This Fourth of July, I am taking a moment to reflect. Things are hard right now. They are probably going to get worse before they get better.
But I love our country — and when you love something, you fight for it. Together, we will continue to fight for the ideals of our nation.— Kamala Harris (@kamalaharris.com) July 4, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Almost titled this post ‘Can’t win for losing’, because… Per the Daily Beast, “Kamala Harris Sparks MAGA Meltdown With Fourth of July Post”:
…“I am taking a moment to reflect,” the ex-vice president wrote Friday on X alongside a photo of herself and her husband, Doug Emhoff. “Things are hard right now. They are probably going to get worse before they get better.”
It was the last two sentences of her statement, however, that sent President Donald Trump’s supporters into full-on meltdown mode. “I love our country—and when you love something, you fight for it,” she added. “Together, we will continue to fight for the ideals of our nation.”
“Is Kamala drunk?” right-wing influencer Gunther Eagleman added, in reference to rumors cherished by Republicans that Harris has a problem with alcohol abuse.
“Oh please–someone get her another fifth,” chimed in Chris LaCivita, Trump’s campaign adviser.
Other MAGA voices flocking to the comments section included conservative satire site The Babylon Bee founder Seth Dillon, who said he’s “taking a moment to reflect on how much worse things would have been if you’d won” …
The woman has put in her time — she’s earned a rest, but she’s also more than qualified for whatever political race she might choose in the future. Doubt it’ll be a 2028 presidential run, but after the current maladministration, who knows?
Former Vice President Kamala Harris a favorite in governor's race if she runs, according to new poll – Los Angeles Times
The country was shortchanged of a Harris administration, but no reason why California should be too.
#KHive
apple.news/At9z3o23nT6C…— L’Etat C’est Moi (@letatcestmoi.bsky.social) July 5, 2025 at 2:18 AM
Hey Lurkers, Take 2!
eclare
God. Read the room. Dozens are dead in TX.
Ohio Mom
@eclare: The flooding deaths are tragic, the ICE round-ups are enraging, I could go on, there is never an end to bad news. Harris’s tweet was probably written days ago by a staffer.
HinTN
She would be a great governor and a formidable foe for the maladministration.
eclare
@Ohio Mom:
My “read the room” comment was not at a Harris person.
Lapassionara
Every parents’ nightmare. Heartbreaking.
eclare
@Lapassionara:
I can’t imagine.
Jeffro
@eclare: if the comment wasn’t at Harris or her supporters…who?
eclare
Yall could put up a thread about the flood deaths…
zhena gogolia
@eclare: Are you reproaching AL?
zhena gogolia
@eclare: This is not a newspaper site, it’s a volunteer politics site.
laura
I’d be surprised if Kamala Harris ran for governor after having been elected to the Senate and Vice Presidency. I’d be thrilled if she ran for president again, but this country’s voters continue to vote to preserve majority white supremacy above all else.
eclare
@zhena gogolia:
Noted.
H.E.Wolf
@eclare: “Dozens are dead in TX.”
I agree. It’s a catastrophe.
When we add these recent deaths by water to the roughly dozen deaths a day in TX from gun violence [citation below] more than half of them suicides, the number of preventable deaths rises even higher.
Grieving families and friends and communities, everywhere we look.
Bringing it back to the topic of the post: I think President Harris would have known how to behave when tragedies struck.
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/center-for-gun-violence-solutions/gun-violence-data/state-gun-violence-data/texas
Jay
Speaking of “reading the room”, Tex-ass is blaming cuts to NOAA and the NWS for not putting out storm warnings and flood warnings.
0 mention in the budget and staff cuts.
0 mention that the NWS updated their rainfall forecast and issued major flash flood warnings at 8 pm, the night before.
0 mention that FEMA is not returning their calls.
I hope that MVP Kamela Harris runs for something going forward if she wants to.
I hope that Governor Tim Walz continues in Politics, again if he wants to.
Citizen_X
ON-topic—looks around room—I don’t even understand how “We will fight for what we love” equals “she’s drunk.”
