Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

People are complicated. Love is not.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Washington Post’s Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

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

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

The revolution will be supervised.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

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

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

“But what about the lurkers?”

“Joe Biden deserved better than he got from some folks in his own party.”

Come on, man.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

You are here: Home / Politics / Biden Administration in Action / Vice-President Harris, (Still) Putting in the Work

Vice-President Harris, (Still) Putting in the Work

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… “We have more work to do, but good work is happening and let’s not let anybody make us think that we cannot make a difference,” Harris said at the summit this week. “It’s never-ending in some ways, but we can’t let these circumstances take away our purpose and our knowledge that we can make a difference.”

She announced that AmeriCorps is partnering with the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention to establish the “Safer America Network,” which aims to prevent gun violence by providing resources to at-risk youth.

Last year, Quavo traveled to Washington, DC, where he met with members of Congress for a panel discussion on gun violence prevention.

That helped establish a dialogue with Vice President Harris, who joined the rapper Tuesday for a discussion as she continues to mark National Gun Violence Awareness Month.

The new collaboration announced by Harris on Tuesday will consist of AmeriCorps members and volunteers working with schools and mental health providers by training schools and families on trauma-informed care, and prevent violence from occurring in the first place by increasing the resources available to at-risk young people.

Harris emphasized that gun violence “requires everybody’s priority in terms of addressing it and there are many ways to do it. That includes also what we need to do around election time.”

She continued, “Too many people – who I will call cowards – have been pushing this false choice to suggest you’re either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away. That’s a false choice. I’m in favor of the Second Amendment.”

 


 


 
This is from last month, but remains relevant:

…In recent months, Harris — the first woman, Black or Asian vice president — has held a series of high-profile events that resonate with key parts of the Democratic base. They include a historic visit to a Minnesota abortion clinic, a nod to the rollback of federal reproductive rights that has galvanized women voters, and an impassioned speech at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, a landmark of the Civil Rights era. Harris and the administration have also leaned into detailing her personal arc and record in public office.

Republicans have sought to attack Biden’s fitness for a second term by casting her as unprepared to take his place. Polling shows voters are more concerned about the fitness of Biden, 81, for office than Donald Trump, four years younger at 77.

“It would be foolish to think that voters aren’t thinking a little more about who the vice president is and whether she’s capable of taking over,” said political scientist Christopher Devine, who co-authored a book about vice presidential candidates…

The poll showed Harris as the top choice among those considered Democratic rising stars if Biden were unable to continue his campaign. That list includes Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Maryland Governor Wes Moore and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.

Warming sentiment toward Harris was on display at a recent stop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a key swing state. During an on-stage interview with the vice president, comedian D.L. Hughley unexpectedly apologized.

“I have to say that I’m sorry,” Hughley told Harris. “I had let a media narrative co-opt my perspective, and I think that tends to happen with women and people of color.”

Hughley, who met privately with Harris in November, explained that he was critical of her time as a prosecutor in California, where he grew up and Harris spent her early political career. But, he said, “some of the things that I have subsequently come to learn about you, not only make me proud of you, but make me be an advocate.”…

Over the last year, the White House has deployed her on the offensive to counter political opponents, condemning book bans and new reproductive health restrictions. Harris frequently appears in front of audiences of color and young voters, which polls show are among the most disillusioned blocs of the Democratic base. Last week, she went viral online when she encouraged an audience of young Asian Americans to “kick that f—— door down” in pursuit of their careers.

The vice president has made more trips to competitive Western and Southern states than Biden this year, particularly North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada. Each has a high percentage of Latino or Black voters…

Trump hasn’t yet chosen a running mate. Once he does, Harris will no longer be measured against “an abstraction or an ideal of what a vice president should be,” vice-presidential scholar Joel Goldstein said. “She’s going to be measured or viewed as against whoever he picks.”…

Harris’ events are often shaped by closed-door conversations with individuals outside her orbit, according to a person familiar with the strategy.

