November 16, 2021

"If Biden declines to run again, and Harris declares her candidacy in 2023 or even 2024, it will be very hard to stop her without being accused of racism and/or sexism and/or disloyalty."

"Biden himself will be put on the spot — endorse or not endorse? The time to short-circuit Harris is now, before she begins her run. Signal that you’re giving potential opponents time and political space to build up their reps and their networks. This is what the Biden team, worried that Harris will be a loser, seems to be diligently doing. I suppose that's obvious.... The Republicans’ equivalent dilemma — the Trump Dilemma — seems completely insoluble.... Could Trump perhaps be.... bribed...."

 Writes Mickey Kaus.

110 comments:

Critter said...

How is Trump a dilemma for Republicans? Polls show him as odd-on favorite to win the nomination and an election against Joe Biden. Especially after election reforms to prohibit election abuses such as the latest ones uncovered in Wisconsin from 2020.

Sebastian said...

"the Trump Dilemma — seems completely insoluble"

Why? Trump himself can solve it, DeSantis can solve it, and Republican primary voters can solve it.

Speaking for my fellow deplorables, we want a winner, not a loser.

CJinPA said...

Dem Dilemma: Run someone against her if need be. Vice Presidents regularly face competition within their own party when seeking the top spot.

GOP Dilemma: Try that "co-president" idea that was floated for Reagan and Gerald Ford in 1980. Let Trump build a duplicate White House next to the existing one - one inch taller.

Dave Begley said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
JAORE said...

Biden could take a clue from Obama and say he won't endorse - until he did. In fact he could quote the Light Bringer. How, oh how, could that be racist?

effinayright said...

I am stupefied by the idea that the Democrats would nominate a woman who won NO primaries, and almost no votes where she ran; a woman who screws up everything she has touched as VP; a woman who engages in crackpot presentations to the French; a woman who is irritating and unlikable even to Democrats...because she's sorta black, and a woman!!!

How impossibly shallow and unserious can a political party get?

Myself, I see no way the Party Big guns will include Kamala as part of Ze Plan for 2024.

Gahrie said...

First I think Trump is too old to run for president again. Biden has proven how steep the decline can be.

However....

It would be so much fun to re-elect Trump and see the economy turn around and start booming again, to watch the U.S. become energy independent again and last but not least to watch the complete meltdown of the Left and the MSM on election night.

rhhardin said...

Time to think outside the envelope! Maybe rip the envelope apart and “weaponize” it.

Outside the box, for thinking. Outside the envelope for operating in a a region you don't know, for operating. Like the Fed is operating outside the envelope.

The envelope is the outside edge of all the configuration space curves you know and have tested. Outside of it is untested.

Gahrie said...

Myself, I see no way the Party Big guns will include Kamala as part of Ze Plan for 2024.

I'd say there's a bigger chance that they chuck Harris overboard and try to bring on a new VP before the election. The question is...who? I bet Kerry wants to run again. I wouldn't be surprised if Milley ran.

tommyesq said...

Given his plunging approval ratings, it will be easy for Biden to stop her - he can simply go ahead and endorse her!

rhhardin said...

Trump is Don Rickles, a form of getting to the truth against pushback. The other guys are too polite and will get neutralized by the opposition.

wendybar said...

Anybody who would vote for that cackling idiot who hasn't done SHIT is crazy. She ran away from the open borders with millions of unvaccinated illegals pouring in, and being shipped around the country, whilst her administration is forcing Americans to get jabbed or lose their jobs. I hope she runs so we can laugh our asses off at her.

Wilbur said...

"If Biden declines to run again, and Harris declares her candidacy in 2023 or even 2024, it will be very hard to stop her without being accused of racism and/or sexism and/or disloyalty."

Gee Mick, I thought Democratic primary voters still had a secret ballot. (Well, Iowa's weird.) And if somebody accuses the voters in a particular state of racism and/or sexism and/or disloyalty because Kamala did poorly at the polls, they can all just say Hell, I voted for her.

So what makes stopping her "very hard"?

Kevin said...

"If Biden declines to run again, and Harris declares her candidacy in 2023 or even 2024, it will be very hard to stop her without being accused of racism and/or sexism and/or disloyalty."

Boo hoo.

Rollo said...

The "racism" bubble or boom may have burst by then.

Or who knows? She may already be president before that.

Then, maybe for the first time in her life, she will be judged by how competent she is -- or isn't.

Kevin said...

Gee, as "able to fulfill the duties of the President" is part of her job description, she seems unfit to be Vice President...

But then again, "doesn't make Joe Biden look stupid" was a difficult job requirement to fulfill.

I guess the Dem Party insiders had to go with one or the other.

Skeptical Voter said...

The problem for the Party Big Guns of the Democrats is that their "bench" is pretty danged thin. Kacklin Kamala (by virtue of her stint as VP) is the likely lead candidate for 2024. I'm assuming that Dr. Jill and Slow Joe can't keep up the pretense that Joe is "rested and ready to run" in 2024.

