While there’s mixed reporting on how it went down exactly, I 100% believe that the Democrats organizing the effort to push President Biden out of the race had zero plans for what would happen next if they were successful, with a little over 100 days before the election. This was one of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s big issues too: if you force out President Biden, what’s the plan, how will the party coalesce in such a short amount of time? I strongly believe that once President Biden made the decision to step aside, he only did so if he could endorse Kamala Harris on his own terms and signal to the party that VP Harris is his heiress, that she inherits his entire campaign apparatus, that he was always a bridge to an eventual President Kamala Harris. That was never what the Dem ratf–kers wanted, as we quickly witnessed in real time.
Speaking of ratf–kers, even before President Biden dropped out of the race, former speaker Nancy Pelosi made comments to other California Democrats that if and when Biden dropped out, there should be a “competitive process” in an open primary… in July and August. Like, that was Pelosi’s big political instinct at work, that Dems should be in disarray for weeks ahead of the DNC and likely during the whole convention. Pres. Biden announced his withdrawal on Sunday (with Pelosi’s knife still in his back) and in the same breath, he endorsed VP Harris. Pelosi didn’t expect that. Her first statement on Biden’s withdrawal did not offer any endorsement for VP Harris or anyone else. Then, 24 hours after Biden’s withdrawal, suddenly Pelosi no longer favors a “competitive process.”
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday endorsed Kamala Harris to replace President Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket, calling her “brilliantly astute” and saying that she is the best person to defeat former President Donald J. Trump in the fall.
“It is with immense pride and limitless optimism for our country’s future that I endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president of the United States,” Ms. Pelosi wrote in a statement. “My enthusiastic support for Kamala Harris for president is official, personal and political.”
The statement by Ms. Pelosi, who had earlier said she would favor a competitive process rather than a coronation of Ms. Harris, was the most significant in a rapidly growing number of high-profile endorsements as Ms. Harris moved swiftly to cement her position as the new face of her party. Ms. Pelosi urged her colleagues to get behind Ms. Harris, saying “we must unify and charge forward to resoundingly defeat Donald Trump.”
Ms. Harris’s campaign announced on Monday that it had raised $81 million in her first 24 hours as a presidential candidate. And she made her first public appearance since Mr. Biden dropped his re-election bid and endorsed her, praising Mr. Biden’s “deep love of our country” during a morning event at the White House.
She has so far scooped up endorsements from would-be challengers, including Governors JB Pritzker of Illinois, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Wes Moore of Maryland, Tim Walz of Minnesota and Tony Evers of Wisconsin. Several of them have been talked about as possible running mates.
It sounds like Pelosi has been doing a lot of math lately. She must have realized that the ratf–king coalition left her holding the bag (a bag with a bloody knife in it) and that her legacy was on the line as well. This is something Pelosi, Barack Obama, Chuck Schumer, and the Obama staffers/podbros didn’t understand: that it means a lot to Democrats that Biden threw his full support to VP Harris, and that she is the one chosen as Biden’s heiress. The fact that a steady stream of would-be Democratic presidential candidates actually said “no, we’re supporting Kamala Harris” ruined the ratf–king fantasy of an “open primary” in July and August. That being said, as of this writing, Obama, Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries still have not endorsed VP Harris. Almost every other elected Democrat has though, including almost every Dem governor in the country? She’ll likely choose one of those Dem governors as her running mate.
With immense pride and limitless optimism for our country’s future, I endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for President of the United States. I have full confidence that she will lead us to victory in November.
-NP pic.twitter.com/vBwv602GuR— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) July 22, 2024
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- -Washington, District of Columbia – 20220301 During his first State of the Union address Biden is expected to highlight his administration’s efforts to lead a global response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, work to curb inflation and to bring the country out of the COVID-19 pandemic. -PICTURED: Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi -PHOTO by: Saul Loeb/CNP/startraksphoto.com -030122_Biden-SOTU-Pool_177 This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Startraks Photo for licensing fee and rights information at sales@startraksphoto.com or call +1 212 414 9464 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Startraks Photo reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded Featuring: Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 01 Mar 2022 Credit: Saul Loeb/CNP/startraksphoto.com
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- -Washington, District of Columbia – 20220301 During his first State of the Union address Biden is expected to highlight his administration’s efforts to lead a global response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, work to curb inflation and to bring the country out of the COVID-19 pandemic. -PICTURED: Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi -PHOTO by: Julia Nikhinson/CNP/startraksphoto.com -030122_Biden-SOTU-Pool_594 This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Startraks Photo for licensing fee and rights information at sales@startraksphoto.com or call +1 212 414 9464 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Startraks Photo reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded Featuring: Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 01 Mar 2022 Credit: Julia Nikhinson/CNP/startraksphoto.com
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- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine addresses a joint session of the US Congress in the US House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC. This is Zelenskyy’s first trip outside his country since Russian forces invaded Ukraine. Featuring: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Nancy Pelosi, Kamala Harris Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 21 Dec 2022 Credit: Cliff Owen/CNP/startraksphoto.com/Cover Images
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- United States President Joe Biden makes remarks on the anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act at the White House in Washington, DC. Featuring: Representative Nancy Pelosi Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 16 Aug 2023 Credit: POOL via CNP/startraksphoto.com
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- United States Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat of New York) (R) chats with Democratic Representative from California Nancy Pelosi (C) in the House of Representatives ahead of US President Joe Biden’s third State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the US Capitol. Featuring: Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 07 Mar 2024 Credit: POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
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- United States President Joe Biden presents former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (Democrat of California) with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on Friday, May 3, 2024. Several of today’s recipients are Democratic Party stalwarts, and Biden himself was awarded the honor by former President Barack Obama in the final days of their administration in 2017. Featuring: Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 03 May 2024 Credit: POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
Nancy finally saw the writing on the wall and got in line to save herself. If Biden is too old to govern I think Nancy should take a good look at her old self and shut up.
