Official Kamala Harris VP Thread

[Anonymous]

Buttigieg has been thoroughly vetted twice. When he ran for President (alongside Harris) in 2019-2020, and then when he was appointed to Biden's Cabinet as Secretary of Transportation in 2020. So she could move quickly on him.

I don't think it really matters who she picks out of the many great candidates who have been discussed on this thread. But I think Pete is a terrific human, very sharp communicator, and I'd love him on the ticket. He's been vetted and they have great personal chemistry too.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:My guess is down to Bashear and Kelly.

I lean slightly more to Bashear because we seem to like Governors.

Kelly seem like a no brainer.

Navy captain, combat pilot, astronaut and senator.
Temperament and personality appeal in the swing states.
His wife is former Rep. Gabby Giffords, a gun violence survivor (and Jewish). Which is a +2 for swing voters in the swing states.
Comes with his own body double which shoud spawn all sorts of fun conspiracy theories.
Arizona has a Dem Governor so it won't mess up the Senate if Tester and Brown get re-elected.

His main downside is that he's boring. But this is 2024 and the opponent is a narcissistic publicity hound. Boring is a virtue

Did I mention that he's a freaking astronaut?

Kelly has a great resume, no doubt about it. Is there a risk that he would take attention away from Harris? You don’t want the VP to outshine the person at the top of the ticket.

Kelly won’t outshine Harris. He’s boring AF. If we’re going with a boring old white guy go with Cooper. Much stronger in governing.

Apparently NC has a law that whenever Cooper leaves the state, his wackjob Lieutenant becomes acting governor. This would create some complications whenever he hits the campaign trail.
And while Arizona does have a Dem governor, if Kelly leaves his seat there would be a special election in 2026 (otherwise Kelly would be up for re-election in 2028). And an appointed senator would not be nearly as strong a candidate as Kelly himself.
So this is why I think it will be either Beshear or Shapiro.

Shapiro is a hard no due to his stance on Gaza. Secure PA, lose MI. Plus if I were PA resident Id be pissed he jumped ship after 2 years.

If Harris herself is Pro Palestine as DCUM claims and her VP is also Pro Palestine then people will claim antisemitism and will lose votes.

Harris isn't pro-Palestine. The US will continue to support Israel, regardless of who is president. The difference will just be around the degree of support and the kind of messaging.

And even if she were, she is just as bound by the security assistance MOU with Israel as her boss.

In what sense is the US “bound” by an MOU with another country?

In a legal sense. Sorry, I assumed wrongly on a DC forum that I was the least-informed about this topic.


It renews every 10 years and while the details are fuzzy bc it is a classified document, it’s believed to have few to no mechanisms for halting the disbursements, which means that Biden could not have turned off the tap to Israel even if he’d wanted to.

Most of the aid is in the form of, in broad strokes, credit against equipment to be sent directly from US military equipment contractors. The rest is mostly training. Very little is cash. It’s part of annual US appropriations (via Congress) and the actual mechanics of it are believed to be administered by DoD.

I think the current one is 2019-2029 but I might be off by a year.


https://www.state.gov/u-s-security-cooperation-with-israel/#:~:text=This%20has%20been%20formalized%20by,cooperative%20programs%20for%20missile%20defense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Buttigieg has been thoroughly vetted twice. When he ran for President (alongside Harris) in 2019-2020, and then when he was appointed to Biden's Cabinet as Secretary of Transportation in 2020. So she could move quickly on him.

I don't think it really matters who she picks out of the many great candidates who have been discussed on this thread. But I think Pete is a terrific human, very sharp communicator, and I'd love him on the ticket. He's been vetted and they have great personal chemistry too.

It won't be Buttigieg. A gay small town mayor and former McKinsey consultant who took long leaves of absence from his job at the Dept of Transportation is not who you pick when you need Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. It's not even the gay thing. It's the time at McKinsey that makes it impossible for Buttigieg to be on a ticket that really needs working class whites in the upper Midwest. McKinsey is enemy number 1 for the working class. And Harvard grad and McKinsey alum Pete Buttigieg personifies the out of touch elite that has destroyed manufacturing jobs in the Midwest.

It'll be Kelly or Beshear. Or possibly Shapiro. All would be good choices.

[Anonymous]

Is Beshear witty and charismatic? I know nothing about him. Vance is such a phony dork -- who clearly despises the people on middle America -- she needs someone who is clever and charming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's only 4 names being considered:

Beshear
Kelly
Shapiro
Cooper

On Morning Joe they said that they were also asking Whitmer and Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, for vetting materials.

Whitmer took herself out of running, Walz does not expand the map

Walz doing great here though.

