Reflections on Kamala Harris, a middle-of-the-pack Dem

Another late posting, written 8/27/24.

This may be long and rambling. I actually wanted Harris replaced first on the ticket since I wanted a different backup in case Joe became incapacitated, which has been a high risk throughout his presidency. I've been writing to the White House and DNC since February with this request.

Then Joe got even worse and had that horrible debate. It wasn't shocking to me. I had observed his decline and other episodes like that with visiting heads of state. Joe's speech would slow, get disjointed, and trail off. It happened frequently enough that his opponents considered him senile. Yet he delivered at the State of the Union address in early March. But by June, it was worse with a number of signs of decline at the D-Day commemorations. 

Then he had that kind of episode at the late June debate with Trump. In front of the entire world that had tuned in. It couldn't be easily explained away so pressure mounted on Joe to quit the campaign. He resisted and made lots of appearances, but the speech problems were always evident. Denial became impossible, pressure mounted, and he gave it up. Supposedly Nancy Pelosi threatened to go hardball on his, and he capitulated before she made good on threat. But who knows what all convinced the stubborn old goat to give up. 

People coalesced around Harris with amazing speed. I have to wonder if the fix was in, specifically that Biden agreed to step back if Harris won the public endorsements of high profile Dems. 

I was very excited by Biden stepping back, and maybe over half the country or half the world was. It was one of those rare times when The Powers That Be bowed to public pressure, though there was also tons of donor and party official pressure too. The excitement was so great that it infected the public view of Harris too. Transference is a known human behavior, and this time excitement was the emotion splashing around and infecting other objects. 

A WaPo article made the case that Harris hasn't been a bad politician, but rather circumstances have defeated her. First that the Dems really wanted a moderate white man as their nominee after Hillary Clinton unexpectedly lost. Harris was also in a very crowded lane in the crowded primary, with Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren doing a better job appealing to liberal college grads than Harris could. 

Harris got the VP slot because Biden promised to pick a woman, and blacks (men and women) have been underrepresented even among Dems, so the pick was likely to be a black woman. When it came to black women with campaign experience, there weren't too many to choose from, and Harris had the highest profile as senator from a large state. She wasn't picked because she had shown great leadership, but maybe the potential was there. 

Again the WaPo article explains that Harris didn't fail as VP so much has she was a poor fit for the image the administration was trying to project:

It is hard for me to imagine how Harris would have had a good 2021-2022. The ethos of the Biden White House back then (and really the president’s entire political career) was essentially "Democrats succeed politically when they appeal to White moderate voters, and that’s done by talking mostly about the economy and not being too liberal on abortion, crime, immigration, policing and race."

I don't find this argument convincing. She should have been able to contribute positively for a broad range of issues, not only her strengths.

The conventional wisdom has now shifted on Harris, who is increasingly described as an asset to the Democratic Party and perhaps a superior candidate to Biden. But what’s really changed is the broader political climate and the Democrats’ strategy. Abortion and Republicans banning books by LGBTQ+ authors are viewed as favorable political terrain for Democrats...

The reality about Kamala Harris is that she is a decent-but-unspectacular politician … like the president. Biden and Harris both hail from states that used to be more politically divided but have become reliably Democratic. So they both rose without facing a lot of super-tough races after their early victories. Neither is a great orator, policy expert or visionary leader. Both ran lackluster presidential campaigns but then were vaulted to the vice presidency over stronger rivals for ticket-balancing purposes.

Abortion may be a good issue for Dems, but LGBTQ+ issues is mixed at best. The bigger issues are the border, the federal budget, the economy, and international hotspots. Harris is going to have to show some strength in those, The article is correct that Harris isn't a strong contender and is thrust into the presidential campaign by happenstance. She's a middle-of-the-pack Dem following a typical Dem playbook, and that's all she's ever been. So she went into prosecution when Dems were trying to show that they are tough on crime. 

What will her policies be if she's elected? Maybe a generic mix of what Dems support now. A big question is the border, which is a losing issue for Dems right now. Will she get tougher or remain relatively soft? 

To me, she doesn't appear to be an independent thinker. She'll probably be guided by her advisors, and who knows if any of them are capable of flashes of brilliance including new ideas. Sadly, I think we'll have a very bland moderate administration. Hopefully not too much will go wrong. 

Extras. An alternative plan to choose a Dem replacement for Biden, which could have happened if Harris hadn't garnered so many endorsements. 

