..

Harris's VP pick today will probably be one of the following (in order of likelihood):

1. Josh Shapiro
   
2. Mark Kelly
   
3. Andy Beshear
   
4. Tim Walz
   

Walz is smart and funny and telegenic but she doesn't need Minnesota.

Quote :

CNN reported earlier that Harris is focusing on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter, although the process, these sources cautioned, is still fluid and none of the finalists can be ruled out until Harris makes her decision.

Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly remained in the running as of Monday afternoon, a source told CNN.

Among the ways Trump intends to steal the 2024 election:

Have the richest man in the world spread disinformation for him

NoCoPilot wrote:

Trump has installed 70 election supervisors across all the swing states.  They have INSTRUCTIONS from the Trump campaign not to certify the elections in their state if Trump loses the popular vote.  

Rachel had a follow-up report tonight, there are at least 25 jurisdictions where former career non-partisan election officials have been replaced by hand-picked election-denying Trump loyalists.  Trump actually called out three of them by name yesterday in a rally in Atlanta, praising them as "bulldogs fighting for victory."

Why is a political candidate cozying up to the supposedly non-partisan people who count ballots, and talking of "victory"?

Because they no longer count ballots.  These election deniers have refused to certify over two dozen normal uncontested elections (county, state) in 2020 and 2022 across several swing states, regardless of who won -- Democrat or Republican.

I was wrong.  It's not just if Trump loses that they'll refuse to certify at the county level -- thus preventing the state from being able to certify -- thus preventing the federal election certification that the Jan 6 rioters (and fake electors) attempted to stop in 2020 -- thus throwing the election to the state legislations to decide.  No, the plan is to ignore the public vote, regardless of who wins, and by this backhanded technical move, take the election out of the hands of the voters permanently through the ISL independent state legislature theory.

They've already tested it out.  They're taking it national in 3 months.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/election-deniers-refuse-certify-chaos-2024-1234988747/

Quote :

That day, McClain joined what has become a startling number of Republicans who have refused to certify election results in recent years, despite their legal obligations to do so. In at least 15 instances since November 2020, local Republican officials in eight states have refused to certify election results, a typically routine matter that has become anything but in the wake of Trump’s lies about his loss in the 2020 election, Rolling Stone has found.  

And of course The Supremes are singing from this hymnal.

Well she picked Walz.  Must've been a personal chemistry sort of thing.  He *is* an engaging personality.

Quote :

Walz, 60, was born and raised in small-town Nebraska. He became a teacher, first in China, then in Nebraska and finally in Mankato, Minnesota, where he taught geography and coached the high school football team. He was the faculty adviser for the school’s first gay-straight alliance chapter in 1999, long before Democrats nationally stood for gay rights. He also served in the army national guard for 24 years, enlisting at age 17, a role that took him around the country and on a deployment to Europe. And like JD Vance, Walz has a penchant for Diet Mountain Dew.

He had a whole life before politics.

NoCoPilot wrote:

He says Biden did something bad to Egypt (I'm not sure what).

More likely I bet that it's just something he heard from somebody in Egypt, somebody who agrees with El-Sisi's patently-illegal financial support of Trump.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2024/08/02/trump-campaign-egypt-investigation/

Man.  Imagine if this had happened -- what would Republicans do?  They have literally purged everyone who's not a sycophant, everyone who could have been a competitor. Not only would they be a party without a candidate, they'd be a party without a party.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/06/pakistani-man-iran-political-leaders-trump-assassination-plot

Walz's C.V. is pretty impressive.  He is so aggressively "normal" he might even draw out some never-Trump Republicans.

Harris-Walz should (and probably will) lean into Walz's description of the GOP ticket as "weird" to highlight their own normalcy.  America craves normalcy, after seven exhausting years of Boardroom Bozo sucking all the air out of the room.

Quote :

if we know anything about America, it was always going to be a white man.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/opinion-kamala-harris-democratic-presidential-ticket-white-man-formula_n_66b2aceae4b09cb4a56b0d03

[Le sigh.]

Before I moved to the US, I didn't realize just how thoroughly racist and sexist this country is. A lot of Americans are proud of the progress they have made in the past 60 years, and rightly so. But the fact is, not only does a long way remain to go, but also there is broad sentiment in quite large parts of the US to go back to the way things were. Not necessarily all the way to slavery, although the confederates wouldn't mind (even the ones on the Supreme Court). But back to 1960? Oh yes, lots of people.

Yes. Hopefully not a majority though.

In some ways I suppose the 'liberalization' of society in the past 60 years, the increasing inclusion, diversity and equity, has come from a liberal minority pushing society to become a more perfect union. The thought is, the hope is, that as these reforms are implemented and as people see they're not going to destroy society -- and as more newly-enfranchised voters come out to support their own freedoms -- then these reforms will become self-sustaining.

Confederates know this. That's why they try to disenfranchise new voters. Their own hold on power is threatened by representative democracy, and with the dog whistle KKK rhetoric of Fox and similar confederate voices, they're mustering for a last-ditch attempt to return the country to 1960. Or 1860.

The hypocrisy of these cunts is just staggering.