I agree that his line was great. He also said something like they were all trying to be he-men something something. It was very funny!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My guess is down to Bashear and Kelly.

I lean slightly more to Bashear because we seem to like Governors.

Kelly seem like a no brainer.

Navy captain, combat pilot, astronaut and senator.
Temperament and personality appeal in the swing states.
His wife is former Rep. Gabby Giffords, a gun violence survivor (and Jewish). Which is a +2 for swing voters in the swing states.
Comes with his own body double which shoud spawn all sorts of fun conspiracy theories.
Arizona has a Dem Governor so it won't mess up the Senate if Tester and Brown get re-elected.

His main downside is that he's boring. But this is 2024 and the opponent is a narcissistic publicity hound. Boring is a virtue

Did I mention that he's a freaking astronaut?

Kelly has a great resume, no doubt about it. Is there a risk that he would take attention away from Harris? You don’t want the VP to outshine the person at the top of the ticket.

Kelly won’t outshine Harris. He’s boring AF. If we’re going with a boring old white guy go with Cooper. Much stronger in governing.

Apparently NC has a law that whenever Cooper leaves the state, his wackjob Lieutenant becomes acting governor. This would create some complications whenever he hits the campaign trail.
And while Arizona does have a Dem governor, if Kelly leaves his seat there would be a special election in 2026 (otherwise Kelly would be up for re-election in 2028). And an appointed senator would not be nearly as strong a candidate as Kelly himself.
So this is why I think it will be either Beshear or Shapiro.

Shapiro is a hard no due to his stance on Gaza. Secure PA, lose MI. Plus if I were PA resident Id be pissed he jumped ship after 2 years.

So, if she's reading DCUM, she should pick Beshear. We'll see how this goes.

Hopefully she's not. Beshear doesn't help with the EC. Kentucky is not WI, MI, PA or AZ. The voters in those states that Beshear appeals to are ungettable.

I'm not sure how big a consideration the EC is when picking a running mate in the last 25 years we've had:
Cheney (WY), Lieberman (CT), Edwards (NC, which they lost), Palin (Alaska), Biden (DE), Ryan (WI, which they lost), Kaine (VA), Pence (IN), Harris (CA). Other than the two swing states where the VP candidate couldn't help pull out a victory, the closest thing is Kaine in 2016, when Virginia was no longer up for grabs.

Republicans seem to feel the same way this year - the finalists to be Trump's running mate were from SC, FL and ND before he picked the guy from Ohio. None of those are swing states.

You can add Gore (TN) to that list. But in general that's a somewhat superficial take. It isn't so much about the macro but the micro demographics of the swing vote in the swing states. Most of those were picked to balance out the percieved weaknesses of the main candidate among key parts of their coalition. Considering the margins of the last two elections a few thousand voters in each state is the difference.

Harris was picked for her appeal to black woman and Hilary diehards. Pence for his appeal to the evangelical and talk radio crowd. Biden for labor and East Coast suburbs.

Kamala needs to shore up support with white moderate Gen X suburban men and women in WI, MI, PA, and AZ while not driving away Arab voters in MI, Jewish voters in PA or millennials. Cutting into Trump's margin among white boomers in AZ and PA would also be helpful.

Beshear is too Appalachian. Cooper is too Southern. Shapiro is great for PA but maybe not the rest because he's too East Coast. Kelly fits everything like a glove.

You guys just can't drop the identity politics, can you.

When you book a plane flight, do you refuse to board it unless it's piloted by a blue-haired lesbian? Do you really act this way IRL?

Identity politics has always existed. When Trump picked Pence, he did so because he thought he would bring a certain demographic: white evangelicals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Buttigieg has been thoroughly vetted twice. When he ran for President (alongside Harris) in 2019-2020, and then when he was appointed to Biden's Cabinet as Secretary of Transportation in 2020. So she could move quickly on him.

I don't think it really matters who she picks out of the many great candidates who have been discussed on this thread. But I think Pete is a terrific human, very sharp communicator, and I'd love him on the ticket. He's been vetted and they have great personal chemistry too.

Only if the Dems have an electoral death wish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My guess is down to Bashear and Kelly.

I lean slightly more to Bashear because we seem to like Governors.

Kelly seem like a no brainer.

Navy captain, combat pilot, astronaut and senator.
Temperament and personality appeal in the swing states.
His wife is former Rep. Gabby Giffords, a gun violence survivor (and Jewish). Which is a +2 for swing voters in the swing states.
Comes with his own body double which shoud spawn all sorts of fun conspiracy theories.
Arizona has a Dem Governor so it won't mess up the Senate if Tester and Brown get re-elected.

His main downside is that he's boring. But this is 2024 and the opponent is a narcissistic publicity hound. Boring is a virtue

Did I mention that he's a freaking astronaut?

