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You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2020 / Open Thread: Now I Like Kamala Harris Better Than Ever…

Open Thread: Now I Like Kamala Harris Better Than Ever…

by Anne Laurie|  May 28, 20196:18 pm| 115 Comments

This post is in: Election 2020, I'm With Her 2016, Kamala Harris 2020, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat

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Kamala Harris is about that life.pic.twitter.com/qdChXkGXdp

— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) May 23, 2019

Yeah, right now my dream ticket is pretty much Warren / Harris or Harris / Warren.

The Atlantic has a long profile in its May issue: “Kamala Harris Takes Her Shot: No other matchup would be as riveting—or as revealing—as Harris versus Trump. But first she has to get through the primaries.”:

… It’s all happening before you can even see her, so thick and aggressive is the press: the 20-plus reporters with TV cameras, boom mics, lenses larger than some dogs. Kamala shakes Scott’s hand; touches his arm; smiles her big, open, I-am-so-happy-to-be-with-you-right-now smile. She’s shorter, even in heels, than one expects. But she’s magnetic, authoritative, warm—leaning in, nodding, gesturing with both hands, moving those hands from a voter’s biceps or shoulder to a position of deep appreciation over her heart.

Kamala wends through the scrum of press, makes her way to the counter, and finds the woman in the red shirt, who happens to be Scott’s wife. Kamala greets her with a two-handed clasp (a simple shake would come across as too formal and masculine). Then, right there, a decision needs to be made on the fly: What is Kamala going to order?

Kamala Harris—the Democratic presidential hopeful and 54-year-old junior senator from California—is a prosecutor by training. She knows well that any misstep, anything you say or do, can and will be held against you. Her fundamental, almost constitutional, understanding of this has made her cautious, at times enragingly so.

Harris’s demographic identity has always been radical. She was San Francisco’s first female district attorney, first black district attorney, first Asian American district attorney. She was then California’s first female attorney general, first black attorney general, first Asian American attorney general. She was the second black woman, ever, to win a seat in the United States Senate. But in office, she’s avoided saying or doing much that could be held against her. As attorney general, she declined to support two ballot measures to end the death penalty. She declined to support making drug possession a misdemeanor. She declined to support legalizing pot. She declined to support a ballot measure reforming California’s brutal three-strikes law. The point is: She had power. She kept most of it in reserve. More important than fixing the broken criminal-justice system, it seemed, was protecting her status as a rising star. She had earned that reputation by the time the first major profile of her was written: San Francisco Magazine, 2007. The article also described her as “maddeningly elusive.”…

Sure, the people who know her best — not to mention everyone described in the article — find her warm and approachable. But some people say, you should know, that she’s “guarded” and “refuses to open up” to the media. Also, she has always been “ambitious” and seems to have been interested in attaining higher office since forever, tsk tsk. Sooo unlike the many white male candidates available, to be sure!

The last candidate I remember attracting this particular flavor of ‘what are they hiding?‘ criticism from the Media Village Idiots was some guy named Barack Obama. So, possibly that’s a good marker for Harris, frankly.

My latest: @KamalaHarris was set to visit Iowa, but she canceled the trip for a disaster relief aid vote that should help Iowans impacted by flooding. Harris spoke to me about the decision, and her policy plan aimed at closing the gender pay gap: https://t.co/gl2PP8iTsk #iacaucus

— Barbara Rodriguez (@bcrodriguez) May 23, 2019

My message to corporations: Time to prove you're paying women equally. pic.twitter.com/GQ4dsLEOZV

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) May 24, 2019

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Reader Interactions

115Comments

  1. 1.

    SiubhanDuinne

    May 28, 2019 at 6:35 pm

    I’m with you. The more I see of her, the more I like her (and I liked her a lot, right out of the box). Am panting for a Harris-Warren or Warren-Harris combo — although we have such a wealth of talent that I kinda feel bad about the guys, white and otherwise, who don’t make this cut.

    Hugely looking forward to the debates later this month. Apart from Biden and Wilmer, have never seen any of them in a formal political debate setting. We should learn a lot about the field.

  2. 2.

    hells littlest angel

    May 28, 2019 at 6:45 pm

    Has KellyAnne Conway accused Harris of making death threats yet?

    ETA: I am hoping for a Harris/Warren ticket, but will settle for Warren/Harris.

  3. 3.

    SenyorDave

    May 28, 2019 at 6:49 pm

    MY favorite is Warren, but I just don’t think she will get there. She is the most financially literate candidate for POTUS I have ever seen, I just don’t think people care enough about policy and that is definitely Warren’s strong suit. What I have seen from Harris I like a lot, and I think Trump will be very intimidated by her in a head-to-head debate. Really anxious to see how the debates go. IMO it will be a shame if it is Biden, but as the saying goes I would crawl across hot coals to vote for anyone (even Wilmer) against the shitgibbon.

  4. 4.

    Chief Oshkosh

    May 28, 2019 at 6:49 pm

    Sure, the people who know her best — not to mention everyone described in the article — find her warm and approachable. But some people say, you should know, that she’s “guarded” and “refuses to open up” to the media. Also, she has always been “ambitious” and seems to have been interested in attaining higher office since forever, tsk tsk. Sooo unlike the many white male candidates available, to be sure!

