The Race for the 2020 POTUS elections

[Vagabond]

With so many dropping out - is there some tax deadline they all need to meet, or...?

The Democratic National Committee made it much tougher to qualify for this month's debate than the previous ones.

Harris could have participated in the debate, but her campaign was in disarray and financially strapped. Bullock might run for the Senate but has previously said that he will not do so.

 

[Sparks]

CNN reported Bullock will not run for Senate.

Steve Bullock ends presidential campaign, will not run for Senate

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock ended his presidential campaign on Monday, the Democrat announced in a statement to CNN.

www.cnn.com

 

[mrinalini]

I still think Ms. Harris has a bright future. She's young enough to learn from a rocky campaign (I hope...). Why not get out of a crowded field in a bizarre year?

With so many dropping out - is there some tax deadline they all need to meet, or...? A few more, and I think we'll have a clearer picture of who can lead America (and voters) forward.Enough of us can see canyons between the candidates, but do enough voters? People are busy, overwhelmed, etc. The more I see Biden subsist at or near the top, the more I'm convinced of this. Where are the supporters going from Harris, misc white suits, etc.?

Meanwhile, I'm pretty disheartened at how Warren continues to be targeted by the wealthy and financial types. She really scares them. The longer she and Bernie split the progressive vote (I know, they're not the same...), the less chance she has.

Warren stands to gain (one can only hope) with Harris dropping out:

Here are the 2020 Democrats who stand to gain now that Kamala Harris has dropped out

Harris polled well among women and, as senator from one of the most important states in the primary, will be a sought-after endorsement.

www.businessinsider.com

It has been reported that Sanders claimed he wouldn't run in 2016 if Warren did, so it is interesting that her running this time didn't dissuade him from doing so as well (and they apparently had a meet-up before announcing).

 

[topaz]

Finally, Kamala Harris dropped out. The writing has been on the wall for a while.

Her stances were unclear, she is poll-tested, her record as AG did not garner her the support she expected. Also, the same the coalition Harris hinted about at the last debate was not there for her.

She received some great media coverage in the beginning, she debated well in the first two debates but then the third debate happened. The third debate and the Tulsi Gabbard exchange was a kung fu kick in her presidential hopes.

She does well when she is allowed to prepare but when she has to defend or debate without preparing.

Her constituency is the same constituents that favor Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, and Joe Biden. I think Warren may benefit the most from Kamala's dropping out but Harris' numbers were not that great so I do not know how much of a bump Warren will receive. Warren needs to take votes/support away from Buttigieg.

The Hill's Youtube Show "The Rising" with Krystal Ball has a great critique of Harris' campaign.

BREAKING: Kamala Harris drops out of 2020 race

Krystal Ball & Jamal Simmons discuss Kamala Harris' decision to drop out of the 2020 Presidential race. About Rising: Rising is a weekday morning show with b...

youtu.be

 

[VGThuy]

Ugghh, this tweet:

https://twitter.com/djrothkopf/status/1201852342351671297

It’s sentiments like that that make me want to leave the Democratic Party because I’m being shown what it really represents AND makes me want to stay so I can help invoke some change in it. I’m caught between separating and reforming.

 

[ilovepaydays]

Meanwhile, at a campaign office opening in Manchester, NH..........

Well, at least it wasn’t a female supporter........

 

[Sparks]

Huckster. Sorry, I'm cranky.

 

[ballettmaus]

I don't know what was going on with Harris but as they said on CNN earlier, she wasn't a moderate and she wasn't a progressive but sort of in between. I think that could and should have worked to her advantage but she was obviously unable to capitalize on that and make that her strentgh. Too bad. I had hoped she could find her way back and, at least, become a serious contender again.

 

[MsZem]

I don't know what was going on with Harris but as they said on CNN earlier, she wasn't a moderate and she wasn't a progressive but sort of in between. I think that could and should have worked to her advantage but she was obviously unable to capitalize on that and make that her strentgh. Too bad. I had hoped she could find her way back and, at least, become a serious contender again.

I still think she can, just not in this election. But by dropping out now instead of dragging things out, she might have positioned herself nicely to be the VP pick.

And this tweet is excellent:

Kamala Harris on Twitter

“Don’t worry, Mr. President. I’ll see you at your trial. https://t.co/iiS17NY4Ry”

twitter.com

 

[BlueRidge]

Recent Democratic VP candidates: Joe Lieberman, John Edwards, Joe Biden, Tim Kaine.