Quote :

JD Vance Attacks Tim Walz Over His Decades Of Military Service

JD Vance attacked Tim Walz over his 24-year military service record Wednesday, baselessly accusing him of "stolen valor."

Walz, the Minnesota governor unveiled as Kamala Harris' running mate on Tuesday, joined the U.S. Army National Guard two days before his 17th birthday and retired in 2005 to run for Congress.

On the campaign trail in Michigan on Wednesday, Vance – himself a veteran – hit out at Walz's service, claiming the Democrat “abandoned your unit right before they went to Iraq.”

Also arguing Walz “did not spend a day in a combat zone,” Vance told a crowd in Shelby Township. “What bothers me about Tim Walz is this stolen valor garbage. Do not pretend to be something you are not.”

A former high school social studies teacher and football coach, Walz rose to command sergeant major, one of the highest enlisted ranks in the military.

When running for governor, the 60-year-old faced attacks for leaving the guard shortly before the battalion he led was deployed to Iraq. Walz has said he left the military to pursue his political career, and has been defended by fellow soldiers.

Vance enlisted in the Marine Corps after high school. He was deployed to Iraq in 2005 as a combat correspondent, which involved working with the media, writing and taking photos. Trump's pick has admitted he was “lucky to escape any real fighting.”

And let's not forget Trump's "bone spurs."

The US military became volunteer July 1, 1973 which means, uh, serving is voluntary.  Unless you were over 18 before 1973, born 1955 or before, age 69 or above today, as uh let's see, who?

NoCoPilot wrote:

Their own hold on power is threatened by representative democracy.

Their message is not popular.  It would never win a vote of the people. But the idea of smaller government, a government without any social services or safety nets or regulations or health & safety guidelines, yes this is VERY POPULAR with the 500 richest people in this country, the people who (along with Russia and Saudi Arabia and Egypt) are funding the MAGA movement (as they did the Astroturf Tea Party before it).  It would mean their taxes would go down, and the already obscenely rich would get obscenely richer.

They'd rather build bunkers against the coming apocalypse than to try to prevent it happening.

They probably fantasize about repopulating the earth with their superior genes after society collapses.

Accidentally caught a snippet of a JD Vance speech yesterday, in which he berated Harris(!) for her "tax-and-spend" policies.

That phrase has always gotten under my skin.  That's what governments do -- they tax their citizens and spend the tax revenue on services for the citizens.  It's the very basis of a collective government.

Spending on services and infrastructure is how economies work.  Without roads and schools and police and research, modern  societies cannot function. The money flows back into the economy, stimulating economic growth as workers buy homes and automobiles and riding lawnmowers.

Why aren't Democrats giving the Republicans a lesson in Economics 101?

Republicans are against tax-and-spend but they seem to be perfectly comfortable with tax-and-give-the-benefits-to-the-rich.

Tax cuts for the wealthy are inherently inflationary, because the money is taken out of the economy.  Rich people don't buy more yachts (not at their level), they sock the money away in off-shore bank accounts.  This is bad for the economy overall.
https://nevadacurrent.com/2024/05/21/trumps-corporate-tax-cuts-paved-the-way-for-inflation/

If Republicans are worried about the debt, Democrats should be hammering that Trump increased the debt by $7.8 trillion, more than any other single presidential term.  And not even for infrastructure or better schools.  Not an investment in the future -- a GIVEAWAY to his rich donors.

Obama's debt increase was to STIMULATE the economy and prevent another Great Depression after the tech bubble (2000) and housing bubble (2008) collapses -- each caused by greedy speculative investors, if you recall (made possible by Bush's deregulation).

Some of whom are now among the 500 richest Americans.... (and the rest are probably in Russia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt).

THAT is what this 2024 election is about: will the 500 richest families in the US rule the country with an iron fist, or will the people take back their power?

The LAST TIME the country was taken over by the Robber Barons was, oh let's see?  1927?  1928?  We all know how THAT turned out.

What's incredibly clever, this time around, is how the Robber Barons have used low-IQ media to sway a wide swath of poor undereducated white people into believing their view of things.  That's genius.

NoCoPilot wrote:

Here's what I don't get.  He has a perfectly capable, perfectly acceptable Vice.  Why doesn't he step down, let Kamala take over

I'm not the type to say "I told you so," but I told you so.

The Kamala & Tim show is drawing record crowds, record fund-raising, record volunteer numbers.  Not since Obama has the Democratic field felt so energized.

Their speeches are normal, and fun.  They come across as likeable people.

Unlike Donny Downer.  He's looking more and more "weird" and talking increasingly apocalyptically and increasingly in pure negatives.  I don't think he's winning any new voters, and may in fact be scaring off anybody with a positive IQ.

Things are getting interesting.

If he agrees to a debate (or 3) as he claims, he'll be up against an opponent unlike any he's ever debated before.  She has facts, she has intelligence, and she is not cowed by a fat-assed schoolyard bully.

And if Vance agrees to debate Walz, that'll be even MORE interesting.  Fact-free versus bullshit-free.  I don't doubt Vance's level of intelligence, but he's walked so far out on the MAGA plank at this point that he probably can't even SEE reality anymore.  Walz would fact-check him into electoral oblivion.