    That’s different than my take on the Atlantic article. Seems to me that they’re pointing out that there are issues (e.g., justice system reform) that appear to be important to Democrats that, when Harris was in a position to even discuss (much less actually use her position to do something about), she demurred. Seems to me like they are pointing out that deciding not to hold a position is as much a decision as espousing a position and acting upon that conviction. The flip side of this might be the treatment that Biden is getting (and rightly so) for positions he held, and acted on, as a Senator (e.g., 1994 crime bill).

  5. 5.

    Major Major Major Major

    May 28, 2019 at 6:51 pm

    As attorney general, she declined to support two ballot measures to end the death penalty. She declined to support making drug possession a misdemeanor. She declined to support legalizing pot. She declined to support a ballot measure reforming California’s brutal three-strikes law. The point is: She had power. She kept most of it in reserve.

    Or, just throwing this out there, maybe she didn’t support them because she didn’t support the policies.

  6. 6.

    feebog

    May 28, 2019 at 6:52 pm

    She is my Jr. Senator, so I may have a touch of bias here, but I sincerely think she has the best shot at taking Trump out. She is a direct, no nonsense politician who can duke it out with anyone. Not making a final commitment until after at least the first two debates, but I’m definitely a leaner at this point.

  7. 7.

    SiubhanDuinne

    May 28, 2019 at 6:52 pm

    @hells littlest angel:

    Has KellyAnne Conway accused Harris of making death threats yet?

    That would be very pro-woman of her.

  8. 8.

    Fair Economist

    May 28, 2019 at 6:55 pm

    If Harris wins the nomination, I don’t care much who is her VP as they are unlikely to advance to the Presidency directly. In Warren’s case I’d rather she stayed in the Senate because that’s just as good a platform for her.

    If Warren, or, dog forbid, Biden or Sanders, wins the nomination, I *do* care who is VP and Harris would top my list for all three.

  9. 9.

    Yutsano

    May 28, 2019 at 6:55 pm

    @SenyorDave: I still really like the idea of Warren staying in the Senate. Especially since her replacement does have the possibility of not being a Democrat. It’s not because Baker appoints the new Senator, but rather it’s a special election. And those haven’t gone well the past couple of times up that way.

    Plus imagine Warren in a Democratically controlled Senate. It would be policy heaven.

  10. 10.

    Major Major Major Major

    May 28, 2019 at 6:55 pm

    @SenyorDave:

    Warren is essentially tied with Bernie for second in the newest Q poll. Big movement her direction over the last two months, +9, to Bernie’s -3. https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2622

    ETA +4 for Harris.

  11. 11.

    Steve in the ATL

    May 28, 2019 at 6:56 pm

    @SenyorDave:

    I just don’t think people care enough about policy

    I’ll bet Hillary thinks the same thing

  12. 12.

    Frankensteinbeck

    May 28, 2019 at 6:56 pm

    I believe the race is between Warren and Harris. The old white guys showing in the polls right now have the support of lobbyists and people who think they know what’s going on, but don’t. The vast, vast majority of primary voting Democrats are waiting for the debates, waiting to see the candidates in person. All they’re getting right now is pundit chatter they stopped trusting years ago. Biden and Sanders will melt like snow in the heat lamp gaze of the women, minorities, and especially women of color who are the actual base. Warren and Harris have the message our voters want.

  13. 13.

    TaMara (HFG)

    May 28, 2019 at 6:58 pm

    I’m with you…or should I say, I’m with them! We can do this (and fuck whatever crap the MSM throws at us).

  14. 14.

    MomSense

    May 28, 2019 at 6:59 pm

    @Chief Oshkosh:

    The Back on Track program that she started to reduce recidivism became a model for the country. She hasn’t demurred on criminal justice reform.

  15. 15.

    zhena gogolia

    May 28, 2019 at 7:00 pm

    I got a “Joyful Warrior” sticker from Harris today. I’m contemplating putting it on my car, but I’m already embarrassing my husband with my panoply of stickers going back to Kerry-Edwards. He said, “Let’s wait and see who the nominee is, okay?” I guess there’s some wisdom in that. I don’t have much room left on the old thing.

  16. 16.

    TenguPhule

    May 28, 2019 at 7:00 pm

    I don’t understand why Wapo gives shit for space Comey yet another editorial puff piece space while not giving Harris or Warren some room to keep Democracy from dying in darkness.

  17. 17.

    TaMara (HFG)

    May 28, 2019 at 7:01 pm

    @feebog: Every time I hear her talk about an issue, I think, there’s our next president.

    But again, team broken glass here – will crawl over it to vote for whatever DEM is on the ticket.

  18. 18.

    Major Major Major Major

    May 28, 2019 at 7:02 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    The old white guys showing in the polls right now have the support of lobbyists and people who think they know what’s going on, but haven’t.[…] Biden and Sanders will melt like snow in the heat lamp gaze of the women, minorities, and especially women of color who are the actual base.

    I recommend looking at the latest Q polls, which show that Biden’s base is voters over 50 and nonwhite voters, and no significant gender divide on any candidate. https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2622

    Definitely agree with you that most voters haven’t made a decision, which as I recall is broadly reflected in a number of polls.

