So Biden picked Kamala Harris. Not really a surprise in hindsight. Sure, she insulted him, but he always plays it safe and she's him in black-drag-face. How much safer can it get than to pick a clone of yourself? But was this good or bad? Let's explore.
Let me start with this: In my lifetime, no Vice Presidential candidate has ever mattered. It's true. As bad as Palin turned out to be, as steady as Bush Sr. and Biden were supposed to be, as religious as Pence was next to heathen Trump, as whatever the others were... none has ever changed anything. The Presidential candidate is all that matters. Vice Presidents don't even guarantee their own states. This is why Vice Presidents rarely become Presidents because they are also rans who don't matter or influence anyone and are given a pointless job. They are, at best, a joke.
Harris fits that mold perfectly. Does she inspire people? Hardly. She flamed out as a candidate. Does she really give a spark to Biden? From where would this spark come from. She got her job by dating Willie Brown and she's a terrible candidate. She's never managed to climb on her own. She's never started a movement or done something to excite people. Her speeches are forgettable. Nobody's writing books about her.
Maybe she brings a constituency Biden doesn't have, right? Hardly. She wanted to be the women's candidate and women didn't care. She wanted to be the black candidate and blacks didn't care. She wanted to be the healthcare candidate and that didn't interest anyone either. She's basically a moderate empty suit. She has no credibility with the progressives who power the party. To them, she's a moderate just like Biden. She doesn't inspire blacks despite being kind of black because she's not fire and brimstone, she's not all about grievance, she doesn't have an inspirational story, she's not ghetto, she's a former prosecutor who is now afraid to mention her past. She's a political animal, not an activist. She's corporate.
What about women? What about them? Women aren't women. Women are (1) black women, (2) single white women, and (3) married white women. Group 1 will vote for a sista (they are increasingly racist and won't vote white). Group 2 are progressives who will struggle to like her because she's a non-inspirational, moderate cop who never screamed rape and lives the high-life. Group 3 mostly votes Republican. So the only group she really "inspires" is black woman and she's shown she doesn't inspire them. She invokes their racism, that's about it. That will help Biden, but not like an Obama.
What about other groups? White men have been the Democrats problem for several elections. Does Harris help or hurt with them? I think she hurts with them. They feel abandoned by the Democrats and here is Joe Biden picking a rich, black woman of privilege from wine country. How does that play in the steel mills? How does that play with an unemployed white guy who feels like the Democrats have become a racist party opposed to him? Not good.
All told, I see her as a neutral. I don't see her inspiring anyone. She doesn't hurt Biden with the moderates, but she may hurt him with the progressives. She doesn't create passion among blacks or women or the young. She confirms the prejudices of low-class white males. That's not good math.
Thoughts?
Let me start with this: In my lifetime, no Vice Presidential candidate has ever mattered. It's true. As bad as Palin turned out to be, as steady as Bush Sr. and Biden were supposed to be, as religious as Pence was next to heathen Trump, as whatever the others were... none has ever changed anything. The Presidential candidate is all that matters. Vice Presidents don't even guarantee their own states. This is why Vice Presidents rarely become Presidents because they are also rans who don't matter or influence anyone and are given a pointless job. They are, at best, a joke.
Harris fits that mold perfectly. Does she inspire people? Hardly. She flamed out as a candidate. Does she really give a spark to Biden? From where would this spark come from. She got her job by dating Willie Brown and she's a terrible candidate. She's never managed to climb on her own. She's never started a movement or done something to excite people. Her speeches are forgettable. Nobody's writing books about her.
Maybe she brings a constituency Biden doesn't have, right? Hardly. She wanted to be the women's candidate and women didn't care. She wanted to be the black candidate and blacks didn't care. She wanted to be the healthcare candidate and that didn't interest anyone either. She's basically a moderate empty suit. She has no credibility with the progressives who power the party. To them, she's a moderate just like Biden. She doesn't inspire blacks despite being kind of black because she's not fire and brimstone, she's not all about grievance, she doesn't have an inspirational story, she's not ghetto, she's a former prosecutor who is now afraid to mention her past. She's a political animal, not an activist. She's corporate.
