2020 Presidential Election

[Kätzchen]

Guess What?

I just saw this news story on the NBC website. Stacey Abrams is definitely the one, that a progressive think tank is highly recommending: A Biden-Abrams presidential Democratic ticket for 2020.

And I quote:

"A Biden–Abrams ticket would beat a Trump-Pence ticket and perform competitively with other hypothetical tickets, while also overperforming with key groups that constitute the Democratic Party's base," McElwee wrote.

LINK: Progressive group's analysis finds Stacey Abrams is Biden's best choice. Here's why (NBC)

[Kätzchen]

From fast breaking news headlines, this Friday, over on the Politico website, they feature an inspiring article about Michigan's Democratic Governor, Gretchen Whitmer. It's a worthy read, if you are not familiar with her.

Governor Whitmer has been navigating not only the Covid-19 crisis in the state of Michigan, but she's got a full plate of other serious issues she is addressing for people who live in Michigan.

Here is but one excerpt from the article:

It’s one thing to be 15 months into your first term and suddenly blindsided by a rampaging disease the likes of which no living politician has encountered; to be thrust into worldwide renown by virtue of a beef with the president and a rising body count in your backyard; to know that your every flinch and syllable are being judged by citizens today and history tomorrow.

Bonus item of interest: Joe Biden has publicly stated that Governor Whitmer is on his "Short List" as a VP contender (See, link to article below).




POLITICO's Friday Cover: 'The Woman In Michigan' Goes National:
Governor Whitmer is dealing with a historic pandemic, a bullying President, and a big job tryout.

[dark_crystal]

Originally Posted by Kätzchen

Guess What?

I just saw this news story on the NBC website. Stacey Abrams is definitely the one, that a progressive think tank is highly recommending: A Biden-Abrams presidential Democratic ticket for 2020.

And I quote:



LINK: Progressive group's analysis finds Stacey Abrams is Biden's best choice. Here's why (NBC)

If she is truly the pick I will be very relieved

[Martina]

This is encouraging.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...l-swing-state/

[homoe]

The full video...

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Why aren't we hearing anything from Joe Biden? Isn't he supposed to be running for something?

Seems like he could at least come up with something to say about stuff that's already in the news, like coronavirus or the economy.

[Kätzchen]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaMa'am

Why aren't we hearing anything from Joe Biden? Isn't he supposed to be running for something?

Seems like he could at least come up with something to say about stuff that's already in the news, like coronavirus or the economy.

I saw a news video over on CNN.... Apparently Joe Biden's wife, Jill, would like to see Michelle Obama as his running mate.

I'd like to see Joe Biden's administration be more representative of the current cultural diversity in America.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Right now, Andrew Cuomo is doing a better job of running for President than Joe Biden is.

[BullDog]

Joe Biden does interviews and has virtual events all the time but the media doesn't cover them usually - too busy airing the insane buffoon telling people to ingest disinfectants. Maybe there are other things he could do. I don't know. Allegedly Trump is giving up on his daily briefings, although I'm sure he won't be able to stay away for long.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are holding a virtual town hall on Monday, April 27 at 3:30 PM EDT.

Confronting Coronavirus: Addressing Impacts And Disparities In The Black Community

It can be viewed at:

joebiden.com/Live



Also on Monday April 27 at 6 pm EDT Dr. Jill Biden hosting an LGBTQ+ Social Hour

joebiden.com/Live

[dark_crystal]

Originally Posted by dark_crystal

i have no idea but i would be strangely happy with that

Not in a political way, though. Like in a kinky way.

Originally Posted by dark_crystal

Ditto for Harris

I can't go supporting vp candidates just based on whether i would want to have a scene with them* though

It's like the people who voted for W bc he'd be more fun to have a beer with.

* Stacy Abrams is not in this category bc i saw her speak at my conference and now i feel like we're BFFs

Therefore i'd be all set with any of them

HARRIS!!!!!!

