General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI like Kamala Harris. I'm on the Kamala Harris train until further notice.
She said we should have a government where we can see ourselves. I felt much better about America when presidents like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were in charge. I don't say that to disparage our other fine candidates. We have an embarrassment of riches.
She also passes my electability test:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=11704037
mcar
(42,210 posts)So far, I'm happy with most of our candidates.
Shell_Seas
(3,319 posts)Quemado
(1,262 posts)I know it's early, but, as far as I am concerned, she is the frontrunner, and will be, until another candidate makes a better case for himself/herself.
winetourdriver01
(1,154 posts)I will join you.
Gothmog
(144,005 posts)chimpymustgo
(12,774 posts)cream of the crop at this point.
That is impressive.
joshcryer
(62,265 posts)Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)ismnotwasm
(41,921 posts)UniteFightBack
(8,231 posts)the way that cookie crumbles.
tparrett62
(268 posts)I'm going to vote for whoever our nominee is, but right now, I'm all in with Harris.
calguy
(5,223 posts)Call me an undecided who supports every candidate. My heart is open to hearing each candidate's message with an open mind. There will be many more to jump in the race and each one deserves to be heard.
obamanut2012
(25,911 posts)Codeine
(25,586 posts)Tikki
(14,539 posts)The Tikkis
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)aikoaiko
(34,127 posts)Most of the other new national Democrats are still getting organized or waiting.
I need to hear more from her before getting on the KH train for 1600 Penn.
FreeState
(10,553 posts)vercetti2021
(10,150 posts)I'd love, love to see it happen.
Va Lefty
(6,252 posts)In It to Win It
(8,143 posts)yonder
(9,631 posts)Hulk
(6,699 posts)Good strong progressive candidates, and one DINO who is out of her class. Listened to a Tapper interview, and I hope the R-lite drops out fast. A waste of time hearing her "both siderism" garbage again.
Maven
(10,533 posts)When I lived in CA, I saw her shine as state AG. She is brilliant and a true blue progressive fighter. We would be lucky to have her as our nominee and as the next president.
shanti
(21,672 posts)We here in CA can afford to lose her as a Senator as we have so many shining stars to fill her place, should she win the nomination. Win/Win overall!
NotHardly
(1,062 posts)Gonna watch the parade and do a "listening/reading" interest program on all the hopefuls. Too much at stake to jump for anyone.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)I wish it were that easy. I'm still waiting.
Part of the problem is the newness of those who have thrown their hats in the ring. A few questions at a hearing, or a good resume, isn't enough.
I'm waiting for that special leadership quality that some people have. That "it" factor, I guess you could say.
karin_sj
(805 posts)Smart, articulate, confident, serious but with a sense of humor. She has many excellent qualities. And anyone who says she doesn't meet the "likability" test is full of it.
I would love to see Kamala as president and Eric Swallwell as VP: two exceptional Californians!
Trenzalore
(2,331 posts)Constitution.
Thanks for the info. I had no idea...
redstatebluegirl
(12,264 posts)calimary
(80,700 posts)But Kamala has A LOT going for her.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)Now, a spectacularly managed campaign by someone else, or a badly managed one by her, can still change my mind, but she has all the a priori qualities I want in a candidate.
ancianita
(35,813 posts)oberliner
(58,724 posts)She seems like a great candidate in many respects.
ffr
(22,649 posts)Any democrat is better than any libertarian, conservative, or loyal to corruption and chaos republican.
Trenzalore
(2,331 posts)I plan to donate every paycheck. She is our best hope.
Az_lefty
(3,670 posts)TNNurse
(6,911 posts)honest.abe
(8,556 posts)Kamala / Beto 2020
slumcamper
(1,603 posts)Chemisse
(30,793 posts)I'm so excited she is one of them though!!
Duppers
(28,094 posts)Bradshaw3
(7,455 posts)MI, WI and PA are the ones we have to win back. Someone running as a fire-breathing liberal from California gets people on DU excited but could have a hard time winning those states. I see her as better for the VP spot.
Awsi Dooger
(14,565 posts)Imagine the counter advertising on that. Months and months and months of onslaught from all angles and sources. People who don't follow politics at all really don't tune in until the fall and especially that first debate. By that time they wouldn't know anything about Kamala Harris except that she is the most liberal senator in the country.
Margin for error is gone with that type of thing, particularly against an incumbent. Sure it would be awesome to have someone with that record elected, but I tried to rationalize the same thing here in Florida with Andrew Gillum. Then when he was an obvious loser on election night I checked the exit polling...with 44% of Florida voters saying Gillum was too liberal for the state. Then that 44% was adjusted to 46% once the exit poll itself was amended based on who actually voted.