What about women? What about them? Women aren't women. Women are (1) black women, (2) single white women, and (3) married white women. Group 1 will vote for a sista (they are increasingly racist and won't vote white). Group 2 are progressives who will struggle to like her because she's a non-inspirational, moderate cop who never screamed rape and lives the high-life. Group 3 mostly votes Republican. So the only group she really "inspires" is black woman and she's shown she doesn't inspire them. She invokes their racism, that's about it. That will help Biden, but not like an Obama.
What about other groups? White men have been the Democrats problem for several elections. Does Harris help or hurt with them? I think she hurts with them. They feel abandoned by the Democrats and here is Joe Biden picking a rich, black woman of privilege from wine country. How does that play in the steel mills? How does that play with an unemployed white guy who feels like the Democrats have become a racist party opposed to him? Not good.
All told, I see her as a neutral. I don't see her inspiring anyone. She doesn't hurt Biden with the moderates, but she may hurt him with the progressives. She doesn't create passion among blacks or women or the young. She confirms the prejudices of low-class white males. That's not good math.
Thoughts?
11 comments:
I think Harris hurts Biden a teeny bit more than she helps. I agree with everything above and add that her overall blandness demoralizes the Democrat base by just that much.
As expected the left is losing their minds. "A middle finger to BLM".
Equally interest, Harris is twice as popular with Republicans as Biden is. That's funny.
tryanmax, I agree. I think she demoralizes the left because they already hated Biden. I don't think she's a neutral for the rest of their base. On out side, I think she angers the lower-class white male faction and does nothing either way for the rest. The never-Trumps will of course love her suddenly.
Ladies and gentlemen, Read the following and savor the idiocy... the hatred... the lunacy. The left has lost their minds and I'm loving it.
Oh, and please note that all the people exasperated by Biden betraying black lives matter and screaming racism are white. Imagine that.
Parade of Fools
Andrew, you called it. The Lincoln Project, Rick Wilson's new haunt, has "fully endorses" Kamala Harris.
Just for fun, I thought I'd put together some new campaign materials since we now know who is running for president in 2021. LINK
I really don’t know whether Harris helps or hurts. It still comes down to battleground or swing states, and they were very close. I think Democrats that vote or mainly motivated by an almost unhealthy hatred of Trump the man. The primaries seem to indicate most of them felt a “moderate” would have a better chance than a Bernie off Pocahontas, and I agree. I do not see Harris as a moderate though. I believe her voting record was considered 4th most liberal in the senate.
Trump one, in part, because after 8 years without the White House, Republicans wanted it a little more, and Hillary Clinton was so singularly unlikable it really further energized Republicans. This time, Democrats have had four years to stew and build up their hate. At one point, before Covid 19, this looked like a slam dunk. That changed when media was able to stoke real fear. However, what happened in the wake of George Floyd turned it back. The Republican message needs to be Medicare for all is way too expensive as it the green new deal. Democrats are the defund the police party, kiss China’s ass party, and lock down the country party.
The real issue with Harris, I think, is most people believe Biden will not serve out his turn so Harris would likely become president. Historically, that would be a non-winner. Would that drive the black vote to come out or more people to vote against Biden for just that reason?
People understand "Weekend with Biden" campaign
Means they are really voting for the VP as Pres
And even the Dems don't like her, she dropped out before losing CA
Big Loser Pick
Unknown, I think that's true. There are a lot of people saying that Biden won't make it very long and you are basically voting for her, but she's not popular. At the very least, she's not more exciting that Biden.
tryanmax, I like the stuff you put together.
Jed, There are only a handful of states that matter. There are a significant number of blacks in a couple of those (Penn, Michigan and Ohio), but they also have a large number of lower-class white males.
I personally think that Gabardi and others declined to be on the ticket with Biden for fear it would hurt their political futures...Gabardi would have helped him..Harris isn't going to help at all....
Wasn't it Ronald Reagan who said the reason he declined an offer to run for VP was because of a story about two brothers, one ran for VP and the other went off to sea,,,,nothing was ever heard from either one again...
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