Of course, I’m not dumb enough to go around calling myself “Gunther Eagleman.”
Jay
@Citizen_X:
The MAGgot’s have an approved and curated insult list and conspiracy for every occasion. They don’t have to make sense, and their only purpose is virtue signaling to other MAGgots.
dnfree
@eclare:
At whom is this comment directed? Harris? Anne Laurie?
These posts take a lot of time to prepare and they don’t all have to focus on the same topic.
schrodingers_cat
@Citizen_X: That’s how MAGAs characterize the women politicians they don’t like.
prostratedragon
@Citizen_X: I think it’s just at the same level as how they treated the Capitol. It’s about all they have, are capable of.
Cheez Whiz
Josie
@schrodingers_cat: Projection again. It’s a few of the MAGA women who have a bit of a drinking problem.
Ohio Mom
@eclare: Oh. Sorry.
Betty
It really is too heartbreaking to think about what might have been versus the current madness. But as Kamala says, we have to keep fighting.
stinger
@eclare:
You get the news coverage you pay for.
I’m grateful for Anne Laurie and WaterGirl and the other front pagers. I like good news along with the bad.
trollhattan
IDK what to make of Kamala for governor.
She’s gone from CA AG to CA senate seat to VP to Dem candidate for president, back to citizen.
I doubt she’d done seeking public office but don’t know if CA governor fits her particular trajectory. Kind of a consolation prize, frankly, and CA Dems have a lot of reorganizing ahead as the next gen emerges while term limits are hit.
Pro tip: do not seek LA mayor. Just don’t.
Scout211
@trollhattan: Good points.
I was on board to vote for Harris for governor initially but now I am not yet ready to choose any one from among the cast of thousands running for governor.
WTFGhost
@trollhattan: I wouldn’t call it a consolation prize. Next to a high cabinet post (and, of course, the Presidency), “Gov of CA” probably holds more power than any other elected office in the US. If I were an adviser to Kamala Harris, and I advised her to run for CA GOV, it would be “let’s keep your name out there, and keep your words relevant. Because you know you kick each of their asses to hunchback level, verbally speaking.”
WTFGhost
@stinger: As a kindness, I will note that a person could be asking for a “Open thread: discussion of TX Flooding” to be posted, except, in this case AL was already starting a posting about the flooding. (Hence the title, “more on..”)
That moves it from demanding “someone, who isn’t me,” to do work and news searches, and find links, etc., to what might have just been “people need to talk, can someone open a thread?”
stinger
@WTFGhost:
You are kind. My own thought is that “God. Read the room” is a bit more of a snotty insult than a simple request for a new thread. And most threads are Open, as is this one.
dnfree
Thought better of it and deleted this one.
Another Scott
@WTFGhost: Thinking out loud here…
Doug Emhoff was born in Brooklyn. Maybe he’d think it would be worthwhile to run for Schumer’s seat…?
Kamala’s family lived in Illinois and Madison for a while. Maybe she’d want to get back in the Senate?
Seriously, there are many, many ways for her (and him) to stay relevant and active in politics. The choices aren’t just President in 28 and Governor in 26 (though of course those are the obvious choices).
Jerry Brown was Mayor of Oakland from 1999 to 2007. Kamala was born in Oakland…
FWIW.
Best wishes,
Scott.
mapanghimagsik
I would vote for her again in a heartbeat
Martin
I wouldn’t start handicapping candidates until we sort out who has and hasn’t learned the lessons of the last few elections. Maybe Harris has, but there’s no evidence she or any of the other floated names have.
rikyrah
@WTFGhost:
Leading the world’s 4 th largest economy
rikyrah
@mapanghimagsik:
Me too
Because, she was RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING
Baud
I for one will never vote for Kamala for governor.
Because I don’t live there.
Helen
Remember Nixon? Lost the presidency in 1960. Became governor of California in (I think 1962); then won the presidency in 1968. Governor of California is not a dead end.
stinger
@mapanghimagsik: Same here.