Earn Your Leisure podcast hosts Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings joined Hughley, along with rapper Fat Joe and other influential men, for dinner at Harris’ residence in November, according to people familiar with the event.

The discussion, along with a gathering of young entrepreneurs of color last May, help spur ideas for Harris’ “Economic Opportunity” tour underway. The podcasting duo moderated the first stop in Atlanta last month.

The tour aims to reach Black men — who Trump and Republicans are courting — by emphasizing resources to build wealth.

“She can connect more readily with the audience that’s most problematic for Democrats than almost anyone else can,” Cornell Belcher, a Democratic pollster, said. “I would argue that is a really smart way to use her.”

Reader Interactions

67Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    Harris stepping in for Biden at Ukraine summit as she takes growing role in heat of 2024 campaign

    This seems like media spin. She’s been doing important work since day 1.

  3. 3.

    Harrison Wesley

    @Baud: It is media spin.  They didn’t report on anything she was doing, then turned around and claimed she wasn’t doing anything….because nobody had reported anything, right?

  5. 5.

    Jackie

    @Baud: 100% agree! She scares the hell out of the GQP. No one TCFG picks for VP will ever come close to what’s she’s already accomplished.

    ETA: See Pence as example 1.

  6. 6.

    satby

    And, referring back to this morning’s discussion, Harris has been very celebrated by the groups she’s done outreach to, and they’re a presence in the alternative info sources the younger voters pay attention to. DL Hughley’s apology got a lot of play. So younger people know more about what she’s been doing than people relying on mainstream media.

  7. 7.

    BR

    OT I don’t know how Biden’s executive action on immigration didn’t get more headlines. (I mean, I know: it’s obviously a positive story for Biden so it can’t possibly be a headline.)

    It’s a Big Deal. I don’t know how many are affected, but it’s probably many hundreds of thousands of people maybe millions, most Latino.

  9. 9.

    satby

    Also, nice to see JB get a shout out as a rising Dem star. He’s a good guy, and he’s been an outstanding, progressive governor.

    The Democrats have a great bench.

  10. 10.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @satby:

    The Democrats have a great bench.

    Precisely.  For the longest time, like decades, that wasn’t the case.

    It’s so gratifying to see the long game, in this case decades of recruiting and supporting *good* Dems, pay off.

  11. 11.

    Geminid

    Dave Wasserman says John McGuire is leading Rep. Bob Good by 285 votes in the VA05 Republican primary, but Wasserman hasn’t yet seen enough.

  12. 12.

    Hoppie

    Much of her time as a prosecutor was spent ensuring that prosecutions were fair and punishments  were proportionate.  The rule of law is better for it.  I am glad she was my Senator and now VP.

    (Confession: I voted for Kamala as CA Attorney General and Senator.  She earned it reforming the Bay area law enforcement system. Guilty people should be punished, but all accused people have rights.)

  13. 13.

    dmsilev

    @Geminid: I assume it’s close enough that whoever comes in second tonight will be calling for recounts (and probably screeching about Rigged Votes as well).

  16. 16.

    Ken

    Statistically half of swing-state voters now say they have confidence Harris can fulfill the duties of the presidency

    I wonder how they’ll rate Ivanka — er, I mean, whoever Trump picks for his VP this time around.

  18. 18.

    eclare

    @satby:

    DL Hughley has a nationally syndicated radio show, here it plays every afternoon.  I bet she shows up on it closer to the election.

  19. 19.

    West of the Rockies

    @Baud:

    I think Harris has been great.  I do not understand all the hate.  Well, actually I do:  misogyny and racism, and a complicit media.

  20. 20.

    Geminid

    @dmsilev: My guess is there’ll be a recount.

    It’s been a strange race. I don’t think Bob Good ever imagined he might fail to be renominated this year, at least not before McGuire jumped in, but Good’s DeSantis endorsement and his coup against McCarthy came back to haunt him.