I AM FINALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS CAMPAIGN

[~ocean]

Originally Posted by dark_crystal

HARRIS!!!!!!

I AM FINALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS CAMPAIGN

ME 22222222222 YEAH !!!! I wish I could do back flips i'm so excited for the Biden & Harris ticket !! Trump must be sooo angry ~ his nightmare is comming true ~

[Orema]

Originally Posted by dark_crystal

HARRIS!!!!!!

I AM FINALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS CAMPAIGN

I ain’t excited, but I’m happy with this choice. Yes, this is the way to the mountain top and am hoping this helps us get there.

[Kätzchen]

Wow!! I just listened to Joe Biden and Kamala (Momma-la) Harris in their 1st appearance, live streamed via ABC news.

I got shivers, felt relief that we have two outstanding people to lead our country out of the dark situation that the GOP/TP administration has done to us all and to global partnering countries (our allies).

What a great message of introduction to listener's everywhere.


Can't wait to hear more good news!

[Orema]

Kamala Harris’s Cultural Impact

Biden’s pick for vice president comes with important advantages, but also some complexities.

By Charles M. Blow, Opinion Columist, New York Times


Senator Kamala Harris spoke with reporters after the first Democratic presidential primary debate, in Miami in 2019. Damon Winter/The New York Times

Joe Biden’s selection of Kamala Harris, the daughter of a Jamaican father and a South Asian mother, both immigrants, is both historic and inspiring.

Biden had an embarrassment of riches among his options. Any of the women among the top contenders, including other Black and Asian women, could have been an impressive choice.

But, Harris comes with the benefit of being tough as nails, a true fighter, and one who has already been tested in this cycle on the trail.

But, it’s important to assess not only the impact of her policy positions and credentials, but also the cultural resonance of her selection. She is the first Black woman in such a position on a major party ticket, one who embraces her mixed race heritage. That comes with important advantages, but also some complexities.

First, let me condition all that follows by plainly asserting this: I wish that policy was the primary driver of all our electoral decisions, and that personality, personal story and passions were minimal considerations. But wishful thinking is precisely what that is. Unfortunately, sadly, the presentation of a candidate matters to an enormous degree in our elections.

That said, one thing Harris brings to the ticket is the enthusiasm she generates, and that is no small thing. One misstep Hillary Clinton made in 2016 was the selection of Tim Kaine as her running mate. No matter how nice a person he was or how strong his résumé or how great the chemistry was between the two, his selection as her vice president plopped down like a wet rag. There was no real enthusiasm around the pick.

Harris arrives with an abundance of enthusiasm, sorely needed by Biden, especially among those who relish inclusion. She is a smart, accomplished woman who will no doubt appeal to many other women, particularly when the inevitable sexist attacks begins.

But sexism is a stubborn and insidious thing in society, and the benefit the ticket gets from her being a woman may be counterbalanced by the shadowy gender bias that helped undermine Clinton.

Harris’s mixed-race, daughter-of-immigrants, interracial (her husband is white) marriage story also has appeal, particularly in America’s big liberal cities that attract many immigrants. She is also multiracial at a time when numbers of people identifying as such are on the ascent, especially in the West, where Harris is from.

In the South, her amazing, very American story, could find some resistance from those who look askance at it, even if they never verbalize it. The southern states, with the notable exceptions of Texas and Florida, have the fewest immigrants and their residents are the most opposed to interracial marriage.

Most southern states aren’t swing states, but it seems to me that while voting matters most within states, the amorphous “feelings” people get about a candidate, positive or negative, transcend states and wash over the whole country.

As with many mixed-race people in America, Harris has made identity choices that link her to particular parts of herself, finding a way to make a oneness of twoness.

Harris chose to attend a historically black university and enter a prominent and powerful Black sorority. This positioning should place her in good stead with many Black people, particularly women. But that must be weighed against the fact that some other Black people, particularly Black men, still have real reservations over her record as a prosecutor.

