Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Not rolling over. fuck you, make me.

“Facilitate” is an active verb, not a weasel word.

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

We’re watching the self-immolation of the leading world power on a level unprecedented in human history.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

“But what about the lurkers?”

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / ‘Nasty Woman’ badges still operative

‘Nasty Woman’ badges still operative

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This description of Team Trump’s reaction to the Harris pick from Vanity Fair sounds about right:

Donald Trump didn’t expect Joe Biden to pick Kamala Harris as his running mate. “He thought Biden would choose Karen Bass,” a Republican briefed on Trump’s thinking said. Trump’s view, according to sources close to the White House, was that Biden would prefer a candidate with Bass’s low national profile and one who wouldn’t outshine him.

Project much?

As I mentioned yesterday in comments, I happened to turn CNN on at the exact moment when a reporter asked Trump about Harris, and his response was pro forma racism/sexism (“nastier even than Pocahontas”) delivered with an oddly flat affect. He’s skeered.

Overnight, Trump’s dumb, racist, sexist advisors coached their dumb, racist, sexist boss…

Other Trumpworld insiders are thrilled at the opportunity to define Harris as a radical leftist, a portrayal echoed Tuesday night on Fox News. “She’s going to help with the base, and that’s where it ends,” a Trump adviser predicted. “She’ll scare the shit out of suburban women. How great is this?”

…with this dumb, racist, sexist result:

"Nasty Woman" badges still operative

Yeah, Harris (and Booker!) would be scary to white “suburban housewives” circa 1955 if this campaign was happening 65 years ago and they weren’t mostly dead? Maybe there’s some galaxy-brain strategy here, but I’m not seeing it.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

178Comments

  1. 1.

    JPL

    Wait until the trumpettes find out Kamala has a Cooking with Kamala channel on YouTube. Then the trumpettes will be really scared, but for a different reason.

  2. 2.

    Major Major Major Major

    Maybe there’s some galaxy-brain strategy here

    Does “we think enough voters are racist enough” not count?

    ETA: Oh, just to stir shit, here’s a fun fact: AOC has not offered a take on Harris’s nomination, though she did retweet Warren and Bernie’s congratulations.

  5. 5.

    Hoodie

    Yes, I’m sure suburban women would feel safer with a guy who belongs in jail (for sexual assault of white women, at that) as opposed to someone who has actually put people in jail.

  6. 6.

    gene108

    I could be wrong, but not having to worry about your kid getting coronavirus, because he/she went to school is the sort of security suburban housewives are worrying about these days.

  11. 11.

    Jeffro

    There’s no galaxy-brain strategy here, just projection (as you noted, Betty), a complete lack of preparation* on the part of the trumpov team, and as always the musings of the drunk guy at the end of the bar.

    *Rubin nails this, as have many others today: Phony? Radical? Cop? Republicans have no idea how to attack Kamala Harris

    Before this is over, Harris will be a peacenik and warmonger; a tool of Big Oil and a radical environmentalist; and a somnolent senator and a vicious slayer of poor, defenseless White nominees. But mostly, Trump says, she is “nasty” and “disrespectful.” He might as easily have called her “uppity.” Perhaps that is the real “problem” with Harris for many Republicans.

    They can’t see past her race and gender, and my lord how they ever DON’T do policy or policy-related arguments.  So, no homework is getting turned in today by the GOP, er excuse me, QAnonParty (QP), that’s for sure.  Just rant and fume and call Harris everything, even contradictory things.  Just like Uncle Joe is both a criminal mastermind and a puppet, right, QP?

  12. 12.

    Anoniminous

    tl,dr Re-elect Trump Campaign:

    The NEGROES are coming!!!!!!!!!!

    To your lily-white 1950s suburb!!!!

    AAAAAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

    (And the evil Transsexuals, too.  Also)

  13. 13.

    HRA

    Personally I am waiting for one reporter to ask him why he donated to her campaign for AG if she is nasty, etc.

  15. 15.

    WaterGirl

    I think that…

    He thought Biden would choose Karen Bass.

    …means that Trump wanted it to be Karen Bass.  I don’t think Trump can distinguish between things he wants and what he believes will happen.

    I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some specific plan of attack they had for Karen Bass that Trump couldn’t wait to use.

  16. 16.

    Baud

    @dmsilev:

    She’s A Cook! somehow doesn’t have much of a punch as an attack line.

    I don’t know. Her cookbook is titled “To Serve Man.”

  17. 17.

    trollhattan

    @JPL:

    The Tasters Choice spice jar thing cracks me up.

    She’ll be fine, and makes a good contrast with Biden. Who can remember anything about Tim Kaine campaigning four years ago?

  18. 18.

    James E Powell

    When he says “suburban housewives” does he mean “United Karens of America”?