    Good beat Denver Riggleman in 2020 through a caucus/convention process, and won in 2022 the same way. The General Assembly changed the law though, and this year he had to run in a primary for the first time.

    Virginia’s primaries are totally open because there’s no registration by party, and I wouldn’t be surprised if McGuire’s margin of victory  comes from Democrats crossing over to help rid themselves of the repulsive Bob Good.

  22. 22.

    Geminid

    @Jackie: Very few politicians are as repulsive as Bob Good. He’s never attracted the attention Gaetz and Greene have, but he’s meaner than either of them.

    Good is basically a Liberty University project.

  23. 23.

    Roberto el oso

    I have been keeping track of VP Harris and all that she’s been doing for the last couple of years, but, does anyone here know if there a site (perhaps her own website) where I could have access to the full details?

    I know I should be able to find this on my own but I’m hoping someone could guide me, and I trust you guys!

    I’m already encountering a lot of “what has she even done? I never hear anything about her” nonsense in my encounters out in the world, including wayyyy too many from dumbasses who are supposedly on the same side as me. I want to be able to push back with a little more efficiency than just relying on my old man’s memory (still pretty good, but ya know …)

  24. 24.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Kristine:

    When I voted for him the first time, my thought at the time was “anyone but Rauner,” but he’s been marvelous. 

    Yes!  I voted for Biss in the primary, and was pissed that it was going to be Billionaire v Billionaire, but I’ve been very impressed with Pritzker, and will happily vote for him again.

  25. 25.

    Hoppie

    @Roberto el oso: They could look up her work as CA AG, but that would involve, you know, work.

    Kamala is the real deal.  She has been there, she does that.
    I, a 72 year old white male, loved her as AG and now VP.  I know many of us are asshats, but maybe you could trust the honest ones?

    (ETA, if it’s not obvious, I live in CA)

  28. 28.

    Roberto el oso

    @Hoppie: Oh, I am absolutely a huge fan. During the 2020 primaries she was my #1 choice, and I was very happy when Biden picked her as his VP. My admiration and respect for her has only grown since then.

  31. 31.

    cain

    @Belafon:

    Good.. these assholes need to be sent to prison. I hope going to federal prison was worth it. Chris Rufo likely doesn’t give a shit about you.

  32. 32.

    prostratedragon

    Dimensions of the Polo Grounds, where Willie Mays played his first 6 years with the Giants. That famous catch must have been nearly 450 feet out.

  34. 34.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    @prostratedragon: The Polo Grounds always struck me as having weird dimensions for a baseball stadium. There’s a reason they don’t make them like that any more.

  35. 35.

    Bupalos

    I think it’s kind of bullshit both to send VP Harris to that summit in place of Biden, and the tepid statement she was given to read. But that is all about U.S. policy here and not at all about Harris, who would make a fine prez if you ask me.

    The strongest part of her statement is quoted there, and frankly, it’s pretty weak. Putin didn’t just demand Ukrainian surrender, in fact if you pay attention, he is demanding as a condition of cease fire that NATO leave Russia’s rightful sphere of influence. Which is notoriously undefined but never fails to include all of eastern europe and the Baltics at least. It’s not even a ridiculous demand of expanded surrender…it’s an open escalation.

    This whole thing ia still treated in U.S. policy as a kind of loudly reluctant defense of “the international rules based order.” The subject of actual Russian defeat is never mentioned. Our commitment is only to Ukraine… continuing to exist in some form? In its current form? As a perpetually convenient receptacle for Russian missiles?

  37. 37.

    SomeRandomGuy

    Putin and Kim Jung Un are finally meeting in person. I’ve been given to believe both have been stuffing themselves with, uh, fairly flatulent foods, because they have a running bet over who can pull off the loudest, ripest, “Donald” of the weekend.

    “Come on, give me the line!”

    “Okay, okay, but I need another drink of that fine vodka to kill the taste. (big drink, careful swallow) AHEM: ‘Before *I* was President, people used to laugh at America!'” which still can break them both up laughing. Maybe they’ll die laughing, and TFG will finally have done something good for the world.