    I keep linking to the Q poll because a lot of the emerging conventional wisdom is at odds with the data.

  19. 19.

    joel hanes

    May 28, 2019 at 7:02 pm

    Harris/Warren

    or Warren/Harris

    Either one wastes a huge Democratic talent on the nearly-content-free office of Vice President, and takes two such talents from the Senate should we win.

    Biden is perfectly suited to be Vice President, and is the front runner in polling so far.
    So I’d prefer

    Harris/Biden
    or
    Warren/Biden

  20. 20.

    TenguPhule

    May 28, 2019 at 7:03 pm

    But some people say, you should know, that she’s “guarded” and “refuses to open up” to the media.

    Some people say much of the media deserves to be beaten like a drum.

  21. 21.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 28, 2019 at 7:04 pm

    @joel hanes: Why would Biden take the VP job?

  22. 22.

    Yutsano

    May 28, 2019 at 7:06 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck: Minorities aren’t going to let go of Biden until Kamala starts winning a couple of states. Watch her in the South. She’s been laying groundwork silently all over the country.

  23. 23.

    JPL

    May 28, 2019 at 7:09 pm

    I was a big Harris supporter early on, but have come to realize that I’m voting for the democratic candidate. As long as my primary vote doesn’t help Wilmer to win indirectly, Harris is my first choice.

  24. 24.

    SiubhanDuinne

    May 28, 2019 at 7:12 pm

    @Yutsano:

    I still really like the idea of Warren staying in the Senate. Especially since her replacement does have the possibility of not being a Democrat.

    I have two sets of dear friends in Massachusetts — one couple in Watertown (greater Boston), the other couple in Great Barrington in western Mass. They all are both depressed and terrified at the thought of Warren’s winning the Dem nomination for President. They love her, want her to remain as their Senator, build up her seniority, and maybe eventually become Senate Majority Leader. They are actually kind of mad at me for saying that I am considering voting for Warren in the primaries.

    I really get that. The primary is nearly a full human gestation period away. There is still plenty of time to evaluate whatever field of candidates is still viable by then, and vote accordingly.

  25. 25.

    Dan B

    May 28, 2019 at 7:14 pm

    I wonder about Harris not taking on Tgree Strikes. It seems like the public would readily get on board. Is it because she wanted the legislature to do it not the AG?

    She feels like a very steadying influence which we will need after the Trumpists. She also would fight like crazy if Trump subverts the election.

  26. 26.

    susanna

    May 28, 2019 at 7:15 pm

    Not sure whether this has been previously mentioned, but the Atlantic was bought in 2017 by Emerson Collective, a progressive educational enterprise (for the underprivileged) in the area where I reside (CA) and was founded and still owned by Laurene Powell Jobs.

    This also makes Harris my Senator. Others have mentioned her accomplishments, demeanor and personality that enable her to go one-on-one with most if not all other politicians. What makes me a bit uncomfortable is the lack of knowledge about her in a personal way, about her viewpoints and experientially to this point in her life.

    My present leaning is Warren/Harris. Even living here, I know more of the overall range given by Warren than Harris.

  27. 27.

    trollhattan

    May 28, 2019 at 7:18 pm

    Guess I’m Warren first and Harris second but should either come out on top I’m a happy guy. And if it’s Harris and that opens a path to Senator Schiff, then win-win. I did not know before today that Schiff made his bones successfully prosecuting the first FBI agent convicted of espionage. When Adam Schiff tells us Russians are a problem for the U.S. in 2019, believe him.

  28. 28.

    SiubhanDuinne

    May 28, 2019 at 7:23 pm

    @joel hanes:

    So I’d prefer

    Harris/Biden
    or
    Warren/Biden

    And I would prefer, if I had my druthers, an all-female ticket. One of the same people who recently castigated me for supporting Warren* also balked at the idea of having two women as POTUS and VPOTUS candidates. He’s very progressive for the most part, but when I made the perfectly obvious point that nearly every ticket in U.S. history had been two men, he got very huffy and confused.

    *One of the couples I referred to in my #24.

  29. 29.

    gene108

    May 28, 2019 at 7:24 pm

    attorney general, she declined to support two ballot measures to end the death penalty. She declined to support making drug possession a misdemeanor. She declined to support legalizing pot. She declined to support a ballot measure reforming California’s brutal three-strikes law. The point is: She had power. She kept most of it in reserve.

    Heard this and her aggressive prosecutorial decisions, from my cousin’s wife, as a turn off. My cousin and his wife have been living in the Bay Area for a little under 20 years.

    She was very adamant that she built her success on putting minorities in prison.

    I hadn’t heard that take outside of Twitter, so I had dismissed it.

    Any CA residents have their take on her time as DA, and AG.

  30. 30.

    trollhattan

    May 28, 2019 at 7:24 pm

    @zhena gogolia:
    I can’t adequately describe the cognitive dissonance I got back in ’16, tooling around the CA Sierra Foothills and seeing little ol’ ladies in tennis shoes driving their Toyota RAV4s sporting “Ben Carson for President” bumper stickers. How the hell he ever got traction out here, and with that demographic, shall remain forever a puzzle. Did somebody hand them out at Amway things?