    We need to be concerned with white women, no college. They sank us in 2016.

  19. 19.

    hueyplong

    I am comfortable with surburban (not rural) housewives deciding this election.  They’re the ones who dropped the hammer on GOPers in 2018.

    Finding it difficult to ascribe “galaxy-brain strategy” to a guy who couldn’t understand a lobbed question from OAN yesterday.

    The Russian election fixers may be a worry, but the increasingly degrading Trump himself is not.  Just keep him talking.  Given enough words, he’ll always end up in a strategic deficit.

  20. 20.

    Baud

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Oh, just to stir shit, here’s a fun fact: AOC has not offered a take on Harris’s nomination, though she did retweet Warren and Bernie’s congratulations

    She’s shy and reticent. Give her time.

  22. 22.

    b1narys3rf

    If the likely demographic makeup and cultural conditions were more like 4, or especially 8+ years ago, maybe this kind of blinkered toxic Caucasian masculinity would eke out a horcrux. But not today. Harris is going to be a hit with the suburban housewives who aren’t already Stepford-ized, if she isn’t already. She’s got a personality and a resume that’s accomplished but accessible, and I think some real magic is possible although I don’t know how likely she will move needles electorally with such ultra polarization and few undecideds already in place.

  23. 23.

    Gretchen

    @WaterGirl:  He was going to use the Cuba attack because he thinks it’s still 1965. People who were kids when they ran from Castro are on Social Security now.

  27. 27.

    Betty Cracker

    @Major Major Major Major: I’ll rise to the bait: if AOC retweeted BS/EW congrats, she did offer a take, which is that progressive Dems are embracing Harris.

    @Hoodie: I got an “introduction” email from Harris just a while ago (I assume everyone on Biden’s donor list did) making that point against Trump with uncommon sharpness:

    He’s tried to rip health care away from Americans, but I’ve fought to defend the Affordable Care Act.

    He founded a for-profit college that scammed students out of their dreams, and I sued for-profit schools to hold them accountable.

    He’s a serial predator. I’ve spent my career putting them away.

    He’s given tax breaks to big corporations, but I won $25 billion for homeowners across California who’d been defrauded.

    Inject it directly into my veins!

  28. 28.

    Cacti

    In the sewers of the Disqus online forums, the early consensus seems to be:

    -Harris is both too tough, and too soft on crime

    -She’s too black, and not black enough

    -She’s too ambitious, and a lazy affirmative action selection

     

    No one said belonging to a cult needed to make sense.

  29. 29.

    The Moar You Know

    It’s not that Trump is stupid that i find so annoying, it’s that he is utterly predictable in how his stupidity manifests.

  30. 30.

    Anoniminous

    @James E Powell:

    That and the 2 million (and a teeny bit) more votes Trump got over Romney’s total in 2016.  Rousing the rabble worked.

    So far white suburban women, a much more important demographic, are polling to stay with the Dems and vote as they did in 2018.

  32. 32.

    Roger Moore

    @WaterGirl: 

    …means that Trump wanted it to be Karen Bass.

    I honestly think this reflects what Trump would have done himself, not what he hoped for. I think he really hoped for someone like Elizabeth Warren, who he was sure he had the perfect attack for since he thought it was so devastating the first thousand times he used it. But he expected someone like Bass, who lacked a national profile and thus wouldn’t threaten to upstage Biden. I sincerely expect some of the attacks on Harris to be attempts to turn Biden supporters against her as a threat to overshadow Biden/be the power behind the throne.

  33. 33.

    trollhattan

    @WaterGirl:

    In our typical getting-ahead-of-ourselves mode we’re already discussing who gets Harris’ senate seat come January. Here’s the current insider’s list from Sacramento, where her AG stint is still a topic.

    Xavier Becerra
    Toni Atkins
    Karen Bass
    Kevin De Leon
    Lorena Gonzalez
    Alex Padilla
    Betty Yee
    .
    And yes, it’s possible he appoints himself but I’d be surprised.

  34. 34.

    Gin & Tonic

    Hey, keeping the ni****s and sp**s out of the white neighborhoods worked for Fred Trump; it’s probably the only thing that Donnie learned from him.

  39. 39.

    Cacti

    As for “suburban housewives”, how many middle class suburban families are still able to survive on a single income?

  40. 40.

    trollhattan

    @Cacti:

    i.e., She has all the hallmarks of a feckless tyrant. Now, which recent president am I reminded of who received the same charge?

  43. 43.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Betty Cracker:

    I’ll rise to the bait: if AOC retweeted BS/EW congrats, she did offer a take, which is that progressive Dems are embracing Harris.