Trump fantasizing in Truth Social that Biden would come to the Democratic convention and demand to be the nominee again:

What are the chances that Crooked Joe Biden, the WORST President in the history of the U.S., whose Presidency was Unconstitutionally STOLEN from him by Kamabla, Barrack HUSSEIN Obama, Crazy Nancy Pelosi, Shifty Adam Schiff, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, and others on the Lunatic Left, CRASHES the Democrat National Convention and tries to take back the Nomination, beginning with challenging me to another DEBATE. He feels that he made a historically tragic mistake by handing over the U.S. Presidency, a COUP, to the people in the World he most hates, and he wants it back, NOW!!!

Links of interest, very belated

I've neglected posting blogs but I've still written some, and I will catch up eventually. These links mostly or completely from 2024.

I managed not to write about DeSantis and the Florida culture skirmishes where DeSantis tried via legislation to force Florida public schools to be much less woke. This had many fronts. Don't say gay. Nothing about trans kids. Curriculum on slavery. Punishing Disney for stating their opposing opinion. So fun all around. This is the settlement agreement about the Don't Say Gay bill (as it was dubbed in the press). No formal instruction in lots of areas for K-3, but informal discussions can and will take place. 

Plastic Waste Deal. Not a deal yet, but a bunch of countries are coming closer to limiting plastic manufacturing. This is a good idea considering all the plastic bottle waste. A lot of that could go to aluminum, which is highly recycled, unlike plastic. And countries probably need to force industry that way since it's not happening even with people being educated. Some things do happen from the top down. 

Donny's Donors and who they want for VP. Good to check back on this. 

A summary of the evidence in Trump's payoff trial. There isn't any summary of the defense, but there wasn't much of a defense. A lawyer named Costello testified, but didn't have much material evidence to back him up. He also got skewered on cross examination. 

El Salvador has been a mess for decades. Finally a leader is having partial success in countering the gangs. But the bleeding heart progressives have to criticize anyhow. I want to watch and see if he is able to help this benighted country. I hope he can. 

The European parliament elections saw a surge of anti-immigrant votes and a major decline in greens and liberals. For what it's worth, being a lower-turnout affair. And an article about how France has changed. Not so stodgy and with a sense of chaos? 

Video showing Biden's shuffling gait walking in a cemetery in France at the D-Day commemorations. Jill holding his hand, guiding him, helping with balance. Biden reaching for headstone to steady himself. I noticed this before Biden's poor debate performance. Full video of Biden's interview by Hur, special counsel. 

Trashy racist meme from Trump's campaign spokesman. Correction, an outspoken supporter, also asian.

The new mayor of Chicago is trying to force through an agreement with the teachers' union and huge high-interest borrowing. The superintendent and the entire school board that he appointed disagree with his plan. What a mess. 

Mark Zuckerberg's whiny letter to the GOP-dominated House Judiciary Committee. They pressured us, he whines. 

Too late to matter, but a transcript of the Harris/Trump debate. 

Parking this here. A transcript of the J6 Committee with the blunt assistant White House Counsel. The one with the panda poster in the background. The one who told off Eastman after Jan. 6. There is also a treasure trove of J6 transcripts.

Image: Ian Miles Cheong 

Very interesting links. Long but worth it.

 I've been negligent in keeping up with blogging. Mea culpa. But here's lots of good stuff.

Reports on the Trump campaign. Feeling confident in August. Trump's appeal to white working class remains strong. People who think Trump is nuts, including Hannity. Voting suppression shenanigans--just one of many tactics to reduce the turnout. Republicans getting more worried. Less cowardice towards Trump--a bit less. Unfocused campaign near the end--maybe the emphasis is simply on bluster. Details of targeting black voters in 2016 for discouragement.

In-depth reports about how Biden chose Kamala Harris. I'm very interested in decision-making processes. This reports a budding connection. I hope that's a good sign. 

Other tidbits about Biden. A long piece focusing on personality and character. Like many Dem campaigns, Biden is late with a strategy for Latino voters. The Biden campaign goes gross on drug test request. (Don't talk about urine PLEASE!!!!)

Heading toward fascism? A refugee from a fascist country warns the US that we are definitely headed in that direction. Not all hyperbole by any means. 

Real data on voter fraud. It's not clear that the methodology is strong, but (if so) this should be getting more attention. Actual numbers on dead people voting and double voting. Nothing on ballot harvesting which is the biggest form of fraud. 