    My only message is maybe it’s too early to slap on stickers, because it could end up being a half-inch layer by the convention.

  31. 31.

    Baud

    May 28, 2019 at 7:24 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    She opposes the death penalty. That much I know.

  32. 32.

    Mary G

    May 28, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    As a Californian who’s watched her since her DA days, she avoided fights she couldn’t win. Like Obama was, she is very cautious not to get very far in front of the majority of voters, but “evolves” when they do.

    There is a ton of Russian/Bernie Bro hatred against her online, plus the usual racism and sexism. She’s extremely charismatic in person, though, and is speaking to standing-room-only crowds wherever she goes, most of whom come away loving her. Her Twitter game is bad, very dry, cautious, lawyerly stuff, but her husband Douglas Emhoff is great. Super supportive and quirky and charming. Her sister Maya humanizes her too..

    The best thing I’ve seen her do is refuse to ask for the death penalty for a cop killer. It was not long after became the state AG. She said the circumstances didn’t support it by the law. You can imagine the response. Police unions and Republicans went berserk and were picketing, demanding her impeachment, she got death threats. Many conservatives wrote scathing op-eds predicting California would turn in a Mad Max movie in months. She ignored all of it and sent it down the worm hole. So she knows how to deal with the opposition.

  33. 33.

    Cacti

    May 28, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    I think we’ve passed peak Wilmer.

  34. 34.

    Baud

    May 28, 2019 at 7:29 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Great news. Currently, I care more about who loses than who wins.

  35. 35.

    trollhattan

    May 28, 2019 at 7:30 pm

    @gene108:
    She didn’t keep a particularly high profile as AG, and there was grumbling she wasn’t sufficiently activist but I can’t either qualify or quantify “compared to…?” She was certainly qualified and competent in the job. My issue is her not dismissing a longtime staffer who engaged in harassment that cost the State $400k to settle. Perhaps misplaced loyalty but the sort of thing I’d want her to be on top of.

  36. 36.

    joel hanes

    May 28, 2019 at 7:30 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    you don’t think that tokenism is for white men too ?

  37. 37.

    Jay

    May 28, 2019 at 7:31 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Or maybe, Attorney Generals shouldn’t publically weigh in on proposed changes to the Law or Enforcement, and instead, leave that up to the Lawmakers.

    Once upon a time, it used to be an “ethics” thing.

    Now of course, it’s a common thing for Lawmakers who kept pot criminalized for decades, to join the Boards of Cannibis Inc.

  38. 38.

    Sebastian

    May 28, 2019 at 7:32 pm

    None of this will go anywhere until we get the massive disinformation wave under control. Facebook and YouTube are single-handedly responsible for the rise of Isis and the alt-right due to their algorithms.

    Read this and weep
    https://www.fast.ai/2019/05/28/google-nyt-mohan/

  39. 39.

    Dan B

    May 28, 2019 at 7:33 pm

    I like Harris, Warren but also want to clone Warren so ahe could stay in the Senate. I don’t see Biden in the VP spot again. If it is Biden, Harris I coild see him serving one term because of his age. How would it work if Harris ran in 2024?

    If it has to be woman, man ticket I keep thinking VP options: Inslee- too west coast. Castro- too much minority for some voters. Beto- wants to be top dog. Any other ideas?

  40. 40.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 28, 2019 at 7:35 pm

    @Sebastian: Single-handedly?

  41. 41.

    Baud

    May 28, 2019 at 7:36 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Literally.

  42. 42.

    Major Major Major Major

    May 28, 2019 at 7:41 pm

    @Jay: I would also accept “she doesn’t think the constitution should be amended via plebiscite.” That, what you said, and what I said above all make more sense than what the article suggests is the reason.

    @Dan B: I think Buttigieg is running for VP or cabinet.

  43. 43.

    MisterForkbeard

    May 28, 2019 at 7:42 pm

    @gene108: This is a really weird position:

    She was very adamant that she built her success on putting minorities in prison.

    She was doing the ‘tough on crime’ thing for awhile, but it’s more that she didn’t try to fix the huge iniquities of the system towards minorities or didn’t make major strides in that area. But she was reportedly very good at actually doing the AG’s job, just didn’t try to change the legal system

  44. 44.

    Sebastian

    May 28, 2019 at 7:45 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Yes, because they took the lunatic ravings of a fringe niche and amplified it and brainwashed a very large subset of the world’s population. Go ahead and read the article about the rabbit hole effect.

  45. 45.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 28, 2019 at 7:48 pm

    @Sebastian: It can’t be single-handed unless they also originated the lunatic ravings of the fringe niche, now can it?

  46. 46.

    cckids

    May 28, 2019 at 7:49 pm

    I’ve said it before; I don’t want either Warren or Harris as VP. For preference, I’d like President Harris and Senate Maj. Leader Warren. Let’s make it so.

  47. 47.

    Wapiti

    May 28, 2019 at 7:49 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: He’s very progressive for the most part, but when I made the perfectly obvious point that nearly every ticket in U.S. history had been two men, he got very huffy and confused.

