I say YES. YOU say NO....Numero Tre! Enjoy!

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Comments

  • divinemrsm
    divinemrsm Member Posts: 6,613
    edited July 23

    Btw, my hope is for Shapiro as VP pick. Since ds lives in PA, I’ve loosely followed Shapiro and have been impressed with his governing of the state. I think he brings a lot to the table. Including the sizzle Trishyla mentioned.

  • exbrnxgrl
    exbrnxgrl Member Posts: 5,256

    I think it’s important that we recognize that Vance is not the starry eyed, love sick, simpering sycophant that Pence was.

  • mavericksmom
    mavericksmom Member Posts: 1,275
    edited July 23

    Divine, that is exactly why I don’t want Shapiro as VP! He has been great for PA. Maybe it’s selfish of me to think that way, but since I have no say in who Kamala picks, and I definitely will support her and whoever is VP, I guess it’s okay for me to be a little selfish. My VP pick is Mark Kelly.

    As for Vance, I am not a cat owner but I don’t think cat owners are all Democrats! I like cats and considered getting one but adopted sweet Kelce instead.

    That said, I was more horrified that he mocked Kamala for not having children! From the party that wants to force children who get pregnant from being raped to deliver their babies while denying women access to IVF programs, who does he think he is? So many young women are having trouble conceiving and turn to IVF. Going through IVF is expensive as well as physically and mentally exhausting! Some women just give up trying. I also have friends who didn’t want children (my college roommate is one) and that is a personal choice! None of his bleeping business!

    BTW, Kamala does have two stepchildren.

    Being mentally intelligent doesn’t prevent one from also being a horrible excuse for a human!

  • trishyla1
    trishyla1 Member Posts: 94

    I'll support whoever is our vice presidential nominee, but I'm rooting for Pete Buttegieg. I know a lot of you think "Americans" wouldn't vote for a ticket with a mixed race woman and a married gay man. You're probably right if we're talking about those mythical undecided voters over age 45. But that's an ever shrinking group. And anyone that age who hasn't realized what a threat Trump is to democracy is a lost cause.

    What will win this election for us is turnout. And to goose turnout you need excitement. Obama brought that. The majority of older white people didn't vote for him. But young people turned out and carried him to victory. They were excited about electing someone other than an old white man. Hillary Clinton, as much I love and appreciate her, didn't excite young voters. And she lost. Unfairly, but still.

    Joe Biden didn't thrill young voters either, but he was exactly what we needed at that time. Calm, competent, caring. Uncle Joe to save us from Trump's chaos. Not what we need now.

    Young people are excited about Kamala Harris. They have far fewer issues with a woman of color leading our country. And to most of them being gay is no big deal. It's just who you are. It would also be a giant poke in the eye to those old, white, conservative people who laugh at their concerns about gun violence and climate change and a woman's tight to choose. Just an added bonus.

    They like Harris. They like Mayor Pete. They will work for them and vote for them. It's past time to get them involved in the decisions that affect their futures far more than ours.

    Just my 2 cents.

  • divinemrsm
    divinemrsm Member Posts: 6,613
    edited July 23

    Exbrnxgrl, Vance sucked up to get the nod, but I think Democrats know he has his own agenda. But doesn’t Trump want a carbon copy of Pence? I wonder if they will clash with each other? Hope so!

    Maverick, oh, I can understand your thoughts on “keeping” Shapiro for PA! I hadn’t even thought of Mark Kelly. Even tho I don’t know all that much about him, I know enough to say he’s also a very good choice! Both he and Shapiro are from swing states. Anyway, It’s nice to have a number of worthy candidates to select from!

    The IVF issue should have all women leaning blue. Imagine having all that technology but your government says it is illegal. Who can say which women will have difficulty conceiving? If a man or woman votes red and later down the road one of their female relatives could probably have had a baby if IVF was available but it’s not—why? Why? IVF has brought countless joy to countless people! I think this issue and the Republicans stance on it needs a lot of media coverage. I’m not sure the average American understands what could be taken away here.