Oh for sure. If age is such a factor why still hanging out Nancy? Pass the torch to the infants. PS I will never forgive the Pod Bros and my opinion of a lot of people has definitely cooled. Am endorsement = we won’t be knifing you on the back THIS week
When her daughter endorsed Harris yesterday morning I figured this was done because Nancy was going to endorse her as well.
The big question is why is Obama still quiet.
There is an unofficial rule that former presidents don’t “interfere” with elections. None of the former presidents, other than Trump, have spoken up about elections or candidates until the official nominee was announced.
Bill Clinton’s immediate support was surprising but it has been decades since he was president. Obama is more recent so he’s still cautious about prematurely weighing in.
Obama being silent isn’t a sign he is anti-Kamala. It’s a sign he believes in the Democratic voters and delegates being allowed to make their choice known before he officially endorses a presidential candidate.
Presidential endorsements carry a lot of weight. He knows this and he is trying to be as fair to any candidate that may pop up as possible. He has a moral obligation to do so.
Exactly.
I was expecting her to endorsed Gavin Newsome…not her
That’s right – get in formation, Nancy! Hope Hakeem, Chuck, and Barack are taking notes. I’m still keeping my list of Biden backstabbers for the 2026 primaries, though.
I definitely have a list for the 2026 primaries.
I’m not sure this qualifies as a backstabber, more like a kick in the pants. Aaron Sorkin was suggesting the party nominate Mitt Romney (R) as a “healing event” in a NYT op-ed 😂😂😂 Quickly reversed himself though, “Harris for America!”
So hakeem Jeffries’ brother posted on X that of course Hakeem is going to endorse him – his wife is an AKA, his mother is an AKA, and his mother’s favorite son went to a HBCU (referring to himself.) It was meant to be funny, I don’t think I’m relaying it well, lol. So I’m sure we’ll see that endorsement come out today or tomorrow.
It feels like the past few weeks are being rewritten very rapidly – now everyone is insisting that OF COURSE it was always going to be Harris, when that was never the message we were getting from the top down. AOC told us that point blank last week. There was a lot of talk about a competitive process to fill the nomination. I think many rank and file dems wanted Harris, but “Biden should step down and pass the torch to VP Harris” was not the message the leaders were putting out there and I think they absolutely should have been.
They didn’t want it to be her. They wanted Dean Phillips, Andy Beshear, or freaking Manchin of all people. They wanted a “moderate” they could control.
Kamala is a moderate, she is relatively safe. She isn’t a radical. I think they wanted to see if the public would get excited about her because the first time she ran they did not.
That is what I’m choosing to believe happened too. They didn’t want to appear to be “anointing Kamala”, so they held back. Then the public got really excited about her and doesn’t actually want the chaos of multiple nominees. Now it’s ok to show support.
Nancy is a shrewd politician and doesn’t do anything without the numbers.
*Sorry of course that should say “Hakeem is going to endorse HER” – typing too fast too early in the AM lol.
Nancy I used to respect you and the Democratic Party. Now I and many see you for the hypocrites you are,
I will still vote Blue but not because I care about a party that has done what it did to Joe Biden and US. Shame on you All.
I don’t think they think that Kamala can win. In the days after the debate, I was helping take care of my mom, who watches msnbc and cnbc nonstop, and I didn’t hear anyone mention her or hear anything from her. Nothing, not a peep! I know that a lot of people don’t like her because of stupid/racist/sexist reasons, and I think they just didn’t think that people would want her. I have always really liked her, she’s obviously super smart and can hold her own in a debate, but sexism and racism is still so strong in this country. And people don’t like her laugh, which really pisses me off bc you never hear that criticism about dudes, but of course, that’s the sexism thing. I really hope that she is it and that she can do it. We shall see
Popping back to say – Jeffries and Schumer just endorsed her.
I feel that they are doing a slow roll of support. Once the nom is in the bag, the other endorsements will come.
It is a tactic. They need to keep people excited, awake. That’s why rolling out big names slowly is important.
Off topic, but Hakeem is so good looking…
It’s political strategy – or strategery as W used to say. You don’t want all the endorsements at once so that more of them can make news.
I think you might be right, and I imagine they’re waiting for the excitement to cool again for Obama to come out and make a big endorsement. I don’t love how all of this went down, it’s a crappy situation to find ourselves in this soon before an election, but the energy I’m seeing is encouraging, and keeping that up is going to help.