    Yup. If someone doesn’t think two women should be on the ticket because they *both* have lady parts, then that person hasn’t fully accepted women as equal.

  48. 48.

    Dan B

    May 28, 2019 at 7:50 pm

    @Sebastian: Thanks for the link. It’s clear that regulation of tech and ai will be essential if we want democracy to survive, or if we want to dodge the climate bullet(s).

  49. 49.

    Jay

    May 28, 2019 at 7:50 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Yeah, pretty sure that that paragraph was a manufactured shiv stuck in sideways.

    @MisterForkbeard:

    Once upon a time the AG’s job used to be to enforce the law as even handedly as possible, in flawed racist system,

    Not selectively hand out get out of jail cards.

  50. 50.

    Gvg

    May 28, 2019 at 7:51 pm

    @Chief Oshkosh: AG does not have much policy power and I have never heard of one leading to any sort of legislative reform. State legislatures and governors have the power. Some AG’s pursue a kind of tough on crime notoriety in order to get higher office such as Governor. They mostly just make a big fuss about catching some splashy notorious murderer the cops catch.
    Also I was thinking today that our whole population has evolved on many things and some things that people did 15 or 20 years ago that are now unpopular with our voters, were championed by those same voters back then, like the 3 strike laws and stricter drug laws. In the 80’s with the higher crime rate, minority voters demanded legislators like Hillary and Biden enact tough drug laws. They didn’t realize hidden bigots would use those laws against them to the degree it happened. We are supposed to learn from our mistakes.
    This means if Biden comes out and says…..we did this because but it really didn’t turn out good or fair and now we have to fix it….I could accept it, but denying anything is wrong now and saying weed is a gateway drug that needs to stay illegal…I won’t accept that.
    How long ago was Harris doing and saying what?

  51. 51.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 28, 2019 at 7:52 pm

    @cckids: Warren doesn’t need to be majority leader. That job requires a particular set of skills, and I don’t know if she has them. OTOH, chairs of senate committees have a shitload of power and are great places for people with real policy chops ti wield power.

  52. 52.

    MisterForkbeard

    May 28, 2019 at 7:54 pm

    @Jay: That’s sort of where I was going. She (by all accounts) did a good job on the actual job that AG’s are supposed to do. What she didn’t do was (outside of a few small projects at the local level) propose a lot of new programs or actions.

  53. 53.

    Dan B

    May 28, 2019 at 7:57 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Yep. I believe Mayor Pete is trying to remain relevant. Indiana is not a springboard to national politics unless you are GOP, and probably KKK lite or friendly Christianist. Fruends who were Beto fans have moved to Pete, and Harris and Warren.

  54. 54.

    Philbert

    May 28, 2019 at 7:59 pm

    Unless Black women want different, it’s Harris/Castro for me. Warren is a risk to a possible Senate seat we desperately need, and if we keep and win she will kick ass as head of Senate Banking Committee. Also she fell for Trumps bait, he could get her yelling and I think Harris would be chill, So many candidates have their strengths, I wish they can keep supporting each other rather than give the GOP ammo like WIlmer did. Dreams: Kamala for Special Trump Prosecutor General, Warren as Special White Collar Crime Prosecutor, and Castro for Special Immigration Prosecutor, for starters. Bit of a theme here….

  55. 55.

    Steve in the ATL

    May 28, 2019 at 8:01 pm

    @Baud: PIE. FILTER.

    Troublemaker!

  56. 56.

    Jharp

    May 28, 2019 at 8:01 pm

    She my 1st choice as well.

    I think she’s smarter than the rest of them and that’s sayin something.

    God wouldn’t that be sweet to see Trump routed by an African American women?

  57. 57.

    Cacti

    May 28, 2019 at 8:04 pm

    @Philbert:

    Also she fell for Trumps bait, he could get her yelling and I think Harris would be chill

    I don’t know about the getting her yelling part, but that tone deaf DNA test shows that she can be baited by Trump.

  58. 58.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    May 28, 2019 at 8:04 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: Literally, the Pie Filter?

  59. 59.

    zhena gogolia

    May 28, 2019 at 8:05 pm

    @Baud:

    lol

  60. 60.

    Mary G

    May 28, 2019 at 8:07 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:I would kill to see Chuck Grassley hand his gavel to Warren, or Klobuchar, or Harris, or Hirono.

  61. 61.

    gene108

    May 28, 2019 at 8:07 pm

    @MisterForkbeard:

    I’be heard that commentary on Twitter. Really surprised to hear it from an actual middle aged woman.

    At first, I thought it was Twitter bots and trolls, but I guess it’s something real people also believe

  62. 62.

    Betty Cracker

    May 28, 2019 at 8:08 pm

    Team Warren so far, but I like what I’ve seen from Harris and am keeping an open mind. To paraphrase someone in an earlier thread, I’m fine with any nominee whose last name includes double Rs…

  63. 63.

    lamh36

    May 28, 2019 at 8:09 pm

    ‘Sup BJ.

    This past couple of months between school, planning for the last family trip and my continuing knee and foot pain…I had to fall back on my commenting and blogging…some days I’m so tired, I barely feel like commenting…so I”ve been tweeting more than commenting.