UncleEbeneezer
@Martin: She did better than almost any incumbent up for reelection in a year of inflation-obsessed voters, all over the world. If anyone is qualified to determine what lessons to take away from the election, we should probably listen to her, not you.
Kent
Republicans have a habit of running again (and winning) after losing the first time around.
Nixon lost to Kennedy in 1960 then came back to win 8 years later in 1968
Reagan lost the GOP primary to Ford in 1976 then came back to win in 1980.
And, of course, Trump lost in 2020 and then came back to win in 2024.
I’m not sure why Democrats have to follow different rules. If she wants to run, go for it. The main reason she lost in 2024 was because it is nearly impossible to hold the White House across administrations. In the past 100 years that has only been accomplished twice. Hoover in 1928 and Bush I in 1988. No Democrat has ever done it. The default American attitude is to vote for change. Hoover in 28 was running on the roaring 20s. And Bush in 1988 was running on the Reagan economic boom. So they had winds at their backs and pretty anemic competition (Al Smith in 28 and Dukakis in 88).
Every non-incumbent Democrat to win the presidency did so challenging a GOP administration not defending a Democratic one: FDR in 32, Kennedy in 60, Carter in 76, Clinton in 92, Obama in 2008, and Biden in 2020.
Every non-incumbent Democrat trying to defend the White in the past 100 years lost: Stevenson in 52, Humphrey in 68, Gore in 2000, Clinton in 2016, and Harris in 2024.
Geminid
@Helen: But Nixon lost in 1962. That’s when he notoriously told the press, “You won’t have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore.” This made his comeback in 1968 all the more remarkable.
Geminid
@Kent: Harry Truman won in 1948. But that does not detract from.your main point.
I would note though that Al Gore’s loss in 2000ny a very narrow margin in 2000, and Clinton did so in 2016. Those elections could have gone either way. I would say the same about Harris’s election in 2024, althoough it wasn’t quite ss clise as the three preceeding it.
But I think you are correct in saying it’s tougher for Democrats to win a another term when they’ve held the White House for two.
Geminid
@Martin: There is handicapping candidates, and there is evaluationg candidates which is something different.
You are proposing a standard by which you think Democrats should evaluate candidates. But Democrats might not apply that standard in 2028. Or if they do, some might have a different idea as to what the lessons are of the last few elections than you have.
They Call Me Noni
@rikyrah: And, for the record, so was HRC
Kent
@Geminid: Harry Trump was running as an incumbent in 1948. Just like Johnson was in 1964.
No NON-INCUMBENT Democrat has ever won election in over 100 years while trying to defend the White House. Every non-incumbent Democrat who has won did so by challenging GOP rule.
dm
(ETA: I see a number of people have noted the Nixon parallel, now )
Kamala could follow in the footsteps of Richard Nixon — Senate to VP to marie loss for the Presidency to run for the Governor of California (perhaps more successfully) to President…
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@Helen:IIRC, he LOST the governor election to Pat Brown, and it was at the press conference held shortly afterwards when he announced “you won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore”. Unfortunately he didn’t mean it.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@Kent: What about Harry Truman?
Kent
@Helen: No, Nixon was never governor of CA. Pat Brown (Jerry Brown’s Dad) was governor from 59-66 and then Ronald Reagan from 67-74
Nixon was basically retired from politics from 1960 to 1968. Or at least retired from elective office.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@Geminid: thank you!
Kent
@A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan): Truman was the incumbent president when he ran in 48. He ascended to the presidency in April 1945 upon the death of FDR.
Incumbent presidents generally win re-election. Carter, Bush I and Trump are the only incumbents who lost. Non-incumbents defending the incumbent party don’t tend to ever win because that is a very difficult needle to thread.
geg6
@WTFGhost:
Totally agree. If she’s going to run for anything this soon after the 2024 debacle, this seems to me to be the perfect way to show America how much they fucked up when they rejected her. I’m not someone who was originally a fan and she eventually won me over. I think some extended time in the spotlight as governor of CA, in ways she never was as VP or even as a presidential candidate, would be in her interest if she plans to continue her political career.
