her to drop out of the vetting process which tells us how serious of a contender she is (was). She’s done as far as being picked for VP, and although she’s a great talent, she’s the female version of Tim Kaine and not who you want to pick to excite the base.

Elizabeth Warren-I could still see an outside shot of her getting picked, although not likely. She polls the highest among contenders, but her real strength is pulling in progressives from the left. No way your giving up a senate seat though, and Mass has a republican governor that would pick her replacement.

Gretchen Whitmer-Biden is strong in Michigan and she’s a little green. Not getting picked.

Tammy Baldwin-not happening

Catherine Cortez Masto-dropped out of consideration.

Michelle Lujan Grisham-Nope

Now the serious contenders, the Sisters:

Susan Rice-Very capable, was U.N. secretary and NSA to Obama. I doubt Biden wants to hear the word Benghazi for 3 months. Not getting picked.

Stacy Abrams- Biden is a traditionalist and probably is turned off by her aggressive campaigning for the job. She’s also not ready right now. I can see her as the first African American female Supreme Court justice.

The real serious contenders:

Keisha Lance Bottoms-She has shined in a big way with her leadership of Atlanta during two crises since becoming mayor. She’s young, attractive, and straight shooter. She was also one of the first politicians to openly support Biden from the beginning and stayed loyal through the early primaries. She has a real legitimate shot to be picked if Biden thinks he needs to stay away from contenders with law enforcement backgrounds.

Val Demings-Her stock is rising every day and has a compelling life story. Former police chief of Orlando and a House Impeachment manager. Smart and comes across as tough and serious. If Biden wants to gamble on trying to win Florida and/or Georgia to strangle Trump’s electoral path, he may go with Bottoms or Demings. Otherwise:

All things considered, and if Biden doesn’t overthink things, here is your next VP:

Kamala Harris- She’s smart, attractive, has executive experience and national campaign experience. She’ll take the fight to Trump and is ready to be President from day one. She will excite the base and represent the future of the party. She is a fundraising juggernaut. Her presence on the ticket will excite black voters enough in Detroit, Milwaukee, and Philly to flip those states, and possibly even Georgia and North Carolina. It may rattle Trump into impulsively dumping Pence for Haley, which will backfire.

Under the current climate, this is the easiest VP sweepstakes to handicap in a while.

Any differing opinions?
I was in the Lujan Grisham camp, but now I think it's almost certainly going to be a black woman. Harris or Demings.
 
I was in the Lujan Grisham camp, but now I think it's almost certainly going to be a black woman. Harris or Demings.

Harris was my original choice for the nomination. I used to know her pretty well back in the day, so I think it would be really cool in that regard for her to be VP or POTUS. I’m in this Cali bubble though and don’t know how the rest of the country sees her.

I agree it will probably be Kamala or Demings, but I think Bottoms could be the surprise pick if they think she could attract young progressives like Abrams does. Btw, I heard stories that Abrams and Bottoms don’t like each other, stemming from Bottoms supporting Abrams gubernatorial primary rival or something like that.
 
Because I'm an asshole: I think "who will be the VP" is mostly a parlor game. I have no idea who Biden will pick. But it'd be handy if he picked someone who could run in 2024.
 
I’m a raw politics guy, not a policy wonk, although I enjoy reading and learning about the intricacies of policy from several on this board. That said, I think this board could come up with a much needed infrastructure bill, since actually governing is not a priority in DC at the moment.

But this is about the raw politics of winning the next presidential election, specifically Biden’s choice of a running mate. In my opinion, the accepted view that the VP choice has little to no impact on the election has always been false. I won’t argue here why I believe the VP choice has always carried more weight than it’s given credit for, but pundits are unanimous in believing that Biden’s choice in this election will have a significant impact on the election results.
Let’s see who the serious contenders are, along with the pretenders. I think we can all agree that the tragedy in Minneapolis has given rice to African American contenders.