    I’ve got a bit of a travel break (although I’ve got a mini travel date next weekend for my mom’s birthday).

    School starts next week. I’m taking 2 classes, but they are hybrid classes, so we only meet about 3-5 times for the 8 week summer semester. Most of the work will be online. For one class ALL the test and quizzes will be online. For the other the tests/exams will be during the in-class session on campus.

    Taking an Epi class, which ugh…and a behavioral class…ugh x2.

    No travel plans until closer to Nov for Paris, although still looking to book a good hotel for Paris.

  64. 64.

    Jay

    May 28, 2019 at 8:09 pm

    @MisterForkbeard:

    Once upon a time, it wasn’t the AG’s job to even propose changes to the laws, as that was seen as “bias” and playing politics.

    All an AG was supposed to do when the Legislature proposed/made changes to the laws, was review/advise to ensure the laws were legal and enforceable.

  65. 65.

    Martin

    May 28, 2019 at 8:09 pm

    I told y’all when she was elected Senator that she was the one to watch. Harris/Warren would be a hell of a ride.

  66. 66.

    Fair Economist

    May 28, 2019 at 8:12 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Warren is essentially tied with Bernie for second in the newest Q poll. Big movement her direction over the last two months, +9, to Bernie’s -3. https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2622

    ETA +4 for Harris.

    Also note that among people following the campaign closely, Warren is far ahead of Sanders, 15% to 8% – which makes perfect sense. She’s just so much more on top of things.

  67. 67.

    Jay

    May 28, 2019 at 8:13 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    They monetized the ravings of the loony tunes and forcefed a generation the ravings of the loony tunes.

    This allowed a lot of loony tunes to quit their day jobs.

  68. 68.

    oldgold

    May 28, 2019 at 8:14 pm

    Is there no end to this damnable nonsense?

    Donald J. Trump
    ✔
    @realDonaldTrump
    I was actually sticking up for Sleepy Joe Biden while on foreign soil. Kim Jong Un called him a “low IQ idiot,” and many other things, whereas I related the quote of Chairman Kim as a much softer “low IQ individual.” Who could possibly be upset with that?

  69. 69.

    zhena gogolia

    May 28, 2019 at 8:15 pm

    @Jharp:

    Oh, it would, it would.

  70. 70.

    Steve in the ATL

    May 28, 2019 at 8:16 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: literalist.

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: figuratively. I couldn’t pie our next president.

  71. 71.

    Steve in the ATL

    May 28, 2019 at 8:19 pm

    @lamh36: George V

  72. 72.

    Lyrebird

    May 28, 2019 at 8:21 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    I believe the race is between Warren and Harris. The old white guys showing in the polls right now have the support of lobbyists and people who think they know what’s going on, but don’t. The vast, vast majority of primary voting Democrats are waiting for the debates, waiting to see the candidates in person.

    I am hoping you are right on here!

    Unka Joe can pat my shoulders any day, without offense. His treatment of Ms. Hill and Ms. Warren in the Senate chamber, on the other hand, not so good. I will not comment on Willmer.

    Harris is more telegenic than Warren. They are both razor sharp. Does not mean I agree with either 100%. Same with Booker. I love the Obamas forever, and I thought that BHO’s education policy moves were only slightly less awful than the previous president’s.

  73. 73.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    May 28, 2019 at 8:22 pm

    @oldgold: As Uncle Joe would say, that’s a bunch of Malarkey.

  74. 74.

    gene108

    May 28, 2019 at 8:28 pm

    @lamh36:

    What is taught in Epi class? Have not heard of it before.

  75. 75.

    SiubhanDuinne

    May 28, 2019 at 8:29 pm

    @oldgold:

    I was actually sticking up for Sleepy Joe Biden while on foreign soil.

    How about this, you fucking piece of verminous slime? How about you stay away ALTOFUCKINGGETHER from any commentary on American politics or politicians while you are traveling abroad?

  76. 76.

    Sebastian

    May 28, 2019 at 8:30 pm

    @Dan B:

    Yes, regulation.

    We could also haul YouTube and FB execs in front of international courts and indict them for crimes against humanity. Might be a bridge too far for some people, though.

  77. 77.

    jk

    May 28, 2019 at 8:32 pm

    @joel hanes:

    CNN just ran a segment noting that Biden has held only 11 public events since launching his campaign. His staff is trying to shield him because they know that he’s a gaffe gushering buffoon. We don’t need this old, uninspiring windbag in the VP slot again.

  78. 78.

    JPL

    May 28, 2019 at 8:34 pm

    @oldgold: NO Will MSM play along with the latest nonsense is the question.

  79. 79.

    lamh36

    May 28, 2019 at 8:35 pm

    @gene108: the class is Epidemiology Principles in Health Care Promotions

  80. 80.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    May 28, 2019 at 8:36 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    How about this, you fucking piece of verminous slime?

    Not a fan, I take it. I’ll update your dossier.

  81. 81.

    Cacti

    May 28, 2019 at 8:36 pm

    @jk:

    I hear he’s also responsible for Clarence Thomas.