    Trish, you make excellent points throughout your whole post! Hillary did not excite. Neither did Biden, but he was the right choice. Buttegieg truly is another worthy candidate! And yes, Gen XYZ and beyond need to take control of their future with this election!

  • trishyla1
    trishyla1 Member Posts: 94

    I love the pictures,Camille. So appropriate. I'm sending it to all my family and friends.

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,133

    We have many GREAT VP picks for Kamala. I have in fact liked Pete very much and hated that he had to drop out of his presidential bid, but 'loved' that he got a position with Pres. Biden. He deserved that position. So, if he is chosen, no problem here.

    I think for the most part (no matter how smart he is) Vance has only a best seller book on his list of credits. He is highly inexperienced and has strong connections to 2025. He is a suck-up who will blow hot and cold for whatever is needed. He made some remarks about indigenous people a short time ago. If indeed the Reps. are taken aback by him now, I think I get it. The Reps. seemed to now have something of a double whammy going on with their own nominee's. An old senile white guy who is a con, and a no nothing (with nothing much on his political resume) suck-up who is from a state that was going to go red anyway. No help what-so-ever.

    I do think Trishyla is right. The minute Pres Biden stepped away and pushed VP Harris forward the air in the room totally changed and became electrified. Within 48 hrs. she had more money than any candidate as ever raised on one day and by the next day had all the needed promised delegates and more to get on the ticket. She has made the E in excitement so vibrant and strong and feelable. It is true as well that our candidates while superb for many reasons have not been exciting.

    We still NEED to worry. It will be a rough ride because the other side is going to go full time to try and damage VP Harris. She knows what she is doing as well as Pres. Biden. VP Harris is an inspiration. I liked her as a fantastic Senator and almost hated to see her move out of that role. She was in fact able to get Kavanaugh blubbering away. She has what it takes and that is that array of inspiration and excitement and hope for our and our precious families futures. That's that sizzle.

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,133

    J.D. Vance Is Already Stepping in It, Just One Week Out of the Gate© Alex Wong - Getty Images

    They really are handling this so well. The Unity '24 Tour Of America has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances—unforeseen to the brainiacs around the Republican nominee, that is. It was completely foreseen by anyone else with a passing interest in who the next president of the United States will be. At the moment, to paraphrase the wisdom of Micheal Ray Richardson, the ship appears to be sinking. From Mediaite:

    In a bombastic Truth Social post, Trump

     

    wrote

    , “Why does FoxNews put on

     

    Eric Swalwell

     

    (Martha!), the total sleazebag Congressman from California? Where is his Chinese Spy girlfriend? What is wrong with FoxNews? It’s RINO Paul Ryan’s fault!”

    Wow, just watching the Fake News, and they’re doing their very best to turn the Worst President in the History of our Country into a “Brilliant and Heroic Leader” (He was heroic because he quit!), and to turn “Dumb as a Rock” Kamala Harris from a totally failed and insignificant Vice President into a future “Great” President. No, it just doesn’t work that way!"

    The Biden/Harris Administration did not properly protect me, and I was forced to take a bullet for Democracy. IT WAS MY GREAT HONOR TO DO SO!"

    Maybe the young Veep candidate can help bail some water out. From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

    Part of the animosity centers around a clash last year over a proposal to rename a national forest in Ohio. Another part of it relates to Vance mocking Indigenous Peoples' Day.

    As for the first issue, the Wayne National Forest is named after Revolutionary War Maj. Gen. Anthony Wayne who battled and massacred Indigenous peoples in Ohio. Wayne also forced most of those that remained from their lands, opening the way for white colonizers. When the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service proposed changing the name, citing requests from locals and Indigenous tribes, Vance stood against it.

    He wrote, in part, “(Wayne) fought wars and won peace for our government, the government you now serve, and hewed Ohio out of rugged wilderness and occupied enemy territory.”

    (Old Mad Anthony Wayne was a piece of work, even after he died of gout. His son disinterred him, boiled the remaining flesh off his bones, and buried them in the family plot back in Pennsylvania. They had to cut the corpse up to make it fit in the kettle. They then put the knives, the flesh, and the water from the kettle back in the original grave. This has been another episode in our continuing series, The Unimaginably Gross History of Early American Republic.)