    It just feels like she wants to do it without getting her hands dirty. I don’t care that much, since I’m only about ten percent petty, but it does feel like something we’re meant to read into.

  46. 46.

    Roger Moore

    @trollhattan:

    Here’s the current insider’s list from Sacramento, where her AG stint is still a topic.

    I’m disappointed and a bit surprised not to see Adam Schiff’s name on that list.  I’m disappointed and not a bit surprised not to see John Chiang’s name on the list.

  51. 51.

    Kent

    Donald Trump didn’t expect Joe Biden to pick Kamala Harris as his running mate. “He thought Biden would choose Karen Bass,” a Republican briefed on Trump’s thinking said. Trump’s view, according to sources close to the White House, was that Biden would prefer a candidate with Bass’s low national profile and one who wouldn’t outshine him.

    And this is exactly why Trump is never going to dump Pence for someone like Haley.  He would probably rather run without a running mate at all if he could do it.

  52. 52.

    errg

    I wonder, what percent of American’s today would consider themselves to be a “suburban housewife”? You’re a woman, married, live in the suburbs, and your main identity comes from staying at home and taking care of the house. A couple of percent maybe?

    I honestly don’t think I can think of anyone I know who would think that “suburban housewife” describes themselves. Maybe I’m just sheltered….

  54. 54.

    Hoodie

    @Betty Cracker: If I were the Biden campaign, I’d be all over that.  Trump’s team seems to be barking up the wrong tree when trying to scare suburban white women.   The FOX news guy who lives next door kind of surprised me when he told me he likes that Harris was a prosecutor.

  56. 56.

    Kent

    @Major Major Major Major: ETA: Oh, just to stir shit, here’s a fun fact: AOC has not offered a take on Harris’s nomination, though she did retweet Warren and Bernie’s congratulations.

    What do you want her to say that Warren and Sanders didn’t already cover in their tweets that AOC retweeted?

  57. 57.

    PenAndKey

    @Sister Golden Bear: Velveetamort routinely has more projection than a multiplex cinema.

    I’m stealing this.

    And I have to say, hearing the conservative web freak out and all shout conflicting accusations against Harris is a thing of beauty. It honestly feels like as much as they thought they had things gamed out they still managed to drop the ball and are now scrambling. And Harris serving as Biden’s attack bulldog? That’s what VPs are for. It’s only been recently that people have acted like that’s not true.

  58. 58.

    piratedan

    in short, it looks like the Rose Twitter and MAGA attacks against Ms. Harris are of the “clean out the fridge” variety.  They have no idea on what piece of madness might resonate, so they’re trying everything in the hope that something can be amplified beyond all reason (i.e. Hillary’s e-mails) as a cudgel.  Hoping this will eventually devolve into the “she turned me into a Newt!” variety but its pretty apparent that they find her distasteful in that they can’t pigeonhole her into a simple parody point.

  59. 59.

    dmsilev

    @Betty Cracker: DiFi will retire one of these days. Eventually.

    Porter would be in a good position to run for that, assuming her Orange County district doesn’t revert back to its GOP roots in 2022.

  61. 61.

    MattF

    Another projection-tell is that the big negative Trump promoted about Harris in his initial reaction is that she said negative things about Biden in a primary debate. That delicate ego can only suppose that everyone is just like him.

  63. 63.

    Leto

    Biden would prefer a candidate with Bass’s low national profile and one who wouldn’t outshine him.

    Leaders look to recruit the best possible people they can. They look to surround themselves with smart, energetic, talented people. When the team does good, it in turn makes the leader look good because it shows that the leader is smart enough to hire the best people and get them to produce good results. I think Biden is of the mold that when his team does well, he’ll direct all the praise towards them. When the team does bad, he’ll own the failure. That’s also a good leadership trait.

  64. 64.

    PenAndKey

    @piratedan: Hoping this will eventually devolve into the “she turned me into a Newt!” variety but its pretty apparent that they find her distasteful in that they can’t pigeonhole her into a simple parody point.

    I know I’m biased, but honestly it already feels like it’s there. The moment the The Federalist started selling “she’s a cop” shirts I felt like the GOPs collective attack angles converged into a singularity of stupid.

  65. 65.

    Van Buren

    @Cacti: Maybe point #2 covers it, but I am told that she hates white people, and hates black people.

    All I can say is she sure smiles a lot for someone so hatefilled.

  66. 66.

    dmsilev

    @PenAndKey: What’s nuts about the implications of your analysis is that Harris wasn’t some out of the blue choice that caught everyone by surprise (see: Palin, Sarah), but instead was the conventional-wisdom most-likely-candidate pretty much from the moment Biden said he was choosing a woman, and probably before that. For the MAGAts to be caught by surprise demonstrates a deep and fundamental stupidity.

    Ok, I guess that checks out.

