Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

People are complicated. Love is not.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

I was promised a recession.

People are weird.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Motown is Joe-Town!

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

I conferred with the team and they all agree – still not tired of winning!

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

The words do not have to be perfect.

This fight is for everything.

No one could have predicted…

Don’t expect peaches from an apple tree.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

I desperately hope that, yet again, I am wrong.

You are here: Home / Elections 2024 / Monday Morning Open Thread: All In for President Kamala

Monday Morning Open Thread: All In for President Kamala

by | 377 Comments

This post is in: , , ,

lol damn “If Joe Biden can step aside, then the rest of us can step up” is a good line

[image or embed]

— Preeti Chhibber (@runwithskizzers.bsky.social) Jul 21, 2024 at 5:43 PM

Vice President Kamala Harris is being thrust into the most scrutinizing of spotlights, suddenly the leading candidate to succeed President Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and her party’s main hope of defeating Republican Donald Trump.

She spoke multiple times with Biden on Sunday, according to people familiar with the conversations – a day after Biden huddled with his closest aides in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, as he began to conclude that he would end his reelection bid. About two hours after the surprise Sunday announcement from Biden, Harris released her own statement, making it clear she knew the nomination would not just be handed to her…

Then Harris quickly got to work. She spent much of Sunday afternoon calling Democratic elected officials and delegates as she worked to lock up her party’s nomination. One call was with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Another was with Congressional Hispanic Caucus chairwoman Nanette Barragan, who emphasized that she was “all in” behind the vice president and urged donations on her behalf…

Harris also communicated that she preferred to forego a virtual roll call for the nomination process and instead hold a process that adheres to regular order.

“This is the moment for us to unite and coalesce around the vice president and focus around Donald Trump,” Barragán said.

Harris also spoke with Rep. Annie Kuster, who leads the New Democrat Coalition, an influential bloc of center-left lawmakers. Kuster endorsed Harris on Sunday afternoon…

Harris also quickly won endorsements from the leadership of several influential caucuses and political organizations, including the AAPI Victory Fund, which focuses on Asian American and Pacific Islander voters, The Collective PAC, focused on building Black political power, and the Latino Victory Fund. While some Democrats remained silent on whom they want for a nominee, many others said the party should immediately assemble behind Harris, wanting to move past the painful, public deliberations that have marked the weeks since the July 27 Biden-Trump debate…

But as she works to consolidate the party behind her, Harris still has her day job – at a time when Biden has been sidelined due to a bout with COVID-19. Harris will host an event on the South Lawn of the White House on Monday with sports teams from across the country that won NCAA championships this year, and is slated to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Washington later this week. Harris also has a previously scheduled campaign swing to Milwaukee on Tuesday.

NYT : we need an open convention
Joe Manchin : we need an open convention
Donors : we need an open convention
State parties :

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— hammancheez (@hammancheez.bsky.social) Jul 21, 2024 at 7:53 PM

more than any other person in this whole debacle (including biden!), harris has done absolutely everything that anyone could have asked of her to avoid the worst outcomes, if this is how we get the first woman president, the opportunity is now there. that's it, man, that's what's on the table.

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— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachine.com) Jul 21, 2024 at 2:44 PM


Brat summer!

Reader Interactions

377Comments

  1. 1.

    NotMax

    Open thread science tidbit.

    Tempest versus teapot. Call it a brewhaha.

    A new study reveals that Storm Ciaran cut an invisible path of mayhem across southern Britain last autumn, destroying any possibility that 20 million people could have a proper cup of tea at breakfast.

    The storm’s record-breaking low pressure meant the boiling point of water was below the crucial 100 degrees Celsius required for a decent cuppa, meteorologists at the University of Reading have discovered. Source

  2. 2.

    zhena gogolia

    I think I’ll refrain from celebrating the end of democracy in America, thanks.

  3. 3.

    Jackie

    Manchin is defiantly* NOT running:

    Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) told CBS News that he will not run for the Democratic nomination against Kamala Harris..

    But he added that he would like to see a competitive process for Democrats to choose the nominee.

    *Defiantly is not a typo.

  5. 5.

    Soprano2

    Here’s hoping this is a better week for me. Hubby did a 24-hour urine collection yesterday, which was just as fun with someone who has dementia as you’re imagining. I’m just glad it’s freaking done, I was really worrying about it. As an added bonus, my stomach was queasy all day yesterday, and that happened before Biden announced he was dropping out. I guess it was a good day to have to stay at home.

    Honestly, I’m glad that it appears all the drama is over, and we can move forward. This isn’t what I wanted, but I had zero say over it, so I’m going to get onboard with the Democratic nominee. I understand it’s going to take some people awhile to be reconciled to what happened. When TCFG was almost shot and killed, I thought about what a total clusterfuck it would have been for the Republicans because TCFG hadn’t even selected his VP yet! I honestly was imagining a “Hunger Games” scenario. At least we had a great candidate who could step up for us. What’s done is done, I have a lot of other stresses in my life so I’m glad this one is gone at least for now.

  7. 7.

    OzarkHillbilly

    We had Vivi yesterday (and today again) so I missed out on all the brouhaha. Saw the news at 4:21, spent about 2 hours looking for a “Harris for Pres” place to donate before my coffee finally kicked in and I just went to ActBlue.

    There it is!

    To reiterate, I was Joe all the way but recognized the fact that what I want is beside the point in this situation and was committed to whatever the DEMs and Joe decided. I remain so. I don’t know if this improves our chances or worsens them and I’m not gonna argue one way or the other. What is done is done and it’s time for us all to pull together.

  8. 8.

    Soprano2

    @Jackie: I think he’s going to be disappointed, because so many Democrats have already endorsed Harris that there won’t be anyone viable left to compete for the slot. Now the jockeying for the VP slot, OTOH, will be fierce!

  9. 9.

    TBone

    The meme flow has begun.  Two faves already: an oil painting of Kamala as Rosie the Riveter and one where a beautiful drawing of her is done with purple surround and the word “UNITE” in white letters down the side. 💜

  12. 12.

    Kay

    I’m hoping this makes Democrats question whether Rachel Bitecofer is credible. She pushed all the conspiracy theories about how this was some kind of end run around Harris which were obviously complete bullshit, but I don’t think it will.

  13. 13.

    Soprano2

    @Kay: Oh, I think that was definitely out there. How serious it was is another question, but it was there.

  15. 15.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @rikyrah: @zhena gogolia:

    I’m not happy with the process either. What they did to Joe was disgraceful. The craven capitulation to the pundits and plutocrats sets a terrible precedent. The PTB know that they have us in a vise, with the Felon and Project 2025 facing us. We have no choice but to support the Dem candidate. Or else.

    At the same time, I’m glad that Joe put his full weight behind Kamala. I doubt that she’s the one that that the pundits and plutocrats would have chosen. I’ll support her fully, despite my bitterness at the betrayal. Maybe what was meant for ill can be turned to good.

  16. 16.

    zhena gogolia

    Harris is not officially the nominee yet. We’ll see what Clooney thinks. (Not a joke.)

  19. 19.

    Jeffro

    I’m very, very excited this morning!  Let’s go win this thing by HUGE margins and give President Harris a Dem House & Senate to work with!!

    (also…because it doesn’t appear anyone said it yet…fuck Joe Manchin)

  21. 21.

    MazeDancer

    Brokenhearted, but embracing the change.

    Veepstakes is first.

    Andy Beshear on Morning Joe this AM was so white and perfect. Haley voters and fence-sitting suburban moms will eat him up. Vance is mincemeat. Video.

    Love Mark Kelly, but he is a Westerner, so is Kamala.

    Roy Cooper is 67 and looks it. Should have kept dyeing his hair.

    If we’re making a change because of age, go for it. Beshear is 46.

  22. 22.

    WereBear

    Now I’m in tears. I’m glad I made myself go to bed.

    Because I woke up feeling fine about everyone being grown ups about the whole thing. I was always happy about Kamala.

    And the prosecutor/sex predator ads are right there for the taking. She had some from 2020 that hit even harder now.

  23. 23.

    Anonymous At Work

    Any word how and why TFG is running from the September debate?

    Any indication that anyone else trying to run against Harris?  Especially now that Manchin has indicated that while he wants a white male only, he isn’t going to volunteer to run on that platform with the party he just left.

  25. 25.

    Kay

    @Soprano2:

    When you start saying Nancy Pelosi and Obama are plotting to bring the Democrats down you should probably check your sources. It doesn’t even make sense. She’s supposed to be a “political strategist” and she denied every single number about Biden and just screamed “racist!” at anyone who corrected her.

  26. 26.

    moonbat

    @rikyrah: Me too. John Fetterman is my spirit animal right now: “Spare me the soaring accolades from people with their fingerprints on the blades in our President’s back.” John Fetterman on the rush from Democrats to say how accomplished a president Joe Biden has been minutes after pushing him out.

    I’m going to fight for Kamala Harris to win the presidency with every fiber of my being but if AL thinks the Irish can hold a grudge forever, she has not see this Scot in action.

  29. 29.

    stinger

    Must be at least one commenter here who’s happy now that Biden was at his “beach house” instead of campaigning.

  30. 30.

    Jeffro

    Side note (nearly OT): Candidate Harris’ selection of her VP/running mate – almost surely a popular swing-state governor – is going to open up a HUGE opportunity for Dems.  Her choice will make a great deal of sense whether she picks Cooper, Whitmer, or Shapiro.  And it’ll be a great chance to point out the extremely odd choice of J.D. Vance by trump.

    Odd, that is, unless we help our blessed snooze media and the normies figure it out…

    J.D.’s not from a swing state, and he’s not terribly popular.  He has all kinds of negatives (including all of his well-publicized previous criticisms of trump).  In theory, he brings nothing to the ticket, except to reinforce the “MAGA = asshole” brand.

    BUT

    As most of us already know, Vance is there in order to massively increase the flow of billionaire cash to trump.  That’s it.  They are HUGE fans!  (Musk himself was screeching into the night about the need for techbros to come together now, not for trump, but for Vance.)

    Normies won’t get it unless we point it out to them, and there’ll be no better time than when Harris selects her VP.

    Vance = trump’s pipeline to billionaire techbros who don’t give a shit about you.  They just want to keep monetizing your kids’ depression and our national divisions. (c)

    (c) copyright Jeffro, LOL

  31. 31.

    Kay

    @Anonymous At Work:

    No one serious will run against her. She’s so far ahead they’ll never catch her. Manchin didn’t “decide” anything. She beat him in the first 30 minutes after the announcement.

  32. 32.

    BretH

    As GOLIKEHELLMACHINE on Bluesky says, this is our opportunity to absolutely crush right-wing facism in the US. LET’S DO IT!!!

  33. 33.

    dmsilev

    @Anonymous At Work:

    Any word how and why TFG is running from the September debate?

    He had some rambling “Truth” about how George Stephanopolous was biased and unfair and so on and therefore he was *insisting* that the debate be moved to Fox. That was yesterday; dunno if there’s been more since then.

  35. 35.

    Ken

    @TBone: There is no basis for any legal challenge. Period.

    Justice Alito: “Hold my beer. Not you, Kavanaugh.”

    (I’ve used it before, but it still works. Unfortunately.)

  39. 39.

    Belafon

    @Kay: it was an endrun around Harris. Those wanting it to happen didn’t expect us “Quit fucking with Biden you assholes” people to line up behind her so fast because they didn’t actually understand our support, which was not old white guy but progressive president.

  41. 41.

    debit

    @moonbat: Me three.  Obviously I’ll do whatever I can to make sure the orange shit stain never sits in the Oval Office again, but I am never getting over what was done to Biden.

  42. 42.

    Mousebumples

    @MazeDancer: my only concern about Cooper is that he has a GOP Lt. Governor, and apparently if Cooper leaves the state, the Lt. Gov is interimly in charge.

    Not sure if that’s great for NC, but will defer to locals.

  44. 44.