This is something to keep an eye on. Although Black people as a group consistently vote overwhelmingly for Democratic presidential candidates, a gap between Black men and Black women has been growing in recent elections. According to exit polls in 2008, that gap was just one percentage point. In 2012, it was nine percentage points. In 2016 it was 12 percentage points.

Over that period, Black women’s support of the Democratic candidate held relatively steady, from 96 to 94 percent. It was the support of Black men that fell appreciably.

Harris’s record in the Senate has been exemplary, including on the issue of social justice. If she were just being judged by this chapter of her life and not the previous, this would all be a nonissue. But, of course we know, that will not be the case.

Trump believes that it is among Black men that he can shift the math a few percentage points with his focus on the economy, his own steps on criminal justice reform and his demonizing Latin American immigrants as threats to Black prosperity. Even the odd foray by Kanye West plays into this.

Furthermore, it would be a mistake to overplay a connection between the recent racial justice and police reform protesters and Harris. They may not be on the same page as she is. In some cases, they are on opposite pages. They are protesting a system that Harris was part of. Biden, with his problematic record on criminal justice, is already an issue.

And while Harris’s sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, is indeed powerful within the Black community, the Black sorority and fraternity class is not always aligned with the Black activist class.

Many civil rights leaders of the 1960s were members of historically black fraternities and sororities — the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy, Jesse Jackson, Thurgood Marshall. But for decades now, including when I was in college, there has been a real tension between young activists and these Greek-letter organizations. Spike Lee illustrated this tension beautifully in his movie “School Daze.”

The Greek-lettered groups are seen by many as elitist and out of touch, not at the vanguard of the fight. (I became a member of one of these groups in college.)

Months of campaigning are still ahead of us and only the election result will truly tell us about the impact of Harris’s being chosen by Biden, but it’s wise to avoid oversimplifying from the start. Harris, like any politician and any person, is complex and her addition to the ticket will come with pros and cons, even among Democrats, even among Black people.

__________________
Charles Blow joined The Times in 1994 and became an Opinion columnist in 2008. He is also a television commentator and writes often about politics, social justice and vulnerable communities.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/12/o...gtype=Homepage

[Kätzchen]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/14/opini...dup/index.html

The link above is to a very interesting and thought provoking article, ideas offered by certain Democratic Party members. Several were interviewed about what they feel should happen to help the Democratic Party develop and take a stronger stand, politically.

I agree, with many views expressed within today's Op-ed.

Democrats should go big. Go big in terms of addressing social grievances and stand up for policy changes in fundamental ways, rather than incremental change.

This is a big deal, I think, for American citizens, during this Presidential election, no matter where a voter sits on the voting spectrum.

Thought I would leave the link here today, in case others might like reading this article.

[BullDog]

The Democratic Convention runs from Monday, August 17 to Thursday, August 20 from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern

ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News will carry the convention from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. each night.

C-SPAN, CNN, MSNBC and PBS will cover the full two hours each night.

Livestream at the official website or the Youtube channel (I believe there are also other live streams).

https://www.demconvention.com/watch-the-convention/

https://www.youtube.com/demconvention (you should be able to watch the videos later if you can't catch them live).

Schedule

Monday: Speakers include Michelle Obama, Bernie Sanders, James Clyburn, Andrew Cuomo, Gretchen Whitmer, Amy Klobuchar & more

I'm really looking forward to Michelle Obama's talk, so I'm glad she's on Monday!

Tuesday: Includes Jill Biden, Bill Clinton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sally Yates, Chuck Schumer, John Kerry

Wednesday - Kamala Harris accepts Nomination for Vice President

Speakers include Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, Gabby Giffords, and of course Kamala Harris

Thursday - Joe Biden accepts Nomination for President

Speakers include: Joe Biden & family, Pete Buttigieg, Keisha Lance Bottoms, Cory Booker, Tammy Baldwin, Tammy Duckworth, Andrew Yang

This will definitely be different. They have a lot of speakers and musical entertainment crammed into these 2-hour segments so I guess everything will be pretty short. Better than nothing!