Another Scott
@Kent: @Kent:
Interesting.
But every election is different. E.g. JFK supposedly only won because of shenanigans in Chicago. Etc., etc.
I wouldn’t want us to learn the wrong lessons.
Thanks.
Best wishes,
Scott.
NotMax
@Kent
Nixon ran for governor and lost. Whence came his infamous “You won’t have Richard Nixon to kick around anymore” statement.
geg6
@Kent:
I present, for your consideration, one Harry Truman and one Lyndon Johnson. Both VPs who followed their predecessors and went on the be re-elected.
Kent
@Another Scott: I 100% agree that every election is different.
I’m just pointing out that historically it is extremely difficult to win when you are not the incumbent but still defending the incumbent party. Because Americans are always about “change”
So a lot of the retrospective hand-wringing about Harris’ defeat in 2024 should really bear in mind that she always had a big uphill battle. I don’t think that was properly recognized because Trump subsumed all.
Kent
@geg6: Both Truman and Johnson ran as INCUMBENT presidents.
Incumbent presidents frequently do win.
Geminid
@Kent: Ah, now I see yoir point. Thank you for the correction.
But speaking of incumbents, how’s it looking for Rep. Mary Gluesenkamp Perez next year? Will Republicans come up with a strong candidate this time?
I think you live in or near the district. I’ve been watching Perez in WA03, along with Janelle Bynum across the Columbia in OR05. Those are two demographically similar districts that have traded hands recently.
Gloria DryGarden
Wtf ghost
blackberry honey
Kent
@Geminid: Marie Perez has a national reputation among online Dems of being overly blue dog. But every single vote she has taken has been more or less meaningless as a back bench minority party. She has come through where it actually matters such as on this recent giant GOP tax bill.
But what the online Dems don’t see is how relentlessly she is present in the district in every rural red backwater town listening to and working with a whole lot of blue collar types on their issues. So she is actually very well liked in the district by the middle of the road folks who are not obsessively online.
We have a jungle primary and she will advance on name recognition alone and then there will be a vicious MAGA fight the second spot on the ticket. No idea who that will be. Far as I know there is no front runner but lots of little local MAGAts holding state or local office. But they will have an uphill battle against Marie as she is really working hard to be present in the district. I don’t think people understand how crimson red this district is outside of the greater Vancouver area. Although every 2 years it should be a bit easier as the Vancouver area is really the only part of the district that is growing. It is the fastest growing area of the state as people keep spilling over from Portland and also California.
She won’t be successfully primaryied from the left. Just not going to happen. There is no path for a challenge from the left in our jungle primary system and Marie knows this as do her staff.
She won in a bad year for Dems in 2024 so I like her chances in 2026 which should be a better year for Dems across the country.
Geminid
@Kent: Thanks. My freshmsn Congressman, Eugene Vindman, has taken votes similar to those Rep. Perez has, and there’s no push at all that I’ve seen to primary him from the Left.
One reason WA03 and OR05 interest me is I know little about Pacific Northwest politics. And.the two districts are like mirror images of each other, both geographically and demographically, and in their recent electoral history
Helen
@A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan): Oops! Remembered wrong and didn’t check.
Harrison Wesley
@Kent: I don’t recall Harry Trump at all.
H.E.Wolf
@Harrison Wesley: Probably our friend Autocorrect invented a portmanteau name. We’ve all been there! (I have anyway, that’s for sure.)
Liminal Owl
@Geminid: I first heard Nixon’s name in a 1968 commercial, with a jingle about the “‘68 Nixon” (as a new, improved model, or something like that)—anybody else remember that one? Was it for real, or satire? I had to ask my parents to explain.
Years later, reading my mother’s journals, I came across the 1962 entry where she talked about the press conference and expressed the hope that by the time I was old enough to read the journals, nobody would even remember who Nixon was. If only…
Liminal Owl
@Liminal Owl: OMG, found it on YouTube, and my questions are answered. My parents were probably listening to WBAI—the only radio station played in our home. If anyone is still reading the thread, here’s John Denver for your listening pleasure.