    Sanjeevs

    If I was on Harris team I would seriously think about ads attacking Trump over his handling of Covid. First because it was objectively terrible, second because his base has really different views on masks, vaccines etc and third because it ties him to a really terrible time for everyone.

    i can’t think of a single democratic national leader during Covid who was won reelection, regardless of how well or badly they handled it.
    Biden obviously wasn’t in a position to do this but Harris is.

  45. 45.

    WaterGirl

    NYT : we need an open convention

    Joe Manchin : we need an open convention

    Donors : we need an open convention

    FIXED

    NYT : we support the fascists and the money guys

    Joe Manchin : the big money guys want me to knee-cap the dems on my way out.

    Donors : we need to put our guy in

  46. 46.

    E.

    @moonbat: I think it’s seeing how this went down that’s got me so fearful. I am very excited about the campaign but feel much more aware of how fragile our coalition is. And how appallingly amoral our national media are.

  48. 48.

    Kay

    @Belafon:

    Whatevs. THere’s lots and lots of reporting about what actually happened. Read any of it, or is all media now banned?

    If you put yourself out there as a “political strategist” on the Left side of the room who one would hire to do an actual job of getting Democrats elected I suggest you not spend weeks promoting insane conspiracy theories about the Democratic Party on Twitter to get outrage clicks.

  49. 49.

    Eyeroller

    @debit: My biggest concern is the precedent it sets.  Donors and media and Party elites can force out a nominee they don’t want.  It’s not unusual for a candidate, even an incumbent, to be tied or a little behind in July.  But they said he couldn’t win and then went on a nearly month-long campaign of character assassination and insinuations that all but ensured that would become reality.

    The donors and some of the Party elite want an open convention. That’s pretty clear right now.  Some of the rapid closing of ranks about Harris is certainly due to enthusiasm, but some may be a recognition that they must nip this fantasy in the bud as quickly as possible.

  50. 50.

    suzanne

    FWIW, Mr. Suzanne told me this morning that he thinks the VP pick will be Mark Kelly. He’d be a fine pick. I will never not be slightly sad, though….. we should be talking about the possibility of a Harris/Giffords ticket right now.

  52. 52.

    WereBear

    It was handled badly, but it was apparently a process where he chose for the good of the country.

    Which is why I am fine with his choice of VP, too. That position is designed for this, and I think — with the media ageism now pivoting to Trump — our Presidential Candidate will deeply scare their candidate.

    She will sell her case for the American people because she knows the facts and can build a narrative. Another AG is coming for all his marbles.

  54. 54.

    oldster

    I sent my President a note yesterday, telling him how much I admired him and the job that he has done. And thanking him for stepping down.
    I’m not a big-money donor. I’m not a plutocrat. I voted for Joe in 2020 and again this year in the primary. Other than that, I’m nobody.
    But I am one of the millions of regular Democrats who had lost confidence that Joe could win this one. That’s why I wrote to him a week ago, and to my senators (not to my Rep because he’s a republican), and asked him to step down and asked them to persuade him to step down.
    If you don’t know many people like me, then you might think this was a coup launched by party insiders. But I am not a party insider. I’m just one of the millions of people that told the party insiders that Joe had changed, and we needed to change in order to win this thing.

    I still love Joe, and I’m grateful to him for having saved us from a second term of trump in 2020. I believe he has just saved us from a second term of trump in 2024.
    And now I’m going to go make my small-dollar donation to the Harris campaign.
    I’m sorry that this process has been bruising for the good people of this website. But I look forward to fighting alongside you to keep Harris in the White House and keep trump out.

  55. 55.

    Kay

    @suzanne:

    Beshear is definitely auditioning. I actually think that’s smart – send them all out on Morning Joe to attack JD Vance – see how they do :)

  56. 56.

    WaterGirl

    Can someone please explain the coconut references?  I first heard it in AOC video and I have been hearing it since with no idea what it’s about..

  58. 58.

    cmorenc

    What about Dean Phillips instead of Harris?

    /ducks to avoid flying bricks.

    /snark tag, big-time.  :=)

  59. 59.

    Kathleen

    @MazeDancer: I saw transcript (don’t know if it was from same program). Beshear says the following about Vance:

    Beshear also continued to contrast what he believes are key differences between Harris and Vance, saying the Republican VP nominee have done the people of Kentucky a disservice in speaking about them.

    “I want the American people to know what a Kentuckian is, and what they look like. Let me just tell you, JD Vance ain’t from here. The nerve that he has to call the people Kentucky, of eastern Kentucky, ‘lazy.’

    “Listen, these are the hard-working coal miners that powered the industrial revolution, that created the strongest middle class the world has ever seen. Powered us through two World Wars. We should be thanking them, not calling them ‘lazy.'”

    He continued, “Today was an opportunity to both support the vice president but also to stand up for my people. Nobody calls us names, especially those that have worked hard for the betterment of this country.”

    Sorta kinda sounds like a campaign speech maybe? Anyway I hope he becomes the Dems’ designated Vance Basher after whomever is chosen for VP.

  60. 60.

    ArchTeryx

    I’ve been at least somewhat encouraged by the general falling in line behind Harris, but the tsunami of hatred, bigotry, and misogyny from dark money sources and the press hasn’t even begun yet. They haven’t yet settled on whatever “butter emails” narrative they’re going to use against Harris from now until the first Tuesday in November. And that’s even assuming the all-powerful robber baron donors that pushed Biden out don’t decide Joe Manchin is going to be their candidate and force a contested convention. That would seal the deal for TCFG.

    I still am making my emergency plans. The folks that suggested I try Signal, I thank, because it’s an excellent suggestion. I’ll be working to put it into place. Even before this “Brand New Day” starts, we are going to need a samizdat.

  62. 62.

    Kay

    @SatanicPanic:

    That was strategic, in the sense that they got their “first 100 days” agenda, but not in the sense that it mattered because they also knew he would lose. So sort of baffling, perhaps POOR strategy but still recognizable as a strategy, I think.

    I’m pissed at her only for the nonsense about the ballot challenges. She knows better.

  64. 64.

    schrodingers_cat

    @O. Felix Culpa:

    @zhena gogolia:

    @rikyrah:

    Same here. This was not just about the debate, there was nothing organic about what happened in the last 3 weeks and the entire Biden presidency.

    The press was against him since Afghanistan withdrawl. What I am curious about was when the Nancy Pelosi threw in with the press and the donors against Biden.

    The press has a recipe now of how to take out a Democratic President. Congrats to all the grandees in the party that cooperated overtly or by a studied silence.

  65. 65.

    Eyeroller

    @WaterGirl: Her mother was from India and had some story about falling out of a coconut palm as a girl, but “coconut” is also a racial slur under the circumstances (brown on the outside, white on the inside) so people using palm-tree and coconut emojis are sus, as the kids say.

  66. 66.

    RaflW

    @Jackie: Christ, what an asshole.

    Manchin, more than any other, robbed Biden of months of momentum during his preening escapade to stop Biden’s economic plan.

    “Manchin is glaringly out of step with today’s Democratic party – and he knows it. At one point, he even offered to leave the Democratic party if his colleagues thought he’d become too much of an ’embarrassment'”.

    While the loss of West Virginia as a Dem senate seat sucks, and Manchin did deliver on a few other key votes (and did his duty generally on judges), his Republican-lite schtick is so very stale.

  69. 69.

    Chris Johnson

    @Soprano2: Oh, the drama is not in the least over, but the pivot to young-and-progressive is a nasty development for the Republicans.

    Rather than running a ‘your guy is more old and demented!’ play, which they’re totally committed to, now their only hope is to go ‘your PARTY is more corrupt and evil!’

    Meanwhile Peter Thiel is like, hold my beer.

    From early reactions here on Balloon Juice I think the Russians and their media puppets are simply going to have to go all in on claiming that the Democrats threw away the whole primary despite everyone voting for one of the names that’s still on the ticket, despite it being Joe’s call and he could have brazened it out and still won, and they’re gonna top it off by trying to convince people simultaneously that the perfidious Dems are going to secretly name Manchin after all, and also that it’s a plot to coronate Kamala for some reason, who they’ll say has no experience and has never been in the White House before nor met Biden.

    Count on it, the only hope for an evil spin on all of this is a giant conspiratorial fanfiction.

    Reality is, a lot of people did the best they could with what they had, we’d have still won, and Joe trusted us to make this work. I do as well, and Joe’s still there, and I am literally seeing younger people in lefty circles super excited by this. I guess Joe had some idea of that as well. I mean, if I knew it, it can’t have been that hard to observe.

  70. 70.

    debit

    @Eyeroller: Agreed, this was a coordinated effort to drive Biden out. I have no idea what strategy to use to combat this when it happens again.

    I’m heartsick and angry.

  71. 71.

    Jackie

    @Mousebumples: Thanks!😊

    Manchin is on MJ being his self pitying passive/aggressive self. I desperately hope come the 2028 elections his name and face is long forgotten.

  72. 72.

    WereBear

    My aunt from the Midwest says Veep has gotta be a white guy. Implied (because part of me is also from the Midwest) that he needs to be cis-het.

    I see that as a return to the days when such pairs covered the ticket geographically and in other ways. Instead of a highest bidder situation like the Republicans.

    And there were concerns, obviously. I’m thinking our upswell of support for what President Biden has done made it easier on all concerned.

    We appreciate him. We don’t want him to drop in the traces. And he’s run for President and he’s been President but he’s never done both at the same time. And that NATO summit was a crowning moment.

    If he’s stepping down at the top of his game, good for him.

  73. 73.

    Kay

    @WaterGirl:

    Harris said this thing about “just falling out of a coconut tree” (like “I didn’t just fall off the pumpkin truck) and the kids on Tic Tok set it to dance/techno music – they love it.

  74. 74.

    BR

    @Kay:

    It was real. I was hearing it from well connected Nat Sec Dems (by well connected, I mean they are in the circle with ex-National Security Advisors and such). They really did want an open blitz primary half stocked with never Trumper GOPers.

  75. 75.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @O. Felix Culpa: I’d phrase it another way: black voters are loyal to Dems out of pragmatism/survival and everyone knows that.  White people in our coalition weaponized that by bashing Biden, just-asking-questions, making excuses for the panic, holding out their support because they “just weren’t sure” etc., until the media, rich donors and Russian rat-fuckers got their wish.  White people used their privilege to take the nomination process hostage in a game of chicken with the PoC, LGBTQ people etc., who were already supporting the Dem candidate.  Now the result is hopefully gonna be Harris as the nominee.  And she’s awesome, for real*.  So now they are pivoting to “But isn’t Harris great?” to try to distract us and absolve themselves of the fuckshit they just made happen.  They used the safety, comfort and power of their Whiteness to undermine the legitimate process of our Primary in order to make it accord with their feelings.  They colluded with billionaires and people like Joe Manchin to do this and we should never forget that.

    I love Kamala and will work hard to get her elected.  It’s the people who back-stabbed our President that I could do without.  They aren’t allies and they can’t be trusted.  We may all work towards the same goal of electing Harris, but we are definitely not on the same team.  They just proved that, in the worst manner possible, over the past three weeks.

    * I thought Harris great as AG of CA, and as my Senator and she was actually my first choice in 2020.  I was always sad (and pissed) that all the brutal attacks on her worked and her campaign never got off the ground.  I remember quite well, who did those attacks and who signal-boosted them, and they are many of the same people who just pushed Biden out, which is VERY worrying.  I don’t trust these fuckers as far as I can throw them.

  77. 77.

    Steve in the ATL

    Speaking of which, what’s the deal with dry cleaners these days?  Just went for the time since Covid and shirts were $4 each.  Is that normal now or do I need to find a new place?

  79. 79.

    Hoodie

    @MazeDancer: Roy is a good man and a good politician. He’s been a progressive stalwart, fighting with his hands tied by a republican legislative majority to stave off an onslaught of ugly racism and homophobia here in NC. He’s always outperformed every statewide Dem candidate. We were hoping he’d run for the senate in 2026, but he’d be a solid vp.

