DL Open Thread Monday, July 29, 2024
I was assured several days ago that Republicans would welcome a race against Kamala Harris because they had lots of ways to attack her. So far the attacks have been off-the-bottom-shelf specials noting that, hmm, let’s see…Apparently she’s a woman and she’s Black, so she slept her way to the top when she wasn’t being promoted for being Black. Yeah, that’s some really potent stuff, but if Republicans think that’s going to kill enthusiasm, they’re in for a shock. What worked against Hillary in ’16 is merely generating backlash now.
Most of that backlash is coming against Trump’s charisma-free VP choice, JD Vance, who frankly deserves every bit of shit the media can fling at him. He doesn’t even have to say anything – there are plenty of videos of his past utterances for reporters to dig through, like the one where he said the Democrats are run by “childless cat ladies.” Only Trump can get away with saying shit like that, as countless conservatives have learned the hard way. Vance is not only dead weight on the ticket, he makes it harder for Trump to pretend he doesn’t know about the Heritage Foundation’s plan for an American Hellscape, Project 2025; Vance wrote the introduction to a book by the plan’s architect. If these people are the master race, why don’t they ever do anything that shows it?
This article raises a point about that SCOTUS decision on presidential immunity I hadn’t considered: It opens the door for Trump to steal anything he wants without fear of prosecution. If he gets re-elected it will be the greatest crime spree anyone’s ever seen, and he’ll brag about it.
I’m sure you’ve noticed the change in the atmosphere since Biden dropped out, and I’m not talking about barometric pressure. The Democrats have, almost certainly by accident, tapped into the fervent desire for change that has marked elections all around the globe this year and, as the Rude Pundit notes, have seized the narrative.
See, we live in a time of vibes, where people want to part of where the vibes are. We want the feeling of belonging, of community, of actual joy without the burden of hate. We want to feel like we’re moving forward, not, you know, going back. And that’s a powerful attractor. When we get more of them post-Biden, polls are going to show a tight race, possibly with Harris a little ahead. Then comes the Democratic National Convention, and the vibes will continue.
I have one more thing that Harris offers and it relates to Trump and the MAGA bullshit and JD Vance and all of it. It’s a simple idea: Don’t you want all of that to be over already? God, don’t you want it to be done and gone? We can do that. We’ve already defied all the expectations about how this was supposed to go. We can defy them all the way through to turning the goddamn page at last on the old narrative and living in the new one.
The floor’s yours.
The perfect campaign slogan: “Don’t you want all of this shit to be over with?”
^LOVE
The candidates that appear to be having the most fun tends to win. Vs Clinton that was Trump playing with house money, and expecting to lose. What’s why it pays to keep hammering on JD Vance as a doofus and terrible pick. That will work on. Trump like a flesh eating virus.
Also – I hope Harris picks someone who can keep the vibe rolling. My take on that is Mayor Pete.
On the BHL front, Sophie Phillips issued a call for her withdrawal. Excellent post on her Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/YTXAstUkZDFj5j36/?mibextid=oFDknk
That’s fantastic. I’m uh, hearing that others may join Sophie and Madinah.
Soon.
It might be too late for the behind the curtain shot callers to switch horses.
Did you already cover this? Cape Gazette says Death with Dignity Bill still hasn’t made it to the Governor:
https://www.capegazette.com/article/medical-aid-dying-bill-limbo/278599
Baumbach did not say when he plans to deliver the bill to the governor, or whether he has heard if Carney will veto it.
Carney’s office also has not responded to questions as to whether the governor plans to veto or sign the bill…
That’s interesting. Baumbach doesn’t deliver the bill to the Governor, the Chief Clerk of the House does.
However, since bills delivered to the Governor at the end of session are meted out to enable his attorneys to go over them in a less-rushed fashion, I suppose that Baumbach has asked the Chief Clerk to hold off on delivering it.
When Bill Clinton won twice after Reagan/Bush Sr. I thought “all that shit is over with.”
When Obama won twice after GWB I thought “OK, now all that shit is over with”.
When Biden beat Trump I thought “Surely now all this shit is over with”.
It’s not enough to win the White House. You also need enough vibe and the coattails to win the House and Senate. And you have to build the party, not just focus on your own deal-making. More importantly, you have to know how not to waste a trifecta when you get one.
One good thing about political polarization – it forces out weak links like Sinema and Manchin.
Betsy Maron persists in her hackdom. An excerpt from an e-mail I got from her today:
“There are only 99 days until Election Day! I know it’ll go by in the blink of an eye.
There’s a lot of work to do between now and then: mobilizing voters, empowering communities, and spreading the word about what’s at stake this year. I’m so excited about the history we will make together this November. I feel the momentum in the air when campaigning across the state. We’ve got 99 days to:
Elect Kamala Harris President of the United States
Send Lisa Blunt Rochester to the United States Senate
Elect Sarah McBride as our next United States Congresswoman
Elect Bethany Hall-Long Governor
Send Kyle Evans Gay to the Lieutenant Governor’s office
Elect Trinidad Navarro as our Insurance Commissioner.
Yo, Betsy, when you back Bethany, you are backing what appears to be a decade-long family criminal conspiracy. Are you proud that your State Party is now a likely accessory to that?