Dangers in refusing abortions. A Michigan senator tells how his wife was refused an abortion for a failed pregnancy that put her health and life in danger. Rigidity is winning over realism and women's lives. 

Snapshot USA. Portland police allow left and right whackos to fight. Illogical complaint about NYC restrictions on restaurant. Consider necessity versus option. No rational person literally believes Tucker Carlson. That is the conclusion of a judge in dismissing a slander suit against him. 

Covid relief 2.0. Seems to be permanently stalled. This is another case of GOPers have no ability to handle difficult negotiations. 

Global warming factors. Broken down and explained very clearly. It would be much hotter by now if the sunspot activity had a normal cycle rather than a very low cycle. We got lucky, but humans are fucking our climate. 

Image: abcnews.go.com

March links

A few quaint events of interest happened in March before the virus hit.

Before the primaries ended. A stroll down memory lane with the winners and losers from a debate.  Biden won the South Carolina primary, won most of Super Tuesday, and won again the following Tuesday. Everyone other than Sanders dropped out.

Russian interference charges dropped. I'm not sure if it's real or a pretext--good reasons to believe either way. It probably never would have gone to trial.

Watch him end his career. ...and on to a well-deserved retirement. Chris Matthews of MSNBC won't believe a woman candidate about sexual harassment. Dumb move. 'I just don't believe it' doesn't fly anymore because it's generally very believable.

Rift in the left. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez is actually trying to be more pragmatic than the garden variety far leftist.

Trolls can be controlled online. Not a March item, but something dear to me and my dislike of trolls. Reddit managed to greatly reduce trolling. A confession of someone who was addicted to trolling and wised up on  his own.

Everything else is covid-related.

Image; cbsnews.com

Ukraine saga continues

I don't know how many threads I'll have on this Ukraine saga. I feel vindicated for focusing on the prosecutors and ambassadors, but perhaps I deserve credit only for reading the transcript of the phone call and the whistleblower's letter.

The House Democrats started private, closed-door testimony from some of those involved or with knowledge of the situation. The Republicans have been yelling foul on whatever grounds they can think of. They claimed the testimony was wrong because there was no formal vote, so the Dems held a formal vote, which passed. The Republicans said the closed-door testimony was wrong, and even tried to stage a sit-in. Starting today, the Dems have are releasing transcripts of the testimony taken so far. It's fairly damning. Trump claims that the Dems are going to change the words, but he looks like a fool on that account.

So far, a fair number of people, mostly connected to the State Department, have talked about Giuliani running his own Ukraine policy that was focused on getting dirt on the Biden family. Some of the people testifying have been:

• William Taylor
• Lt. Col. Vindman (who contacted the NSC legal branch twice)
• Marie Yovanovitch (the targeted US ambassador)

This list will probably grown. I keep hearing that what Giuliani has done and what Trump has let him do are without precedent for modern times in the State Department. I certainly don't remember dealings like this, though there were occasionally rumors of secret underhanded dealings like Bush Sr. doing something-something. What we have here is much more than rumor. 

Republicans are fighting back with all they have. They continue to push the theory that the FBI, CIA, and other departments were/are full of corrupt Dem-sympathetic officials who have illegally targeted Trump. But that's the subject of my next post.

Vindman going to testify. Traitor or patriot?

Image: nationalreview.com

Update 11/5/19. The House released transcripts of two ambassadors (Volker and Sondland). Sondland had a mysterious change in his memory, and now says that he told the Ukrainians that they'd have to announce the investigations for aid to be freed. Sondland still provided a bit of a figleaf for Trump, saying it was his 'presumption' that the aid was tied because he heard it hadn't been released. Sondland confirmed that Giuliani was the key person on Ukraine, and Trump didn't want to deal with it, but directed the ambassadors to Giuliani.

Also this quote from a federal prosecutor:

Now they've got this whole other crazy defense about there's no corrupt intent, but these guys haven't done their legal researching and corrupt intent under the law means improper purpose. And when you're using the levers of government and monies appropriated by Congress to further your own re-election effort and use it to try and bribe and extort a foreign government, I mean, what more improper purpose can you get?  - 

Update 11/7/19. Two more articles about the released transcripts. Both give an inside view of what the testimony was like. Taylor--resolutely sticking to the facts, supported by his meticulous notes. Sondland--buffeted, not knowing what to say, having trouble remembering.

Update 11/16/19. A taut, thriller-like retelling of the whistleblower's actions and many others. John Bolton has the most memorable lines: calling Giuliani a human hand-grenade and instructing an aide to tell <someone> that he isn't part of the drug deal being cooked up. 