Contenders that are no longer serious options:

Amy Klobuchar- I think Biden was on the verge of pulling a Hillary and selecting her before the Minneapolis tragedy. She refused to prosecute police brutality cases when she was prosecutor, and referred them over to a grand jury. Progressive voices in the party are openly calling for her to drop out of the vetting process which tells us how serious of a contender she is (was). She’s done as far as being picked for VP, and although she’s a great talent, she’s the female version of Tim Kaine and not who you want to pick to excite the base.

Elizabeth Warren-I could still see an outside shot of her getting picked, although not likely. She polls the highest among contenders, but her real strength is pulling in progressives from the left. No way your giving up a senate seat though, and Mass has a republican governor that would pick her replacement.

Gretchen Whitmer-Biden is strong in Michigan and she’s a little green. Not getting picked.

Tammy Baldwin-not happening

Catherine Cortez Masto-dropped out of consideration.

Michelle Lujan Grisham-Nope

Now the serious contenders, the Sisters:

Susan Rice-Very capable, was U.N. secretary and NSA to Obama. I doubt Biden wants to hear the word Benghazi for 3 months. Not getting picked.

Stacy Abrams- Biden is a traditionalist and probably is turned off by her aggressive campaigning for the job. She’s also not ready right now. I can see her as the first African American female Supreme Court justice.

The real serious contenders:

Keisha Lance Bottoms-She has shined in a big way with her leadership of Atlanta during two crises since becoming mayor. She’s young, attractive, and straight shooter. She was also one of the first politicians to openly support Biden from the beginning and stayed loyal through the early primaries. She has a real legitimate shot to be picked if Biden thinks he needs to stay away from contenders with law enforcement backgrounds.

Val Demings-Her stock is rising every day and has a compelling life story. Former police chief of Orlando and a House Impeachment manager. Smart and comes across as tough and serious. If Biden wants to gamble on trying to win Florida and/or Georgia to strangle Trump’s electoral path, he may go with Bottoms or Demings. Otherwise:

All things considered, and if Biden doesn’t overthink things, here is your next VP:

Kamala Harris- She’s smart, attractive, has executive experience and national campaign experience. She’ll take the fight to Trump and is ready to be President from day one. She will excite the base and represent the future of the party. She is a fundraising juggernaut. Her presence on the ticket will excite black voters enough in Detroit, Milwaukee, and Philly to flip those states, and possibly even Georgia and North Carolina. It may rattle Trump into impulsively dumping Pence for Haley, which will backfire.

Under the current climate, this is the easiest VP sweepstakes to handicap in a while.

Any differing opinions?

I’ve thought it was going to be Harris for a while.

I wouldn’t have a problem with him picking Warren. I know people are worried about a republican governor picking the replacement but the MA state legislature could pass a law (I believe they could anyways) requiring the governor to pick a replacement from the same party as the outgoing senator. It looks like Dems would have a veto proof majority.
 
People are going to scrutinize the VP pick even more closely than usual because of Biden's age.

Based on everything I've read, it's likely Trump is going to lose the popular vote again, and this will once again be a race for electoral college votes in a handful of states. If the campaign's research reflects that Demings or Bottoms can help deliver Florida or Georgia to Biden, the smart money then is with either of them.

Stacy Abrams' resume is extremely thin. She's not ready for primetime.

Harris is the most qualified of the potential picks, and she could step right into the presidency if necessary, but I don't know that she helps Biden in the election itself. Also, her criminal justice record (as a prosecutor and state AG) in California is not without controversy, and she's going to have more than a couple of policy positions, and specific prosecutions, to defend.
 
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It’s interesting that Harris does not get a lot of support from my friends of color. She’s a safe choice but not likely to move the needle one way or the other. I like Abrams but Deming would be a smart choice. I think Georgia, Florida and even Texas is in play.

I'm on the Demmings train as well. I think Harris has some baggage regarding Willie Brown, and I don't think she helps Biden in the same states that Demmings does. Demmings was a Police Chief, the descendant of slaves and the first member of her family (like 9 kids) to attend college. She really impressed me as a House Manager during the trial of the Impeached One, and she likely attracts as many minority voters in Ga, FL, NC, and TX as Abrams would. But she's much more seasoned...
 