So their problem is that you can't beat something (Trump? DeSantis? Pence?) with nothing--Kamala. It's a big problem, but the poohbahs of the Democrat party will find a way to solve it. Howzabout Tulsi Gabbard?

Achilles said...

The title should be "How do the democrats keep Kamala from driving away the rest of their Black constituents?"

There is a reason the democrat party is losing support. Their leaders shit their pants and got their jobs by working on the casting couch.

Kevin said...

The time to short-circuit Harris is now, before she begins her run.

So the time to announce Joe isn't running in 2024 is also now so those in waiting can be signaled?

Because otherwise the plan doesn't work.

And of course if Biden is signaling he's not running this early, there will be many questions as to his fitness to serve right now.

So maybe Mickey's plan puts Kamala in the big chair before the midterms? Wouldn't that fire up the base!

Skippy Tisdale said...

Shorter Mickey Kaus:

How many demons can dance on the head of a pin?

Wilbur said...

As a card-carrying member of the Lesser-Of-Two-Evils (LOKE) Party, I want the GOP to nominate whoever will win, assuming GOP primary voters will not countenance anyone from the Romney/Ryan/HeWhoShallNotBeNamed ilk. And if our Democrat friends would nominate the worst possible candidate, like Bernie, I'd appreciate it.

I'd love to vote for El Trumpo, but will do so only if I believe he can win. That's still questionable in my mind. He pulled off a stunner once, but can he do it again? And can he govern, if elected? Can anyone?

Wilbur said...

And Mick, good luck trying to promise Trump - or anyone for that matter, but obviously and particularly Trump - a seat on the Supreme Court.

You got 51 senators who would vote to confirm Trump? For the Supreme Court? That's science fiction.

Joe Smith said...

Biden has to 'say' he is running again or he is a lame duck.

As for the Trump talk above, I would rather have DeSantis run...fresh face, new start.

If it is a Trump/DeSantis ticket I could support it.

Dave Begley said...

She should NOT be hard to stop because she is both a terrible politician and a terrible VP. The Dems are obsessed with gender and race.

Joe Smith said...

Btw, maybe I'm hallucinating, but didn't Biden say before the election that he'd only serve one term if elected?

Narr said...

The Dims unleashed their monster; I relish watching them suffer the consequences as they try to force her back into her own world.





gspencer said...

"This is what the Biden team, worried that Harris will be a loser, seems to be diligently doing."

Good one. Using the future tense in thinking that Heels-Up Harris will be a loser at some future date.

Vegas is always looking for new comedians.

Elliott A said...

My original prediction looking more plausible every day:
1. Force Harris to resign
2. Select a suitable replacement
3. Force Biden to resign or remove him via 25th amendment

tim in vermont said...

Mickey has been shadow banned, he tweets every day some good stuff, but if you want to know what he is saying, following him isn't enough, you have to check in on him often.

I think it's from Mickey that I learned that Buttigieg is now put in charge of 230 billion, with a 'B' dollars of *discretionary* spending under the Build America Again Better bill just passed. Which makes him a very powerful man, if whoever is in charge of Biden really believed what he or she, probably he, told Biden to say about her, she should have been put in charge of that money, which would have brought donors seeking their share of that slush fund, err, I mean "discretionary spending" account. It's a set up for a presidential run if ever there was one. Massive graft is what set Biden up, and you want the grifters and reavers on your side, since they seem to own the news media.

wildswan said...

If everything remains the same between now and 2023 including no upsets in 2022 then what might be the problems? Should this be a worry? Put it this way: if everything stays the same, if inflation continues to rise and Biden to decline and Harris to laugh like a hyena, if parents are are labelled terrorist racists, if there's nothing, not even coal, in stockings on Christmas, then will people feel the same about the party in power, and will they feel the same about Trump? Slogans from the past are just shouts at a empty sky.

Yes, they'd like to trundle Kamala out and rush in ... someone ... a woman ... black ... well-known ... not on the Squad, not supported by Bernie Saunders or opposed by him ... not an enemy of the Clintons, the Obamas, Dr. Jill Biden, Andrew Cuomo, James Clyburn or Willie Brown. Game of Thrones meets Breaking Bad. The Injustice League.

tim maguire said...

Democrats can put Harris away in 2023 the same way they did in 2019--have her debate Tulsi Gabbard. Then once Tulsi's served her purpose, kneecap her (again) and pick your preferred winner.

The Trump problem for Republicans is stickier. A Trump-like candidate like DeSantis who is more polished and who got Trump's endorsement would win in a blowout. Nominate Trump and he loses the suburban vote, again, bringing the election down into the margin of fraud. And if they nominate someone else, someone who Trump doesn't support, they lose the core MAGA crowd like they did the Georgia senate runoff.

gilbar said...

remember a few weeks ago? back when Kamela Harris was running political commercials in churches in virginia? And, that was: JUST FINE???

Texas church under fire after chants of viral anti-Biden phrase caught on video
Church officials said the chant did not occur during services.