  67. 67.

    PenAndKey

    @Major Major Major Major: Retweets are something. They’re the Twitter equivalent of saying,”what they said”. Should she say more? Sure, but it’s hardly a big deal if she doesn’t do so immediately.

  68. 68.

    Kent

    @errg:

    I wonder, what percent of American’s today would consider themselves to be a “suburban housewife”? You’re a woman, married, live in the suburbs, and your main identity comes from staying at home and taking care of the house. A couple of percent maybe?

    I honestly don’t think I can think of anyone I know who would think that “suburban housewife” describes themselves. Maybe I’m just sheltered….

    I live in an affluent suburb surrounded by them.  And you are right.  No one under 70 uses that term.

    Stay-at-home mom

    Soccer mom

    PTA mom

    Tiger mom

    Civic volunteer

    Self-employed consultant

    But NEVER housewife or homemaker.

  69. 69.

    trollhattan

    @Roger Moore: @Betty Cracker:

    I doubt the list is exhaustive so much as reflecting some kind of A-list. The emphasis seems to be folks who have spent a lot of time in the capitol (not everyone remembers Newsom was Lt Gov eight years before being governor). It’s early days, but those same insiders had also presumed that Harris would be Biden’s choice, so have been pondering this for awhile.

    Krugman had a piece last week about this topic.

  72. 72.

    Shana

    @trollhattan: I loved the Tasters Choice jar thing too.

    Reminds me of the episode of Salt Fat Acid Heat where the host has her mom show her how to make the Iranian Rice dish. They talk about how every Iranian woman has one of those non-stick dutch ovens from TJ Maxx that is used for that dish. Mom, however, admits that hers is from Marshalls like it’s a major transgression.

  75. 75.

    laura

    @trollhattan: I still feel that the list is too damn short- I’d add the following:

    John Chaing, Ted Leiu, Eric Swalwell, Adam Schiff, Jackie Speier, Sheila Kuehl….

  77. 77.

    MattF

    @errg: I think Trump was told that his problematic demographic group is suburban housewives. So, we’re going to hear a lot of crap that he thinks will appeal to said housewives, even though they don’t actually exist and never did, outside of 50’s situation comedy.

  78. 78.

    Yutsano

    @Betty Cracker: Feinstein won’t be around for too much longer. And while she might be daft enough to try running again at 92, I would bet a primary challenger would be more successful that time around. And it looks like Katie will be in her House seat for awhile yet.

  79. 79.

    docNC

    My wife is a white, suburban housewife.  With a job.  Raised two kids.  Apple pie.  Fords.  Flowers.

    She’s out of her mind happy today with renewed optimism.

  80. 80.

    Wapiti

    @Major Major Major Major: AOC is a very junior congress member. I figure she’s scheduled to endorse in about 3 weeks. Unless Trump does something particularly stupid and the Biden campaign wants her to endorse earlier.

  84. 84.

    Brachiator

    @James E Powell:

    When he says “suburban housewives” does he mean “United Karens of America”?

    To a large degree. But Trump also knows that he is blowing a racist wolf whistle hard and loud. Before he ever ran for office, I had a co-worker who lived in Orange County, California who admitted that her biggest fear was that “the wrong people,” aided by Democrats, would invade her neighborhood and take away all the stuff that she had worked so hard for.

    I’m not even going to try to unpack all the racism at play here.

    We need to be concerned with white women, no college. They sank us in 2016.

    True. It’s funny. Tribal Democrats simply label this group as Republican, and not worth reaching. This is a mistake.

    I don’t think that Biden will ignore these folks.

    And here is Trump’s problem, compounded by his past and present disrespect for women.

    Any woman who supports Trump also has to confront the hard truth that Trump’s pandemic policies threaten their lives, and the lives of their children, their husbands and boyfriends, their parents and their friends. Their are stubborn people who will support Trump anyway, and stupid white men whose egos will not let them admit error. But there are a lot of women who don’t have time for bullshit, especially when lives are at stake.

  87. 87.

    mrmoshpotato

    Yeah, Harris (and Booker!) would be scary to white “suburban housewives” circa 1955 if this campaign was happening 65 years ago and they weren’t mostly dead?

    I remember when this was all farmland as far the eye could see. Old man Peabody owned all of this. He had this crazy idea about breeding pine trees.

  89. 89.

    Kay

    @PenAndKey:

     It honestly feels like as much as they thought they had things gamed out they still managed to drop the ball and are now scrambling

    That’s every day though. It makes sense when you realize “The Trump Administration” consists of Donald, Jared and Ivanka.

  90. 90.

    Bufflars

    @Anoniminous:  To be fair, according to the Googles there were about 9 million more people in the US in 2016 vs 2012, so getting 2 million more votes than Romney is barely holding steady, given the proportion of voters, etc.

