Yeah, it’s from Axios (Tagline: Like Politico — but even more vapid!).
SCOOP: Close advisers to former Vice President Joe Biden are debating the idea of packaging his presidential campaign announcement with a pledge to choose Stacey Abrams as his vice president. https://t.co/6OHTUKIlTs
— Axios (@axios) March 21, 2019
Approximately one in every 71.9 articles that outfit labels “SCOOP” actually is, and this one seems more credible in that they don’t overstate their sourcing, forthrightly attributing it to “advisers” and noting that Biden’s take “couldn’t be learned.” That said, it might be a load of bullshit.
Anyhoo, the article says advisers know the move could be perceived as a “gimmick” and that picking a running mate for a package deal rollout would be awkward during the debates. (I can see Tapper asking, with that patented look that he thinks is Murrow-like but actually registers as constipation, “Why not choose one of these fine Democrats, Mr. Vice President?”) It could be construed as presumptuous, the advisers also fretted, according to Axios. (Ya think?)
I can understand why such an offer would tempt Abrams if indeed it was made and is being entertained. For all his faults as a 2020 candidate, Biden was a strong VP to a beloved and successful Democratic president. At this stage, Biden would enter the race as the front-runner. Abrams has so much to offer as a candidate and public servant, and this would catapult her to new heights at a relatively young age.
On the other hand, it seems so nakedly cynical on the part of the Biden campaign: Here you go, ladies and black people; I’ve ticked your ‘identity politics’ boxes, now kindly forgive the Anita Hill and crime bill business and give me the damned nomination I’ve been seeking since 1988.
My first reaction is that I hope Abrams tells Biden’s advisers to go pound sand. What do y’all think?
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
I’ll repeat what I said yesterday:
In my fantasy world, Joe (or his staff) arranged a conversation with Abrams because they’d heard something about the importance of listening to Black women and wanted to get assurance from Abrams that they loooove Uncle Joe. And of course they assumed that because she’s a Black woman, she must speak for all Black women, right? And further along in my fantasy, she read him the OH FUCK NO act in a tone that scorched off the rest of his hair transplant plugs.
[Individual 1] mistermix
I think we all need to remember that Biden has never run a successful campaign for President, though he’s tried, and here’s still more evidence that he can’t do it. Something is missing in Biden land, always has been, apparently always will be.
SiubhanDuinne
I do not want this to happen. Also, where the fuck is my pony?
PST
It would be amusing if Biden pledged to name Abrams whether or not she endorses him or agrees to serve.
Adam L Silverman
The smartest thing she could do is to tend to her garden; specifically continuing her work to sort out Georgia’s voting issues and parlaying that into a successful run for the US Senate in 2020. If she and Beto and others would do what Gillum is doing in Florida, which is itself partially based on what Abrams is doing in Georgia, we’d be much better positioned for the 2020 elections. She doesn’t need to play second fiddle to VP Biden whose time has passed, but whose advisors won’t let him accept that reality. Largely because they want to be Secretary of X and Director of Y Federal departments and agencies. Being a senior fellow at the Biden Institute is nice. It isn’t the same as being the Secretary of Defense or State or the Attorney General.
Ruckus
@[Individual 1] mistermix:
First, This.
And now, I agree, Abrams is far better than uncle Joe. And I don’t even want him running for VP. His time is in the past.
trollhattan
If we had just Wilmer and a couple Dem congresscritters running I’d open the door wide and say, “Come on in, Joe!”
But that’s not where we are. His “chance” was in 2016 and he passed on it. Not through conditions of his own making but it is what it is. 2020 does not require the Joementum.
Brickley Paiste
I kind of wish candidates were required to choose their running mate and run as a team. You’d know what you were getting. Biden/Abrams would be more appealing than Biden/some generic governor from the midwest.
Harris/Warren would be interesting, but only if Warren actually gets a policy role.
Ohio Mom
Eh, this isn’t much of a scoop — this rumor has been circulating for a few days now. In fact, I said I wasn’t sure he was good enough for her in an earlier thread.
Maybe this idea isn’t getting enough traction and that’s why it’s being leaked again? Of course it’s a cynical move but lots of politics is.