Not sure that's something to aspire to.

 

[BlueRidge]

It’s sentiments like that that make me want to leave the Democratic Party because I’m being shown what it really represents AND makes me want to stay so I can help invoke some change in it. I’m caught between separating and reforming.

Is it what the Democratic Party represents or what we are still fighting in America as a whole? The party to me is just a vehicle and if we don't use it we don't have any vehicle at all.

Groups who are inside the party need to be clear that being inside doesn't mean they are following the current leadership or dominant groups. I think there are a lot of groups that successfully do this, like Justice Democrats. I think following such groups and supporting the candidates they recruit and endorse is an alternative to feeling like you are just going along with a party dominated by well-off white men.

 

[MsZem]

Recent Democratic VP candidates: Joe Lieberman, John Edwards, Joe Biden, Tim Kaine.

Not sure that's something to aspire to.

If Biden ends up as a one-term president, which at his age may well happen, his VP could be in a very strong position. I recognize that's a lot of ifs, but that's worth keeping in mind.

 

[Susan1]

I still think she can, just not in this election. But by dropping out now instead of dragging things out, she might have positioned herself nicely to be the VP pick.

And this tweet is excellent:

Kamala Harris on Twitter

“Don’t worry, Mr. President. I’ll see you at your trial. https://t.co/iiS17NY4Ry”

twitter.com

I saw that tweet back at trump on FB. Reminded me of her questioning of Kavanaugh and Bill Barr. She'd make a great Attorney General.

 

[BlueRidge]

He wanted to partition Iraq.

ooh I'd totally forgotten that

I don't want to hear things I don't like about Biden. Since we are all going to be supporting him soon.

 

[Peaches LaTour]

Recent Democratic VP candidates: Joe Lieberman, John Edwards, Joe Biden, Tim Kaine.

Not sure that's something to aspire to.

Biden & Kaine have been there, done that either in real life or as a hopeful. I can't imagine them being interested, again. Libermann is republican

I think Stacy Abrams would be a great pick for VP & she has already stated she would be interested.

 

[skateboy]

I don't want to hear things I don't like about Biden. Since we are all going to be supporting him soon.

Don't say things like that!

 

[BlueRidge]

Sometimes we have to drink weak tea.

Its better than no tea.

 

[Vash01]

Biden & Kaine have been there, done that either in real life or as a hopeful. I can't imagine them being interested, again. Libermann is republican

I think Stacy Abrams would be a great pick for VP & she has already stated she would be interested.

I don’t like Abrams. She is too selfish. She could have helped the Democratic Party by running for Senator. She is counting on being a VP pick by Biden. That’s arrogance and I despise that. She is counting on a quick entry into the potus office .

I would rather see one of the candidates (including those who dropped out) as VP of whoever the Democratic nominee will be. They showed courage in running for the office. They put in their work, while Abrams is sitting on her hands, waiting to get the presidency on the platter if Biden wins the nomination.

I don’t think anyone else will even consider her. If Biden runs with Abrams as his VP, he will lose the election. If the Dems want a black female, pick Michelle Obama. She is widely respected. I doubt that she will agree though. Besides, Biden is doing well with black voters. He doesn’t need Abrams to bring him those votes. He needs someone from a swing state (not named Georgia). Anyway, he may not win the nomination, so this could be a moot point.

 

[Vagabond]

Good senator, but since one of her major problems was in addressing cases involving police and prosecutorial misconduct while California's Attorney General, she should not be the federal one, IMO

She has been effective at applying her prosecutorial skills to examining witnesses in Committee hearings, but what else has she done in nearly three years in office?

Her voting record doesn't count for much, IMHO. If she hadn't run for office, some other Democrat would have done so and would almost certainly won.

 

[MsZem]

I think Stacy Abrams would be a great pick for VP & she has already stated she would be interested.

The highest office Abrams has held is minority leader in the Georgia House of Representatives. She's no more qualified than Buttigieg, and I don't see how she enhances the appeal of someone like Joe Biden or Elizabeth Warren.

It's a pity that the Georgia governor's race was so dodgy, but Abrams should perhaps try again. If she can run as a sitting/former governor, she'd be an incredibly strong candidate.