  91. 91.

    Raoul

    @Roger Moore: I think the Trump campaign wanted Bass because her very low national profile meant they could quickly define her with negative ads and attacks.

    Harris may not be universally loved, but she’s a relatively well known quantity.

    Ari Fleischer, a deeply awful man whose nose is permanently orange-stained, was flailing today on the tweeps, somehow claiming that bicycle-riding Joe Biden is teh oldz and that we should worry a lot about Kamala being the successor. IOW, GOP’ve got nothin’ good to work with.

  92. 92.

    Fraud Guy

    I wish I was as sanguine about suburban housewives not voting for Trump, or sitting out; I am in a suburb which has had a number of pro BML marches, and I am hearing a lot of suburban housewives thinking that Kamala should choose whether she is Asian or African, or that she will bring in socialism, or that this will allow the blacks to take over because Biden is so bad the he won’t last his first year and she will become President.  And both sides are as bad.

    Trying to unpack the layered bullshit is extremely difficult; even if you have a friendly audience and you remove one layer, there are about 40 compacted underneath it.

  93. 93.

    Eljai

    @trollhattan:

    I just heard a discussion about possible senate replacements on KQED.  One reporter said Gov. Newsome would be under intense pressure to appoint someone progressive.  I don’t know.  I mean, there are a lot of purity ponies where I live and they are very vocal, but California Democrats outside of my bubble don’t seem that invested in someone’s progressive cred.

    I would be surprised if Newsom appointed himself too.  When I was growing up in Minnesota, Gov. Wendell Anderson appointed himself to Mondale’s senate seat after Mondale was elected VP in 1976, but it wasn’t received well.  Anderson lost in ’78.  Both MN senate seats went republican that year.  It was bleak.

  94. 94.

    MattF

    @Kay: And, there’s a long list of topics that Jarvanka have to stay away from lest Big Donnie gets triggered. I’m not suggesting one should be sympathetic to any of them, but they’re all very limited– some by nature, some by lessons learned.

  95. 95.

    Cacti

    @Raoul: Ari Fleischer, a deeply awful man whose nose is permanently orange-stained, was flailing today on the tweeps, somehow claiming that bicycle-riding Joe Biden is teh oldz and that we should worry a lot about Kamala being the successor. IOW, GOP’ve got nothin’ good to work with.

    Last night, Ari was talking about how not exciting Harris was to black people.

    Because if anybody knows black people, it’s Ari fucking Fleischer. (eyeroll)

  96. 96.

    Betty Cracker

    @zhena gogolia: Or maybe people do understand the point being made but interpret the requirement that AOC add a personalized message as a species of “bend the knee” and find it 10% icky? :)

  97. 97.

    patrick II

    @WaterGirl:

    A competent person would have prepared for any of several potential nominees.  But that would have taken extra effort. And competence.

  106. 106.

    gvg

    I was kind of hoping Adam Schiff would take over for Pelosi when she retires not go Senate.  She said she was going to retire if Hillary had won, but felt she had to stay on because of Trump. We need a certain number of really experienced savvy people to stay in the house.  Is there someone else that would be better?

  109. 109.

    PsiFighter37

    Frankly, all the Harris pick is going to do is make the racists be more racist and further turn off suburban voters. These idiots will keep on digging because they have nothing left. When all you have left is economic ruin and hundreds of thousands of dead Americans, what else are you going to run on?

  111. 111.

    Mike in NC

    My wife is addicted to the “ID” channel, which basically covers true crime stories. Tonight they’re showing “Impact of Hate: Charlottesville”, about the neo-Nazi march of 2017 where Trump’s very fine people went nuts.

  114. 114.

    Betty Cracker

    @gvg: Like the question of whether Warren would make a great senate majority leader, it depends on Schiff’s skill set. We know he’s an incredibly persuasive and inspiring speaker, a patriot and a darn good committee chairman and lawmaker. Is he also great at arm-twisting and horse-trading? Maybe, but the existence of one set of skills doesn’t imply the presence of the other, IMO.

  115. 115.

    Raoul

    @Cacti: Pure fantasy, but I could imagine that Condi Rice did her best to avoid Ari during their years of overlap in 43’s reign of error.

  116. 116.

    Barbara

    @PsiFighter37:  I am interested to see if we have moved beyond 2016, because I assume there will be many insults aimed at Harris’s gender as well as her ethnic background.

    And can I say, one reason I am a Harris fan is that her default state just strikes me as being so happy and warm and funny. I love listening to her talk. Her telling of meeting her prospective in-laws for the first time had me smiling all day. I also like that her stepkids call her “Mommala.”

    I am so ready for people who actually like other people.

