Prior to Biden dropping out the arguments for replacing him with Harris was because she’s the VP, or that she’d have access to his funds, or that she was the one person who in some polls did a little better than Trump. What I didn’t see was anybody arguing that she’d be really, really popular. That money would come pouring from Democrats for a candidate they were excited to support. 28,000 people have signed up to volunteer, when before it was less than 300 a day.
Did anybody see this happening? And if not, why not?
I thought there would likely be enthusiasm for Harris largely because so many people have responded to polling saying they strongly disliked rerunning the 2020 election. So more the unpopularity of DJT and Biden.
But, I’ve also never really understood the dislike some have had for Harris. Other than maybe being a bit dull I just haven’t understood it. What I’ve seen the last couple of days it strikes me the haters may have it wrong. She looks like a strong candidate to me.
I think a lot of dems were uncomfortable/unhappy with the Biden candidacy and didn’t think he would ever drop out. He was saying he wasn’t even thinking about it only a day before he did. As soon as he was out, they saw Harris as a viable option against Trump. She is more forcefully at calling him out on his lies and distortions than Biden seemed to be, plus women’s issues are a big part of their platform, and I think she can make that case better than Biden can. She will surely become the dems’ candidate for president. Whether she can rally enough support from independents and moderate-leaning republicans to beat Trump is a whole different story.
This is exactly it. But I’ll admit the scale of the strong support surprised me, as well as the speed with which any other potentially viable candidate got behind her. To me, that speaks to some level of organized communication from the campaign.
Totally agree. I told my wife and kids that I hoped the Dems would coalesce on a candidate before the convention, which they did. But I expected it to take a couple of weeks, not days.
Apparently Sen. Joe Manchin is considering rejoining the Democratic Party and running against Harris for the Democratic nomination. I don’t think he has a prayer, but I have been wrong before. I have no idea who his base is composed of.
What’s remarkable is how Gen Z has embraced her. I mentioned a while back how all the memes about Biden’s performance were infiltrating people’s socials-- the wide-eyes, mouth agape-- and it wasn’t doing him any favors with low-info and young voters.
For young adults who came of age with Old Man Trump and Older Man Biden in the White House, they’re embracing this shiny and new young candidate the same way people embraced the young Baby Boomer Bill Clinton in '92 and the swagger of Obama in '08. I think this bodes well.
As mentioned, nobody wanted a replay of 2020. TFG has never had more than 50% approval rating, but unless the Dems pulled off a miraculous surge in voter turnout, they were never going to win by sheer numbers. The public wanted an option beyond these two old guys, and now they have one. Folks who were blah and resigned on Biden, or were so disappointed in their choises that even if they didn’t like TFG they were going to stay home, are now jazzed. If she keeps up a positive message, jabs at her opponent in a way that keeps him and the rest of the GOP spinning out, and keeps her crowds hyped (none of which Biden would have been able to pull off), she could pull off that miracle.
harris is barely a baby boomer (last 3 months of baby boom). she is closer to gen x. so while technically a boomer, she is seen as gen x. that is exciting for many x, millennials, and z.
biden is silent generation, trump is one year into the baby boom generation.
this is energizing for quite a lot of people who were thinking of sitting this out or not seeing themselves in the candidates.
I am certainly feeling a lot more enthusiasm for her than I was expecting to – I was on the fence about whether Biden ought to drop out at all, and I would have said a few weeks ago that I preferred some other nominee, but now that it’s happened I feel unexpectedly good about it.
I didn’t care for her when she ran on her own, and I shrugged when she was chosen as VP.
But to start with, she hasn’t been an embarrassment as VP. Which sounds like faint praise, but if you think back to previous people who filled that role, it’s something of an accomplishment. For whatever reason we turn people in that job into a punching bag.
I also like some of the statements she has made (not all, and some of her worst ones will probably be played frequently by the right), but she’s someone that I think can do well when the spotlight really goes on her. Which is important. I also think her background as a prosecutor and the California AG will help a lot when things like crime rates and public safety come up, which many see as a weakness for Democrats (whether or not that’s based at all on facts).
You also now have a convicted felon who was found by a civil jury to have sexually assaulted a woman running against a female prosecutor. That can really get played up to hurt Donnie.
I can very much see why there’s a lot of enthusiasm, and if they play it right they can build on it.
Harris is young enough to have watched Super Friends on Saturday mornings while in elementary school. I’m not going to hold up her Gen X card for three months
The classic political strategy is to try and turn your opponent’s strength into a weakness.
Right now, one line of attack (petty as it may seem) is focused on her laugh.
Which belies the fact that Harris has an optimistic and uplifting personality.
This is such a refreshing change of pace from what we had before.
I think America wants to be hopeful. That’s why Reagan and Obama were able to present messages that captivated the country. Harris has a similar vibe (whether she can match their oratory remains to be seen, but she’s a jolt of optimism in an otherwise miserable presidential race).
I’m 6 years older than her, and have a hard time considering myself to have anything in common with baby boomers (like Trump?)
I’ve said before, I REALLY liked her on paper, but for whatever reason, she turned me off during the debates. She came off sorta as posturing and lecturing, but I have to examine whether that reflects some personal bias on my part. I’ve had a similar feeling in what little I heard of her as VP. She does not come across as sincere and genuine, as Obama did.
But there is no doubt she’d be a capable president. And this old white man has had enough of old white men screwing things up.
For a lot of people, the last eight years have been a shit show. Trump as president. Covid. Inflation. Wars. Yet all Dems had to offer was an old white man who, despite doing a great job, was never an inspiring figure and was visibly declining.
No wonder the polls had Trump ahead. His followers may be batshit crazy, but they believe in him.
I’ve liked her since I did some reading on her when she ran for Attorney General, and I’ve been describing who she is to out-of-state family members. She’s a great representative of California: child of immigrants, mixed race herself, mixed race and religion marriage. She’s not the glamorous Hollywood type, but more like a show runner–a work horse rather than a show horse.
And I think all of that feeds enthusiasm, because California is the future of America. We’re no utopia, but we demonstrate that it’s okay that there’s no majority race or ethnicity. It’s okay to accept people of all sexuality. It’s okay for government to invest in schools and public rails and solar power. And most importantly for the Democratic Party, it’s okay to have a permanent Democratic majority.