Harris is the most qualified of the potential picks, and she could step right into the presidency if necessary, but I don't know that she helps Biden in the election itself. Also, her criminal justice record (as a prosecutor and state AG) in California is not without controversy, and she's going to have more than a couple of policy positions, and specific prosecutions, to defend.

I agree. I think that if she owns up to things she would do differently today and has a strong coherent message on why she believes differently today about criminal justice than she did in the past she can get past that and convince voters that she can be a driver for positive change going forward.

On the flip side, I think there's a chance that Harris' prosecutorial record is an asset with white suburban voters that Trump will try to play the "law and order" card with by scaring them with black protesters.
 
I’m a raw politics guy, not a policy wonk, although I enjoy reading and learning about the intricacies of policy from several on this board. That said, I think this board could come up with a much needed infrastructure bill, since actually governing is not a priority in DC at the moment.

But this is about the raw politics of winning the next presidential election, specifically Biden’s choice of a running mate. In my opinion, the accepted view that the VP choice has little to no impact on the election has always been false. I won’t argue here why I believe the VP choice has always carried more weight than it’s given credit for, but pundits are unanimous in believing that Biden’s choice in this election will have a significant impact on the election results.
Let’s see who the serious contenders are, along with the pretenders. I think we can all agree that the tragedy in Minneapolis has given rice to African American contenders.

Contenders that are no longer serious options:

Amy Klobuchar- I think Biden was on the verge of pulling a Hillary and selecting her before the Minneapolis tragedy. She refused to prosecute police brutality cases when she was prosecutor, and referred them over to a grand jury. Progressive voices in the party are openly calling for her to drop out of the vetting process which tells us how serious of a contender she is (was). She’s done as far as being picked for VP, and although she’s a great talent, she’s the female version of Tim Kaine and not who you want to pick to excite the base.

Elizabeth Warren-I could still see an outside shot of her getting picked, although not likely. She polls the highest among contenders, but her real strength is pulling in progressives from the left. No way your giving up a senate seat though, and Mass has a republican governor that would pick her replacement.

Gretchen Whitmer-Biden is strong in Michigan and she’s a little green. Not getting picked.

Tammy Baldwin-not happening

Catherine Cortez Masto-dropped out of consideration.

Michelle Lujan Grisham-Nope

Now the serious contenders, the Sisters:

Susan Rice-Very capable, was U.N. secretary and NSA to Obama. I doubt Biden wants to hear the word Benghazi for 3 months. Not getting picked.

Stacy Abrams- Biden is a traditionalist and probably is turned off by her aggressive campaigning for the job. She’s also not ready right now. I can see her as the first African American female Supreme Court justice.

The real serious contenders:

Keisha Lance Bottoms-She has shined in a big way with her leadership of Atlanta during two crises since becoming mayor. She’s young, attractive, and straight shooter. She was also one of the first politicians to openly support Biden from the beginning and stayed loyal through the early primaries. She has a real legitimate shot to be picked if Biden thinks he needs to stay away from contenders with law enforcement backgrounds.

Val Demings-Her stock is rising every day and has a compelling life story. Former police chief of Orlando and a House Impeachment manager. Smart and comes across as tough and serious. If Biden wants to gamble on trying to win Florida and/or Georgia to strangle Trump’s electoral path, he may go with Bottoms or Demings. Otherwise:

All things considered, and if Biden doesn’t overthink things, here is your next VP:

Kamala Harris- She’s smart, attractive, has executive experience and national campaign experience. She’ll take the fight to Trump and is ready to be President from day one. She will excite the base and represent the future of the party. She is a fundraising juggernaut. Her presence on the ticket will excite black voters enough in Detroit, Milwaukee, and Philly to flip those states, and possibly even Georgia and North Carolina. It may rattle Trump into impulsively dumping Pence for Haley, which will backfire.

Under the current climate, this is the easiest VP sweepstakes to handicap in a while.

Any differing opinions?

Except when protesting, then they form a white shield to protect black lives.
 
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I agree. I think that if she owns up to things she would do differently today and has a strong coherent message on why she believes differently today about criminal justice than she did in the past she can get past that and convince voters that she can be a driver for positive change going forward.