  82. 82.

    gene108

    May 28, 2019 at 8:39 pm

    @lamh36:

    Thanks. Makes more sense than what I was thinking (Epidural, Epi-Pen, Epicenter, and so on)

  83. 83.

    TenguPhule

    May 28, 2019 at 8:45 pm

    @Mary G:

    :I would kill to see Chuck Grassley hand his gavel to Warren, or Klobuchar, or Harris, or Hirono.

    Literally? //

  84. 84.

    TenguPhule

    May 28, 2019 at 8:46 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:

    I couldn’t pie our next president.

    I understand the current trend is leaning towards milkshakes.

  85. 85.

    cain

    May 28, 2019 at 8:48 pm

    @Mary G:

    Her sister Maya humanizes her too..

    Her sister looks quite a bit more Indian than Kamala does. In fact, I’m finding it difficult to believe she is over 50 – both of them look quite young for their ages.

  86. 86.

    Doug R

    May 28, 2019 at 8:51 pm

    @SenyorDave:

    MY favorite is Warren, but I just don’t think she will get there. She is the most financially literate candidate for POTUS I have ever seen, I just don’t think people care enough about policy and that is definitely Warren’s strong suit. What I have seen from Harris I like a lot, and I think Trump will be very intimidated by her in a head-to-head debate. Really anxious to see how the debates go. IMO it will be a shame if it is Biden, but as the saying goes I would crawl across hot coals to vote for anyone (even Wilmer) against the shitgibbon.

    #NOTYOUTULSI

  87. 87.

    Ruckus

    May 28, 2019 at 8:53 pm

    I’ve been Harris or Abrams with Warren next since anyone started running. Well Abrams isn’t running and Harris’s answer to Ellen sealed the deal for me. It’s Harris all the way. Warren to stay in the senate and become majority leader. That of course means that we have to take the senate.

  88. 88.

    TenguPhule

    May 28, 2019 at 8:59 pm

    GOP Rep Amash is taking the lead in calling for impeachment.

    I don’t like seeing a fucking Teabagger appearing to show more moral integrity in front of the media then most of our elected Democrats.

    The mushy middle is easily gulled by showmanship.

  89. 89.

    TenguPhule

    May 28, 2019 at 9:02 pm

    Amash defends call for Trump’s impeachment, says Congress ‘has a duty to keep the president in check’

    Rep. Justin Amash, the sole congressional Republican to call for Trump’s impeachment, defended his stance Tuesday, telling a town hall meeting that the findings of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III left him with no other option.

    “Congress has a duty to keep the president in check,” Amash (Mich.) said to hundreds of people crowded into an auditorium at Grand Rapids Christian High School. “I’d do it whether it was a Republican president or a Democratic president. It doesn’t matter. You elected me to represent all of you.”

    During a two-hour meeting — one hour more than schedules, Amash faced both supporters and opponents of his challenge to Trump — and even was pressed on why he remained a Republican. Asked why he did not leave the party and become an independent, Amash said that Michigan election law made it hard for independents to win; asked if he would run for president as a libertarian, Amash did not rule it out though he said, “If I were trying to roll out something like that, this is not how I’d do it.”

    He linked the congressional debate over whether to impeach the president to a general dysfunction in Washington. Echoing Mueller, he said that a sitting president could not be indicted, but that impeachment amounted to a “special form of indictment” — one that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) seemed to be resisting for political reasons.

    “I think she’s concerned with her members in tougher districts,” Amash said. “She’s concerned with protecting her majority, so she kind of wants it both ways.”

  90. 90.

    Mike in NC

    May 28, 2019 at 9:07 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: The Mango Megalomaniac is totally incapable of zipping his ugly yap under any circumstances.

  91. 91.

    Another Scott

    May 28, 2019 at 9:26 pm

    Twitter:

    Felicia Sonmez Verified account @feliciasonmez

    In a somewhat odd moment at tonight’s AFT town hall, Biden tells a 10-year-old girl, “I’ll bet you’re as bright as you are good-looking.” He takes her over to the assembled reporters, then stands behind her and puts his hands on her shoulders while he’s talking.

    3:48 PM – 28 May 2019

    (sigh….)

    (via ddale8)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  92. 92.

    David Fud

    May 28, 2019 at 9:27 pm

    If Harris doesn’t win the nod, she is perfect for Attorney General. I don’t know why we would waste a talent like hers as VP.

  93. 93.

    Gin & Tonic

    May 28, 2019 at 9:27 pm

    @Jay: Once upon a time, the President picked his little brother to be AG.

  94. 94.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    May 28, 2019 at 9:30 pm

    @Another Scott: I’m far from a Biden-hater but that just made me cringe. His refusal to recognize the changing times, and the validity of people’s complaints, is a huge flaw, and a dangerous one if he does get the nomination

  95. 95.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    May 28, 2019 at 9:32 pm

    this struck me as interesting: Stitcher has made an audio-book of the Mueller report. Looks like it’s free. I wonder how many downloads it will get

  96. 96.

    Gin & Tonic

    May 28, 2019 at 9:33 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: What worries me more than his inability to recognize that times have changed is his inability to hire somebody who can tell him forcefully that times have changed.