  117. 117.

    Gin & Tonic

    Few people here are following the protests in Belarus, which is understandable. But if you do, and are tempted to comment, here’s useful guidance:

    literally 95% of all replies under english speaking news reports on protests in belarus: “if we dont watch out this will happen in the us… trump will rig our elections…” CAN YOU JUST NOT MAKE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOURSELF FOR ONCE YOU ENTITLED PRICKS
    — парниша выходного дня (@mycravatundone) August 9, 2020

  118. 118.

    piratedan

    @Steeplejack: in fairness, how can anyone get any air in the Hillz e-mail feeding frenzy scandal that was being generated.  While Hillz could have picked someone else, I’m not sure anyone else would have stood out in that environment.  Nothing mattered, any right thinking person understood this was bullshit, but it suited two groups, the GOP because…. that was their entire fucking strategy and the MSM because they wanted a horserace to promote because that generated revenue.  The only running mate HRC could have chosen (imho) that would have been enough to change the focus was 44 himself and we all suspect how that would have been played out…)

  119. 119.

    mrmoshpotato

    @PsiFighter37:

    When all you have left is economic ruin and hundreds of thousands of dead Americans, what else are you going to run on? 

    Ummmm…..you run on yelling “HOAX!” like fucking morons?

  125. 125.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    would be scary to white “suburban housewives” circa 1955

    Trump projects; he is scared because he lives in Gorilla Channel world of endless chest beating and roaring, in those terms “Dirty Harris the dangerous prosecutor verses Dumb Donny the Don” isn’t good look for him.

  126. 126.

    Ken

    @PenAndKey: @dmsilev: @Kay: @MattF: So it comes down to this:

    “He thought Biden would choose Karen Bass,” a Republican briefed on Trump’s thinking said.

    And since no one dares to contradict him, his campaign didn’t plan how’d they respond to any other candidate?

  129. 129.

    Mary G

    I dunno, Gov. Gav may appoint himself to avoid having to fight the coronavirus head to head. There aren’t going to be easy, or popular, decisions to be made about school openings/closing, test shortages, money, PPE, healthcare worker burnout, computer fuckups, crazy MAGAts, etc. Lot easier to sit in DC demanding to give everyone $2,000 a month.

  134. 134.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    even as a dedicated AOC(!) skeptic I am un-troubled by her failure to make a statement about the Harris nomination

    ETA: though I will not be surprised if her eventual statement is something passive-aggressively trolly, something along the lines of “I hope this ticket realizes the challenges of the moment..”

    Brian Williams has apparently declared today the day to challenge the Democrats to address “the political malpractice of 2016”. He’s used the phrase in his uniquely smarmy and leading way at least three times in the last twenty minutes. I hope one Dem is ready to say: “How about the mistakes of the media? Let’s start with the many faces of NBC and your Dude-Bro Matt Lauer….”

  135. 135.

    Raoul

    I know AOC is seen as a ‘star’, and that’s cool, though I’m not as impressed as some of her fans.

    She’s also speaking at the convention. If she de facto endorses on Twitter, doesn’t that reduce the theoretical impact of her being on stage (such as it is in Covid Times) and giving her speech, which I certainly hope includes endorsement/enthusiasm for the ticket.

  136. 136.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    The other thing; Trump’s desired position is the outsider being unfairly shut out by the insiders. Trump had a chance of that with Biden, but Trump claiming an African-Indian-American woman is some kind of insider victimizing him is going to be utterly ludicrous, more so when she is standing next to a whiter than a ghost WASP like Pence.

  137. 137.

    zhena gogolia

    @Betty Cracker:

    For a Democratic “star” who is very vocal on every issue under the sun not to have a word of her own to say about the VP pick, but just to retweet other people’s reactions, is a statement in itself and will be read as such by her many followers.

    I don’t really give a good g.d. what she says. But Majormajormajormajor has a point.

  139. 139.

    germy

    @Betty Cracker:

    And the two people she chose to retweet are from the progressive side of the party.

    If she’d retweeted Klobuchar or Mayor Pete or Schultz, then we might suspect she was “throwing shade.”

    Maybe she’s telling her followers “Sanders and Warren are okay with Harris, so vote.  Don’t be idiots.”

    I’m probably reading too much into this.

  141. 141.

    Ken

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Brian Williams has apparently declared today the day to challenge the Democrats to address “the political malpractice of 2016”.

    Is he the guy in the LP ad who’s been in a coma since 2016?  Someone should bring him up to date on the Mueller investigation and the impeachment.

  142. 142.

    trollhattan

    @Eljai:

    Yeah, some folks are always wishing for somebody to “primary Pelosi” because, reasons. Not many “true progressives” get elected to statewide office and hoping Newsom will shortcut a path for somebody acceptable seems to ignore the reality of who Newsom is.