 

[MacMadame]

Here are some articles on Harris' withdraw from the race and what it means:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/12/03/two-challenges-that-doomed-kamala-harris/

This one compares her campaign to Marco Rubio's and says she had it all on paper:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/12/03/why-kamala-harriss-failure-echoes-marco-rubios/

Says Harris couldn't articulate why she was running for President (which I agree, btw):

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/12/03/why-kamala-harris-couldnt-succeed/

 

[BlueRidge]

The highest office Abrams has held is minority leader in the Georgia House of Representatives. She's no more qualified than Buttigieg, and I don't see how she enhances the appeal of someone like Joe Biden or Elizabeth Warren.

I don't agree with that. She served in the GA House of Reps for 10 years and as Minority leader for 6 years. That's quite a bit of legislative experience in a state of 10.5 million people. I'm not pushing her for the VP slot, but her experience is pretty comparable with Barack Obama's when he ran save for his having spent about a year in the US Senate.

Also she isn't sitting around doing nothing. She has founded an organization to fight voter suppression and for fair elections and its not surprising that she'd rather work to make it possible to actually have the votes counted and win than to run again and lose because reform has not occurred.

About Fair Fight Action | Fair Fight

Our story We promote fair elections around the country, encourage voter participation in elections, and educate voters about elections and their voting rights. Fair Fight Action brings awareness to the public on election reform, advocates for election reform at all levels, and engages in other...

fairfight.com

 

[agalisgv]

From behind the scenes, I was told Harris was advised to pull out in December before the deadline for filing for California. Supposedly internal polling was showing she was losing support for her senate seat, and a bad showing in the CA primary could hurt her re-election chances. So she was advised to drop out now and shore up for 2022.

 

[MsZem]

I don't agree with that. She served in the GA House of Reps for 10 years and as Minority leader for 6 years. That's quite a bit of legislative experience in a state of 10.5 million people. I'm not pushing her for the VP slot, but her experience is pretty comparable with Barack Obama's when he ran save for his having spent about a year in the US Senate.

I don't think Abrams is sitting around doing nothing by any means. But she lacks national and executive experience, and an older candidate should be running with someone who is perceived as able to step in to the presidency if need arises. I don't think Abrams will be perceived as someone who can do that. Harris, Klobuchar, or someone like Tammy Duckworth would be better picks, to name a few. If it's Warren, perhaps she could choose a current/former governor or cabinet member?

Barack Obama was elected to the US Senate in 2004. That's more than a year before running - I'd thought the same, by the way, and checked because I wanted to see if Kamala Harris's record was comparable.

 

[BlueRidge]

yeah, Tammy Duckworth! I like that idea.

I can't see Warren as anyone's VP and I do not want her to be anyone's. If she isn't the president, she needs to be in the Senate. She's definitely not going to be Biden's VP.

Or yeah, Tammy Baldwin could be on the ticket with Pete, she's older and more experienced, and who wouldn't want an all gay ticket!

 

[MsZem]

yeah, Tammy Duckworth! I like that idea.

I can't see Warren as anyone's VP and I do not want her to be anyone's. If she isn't the president, she needs to be in the Senate. She's definitely not going to be Biden's VP.

I meant if Warren ends up as the presidential nominee.

I'm surprised Tammy Duckworth hasn't been mentioned more often, but it seems like the focus has been on the current field as potential VP picks. But she seems like a fabulous choice!

 

[BlueRidge]

I meant if Warren ends up as the presidential nominee.

That's clear from your post. This is what I meant when I said I shouldn't work and post at the same time.

I haven't seen much discussion but here at FSU but I think it is way too focused on those running in the primaries, well except for Abrams coming up. I don't think the VP candidate will be one of the primary candidates.

 

[MacMadame]

I must have missed this but apparently Joe Biden's campaign slogan is "No malarky"??

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/12/03/people-have-spoken-kamala-harris-is-out/

You can't make this shit up.

 

[BlueRidge]

Well its the slogan for his current campaign tour of Iowa. Maybe it resonates there?

 

[ilovepaydays]

I must have missed this but apparently Joe Biden's campaign slogan is "No malarky"??

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/12/03/people-have-spoken-kamala-harris-is-out/

You can't make this shit up.

You can’t - and especially this clip of Biden that’s now been going around.

I’m wondering what other videos of Biden’s speeches that are going to be coming out.

Also, how ON EARTH did Biden stay in politics this long without understanding opposition research and their use of “trackers”?

If Biden looks in fairly good shape after Super Tuesday, the DNC should be freaking out.