  97. 97.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    May 28, 2019 at 9:44 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: good point, it looks like he’s surrounded by Ed Rendell/Carville types who encourage him to ignore all those hippies on twitter because he should’ve been president thirty years ago

    Rachel Maddow about to interview Jamie Harrison, who’s running against Lindsey Graham next year and to whom I will give money even if he’s the longest of longshots

  98. 98.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 28, 2019 at 9:57 pm

    @Jay: No shit, Sherlock.

  99. 99.

    Mart

    May 28, 2019 at 10:00 pm

    @trollhattan: Ben Carson hosted a RWNJ radio show where he rambled incoherent rants about the evils of liberalism. Also appeared on Fox. A lot of the old white listeners I met out in the country, who are racist as fuck, love the guy. I was fascinated how this could work. Boiled down to an accomplished black man who worked his way out of the ghetto unlike “the others”, who is happy to punch down on “the others”.

  100. 100.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 28, 2019 at 10:01 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: You just like its proximity to the Crazy Horse, don’t you?

    @Steve in the ATL: Some people seem to have been incapable of realizing what I was doing. And, at least, I am not that Foolish Literalist guy.

  101. 101.

    BruceFromOhio

    May 28, 2019 at 10:02 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: This, this, this.

  102. 102.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 28, 2019 at 10:04 pm

    @David Fud: Or maybe she could be a senator.

  103. 103.

    BruceFromOhio

    May 28, 2019 at 10:07 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: … Or how it was being implemented. I’d love to see Colorado-like legislation in Ohio for legalizing weed, but the measure that came up on the ballot in 2016 was badly written, and I voted against it. The idea is sound, the practice not so much? It bears watching, no doubt.

  104. 104.

    BruceFromOhio

    May 28, 2019 at 10:09 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Gaia, fucking pedants. Made me laff, tho

  105. 105.

    J R in WV

    May 28, 2019 at 10:11 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    @Steve in the ATL: Literally, the Pie Filter?

    Dear Billin:

    Please adjust your sarcasm detector.

    Thank you for you attention.

    Management. ;-)

  106. 106.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    May 28, 2019 at 10:16 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: And, at least, I am not that Foolish Literalist guy.

    Ugh. He’s the worst

  107. 107.

    J R in WV

    May 28, 2019 at 10:18 pm

    @BruceFromOhio:

    I’d love to see Colorado-like legislation in Ohio for legalizing weed, but the measure that came up on the ballot in 2016 was badly written, and I voted against it. The idea is sound, the practice not so much? It bears watching, no doubt.

    No suspicion that anti-legalization folks submitted a terribly-written ballot proposal? I would suspect that… or, alternatively, that pro-legalization folks didn’t have good legal advice.

  108. 108.

    Mart

    May 28, 2019 at 10:21 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I wish Biden stands down as he is too damn old like Trump and Wilmer. To be fair, his creepitude does not include paying off a porn star and playboy ? to keep his extramarital affairs hidden.

  109. 109.

    J R in WV

    May 28, 2019 at 10:23 pm

    OK, read the comments, now for my $0.02 on the original topic.

    Kamala Harris all the way. Senator Professor Warren in second place, will work hard for either one. But Harris is my choice for this election.

  110. 110.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    May 28, 2019 at 10:26 pm

    @J R in WV:

    Dear Billin:

    Please adjust your sarcasm detector.

    Thank you for you attention.

    Management. ;-)

    Dear JR in WV:

    Please adjust your sarcasm detector.

    Thank you for you attention.

    Management. ;-)

  111. 111.

    Butter emails!!!

    May 28, 2019 at 10:45 pm

    Not a big Biden fan and he’s definitely behind the times, but that so many think the behavior mentioned was creepy probably says more about our society than it does about Biden.

  112. 112.

    Glidwrith

    May 28, 2019 at 11:03 pm

    @gene108: As I recall Senator Harris fought against a nut ball Orange County lawyer who felt someone should be able to put a bullet in the brain of any person that he thought was gay (no evidence needed). The ass wanted to collect signatures for a ballot measure and she took him to court to keep him from starting the process for such a vile notion.

  113. 113.

    Another Scott

    May 28, 2019 at 11:23 pm

    @Butter emails!!!: AP, from way, way back in April:

    “And the boundaries of protecting personal space have been reset. And I get it. I get it. I hear what they are saying. I understand.”

    […]

    Vail Kohnert-Yount, said she was a White House intern in the spring of 2013 when she met Biden in the West Wing and, as they chatted, he put his hand on the back of her head and pressed his forehead to hers and called her a “pretty girl.”

    Oh, but he “get[s] it”, he really does.

    (groucho-roll-eyes.gif)

    YMMV.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  114. 114.

    Don K

    May 29, 2019 at 12:20 am

    I voted Wilmer in the MI primary in ’16, but never again. My heart is with Warren, but my head (loss of a Senate seat) is with Harris, especially after tonight’s town hall on Lawrence’s show. So as a gay man my dream ticket is Harris-Mayor Pete.

  115. 115.

    Anne Laurie

    May 29, 2019 at 2:29 am

    @Don K:

    So as a gay man my dream ticket is Harris-Mayor Pete.

    As a bi woman, I could live with that — as long as Harris was at the top of the ticket!

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