HOWEVER, THIS action was NOT Pro-democrat.... and THUS, is a FELONY
The FBI is investigating; and has Already stated that All participants are guilty of not just domestic terrorism; but, are guilty of SEDITION
an FBI spokesman said... "There's some joker over at Althouse.com, that thinks that crimes have to be on the books for people to be imprisoned for them... He'll think differently when he gets home tonight; if he survives our arrest

tim in vermont said...

I will oppose Trump in the primary, but vote for him if he gets the nomination. I expect he will be our president again, it's overdetermined, wresting the nomination from him will be like turning an aircraft carrier. I would prefer somebody younger who has studied and learned from Trump's mistakes, and by mistakes, I don't mean representing the best interests of the working class, although that is one thing that really got him a lot of enemies.

Mr Wibble said...

I am stupefied by the idea that the Democrats would nominate a woman who won NO primaries, and almost no votes where she ran; a woman who screws up everything she has touched as VP; a woman who engages in crackpot presentations to the French; a woman who is irritating and unlikable even to Democrats...because she's sorta black, and a woman!!!

How impossibly shallow and unserious can a political party get?


Thank Barak Obama. His candidacy convinced a generation of politicians and activists that you could short circuit the normal political path to high office. Then his Presidency, especially Obamacare, turned a lot of voters against the Dems. As a result, during his admin the Dems lost something like a thousand seats across all levels of government. That's a lot rising young talent suddenly forced out. The result was a party consisting of the Old Guard in safe blue seats, and angry young activists.

I'm Not Sure said...

"...because she's sorta black, and a woman!!!"

Shouldn't that be enough? What more do you want?

Andrew said...

I have never seen a worse politician than Harris at that level. Not Mondale, or Dukakis, or Gore, or Kerry, to name a few Presidential candidates, all of whom were/are lousy mediocrities. Harris is a different animal entirely. (No racism intended. It's just a phrase.) Her interview about the border, her comversation with the child actors, her pontifications in France - this woman is just an anti-charisma machine. She is a superficial non-entity. And she's too stupid to know it.

Howard said...

The Dems need to pull on Biden and Harris now what Ted Kennedy did to Carter back then... except win the nomination.

Jersey Fled said...

What we are seeing is a preference cascade away from the Democrat party.

The signs are everywhere.

You heard it here first.

PM said...

Kamala seriously making a run. Heh.
Republicans would love it.
She'd be like the goat they tie up to lure a Komodo dragon.
And we know who that is.

Wince said...

A couple more years of Biden, and Trump will make a Triumphant return to DC on the back of a donkey.

"See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

Jesus rode a donkey [in] fulfillment of the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9, making his triumphant entry while riding a lowly animal a symbol of peace.

“Jesus used the donkey to connect with the common people.” Smaller than horses and gifted with cautiousness, that can sometimes be mistaken for stubbornness, donkeys were not usually used during times of war. Zechariah 9:9 prophesied the coming of a king “righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” This prophecy was fulfilled in Matthew 21:1-11 when Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem and it was triumphant because he had done so without bloodshed on the side of the people.


Trump is like Jesus.

Michael K said...

I like Mickey but he can be clueless about Trump. Bribe him ? How many billion would that be ? We know Biden has been bribed but he has never done anything but be a politician. The Democrats opened this Pandora's Box with racism. It will be interesting to see how it works out for them.

Ray - SoCal said...

I would be surprised if Biden even survives the 4 years of his term. He is getting worse, and it's becoming more and more obvious.

So Biden running in 2024 has ZERO possibility of happening.

In the Main Stream Press, everything has a political purpose.

Why the coverage of the Kamala Harris / Secretary Pete Buttigieg Slapfest?

cubanbob said...

Unless by some miracle The Brandon Administration becomes sane and competent absent fraud any Republican including Trump will win. The presumption is FJB will not run in 2024 but despite his senility and stupidity he will most likely run again. If he didn't eun, Harris would lose if she ran. The Dems are now pot committed progressives and only plays in coastal areas and absent vote fraud that isn't enough to win. They have no candidates that are plausible to the rest of the country. Biden didn't defeat Trump. Covid and fraud in key precincts beat Trump.

rehajm said...

Critter said...
How is Trump a dilemma for Republicans? Polls show him as odd-on favorite to win the nomination and an election against Joe Biden. Especially after election reforms to prohibit election abuses such as the latest ones uncovered in Wisconsin from 2020.


I came to write this.

FullMoon said...

Trump/Harris. Can't lose, and really f up the left.

Mike Sylwester said...

The Republicans’ equivalent dilemma — the Trump Dilemma — seems completely insoluble

If necessary, DeSantis will run against Trump in the primary elections and will defeat him.

Christie already intends to run in those primary elections. Christie cannot win that race, but his run will create a situation that will encourage DeSantis to run.

The Republican Party will be OK. The primary elections will select the Party's candidate for the 2024 general election.

If that candidate will be Trump, then so be it.

If that candidate will be DeSantis or someone else, then so be it.

