I think we'll see markedly different demographics calling this election this time round. The never/non/anti/anyone-but-Trump crowd called it last time without enthusiasm for Biden; Harris could easily do much better. The Rest is Politics went into Biden's courting of the black vote with his past and the appointment of Harris; what could she do for her VP pick? Aside from a mid-Western old white guy.
Mark Kelly would be a pretty exceptionally qualified old white guy.
Why pull a popular senator from a western purple state who isn't term limited when there's a popular governor (Roy Cooper) from an eastern purple state who is?
Any Arizona Democrat can warm a seat in the Senate. Kelly can do much more for the Democratic party at the national level than at the Arizona level. His background is too appealing to leave him at the state.
What’s his brother doing now? Put him in the Senate seat
Not a terrible idea, but he's got the same sort of background and national recognition, and could be put to better work at the federal level.
I'd put Scott in the cabinet. He's qualified to serve as Secretary of Interior (the department that NASA falls under) or Sec Def. Or, we could signal that instead of eliminating Education like the GOP wants, President Kelly deems it so important that he wants his twin brother to look after it when he can't.
Or, if we don't want to give him a department, Chief of Staff: he can run the day to day operations of Mark's White House.
I really like him, but I think she'd do much better naming a younger VP. He is exceptionally qualified, but he's probably going to quell some of the enthusiasm young voters are showing for Harris.
I partially agree, but there needs to be things that appeal to older and conservative voters willing to bridge the gap.
Plus an elder statesman that can keep the House under control will make Harris’ job infinitely easier.
Kelly's "True American Hero" angle will resonate with Never-Trump Republicans, without offending Democratic sensibilities. The worst thing anyone has said about him is he opposes Medicare for all, but his explanation for that opposition is not unreasonable, and does not preclude either universal healthcare or the ACA.
(His argument is that Medicare offers mediocre coverage, and people should not be forced from an employer-sponsored plan with excellent coverage into a plan that offers less.)
he's probably going to quell some of the enthusiasm young voters are showing for Harris.
There are a lot of younger voters who fondly remember all of the amazing science outreach that Scott Kelly (Mark's twin brother who is also an astronaut) did during his year long mission on the ISS. If anything, I'd wager that younger voters are more aware of the Kelly's than older voters — and are more likely to get excited about a NASA astronaut than some Midwestern governor they've only vaguely heard of.
AOC is turning 35 in October. She should be VP. She can just tell people she's not picking a VP until 13 October.. People will get it.
She can't wait until October because she needs to meet ballot deadlines.
That said, you don't need to be 35 to run for president, you need to be 35 to be sworn in as president. So AOC could be nominated today in theory.
Biden's courting of the black vote
I remember that.
If you don't vote for me you ain't black. - Joe Biden
I felt so understood, loved, and represented.
what could she do for her VP pick? Aside from a mid-Western old white guy.
The other old white guy. It's a big tent. The old white guys are voting identity and marketing just like you are.
Do you think there's any ways in which Kamala will be worse than Biden was? I share a little bit of this cynicism that Harris isn't going to end up being as cool as we want her to be, but for the life of me I can't imagine a single issue where she's any worse than Biden and she probably will be better on a few (like, she ran on marijuana legalization and Medicare for All in the 2020 primaries, stances Biden was never willing to take).
C'mon Democrats, is it really time to kick the progressives under the table again already?
It wasn’t always this way for Harris, who, in 2020, faced off against Biden and more than a dozen other Democrats as the party lurched to the left.
“Running in a Democratic primary at the height of the racial reckoning in 2020, her background as a former prosecutor, I think, hurt her,” said Conway. “In 2024, the country is in the mood for a candidate that has her background and can go on offense against Donald Trump.”
First, Harris has to reintroduce herself and, in the process, reassure moderates, Republicans looking to her said. While Conway, Whitman and Shays all plan to vote for Harris, others may need more to come on board.
...
Whitman is clear-eyed about the challenge of putting at ease voters who may have reservations about Harris’s liberal record and stances. “It’s going to be tough,” Whitman said. “A lot’s going to depend on who she picks as vice president. Even though she’s not way-left, that’s how they’re going to paint her, and that’s how she’s going to be perceived.”
C'mon Democrats, is it really time to kick the progressives under the table again already?
When have they not?
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