The start of the stupid Watergate

I've been tracking the developing story about a whistleblower report out of the intelligence services. That was the first bit of info. Next was that Trump made an improper promise to a foreign leader. Next was that it was the leader of Ukraine. (What????? Not Russia????) That was only a week ago.

Now a lot more is known. It's been like a fast moving wildfire, and definitely not contained. Congress wants the whistleblower report, the Inspector General says it should be given to Congress, but the administration overruled that. With those kind of details, it's going to be hard to prevent the release of the report, but the Trump administration is still trying to.

To placate the public, or as a figleaf, the administration released the official transcript of the call between Trump and the president of Ukraine. It's not much of a figleaf, and it won't help. The IG report will have to come out. This is yet another case of:

What you want to hide won't stay hidden.

Well, that's great. My kids will get to experience their own version of Watergate, but with a dumber president. So dumb that he doesn't realize you can't ask the president of Ukraine during an official phone call to investigate the Biden family when Joe Biden happens to be 1) well known, 2) your political opponent, and 3) running for president.

No, Donald Trump, you can't ask for that openly because this isn't a banana republic. The president of the US doesn't get to create goon squads, and he pays price if he does it and it's found out. Doing it offshore and leaning on a vulnerable country makes it even more unethical. We have rules here.

So many links I'll just list them:

Letters to, from, about the Inspector General

Oh, that idiot Rudy Giuliani was pushing the new prez of Ukraine about Biden. Does Giuliani know how to do anything secretly?

The apologists at National Review think it's not a big deal because the president has lots of leeway in running foreign affairs. Hey, they seem to miss that this isn't just a legalistic question.

The conservatives at Washington Examiner get the issues much more clearly. Did Trump try to force Ukraine to do dirty work against one of his political opponents

Seven Dem representatives, all with military and/or intelligence backgrounds (not flaming antifa types) think this behavior from Trump is impeachment-worthy.

How Trump withheld military aid from Ukraine until it started getting hot. No one in Congress knew why, and people started asking questions.

The figleaf - Trump releases the transcript of a conversation with the president of Ukraine. Commentators at WaPo annotate the conversation. Not the most insightful, but worth reading.

The top intelligence official threatened to resign. He will be testifying before Congress, and maybe won't be stonewalling (as the weasly Attorney General usually does). We'll find out soon.

Republican senators enact a scene from The Emperor's New Clothes as they ignore the elephant in the room but worry about the precedent of releasing the transcript.

In a huge irony, the president of Ukraine was visiting Washington today, and had to play along with the charade. That's is just one of the laugh lines.

Related: McConnell finally stopped delaying legislation/money to bolster election security. He earned the name Moscow Mitch for delaying this money for so long. Why now, we must wonder?

BIG RELEASE: THE WHISTLEBLOWER'S COMPLAINT.

A bunch of short, helpful articles.

The White House accidentally sent their talking points to some Dems along with the GOP congress critters. Oops. Some other GOP excuses deconstructed.

The Dems should be inspired by Ulysses S. Grant. He was surrounded by commanders who were paralyzed by fear of Robert E. Lee, but he managed to get them to calm down, take command, and take action. Likewise, Trump will be belligerent, loud, nasty, and unrelenting. The Dems must make sure this doesn't send them into paralysis.

Image: washingtonpost.com

Update 10/9/19. The original memo that the whistleblower wrote (to himself?) one day after the infamous call. Here's the most pointed part:

The official stated that there was already a conversation underway with White House lawyers about how to handle the discussion because, in the official's view, the President had clearly committed a criminal act by urging a foreign power to investigate a U.S. person for the purposes of advancing his own reelection bid in 2020.

Other updates. The Trump administration wanted contracts from Ukraine the most, until Trump wanted political dirt. Some of the GOP senators know that some of the spin (lies) about Biden is wrong. Two GOP senators signed a letter back in 2016 about the level of corruption. Sen. Johnson appears to have forgotten or sold his soul, or both.

Update 10/10/19. Intelligent analysis, mostly of public opinion and the straits GOP politicians are in. Only 17% of Americans think Trump spoke appropriately in the phone call.

Update 11/1/19. The Republicans in the closed door impeachment hearings are trying to unmask the whistleblower and tie anyone who isn't a loyal Trumper to Cjristopher Steele or other boogeymen. Polling shows Americans continue to doubt the actions of Trump, more GOPers being critical.