Narayanan said...

why is Mickey Kaus advising Republicans?

if he wants to say Roman Senators had it easy when they shiv'd Julius why not say so?

Bruce Hayden said...

What is interesting here is that she has more power than most VPs, thanks to her tie breaking vote in the equally divided Senate and her power under the 25th Amdt. Except that they can’t afford to get rid of Biden for similar reasons, since they would then need at least one Republican vote in the Senate to replace her as VP. At least, if they replaced Biden with Harris now, they would have two Democrats standing behind her in the succession. A year from now, they will likely both be Republicans. Of course, Biden isn’t getting better. His senility is progressive, with the progression seemingly accelerating with the stresses of the Presidency.

If Biden dies, we are back in Truman territory, with a VP ascending to the Presidency completely unprepared, having been kept as far away from Presidential decision making as possible. Republican Presidents since then have mostly had good relations with their VPs, trusting them with significant power. Much less so Democrats. LBJ was used to exercising power, having run the Senate. And after that, they have been lucky that the President was not disabled or died while a Dem was holding that office. Until, maybe, now.

I can see the problem though for the people pulling Brandon’s strings. They cannot afford to let Harris bear Biden, and his Cabinet, because if she can convince enough of them that she would do a better job for them, then Biden is out the door. Her best chance, by far, at being elected President in 2024 is to be running as the incumbent President in 2024. She is not likely to get the Dem nomination for President then, if she is still VP.

Big Mike said...

People, people! The Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary won’t be until the early months of 2024 — about 27 months from now. That’s a long time. It’s not worth speculating about what Joe Biden might do; he was born November 20, 1942 so do the math. But I don’t think Kamala Harris will ever be the nominee for President or anything else.

Ceciliahere said...

Joe Biden will be lucky if he finishes his term in office. Maybe his spouse can keep propping him up until 2024. Then,I think the first woman president should be Doctor Jill Biden. She has the most experience in and around the White House during Joe’s V.P. tenure and now as First Lady (maybe even the real president). She isn’t a POC but I’m sure that they can find a POC to be her running mate. Maybe AOC??? Now, there’s a winning ticket. But what else have they got? The Republicans will run DeSantis either as the nominee or the VP with Trump. An all white, male ticket. Is that still allowed? By then, I think the country will be begging for some leadership so we can get back to some “normalcy.” The Biden administration and all his dopey advisors is a total clusterf**k .The MSM and social media have lost their credibility with most of theelectorate. Americans are tired of the socialists and their so called “social justice”, CRT, BLM, Intersectionality, etc. etc. B.S. Americans are tired of the woke. The small group of people pushing this woke agenda will be crushed in the next election. Americans want to get back to what we had pre-Biden, pre-Obama and even pre-GW Bush. No more unwinnable wars, stop illegal immigration, open the pipelines again… We are Americans, so America first!!!

Mrs. X said...

I’m seriously sick of the type of snark on display in the linked article. Trump is a dilemma for Mickey Kaus. The rest of us are fine, thanks.

n.n said...

Racism and sexism? Diversity [dogma] (i.e. color judgment). While bias is intrinsic, prejudice is progressive. Lose your religion.

Loyalty? To a woman who took a knee for personal progress? 50 shades of Weinstein, Oprah, and the casting couch. Perhaps a masculinist or feminist, but why would any normal man, let alone a woman, vote for her? Then again, she is a matched set with Biden in their sociopolitical proclivities.

Wars without borders. Coups without cause. Transnational terrorism. Neighborhood occupations and violence. [Catastrophic] [anthropogenic] immigration reform. Children and traffickers. Progressive prices. Inoculating the immune and resistant with less robust and durable vaccine(s) with excessive adverse events, especially in boys and girls. Sure, why not.

Christopher B said...

Announcing Biden will not run in 2024 *now* would eliminate what little bully pulpit or other leverage he might have to get agreements among the Democrats in Congress, and set off even more infighting between the various Democrat factions, the grifters and the Progs mostly. They need to at least wait until after the 2022 mid-terms to announce it.

Mark said...

Decline to run again? How is Biden going to be in a position to even consider whether to run again or not, even if he is still with us? Is he going to run against the sitting president?

Mark said...

The delusion here is you folks who just automatically assume that Joe Biden will last through his term until 2024. That is highly speculative on your part.

Mark said...

Trump will make a Triumphant return to DC on the back of a donkey

Stop it Wince. Just stop. Trump is not our Savior. He is not the One. Also --

Don't Mock God.

J Melcher said...

IF I recall my high school history lessons correctly, Teddy Roosevelt was chosen for the VP slot in order to sideline him from any active role in American politics. Didn't work out as planned.

Harris is in the job FDR's veep Garner characterized as "a bucket of warm spit" -- and she's now unhappy about it? Why did she accept?

If Harris just decides now to resign -- can she do that? Start a run for California senate again, or governor, or something. A run for governor would make some sense to gain (credentials for if not actual) executive experience. She's still young enough to make a bid for the White House later.