On the flip side, I think there's a chance that Harris' prosecutorial record is an asset with white suburban voters that Trump will try to play the "law and order" card with by scaring them with black protesters.

Harris is not nearly as vulnerable for being too tough on crime in the general election. I don't know if she's the best pick, but that doesn't count against her as much as it did in the primaries. Where else will the left go? Four more years of idiocy is not an option.
 
Harris is not nearly as vulnerable for being too tough on crime in the general election. I don't know if she's the best pick, but that doesn't count against her as much as it did in the primaries. Where else will the left go? Four more years of idiocy is not an option.

I don't totally agree. I think you're right if you're talking about persuading voters one way or the other. The other half of the equation is enthusiasm though, and right now I think it would be easy to fail at motivating groups of voters to actually get out and vote.
 
Kamala Harris- She’s smart, attractive, has executive experience and national campaign experience. She’ll take the fight to Trump and is ready to be President from day one. She will excite the base and represent the future of the party. She is a fundraising juggernaut.
Agreegance. Along with Twenty, I've thought she was a front runner if not the front runner for some time. I had a personal preference for Amy (with Harris as AG), but after Minneapolis she's not going to be able to hold up under scrutiny.

All that said, I think there are places for many of the contenders in a Biden administration.
 
Agreegance. Along with Twenty, I've thought she was a front runner if not the front runner for some time. I had a personal preference for Amy (with Harris as AG), but after Minneapolis she's not going to be able to hold up under scrutiny.

All that said, I think there are places for many of the contenders in a Biden administration.


Interesting read this morning from politico on a rethinking in the Biden camp in the wake of recent events. Demmings is still thought to be one of the top 2, but Harris may have been replaced by Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms as one of the 2 they are focussing on...

"Wide-scale protests that have exposed deep racial tensions across the nation in the last two weeks are reshaping the contours of Joe Biden’s search for a vice-presidential pick, sharpening the focus on an African American woman as his running mate and elevating the prospects of several candidates once viewed as longshots.

The campaign sees the outpouring of anger and emotion in the wake of George Floyd’s death as a watershed moment that has made the issue of a black running mate a top consideration, two sources familiar with the internal discussions say.

In the last week alone, two prospects who were initially not considered among the top tier contenders have suddenly burst into contention: Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Florida Rep. Val Demings.

Both have been tapped by the Biden campaign to act as leading surrogates amid the unrest and have seen their national media exposure intensify.

Bottoms is being vetted as a Biden running mate, two sources with knowledge of the discussions confirm to POLITICO. Demings, a former Orlando police chief, has previously confirmed she’s being vetted.

The Biden campaign, which has grappled with the question of whether to focus on race or region in choosing a vice presidential candidate, caution that the search is still fluid.

But campaign advisers and surrogates confirm that the dynamics of Biden’s search have quickly changed."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/extraordinary-times-shake-biden-vp-083023661.html

Bottoms is younger (50) than Demmings and would seemingly put GA into serious play. Combine that with the fact that a leading Dem contender in the jungle election to replace GOP Johnny Issackson (seat currently held by Kelly Loeffler) is Rev Ralph Warnock who is head Pastor of (MLK's famous) Ebenezer Baptist Church and you have a powerful pairing to draw AA voters to the polls in what could be record numbers...

This is the exact opposite scenario of having to risk a Senator or Gov who could be replaced by a GOP official, like a scenario where Gov Baker of Mass could appoint a Republican to replace Warren, for example. The choice of Bottoms would conceivably give the Dems their best possible scenario to try and steal a Senate seat in GA.

She was the first mayor to openly endorse Biden basically from when he first announced he was running- so she's no "johnny come lately" who shifted to Biden after her first choice dropped out. She has received praise from both sides of the aisle for the way she handled COVID and wasn't afraid to stand up to Kemp. She has also thrived as a leader during the Floyd protests in GA, condemning violence but also disciplining cops who abused power. ...

"Bottoms castigated wrongdoers, telling them they disgraced Martin Luther King’s legacy of enacting change through peaceful protest.