  80. 80.

    SatanicPanic

    @raven: oh god no! Hahahaha. She gave a speech and told a story about how he mom was explaining historical context to her. He mom said something like “you didn’t just fall out of a coconut tree” ie you didn’t appear out of nowhere

     

    @raven:

  81. 81.

    Ken

    @raven: No, remarkably enough, it is not a piece of racist filth from the GQP (though give them time).  It’s something that VP Harris’s mother used to say to her:

    “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.

  82. 82.

    Anonymous At Work

    @Belafon: Manchin might actually believe that most Democratic delegates are like him: conservative-lite, old, white, male, and set to vote for someone like him.  Or he might think that a few minutes in a luxury suite with a big money donor would sway the delegates.

    Either way, he knows that he has zero credibility with the party,  wants a conservative-lite nominee, but knows that the platform of “Almost all Presidents are white men” is not a winner.

    And yes, slagging him hard for being a relict and not adapting to the fact.

  83. 83.

    Chris Johnson

    @Eyeroller: It’s 2024, EVERYTHING’s sus.

    That’s just the territory now. It becomes more about GOTV, fundraising from small donors, and volunteers. When Obama won it was off the back of huge volunteer turnout of younger voters and organizers.

    Some of those are sus too. It’s just the territory in 2024. You want SUS, look at the biggest media outlets! :)

  85. 85.

    Soprano2

    @zhena gogolia: I’m certainly not happy about how this whole thing went down. I am heartened by how many people and state parties have already come out and endorsed her as the candidate. I think that will make it hard for idiots like Clooney to overrule them. I suspect Joe had that lined up and agreed to before he released his letter; it was probably a condition of his dropping off the ticket.

  88. 88.

    eclare

    @MazeDancer:

    I’m behind on the DVR, but I loved Claire McCaskill’s take on Manchin:  now there’s a man looking for relevance, bless his heart.

  90. 90.

    Kay

     

    They’re not using it as a racial slur. They love her. It’s a fun thing that kids did and it was a way to identify yourself as one of her supporters. 

    It really doesn’t have to be grim and horrible and suspicious all the time. People are just desperate for some joy. Her campaign will be warm and fun because she’s warm. They’re picking up her energy.

  91. 91.

    Ken

    @TBone: I like morale boosting!

    Oh, good point. I’ve got a few people in my pie filter right now because they were getting so doomist last week, then a few others from yesterday. I figure I’ll wait a week and start peeking to see if they’re recovering. But in the interim, I shouldn’t fall into the same mode, even sarcastically.

  92. 92.

    Chris Johnson

    @WereBear: Huh. If that’s how he rolls, I like him already. I think there are a whole lot of younger, hardworking Dems whom I’d like if I knew ’em.

  93. 93.

    Jeffro

    @Eyeroller: My biggest concern is the precedent it sets.  Donors and media and Party elites can force out a nominee they don’t want.

    I love Joe, but ‘donors and the media’ couldn’t have done this if there was no there there, whatsoever.

  95. 95.

    schrodingers_cat

    @WaterGirl: As an Indian American I find it as racist as shit. Its like the watermelon emojis. They will make up some cover story for plausible deniability. They feel like they are mocking KH and anyone with her background

    Its a way to be racist and then be cute about it.

  96. 96.

    Mousebumples

    @There go two miscreants: makes sense. I know Cooper is term limited, and I don’t think he’d have to resign his seat if a Harris/Cooper ticket wins.

    But I’m okay if you in NC want your Gov to stay in NC. (I feel the same about Evers, though I don’t think he’d want the VP gig.)

  97. 97.

    Eolirin

    @Soprano2: I’m sure it was serious. It just also never had a viable plan attached and it failed because Biden supporters were going to all immediately rally around Harris and there were a still a lot of those.

    That doesn’t mean that’s what the people who started this wanted. It just means they’re not going to get it.

  99. 99.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Jackie: Will he continuously punch himself in his penis until 1/21/25 – or longer?

    Oh, and I get to remind everyone that we can say penis on the new site.  Been a while!

    PENIS!

  100. 100.

    Jeffro

    @Kay: People are just desperate for some joy. Her campaign will be warm and fun because she’s warm. They’re picking up her energy.

    this, this, and this.

    and wow the contrast could not be any clearer

  102. 102.

    Ken

    @Steve in the ATL:  Just went for the time since Covid and shirts were $4 each.

    I blame the Biden Harris administration. Probably a combination of the Biden Harris inflation, and the Biden Harris wokeness.

  103. 103.

    RevRick

    @zhena gogolia: I understand the pain, but I don’t see this as the end of democracy. Up until 1972, party bosses selected the Presidential candidate. I love Joe Biden and gave $ thousands to his campaigns, but I feared he couldn’t run an effective campaign.

    @rikyrah: Kamala will be our nominee. Period. Full stop. The only question is who will be her VP, because the vetting process has to be done in a couple weeks.

  105. 105.

    WereBear

    @Chris Johnson: I can understand capitalizing on all these younger voters and kind of letting them know the work can continue.

    We’re not cultists.

    When Senator Clyburn said “It’s Biden,” I was onboard. My first choice was Harris, and I was thrilled she was on the ticket, and she still is.

    All the marbles, people.

  106. 106.

    Eolirin

    @Jeffro: Why not? They did it to Hillary. We lost the election because of it. If Biden had been willing to enter the race in 2016, I’m pretty sure the media drumbeat for her to be replaced late during the primary would have succeeded.

    There’s vibes. That’s all there needs to be. There doesn’t need to be a truth that matters, just enough of an appearance to be confused for it.

  109. 109.

    BR

    @Kathleen: ​

    Beshear sounded a bit canned. Dunno if he is like that always, but eh. I mean it doesn’t matter, but that was my gut take watching him this morning.

  110. 110.

    Chris Johnson

    @Jeffro: I love Joe all the more for how hard he was pushing himself, AND is continuing to do so focussing entirely on the same Presidential duties of supporting the economy, supporting Ukraine against Russia, and keeping the Middle East from blowing itself the hell up largely through trying to put a leash on a genocidal maniac who’s got his own leashes on shitloads of government officials and is going ‘make my day’…

    The very idea that only campaigning against Donald Trump matters, is so stupid that you can see why Donald Trump seems to believe it, and why the captured media seem to purvey it. They’re really keen to suggest that nothing happens outside tweets and cocktail parties. It’s bullshit from top to bottom.

  111. 111.

    schrodingers_cat

    If KH becomes the official nominee, I will stay a D until November. Then register as independent and give money etc to individual candidates. This entire episode has left a bad taste in my mouth.

  112. 112.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Ken: fair point.  I should have known better than to use a woke DEI affirmative action place!

  113. 113.

    TF79

    @Belafon: My general sense was that the Biden-withdraw crew could be roughly broken into:

    1) Politically opposed – big money folks and others who disliked Biden/Harris policies and/or wanted a more pliable president

    2) Axe-grinders/arsonists – folks who didn’t necessarily dislike the politics of Biden/Harris but wanted their pet candidate (either nursing former election grudges or via Johnny Unbeatable-style hopes) or Open Convention! mayhem

    3) Concerned – folks who agreed with the Biden/Harris agenda, but had serious reservations about Biden’s health (particularly following the debate, e.g. my half dozen younger 30-something Dem cousins who all texted “omg what is going on” as the debate was progressing) and for whom Harris was the obvious hand-off.

    While Anything Can Happen, early signs indicate that 3) + Biden-stay types are much larger than 1) + 2) and holding off any end-run.  Let’s hope the energy in support of Harris continues

  115. 115.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Chris Johnson:

    I am literally seeing younger people in lefty circles super excited by this.

    This is a good thing for certain but 1.) how big is this group and will it make a difference? (it did for Obama) 2.) will these young voters’ enthusiasm hold up once the media and Twitter start calling her GenocideHarris and calling her a Zionist? etc., and 3.) if this is really true that young voters just wanted someone younger and more inspiring and just couldn’t support Biden (whose positions are basically identical to Harris’) that just confirms many of the stereotypes about young voters being superficial, clueless and unreliable.  Like we needed them to support Biden months ago.  Anyone who plays the “But I’m just not excited about candidate X”  bullshit really should not be driving our process.

  116. 116.

    Geminid

     

     

    @There go two miscreants: On the other hand, North Carolina’s 17(?) Electoral votes are in play and if that Lt. Governor messes up the state too much he could help deliver those Electoral votes to Harris.

  117. 117.

    different-church-lady

    I don’t know how this is happening, but a commenter given a time-out by Water Girl last night is somehow still showing up on my phone interface, but not on my desktop interface.

    It’s in the “worst people” thread below. Comment #309 on the phone is the offender, but on the desktop comment #309 is Quinerly, who is not an offender (as far as I know ;-)

  118. 118.

    LAC

    @UncleEbeneezer: Hell yeah to everything you said! I know that WE are going to do the work to get Kamala in, but do not get it twisted – we see them and remember. From the weak willed elected officials down to the repetitious commenters – she had better be the nominee and that convention better be smooth.

  120. 120.

    rodwell

    The media (NY Times), cable news and the billionaires that were pushing Biden out were completely passing over Harris.  It was rather disgusting.  They wanted an open convention and a disorganized Democratic party.  That way they have “Clean” hands when Trump wins.  They get their tax cuts and less regulation and a more anti-worker environment.  Additionally, they get too said if you listen to us then Trump would not have won.  Of course, the reasoning would always be changing.   I am impressed with Harris’s political skills in wrapping the nomination.  It was like how Biden did it in 2020.

    I was 100% behind Biden.  He is a great president who has made this country better and he will be remember and revered.  I still think he could have won, but I am 100% behind Harris and we will win this.  I will remember all those SOBs who was responsible for this.  Looking at you NY Times and CNN and all the silly pundits.

  121. 121.

    Jertian

    Not sure what will go on with the official nomination process.  I remember that the DNC was planning to have the actual vote ahead of the convention to prevent any bizarre Ohio legal challenges.

    Also, I loved the pre-recorded roll call from 2020 where the state delegations got to show off their states.  It was a highlight of that convention, and better than yet another in-arena roll call.

  123. 123.

    Chris Johnson

    @schrodingers_cat: Turns off moderates.

    ‘please proceed, Governor’.

    One thing about it, we can draw a hell of a sharp contrast now. This, too, would’ve entered Biden’s gaming out the situation.

  124. 124.

    Ken

    @RevRick: The only question is who will be her VP, because the vetting process has to be done in a couple weeks.

    And the Democratic vetting process is more rigorous than “did his check clear?”

  125. 125.

    different-church-lady

    I see from last night’s thread that some of us are still relentlessly opposed to making the best of a bad situation.

  126. 126.

    p.a.

    I’m from a 3 generation union family, and Joe Biden has been the best pres for working people- of any color- (FDR had massive constraints) probably ever.
    I know nothing abt geriatrics.  Neither of my parents lived to see 70 years, so I didn’t have to deal with non-terminal physical decline.   Every individual is different, but to me, Joe looked very frail, seemingly very quickly.  Yes, yes, this means nothing regarding his mental competence.  The pressures of the US Presidency is in some ways like a wasting disease- unless you’re a mindless lazy slob like tRump.  I was agnostic in 2020, and to be honest I didn’t pay attention to the primaries; there was no choice but to vote against tRump.

    I felt immediately relieved yesterday, not specifically because Biden was out, but because the post-debate water-torture was over (or rather was over once it became obvious that what should have been the next move really was going to be the next move: Harris.)

    Now, I am a Dem, so: neurotic.  Someone calm me down because my limited memory of 2020 primary season is the (probably) MSM shitetalk that Harris ran a bad campaign.😉

  127. 127.

    prostratedragon

    @E.:  Similar, though I try to avoid thinking in terms of fear. The situation is ripe for all the most pernicious lessons to be taken, but the attending to the most vital thing — getting VP Harris nominated and elected — means that probably has to be glossed over for now. So we’re stuck with a troubling undercurrent.