Trump, similarly, might run for the House, and if winning, then run for Speaker. Not at all likely but great fun to consider.

gadfly said...

As Dana Carvey’s George H.W. Bush would put it: 'Na ga da — not going to do it.'

effinayright said...

Elliott A said...
My original prediction looking more plausible every day:

1. Force Harris to resign
>>>WHO forces her, and by what authority?

2. Select a suitable replacement
>>>WHO selects a replacement, how and under what authority?

3. Force Biden to resign or remove him via 25th amendment
>>> WHY would the GOP help the Dems remove an incompetent president, the latter get to choose his replacement??

tim in vermont said...

"My original prediction looking more plausible every day:"

More sensible, maybe, but plausible? I think not.

Mark said...

The first cisgender woman vice president (and likely president) is not going to go away.

BUMBLE BEE said...

What If?... What If?... What if Napoleon had B52s at Waterloo? *National Lampoon

gadfly said...

@Mark said...
"Decline to run again? How is Biden going to be in a position to even consider whether to run again or not, even if he is still with us? Is he going to run against the sitting president?"

Trump was first projected to be reinstated as President on March 4 or 5, then August 13 and finally the Pillow Guy moved the date out to September 30 - but now, even the QAnon nut cases have backed off, choosing instead to await the reincarnation of John F. "John-John" Kennedy Jr., who was a Democrat.

So Mark must have gotten a new Trump reinstatement date (if he is still with us physically but not mentally) which we all eagerly await. Fill us in, Mark.

Anonymous said...

CJinPA said...
Dem Dilemma: Run someone against her if need be. Vice Presidents regularly face competition within their own party when seeking the top spot.


Problem 1. The Dems can't win without the female black vote. Dump Harris and you lose your edge solution? Michelle Obama runs

Problem 2. Dems can't replace the VP if Harris quits or gets promoted. Cause without her vote now? the new VP can't get the majority of the Senate, and after 2022, both houses will be GOP. which means if Harris becomes POTUS, no Senate majority. ever.

Gilbert Pinfold said...

I'm constantly amazed that no one remembers how there was no "winner" in the Iowa Dem primary, ostensibly because a new app for apportioning caucus results by mobile phone didn't work right. How very convenient to not have an early leader in the race coming out of Iowa so the party forces could coalesce around the "desired" choice. Pretty convenient to have to wait for South Carolina and Jim Clyburn (funny stuff with his daughter getting broadcasting licenses) weighing in to endorse Slow Joe and settling the whole race at last. The "People's Choice"--I think not.

Rollo said...

Senators don't make good presidents. They don't have the administrative experience. They made passable VPs, but that was when VPs didn't do anything.

Harris's first problem was not demanding responsibilities if she wanted them. Her second problem was not doing the work she was given. Her third problem was letting her people complain about it.

Trump isn't going to be bribed -- certainly not by such pathetic offers, and probably not by anything. He may not run, but that will be his own choice.

This is not representative of the Mickey Kaus I remember. He agrees with Trump more than he disagrees wit him, but like alot of people, he has problems with Trump's personality.

ussmidway said...

Too many women in politics owe their careers to men who supported them, and in some cases, used them. We need more successful female politicians who are truly independent as they make much better leaders.

Bad Role Models (dependent on men):
Hilary Clinton — absent her marriage to Bill, she retires years ago to Florida after a career as a moderately successful corporate attorney in Chicago — almost zero leadership ability on her own, a real disaster for America if she had beaten Trump
Kamala Harris — totally groomed by Willie & Jerry Brown to become an empty vessel for their ambitions, with no real brain of her own
Lisa Murkowski — inherited respect from her father and his buddies in Alaska that she has never earned or deserved
Jackie Speier — a decent office manager who leveraged sympathy over the tragic murder of her mentor into a long stint in his old seat
Amy Kloubacher — mediocre attorney whose father was a beloved cultural figure in Minnesota and the source of all her political power
Debbie Dingell — corrupt successor to her legendary late husband who helped destroy the Michigan economy over 40 years
Cindy McCain — way over her head, every day of the year, whenever she opens her mouth
Liz Cheney — this is too obvious

Good role models (independent of men):
Condoleeza Rice — no men required — truly impressive by ANY standard
Janet Yellen — nobody’s fool
“The Squad” — love them or hate them, all 4 are clearly operating with minimal male influence (Omar may be the exception here)
Margaret Thatcher — the original Iron Lady
RBG — strongly independent and brilliant iconoclast
Kristen Sinema — not easily cowed by anyone
Tulsi Gabbard — too strong and independent for DNC power brokers to handle — she is her own woman!
Sandra Day O’Connor — trailblazing and courageous
Sarah Palin — 100x more capable than Kamala will ever be (not a high bar)
Anna Eshoo — super smart and resourceful, no men involved that we can see
Marsha Blackburn — tough and imposing leader with southern charm to boot
Amy Coney Barrett — the exemplar for all female attorneys who want to lead a balanced life (career/family)
Winsome Sears — watch this woman become a political powerhouse on her own over the next decade
Ann Althouse — shameless overture to the hostess! Meade is great, but not responsible for her professional stature

The first group are all disappointments, personally or professionally, even if they are loyal foot soldiers for their (mostly male) sponsors, and this contributes to the perception that many female leaders are failures.