I change my mind about whom I want to see get tne nomination almost hourly. Whatever gets us in the Oval Office I’m for.
schrodingers_cat
Stacey say no.
Aleta
They wouldn’t be so self-centered that they’d release this before asking Abrams ‘Are you interested?’ or ‘May we say something?’ … would they?
glory b
A polite declination would be fine.
“Go pound sand isn’t polite, and I’m sure she was raised better than that, as we say in my community.
NotMax
Leave the fan dancing to the professionals, Joe.
Will lose oodles of respect for Abrams if she partners in this gimmickry.
Kay
Oh, he’s just bad. Form the bankruptcy bill to foreign policy to his weird rambling speeches he’s just not good enough.
I was willing to go along with his reinvention as a “populist” when he was VP because it benefited Obama in the most nakedly political way, but he was always just a middle of the pack D Senator prior to Obama.
I don’t think Abrams will do it. She doesn’t need him.
Kay
The reinvention as a populist was based on absolutely nothing, which seems to indicate SOME political skill :)
He pulled that bullshit off. But maybe that was mostly Obama’s doing too.
Mike in NC
Joe Biden doesn’t need advisors any more. He needs to spend more time with his grandchildren.
dexwood
Abrams doesn’t need Biden, but he needs her, in my opinion. Stay home, Joe, enjoy the fat speaking fees, but your time has come and gone.
Mike Lamb
Regarding the cynicism implicit in this kind of move, how is it any more cynical than discussion that occurs after a candidate secures the nomination?
zhena gogolia
@[Individual 1] mistermix:
I agree. I wish he’d rest on his laurels as an excellent VP to Obama.
Dorothy A. Winsor
I hope Abrams is too smart to do this.
Barbara
If Biden did that he would be signalling in neon lights that he knows he is a suboptimal candidate. It would not just be cynical, it would be stupid, and I dearly hope Abrams points those things out to him.
Patricia Kayden
I’m fine with a Biden and Abrams. It’s amazing that the campaign is on so early. We have a whole one year and eight months before the November elections. Our side should focus on getting our voters to agree to support the eventual candidate. Period. Anyone is better than Trump (except Tulsi Gabbard).
Lumpy
Nobody votes based on the Vice Presidential nominee.
Also, as someone else commented recently, picking a VP so early is a sign of weakness, that he can’t make the sale on his own.
Last time Biden ran, I don’t think he even had 5% support. And this current field is much bigger and stronger. Republicans prefer him though (hedging their bets, a Biden presidency is better for them than almost any other candidate).
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Adam L Silverman:
Agreed. I couldn’t believe that the Florida state House was so nakedly introducing a bill aimed at disenfranchising so many voters over stupid things like unpaid court fines. What Gillum is doing is badly needed, but Georgia is also fucked. I too hope that Abrams doesn’t give in to her ego.
Politicians are by their very nature ambitious and who doesn’t want to someday be POTUS, the supposed most powerful individual on the face of the Earth? VP would certainly be a route to that, quicker than the US Senate. Still, she doesn’t strike me as that type.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Patricia Kayden:
Don’t forget Saint Bernard of Vermont!
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
From Matt Y at Vox, why Dems should nominate a woman for President (link)
Adam L Silverman
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
I do regular Florida Man and Florida Woman posts. Those are, to use the technical term, a clue!//
UncleEbeneezer
Can we somehow get Biden to vow to resign as soon as he’s sworn in and let Abrams’ lead?
artem1s
If Stacy has value to get out the vote as the running mate, she has enough value to be at the top of the ticket. I think she’s smarter than this and has much better value in almost any other elected position. She wants to do more and I’m confident her political career is just beginning. I keep waiting for all these white guys and advisors to get a clue. The days of having to come in thru the back door are over. She doesn’t need Joe.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Adam L Silverman:
Yeah, but Florida isn’t the reddest state out there, right? It’s pretty evenly divided. They’re taking a huge chance here, aren’t they?
