Pick Joe Biden's vice president

[Brian]

I've been meaning to start this thread for months, but I couldn't make up my mind who should be the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2020. When Joe Biden was declared the presidential front runner last year, I figured the best way that he could balance the ticket would be to choose a young progressive woman.  And I thought that he should name his running mate early in the race to mollify people like me, if he was going to prevail in the primaries and caucuses.

I initially supported Amy Klobuchar for president because I thought that she was the most likely candidate to beat Trump in the swing states, but I don't want her as veep.  I want a real progressive in case Biden dies, gets sick or resigns from office.  Besides, she is far too valuable in the Senate because of her rapport with Republicans.

Elizabeth Warren's candidacy collapsed a week after I voted for her in the California primary. Why not Warren?  She seems youthful.  Then I realized that Massachusetts has a Republican governor, so if Democrats gained three Senate seats in November, a GOP senator would surely replace her, thereby denying Democrats the majority.  Yes, this is how my brain works.

Never mind. I saw Elizabeth Warren's wonderful video endorsing Biden and her interview with Rachel Maddow tonight -- she's in and so am I. If Biden chooses her and gives her the same regard and responsibilities that Obama gave him, I'll have a ticket that I can enthusiastically support.

[Sharon W]

Why Klobuchar appeals to Republicans news.yahoo.com/amy-klobuchar-declined-prosecute-officer-183728902.html

[Brian]

Last week on MSNBC, Amy Klobuchar took herself out of contention and asked Joe Biden to put a woman of color on the ticket.

All of the candidates that the Biden campaign is vetting have been auditioning in television interviews for the past month.  Despite leading an unfocused presidential campaign, Senator Kamala Harris now speaks plainly and looks relaxed.  I've liked Rep. Val Demings since she was an impeachment manager, but I don't know much about her two terms in the House and her career in the Orlando Police Department, where she became chief.  Stacey Abrams is often mentioned, yet her record as a Georgia state senator and gubernatorial candidate is not progressive enough -- or substantial enough -- for me.  I'd choose Rep. Barbara Lee if she wasn't 73 years old.

[Brian]

This week, CBS News reported that the Biden campaign is vetting Rep. Karen Bass for the vice presidential slot.  Why didn't I think of Karen first?  I've been a fan of hers for years.

She's perfect:  A member of Congress since 2011, now on the Foreign Affairs and Judiciary Committees.  Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus since 2018.  She introduced the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which passed the House yesterday.  Before she was a Congresswoman, Karen served as Speaker of the California Assembly during the worst years of the Great Recession, 2008-10.  Prior to her political career, she was a physician assistant and clinical instructor at USC, then a community organizer and cofounder of the Community Coalition in South L.A.  Her life experience matches the skills we'll need to repair our nation in 2021 and beyond.

To know her is to love her.  Karen hasn't gotten less than 81 percent of the vote running for Congress -- usually, she's pushing 90.

[Brian]

Jun 21, 2020 23:00:18 GMT -8 Brian said:

I'd choose Rep. Barbara Lee if she wasn't 73 years old.

Since then, the Washington Post reported that Biden is considering Barbara Lee. I know I endorsed Karen Bass (age 66) last month, but I could go either way. Biden is going to pick whoever has the best rapport with him.

Earlier this week, the Biden campaign released a video showing the socially distanced arrival of Biden and Obama in separate elevators for a chat on camera from armchairs on opposite sides of a big office.  That means that Biden is in D.C., there no doubt to meet with the veep contenders who just returned to Capitol Hill -- Reps. Lee and Bass along with Val Demings and Senator Kamala Harris.

[Sharon W]

If it weren't for age, Maxine Waters would be a very interesting candidate too.

[Brian]

Axios reported on Wednesday that Biden's short list has shrunk to two candidates, Kamala Harris and Susan Rice.

I have purposely ignored Rice in this thread because I hoped that she would go away.  No doubt, as Obama's UN ambassador then national security advisor, she's aligned with Biden on foreign policy.  But where does she stand on any domestic policy issue?  I don't get it.  She's never been elected to any office.  She has no campaign experience beyond serving as a foreign policy advisor to Kerry in 2004 before Obama.  We'll keep hearing from Trump about Benghazi and unmasking intercepted phone calls to Flynn from Russia every day until election day.  Oh well, maybe she'll help Biden to carry the District of Columbia, where Rice was born and still resides.

Assuming Axios' sources are correct and Biden is not considering others, I have to choose Harris.  Much of her record as San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general will upset many on the left, despite some progressive programs she started in both jobs.  But older African Americans and suburban Republican women will like her enough to bolster the ticket.