The second group earned their respect the hard way (even those whose policies I oppose) and are far more worthy of emulation by young women considering public service. (Nancy Pelosi is a hybrid here; successful on her own, but launched into politics by her powerful father and his corrupt democratic cronies in Baltimore.)

This distinction is rarely made, and while it is true that some males with connections are also revealed as under-achievers — see GWB and JFK — too women have been thrust into roles where they were destined to fail based on male patronage. This has not been good for the public perceptions of females in power.

Kamala is a perfect case study on the limits of this career enablement by men who wield the original power. I hope my 3 daughters will be smart enough to avoid the easy, but disreputable, path to career success in a world where women have unprecedented avenues to independent achievement.

gilbar said...

Joe Smith said...
Btw, maybe I'm hallucinating, but didn't Biden say before the election that he'd only serve one term if elected?


yes, and no

Biden signals to aides that he would serve only a single term
Biden: No one-term promise from me

gilbar said...

effinayright asked...
>>>WHO forces her, and by what authority?
>>>WHO selects a replacement, how and under what authority?
3. Force Biden to resign??


These are Easy!

Who? Hilary!
by what authority? The promise of otherwise committing Suicide
Force Biden to resign? EXACT SAME ANSWERS

To quote from some James Bond Movie...remember Mr President; you're only President, for life

Achilles said...

Jersey Fled said...

What we are seeing is a preference cascade away from the Democrat party.

The signs are everywhere.

You heard it here first.


Do a search for preference cascade in previous althouse comments sillybilly.

wild chicken said...

At least in my red state there's no way the GOP wants to dump Trump. He sweeps so many downticket candidates into office that wannabes fall all over themselves to run for something, anything.

I mean even when Trump himself loses!

rehajm said...

Big Mike said...
People, people! The Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary won’t be until the early months of 2024 — about 27 months from now. That’s a long time.


After the last 10 months the emerging bipartisan consensus is we might not make it…

Big Mike said...

And the latest from “anonymous sources close to … :

Sources close to Vice President Kamala Harris have a new explanation for her extreme unpopularity: The Biden administration only defends white men. Staffers and allies of Harris believe her disastrous first year as vice president is in large part due to racial discrimination from President Joe Biden and his office, a new CNN report claims.

Calling your boss a racist, implicitly or, as in this case, explicitly, does not strike me as a winning move. But then I’m not a Democrat so it may actually make sense within their frame of reference.

rsbsail said...

I think Kaus gives way too much credit to the Biden staff for thinking 1) about this situation, and 2) that far ahead.

They haven't shown any strategic or critical thinking so far, and one could argue, not much thinking at all. Their response to almost any issue is reflexive. For example, reverse all Trump policies, no matter if they were working. Immigration is a great example.

retail lawyer said...

I really like the idea of giving Ivanka whatever she wants.

D.D. Driver said...

Trump barely--barely--beat HRC who was one of the least popular, least likely, and most hated candidates of all time. A "good" candidate would have wiped the floor with her. Trump didn't even take the popular vote. Then, Trump LOST to Biden.

Trump is a shitty candidate. He might win because the Dems are idiots. But, the Republican should be looking for someone with a stronger track record than the guy who lost to Joe Biden.

Chris Lopes said...

"Trump is not our Savior."

He most certainly is not. Unfortunately, that doesn't make Biden any more competent or Harris any less useless.

Chris Lopes said...

"Trump barely--barely--beat HRC who was one of the least popular, least likely, and most hated candidates of all time."

Yep. As I said at the time, both parties had managed to nominate the one person on the planet that the other party's nominee had a chance of beating. It was shit sandwiches all the way down.

Gahrie said...

Problem 2. Dems can't replace the VP if Harris quits or gets promoted. Cause without her vote now? the new VP can't get the majority of the Senate, and after 2022, both houses will be GOP. which means if Harris becomes POTUS, no Senate majority. ever.

The problem is this...if the Republicans in the Senate force the VP position to remain open, and the sitting president dies or cannot serve, then Pelosi becomes president.

Douglas B. Levene said...

If Trump gets the GOP nod in 2024, (i) I'll vote third party or won't vote for president, and (ii) I will move heaven and earth to elect GOP senators and congressmen. Mr. Trump lost me with his attempt to steal the election with his campaign of lies about election fraud, even though I think he was a better than average president. Divided government works for me, so I won't care if another bum like Biden is elected president so long as the GOP controls the Congress.

Michael K said...

Trump barely--barely--beat HRC who was one of the least popular, least likely, and most hated candidates of all time. A "good" candidate would have wiped the floor with her. Trump didn't even take the popular vote.