VeniceRiley
@Adam L Silverman:
This all damn day. In addition, I hope Kamala called Stacey to let her know that she should not be doing this, as it would be perceived as a shiv of Kamala before the race for the top job is even run, an a “Here, little ladies, here’s your consolation prize, now get away from the starting line.” F that, white boy.
Swalwell is talking like he’s getting in for sure. I like him, but it seems he does love the TV time. Someone give him a committee chair and get him to sit down.
Betty Cracker
@Patricia Kayden: I think 99.9% of us will vote for whomever the eventual nominees are, but I don’t think our focus should be all on getting voters to agree to vote for the Democratic ticket in 2020. Maybe as activists in real life, but certainly not as participants in discussions on a pets and politics blog!
Adam L Silverman
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: As I’ve written here a few times, because the GOP was able to 1) register a lot of voters in the early 90s – they placed a premium on it, 2) got the Florida legislative Black Caucus to back the GOP in redistricting in the 90s, which led to cracking, bleaching, and packing of state and Federal districts, 3) all the money in Florida politics began to flow to the GOP from the Democrats because Florida functions as a one party state, whichever state is in power stays that way for decades, 4) the Florida Democratic Party couldn’t organize a one car funeral if you gave them the hearse, the driver, the mortician, the corpse, the cemetery, the grave diggers, the person delivering the eulogy, and the mourners, you get 5) it doesn’t actually matter that south Florida is Democratic/trends Democratic, north Florida is Republican/trends Republican, and the center of the state, the I4 corridor – not counting the Villages – is a mishmash.
Adam L Silverman
@VeniceRiley: He’s running for VP or FBI Director or Attorney General. And I say that as someone who thinks he’s good at what he does in the House.
Amir Khalid
@Adam L Silverman:
Biden.has an advantage in name recognition but he hasn’t been examined in comparison to any of the other Democrats and his actual support is untested against theirs. I don’t see him winning this primary on charm; that’s probably not what Democratic voiters are looking for. I think he needs to start offering a bit of substance, or he’s just going to be a distraction.
Keith P.
Biden should troll a little and leak George Conway on a unity ticket lol
artem1s
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
VP used to be the quick route to the top of the ticket. But it hasn’t happened in over 3 decades now. The last one only got elected for one term. I think those days are over. The internet and 24 hour media coverage means anyone can get almost instant name recognition and quite a lot of funding. VPOTUS to POTUS may have been a fluke of the 20th century. No one believes job experience is valuable in the WH and it generally just means more ammo for the opposition in campaigns. We are in full Bread and Circuses mode now. I’m not sure how we pull back from this.
WaterGirl
That is my reaction as well. First, second and third reaction.
This may help Biden but doesn’t seem like a good move for Stacey Abrams, and the whole idea makes me cringe.
Adam L Silverman
@Amir Khalid: Yep. The polling right now on the Democratic side is all about name recognition.
SenyorDave
I don’t have the hate for Biden that seems prevalent here, he just should fade into the sunset. He really was a big part of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, but then there’s Anita Hill. Just go away Joe, you served your country.
I’m looking for a Harris/Buttigieg ticket, I want to see both of them debate the their counterparts. They are both sharp as a tack, and Buttigieg versus Pence would be like the Golden State Warriors against UW-Oshkosh in basketball (no insult to UW-Oshkosh, the Division 3 champs in basketball but I do think Steph Curry and Kevin Durant might cause them a few problems). Not worth mentioning Trump becasue his base thought he destroyed HRC in the debates.
Gin & Tonic
From what I recall the Hamlet act didn’t work out so well for Hamlet.
Yutsano
@VeniceRiley: I’m all for Senator Swalwell after President-elect Kamala Harris resigns her seat. Although justice demands that go to Adam Schiff. It’s all up to Newsom at that point.
Steeplejack
Statement from Abrams’s camp (via Axios, even!):
Tractarian
Sounds like a phantom trial balloon to me.
That is – Biden’s people told reporters they are considering asking Abrams to be running mate, but they actually have no intention to do so, not least because they know she would refuse.
Schmancy
We need Abrams in the Senate 1000x more than Abrams as VP.
