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Tags | 2020 elections , Elizabeth Warren , Kamala Harris , Karen Bass , political speculation , vice presidential choices |
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View Poll Results: Who will Biden choose as running mate? | ![]() |
Elizabeth Warren |
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3 | 6.25% |
Gretchen Whitmer |
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0 | 0% |
Kamala Harris |
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23 | 47.92% |
Karen Bass |
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3 | 6.25% |
Keisha Lance Bottoms |
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2 | 4.17% |
Michelle Lujan Grisham |
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1 | 2.08% |
Stacey Abrams |
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0 | 0% |
Susan Rice |
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5 | 10.42% |
Tammy Duckworth |
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5 | 10.42% |
Val Demings |
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1 | 2.08% |
Another US Senator |
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0 | 0% |
Another Governor |
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0 | 0% |
Someone else |
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1 | 2.08% |
On Planet X, Mike Pence will be VEEP Forever |
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4 | 8.33% |
Voters: 48. You may not vote on this poll |
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#41 |
Official Ponylandistanian National Treasure. Respect it!
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#42 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Puget Sound
Posts: 15,465
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I've been smirking for 24 hours since reading this hilarious post. What's funny is the astounding eagerness to buy in, to assign that much weight to things a person said decades ago, and to elevate it to Stalin adjacency. I especially enjoy the "infinitely preferable" part, as if Trump wasn't an actual authoritarian, never mind adjacency. Laughing dogs etc.
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To survive election season on a skeptics forum, one must understand Hymie-the-Robot.
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#43 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 28,585
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Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get to me. . |
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#44 |
Illuminator
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Colorado
Posts: 4,023
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I really like Warren, I voted for her in the primary. But I don't think he should pick her, I think he should pick someone younger (if Warren had won the nomination, then I think she should have also picked a younger running mate). Partly to reach out to younger voters, and also as a backup plan in for COVID-19 - if older people are at higher risk, then I would prefer Biden's choice be someone from a lower-risk group.
If he picks Duckworth, it will be Birtherism 2.0 because she was born in Thailand and her mother is Thai. Her father is American, he was stationed in Thailand in the military and his American ancestry dates back to the Revolutionary war. But my social media feed is full of claims that's Duckworth is ineligible because (they claim) she's not an American-born citizen. (They are wrong, of course.) At this point though, I think birtherism 2.0 would hurt the Republicans much more than previously. At good part of the GOP would like to pretend birtherism never happened, it now embarrasses the more moderate voters and complicates outreach to minority voters. Strategically, it could be a good old-fashioned "wedge issue" to divide the more moderates (now embarrassed by birtherism) from the more rabid conspiracy-driven wing of the party. (more or less off topic, I learned from these "debates" that John McCain was not born on U.S. soil either. His father was stationed in the Panama Canal Zone, which was U.S. soil at the time. But the birth itself happened in a hospital outside the canal zone, not on U.S. soil. If Duckworth isn't eligible, McCain wasn't either). |
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#45 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 50,592
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Forget about years ago. Here she is yesterday on Meet the Press, claiming that Cuba has medicines for diabetes and lung cancer:
https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-pre...-2020-n1235604 On the the other hand, she seems to have hardened her stance on Cuba at least a little bit. So perhaps she's no longer the Stalinist she once was. Still, with all the other people to choose from, it's still kinda weird to have a (former?) Stalinist on the short list. I'm not even concerned about the tu quoque. I think we can both agree that neither Biden nor Trump should pick a Stalinist VP. Anyway, it's unlikely Biden will pick her, so all's well that ends well I suppose. |
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#46 |
Illuminator
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Colorado
Posts: 4,023
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#47 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 50,592
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#48 |
Proud Award Award recipient
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Belgium
Posts: 2,998
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Maybe Bass was referring to Cimavax and Heberprot-P?
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The method of science is tried and true. It is not perfect, it's just the best we have. And to abandon it, with its skeptical protocols is the pathway to a dark age. -- Carl Sagan |
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#49 |
Illuminator
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Colorado
Posts: 4,023
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She didn't say they have come up with a 100% cure-all for all lung cancer in all people. She didn't even say what they have works, or that it works better than what's already available. She suggested that it get tested, to see if it works - you know, science.