“What I see happening on the streets of Atlanta is not Atlanta. This is not a protest. This is not in the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. This is chaos,” she said. “A protest has purpose. When Dr. King was assassinated we didn’t do this to our city. So if you love this city, this city that has a legacy of black mayors and black police chiefs … if you care about this city, then go home.”
 
Interesting read this morning from politico on a rethinking in the Biden camp in the wake of recent events. Demmings is still thought to be one of the top 2, but Harris may have been replaced by Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms as one of the 2 they are focussing on...
I hope not. While they are fine people, they are -- like Abrams -- flavors of the month. They all have bright futures, but none of them should be made the heir apparent to the Presidency in 2024.
 
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I’m a raw politics guy, not a policy wonk, although I enjoy reading and learning about the intricacies of policy from several on this board. That said, I think this board could come up with a much needed infrastructure bill, since actually governing is not a priority in DC at the moment.

But this is about the raw politics of winning the next presidential election, specifically Biden’s choice of a running mate. In my opinion, the accepted view that the VP choice has little to no impact on the election has always been false. I won’t argue here why I believe the VP choice has always carried more weight than it’s given credit for, but pundits are unanimous in believing that Biden’s choice in this election will have a significant impact on the election results.
Let’s see who the serious contenders are, along with the pretenders. I think we can all agree that the tragedy in Minneapolis has given rice to African American contenders.

Contenders that are no longer serious options:

Amy Klobuchar- I think Biden was on the verge of pulling a Hillary and selecting her before the Minneapolis tragedy. She refused to prosecute police brutality cases when she was prosecutor, and referred them over to a grand jury. Progressive voices in the party are openly calling for her to drop out of the vetting process which tells us how serious of a contender she is (was). She’s done as far as being picked for VP, and although she’s a great talent, she’s the female version of Tim Kaine and not who you want to pick to excite the base.

Elizabeth Warren-I could still see an outside shot of her getting picked, although not likely. She polls the highest among contenders, but her real strength is pulling in progressives from the left. No way your giving up a senate seat though, and Mass has a republican governor that would pick her replacement.

Gretchen Whitmer-Biden is strong in Michigan and she’s a little green. Not getting picked.

Tammy Baldwin-not happening

Catherine Cortez Masto-dropped out of consideration.

Michelle Lujan Grisham-Nope

Now the serious contenders, the Sisters:

Susan Rice-Very capable, was U.N. secretary and NSA to Obama. I doubt Biden wants to hear the word Benghazi for 3 months. Not getting picked.

Stacy Abrams- Biden is a traditionalist and probably is turned off by her aggressive campaigning for the job. She’s also not ready right now. I can see her as the first African American female Supreme Court justice.

The real serious contenders:

Keisha Lance Bottoms-She has shined in a big way with her leadership of Atlanta during two crises since becoming mayor. She’s young, attractive, and straight shooter. She was also one of the first politicians to openly support Biden from the beginning and stayed loyal through the early primaries. She has a real legitimate shot to be picked if Biden thinks he needs to stay away from contenders with law enforcement backgrounds.

Val Demings-Her stock is rising every day and has a compelling life story. Former police chief of Orlando and a House Impeachment manager. Smart and comes across as tough and serious. If Biden wants to gamble on trying to win Florida and/or Georgia to strangle Trump’s electoral path, he may go with Bottoms or Demings. Otherwise:

All things considered, and if Biden doesn’t overthink things, here is your next VP:

Kamala Harris- She’s smart, attractive, has executive experience and national campaign experience. She’ll take the fight to Trump and is ready to be President from day one. She will excite the base and represent the future of the party. She is a fundraising juggernaut. Her presence on the ticket will excite black voters enough in Detroit, Milwaukee, and Philly to flip those states, and possibly even Georgia and North Carolina. It may rattle Trump into impulsively dumping Pence for Haley, which will backfire.

Under the current climate, this is the easiest VP sweepstakes to handicap in a while.

Any differing opinions?

those who control the party are the ones who installed Biden atop the ticket.

i'll assume therefore they will dictate the number 2 pick as well.
 
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