2020 Democratic presidential primary

there's of course the MSM horse-race coverage which considers actual policy a subsidiary issue

I just googled "right-size immigration," and apparently Gillibrand has been using that line for more than a decade. I found examples from 2007, 2009, and 2018. My guess is that it's such a stock phrase for her at this point that she hasn't stopped to reflect on how it sounds in 2019.

harris

here we here we here we fuckin go

lord

I'm running for president. Let's do this together. Join us: https://t.co/9KwgFlgZHA pic.twitter.com/otf2ez7t1p

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 21, 2019

tbh if I were a betting man my $$ would be on her at the moment

I don't get how it happened, but somehow that's become the conventional wisdom in my twitter feed as well.

Vox says she's going to run on criminal justice, among other things, so there should be plenty of time to discuss her record as prosecutor.

(so far) she has no big obvious gaffes or robot lines and no one in the MSM is going to give a fuck about her prosecutorial record except to swoon

Not really a fan of the “country over party” line here.

Beto refused to endorse the Democrat in a House race last year because he had "to put country over party."

When he said this, 538 was giving the GOP a 25% chance of keeping the House -- and *George Will* was imploring voters to back Ds everywhere, for the sake of the republic. pic.twitter.com/sCuuij6gtv

— Eric Levitz (@EricLevitz) January 20, 2019

Harris can/will be a good candidate on a technical level down the road, but that announcement video is dullllllllllllllll

it's early but no climate mention here is a headscratcher

Key @KamalaHarris 2020 policy agenda, per campaign aides:
-- $2.8 trillion middle class tax cut ("LIFT Act")
-- ~$76B in tax credits for low-income renters
-- Bill to encourage states to reduce cash bail
-- Elections security
-- Reduce racial disparity in childbirth deaths
-- M4A

— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) January 21, 2019

She's Californian. She can't ignore it for long.

Harris can/will be a good candidate on a technical level down the road, but that announcement video is dullllllllllllllll

What exactly do you want from an announcement video? Should she have leapt out of a cake shaped like Donald Trump's severed head? Screamed her announcement through a bullhorn while wearing a black leather jacket and waving an antifa flag? Seriously, what should she have done differently that would have made you - specifically you - say "Wow, that was an exciting announcement!"

Warren's video had *some* substance at least

'elections security' is a good idea but not one that resonates with people, strangely

how about election REFORM?

xp

substance nearly as unimportant to some ilxors as it is to the MSM

“Kamala Harris: For the people,” is not just her campaign slogan, it’s how she used to announce herself as a prosecutor, in the courtroom. She’s leaning into the experience that’s become a target of critics on the left.

— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) January 21, 2019

politically speaking, that's the thing to do - embrace it and try to make it a positive rather than something to run away from or explain away

but yeah. :-/

I assume there be something about climate change

Just to be clear about this is: I asked Harris' staffers for their key campaign policy proposals, and these are the 6 they emailed me in a response. They did not say this was an exhaustive list

— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) January 21, 2019

*will be

still feel like Harris is inevitable and she's my preferred candidate; but if you thought the right wing was over the top in calling HRC unlikeable, wait until they have a stern black woman. Girding myself for the racist and sexist memes now.

haha yeah I have often thought about how crazy (brave?) it is for Harris to willingly step into that line of fire, she has to know what's coming

I may be dense, but I fail to see how I'm supposed to hold her prosecutorial background against her. It's her positions now that matter to me. If anything, the legal background makes me more confident that she understands the system. I'm not leaning toward her, but she's never not impressed me as a Senate inquisitor.

because when she becomes president she will defy the will of her party and constituents and secretly institute her dastardly plan to continue incarcerating as many black and brown people as possible duh

because truly that is within her heart of hearts as a policy goal

shit that's right

lol

He isn't the most natural fit for the Democratic Party of 2020, but @MikeBloomberg can claim leadership on climate change and gun control like no other. Pundits and activists are underestimating the potential of a campaign focused on those issues. https://t.co/HAbncaeBhj

— Ben Ritz (@BudgetBen) January 21, 2019

sad lol

it's such a waste of time. they should just do warren vs. harris and then the establishment and progressive wings can battle it out and come to some kind of synthesis at the end.

Bloomberg doubtlessly on board with that 70% marginal tax rate

I may be dense, but I fail to see how I'm supposed to hold her prosecutorial background against her. It's her positions now that matter to me. If anything, the legal background makes me more confident that she understands the system. I'm not leaning toward her, but she's never not impressed me as a Senate inquisitor.

I'd agree if we hadn't recently seen models for what a "progressive prosecutor" can do — actually shrink prison populations, work to blacklist cops who've been written up from testifying, etc. It's not just about the position, it's about values.

*from testifying in criminal cases, I should specify there for clarity's sake

otoh you can always count on michael tracy to come up with the dumbest objection possible

I'm a Harris skeptic for the usual reason (prosecutor), but... come on, man pic.twitter.com/sVi9K6gkle

— David Klion (@DavidKlion) January 21, 2019

jfc

Twitter is toxic and terrible, but Tracey is one of the worst.

yeah he’s useless

not that this is the problem with that post but there's something so weird and race-sciency about the "I'm gonna tell you what KIND of Indian she is" move

Also it's terrible that his profile pic is literally a drawing of him imitating the HMM emoji

I have no idea who this guy is though

we’ve done the harris stuff to death at this point, but it’s not just her “background” as a prosecutor, it’s her actual record, which seems to conveniently escape discussion among her supporters

politically I do think she’s a good candidate and I’ll keep an open mind — she’ll certainly have plenty of chances to defend her record over the next 18 months

I'm perfectly aware of her record. Maybe it's my pychic ability for me to see that she knows which way the progressive winds are blowing

I have no idea who this guy is though

― Guayaquil (eephus!), Monday, January 21, 2019 9:55 AM (nineteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

super-contrarian, weirdo journalist guy. about the only thing you could possibly say in his favour is that he called Trump's victory months before the election based on reporting in the rust belt

harris is not the worst person running, so she's got that going for her

There’s some service journalism in @melmason’s @KamalaHarris story: https://t.co/RC6La2EomM pic.twitter.com/jFHer7kc7D

— Laura J. Nelson 🦅 (@laura_nelson) January 21, 2019

i was not aware of that

she could fuck trump up in a debate, i feel, in a way the other candidates wouldn't be able to.

i'm not going to vote for someone based on that, but to me that's her advantage. she's obviously extremely composed and comfortable under pressure. anyone who has seen her grilling kavanaugh and others as a senator has seen that.

Harris can/will be a good candidate on a technical level down the road, but that announcement video is dullllllllllllllll

What exactly do you want from an announcement video? Should she have leapt out of a cake shaped like Donald Trump's severed head? Screamed her announcement through a bullhorn while wearing a black leather jacket and waving an antifa flag? Seriously, what should she have done differently that would have made you - specifically you - say "Wow, that was an exciting announcement!"

― grawlix (unperson), Monday, January 21, 2019 11:01 AM

More biography, more slowly cut shots of her speaking with people who are presumably constituents she already represents instead of just abstract stock footage of "Americans," less talking directly to a camera from something that looks like the waiting room at the Chrysler dealership while using that hand motion Bill Clinton invented. It's constructed like the beginning of some "educational programming" kids have to watch in high school instead of a story.

I guess because it's an announcement about an announcement they chose not to go for the rafters out of the gate, but she should be looking at AOC's approach or even Warren's. What she made is an announcement ad that might have worked 15-20 years ago.

My criticisms are purely about the product, not her candidacy.

she's a completely different kind of figure than warren or AOC

it would be disingenuous for her to present herself as the left populist in the race