  131. 131.

    WereBear

    Two things from social media:

    Vance already has a couch meme which can resurface at any time

    I must admit I like the Anti-Psycho Pac with Conway. He’s planning to run ads & billboards where everyone at work saw all the same stuff you did, there’s three roads to here.

    Nobody even has to talk, yanno? Subtle, silent, peer pressure.

    He does know his stuff.

    Maybe we can see why, back in the day, there was also a war over who got to capture the most Nazi scientists.

  132. 132.

    Kathleen

    @WereBear: He’s very impressive and scandal free (though I do see glimpses of questions about some campaign financing but I’ve not paid attention). He’s low key but intense. He really loves the people of Kentucky.  I watched several press conferences during the many disasters KY has had (fires, floods, tornadoes) the past few years and he choked up a few times while describing damages. I don’t think he has the visibility that a VP candidate would need but I could support him. I think he’s a talented politician.

    Here’s a link to a partial transcript my local NBC affiliate published from Morning  Joe:

    https://www.wlwt.com/article/andy-beshear-kentucky-governor-vice-president-2024-questions/61662403

  134. 134.

    different-church-lady

    As I start to peruse this thread, I see some legit concern over fracture lines widening. But we need to remember that infighting is exactly what Trump’s team wants us to be doing.

  135. 135.

    WaterGirl

    @Cheryl from Maryland: Postcards4VA is one of the postcarding groups we have listed on the postcard page.

    We have information about all 6 that may help folks decide on the right fit for them.

    Some require you to use their postcards, or BUY their postcards. Some require you to use their messaging to the letter, other are more flexible.

    Signup links for all are available at our postcard page.  You can get to up by clicking 2024 Activism in the top menu bar.  On mobile, it’s in the hamburger menu.

  136. 136.

    RaflW

    @OzarkHillbilly: I can hardly change a word from this, it’s how I’m moving through this. I donated a little before midnite eastern last night, not a lot, but just to add to the total and the # of grassroots donors.

    I think anyone looking over the past few weeks can see I was for keeping Biden. But I was also very much for just getting something settled so we can turn to attacking Trump & Vance.

    So I’m accepting the situation and have lots of LFG energy now.

  138. 138.

    WereBear

    @Kathleen: I see signs the Instagram Influencer phase is making people wary of someone too polished or camera-ready. So I think they are more concerned with genuineness, and I can’t see anything wrong with that.

    Unless, you know, it’s fake. But they are older now, and are telling me this, and I tell them that’s a great skill to have.

  139. 139.

    Soprano2

    @Mousebumples: That’s bad, it’s the bat shit crazy person who’s the Republican gubernatorial nominee, the one who said some people need killing.

  140. 140.

    Chris Johnson

    @rodwell: You could say in handling it this way, Biden shivved the media and schemers trying to manufacture a total circus of an open convention. That’s absolutely what was being attempted, which I think is largely ‘cos that’s what Russia needs to see in order to survive.

    Looks like that’s gonna be a nope, so Russia’s people cry ‘controlled! it’s a conspiracy to destroy the votes of the primary voters!’ who overwhelmingly voted for a ticket with Harris on it… by this I mean media figures but any hit dog around here that hollers, well… rethink your framing of things, maybe.

    I still see it as a judo move, politicking to throw our enemies into the same chaos that they try to manufacture for us.

    Good fuckin’ luck pulling off a ‘unity’ pivot NOW, motherfuckers. You’d better hope the radical right all vote about 27 times and don’t get caught at it, because that’s gonna be all you’ve got.

  143. 143.

    piratedan

    @suzanne: yeah that hits a spot of melancholy for me too.  If Giffords hadn’t been shot, you could make a plausible case of her being a Senator instead of Sinema.  Granted it brought Kelly into the mix, but I believe that there’s a certain element tied to him running for office as a way of honoring his wife’s passions.

  144. 144.

    Ohio Mom

    @Kathleen: I want to know what you find out — I did not expect that from either Landsman or Brown.

    Don’t get me wrong, I’m all in on Harris, my overarching goal is to keep the White house occupied by a Democrat. But can’t help but think there is a backstory here and I have no way of knowing g who was in on the backstory (besides the principals like Pelosi and Schumer) and who was just playing along (my guess is that Landsmam was playing along and yes I’m voting for him regardless).

  145. 145.

    Jackie

    @Mousebumples:

    my only concern about Cooper is that he has a GOP Lt. Governor, and apparently if Cooper leaves the state, the Lt. Gov is interimly in charge.

    Wouldn’t Cooper remain gov until Jan ‘25, regardless? Or doesn’t NC allow elected officials to keep their seat while running for another position?

  148. 148.

    Ken

    @Steve in the ATL: Under Project 2025 dry-cleaning costs will decrease when all those OSHA and EPA regulations are done away with. Dry-cleaners won’t have to fill out time-consuming paperwork and pay fines when a worker is mangled in the steam press, and will be able to dump used benzene and carbon tetrachloride directly into the municipal storm drains instead of paying for costly disposal.

    (I don’t know that 2025 has anything specifically about dry-cleaning, although given that they have a clause about repealing regulation of baby food, it’s possible. They certainly plan to get rid of OSHA and the EPA.)

  150. 150.

    Subsole

    @Kay:

    If everyone hadn’t immediately jumped in behind Harris, I have no doubt – zero – that the bright sparks with the moneybags would have absolutely tried something they wouldn’t have the sense to regret. There was lots of noise of an open convention/Squid Game Presidential Edition.

    If the voters had not immediately stood up and signaled they weren’t playing, this might have ended very, very poorly indeed.

    Regardless, one of my biggest fears was (apparently) neutralized in 24 hours. So, yeah. That’s a pleasant surprise.

  151. 151.

    Soprano2

    @Eyeroller: The donors and some of the Party elite want an open convention. That’s pretty clear right now.  Some of the rapid closing of ranks about Harris is certainly due to enthusiasm, but some may be a recognition that they must nip this fantasy in the bud as quickly as possible.

    I suspect Biden had this lined up already, and it was probably a condition of him dropping out. Surely he understands enough about politics to know how damaging a “beauty pageant” at the convention would be.

  153. 153.

    Kay

    @p.a.:

    She’s inheriting a whole campaign. Jen O’Malley Dillon is really good – it’s just that no one could come back from what we had. I don’t care how many canvassers you send out – if you’re down 5 after spending 100 million dollars you’re not going to win.

    My only concern is it will be “all hands on deck” – so every campaign person from Clinton and Obama will want to “help” because they have so little time and it’s a huge challenge and if you’re a competitive person that’s very appealing. The problem won’t be not enough help. It will be too many egos.

  154. 154.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @schrodingers_cat: I hope you stick around.

    Now is not the time, but I firmly believe that there will be a reckoning within the Dem Party and Black/PoC voters are going to push the assholes who did this to the sidelines.  There’s just no way the Dem Base is gonna let white people take over their party.  Better to push these assholes out or make them the pariahs they deserve to be, in our coalition.    We’ll need people like you for that fight.

  155. 155.

    different-church-lady

    @NotMax: ​Yeah, but how’d they get in there in the first place? That front-page post went up after the time out took effect.

  157. 157.

    Spanky

    There’s still a chance for fuckery, and that’s during the DNC Rules Committee meeting on Wednesday, when they “establish a process to elect our nominee” (per the tweet in the OP). Anything deviating from pro forma is going to create a shitstorm.

  158. 158.

    WaterGirl

    @Kathleen: I’m sure the Obama Bros are still pissed that Biden would never come on their show after how badly they treated him when he was running in 2020.

    Fuck them, they are dead to me.

  160. 160.

    CaseyL

    @UncleEbeneezer: ​

    A few people here are in my pie filter forever, but not just because of how they smeared Biden and celebrated when he dropped out. In certain cases, that was just the culmination of multiple episodes where they outed themselves as assholes.

    It’s made for much more peaceful reading, I’ll tell you that!

  162. 162.

    There go two miscreants

    @Mousebumples: I should clarify that I’ve only lived here a couple of years, so you probably can’t take my sentiments to the bank! But the Lt. Gov is a loon and I just desperately hope we can defeat him and elect Josh Stein as the next gov. Perhaps, from an 11-dimensional-chess POV, it would be an advantage to have him in charge while Cooper was campaigning out of state, because he would likely do some outrageous things. My fear is that the leg, which is GOP-controlled, would find some way to ratify whatever insane changes were made.

  163. 163.

    ssdd

    WaPo:

    Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) announced Monday his endorsement of Vice President Harris to replace President Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee after Biden dropped his reelection bid.

    “Our nation needs to continue moving forward with unity & not MAGA chaos,” Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, said on X. “VP Harris was a critical partner in building the Biden record over the past four years.”

    Durbin is the highest-ranking Senate Democrat to line up behind Harris since Biden announced his decision Sunday and backed Harris as his successor on the ticket.

  165. 165.

    Eyeroller

    @Soprano2: He can try but he can’t really do that.  Once he released his delegates, their legal obligation ended and they can do anything. So far something like a quarter have pledged to support Harris.  I am not too concerned that there will be any delegate fuckery, but he really could not do anything but wholeheartedly endorse her himself and get his supporters to endorse her as quickly as possible.

  166. 166.

    Chris Johnson

    @different-church-lady: Got to remember we’ll NEVER totally be free of troubling undercurrents.

    We’re DEMS! We’re supposed to not all fall in line. We’re supposed to be so many viewpoints we barely fit in the damn tent. If it starts looking smooth sailing that means we’re not being diverse and inclusive enough. I think it’s a crucial oversight from our enemies, that they assume we have to achieve lockstep to function. That’s not even how democracy works, never mind how Dems work.

    We’re a rabble, but we’re a rabble of love. With torches. And we’re gonna protect our people no matter what we have to do to do it… with Joe Biden as the finest example of that, boldly acting to pass the ball to other trusted Dems and clearing a path for Harris to make for the goal.

  168. 168.

    Rachel Bakes

    Question: how effective are postcards for presidential elections?

    I’ll be writing for my state legislator and the whole blue line in CT but which of the many postcard groups can get me started on helpful work now? Didn’t have good luck with postcards to voters. Postcard patriots still limited until convention. Any input to narrow things down a little more?

  169. 169.

    Kathleen

    @Eolirin:  We need a national conversation about that dynamic you described . How do we get to the point where a scandal free, competent, compassionate and talented President with prodigious national and international accomplishments who the media mocked and maligned is forced to step down while the convicted felon who incited a riot and tried to overturn an election is normalized and coddled by the media. This is bigger than politics.

  172. 172.

    OId Man Shadow

    Well, it’s nice to see that Joe Biden is no longer a senile, barely awake, frail old man anymore, but a real American hero again. And it’s nice to see that somehow the people who thought he was a frail, old man who was barely there still trust him with unlimited power for six months.

    And I guess it’s nice that the folks who spent three weeks gridlocking the party and refusing to mobilize, rally around the candidate and fight are suddenly the biggest proponents of moving on, mobilizing, and rallying around the candidate.

    Sigh…

    I thought eight hours of good sleep would make me feel better.

  173. 173.

    Jackie

    @suzanne: I want Kelly to stay where he is! We need every democratic senator we have to hopefully keep the Senate blue.

    Plus, greedy Kari Lake might finally get lucky and finally win something 🤮

  174. 174.

    RaflW

    @dmsilev: If I was with the Harris campaign, I’d say “OK, fine, Ms. Harris will happily re-prosecute the criminal candidate on Fox, but there have to be two debates, just for the joy of running circles around Trump’s cottage cheese brain. Let’s go!”

  176. 176.

    Kay

    @Subsole:

    We’ll agree to disagree. Nancy Pelosi is the best strategist in politics and Obama is the best political talent, either side, of a generation. If they tell you your house is burning, it’s on fire. Whatever you believed about Biden’s capacity that was NOT the belief of the public and, like it or not, you need them. You are not going to be able to harangue them or scold them or lecture them into supporting a candidate they believe has suffered a real age related decline since the last time they paid attention. They hold all the cards.