Kelly has a great resume, no doubt about it. Is there a risk that he would take attention away from Harris? You don’t want the VP to outshine the person at the top of the ticket.

Kelly won’t outshine Harris. He’s boring AF. If we’re going with a boring old white guy go with Cooper. Much stronger in governing.

Apparently NC has a law that whenever Cooper leaves the state, his wackjob Lieutenant becomes acting governor. This would create some complications whenever he hits the campaign trail.
And while Arizona does have a Dem governor, if Kelly leaves his seat there would be a special election in 2026 (otherwise Kelly would be up for re-election in 2028). And an appointed senator would not be nearly as strong a candidate as Kelly himself.
So this is why I think it will be either Beshear or Shapiro.

Shapiro is a hard no due to his stance on Gaza. Secure PA, lose MI. Plus if I were PA resident Id be pissed he jumped ship after 2 years.

If Harris herself is Pro Palestine as DCUM claims and her VP is also Pro Palestine then people will claim antisemitism and will lose votes.

Harris isn't pro-Palestine. The US will continue to support Israel, regardless of who is president. The difference will just be around the degree of support and the kind of messaging.

Israel is very important in the region; and it brings and shares, a lot with the US and the world. Not to mention a crucial place of safety for Jews. So it should be a priority of the US and vice versa.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My guess is down to Bashear and Kelly.

I lean slightly more to Bashear because we seem to like Governors.

Kelly seem like a no brainer.

Navy captain, combat pilot, astronaut and senator.
Temperament and personality appeal in the swing states.
His wife is former Rep. Gabby Giffords, a gun violence survivor (and Jewish). Which is a +2 for swing voters in the swing states.
Comes with his own body double which shoud spawn all sorts of fun conspiracy theories.
Arizona has a Dem Governor so it won't mess up the Senate if Tester and Brown get re-elected.

His main downside is that he's boring. But this is 2024 and the opponent is a narcissistic publicity hound. Boring is a virtue

Did I mention that he's a freaking astronaut?

Kelly has a great resume, no doubt about it. Is there a risk that he would take attention away from Harris? You don’t want the VP to outshine the person at the top of the ticket.

Kelly won’t outshine Harris. He’s boring AF. If we’re going with a boring old white guy go with Cooper. Much stronger in governing.

Apparently NC has a law that whenever Cooper leaves the state, his wackjob Lieutenant becomes acting governor. This would create some complications whenever he hits the campaign trail.
And while Arizona does have a Dem governor, if Kelly leaves his seat there would be a special election in 2026 (otherwise Kelly would be up for re-election in 2028). And an appointed senator would not be nearly as strong a candidate as Kelly himself.
So this is why I think it will be either Beshear or Shapiro.

Shapiro is a hard no due to his stance on Gaza. Secure PA, lose MI. Plus if I were PA resident Id be pissed he jumped ship after 2 years.

So, if she's reading DCUM, she should pick Beshear. We'll see how this goes.

Hopefully she's not. Beshear doesn't help with the EC. Kentucky is not WI, MI, PA or AZ. The voters in those states that Beshear appeals to are ungettable.

I'm not sure how big a consideration the EC is when picking a running mate in the last 25 years we've had:
Cheney (WY), Lieberman (CT), Edwards (NC, which they lost), Palin (Alaska), Biden (DE), Ryan (WI, which they lost), Kaine (VA), Pence (IN), Harris (CA). Other than the two swing states where the VP candidate couldn't help pull out a victory, the closest thing is Kaine in 2016, when Virginia was no longer up for grabs.

Republicans seem to feel the same way this year - the finalists to be Trump's running mate were from SC, FL and ND before he picked the guy from Ohio. None of those are swing states.

You can add Gore (TN) to that list. But in general that's a somewhat superficial take. It isn't so much about the macro but the micro demographics of the swing vote in the swing states. Most of those were picked to balance out the percieved weaknesses of the main candidate among key parts of their coalition. Considering the margins of the last two elections a few thousand voters in each state is the difference.

Harris was picked for her appeal to black woman and Hilary diehards. Pence for his appeal to the evangelical and talk radio crowd. Biden for labor and East Coast suburbs.

Kamala needs to shore up support with white moderate Gen X suburban men and women in WI, MI, PA, and AZ while not driving away Arab voters in MI, Jewish voters in PA or millennials. Cutting into Trump's margin among white boomers in AZ and PA would also be helpful.

Beshear is too Appalachian. Cooper is too Southern. Shapiro is great for PA but maybe not the rest because he's too East Coast. Kelly fits everything like a glove.

You guys just can't drop the identity politics, can you.