    It would be interesting to hear Vance explain how the indigenous people of the Americas were an "occupying enemy" force. From whom did they occupy it? Woolly Mammoths? Then, standing atop a big pile of Peter Thiel's money, Vance accused Vice President Kamala Harris of being a tool of the plutocrats. From Le Monde:

    "The idea of selecting the Democrat Party's nominee because George Soros and Barack Obama and a couple of elite Democrats got in a smoke-filled room and decided to throw Joe Biden overboard, that is not how it works. That is a threat to democracy."

    Does Vance think that the Democrats are stewing in anger over how well things have turned out? The Democratic candidate is shattering fundraising records, vetting possible vice-presidents, and she seems to be having a ton of fun doing so. No wonder some of the Trump brainiacs are having second thoughts.

  • divinemrsm
    divinemrsm Member Posts: 6,613
    edited July 24

    Jackie, your writing is so elegant. I love how you describe the Republican ticket: “An old senile white guy who is a con, and a no nothing (with nothing much on his political resume) suck-up who is from a state that was going to go red anyway.” Exactly.

    It’s always been my feeling all along that Biden made many of his cabinet choices with the mind to grooming younger Dems to take the reins from those of his generation. I thought that most definitely about Pete. I also remember a year or two into his presidency, he said that he has Kamala take part in absolutely every single important meeting he conducts. I also felt that was him grooming her to know what lies ahead in a presidency. This is why, as Trish said, Biden was who we needed at the exact time he was elected, for a myriad of reasons.

    Another meme I loved today: all Biden’s amazing accomplishments while dealing with a split down the middle Congress. He’s been such a great president. That is one reason why I’m glad that he is passing the torch now. His legacy will be one of moving our country forward. I want to see the President, our “Uncle Joe”, be celebrate for what he’s done, and not have the media giving us pitying coverage of him.

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,133

    I think you are right Divine. I never thought of the 'youngsters' Pres. Biden picked, but even not paying attention to age I thought he picked some of the best well rounded people for the positions he asked them to take.

    Like you, I do want Pres. Biden to have that fantastic legacy along with the long years of service he devoted to us and to democracy. So much heartbreak and yet he never let go of us. So much faithful service for others always.

  • divinemrsm
    divinemrsm Member Posts: 6,613
    edited July 24

    This simply moves me:
    In a New York Times op-ed today, former secretary of state Clinton praised Biden for his “decision to end his campaign,” which she called “as pure an act of patriotism as I have seen in my lifetime.”


    Some excerpts from HCR’s Tuesday newsletter:


    Harris held her first campaign rally Tuesday, speaking to supporters In Milwaukee:

    While Trump is relying on “billionaires and big corporations,” she said, “we are running a people-powered campaign” and “will be a people-first presidency.” The Democrats, she said, “believe in a future where every person has the opportunity not just to get by but to get ahead; a future where no child has to grow up in poverty; where every worker has the freedom to join a union; where every person has affordable health care, affordable childcare, and paid family leave. We believe in a future where every senior can retire with dignity.”

    “[A]ll of this is to say,” she continued, “Building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency. Because…when our middle class is strong, America is strong.”

    She said Trump wants to take the country backward. She warned that he and his Project 2025 will “weaken the middle class,” cutting Social Security and Medicare and giving “tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations,” while “working families foot the bill.” “They intend to end the Affordable Care Act,” she said, “and take us back…to a time when insurance companies had the power to deny people with preexisting conditions…. Remember what that was like? Children with asthma, women who survived breast cancer, grandparents with diabetes. America has tried these failed economic policies before, but we are not going back. We’re not going back.”  

    “[O]urs is a fight for the future,” she said “And it is a fight for freedom…. Generations of Americans before us led the fight for freedom.  And now…the baton is in our hands.”  

  • divinemrsm
    divinemrsm Member Posts: 6,613
    edited July 24

    HRC also stated some facts about Vance:

    As Tim Alberta noted Sunday in The Atlantic, the Trump campaign tapped J.D. Vance in an attempt to harden the Republican base, only to find now that he cannot bring to the ticket any of the new supporters they suddenly need. 

