Get your butt up to Washington and run for president. I will vote for you Tilly, even if you are a registered Republican. I like the idea of a Gator in the White House!!
Well we have common ground sir! I'm asking Tilly to run instead of Trump. I have already committed my one vote to the "Tiller"
Seems like a good time to bump this thread given the debate. Here are my top replacement picks for Biden. 1. Gretchen Whitmer - gov of Michigan. Pros: popular Midwest state governor, blue collar appeal, Michigan is arguably THE swing state. Cons: Not really tested at a national level. 2. Pete Buttigeg: Pros - probably the most articulate candidate, very good debater, excellent on the national stage, somewhat more moderate Cons: not sure how the gay thing plays in WI, MI and PA 3. Josh Shapiro - gov of PA Pros: popular pragmatic governor. Cons: most people don’t know who he is 4. Gavin Newsome: Pros: can definitely handle himself in the media and is likely competent cons: CA, kind of a lightning rod, high negatives. 5. Hillary Clinton. Yes, I said it. Pros: tested and ready Cons: self evident. Plus eye rolling mini strokes could reappear at any time after an 8 year hiatus.
I actually think there is a chance of this now. And I reflexively hate wishcasting. But the donors and the consultants aren't happy. The question is how to handle it. The good news is that there are not real Biden loyalists that matter electorally. The bad news is that Harris is unpopular and not an obvious upgrade electorally, especially if the party is basically going to pick somebody. I agree on Whitmer. I wonder if this is the play: have him step down soon, let Harris be President on a pledge not to run (getting her in the history books) and run somebody else.
Or perhaps make her Attorney general, or USSC appointment if they comes up. He could give up his delegates at the convention then the convention just nominates whomever they want.
AG is a demotion, so she would likely (and shouldn't really) accept it. The USSC is a maybe as well. I like my idea just from a perspective of it allows Democrats to level with the public. They can go out and say "Yep, that was bad" more effectively than if they said "Yep, he shouldn't be running, now he gets to be President for a few more months." Things are fine from a governance perspective, but I like the notion of just being adults about it while Republicans are stuck with Trump due to his loyalists (who they need and was honestly a disaster too).
I’d be fine with what you proposed but I doubt she agrees to be President for 6 months and just go quietly. At least those other positions give her a future. Seems to me he just says he won’t run again and let the convention figure out who should run next. I don’t have a ton of confidence they’d pick the best candidate but I don’t know what else to do.
You have to figure out the Harris situation because you can't have a convention meltdown. Honestly, Democrats would have a better shot of letting Biden back up there to try to correct it (the Trump people will agree to debates for sure now) than if they have a convention meltdown. Again, not sure any of this happens. Democrats are definitely panicking right now, but they will calm down. But I really think the play, if she would go for it, would be President for the rest of the term. She can then lead a foundation for the rest of her life and do whatever she wants as the first woman to ever be President. Not a bad gig and the only shot she will likely ever have at it.
What’s so bad about a convention meltdown? At least the Ds getting some free attention. If Biden steps down and she becomes president then she is the likely nominee. I don’t see her willing to be president 6 months and go away. Plus I imagine it would be a shitshow with her as president - partly her own doing and partly the republican feeding frenzy, which could be bad enough to hurt the D nominee.
1. Losing the ability to look like adults while minor party figures fight like children. 2. Lose some ability to look like they can effectively govern. 3. Piss off marginal voting groups whose least committed members might not vote. 4. End up with a series of backstabbing process stories for the entire election (the catnip of "Democrats in Disarray" would be too much). Nah, name her as a lame duck and nobody will freak out about her. They could go after her, but mostly wouldn't waste their energy. Every minute talking about her is time not talking about the nominee. Nobody is going to pass anything controversial for the next six months anyways. Not sure if she would agree (it is vaguely insulting to ask, but she isn't dumb and can read a poll). Not sure if this doesn't work without her being willing to step aside (the USSC could work as well, although that would cause more of a meltdown, especially given that there would need to be a vacancy first).
All of that aside a Whitmer / Shapiro ticket could make a lot of sense - two popular governors in two of the three most critical swing states.
I'll never understand all of the vitriol directed at Kamala Harris, who is a run-of-the-mill Democrat. It's not like she's Sarah Palin. If Biden had to step down due to health issues, I have no doubt that Harris could do the job. Shit, we survived four years of a corrupt, orange dimwit (Donald Trump). I know for a fact she's smarter and more competent than him.
I actually believe that in a one on one debate Kamala Harris would absolutely shred Donald Trump. Last night Trump served up marshmallows over and over with his easily rebuttable lies and Biden failed to respond. That would not have been the case with Harris or for that matter most of the other Democrats who could replace Biden at the top of the ticket.
I just realized this thread was literally entering the bargaining phase of this election cycle. Getting much closer to acceptance.