When you book a plane flight, do you refuse to board it unless it's piloted by a blue-haired lesbian? Do you really act this way IRL?

You picked that post to try and stir up identity politics? lol, you completely misread it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I doubt it. The VP in a presidential campaign probably spends a lot of time placating interest groups and courting donors, and I’m guessing that’s not his skill set. I’ll bet about 90% of the job of being a VP candidate is knowing where the political landmines are and how to sidestep them. (I think Mike Pence was actually very good at these things and was probably a big reason why Trump eked out a win in 2016.) God knows Kamala Harris can’t afford any unforced errors from her VP. She needs a seasoned politician.

[Anonymous]

Pete for VP!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I doubt it. The VP in a presidential campaign probably spends a lot of time placating interest groups and courting donors, and I’m guessing that’s not his skill set. I’ll bet about 90% of the job of being a VP candidate is knowing where the political landmines are and how to sidestep them. (I think Mike Pence was actually very good at these things and was probably a big reason why Trump eked out a win in 2016.) God knows Kamala Harris can’t afford any unforced errors from her VP. She needs a seasoned politician.

Yeah this seems like a wish and a prayer. The VP list is short and this outlier isn't part of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Buttigieg has been thoroughly vetted twice. When he ran for President (alongside Harris) in 2019-2020, and then when he was appointed to Biden's Cabinet as Secretary of Transportation in 2020. So she could move quickly on him.

I don't think it really matters who she picks out of the many great candidates who have been discussed on this thread. But I think Pete is a terrific human, very sharp communicator, and I'd love him on the ticket. He's been vetted and they have great personal chemistry too.

It won't be Buttigieg. A gay small town mayor and former McKinsey consultant who took long leaves of absence from his job at the Dept of Transportation is not who you pick when you need Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. It's not even the gay thing. It's the time at McKinsey that makes it impossible for Buttigieg to be on a ticket that really needs working class whites in the upper Midwest. McKinsey is enemy number 1 for the working class. And Harvard grad and McKinsey alum Pete Buttigieg personifies the out of touch elite that has destroyed manufacturing jobs in the Midwest.

It'll be Kelly or Beshear. Or possibly Shapiro. All would be good choices.

+1 Or Roy Cooper. It will not be Buttgieg (although I agree he sounds like a terrific and talented guy.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's only 4 names being considered:

Beshear
Kelly
Shapiro
Cooper

On Morning Joe they said that they were also asking Whitmer and Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, for vetting materials.

Whitmer took herself out of running, Walz does not expand the map

Walz doing great here though.

I agree that his line was great. He also said something like they were all trying to be he-men something something. It was very funny!

He’s funny here too

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My guess is down to Bashear and Kelly.

I lean slightly more to Bashear because we seem to like Governors.

Kelly seem like a no brainer.

Navy captain, combat pilot, astronaut and senator.
Temperament and personality appeal in the swing states.
His wife is former Rep. Gabby Giffords, a gun violence survivor (and Jewish). Which is a +2 for swing voters in the swing states.
Comes with his own body double which shoud spawn all sorts of fun conspiracy theories.
Arizona has a Dem Governor so it won't mess up the Senate if Tester and Brown get re-elected.

His main downside is that he's boring. But this is 2024 and the opponent is a narcissistic publicity hound. Boring is a virtue

Did I mention that he's a freaking astronaut?

Kelly has a great resume, no doubt about it. Is there a risk that he would take attention away from Harris? You don’t want the VP to outshine the person at the top of the ticket.

Kelly won’t outshine Harris. He’s boring AF. If we’re going with a boring old white guy go with Cooper. Much stronger in governing.

Apparently NC has a law that whenever Cooper leaves the state, his wackjob Lieutenant becomes acting governor. This would create some complications whenever he hits the campaign trail.
And while Arizona does have a Dem governor, if Kelly leaves his seat there would be a special election in 2026 (otherwise Kelly would be up for re-election in 2028). And an appointed senator would not be nearly as strong a candidate as Kelly himself.
So this is why I think it will be either Beshear or Shapiro.

Shapiro is a hard no due to his stance on Gaza. Secure PA, lose MI. Plus if I were PA resident Id be pissed he jumped ship after 2 years.

If Harris herself is Pro Palestine as DCUM claims and her VP is also Pro Palestine then people will claim antisemitism and will lose votes.

Harris isn't pro-Palestine. The US will continue to support Israel, regardless of who is president. The difference will just be around the degree of support and the kind of messaging.

Israel is very important in the region; and it brings and shares, a lot with the US and the world. Not to mention a crucial place of safety for Jews. So it should be a priority of the US and vice versa.

You could say the same about Ukraine. Yet JD Vance says he doesn't care what happens to the Ukraine or if Russia takes it over...