  38. 38.

    lgerard

    Thankfully the VA 05 is so close that the two wingnuts can spend the next 5 months arguing over who rigged it and who stole it while the democratic candidate can point, laugh, and portray herself as the reasonable choice.

  39. 39.

    sab

    @satby: I hope you are right.

    I do know that my fortyish stepkids don’t listen or watch any of the MSM that I watch. And they are very progressive. They do tend to go down rabbitholes that I have never heard of. Hearts in the right place, but I hope facts wander in at some point

    ETA They try to be politically aware, but a big part of their lives is just trying to keep their heads above water financially. Much better under Biden but still it is always a struggle.

  40. 40.

    sab

    @sab: I have one graduate degree (History, with Honors)  and two post graduate degrees (Law and Accounting.)

    My stepkids chose working class training. Welding. Logistics. Insurance adjustment.

    We all earned a living in our different approaches, but what a difference in the work environment.

  41. 41.

    sab

    @sab: My busy season is tax, and that is predictably on a calendar. The first four months of the year are horrible, the the rest of the year is peaceful.

    My stepdaughter in insurance has a weather determined year. She has been working seven days a week, god knows how many hours of overtime, just helping Floridians with their drowned cars. And summer hasn’t even officially started yet.

  42. 42.

    sab

    OT We finally got the money so we will be closing on the house. An elderly person’s dream house. Important living space all on one floor. Two bathrooms. Near all the kids and grandkids. Wonderful basement we will probably never see.

    We are giving up a backyard with a creek with high banks ( lots of privacy) for a railroad in bank, so same privacy except for the loud trains. Same prrivacy since the trains are freight not tourist.

    Our dog will be upset. She is trading an amazing yard for a meh yard.

  43. 43.

    WereBear

    @sab: Wonderful news about the house. I hope the dog adjusts. Is the yard also better for a getting older dog? For many years, I hope.

    If it’s not a subway train next to an apartment kind of train, and I’m fine with them. One side was a railroad family.

  44. 44.

    sab

    @WereBear: It is a freight train, mostly middle of the night runs with ( probably ) toxic chemicals. That’s life.

    Our realtor, a friend of my husband since kindergarden, was jealous. She flips houses, and her late son was a railroad buff. He would have loved this house on the tracks.

    Dog will be disappointed but not horrified. Old neighbors will be thrilled to have stepson’s lovely friendly dog instead of our cranky old pitbull.

  46. 46.

    sab

    @sab: Cats will probably be disappointed until we get new birds at the feeder. I hope stepson feeds the old birds. But thousand acre metropark. They should manage.

  47. 47.

    eclare

    @WereBear:

    One side of my family was a railroad family.  I like the sound of a distant whistle, but I’m not sure I’d like it in my backyard.

  48. 48.

    sab

    @eclare: Not as much as she would like. She is a barking maniac so we make her come in when she barks.

    Pitbulls aren’t supposed to be barky, but she was raised by chihuahuas. They are supposed to be barky and they are barky. So Ponyo is also. She was raised that way.

    She may get outside more, depending on neighbor dog situation.

    Pitbulls do really seem to object to other dogs. Cats okay. People okay. Tiny children who stick their fingers up your nostrils okay. But another dog: full on bark alert with your fur standing upright.

  49. 49.

    sab

    Old house the fenced backyard is just outside the backdoor. Open the door and dog is outside but safe.

    New house we cannot figure out how to do that.  This might be a nagging inconvenience.  But we will have two bathrooms. Trading one inconvenience for another. More dog’s problem than ours.

  50. 50.

    Jay

    @sab: Casey, (pittie X )used to bark at any male, that came on the property.

    Serious bark.

    Until they greeted her.

    Other than my ex-Brother.

    Dave, once, Steve, once, James, (never, neurodivergent), Martin once, etc,……

    My ex-brother, every time, she did not trust him at all,

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    she was right.