  177. 177.

    WereBear

    @Ken: There’s also a Davinci Code which has hidden the forced conversion to the Southern Baptists that is in three parts:

    the section about the need for a loyalty oath
    another section of how there is now no difference between Church and State
    the resumes of everyone involved and the overlaps with the base of Christian Nationalism

    which is Evangelical no matter what the Mormons and Catholics think. Now.

  178. 178.

    MazeDancer

    The VP’s campaign account @KamalaHQ already re-tweeted Beshear’s “JD Vance ain’t from here” Morning Joe vid.

    Maybe, they’ll do Cooper’s later.

    They are not going to announce any pick for weeks, of course. Gotta shine the spotlight on her first.

  179. 179.

    Lyrebird

    @UncleEbeneezer: So now they are pivoting to “But isn’t Harris great?” to try to distract us and absolve themselves of the fuckshit they just made happen.

    Thanks, I have never lived in Cali and was wondering if the political world is so different there that the sky is green or something.  ETA: your lucid explanation suggests that it is not so different as that.

    Not glad about much of any of this yet except for eager anticipation of more  of Madame VP and her presidential campaign, but glad to not be alone.  I hope that on here at least people will recognize that some of those new donations to that campaign don’t mean, “yay we were right, see?” so much as “hey megadonors, you won one but don’t you DARE mess with Kamala!”

    Also glad I don’t have the job of DNC chair.

  180. 180.

    suzanne

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    if this is really true that young voters just wanted someone younger and more inspiring and just couldn’t support Biden (whose positions are basically identical to Harris’) that just confirms many of the stereotypes about young voters being superficial, clueless and unreliable.  Like we needed them to support Biden months ago.  Anyone who plays the “But I’m just not excited aboutcandidate X”  bullshit really should not be driving our process.

     
    Two things:
    1) I think there is more of a thirst for generational change than many people here are accounting for. And that isn’t shallow. Representation matters. Being able to see yourself reflected in leadership literally changes the way people perceive themselves in relation to the country. The country is the oldest it’s ever been. The median American voter is 44 years old. Young people are struggling and have been telling us so.

    2) I think there has been a re-activation of identity among women since MeToo and Dobbs. Since the rise of the incel movement and the manosphere and the freakout about falling birth rates. Since the attempt to devalue college degrees — which are largely the vehicle by which women have been gaining financial independence. Since the attempt to call Taylor Swift a fat childless cat lady.

    Some pure anecdata: amongst my friend cohort, most of the people in my age range have been absolutely melting down with excitement about Harris. And that includes people from a range of races and economic levels.

  181. 181.

    Ken

    @ssdd: Sen. Durbin: “Our nation needs to continue moving forward with unity & not MAGA chaos”

    If it weren’t for the rigid rules of decorum regarding Senators commenting on the doings of the Other Body, I’d think this was a dig at Speaker Johnson.

    Johnson’s definitely put himself in a “beam in thy own eye” position with his claims about Biden not being able to do his job.

  184. 184.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Chris Johnson: Russia’s people cry ‘controlled! it’s a conspiracy to destroy the votes of the primary voters!’

    I mean, they aren’t totally wrong, but that’s how PsyOps work.  They find something that has some truth to it and hammer it. I don’t think it will work on the Dem Base, but the mostly-white voters who just couldn’t stop questioning Biden’s competency…we’ll see.

  185. 185.

    Bill

    stark contrast bw the guy who is fighting for his life bc he’ll go to prison if he loses and the guy who resigned his chance to hold on to power for the good of the country.

  186. 186.

    Kathleen

    @WereBear: Now that is very interesting. I’m not a big social media person so I don’t pay attention to these trends but this is promising.

  189. 189.

    There go two miscreants

    @Geminid: I see you got there first with that idea, but I (and my grandkids) are living here! Still, that’s a sacrifice I’d make if needed.

  191. 191.

    OId Man Shadow

    @UncleEbeneezer: but I firmly believe that there will be a reckoning within the Dem Party

    The power structures are always set up to insulate the powerful from being subjected to the justice they deserve.

    So I don’t share your hope.

    Way I feel right now, they’re better than the GOP, but I’m still disgusted by Democrats over this whole thing.

  192. 192.

    WaterGirl

    @raven: Okay, that’s helpful.

    coconut = oreo

    Now would you mind telling me who’s being called a coconut?  Since I didn’t understand what it meant, I didn’t really retain who it was being said about.

  194. 194.

    ssdd

    @OId Man Shadow:

    I thought eight hours of good sleep would make me feel better

    Well, see, that was your mistake. If you had just gotten five hours of sleep before having to get up bleary and hung over like me, you’d care a lot less about Biden, Harris, or much else for that matter right now.

  198. 198.

    schrodingers_cat

    I await the day of reckoning that is surely coming for Biden-is-so-old middle aged assholes. who pretend that they are the voice of the youth. No one here is born ageless or is going to live forever.

  199. 199.

    Eolirin

    @Kathleen: Yep. This is so fucked up on so many levels. Even if, especially if, it had to be done.

    I’m sick of the people in this country. We are broken as a society. And even if we win here, we’re not going to be able to get to any place good in the long run as long if we fail to grapple with the problems we have with our electorate and our media.

  201. 201.

    different-church-lady

    @ssdd: ​

    If you had just gotten five hours of sleep before having to get up bleary and hung over like me, you’d care a lot less about Biden, Harris

    Funny; that technique doesn’t seem to be working for me.

  203. 203.

    rodwell

    @Chris Johnson:  you are correct.  This was a good way to mess with the Times and the others who really want a second Trump presidency.  I forgot about Putin who can only win his war if TCFG gets back in.

  209. 209.

    Peke Daddy

    @TBone: MVP strikes me as a systems thinker. Excellent. As for art and other memes, the more the better. Create and forward. GOP has been wrongfooted and it’s up to Harris supporters to publicly define her before they do. The crap hose is primed, it must blow up in their face and reinforce our frame.

  210. 210.

    OId Man Shadow

    @Kay: Whatever you believed about Biden’s capacity that was NOT the belief of the public

    After three and a half weeks of relentless attacks, people lost faith? How surprising!

    Whatever. It’s done. The old man, whose done more to advance a progressive agenda than any president I’ve been alive for, has been sacrificed to appease the media and the crowds and the donors and the polling gods.

    All hail the next sacrificial victim if things get rough for her.

  211. 211.

    Chip Daniels

    I’m a yellow dog Dem and a die hard Biden fan, and the past few weeks were excruciating .

    But I was shocked and delighted to see the sudden outpouring of joy and enthusiasm for Kamala, in myself and other Dems. It feels almost like some huge pent up reservoir of hope and optimism has suddenly been released.

  212. 212.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @Kay: We’re all armchair QBs right now. Nobody knows shit. Nobody is going to know what went down behind the scenes until historians are writing about this chapter in political machinations fifty years from, so let’s stop pretending we do. Biden stepped down and Kamala Harris is our candidate and I’m supporting her. End of Story.

  213. 213.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @WereBear:

    Vance already has a couch meme which can resurface at any time

    Sorry, not familiar with the term “couch meme.” What does it mean?

  215. 215.

    Mousebumples

    @Rachel Bakes: I’ve seen different numbers, depending on who you ask. There are 6 different options in the 2024 Activism link (see the toolbar at the top of the page on desktop or the hamburger menu on mobile), if you click through to the 2024 postcarding campaign.

    I’ve worked with Postcards to Voters in the past, though I’m connecting with my local (county) Dem party to write postcards for constitutional amendments in our August primary. Not sure where you’re located, but lots of options!

  219. 219.

    Mousebumples

    @Spanky: Good. Good. I’ve been worried about the Senate and House leaders. Keep ’em coming.

    I’m hoping they’ll release over the coming day or two, to keep BREAKING NEWS – HARRIS FOR PRESIDENT in the news.

  220. 220.

    p.a.

    Well… since #OfficialPresidentialActs are not prosecutable and since President Biden is no longer concerned about his personal election prospects,

    Pardon Hunter

    Instruct IRS to colonoscopy-audit Thomas, Scalito, and… (help me out with other names here…)

    FBI investigations of national politicians’ connections to Russian bad actors be made public info as long as assets protected

     

     

    *maybe wait for post-election period to avoid implicating Harris in the decisions

  221. 221.

    Soprano2

    @Chris Johnson: I’m listening to 1A; they said Biden got with Donolin and other trusted advisors on Saturday and they looked over all the polls and everything else, and that’s when Biden made the decision to withdraw. I think he had promises for the endorsements lined up before he did it, too. I also think he realized that a candidate who has lost the confidence of the vast majority of the electeds in his party cannot run and win no matter how much the voters might want him.

  224. 224.

    Hoodie

    @There go two miscreants: I don’t know the rules as to whether Cooper would have to step down but, as a practical matter, it probably wouldn’t make much difference even if Robinson were to assume the office for the next few months. The legislature adjourns at the end of the month. There is already a GOP supermajority, making it veto proof. As Geminid suggests, it might provide an opportunity to further showcase what a nutjob Robinson is. He completely unqualified for the job and I would imagine even a lot of GOP pols think he’s a loose cannon. Even if he were to be elected governor (god forbid ) the state would likely be run by the  GOP state legislative leadership.

  225. 225.

    different-church-lady

    @Belafon: ​It’s not like we all had a conversation about it, but it seems like collectively people decided, “It was too late to regain control of the narrative with Joe, but we’re sure as fuck not going to let that happen again with Harris.”

  226. 226.

    Kay

    I think Harris puts GA back in play for us. That’s a state we gained and we should really try to keep since it seems FL is not coming back this cycle. I would just hate for Democrats to be stuck battling it out for the same three “blue wall” states – that’s a step back. We had a better map than Trump going in because we had more routes then it narrowed over the past year. Now we have some possibilities again.

  228. 228.

    WereBear

    Kamala’s coconut story is as though her mother said, “I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck.”

    So “taking your coconut pills” is about keeping your head and working in reality, not naivety.

  230. 230.

    geg6

    I think I’m off BJ for a while.  Maybe forever.  The bullies are still out in force and now have others joining in and I’m in no mood for this shit.  Yes, I’ll vote for Harris/Whomever The Powers That Be Decide Upon, but the bullying hasn’t stopped against those of us who aren’t happy with what has happened here.  Nothing but condescension and telling me to jump up and down for joy that my president was knifed in the back by his “allies.”  I have no trust in Dem leadership and mostly no trust in too many here.  Have fun whooping it up over a metaphorical political murder.

  232. 232.

    Eyeroller

    @OId Man Shadow: I feel like people don’t really know what “frail” means or what normal aging looks like.  People lose muscle mass as we age, and that accelerates in the 70s-80s.  This is more noticeable in thinner old people.  Trump is fat so it’s not as visible.  Does Biden still ride a bike? Not frail.  He may have some osteopenia (broke his foot in bike accident) which is also common even in older men, but it’s not osteoporosis.   And older people usually need a little more rest even when healthy.  The slow walking can be explained by neuropathy and arthritis.  I posted earlier about a woman I know well who became dependent on a walker when she was about Joe’s age, due entirely to arthritis and neuropathy, and for the same reason had trouble getting in and out of a car. But she wasn’t frail (she is now but she’s in her mid-90s) and she has never had Parkinson’s.

  233. 233.

    OId Man Shadow

    My wienerdog just came over and put her paws on my leg to get my attention. I think that’s her sign for “You’ve been talking about politics on the internet too much, Dad. You need puppy therapy.”

  234. 234.

    E

    @The Thin Black Duke: I agree. I have less faith in the accuracy of anything I read on this subject than I ever have had with the media. I feel they have 100 percent lost credibility on this and now probably most other political subjects.

  235. 235.

    Kathleen

    @Eolirin: That’s it. We’re at the point where every election could be the last and that is not sustainable but I don’t know how to address this.

  236. 236.