Standard lefty talking point. Do you know that the national popular vote, other than motorvoter California, was greater for Trump?

The "loss to Joe Biden" is a weak reed as even some Democrats know better. That Time article explained how they did it.

Drago said...

D.D. Driver: "Trump barely--barely--beat HRC who was one of the least popular, least likely, and most hated candidates of all time. A "good" candidate would have wiped the floor with her. Trump didn't even take the popular vote. Then, Trump LOST to Biden."

In 2016, any other republican candidate other than Trump would have lost to Hillary....and also have been accused of being a russian shill because that narrative train had left Democratical Hoax Station in late 2015/early 2016.

Trump brought out massive numbers of rural voters who had not voted in years in key battleground states and no other republican would have motivated them to come out. None of them. At all. Period.

Hillary would have taken all the blue wall states as well as Florida.

Hillary was riding the wave of universal adoration from the media, non-stop hit jobs against Trump that would have buried any other republicans (Romney gave a woman cancer(!) and gave a dude an unwanted haircut in high school who killed himself 30 years later(!) and was a literal theocratic hitler who wore funny underwear!)

This laughable, moronic, rewriting of history re: the 2016 election is ludicrous.

It's similar to the idiots who (still!) argue HW Bush was every bit as much of a vote getter as Reagan in 1980 and that Reagan could not have won without him!

Reagan figured out too late that the establishment republicans forcing HW Bush on him was one of the biggest mistakes he ever made.

Freder Frederson said...

Republican Presidents since then have mostly had good relations with their VPs, trusting them with significant power. Much less so Democrats.

I just love how you live in a bizarro world. Eisenhower hated Nixon. Nixon hated Agnew and selected ford as a hedge against impeachment. Bush and Reagan got along well enough. Why Bush chose Quayle is any ones guess. Cheney ran Bush, not the other way around. Trump was willing to have his vp hung.

Darkisland said...


Blogger Elliott A said...

My original prediction looking more plausible every day:
1. Force Harris to resign
2. Select a suitable replacement
3. Force Biden to resign or remove him via 25th amendment


My man! Agree completely. I would add that the resignation is before Dec 31 and that the replacement is our current president emeritus, Donald Trump.

That's why I say Lets Get Biden To Quit But Not Yet. If he quits before Kamala, he could still happen but it seems like an unnecessary complexity.

John Henry

wildswan said...

Here's what to do. Tell Biden it's 2024, run a campaign for a few weeks, tell him he's re-elected, then tell him it's 2028 and time to retire. Show him cheering crowds on Metaverse. Kamala becomes first women of color President; in the history books, good to go; tell her to appoint the Zuck, vp and go; she does what she's told. Everyone hates the Zuck and Facebook collapses. He quits. By now it's 2023 and the Speaker of the House, a Republican, becomes President. This is just as likely as anything else I've read. Y'all are underestimating the loyalty to Trump; you think it will be transferred like a Hollywood gender change.

Bender said...

Those saying that Biden won't last the term are right.

In 2024, it is going to be President Harris. That much has been obvious since before election day 2020.

Terry Ott said...

This goes way beyond Biden and Harris. Above, ‘effinayright' presents a very good question:
"How impossibly shallow and unserious can a political party get?”

We are finding out, are we not? And at the same time thoughtful people must wonder,
“Can our wrecked political party system at the Federal level be heroically hoisted out of the ditch and salvaged? And how?”

We are not America’s greatest generation, for sure. So, rescuing our homeland is not a sure thing this time around.

Drago said...

Field Marshall Freder: "I just love how you live in a bizarro world. Eisenhower hated Nixon. Nixon hated Agnew and selected ford as a hedge against impeachment. Bush and Reagan got along well enough. Why Bush chose Quayle is any ones guess. Cheney ran Bush, not the other way around. Trump was willing to have his vp hung."

LOL

You can always count on Freder to give Left Bank and gadfly a run for the "bizarro world hot take" award.

Reagan called HW Bush his biggest mistake....and I see Freder is still pushing the 1/6 "insurrection" lie along with the makeshift fake gallows protest decoration.

Too funny.

Drago said...

D.D. Driver: "Trump is a shitty candidate. He might win because the Dems are idiots. But, the Republican should be looking for someone with a stronger track record than the guy who lost to Joe Biden."

Wow.

That's revelatory.

We should be looking for a someone with a stronger track record?

Thanks for the epiphany.

Michael K said...

I appreciate Field Marshall Freder giving us a list of Democrat talking points so we don't have to seek them out ourselves.

Drago said...

Mark: ""Decline to run again? How is Biden going to be in a position to even consider whether to run again or not, even if he is still with us? Is he going to run against the sitting president?"

Interesting question.

Our Poor Man's *** ***** gadfly's incoherent response? Trump, Pillow Guy, QAnon, "John-John" Kennedy Jr..."who was a democrat".

If you are wondering if this is a typical response for gadfly, the answer is "no". Usually, his moronic missives are much LESS comprehensible. This is actually to be considered a much "stronger" effort on his part.