    Term limits have greatly altered Sacramento but it’s still a town build around relationships. Newsom will pick somebody who will champion his initiatives in D.C. The good news is he’s got money so need not pull a Blago.

  143. 143.

    Brachiator

    @Gin & Tonic:

    literally 95% of all replies under english speaking news reports on protests in belarus: “if we dont watch out this will happen in the us… trump will rig our elections…” CAN YOU JUST NOT MAKE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOURSELF FOR ONCE YOU ENTITLED PRICKS

    Sadly, some people can’t help themselves. They ignore international news most of the time and if somebody mentions Belarus or Hong Kong, their first response is “how does this affect me in the US.”

    But the warning is appropriate. I barely understand the situation, but damn it was tough reading how the opposition leader tried to stand up to the government and then had to flee the country.

  145. 145.

    gwangung

    @Fraud Guy: You’re talking about white women who live in the suburbs. And specifically white women with no friends of color.

     

    A fair amount of those exist…but not as many as “suburban housewives”….and I’m thinking those votes are more gettable than their husbands’….

  146. 146.

    germy

    @Brachiator:

    Reminds me of the old Monty Python sketch; a news program for birds.  The reporter says there was an earthquake, and then mentions at the end of the story that no birds were hurt.

  150. 150.

    trollhattan

    @germy:

    My recollection is she has been slammed for being too old and too Dem. establishment. In California she does not have a reputation as a “lefty.”

    It’s fun to consider the two most powerful women in America might just be the pair from San Francisco: Pelosi and Feinstein.

  152. 152.

    trollhattan

    The JVs have shared their thoughts:

    “Kamala Harris wants to turn the entire United States into San Fransisco. Her radical agenda has been terrible for Californians, and it would be terrible for the rest of America too,” wrote House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, via Twitter.

    “Pretty sure she locked up more of the black population in prison than she will lock up in their votes,”State Sen. Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, wrote on Twitter, calling out her record as attorney general and San Francisco DA.

    Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, wrote on Twitter about his concerns over who Newsom would select to fill Harris’ seat, should she and Biden win election in November. “The Legislature must immediately pass my bill to assure a successor to Kamala Harris would be chosen by a vote of the people, not a backroom deal with Gavin Newsom.” he wrote.

  155. 155.

    Eunicecycle

    @JPL: I sort of was a “suburban housewife” but I would have kicked in the balls anyone who called me that.

  157. 157.

    different-church-lady

    There is no better technique to get a certain demographic group to vote for you than referring to them in the third person while talking to other demographic groups.

  158. 158.

    tokyokie

    @Eljai:

    I would be surprised if Newsom appointed himself too.  When I was growing up in Minnesota, Gov. Wendell Anderson appointed himself to Mondale’s senate seat after Mondale was elected VP in 1976, but it wasn’t received well.  Anderson lost in ’78.  Both MN senate seats went republican that year.  It was bleak.

    Something like that happened while I was growing up in Oklahoma as well. Longtime Sen. Robert S. Kerr up and died on New Year’s Day, 1963, and Gov. J. Howard Edmondson, whose term would have been up in a few days and who was legally barred from succeeding himself, appointed the aforementioned J. Howard Edmondson to the seat. This so outraged Okies that Edmondson lost the 1964 Democratic primary for the full term to liberal state Sen. Fred R. Harris, who then clung to LBJ’s coattails and eked out a narrow victory over the Republican candidate, former OU football coach Bud Wilkinson.

     

    Harris retired from the Senate after one term, and is probably the last progressive politician elected to statewide office in Oklahoma.

  160. 160.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    @Steeplejack: Awkward moment in interview with Tim Kaine last night on Ari Velshi show (subbing for someone – Rachael Maddow or Chris Hayes – on MSNBC) who mistakenly said Kaine was no longer a senator when talking about his knowledge and opinion of Kamala Harris.  Kaine had to point out he was still in the senate.  Yeah, he made a big impression.

  161. 161.

    Brachiator

    @germy:

    Reminds me of the old Monty Python sketch; a news program for birds.  The reporter says there was an earthquake, and then mentions at the end of the story that no birds were hurt.

    One of the things that drives me nuts. I live in Southern California and if there is a devastating earthquake anywhere in the world, a local newscaster will always ask, “what does this mean for us? Will the Big One hit us soon?”

  163. 163.

    Betty Cracker

    @germy:

    Maybe she’s telling her followers “Sanders and Warren are okay with Harris, so vote. Don’t be idiots.”

