This ain't the primary!

[Airyaman]

One of the most often used ideas I've seen tossed around by naysayers about Harris is that she did so poorly in the 2020 D primary.

She did. Pretty bad. Not going to look it up but I knew she dropped early and was at the bottom of the pack. She was a nervous mess.

Perhaps she just wasn't ready for the big time in 2020. Perhaps it was because she was going up against other Ds. Perhaps it took a more seasoned politician to stop Trump and that is who the voters chose.

But she's had 3.5 years being in and around a president. 3.5 years to learn the executive branch.

Who knows, maybe she was actually one of "Biden's puppetmasters" and she's been running the country behind the scenes. (<-- I do not believe this, it's for some others on here to think about)

Now it's not Harris vs Pete B. vs Biden vs Tulsi vs...it's Harris vs. Trump. Not just democrat vs democrat but D vs MAGA.

2024 Biden was not 2020 Biden. He got much worse from a campaign perspective. 2024 Trump is more unhinged than even 2020 and 2016 Trump. So he is a worse candidate now. Plus he killed Roe v Wade since then, and he's been bragging about it. He wants to raise your taxes by putting 10% tariffs on all imports and 60% on China's. That money goes to the government, it's a tax that will hurt the lower and middle classes the most. Grocery prices will go up, all electronics with go up, cars will go up...you get it. He wants to disrupt American communities and increase congestion in transportation with mass deportations. He claims to not endorse P2025 but I think many of us believe that is bullshit.

2024 Harris is also not 2020 Harris. We don't know if this Harris is better or worse, but if today is an indication, better. All she has to do is stay in the mode she is in now. She only has 100 days.

Now VPs tend to not do well when they run for president. Throw out what happened in the past, this election simply doesn't apply. It is too complex, it's had a crazy amount of wild things going on. We've never really had a lunatic like Trump run for president and win at least once. We used to be better as a nation. We've never had a man credibly charged with federal and state crimes run for president and win his primary. We've never (I think!) had one candidate drop out just weeks before his own convention. This is uncharted territory. Nothing from the past will help us predict this future.

So when people want to talk about how poorly she did in the primary, tell them this ain't the primary.

 

[multivita-man]

Each race is different. Biden lost 3 separate primaries badly (1984, 1988, and 2008), and it looked like he might be on his way to losing his fourth until the SC primary in 2020.

Harris is by no means guaranteed a win, but she's the nominee and will be competitive against Trump. I can't say who's going to win at the moment. I'd need to know more about Harris' approach to the campaign, which will likely be a little different than Biden's, and maybe a lot different. That could go either way, honestly.

 

[ScrambledEggs]

As mentioned above, Biden dropped out after IA in 2008 I believe. Went on to be VP then POTUS. 2020 doesnt matter.

 

[Airyaman]

Each race is different. Biden lost 3 separate primaries badly (1984, 1988, and 2008), and it looked like he might be on his way to losing his fourth until the SC primary in 2020.

Harris is by no means guaranteed a win, but she's the nominee and will be competitive against Trump. I can't say who's going to win at the moment. I'd need to know more about Harris' approach to the campaign, which will likely be a little different than Biden's, and maybe a lot different. That could go either way, honestly.

I'm making no predictions myself that's for sure. It's just too unpredictable at this point. But there's been explosive positive excitement, yet it seems not much lasts past a few days with our society.

I suppose though the excitement comes from just a relief of weeks and weeks of not knowing wtf was really going on with Biden.

If she can stay after Donald in prosecutor mode and talk about some of the things she mentioned today, I think there's a decent chance of taking Donald out at the ballot box. I'm not going to lie and say I didn't like some of her proposals but I'm not a democrat. I just like that I think she is a much better candidate to take on 2024 Trump.

 

[Fearandloathing]

One of the most often used ideas I've seen tossed around by naysayers about Harris is that she did so poorly in the 2020 D primary.

She did. Pretty bad. Not going to look it up but I knew she dropped early and was at the bottom of the pack. She was a nervous mess.

Perhaps she just wasn't ready for the big time in 2020. Perhaps it was because she was going up against other Ds. Perhaps it took a more seasoned politician to stop Trump and that is who the voters chose.

But she's had 3.5 years being in and around a president. 3.5 years to learn the executive branch.

Who knows, maybe she was actually one of "Biden's puppetmasters" and she's been running the country behind the scenes. (<-- I do not believe this, it's for some others on here to think about)

Now it's not Harris vs Pete B. vs Biden vs Tulsi vs...it's Harris vs. Trump. Not just democrat vs democrat but D vs MAGA.