    Soprano2

    @geg6: Please don’t leave forever. I’m not happy about what happened, because I do agree that it’s bad to see that donors can drive the nominee off the ticket if they can figure out how to panic all the electeds. That said, I’m realistic that I had no say in what happened, and I’m all in on stopping TCFG. I get people are raw, I still feel that way.

  237. 237.

    RevRick

    @Eolirin: In the 2016 primary, the odds are Biden would have come in third. It’s important to remember that Hillary got the most popular votes in 2016 and only lost because of 78,000 votes in the states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

  238. 238.

    Anne Laurie

    @Steve in the ATL: Speaking of which, what’s the deal with dry cleaners these days?

    What I’ve read, at least here in the Northeast… they’ve had to switch to different (more expensive) cleaning agents & processes, because the ‘traditional’ ones were causing too many cancers among workers & long-term environmental disposal damage.  And then came the pandemic, when a lot of small family businesses closed, so there was less competition in any given area.  Haven’t had to use a dry cleaner since I retired, so I can’t give you personal stats!

  240. 240.

    Kay

    @phdesmond:

    Yes. I can’t recall the whole quote but it gets kind of existential as it goes on, which is what the kids seized on. I’m getting rapidly out of my depth on this but it also connects to “brat” in some way and the color of green she has on her website. Ask a 17 year old. Now I’m just lost :)

  241. 241.

    Subsole

    @zhena gogolia: I do actually think we need to worry less about Clooney (note: this is shorthand for the Banker’s Coup that ousted Biden – those are Silverman’s words, go argue with him. Or Jesus. Or a wall. Or your mom. Not me, not today.) At least, not this go round. 

    The issue you are referring to is very much a live issue. It will need addressing. BELIEVE that a lot of folks are still mighty raw about how this all went down. We do not appreciate watching a decent and honorable man who has been unquestionably better for the common American than any president in my lifetime get hounded out of office by a media spite-mob and a party that didn’t exert itself near enough defending him. And some of us are absolutely capable of grudges.

    But grudges are for tomorrow.

    For now, the assignment is to get Kamala into the WH. I don’t think anyone here has any issue with that.

    Once that’s done, then we make sure the people who did this shit to Joe don’t turn around and pull it on her or anyone else because the NYT wrote an op-ed or someone doesn’t like the poll numbers or the bank accounts decided it’s just time for someone less shrill.

    I am still incandescent over how this all went down. No sugarcoating it.

    But we have a nation, and indeed, a world to save.

    Step one is putting that odious little man, his miserable family, his goon-patrol party, and his fan club on their asses one more time.

    As long as we are all committed to that, I don’t have any problems with anyone here that won’t keep for a few months.

    And so far, we all seem to have been more or less graceful about it. That is seen, and it is appreciated.

    We need to keep that energy. As Archteryx hammered on repeatedly, when resistance to fascism or other tyranny fractures, fascism wins. That is not conjecture. Every time humans have run this experiment, it has turned out that way.

     

    We have a chance today to do something genuinely heroic. Every bit as grand and vital as the generation that stood up to global fascism. Indeed, we may surpass them. If we win this, we may check fascism without a catastrophic global war that leaves millions dead. We have a chance here to demonstrate that some lessons have actually been learned by our species.

    So let’s fuckin’ go.

  242. 242.

    different-church-lady

    @geg6: ​Just to be clear: I’m not telling people to be happy. I’m trying to get people to not give up and stay in the fight.

  243. 243.

    Soprano2

    @WereBear: Hate to say it, but I agree with your aunt. Our country isn’t ready for a ticket with two women or two minorities, not yet.

  245. 245.

    Eolirin

    @Eyeroller: This plus a complete lack of understanding on the part of the public of how stutters work was all that was needed to create the necessary vibes for the slander to work.

    That’s how this stuff goes. We need to better innoculate society against this bullshit, but we don’t even talk about it really.

  248. 248.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @different-church-lady: The problem is that we only lost the narrative on Biden because people in our coalition, including right here at BJ, pushed the harmful narrative (or refused to counter it) in the first place.  And people have every right to feel hurt and pissed off about that betrayal.

  249. 249.

    NotoriousJRT

    @WaterGirl:They also cannot grok that old man Biden brought home more bacon in 3.5 years than their guy did in eight. ACA was Nancy Smash to their everlasting discredit.

  250. 250.

    rikyrah

    @Kay:

    She pushed all the conspiracy theories about how this was some kind of end run around Harris which were obviously complete bullshit, but I don’t think it will.

    You act like she’s the only one who truly believe the plan was to push both the President AND Vice President out.

    I know that you spent all the time dismissing it.

    But, yeah, ok.

    I completely agree with her. That was the plan. Black folks up and down social media can see that was the plan.

    I’m not even going to get into it with you on putting it on the shoulders of a Black woman to save democracy with about as much of a handicap as possible, and how it just completely fits with being a Black woman in America.

  251. 251.

    Eyeroller

    @WereBear: Coconut is also a slur toward Southeast Asians so I think we should be careful here.  The palm+coconut emojis are potentially a clever way to be racist but with plausible deniability.

  253. 253.

    There go two miscreants

    @Hoodie: ​Good points. We really have to attack the gerrymandering next (assuming we can get the turnout) but it’s going to be a slog.

  258. 258.

    Jay C

    @Hoodie:

    IIRC, Roy Cooper is term-limited out, and another Democrat is running for Governor against the nutcase in this election, so no “vacancy” issue. There are no laws against sitting Governors running for any other office, AFAIK: especially if they are not on the ballot.

  260. 260.

    different-church-lady

    @UncleEbeneezer: ​It wasn’t the only reason but it’s a huge part.

    And I totally agree: everyone should feel pissed off. I feel pissed off. I don’t want people to stop being pissed off. I just want people to take that energy and channel it into something positive rather than a bitter abandonment.

  261. 261.

    Kay

    @rikyrah:

    I get that part. What I don’t get it deciding she’s more credible than people we have trusted and admired for years, like Pelosi and Obama and Sherrod Brown. They were not trying to destroy the Democratic Party or Kamala Harris. These are people who win elections on the D side. It’s a tough business but you have to WIN to do anything. Joe Biden has been in it since he was 28 years old. He knows winning is the only thing.

  263. 263.

    different-church-lady

    @whatsmynym: ​It shouldn’t have been in my catche — the front page post with the problem went up well after the time-out had already been established in an earlier thread.

    (And should add: thanks for the suggestion nonetheless.)

  264. 264.

    Eolirin

    @RevRick: There was a concerted effort in the media near the end of the primary, to have the super delegates throw their weight behind someone else because of Hillary’s numbers slipping and the general vibes that were building up. It didn’t go anywhere because no one wanted to be that person.

    But if Biden had stepped in it might have gone differently. In a three way race she may not have had enough delegates to win outright.

    My point here is mostly that this has tried this before, but the conditions weren’t right for it to succeed. And it’ll be tried again. And even when it fails it damages the candidate. Hillary almost certainly wins without the cloud of slander.

  265. 265.

    Geoduck

    I support Harris, but until Obama, Pelosi, Schumer and Jeffries get off their damn asses and endorse Harris 100%, I will continue to worry they’re angling for a contested convention, for some insane reason. (I assume none of them have come out yet.)

  266. 266.

    Kay

    @Eyeroller:

    You’re doing it again. Stop attributing malicious motives to people. This is POISON.

    Jesus Fucking Christ. Many of YOU got a fun election with Obama. Can you allow them some fun? They’re not goddamned racists. Half of them doing this dance on Tic Tok are people of color.

    You can cmplain all you want up the “cabal of elites” you invented, but don’t take entire groups of young people and fucking smear them as racists. It sucks. Just stand on your own two feet. YOU wanted Biden to stay in- stop pretending you were on some Crusade O Justice.

    Own you own opinion. Have the spine to defend it without smearing huge groups of people.

  267. 267.

    Hoodie

    @Jay C: Cooper is definitely out of office in January 25. The vacancy thing is basically a non issue irrespective of whether he needs to step down to campaign. I would hate to lose sitting govs like Beshear or Whitmer, although it would be hard to replace Cooper for the 26 senate race. That’s two years down the road however.

  268. 268.

    Soprano2

    @different-church-lady: You’ve gotta give people time to grieve, some take a lot longer than others. This was an extremely brutal three weeks – it contributed to me having a fucking anxiety attack! Give people a few days.

  269. 269.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @geg6: Please stick around. You’re a valued commentator and I greatly appreciate your insight.

    As for me, I won’t forget what went down and I will conduct myself accordingly. The game is the game and I am clear on what the goal is.

    Politics means working with people you don’t like as a team so you can beat the enemies who want to kill us. As long as they do their job, I don’t care.

    I just will never invite them to the cookout.

  270. 270.

    LAC

    @geg6: I know it is difficult. I pie even if it turns into a daily bakery because they never shut up. But in the midst of pie, there are a lot of great insights which keep me going. Yours among them. I hope you stay.

  271. 271.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @The Thin Black Duke: Also, we all know that a word can become weaponized quite easily regardless of its’ original meaning depending on who says it and how.  For one obvious example just compare what “Black” means as a term of pride when Kamala says it, whereas the same word becomes a dog-whistle when Trump/Fox say it.

  272. 272.

    Hoodie

    @Geoduck: Not happening. Odds are they’re holding back for a groundswell from the lower ranks so it doesn’t look so top down.

  274. 274.

    Subsole

    @moonbat:

    Yeah. I have been biting my tongue a lot today.

    Nice the fuckers finally showed up. Weeks late and a president short. But hey, they’re here. Thank fucking God for Hollywood…

    Regardless. That will keep. We have work to do.

     

    @UncleEbeneezer: All of this.

  275. 275.

    MagdaInBlack

    @geg6: It was the juvenile mean spirited taunting that got to me. Those folks will be on perma-lockdown. The victory laps before the body was cold were a bit much as well.

  276. 276.

    brantl

    @Jeffro: You’re fooling yourself. Unfortunately, the defensive  fetal crouch is the Democrats’ default posture these days. They need to come out swinging, and swinging hard, from now on. That Joe Biden had problems saying what he wanted to say? Big Fucking Deal! /S That WE let them down him for that? THAT’S a big fucking deal, and it’s going to have to be dealt with, or WE’RE SCREWED. VERY SCREWED.

  277. 277.

    different-church-lady

    @MagdaInBlack: ​It would have been helpful if some of the more… “adamant”, shall we say… folks on the DITCH HIM side had expressed even a bit of sadness over the situation.
    Nope, just screamed that we were all idiots for not realizing we it was obvious we needed to abandon him in the stupidest and most damaging way possible.
    And I doubt there’s going to be any belated remorse from that crowd either.​

  279. 279.

    Kay

    The anti Trump coalition is bigger than the pro Trump coalition but we need ALL of it. Please stop slicing off parts of it as “disloyal”. This approach is poison. It will repel people.

  280. 280.

    Ken

    @Soprano2:  Our country isn’t ready for a ticket with two women or two minorities, not yet.

    With the usual caveat about “white male” not being considered a minority, despite demographics, because it’s the default. For now…

  283. 283.

    Eolirin

    I am in a lot of pain today. One of the highest pain days I’ve had in a long time. (I never don’t hurt, but today is very extra) So I’m going to go away for the rest of the day, I think. Because I really don’t want to go off on anyone. And I’m probably going to end up eventually.

  285. 285.

    NotoriousJRT

    @Kay: You don’t seem to notice. Some of us are already repelled.  I have no idea how many or how long or how badly.  But, repelled for sure.  But, I’m sure some denizen of Tik Tok will step up and take my place in all respects, so not to worry.

  288. 288.

    Hoodie

    @Soprano2: Politics is a brutal business. American politics is very personality driven so people – particularly politically active people- tend to get invested in particular pols, and thus they tend to take things emotionally. Contrast with places like the UK, where leaders often get unceremoniously dumped by their party insiders and life goes on. I’m a huge Biden fan, always have been. Didn’t think it was a good move to force him out, but that position didn’t prevail. So be it.