We can't nominate anyone who is considered too liberal. The 2020 cycle will not be nearly as favorable as 2018. That is the mistake in perception I am seeing everywhere. It is going to be balanced terrain, with both sides incredibly energized. That is always the case when one party is determined to validate that incumbent while the other side is desperate to oust him.
Our bench is anything but ideal. That it the problem first and foremost. It is touted here as strong but that is person to person impression while losing all understanding of situational influence and how it translates to voting booth. Once our governorship numbers fell apart it logically correlated to a weaker bench. The perfect bench dwellers are charismatic governors of important electoral states, with high approval ratings in those states. If we had a recent two-term governor of Florida or any of those major midwestern states, then that person would be incredibly well positioned to make a run at the presidency. In a perfect world we could pick from many of them. But once we are dealing with senators then the margin for error nose dives and you need an ultra special person to emerge. That voting record among 100 examples is too easy to spotlight and pick apart. Swing voters love simple reference points. The California aspect makes Kamala Harris an easy target for simplistic stereotypes, just like the Massachusetts connection to Dukakis, and now Warren.
I hosted debate watching parties in Las Vegas for many cycles not because I wanted to spend money and have awkward moments in my living room. I wanted to get a grasp of how swing voters and apolitical voters think...what they prioritize. I saw a young woman disgustedly grab her cell phone and call her mom when Al Gore was sighing through debate number one. It was immediately obvious to me how that would play out in the polling, even if the cable analysts that night tried to ignore it. She was screaming on the phone, "I can't believe I was planning to vote for him."
Kamala Harris as a prosecutor and someone who is accustomed to being on the offensive has an incredibly difficult balancing act if she is nominated. The cycle won't be nearly as favorable as she imagines right now. Trump will have tons more money than he owned in 2016. There are new articles today regarding that aspect. Harris would face outright lies. She'll have an unflattering nickname that will be mockingly repeated at one rally after another. Trump will still dominate the media coverage and the public fascination, no matter how much we protest.
And so forth and so forth. I am very good at applying situational influence far in advance of the actual date. Likability is everything for our 2020 nominee, given what he/she will endure. And a she would endure exponentially more.
Bradshaw3
(7,455 posts)You should post it as an original thread.
People get excited about a candidate often based on emotion, rather than positions and electability. Someone like Harris whom we on DU may love because for example of the way she went after Sessions, while that approach may not play well in a general election. Democrats have to win the upper midwest or we will lose like in 2016. Our candidate has to appeal to a wide range of voters there, while some people on here continue talking winning Georgia, or Florida, which is crazy. Dems have carried WI, MI and PA over and over again while GA and FA (or TX) are fool's gold, especially if you are counting on them while pushing those other states to the backburner.
Two other points: 1, people always use the election meddling and voter suppression as to why HRC lost in 2016 and it probably was, but there's no guarantee it won't happen in 2020; also, there is no guarantee tRump will be the repub nominee in 2020. If Kasich or a moderate repub is, then the Dem nominee will face a tough challenge in beating them, especially if they are viewed, as you say, too liberal.
nocoincidences
(2,195 posts)for whoever runs for the Dem party.
I have always liked the Harris/Booker combo.
I think that might be too much "living color" for the entire voting population, but that would be ideal for me.
Adrahil
(13,340 posts)Also interested in what Beto has to say. Ill give all the candidates my ear, but shes impressed me so far.
kennetha
(3,666 posts)Certainly, we in California need one. But it has to be a Democratic one. The last two presidents from California were Republicans. One was Evil, the other was a doddering figurehead who mostly turned power over to evil forces.
we can do it
(12,118 posts)samnsara
(17,570 posts)Sunsky
(1,737 posts)backabby-blue
(144 posts)I'm ready to go to work for her.
PupCamo
(288 posts)yuiyoshida
(41,764 posts)Glimmer of Hope
(5,823 posts)dem4decades
(11,244 posts)With Harris taking over when Biden chose to leave.
Open for many things, Amy is interesting too. So many choices.
42bambi
(1,753 posts)panader0
(25,816 posts)wellst0nev0ter
(7,509 posts)I'm still on the fence.
womanofthehills
(8,584 posts)When she speaks, she has no hesitation in her voice. She's strong and we need that.
SirElaih
(37 posts)...but I do know that this might be the strongest roster of candidates I've seen in my lifetime.
DemocratSinceBirth
(99,705 posts)PunkinPi
(4,870 posts)DemocratSinceBirth
(99,705 posts)A bravura performance.