  51. 51.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Bupalos: ​
     

    This whole thing ia still treated in U.S. policy as a kind of loudly reluctant defense of “the international rules based order.” The subject of actual Russian defeat is never mentioned. Our commitment is only to Ukraine… continuing to exist in some form? In its current form? As a perpetually convenient receptacle for Russian missiles?

    Strong agreement here.

    Russia is an outlaw nation. That should be our framing. It seeks to conquer neighbors where it can, and destabilize rivals (like us) as much as it can.

    I feel I’m hearkening back to the Cold War and George Kennan here, but the U.S. and NATO need a comprehensive policy of containment towards Russia, to strengthen all of Russia’s neighbors that want to remain independent of Russia, not just Ukraine (which needs much better resources from us and our allies to stop the bombardments of its cities).

    That should be our policy: to force Russia to give up its dreams of empire, that common thread that connects Russia under the Tsars with Soviet Russia with today’s right-authoritarian state. A Russia that its neighbors don’t have reason to fear could be welcomed as part of the community of nations, but Russia as it is under Putin, and likely under his eventual successor, certainly cannot be.

    It has to be regarded as a danger that must be contained and fenced in, full stop. And it must be understood that Americans who aid and abet Russia in its efforts to expand into its neighbors, and to sow internal discord elsewhere, are “adhering to [our] Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort,” in the language of the Constitution. We may not wish to be Russia’s enemy, but it is unquestionably an enemy of the United States. It has openly acknowledged this.

  58. 58.

    Geminid

    @lgerard: My guess is that the loser between Good and McGuire will endorse the winner once the vote tally is complete. (or the recount if there is one). They know that nobody likes a sore loser, and nobody respects one either. And there was no vital principle at stake in this race; it was all about intra-party politics.

    This district is rated R+8, and Democrats are giving it a low priority. Last month a friend sent me fundraising figures for the three Democratic candidates. When I saw the total raised by the leader I thought maybe Joan has misplaced a comma. She assured me that it was in fact $12,000, and not $120,000.

  59. 59.

    Jeffro

    Thanks for this post, AL!  As grateful as I am for President Biden and the work he’s been doing these past 4 years, I’m equally grateful that we have VP Harris right there with him, also doing the work.  =)

    Special thanks to all BJers who contributed suggestions last night for me to pass along to Froette re: keeping safe at the RNC.  I know it will be quite the learning experience for her and her fellow students, but I do wish she hadn’t drawn the short straw (ie, RNC instead of DNC).

  60. 60.

    Jeffro

    @Geminid: I can see Good endorsing McGuire; I’m not sure I can see McGuire endorsing Good.

    I hope McGuire pulls it out.  I’ll be thrilled to see Good pack his bags, McGuire will be a freshman AND an obvious trump cultist, and as the district gets a little bit bluer each cycle, we might stand a better chance of flipping it.

  61. 61.

    lowtechcyclist

    NEW: Voters are gaining trust in @KamalaHarris after a string of high-profile events, the latest Bloomberg News-Morning Consult poll found.

    We explored why it’s happening:

    Thanks to Anne Laurie, we’ve long known what Kamala Harris has been doing, and have been comfortable with the thought of her being able to step in if the necessity should arise.

    What’s happening now is that the general public is starting to catch up with us.

  63. 63.

    Ken

    @Geminid: And there was no vital principle at stake in this race; it was all about intra-party politics.

    Reminds me of the old joke about college faculty disputes being so vicious because the stakes are so low.

  64. 64.

    Geminid

    @Jeffro: Now I wish Sally Hudson had held on to her House of Delegates seat. She’d be a strong Democratic candidate, and since federal and state elections are staggered here Hudson wouldn’t have had to give up her General Assembly seat to make the race.

    Oh well. Maybe Hudson will get a cabinet post in a Spanberger administration. Then she can run for the 5th CD in 2028.

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