2024 Biden was not 2020 Biden. He got much worse from a campaign perspective. 2024 Trump is more unhinged than even 2020 and 2016 Trump. So he is a worse candidate now. Plus he killed Roe v Wade since then, and he's been bragging about it. He wants to raise your taxes by putting 10% tariffs on all imports and 60% on China's. That money goes to the government, it's a tax that will hurt the lower and middle classes the most. Grocery prices will go up, all electronics with go up, cars will go up...you get it. He wants to disrupt American communities and increase congestion in transportation with mass deportations. He claims to not endorse P2025 but I think many of us believe that is bullshit.

2024 Harris is also not 2020 Harris. We don't know if this Harris is better or worse, but if today is an indication, better. All she has to do is stay in the mode she is in now. She only has 100 days.

Now VPs tend to not do well when they run for president. Throw out what happened in the past, this election simply doesn't apply. It is too complex, it's had a crazy amount of wild things going on. We've never really had a lunatic like Trump run for president and win at least once. We used to be better as a nation. We've never had a man credibly charged with federal and state crimes run for president and win his primary. We've never (I think!) had one candidate drop out just weeks before his own convention. This is uncharted territory. Nothing from the past will help us predict this future.

So when people want to talk about how poorly she did in the primary, tell them this ain't the primary.

"A primary is not an election" was one of the first pieces of advice I was given covering politics more than 50 years ago. Since then I have learned that the 'hottest' may not even be slightly warm when the ballots are counted.

In the early 90's a woman named Kim Campbell went from being a dark horse with promise to being Canada's first woman prime minister....
A few months later her party was decimated, going from a majority of more than 180 seats to one!
One election!

In 1961, with John F. Kennedy in the Oval Office a man named Richard Nixon traveled alone from his home in California to New York City by train.....to make a speech to the Daughter's of the American Revolution...a picture which circulated at the time.

Seven years later he was commander-in-chief.

But not long after that he was a disgraced former commander-in-chief, alone again, with a dark cloud over his head wading in the pacific surf in his blue serge suit

I predict we will see a picture like that of Trump one day and soon............

 

[Airyaman]

"A primary is not an election" was one of the first pieces of advice I was given covering politics more than 50 years ago. Since then I have learned that the 'hottest' may not even be slightly warm when the ballots are counted.

In the early 90's a woman named Kim Campbell went from being a dark horse with promise to being Canada's first woman prime minister....
A few months later her party was decimated, going from a majority of more than 180 seats to one!
One election!

In 1961, with John F. Kennedy in the Oval Office a man named Richard Nixon traveled alone from his home in California to New York City by train.....to make a speech to the Daughter's of the American Revolution...a picture which circulated at the time.

Seven years later he was commander-in-chief.

But not long after that he was a disgraced former commander-in-chief, alone again, with a dark cloud over his head wading in the pacific surf in his blue serge suit

I predict we will see a picture like that of Trump one day and soon............

We should have already.

 

[multivita-man]

I think one important thing that Biden's decision has done is stop the bleeding. We had to do that first. I think the presumptive nomination of Harris stops the bleeding. The Trump fantasy scenarios of winning New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Virginia...that's much less likely now.

Virginia would have been more likely had Trump selected Youngkin, and I honestly don't know why he didn't get more serious consideration because Youngkin didn't have the anti-MAGA baggage that Rubio did, and he's a lot more suave than JD Vance is. He would have made Trump look and feel a bit more palatable.

 

[Fearandloathing]

I'm making no predictions myself that's for sure. It's just too unpredictable at this point. But there's been explosive positive excitement, yet it seems not much lasts past a few days with our society.

I suppose though the excitement comes from just a relief of weeks and weeks of not knowing wtf was really going on with Biden.

If she can stay after Donald in prosecutor mode and talk about some of the things she mentioned today, I think there's a decent chance of taking Donald out at the ballot box. I'm not going to lie and say I didn't like some of her proposals but I'm not a democrat. I just like that I think she is a much better candidate to take on 2024 Trump.

More than that there is a kind of "finally a change" going on.

Sorry, but to me Trump became an irritant. A huge BORE! Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah same old shit only softer blah blah. We've had more than a full decade of his whining and lying, and it's simply refreshing to have a new face in ring!

Trump's message has never changed. Any two year old can anticipate what he's going to say...in fact all you have to do is talk normally and not finish sentences, not use any words more than three syllables...and LIE!

I'm so sick of this guy I'd support John Bown's body as an alternative.

 

[multivita-man]

As mentioned above, Biden dropped out after IA in 2008 I believe. Went on to be VP then POTUS. 2020 doesnt matter.

Knowing how to lose is as important as knowing how to win. Biden lost to Obama and Clinton, but he wasn't bitter about it. By not being a sore loser he made it easier for Obama to select him as his VP. Obama could have selected Clinton but the bitterness between the two campaigns resulted in lost trust, which was regained over time. Harris landed some blows against Biden in their first debate, but she was careful not to overdo it, and she knew when to bow out. She was among the first to get behind Joe's presidential campaign. That might seem like nothing more than politicking, but being able to forge strategic relationships is how you succeed in this game.