Drago said...

"Good" news everybody!

Biden's Earpiece left actual US military family members in Afghanistan when he bugged out without a plan.

Howard/gadfly/Freder/et al "mysteriously" silent on this issue...............(though one suspects a "but Trump" retort is in the offing)

Caligula said...

"it will be very hard to stop her without being accused of racism and/or sexism and/or disloyalty." --> Not for voters expressing their will in the privacy of a voting both.

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

Freder Frederson,

Trump was willing to have his vp hung.

No, Trump (if you believe the entire story, which I do not) was willing to have his VP hanged. I don't know whether Pence was "hung" or not, and I doubt you do either, but the question didn't arise on 1/6.

Mutaman said...

"Especially after election reforms to prohibit election abuses such as the latest ones uncovered in Wisconsin from 2020."

Link please

Mutaman said...


"Republican Presidents since then have mostly had good relations with their VPs,"

https://www.axios.com/trump-hang-mike-pence-january-6-audio-4f147245-becf-4766-ac60-7acece6862be.html

Paul said...

Harris is dog shit with both the left and the right.... not a chance in hell she will ever be POTUS. They will turn Biden into a stuffed 'Weekend at Bernies' before they let her become POTUS.

Gahrie said...

But, the Republican should be looking for someone with a stronger track record than the guy who lost to Joe Biden."

You mean the guy who got more popular votes for president than anyone in history except Biden? If you believe the election was stolen (as I do) he got more real votes than anyone else in history.

The fix was in. The whole COVID hysteria, the summer of violence, all of it was designed to allow the election rules to be changed and even then they had to resort to blatant (though ignored) cheating on election night in four key cities to pull it out.

Drago said...

We are probably about 15 minutes away from Field Marshall Freder telling us that Trump contracted with Rittenhouse and the White Knights of Southeast Antioch IL to hang Pence with the small, balsa-wood looking "gallows".

The best part?

gadfly will run with that for at least 18 months.

Drago said...

You know, you really do have to feel bad for Biden.

After all, as he recounted today, his house burned down with his wife in it.

A sad tale, no doubt.

OSU '92 said...

When Republicans win back the House and Senate in 2022 the first thing they should fo is impeach Biden. It doesn’t really matter the reason,there wasn’t one for Trump. That way the Republicans make Dems live by their own rules. Then maybe an impeached but not convicted Biden has to defer to Harris who has virtually no chance of winning in 2024. The ends justify the means right?

James Graham said...

This Republican looooves Kamala!

D.D. Driver said...

Trump brought out massive numbers of rural voters who had not voted in years in key battleground states and no other republican would have motivated them to come out. None of them. At all. Period.

And he did it by alienating and chasing away traditional conservatives. Great strategy, bring out the voters who rarely vote and chase away the reliable base that votes in every election. Genius! It worked once--barely.

Trump supporters remind me of Bagdad Bob. Trump lost to Joe Biden. Joe. Biden. I'm trying to think of a more embarrassing electoral failure. (Just because you believe in wackadoo conspiracy theories doesn't mean that they are true. It's just more Bagdad Bobbin'.)

Jim at said...

Her approval rating is currently, what, 28 percent?

Yeah. Run her in 2024.
Please.

D.D. Driver said...

"You mean the guy who got more popular votes for president than anyone in history except Biden? If you believe the election was stolen (as I do) he got more real votes than anyone else in history."

Trivia question: do you know what they call a football team that scores the most points ever except for their opponent on the field at the same time?

Answer: Losers. In this case, Trump was defeated by the equivalent of the Detroit Lions. And, sore losers always cry about how they were cheated out of victory. Doesn't change that they are losers.

Lurker21 said...

Too many women in politics owe their careers to men who supported them, and in some cases, used them. We need more successful female politicians who are truly independent as they make much better leaders.

I guess. But do we really need female Tony Blinkens, Jake Sullivans and Pete Buttigiegs? Politicians who attach themselves to somebody else may actually be better than those who rise based solely on a padded resume. They may at least have a little real world experience, though that's not guaranteed either.

Drago said...

D.D. Driver: "Answer: Losers. In this case, Trump was defeated by the equivalent of the Detroit Lions. And, sore losers always cry about how they were cheated out of victory. Doesn't change that they are losers."

It's a real shame Jeb! couldn't have run instead of Trump.

You know, a guy with a "real track record".

Jim at said...

And he did it by alienating and chasing away traditional conservatives. Great strategy, bring out the voters who rarely vote and chase away the reliable base that votes in every election.

Trump received 11 million more votes in 2020 than in 2016.

That's a strange result for chasing away so many people.

Gahrie said...

Answer: Losers. In this case, Trump was defeated by the equivalent of the Detroit Lions. And, sore losers always cry about how they were cheated out of victory. Doesn't change that they are losers.

The game was fixed.

gpm said...

>>What If?... What If?... What if Napoleon had B52s at Waterloo? *National Lampoon

A bit late, but what if Eleanor Roosevelt could fly?

--gpm