There are a lot of medicines for all different kinds of cancer, often used in combination, all with varying degrees of efficacy. It does not seem a stretch at all to think that someone has come up with one more that is at least promising enough to test in more than one country. |
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#50 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 50,592
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#51 |
Illuminator
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Colorado
Posts: 4,023
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#52 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Port Townsend, Washington
Posts: 31,276
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I also voted Duckworth because I like her, but I'd actually rather he didn't pick any sitting Senator. And Warren is too old.
If it's Duckworth, the R's will be screaming about her citizenship within seconds of the announcement. Probably faked her war wounds, too. |
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Cum catapultae proscribeantur tum soli proscripti catapultas habeant. |
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#53 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 50,592
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I assume the Cuban government has already carried out substantial scientific testing of these treatments.
Quote:
If Cuba is using untested treatments, not currently recognized or endorsed by any other country, I don't see why this should burden the US medical community with any obligations other than perhaps "hey maybe you shouldn't give patients untested medicine." It'll be interesting to see if a Biden administration pursues independent (or even joint) research into these medicines. Whether or not Ball gets the VP nod. Incidentally, Bass is a California legislator. Are there industry or trade regulations at the federal level that prevent her state from pursuing its own research into these treatments? Given the highly distributed nature of government authority in the US system, it annoys me when state policymakers seem to be sitting on their hands waiting for the federal government to enact the policies they claim to want. |
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#54 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 18,358
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My new blog: Recent Reads. 1960s Comic Book Nostalgia Visit the Screw Loose Change blog. |
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#55 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 50,592
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An observation in passing. I question the plausibility of Cuba having a scientifically-tested treatment that is being ignored by the rest of the world, but I don't see much point in arguing about it. Do you want to argue about it? No? Then we can move on to other more likely VP picks for Biden.
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#56 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 50,592
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#57 |
NWO Litter Technician
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Looks like Finland. Smells like Finland. Quacks like Finland. Where the hell am I?
Posts: 14,510
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How about Angela Davis? I bet we can get more drama out of the impossible options than we ever could with the exceedingly unlikely.
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#58 |
Critical Thinker
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 491
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#59 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Yokohama, Japan
Posts: 25,873
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#60 |
Nasty Woman
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 87,800
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#61 |
Penguilicious Spodmaster.
Tagger Join Date: May 2005
Location: Ponylandistan Presidential Palace (above the Spods' stables).
Posts: 38,800
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These polls seem more about people voting for: who they would like to be the running mate; who they fear will be the running mate; who they think would be the right running mate to win. Not all the same thing. I voted Warren as I think that's who I think Biden will pick. I would like Kamala Harris to be the running mate. I fear he will choose someone less popular than Warren or Harris. I think the right running mate to win will be Warren. The Bernie thing shows that many Millennials are happy with the idea of old people running things. Of course I know Warren is "progressive". Certainly more progressive than Biden. Don't you know Biden is conservative so is more likely not to choose Kamala Harris (who has the most votes in this poll)? Let's face it, BLM shows there is a race problem in the USA. I don't think Biden is quite up to speed on things, though I could be wrong. This is an opinion poll, after all. I'll be happy if I'm wrong and Biden chooses Harris. I would like America to be the place where Biden/Harris win. |
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#62 |
Philosopher
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Posts: 5,612
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#63 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 18,746
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Running mates are chosen for bring able to bring in swing voters. Nobody from California can do that, they already have California. What were the ummm, 5-6 swing states last time, and who is from them? Ohio, Fla,...
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Any sufficiently advanced idea is indistinguishable from idiocy to those who don't actually understanding the concept. |
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#64 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: New York
Posts: 10,266
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Warren is, hands down, the most capable “President in Waiting” of the group, in the event of emergency. Both in intellect and comportment, she would transition to the office with a minimum of difficulty.
Biden will not pick Warren. |
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#65 |
Fiend God
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: In a post-fact world
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#66 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: I live in a swamp
Posts: 22,841
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I'm betting on Harris. Before George Floyd, I'd have said she would get AG. She's a woman of color, younger which is important for Biden at his age and not in the defund the police camp. The "She's too ambitious" concern won't matter. It's the vice presidency, the unambitious need not apply.