VeniceRiley
@Adam L Silverman: If running is how to get a cabinet position, the field is going to get mighty crowded. How about Preet and Yates for those jobs? Better qualified, IMO. I’m for staffing up the traditional way, though I do thing the congressman is talented. What would you think of Buttigieg for SecState?
Kent
Reeks of desperation.
Biden seems to want a shortcut and doesn’t seem to want to put in the 24/7 hard work it requires to secure a nomination. I think he’s tired and his age is showing. The rumors are that he’s been trying to get his fundraising folks to line up enough big donors to make a splash on day 1 like Beto when that was organic support. This is in the same category of looking for cheap stunts because you don’t have anything else to offer.
Biden should have run in 2016. Would have made Clinton a better candidate and probably would have taken some of the air of out Wilmer. Don’t think he would have won in 2016 but he stands even less chance today.
scuffletuffle
What you said.
sukabi
Ms. Abrams needs to tell Joe, thanks but NO THANKS. She’s got a good future ahead of her, no need to derail it by hitching her wagon to a played out jackass*.
*he was a good VP for Obama, needs to taje that win and go home.
MattF
I agree that nobody actually cares about the VP, and that Abrams deserves better. It’s a gimmick and a ploy. That said, if Abrams agrees to it, then I’ll think about it some more.
Now, it is fair to say that I was glad when Obama chose Biden for the VP spot. I felt, at the time, that it mattered– that Obama was dealing in a rational way with a hard and not-ignorable risk, and that Uncle Joe was someone who could deal with the worst case. But the current maneuvering feels more like political triangulation.
But in any case, either of them is so much better than Trump that it’s not clear exactly what the argument’s about here.
WaterGirl
@artem1s:
This bears repeating. Am I crazy to think that this is kind of an insult to Stacey Abrams? In a well-intended sort of way?
WaterGirl
@Yutsano: Adam Schiff has a hell of a lot of power right where he is. I would be surprised if he ran for senate at this point, but what do I know?
Roger Moore
@artem1s:
Being VP is a good way of getting to the top of the ticket, but it hasn’t been so great for winning the general election. As far as I can tell, every sitting VP since WWII who has seriously run for the nomination has won it. The problem is that parties have had a hard time holding the presidency for more than 2 terms, so the VPs who have won the nomination (Nixon, Humphrey, Bush, Gore) haven’t won the general election.
smintheus
It would be cynical. Very hard to make a case that Abrams would be highly qualified to be president if Biden suddenly dropped dead. It would also an admission of weakness by Biden, that he can only win the nomination by pulling the kind of thing Reagan tried in 1976. That didn’t make Reagan look any more credible, and I think it would raise questions about Biden’s seriousness. Comparison’s to McCain’s Palin-gimmick would probably be made…perhaps unfairly to Abrams, but still unhelpful to either of them.
eemom
Axios is two self-fellating ex-Politicos who fancy themselves innovators on traditional Beltway “journalism”. It features insufferable schticks like the “Scoop” thing; others include “Five Reasons You Need To Care About This Right Now”.
???
NotMax
@artem1s
Although many veeps have run, the success rate for vice-presidents becoming president other than by succession is abysmal.
Since passage of the 12th Amendment in 1804 (establishing the system still in use as to election of veeps):
Number of sitting vice-presidents elected as president: 2 (van Buren and Bush)
Number of former vice-presidents elected president: 1 (Nixon)
eemom
Oh Joe. My heart weeps.
eemom
@NotMax:
LBJ?
A Ghost To Most
“I’m as progressive as anyone running”.
Uh, no, Joe, you are not. Step off.
NotMax
@eemom
Perhaps you didn’t see the words “other than by succession.” LBJ was not vice-president when he ran in ’64. Same holds for Truman in ’48, T. Roosevelt in 1904, etc.
trollhattan
@Yutsano:
Senator Ted Lieu has a nice ring, especially considering it’s the highest elected federal office he can attain.
It’s pleasing to see a younger guard emerging as leaders in California.
FelonyGovt
I’m torn. I think it’s a cynical, condescending play on Biden’s part and I hope Abrams says no (sounds like she already has). But it would be a popular ticket, I would love to see Stacy Abrams in the mix for future President, and we really need to get rid of Trump.