    According to Harry Enten of CNN, Vance is the first vice presidential pick since 1980 who has entered the race with a negative favorability rating: in his case, –6 points. Since 2000, the usual average is +19 points. Vance won his Senate seat in 2022 by +6 points in an election Republican governor Mike DeWine won by +25 points. Vance “was the worst performing Republican candidate in 2022 up and down the ballot in the state of Ohio,” Enten said. “The J.D. Vance pick makes no sense from a statistical polling perspective.”

    Sarah Longwell of The Bulwark, who specializes in focus groups, noted that swing voters groups “simply do not like” Vance. “Both his flip flopping on Trump and his extreme abortion position are what breaks through,” she wrote. 

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,133

    The highest and best thing that people can conceive is a human life nobly and beautifully lived—therefore their loyalties and energies should be devoted to the arrangement of conditions which make this possible. The sole issue is how to make this world a place conducive to the living of a noble human life, and then to help people in every possible way to live such lives.

    John H. Dietrich

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,133

    So glad about your entry Divine. I read HCR this morning and I would have if you had not already done it. In many ways Vance reminds me of Rudy Guiliani. Oh, they are worlds apart pretty much, but in that each has continued to try and trade on one major success to capture everything that has come after. Giuliani only because tiresome and a total drudge to me. I did not like Vance in the Senate and he is worse as a VP candidate. His claim to fame is NOT in service to the government and the people who support it and while it is fine that he has a successful book to his credit, obviously it NEVER helped him in the type of yardsticks we use for Congress.

    I therefore do not find it surprising that we have up ended the Reps. and re-highlighted their chaotic and confused choices. Of course they blame us. Their blame will not hold up as we have done nothing illegal in anyway which is one of our hallmarks of service. Most of them can see that the tables have swung to places very dangerous for them. In that they will work hard to throw us off, but as noted — it is a far different time and circumstances which seemed iffy and poor for us have broken out into the sun. We have a much younger, stronger, competent and capable person at the head of our ticket and frankly, it makes Trump look all the worse for wear, when he wasn't looking like much to begin with. He got nothing out of his 'near death' and who cares that he says he took a bullet for democracy and was proud to do it. He tends to use words like that to keep from saying thank god for Depends I know I just pissed my pants full.

    So he and Vance can walk off into their sunset which I think is all they may win. At least that is what I am hoping for. They are both losers doing cons.

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,133

    I do not believe the first part much, but there is some truth to the second.

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,133

    Put in the above because as far as Harris, I do expect to hear it. I don't believe it so much since I know that is not a 'requirement' of getting elected. Saying that, I feel the statement has more to do with the fact that we have already had a black President. Former Pres. Obama was very respected and while he made mistakes, he kept us with way more positives than negatives including the ACA — so I think many are ready for a female President. I know I am voting for her because to me she is the only valid choice and has nothing to do with her ethnicity. I hope that is the reason everyone votes for her.

  • divinemrsm
    divinemrsm Member Posts: 6,613
  • trishyla1
    trishyla1 Member Posts: 94

    I was trying to find out if Trump's new running mate wears eyeliner and found that any Google query about J.D. Vance autocorrects to J.D. Vanilla? How appropriate is that?

  • divinemrsm
    divinemrsm Member Posts: 6,613

    I was reading comments on FB on an article about how disliked Vance is and a few made me chuckle:

    “Yuck! I guess when your platform is Project 2025 there is no bottom to that barrel!”

    “trump is a nothing-burger and vance is the condiment that was suppose to make him more appealing. 😂🍌”

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,133

    What accurate descriptions of Vance. Also hearty laughs as well. I just read that Trump really should have kept his receipt on Vance because it seems to have been a bad purchase that won't help Trump at all. I guess he was meant to be the excitement on the Trump ticket, but it could not get the sizzle to turn on — only the fizzle.

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,133
    edited July 24

    He has no problem suing anyone.

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,133
  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,133
  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,133
  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,133
  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,133
  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,133
  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,133
  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,133