  291. 291.

    JCJ

    @Kay:

    “Harris said this thing about “just falling out of a coconut tree” (like “I didn’t just fall off the pumpkin truck) and the kids on Tic Tok set it to dance/techno music – they love it.”

    Interesting – is that an expression in India her mother might have used?  Occasionally my wife (from Thailand) will use an expression that makes me look at her funny.  These often turn out to be her translation of a Thai expression.  Come to think of it my mother was from southern Indiana and would occasionally say things that made all of us look at her and say “whut?”

  292. 292.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @different-church-lady: There are probably many like me who are/will do that in real life (I’ll start postcard writing in a couple weeks once my schedule frees up) but want to vent here.

  293. 293.

    Ken

    @Hoodie: Also, as someone else noted, it may be a strategy to release the big-name endorsements over several days, to keep them in the news cycle.

    As for the groundswell from the lower ranks, I think I saw that all 50 state delegations have already endorsed her? Plus the SEIU and so forth.

  295. 295.

    bluefoot

    @Eolirin: ​
      I think this played into the enthusiasm with which the so-called “elites” were questioning Biden. He has been working steadily to try and decrease their power and make things more equal (the IRA, funding the IRS, not giving in to the FNYT, etc etc). Can’t have that momentum sustained, can we?

    We as a country will have to come to some sort of reckoning about the state of the media, our political system etc. It’s not sustainable where every election, particularly with the recent SCOTUS decisions, is life or death.

  296. 296.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Eyeroller: Thank you.  It can be a harmless thing (when Kamala says it) and a deeply-suspect one when others do.  That’s how dog-whistles always work.

  297. 297.

    eclare

    @Kay:

    Charlie XCX released a very popular album called Brat with a green cover this summer.  It’s a good thing, appeals to younger voters.

  298. 298.

    rikyrah

    @Eyeroller:

    Coconut is also a slur toward Southeast Asians so I think we should be careful here.  The palm+coconut emojis are potentially a clever way to be racist but with plausible deniability.

    Folks done told you it was RACIST.

    There is no plausible deniability.

    This is not to you, EyeRoller, but, for the muthaphuckas who think they’re gonna be ‘slick’. No, we see you from a mile away.

  299. 299.

    Subsole

    @OId Man Shadow:

    Any revenge you want – and you are not alone there – requires cutting through those Nazi fucks around Trump.

    Think of it as incentive.

    I am.

  302. 302.

    different-church-lady

    @UncleEbeneezer: ​My position:

    * Vent away
    * Try not to attack others while venting
    * Be pragmatic and channel it

    I’m livid about all of it, but we gotta focus and stay in the fight.

  304. 304.

    bluefoot

    @UncleEbeneezer: ​
     

    I love Kamala and will work hard to get her elected. It’s the people who back-stabbed our President that I could do without. They aren’t allies and they can’t be trusted. We may all work towards the same goal of electing Harris, but we are definitely not on the same team. They just proved that, in the worst manner possible, over the past three weeks.

    Exactly this.

  305. 305.

    Eolirin

    @different-church-lady: But before I go. I said something last night that I think is important. I think a lot of the drop Biden side on here have a fundamentally different view of politics, and one that’s more or less transactional, or consumeresque, and fungible with regard to politicians. Outcome is all that really matters.

    There’s a different way that politics gets framed though too, and I think most of the people upset function more in that frame, which is that relationships matter; there is a reciprocal responsibility between politician and supporter. If the politician is holding up their end of things, there’s a responsibility to have that politician’s back, and hard. I think minorities are far more likely to operate in the second frame and middle class white people in the first, though labor also organizes like this.

    These positions are emotionally incompatible in the extreme.

  307. 307.

    TBone

    @Eolirin: take extra good care of yourself – comfort, comfort, comfort where you can find it.  That was me, yesterday, in so much pain.  Sleep helped me immensely (brought on by an abundance of weed).

    I hope you can find some relief!

  308. 308.

    Soprano2

    @Eyeroller: I’m not talking about delegates, I’m talking about the elected politicians. They’ve been quick to endorse, which should stave off all these ridiculous schemes for selecting a nominee. I’ve also seen that some state delegations have already endorsed her.

  309. 309.

    different-church-lady

    @Eolirin: ​I agree, and you’ve put it in a very insightful way.
    Take care of yourself, and I hope to see you back, because we could use a LOT more of that around here.​

  313. 313.

    Kay

    @schrodingers_cat:

    If you want to call me a racist in your personal attack on me today, just do that.

    It’s daily. I ignore it.

    I understand you’re angry because I told you Harris would be the nominee and you spent a month saying we were all trying to secretlty remove her, but that’s what happens when reality catches up with a bunch of Twitter bullshit.

    It was EXACTLY what Pelosi said it was. They knew he couldn’t win for a very good reason – he couldn’t. There was NOTHING other than that.

  314. 314.

    bluefoot

    @Eyeroller: ​
      I got massively disabused of my presumption of the good faith of white people or their ability to listen in 2020 with BLM and the reaction of white people when it was demonstrated COVID disproportionately affected POC. Even after my lifetime of personal experience as a WOC, I still thought most people operated in good faith. Boy, was I naive.

  316. 316.

    TBone

    @bluefoot: hugs

    I told everyone I knew that, if they were white, and they’d never been on the wrong end of a cop, to sit the fuck down in ALL the seats and STFU.

    I happily lost some people because the trash takes itself out.

  317. 317.

    different-church-lady

    @different-church-lady: ​I never called for Biden to step down, and I was quite adamant that public calls for him to do so were stupid and counterproductive. Fuckin’ bedwetting was what I was railing against the whole time.

    I never knew what the right thing to do was, and I still don’t know if the right thing has been done.

    All I know is that as of today we have a new set of circumstances, and if we don’t pull our heads out of our assess, abandon despair, stop infighting, and recommit we’re still doomed.

  319. 319.

    Served

    People are calling themselves Coconuts. Almost in the same way artsits/celebrities’ fanbases give themselves nicknames.

    It is related to the clip of her telling the story about her grandma. Young people on social media are also constantly referencing the second half of that quote “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.” The KamalaHQ account even has “Providing context” in its bio. This is undeniably a good thing. As someone said earlier, people are relating to Kamala’s joy and warmth.

    The cherry on top of this is that the RNC is who originally clipped and posted the coconut story. It’s been completely reinterpreted by social media into a positive thing! Conservatives are also posting compilations of Kamala laughing as if it’s a bad thing, but it’s one of the top ways people are connecting with her. They are completely lost as to how to try and sling mud at her for the time being.

    The brat thing is also incredible. It’s based on Charli XCX’s most recent album. ‘brat summer’ has been a huge meme/vibe thing for Gen Z (and other assorted youngs) and for Kamala to be associated with it is going to push her social media presence even more.

    This is an area where the Biden campaign was really struggling. The MAGA team was absolutely controlling the narrative and vibes on social media spaces. Whether it moves votes remains to be seen, but it does have an impact on the vibes of the race, which is important. We’ve also started to see fan groups begin organizing. The Kpop fans, Swifties, and more have started accounts focused on supporting Harris and registering voters!

  320. 320.

    Subsole

    @Geoduck:

    Obama I trust.

    Joe was his bro. They were close. I expect Obama is actually grieving over this a bit, too. Man is not going to jump in and be flashy. He’s going to be sober, measured, and cautious.

    That said, Obama is the big gun. The closer. And Chicago is his city. I am not worried about Obama. I trust that he’ll speak when the time is maximally propitious to the endeavor.

    The rest of them? Yeah. Not interested in excuses. They didn’t have any problem leaking like goddam sieves for a month. They can damn well speak up now.

  321. 321.

    bluefoot

    @TBone: ​
      Thanks for the hugs. As a late-middle-aged brown woman, I’ve been on the business end of a cop’s gun in Cambridge/Somerville, MA for the crime of not complying fast enough to a stop & frisk in broad daylight a few years ago. Funniest (not) part: I had white friends who didn’t believe me. At least one had the honesty to say he didn’t want to believe me because that would break his little blue bubble view of the world.

  322. 322.

    Kay

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Okay. Or they all decided all the people they have trusted for years and years in the Democratic Party for good reason were scheming against them and they preferred to listen to resistance grifters on Twitter because the resistance grifters on Twitter AGREED with them and then they attacked anyone who said different for three weeks which made a perfect little echo chamber.  Or that.

    Now the fucking coconut emoji is a plot. Christ.

  324. 324.

    Mo MacArbie

    @Jackie: 

    @Mousebumples:

    my only concern about Cooper is that he has a GOP Lt. Governor, and apparently if Cooper leaves the state, the Lt. Gov is interimly in charge.

    Wouldn’t Cooper remain gov until Jan ‘25, regardless? Or doesn’t NC allow elected officials to keep their seat while running for another position?
    ​

    I can’t speak to the specifics of NC (though I live here now, so I should probably get on that), but I know that, in some states, executive power vests in the Lt. Gov. on an interim basis whenever the Governor physically leaves the borders of the state. In this case, Cooper would cede power to running-for-Gov. McCrazyFace.

  325. 325.

    TBone

    @bluefoot: JFC.  I’m sorry 😔

    …

    I have SO  much to say about it.  I was on probation for punching a cop right before BLM started, so could not have any further contact with law enforcement.

    I’ll shut up now.

  329. 329.

    japa21

    A couple important (to me anyways) points.
    1. Nobody here had any influence over what happened yesterday.
    2. Despite the assertions of many, it is unknown if Biden would win or lose in November. I personally think he would of won. And now, we will never know.
    3. Despite the assertions of many on both sides, we do not know at this time that Harris will win or lose in November. That we will know down the road.
    4. A lot of people are upset, and rightfully so. Many are grieving today. That should be allowed and not attacked.
    5. Many people are excited and hopeful and joyful today. That should also be allowed and not attacked. But neither group should demand that the other join in.
    6. We may never know what exactly was the impetus behind Biden’s decision. The only one that knows is Biden. There is a lot of conjecture, but that is all it is, conjecture.
    7. I am one of those who supported Biden to the end. As I said above, I felt he would have beaten Trump, likely at a greater margin than 2020. I am grieving. I also will honor his decision. And I will support the Democratic ticket. I don’t think my primary vote is being ignored, because that vote was for Biden and Harris, knowing full well that Harris could end up as President and feeling comfortable with that. But I am not joyful or excited at this time.

  330. 330.

    Geminid

    @Anne Laurie: A few months ago I listened to a public health professor talk about Parkinson’s disease. He said the maldy had become more common in the 20th century and believed the prevalence of harmful chemicals was the cause. He singled out agricultural pesticides and dry cleaning chemecals as major culprits, and referred to studies finding that New York apartment buildings with dry cleaning shops in their basements had a higher incidence of the disease.

    This made me think of one of my landscaping customers, Bob, who had a long and successful career in corporate consulting. He wasn’t the type to advise on sending factory jobs overseas. He and his partners were more into sending redundant executives to retirement resorts; “corporate transformation.”

    Anyway, Bob is in his late 70s and has been dealing with Parkinson’s for 5 years now. I remember sorting through his suits a couple summers ago. After he and his wife sold their place in Chatham, Massachusetts Bob brought down so many more suits they collapsed a 7 feet closet rod. We moved them out and once I repaired the hanger I hung them up again. They still had that dry cleaner smell.

  331. 331.

    Bill Arnold

    @Anonymous At Work:

    Any word how and why TFG is running from the September debate?

    The elderly narcissistic white-collar felon is a coward.
    His handlers are afraid that his progressive dementia will be evident during a debate.
    (He and his team will say/are saying otherwise. Doesn’t matter.)

  332. 332.