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#67 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jun 2003
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"As long as it is admitted that the law may be diverted from its true purpose -- that it may violate property instead of protecting it -- then everyone will want to participate in making the law, either to protect himself against plunder or to use it for plunder. Political questions will always be prejudicial, dominant, and all-absorbing. There will be fighting at the door of the Legislative Palace, and the struggle within will be no less furious." - Bastiat, The Law |
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#68 |
Self Employed
Remittance Man Join Date: Nov 2009
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Yahtzee: "You're doing that thing again where when asked a question you just discuss the philosophy of the question instead of answering the bloody question." Gabriel: "Well yeah, you see..." Yahtzee: "No. When you are asked a Yes or No question the first word out of your mouth needs to be Yes or No. Only after that have you earned the right to elaborate." |
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#69 |
Illuminator
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Colorado
Posts: 4,023
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Like that time Bush picked Cheney. I mean, without Wyoming's three EC votes, Bush would have been toast. And who would'a thought that Wyoming would vote Republican?
Or McCain's choice of Palin, for all of Alaska's EC votes. My point is that you are half right - they pick the VP candidate to get swing votes - but those candidates picked to get the swing votes don't need to be coming from the actual swing states. Harris, for example could counter the GOP narrative that the Dems are anti-cop, that narrative is not limited to California. Duckworth could counter the narrative that the Dems and anti-military, and that could have an impact well beyond Hawaii. |
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#70 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Six months ago, a Harris pick might have tipped the balance among voters who weren't sure just how anti-cop the Dems are, or if the Dems are maybe just a little too anti-cop. But now? With Dems supporting anti-cop riots, and proposals to defund the police in several Dem strongholds? I doubt a Harris pick is going to move the needle at all for those voters. They have larger concerns right now.
As for Duckworth? It depends if she herself is seen as being anti-military. Having had a military career is worth a lot to the pro-military folks. But a former soldier who turns against the services loses all that credit. Plus, I doubt there's many pro-military voters who are on the fence in the first place. |
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#71 |
Penultimate Amazing
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"As long as it is admitted that the law may be diverted from its true purpose -- that it may violate property instead of protecting it -- then everyone will want to participate in making the law, either to protect himself against plunder or to use it for plunder. Political questions will always be prejudicial, dominant, and all-absorbing. There will be fighting at the door of the Legislative Palace, and the struggle within will be no less furious." - Bastiat, The Law |
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#72 |
Fiend God
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#73 |
Illuminator
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Colorado
Posts: 4,023
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The thing is, the demonstrations have not been universally popular among Dems, and the Defund the Police movement is still in its infancy and still lacks a universal formula for how to get there. Putting a Dem with and LE background on the ticket could help counter some of that. Give Dems leverage to appear to counter the worst ideas regarding changes in Law Enforcement in America, without coming out in support of the old status quo.
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#74 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 28,585
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That's what some people think. But mostly, history doesn't really back that up. Gore didn't help Clinton in Tennessee. Bush Sr.would have won Indiana without Quayle. Same goes for Trump and Pence and Bush Jr would have won Wyoming without Cheney. The last VP candidate that absolutely made a difference in the Presidential election is probably LBJ.
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#75 |
Official Ponylandistanian National Treasure. Respect it!
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Duckworth is a bad idea, if push comes to shove, she hasn't got a leg to stand on.
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#76 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 18,358
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I analyzed it a number of years back and found that VPs tended to improve the ticket's net percentage of the vote in the VP's home state by about 2.75 percentage points.
I analyzed the elections from 1964-2004. I excluded any VPs running for reelection since those tend to be referendums on the sitting President. There were 16 VP candidates who qualified. Of those, 12 appear to have helped their presidential candidate and 4 did not. I'll illustrate with John Edwards, John Kerry's running mate in 2004. Edwards was from North Carolina, which Bush took by 12.44 percentage points in 2004. By contrast, Bush won North Carolina by 12.83 percentage points in 2000, so Edwards improved things by about 0.39 percentage points. But that's not the whole story. Remember, Bush actually lost the popular vote nationally by 0.51 percentage points in 2000, and won by 2.46 percentage points in 2004, so there was a national trend for Bush to pick up 2.97 percentage points. Thus, the indicated improvement for the Democrats in North Carolina from having Edwards on the ticket appears to be about 3.36 percentage points. |
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#77 |
Not a doctor.
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Texas
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Suffering is not a punishment not a fruit of sin, it is a gift of God. He allows us to share in His suffering and to make up for the sins of the world. -Mother Teresa If I had a pet panda I would name it Snowflake. |
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#78 |
Illuminator
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Colorado
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#79 |
Penultimate Amazing
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#80 |
Official Ponylandistanian National Treasure. Respect it!
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