The Crane Pool Forum

You are Vice President Kamala Harris, and suddenly in the position of being the (apparent) Democratic Party nomination for US president. Who do you pick as a running mate?

Do you know something we don’t?

Yeah now I see it. I feel like crying

Josh Shapiro

Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico. It puts a vitamin boost into the shaky-but-burgeoning Democratic movement in the southewest, and he could help bring Arizona and Nevada over the line as well as his native Land of Enchantment.

He's youngish at 52, is certainly to the left of Biden, but has a history of reaching across the aisle, including filming a survivalist adventure with Republican Senator Jeff Flake. He has been an opponent of US military adventurism, but is also a "sportsman," according to his bio, which is a code word for hunter, and he's frequently photographed in fatigue colors. You may or may not like that but it blunts the argument that Democrats are the enemy of all gun owners everywhere.

There are a lot of photos out there of him as a sexy-but-brilliant young longhair in the nineties, his wife seems charming and professional and engaging, and his two kids have that dreamy-but-creepy German iciness that will either get out or scare off the youth vote.

I don’t think it’s a sure thing Harris gets to be the presidential nominee.

I also think the people who were eyeing a 2028 run— Newsome, Whitmer, Pritzker, Shapiro — will stay clear of this unless they are atop the ticket.

I think it would be an older senator from the Northeast or Midwest.

No, it isn't a sure thing, but if she isn't thinking about this, she's a bigger fool than I think she is.

Another asset of Senator Heinrich is that there's a reasonably good chance he knows A Boy Named Seo, and might even recruit our guy for his vice-presidential staff.

I've been saying for weeks Harris/Jefferies2024 so might as
well stick with it for now. And haven't we been through all this, if
Harris is passed over and not the nominee half the women's heads
in the country would explode and rightly so in my opinion.

kcmets wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2024 3:02 pm I've been saying for weeks Harris/Jefferies2024 so might as
well stick with it for now. And haven't we been through all this, if
Harris is passed over and not the nominee half the women's heads
in the country would explode and rightly so in my opinion.

Even if they replace her with another woman?

Yes on the exploding heads, and exploding heads would certainly affect voter turnout.

I think there'd be concerns about Congressman Jeffries creating a ticket that includes two African-Americans — denying the ticket of that balance everyone talks about.

I don't know if he'd bring Obama-like assets, but he amplifies several of President Obama's liabilities, having a Islamophonic first name (as compared to President Obama's middle name), and having an uncle who was a radical black nationalist/supremacist (as compared to President Obama's radical pastor). There's even a letter out there that a younger version of the future Congressman wrote defending his uncle's appearance at SUNY-Binghamton.

Those may or may not be the reasons, but I don't think it's going to be him.

No way is it Jeffries.

I doubt Shapiro would want the job - popular governor of a swing state would be better off making his own run in 2028 and not potentially having "losing VP candidate" on his record.

Whitmer is term limited and I think makes a good option

It is going to make for fascinating viewing whomever it is

Andy Bashear KY

Harris

From a just-released statement:


I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination. Over the past year, I have traveled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election. And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead. I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and unite our nation – to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda.

We have 107 days until Election Day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win.

She won't pick a VP until the convention, I'll bet. The news needs to sink in a bit, and they'll have to go through the motions of winning the nomination.

Once that's done, I think that Mark Kelly of Arizona would be ideal.


He's a white male. That shouldn't matter, but it does.
He's from a swing state, and a Democratic governor would pick his replacement.
He's a military veteran and hell, he's an astronaut.
He has personal experience with the gun violence problem in America, as he's married to Gabby Giffords.
He's a good campaigner and has a personal rapport with Harris.
He's already endorsed Harris this afternoon.

So that's my pick, but I doubt anybody in the Harris campaign listens to me.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear seems like a good pick - known for consensus building to get things done in a conservative state.
His only problem might be his age - mid 40s.
Later

Wait , we've gone from too old to too young?

metirish wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2024 5:22 pm Wait , we've gone from too old to too young?

He's older than Vance.
Never mind.
Later

metirish wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2024 3:29 pm It is going to make for fascinating viewing whomever it is

Yes, it is!
Went from frustrating to exciting just like that

AOC, who should've been the nominee to begin with.

Shapiro is the obvious pick, but IMO could shift some focus back to the Israel situation which is a big loser for Ds.

Kelly seems to be the next obvious choice.

TheNextMetsManager wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2024 6:19 pm AOC, who should've been the nominee to begin with.

She becomes Constitutionally eligible about three weeks before election day.

But it's hard to plausibly claim that she should have been the nominee when she didn't run.

AOC? No. Just no.

Shapiro, Newsom, Whitmer and the others will be keeping their powder dry for 2028 or 2032.

As for Pete, you're not going to add a gay man to a black woman on a ticket. That's asking for trouble.

Roy Cooper of North Carolina could be an interesting pick as NC is gettable in the presidential election.

I'm for whoever best effects an annihilation of the other team. I don't want to sneak by in Wisconsin and pray for Georgia. I want to win Texas going away flip the fuck out of Florida and win by double digits in Michigan. I want to beat the everloving shit outta em.

Am I asking too much?