    Soprano2

    @Eyeroller: I agree with this. I have a friend whose parents both developed Alzheimer’s disease. She had a post on FB about how this wasn’t even Biden’s fault, he’s got dementia and doesn’t even realize he shouldn’t be running! She said them allowing him to continue to run was elder abuse! Because from afar she sees some of the same things she saw in her parents as they developed dementia – the slower, more halting gait, the groping for words, what looks like a confused stare – she’s convinced Biden has it, even though she has zero experience with him in person. All I posted on that thread was to ask if anyone there knows that he has a stutter, and that he has neuropathy in his feet which totally explains how he walks. I could have said a lot more – she knows that I live with a husband who has dementia, and I firmly believe Biden does not have that. No one with dementia that is noticeable to the average person could have done that NATO press conference in the way he did it.

  334. 334.

    Subsole

     

     

    @Kay: You seem to keep demanding unity from people who have already pledged it for the task at hand.

    We know the assignment. Not one of us has said we’re gonna blow shit up. We have said we expect our concerns addressed at a less perilous time. And we do.

    We’re moving on. Maybe not as quickly or as quietly as you deem satisfactory. But we are moving on.

    Again, this is a no-shit battle for the future of humanity. I don’t require anyone in my foxhole to be thrilled about being here. I just require they be here.

    And so far, I’m pretty happy with what I see. No one is panicking, no one is running. Everyone is pushing forward. They want to gripe? We’re the fucking footsoldiers of democracy here, Kay. We gripe. It’s fine. As long as we keep moving.

     

    Again, folks. Whatever world you envision is on the other side of the goddam Nazis. Consider it an incentive.

  337. 337.

    RaflW

    Just had the thought: Biden should very publicly offer to do a full spread interview with the NYT now. Just to spite the jackasses.

  338. 338.

    Subsole

    @brantl:

    In fairness, she was not pushing for Biden to leave. I made that mistake yesterday. Just something to bear in mind.

  340. 340.

    different-church-lady

    @Subsole: I don’t know what I might have done to leave that impression. I’ve always felt that publicly advocating Biden drop out was idiotic, and I was insane with disbelief that nobody was even going to try some corrective spinning.

    But I’m not taking any of it personally.

  343. 343.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Kay: But but but diverse opinions are important! We don’t want to create a bubble! Let a hundred opinions bloom!

  344. 344.

    different-church-lady

    @Subsole: ​Thanks, all good. It’s completely understandable that we’re all on edge and at least a bit snarly, me included. Like I said, not taking it personally.

  350. 350.

    PatD

     

    @SatanicPanic: she’s fine. She’s managed to befriend a segment of base voters that have been somewhat hostile to her style and brand of politics.

  351. 351.

    Bill Arnold

    @Kay:

    You are not going to be able to harangue them or scold them or lecture them into supporting a candidate they believe has suffered a real age related decline since the last time they paid attention.

    Did you talk to N. Pelosi about her political calculations?
    She takes into account everything, which in this case certainly included a ruthless donor squeeze and a massive and sustained attack by the weapons platform of the oligarchs, the media. (Other factors being e.g. Gaza/young people, ageism among the young, and many more.)
    Some of the donors and some of the media will probably continue their attack, and she knows this too.

  354. 354.

    Kay

    Sorry, there aren’t “two sides” to “there was a giant conspiracy to remove Harris by the entire leadership of the Democratic Party” and reality.
    Get your head out of your ass and stop listening to people who lie to you.

    The reason none of this bullshit happened is because it wasn’t true. Twitter is poison. The thing runs on conflict. Conflict is the business model.

  358. 358.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @Kay: I’m very much not on Twitter and the role of money here was obvious. But sure, continue to deride people for being upset by what should be considered a national tragedy.

  359. 359.

    dm

    @WaterGirl: Others have touched on the explanation, but if you watch the Brat video in the post, you get most of the Coconut story — it was something her mother used to say, “What, did you fall out of a coconut tree only yesterday?”  You have to watch the whole thing, and piece the story together from the techno-editing.

    Harris went on to talk about context in that same talk — and “context” and “contextual” has been a hit on TikTok since.

  361. 361.

    Chris Johnson

    @UncleEbeneezer: Pfff. For what it’s worth it ABSOLUTELY works on the Democratic base and that’s why controlling the MSM was so important and why literally 192 Biden Old stories ran, but the thing is it’s not a super-weapon, it’s just another weapon and there’s only so much it can do.

    It also gets blunted with overuse, which absolutely happened with Biden. Just because that much poison went into the well and wasn’t possible to pump out, doesn’t mean we didn’t all see it being done.

  362. 362.

    stinger

    @debit:

    No kidding. The Biden is OOOLLLDDD people went on for three and a half weeks. Jeez, could we get, like 48 hours?

  364. 364.

    Mo MacArbie

    @dm: ​
     Thank you. I was wondering when someone would mention the top of this very page to the shrewd political observers here assembled.

  365. 365.

    Chris Johnson

    @WaterGirl: Here’s an instructive example: don’t put too much faith in people being mad about the coconut thing and swearing it is racism.

    It’s getting repurposed. Gay people have done similar things, and this is definitely a case of taking the weapon away by repurposing it.

    Get this: I saw, on twitter, some media outlet floating ideas for Pritzker and whether he would challenge Harris for the nomination. This is a real worry: whether some asshole would make it a floor fight and fuck us all over.

    Pritzker’s response… “Do you think I just fell out of the coconut tree?”

    It becomes a meme. Pritzker used it to score points and seem cooler than the media hack BY publically siding with Kamala Harris, using her own line to clown on the media hack. Cheered me up to see it from a guy who could be used to sow discord, and instead he memed on the media hack.

    That really happened, and it bodes well for the convention if all the politicans who would be called on to fight for the nomination, respond ‘whaddya think, I just fell out of the coconut tree?’.

    It’s hokey, but it’s turning into a meme in the best ways. The story Harris manufactured around it (or her Mom, don’t care) is, ‘we are part of an ongoing society and take into consideration our history and where we hope to be going’ and that’s just what we need right now, and just what Joe Biden has also been striving for

    It also works as ‘how guillible do you think I am?’ which fits in the case of Russia-directed media making insane suggestions and putting forth narratives.

  366. 366.

    RevRick

    While we’re all indulging in our own feelings today, I ask what does President Biden’s dropping out say about him?
    To me, it says—

    He’s a big boy, able to set aside his own ego. Rejections always hurt, but given the tragic blows he’s suffered in life, he understands how to put things in perspective.

    He’s a hard-headed realist. He knows firsthand that politics is a sharp-elbowed sport. He has the well-deserved reputation as always falling at the center of Democratic politics. He knows how to count, and he knows when to hold’em, as he knows when to fold’em.

    He’s the one who threw himself on the sword, not us. Yes, Clooney and the pundits and the craven Democratic politicians may be assholes, but he understood that bold action might be necessary to prevent something far worse.

    We honor him best by honoring his wishes. And we certainly aren’t honoring him by reducing him to a helpless victim of nefarious conspiracies. He’s a far better man than that.

  367. 367.

    Ken

    Interesting – from George Takei’s Bluesky, a couple predictions:

    “Most Americans do not want a rematch between Biden and Trump. The first party to retire its 80-year-old candidate is going to be the one who wins this election.”

    “If Donald Trump is the nominee, mark my words, we will see a President Kamala Harris.”

    Now these are from Nikki Haley, and obviously before she metaphorically — er, probably metaphorically — had to grovel before Trump with her apologies, but I can still hope she’s right.

  368. 368.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Chris Johnson: You may be right. It may also be a term that is ok for those inside the community to use, but not ok for non-members of that community. Too soon to tell, IMO.

    It would be fun if the term and image are indeed coopted on Kamala’s behalf, though. Her very own Dark Brandon meme. :)

  369. 369.

    Chris Johnson

    @WereBear: Um, kind of?

    I have to correct you, ‘cos I know the crowd. ‘Pilled’ derives from ‘red-pilled’, the Matrix reference that’s usually used by young people flirting with fascism.

    These are the people who would describe themselves as ‘red-pilled’ or even ‘black-pilled’ if they are truly nihilistic and despairing. Red pilled is typically about embracing MAGA or misogynist values. So it’s that crowd where you’ll hear them describing themselves as ‘something pilled’, traditionally red-pilled. But it doesn’t always stick: they’re young, they grow and have experiences and making them love Trump is kind of heavy lifting.

    And so, when THAT community says they are ‘coconut pilled’, what it means is ‘they see a light at the end of the tunnel and wish to sign on with the Kamala Harris campaign and work for her, not simply vote half-heartedly for her’. They would describe the latter in another way. ‘Pilled’ means enthusiastically supporting, or committing to a way of thinking (as in red-pilled).

    Seeing a lot of ‘coconut-pilled’ and a lot of emojis is GOOD. It’s like the progressive version of how that Pepe The Frog image got repurposed. It’s memetic and symbolic, and it stands for youthful enthusiasm, otherwise it would not be ‘pilled’ because ‘pilled’ means ‘your whole life will never be the same, you have been enlightened and will set aside your old illusions and embrace reality’.

  370. 370.

    Kay

    I watched it happen. First you-all dismissed all polls saying over and over again that polls were wrong in 2022, which is incorrect. Then, after ignoring Biden’s numbers declining for six months you decided all media had to be jettisoned, because it didn’t fit your narrative. Finally, you all proudly announced you had “pied” every commentor who disagreed with you or posted anything conflicting with the narrative.

    A perfect little bubble, enforced by a few commentors policing every thread to scream insults at any dissenters.

    We already have a red MAGA. We don’t need a blue one. We’re the only rational governing party. We can’t indulge in conspiracies to reinforce our priors. That way is madness.

  372. 372.

    Kay

    @eclare:

    Oh, thank you. I am with popular culture like I am with pro sports. I know some names, vaguely, but I quickly run out of info. If it wasn’t around when I was 22 I don’t know much about it. I couldn’t figure out why they were all screaming with joy about the green on the website.

  373. 373.

    TooManyJens

    @suzanne:

    3) The kids actually mean it when they protest about the atrocities in Gaza, and Biden’s support for it disgusts them. (I know it’s nuanced, but they’re horrified at what they see and they ought to be.) In general, left-leaning young Mills/Gen Z aren’t here for U.S foreign policy-as-usual—thanks to the Internet, they’ve had plenty of contact with people for whom our foreign policy has been a disaster.

    Harris has been more outspoken on Gaza and less eager to support Israel in anything and everything they do, which helps with that cohort.

  374. 374.

    Kay

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation:

    Did you read any of the news account of what was going on? I mean, if you had and you follow politics you would have clearly seen that they were planning to put Harris in. Was Pelosi going to call a press conference and say “we are tryng to get Joe to step down because we know he can’t win and Harris makes the most sense” but it really wasn’t hard to figure out.

    Clooney is Obama, just like Schiff is Pelosi. That’s the Obama part of the Party. Clooney didn’t write that op ed without clearing it with Obama. He had just raised 30 million dollars for Biden! Why ON EARTH would he then go out and sandbag him? Because he wants to tell his friends “I just told you to blow 30 million dollars, sorry?”

  375. 375.

    Kay

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation:

    I’m okay with it. It worked out exactly as were told it would (in so many words) and Harris is terrific, but I’m not your punching bag every time you all descend into uncertainty. It’s not okay to scream at me to shut up in every thread or unload on me every time I comment with nasty personal attacks and then complain about how mean I am. If you mistook me for some kind of doormat you made a mistake. If you want to call me racist or or some kind of shill for donors or whetever the fuck expect to get hit back, and don’t whine about it. I’m not your mom.

  376. 376.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @Kay: So everyone just needs to tolerate your condescension and victory lapping and we’re not allowed to feel any sort of way about it?

  377. 377.

    TooManyJens

    Anecdotally, in my circles (due to a couple of hobbies of mine I hang out with people who are quite a bit younger than me), the more people come to like Harris they more they use the coconut emoji and say things like “I’m coconutpilled.” A lot of them weren’t aware of the slur usage and are really just trying to express enthusiasm.

    That said, as a white person I’m still uncomfortable using it even though it’s being recontextualized. I’m going to take my cues from the people it’s historically been used against and tread carefully.

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