Quote :

As Wilcox looked through a sample of the 2,500 names that were challenged in Marion County, he told HuffPost, he couldn’t find a single valid challenge. Instead, the challenges had been filed against a mix of legitimate, eligible voters; voters who simply shared common names like “David Martin” or “Rebecca Bennet”; and names that Wilcox had already removed from the voter rolls himself ages ago, either because the voter had died or moved out of the county. In short, he said, the underlying data was inaccurate and unreliable.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mass-voter-registration-challenges-2024-election_n_66b4ed22e4b042ee2cd052e3?

NoCoPilot wrote:

These election deniers have refused to certify over two dozen normal uncontested elections

Here it is in the national news now.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/12/trump-overturn-result-presidential-election-vote

Oopsie.

Quote :

Despite promising local jobs, the company eventually began contracting migrant workers from Mexico, Guatemala and other countries, numerous former employees told CNN.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/13/politics/kentucky-startup-appharvest-jd-vance/index.html

More oopsie.

Quote :

Two leaked photos appear to show GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance dressed in drag during his time at Yale Law School

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/jd-vance-drag-photos-another-184800859.html?fr=yhssrp_catchall
https://twitter.com/mattxiv/status/1822675676295536832

Still more oopsie.

Quote :

can't say for sure but he might be the first vp pick to have admitted in a ny times bestseller to fucking an inside-out latex glove shoved between two couch cushions (vance, hillbilly elegy, pp. 179-181)

https://archive.is/TEWUO#selection-453.26-453.165
Even though that one is false.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/jd-vance-couch-cushions/

Still more oopsie.

Quote :

Donald Trump used a plane that was once owned by Jeffrey Epstein, the late disgraced financier and convicted sex offender, to fly to several presidential campaign events last weekend, it has been revealed.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/13/trump-jeffrey-epstein-plane

Quote :

President Joe Biden dropped out and Trump suddenly faced Vice President Kamala Harris, a very different opponent. This was much more than a pivot for the Trump campaign; it was a slam on the brakes, spin around, throw away the playbook and find a new strategy ASAP moment.

Seasoned campaign staffers know how to adjust quickly and refocus their attention on the challenge. Their problem is the candidate. Trump has again shown that he has zero self-control and little understanding of strategy. He's taken to social media in the middle of the night to post bizarre attacks and fantasize about Biden rejoining the race.

Campaign operatives focus on one thing: winning. When the unexpected happens, they change tactics, adjust and push the team in a new direction. However, if the principal doesn’t get on board, it is all for nothing.

Trump is flailing about. He is talking about the same old grievances, asking crowds about nicknames for Biden, going off on tangents. In short, he is doing everything but focusing on beating Harris.

The campaign team should not be blamed for Trump's inadequacies, but their job is to figure out how to house-train him. One way might be to remind him why he is running in the first place, not to lead the nation but to avoid federal prosecution and the possibility of prison time. If that’s not a motivator, nothing will be.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-campaign-race-against-kamala-harris-biggest-opponent-rcna166373

Truth.

CNN just had a report on Republicans cautiously considering voting for Harris. Trump is just too crazy, too extreme, too unfit for office. In order to bring normalcy back to US politics, they say, they might have to make an exception and vote Democratic this year.

"More unpopular than Sarah Palin"?
https://abcnews.go.com/538/tim-walz-popular-jd-vance/story?id=112841577

Wow, JD, way to go. That's a very high bar to clear.

Positions in the Trump transition team are for sale to the highest bidder (surprise surprise).

Quote :

Former President Donald Trump on Friday announced the leaders of a transition team tasked with overseeing key personnel choices and preparing his policy playbook should he return to the White House.

Linda McMahon, a former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment and Howard Lutnick, the CEO of financial services giant Cantor Fitzgerald, are set to co-chair the transition.  McMahon is a top Donald Trump donor; Lutnick recently hosted a Hamptons fundraiser for him in New York that raked in $15 million.

What a great grift, the grift of a lifetime.

Quote :

“It makes sense to come here and ask for votes because there are votes up for grabs here,” Kanthak said of Harris. “It’s not just about turning out your base. It’s about having an opportunity to speak to truly undecided voters.”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/harris-walz-campaign-pennsylvania-before-dnc-chicago_n_66c1f469e4b01f129b9fa882

It strikes me here that the term "undecided voters" is something of a euphemism.

I doubt there are any real "undecided voters" -- you'd have to be living under a rock and eating dirt to not have an opinion.  But there are citizens, probably millions of 'em, who remain "undecided" on whether they're going to vote or not, feeling that there are no good options and their vote wouldn't make any difference anyway.

So, don't call them "undecided voters."  Call them "Non-participating citizens" instead, and getting them to participate is key in this election cycle.

It makes sense I guess that RFK Jr would endorse Trump.

Probably most of his voters are terminally stoopid too.

https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/rfk-jr-to-drop-presidential-race-trump-rcna167602
https://www.aol.com/trump-jr-says-good-rfk-184834026.html