And what about Ted Lieu for Senator after Kamala becomes President?
ETA: or what trollhattan just said.
geg6
Yep. That’s what I would do. Very condescending of Unca Joe, I think.
SenyorDave
Ot, but can someone please send laura Ingraham her set of white sheets. She really has earned it. Imagine a woman pronouncing her own name correctly.
hells littlest angel
She’s so clean and articulate!
Quaker in a Basement
What do I think? I think if Biden/Abrams is the ticket, they’ll stomp Trump’s ads into a mud hole.
zzyzx
I don’t get the Abrams is too good for this mentality [1]. She’s a currently unemployed politician who has served for 10 years in the Georgia General Assembly. That’s not exactly a resume overqualified for the second highest spot in the executive branch. I think this would be more likely to backfire on Biden for many reasons, but the anger I’m seeing over this feels like us giving into our typical self destructive tendencies.
[1] Not so much here that’s been more about if this is a stunt or not, but on Twitter I’m seeing people saying that she should turn down a VP spot if Biden wins because “she’s nobody’s sidekick!”
NotMax
@NotMax
Will admit it would have been more precise to have said other than by way of prior succession, although thought that was implied.
Jeffro
At this point, it looks like Team Biden will do almost anything to minimize the fact that he’s a very old white male. So rather than run as a true progressive with visionary ideas, they’re opting for
1) Immediately running him with an AA female, and
2) Having him pledge to serve only one term
Both of these things ONLY SERVE TO HIGHLIGHT THAT HE’S A VERY OLD WHITE MALE.
What did W call it? ‘Strategery’? Biden no haz it. All he hopes is that some of that Obama Glow has rubbed off on him, when in fact most of us are looking for the next/real thing.
Fresh faces, Dems!
piratedan
@SenyorDave: I’m not sure that its so much Biden “hate” as it is that people are doing a better job of keeping receipts and taking better notes of what is said and what you’ve actually done as a pol (or even as a person). Biden was great at the photo op and at smacking down obvious GOP asshattery, but in this day and age, to still be coming forth in kumbaya politics when the other side has been operating in scorched earth mode for the past three decades has set Dems teeth on edge.
We had Obama, who was generous, attempted to deal even-handedly and was shat on for his trouble by both the GOP and the Press. I think people are done extending the benefit of the doubt (at least amongst us here in the cult of the nearly savvy) to politicians who are attempting to moderate their views and rhetoric in this fashion. I for one have to admit that with the antics of the GOP and the press over the past two decades often leaves me seething inside and I find the change disturbing as politics is supposed to be about governing and not devolving into political bloodsport.
eemom
@NotMax:
Quite right. My mistake, sorry.
Fair Economist
@smintheus:
It looks far worse than Reagan’s unsuccessful 1976 stunt. That was a last-ditch attempt to win an undecided convention leaning to his opponent, and it wasn’t far off previous practice for people to win nomination by promising some influencer the Veep spot. This just says “stunt”.
karen marie
@Kay: As VP, Biden’s job was primarily to wander around being personable, so it was easy for people to feel good about him. But, yeah, he is at the bottom of the list of people I’d consider voting for in the primary. Abrams should shut Biden’s people down, make them apologize for dragging her name into their fail parade. If she has to make a statement denying she’s agreed to this, it will hurt her because it will turn into a lot of speculation and bullshit. I agree with those suggesting she go after a senate seat. She is a bright star, she’s young, we need senators, and getting some national exposure in the senate can help move her to a position where a presidential bid is realistic. Too many failed presidential campaigns make success less likely. Biden is a good example of that.
Roger Moore
@Yutsano:
If Kamala wins the election, I’d like to see Newsom appoint John Chiang to the senate. He did a fantastic job as state Controller and Treasurer, and I think he would be a good choice for Senate.
WaterGirl
@zzyzx: Stacey Abrams is an amazing person, and if she’s interested in and thinks she’s ready for president or vice president, it makes no sense for her to handicap herself right out of the gate by running second to the old white guy.
I have always loved Joe Biden, but he is old and getting weary and it’s not the right time for him. I imagine he has a lot of regrets about the results in 2016 and his not having run, but like Hillary, it’s time to come to terms that being president is not happening.