    That’s how I read it. Once Biden nailed the nomination down, she endorsed him — and got a load of shit from the alt-left. I’m sure if she’s speaking at the convention, she’s going to endorse the ticket wholeheartedly, or they wouldn’t have asked her to speak. IMO, it’s daft to pillory her for only retweeting and not tweeting personal congrats at Harris within 24 hours, but opinions vary! :)

  164. 164.

    jonas

    Where is Trump — and/or his advisers — getting this idea that “suburban housewives” these days spend their time fearfully peering out from behind the living room curtains, clutching their pearls as she watches yet another colored family moving in across the street? Is Trump merely regressing in his mind to the 1950’s as his dementia advances, or does his campaign actually think this is effective messaging? It’s just bizarre.

  165. 165.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    scrolling through the thread I see a lot of mentions of “suburban housewives”, no disgust (unless I scrolled past it) for the attempts to make Cory Booker into Scary McBlackman? “the over-caffeinated youth pastor is coming to get your womens…”

  166. 166.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    @germy: Yeah, it was moderate boys, who it turned out hadn’t bothered to find someone to run against her.  Idiots.

  168. 168.

    Brachiator

    @jonas:

    Where is Trump — and/or his advisers — getting this idea that “suburban housewives” these days spend their time fearfully peering out from behind the living room curtains, clutching their pearls as she watches yet another colored family moving in across the street?

    A lot of white people live in segregated communities and fear the invasion of a non-white horde. There are also white people who gentrify neighborhoods and have no problem with pushing non-white people out.

  169. 169.

    Jess

    So glad I can pull my “Nasty Woman” tshirt out of the back of my closet. I didn’t have the heart to wear it after the 2016 election, but now I can wear it with pride, along with a leopard-print push-up bra. ;-)

  171. 171.

    Ruckus

    @Leto:

    That’s really a major leadership trait. The day of one person can do everything or do it all alone is long gone, if it really ever existed. I mean I owned a one man business, but I had over half a million dollars of machines a bunch of people designed and built to make that work. Two of those machines could run 24 hrs a day by themselves, once they were set up and the button pushed. All the people that designed/built/sold/installed/serviced them were part of  my business. My customers who made money with the tools I built and paid me were part of my business. I was one man in one building, I accomplished my part in the process, but I was not alone in that. That lone horseman in the movies of old likely didn’t make the saddle that his horse wore so he could ride all day, and what about that horse?

    So yes people who understand can both lead and follow, Kamala Harris has been a pretty good leader herself and has accepted a job that will require her to do both, lead and follow. It is the nature of a good human endeavor, none of us do this alone. shitforbrains is the exact opposite, a demanding owner who can not accept that his entire life is a failure, because he has no idea or concept about the value of work of anyone. It’s all about appearances with him, never about results or anyone else.

  172. 172.

    Quinerly

    • @tokyokie: I have to chime in! I had the pleasure of meeting former Senator Fred Harris in February. He lives in Corrales, New Mexico with his second wife. He was sitting with a group of his neighbors at Perea’s Tijuana Bar. I overheard them talking politics, smiled, and the group pulled me in for beer and food. One of those chance encounters that I miss when not traveling. Very interesting man.
  173. 173.

    Ruckus

    @Ken:

    his campaign didn’t plan how’d they respond to any other candidate?

    Why would they? The boss said it would be Karen Bass, therefore it will be Karen Bass. Even asking about the possibility would be problematic, so why bother? And the answer would be that Biden is an idiot who didn’t see the choices the way the smartest man does. It’s upside down world, topsy turvy is the norm.

  175. 175.

    J R in WV

    @Brachiator:

    damn it was tough reading how the opposition leader tried to stand up to the government and then had to flee the country.

    That’s how Drumpf wishes it was here… And I’m a little  scared it may come to that. Where would they take in political refugees from America? Where we would be safe, I mean!

  176. 176.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @piratedan: The only running mate HRC could have chosen (imho) that would have been enough to change the focus was 44 himself and we all suspect how that would have been played out…)

    Anyone with an IQ over 80 knows “how that would have played out”: Having served two terms as POTUS, Obama was & is Constitutionally disqualified from the Vice Presidency same as he is for the Presidency. (Cf. US Constitution, Article II; 12th Amendment; and 20th Amendment, Section 1.)

    This is not rocket science. It isn’t even bottle rocket science.

  177. 177.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Brachiator: If this sort of thing “drives you nuts” then you clearly have not made peace with how broadcast news works.

    All the viewers really care about is

    How will this piece of news affect me?

    (And that was true long before Ronnie Raygun & his creeps elevated selfishness to a national trait.)

    If the answer is either “not much” or “not in any way we can describe in words of one syllable or less,” then it’s not “News You Can Use” & it gets ignored – or, at most, barely noticed, if it’s a “human interest” feelgood story or a scene of death and destruction worthy of televised rubbernecking.

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