Joe was a great VP to Obama and I very much hope he will let that — and his decades of service in the senate — and being party statesman who can campaign for the younger candidates — let that be his legacy.
karen marie
@artem1s: I don’t know that everyone agrees experience isn’t important, but given the current occupant not having government experience is not the instant disqualification it was in the past. Personally, I prefer a candidate who understands the structure of the government and how the parts work and interact, and how legislation is passed.
Brickley Paiste
In other news: imagine if a school district tried to tell graduating seniors that they could not wear a crucifix during graduation: https://newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday/opinion/native-students-should-not-have-to-worry-whether-they-will-be-allowed-to-wear-eagle-feathers-and-plumes-during-school-sanctioned-events–71vocULcE2xtwnsWEKKxQ/
2019. It’s fucking 2019.
laura
@Roger Moore: I wholeheartedly agree. John Chaing is a work horse and would have made an excellent Governor.
Why Biden’s advisors are trial ballooning Stacy Abrams as a dangle is a mystery, and its offensive as hell in my opinion.
Roger Moore
@NotMax:
Of course the success rate for everyone else running for president has been abysmal, too. There have always been far more people interested in the office than chances to hold it, so the success rate among all candidates has been tiny. Compare the success rate of former vice presidents to that of senators, governors, mayors, etc. and then decide if it was a reasonable stepping stone to the presidency.
Juju
@SiubhanDuinne: I think your pony is with my unicorn and winning powerball ticket.
Leto
Finishing up with the CPA. We owe money. Not much but still. Already ready for today to be done.
Mandalay
@Tractarian:
You nailed it right there.
And any candidate who feels the need to pull a pathetic stunt like that so early in the campaign has far bigger problems.
cokane
smells like serious bullshit to me. it’d be highly unorthodox, and, I think unprecedented, for someone to name a VP in the Democratic primary
JGabriel
Betty Cracker @ Top:
Politico for the USAToday crowd.
Adam L Silverman
@VeniceRiley: Honestly I think Buttigieg is one of the more impressive candidates. I’d put him up there with Senators Harris and Warren.
Mandalay
@WaterGirl:
It makes sense if Biden committed to only serve one term as president. Abrams would be sitting pretty to run for president in 2024.
The biggest snag with that plan is that I’m not remotely convinced that Biden could beat Trump. Trump would constantly goad Biden during the campaign, and they’d end up rolling around in the pig shit. There’s only going to be one winner in that contest, and it won’t be Biden.
Bobby Thomson
I think it’s ridiculously patronizing of his people to suggest Abrams is just a prop with no agency of her own.
That would be like me leaking that I’m considering what the public reaction would be if I announced my engagement to Marisa Tomei. Seriously, WTF?
WaterGirl
@Mandalay: Well, the biggest snag is that someone can SAY they will only serve one term, but there’s no guarantee. The next biggest snag is that she would not be doing herself any favors by potentially being the first VP ever to have to use the 25th if god forbid something happened with Joe Biden.
But even without those, I think it’s a bad move for her. I’m expecting them to call me for my advice any minute now.
PaulWartenberg
Betty Cracker points out exactly the problem with Biden and his ilk: a level of tone-deafness that causes headaches more than hope.
“They” (the campaigning “experts”) keep thinking it’s a problem of optics when it’s actually a problem of passion. Biden is trying to game the responses when the better move is to stir up the emotions on key issues presented in the right way.
This was why Obama did better than Edwards in 2008 – he was an equally charismatic figure but talked on the issues like it mattered whereas Edwards kind of went through the motions (and turned out to be a SOB later) on the same talking points.
Put another way: Biden is playing it how the BELTWAY would like it (ooooh, the pretty NARRATIVE) but not how the voters (We need better Healthcare and Schools and Make the Rich Pay For It and FORTHELOVEOFGODIMPEACHTRUMP) would like it.
WaterGirl
Is Andrew Yang supposed to be a serious candidate? I have heard only two things about him and both of them sounded kind of kooky. Wondering if it makes any sense to actually try to learn about him.
WaterGirl
Trump may be an evil incompetent idiot, at best, but he has plenty of people working for him who are pushing all sorts of agendas. I just received this from the University of Illinois:
rikyrah
@Adam L Silverman:
I would love Schiff as Attorney General.
Bobby Thomson
@WaterGirl: didn’t he used to comment here?
WaterGirl
@Bobby Thomson: Not sure if you were serious, but the google says “no”.
Shalimar
I love Abrams. I hope she runs for senate because i don’t like her odds for the presidential nomination in such a crowded field, but she would be my first choice for the big job too. Tying herself to Biden helps him a lot more than her imo because I don’t see him surviving past California. She can do better.
Bobby Thomson
@WaterGirl: not under his own name. There was a troll obsessed with male circumcision.
Llelldorin
I have all these polls that get bandied about at this point. As others have said, the primary polls are just name-recognition measures, and the general election polls are worse—there’s a lot of gamesmanship and nonsense.
I think a lot of Biden’s and Sanders’s apparent general election support in polls has a similar source to the Republicans’ support of Judge Garland. Republicans have convinced themselves that the Democrats are the real racists, and so would never nominate a straight white man (they’re a bit blind to the very large number of straight white men in the party), so they love pretend that the Democrats just won’t nominate the one guy they’d support. The moment one of these guys actually got nominated, all that “support” would melt away the same way it did for Garland.
WaterGirl
@Bobby Thomson: Maybe it was him, then! That seems like a very odd thing to be talking about in any presidential campaign, let alone this one. That’s two crazy things Yang has done in two days, and that’s all I know about him except that he was a tech guy and that he has somehow qualified for the debates by getting enough unique donors in enough states.
If someone wants to tell me they think he’s a good candidate, I will check him out, otherwise, he’s not on my list of people even worth learning about.
Tenar Arha
Just in case the thread isn’t entirely dead, here’s a Jamilah King article in Mother Jones.
One Big Thing Those Rumors About a Joe Biden-Stacey Abrams Ticket Miss: Anita Hill
The Democratic star hasn’t forgotten the Clarence Thomas spectacle.
WaterGirl
@Tenar Arha: Thanks. Interesting take at the link.
LongHairedWeirdo
I didn’t know that. Did you know that about 78.29% of all statistics are just made up on the spot?
(Clarifying: the joke is that I would never know the percentage of statistics that are made up, to 4 significant figures, if I wasn’t just making it up – it has nothing to do with a (probably made up, for purely humorous&illustrative purposes) statistic quoted above.)
Ben Cisco
@LongHairedWeirdo: Never explain the joke ?
jk
@Tenar Arha:
Biden sucks for many reasons. With or without Stacey Abrams as a running mate it would be a travesty to nominate uncle Joe. He’s an insufferable buffoon and we can do much better than him.
MLC
We do not need more presidential (or vice-presidential) candidates. We need more senators. Someone please tell this to Abrams and, for that matter, to O’Rourke and Buttigieg and many of the other candidates who are not going to win the presidential nomination. We need them to put their viability into a Senate race. Without more senators, a Democratic president will not seat any judges and won’t get anything passed.
E
So let me see if I’ve got this straight? If Biden were to win the nomination and then select another white male you wouldn’t approve of that. But if he selects a black woman right now you wouldn’t approve of that either because you don’t like the specific time when he’s doing it. Moreover the very fact that he’s even chosen to run is something that you would prefer that he doesn’t do. Here’s some food for thought. Joe Biden has given a lifetime of public service, was a pretty damn good Senator, was an amazing VP for one of the best Democratic presidents we’ve ever had and he’s pretty much earned the right to do whatever the f*** he wants. We’ll have an election, and then people will choose who they want. That’s the way the process goes. All this constant whining and bitching about not doing exactly what you want them to do is just really a turn off at this point. My preferred candidate has been right along Elizabeth Warren. To this day,especially after watching her town hall on CNN the other night I really hope she gets it. But if Biden wants to run, if Biden wants to select Stacey Abrams as his running mate, if Beto O’Rourke wants to run, if anybody frigging wants to run, that’s their right to do so.