Pushing Biden out without a plan and having an open convention would have been catastrophic for the party, and the country. I’m glad it was a simple and well received shift to Harris, and I suspect the VP candidate has already been selected, vetted, and agreed to it too.
I think that future Speaker Jeffries and Senator Schumer are staggering their endorsements to flood the new cycle and keep the base excited. President Obama has a long history of not endorsing in primaries. He didn’t endorse PJB until every other candidate had. I appreciate how pragmatic, calm and stead PBO has always been. It’s what I appreciate about President Joe and who future Madam President Harris is and will be. I am so grateful for what I have seen from the true Democratic base and it’s embrace of Veep Harris.
🫶
Girl Ninja, I know you’re really good at signing up and motivating Democrats! Do you have any ideas for independents and Never Trumpers? I’ve managed to convince one of that latter definitely to vote for KH, and another is most of the way there. Essentially what seems to work with them is the moral issue (they’re stubbornly unable to see the economy as positive). There are a couple more Never Trumpers who might be able to be convinced. Some of my acquaintances are independents, but it’s hard to get through to them. Logic doesn’t work: any tips?
I think just listening to their fears about the future. And talking up what the administration has done for the American people. Stick to a couple like prescription drug costs being lowered 👇🏾
Farxiga – Diabetes; Heart failure; Chronic kidney disease
Entresto – Heart failure
Enbrel – Rheumatoid arthritis; Psoriasis; Psoriatic arthritis
Imbruvica – Blood cancers
Our seniors are getting a bit more in their social security checks as well. Keeping it simple and not fawning (though PJB deserves it) over him may strike a right note.
Thanks for the advice, Girl Ninja! I hadn’t thought about concentrating on prescriptions (I live abroad, and this doesn’t affect me like that so I honestly didn’t think about how it’s changed in the States)—excellent tip! I’ll definitely do my best to spread the message. Every vote counts!
That’s actually a really good theory about staggering the endorsements.
Biden has made some truly horrible choices in his career…. His treatment of Anita Hill, supporting the 1994 crime bill and the 1996 welfare reform bill… just to name a few. Dems can do better than him. I’m shocked at people’s support of him and I just wonder if they are not old enough to remember.
But young enough to making Palestine a huge decision maker. I see a lot of people over certain age bracket having no realisation of the impact of the war / genocide at this time. And its easier to ignore and compartmentalise as the issues in US at stake are so huge – but the situation is so horrific and current administration support cannot be ignored
Agree 100%
Presidents and tax dollars have been funding genocides and coups for the past century. That is not why Biden had to step down.
@C it’s not but it should have been, and it’s why I find all the talk of him being a ‘hero’ for stepping down so disgusting.
He did the right thing, which he should have done months ago.
If he had done this months ago before Trump’s VP pick it would have handed victory to them. As it is, they’re blindsided and scrambling.
He stepped down and smoothed the way for her.
I think while this situation is not ideal the transition is going well so far.
Ditto. Also not sure why this blog seems convinced that Pelosi et al are part of a grand conspiracy that apparently wanted to do… I’m not sure what, hand the presidency to Trump? I just don’t see it. An inferior candidate who should have stepped back last year has thankfully realized albeit at the eleventh hour that he could not win and his logical replacement is rolling out her support. I’m not surprised that AOC was blaring support for Joe Biden last week, she is hardly part of the Democratic hierarchy so she was not in on any plans for Kamala.
I remember everything you speak of Anon but it doesn’t negate what just happened. If the Democratic party could do better than Biden they should have ran a better candidate.
he also voted against making abortion the law of the land at some point, I think in the 80s. Yeah, he sucked, but elections are about picking the lesser evil. And here I just don’t see how people are undecided
Right because people can’t grow and change in over 40 years? Bullshit.
good point, but ultimately, it was bad for us, and did he ever acknowledge that? I think if you grow or change and you were previously sucky, then you need to acknowledge and apologize or make amends
There is no reason to be shocked. You would be surprised at the number of conservative leaning Democrats who hold pretty terrible views. Let’s not forget Pelosi banging the drum for Henry Cuellar, a *Democratic* anti-abortionist.
The context of those years is also not the context now. For either our party or the Republicans. Two things can be true at once and while Biden’s got bad things on his record we can thank him for a lot.
You’re not wrong, but also, you’re never going to find a perfect politician, especially not one who has a decades long voting record. There’s always going to be some bad views, bad votes, bad decisions in there. You vote for the best option you can.
I do think Biden owned up to some of those previous problems, and is capable of admitting he was wrong. I also think he managed to do a heck of a lot of good in the past few years, coming off a truly disastrous trump administration and a global pandemic.
I wouldn’t call stepping down heroic, but I would call it patriotic.
I can acknowledge that….Can you acknowledge that he’s also done a ton of great stuff too? So tired of people only focusing on what suits their narrative.
Nancy, Obama, the pod bros, the tec bros, Schumer, Jeffries can kick rocks. They legit helped break the Democratic Party and Biden kept it together. I think it’s gross and awful they did this and then were going to leap frog over Harris for some white man that no one knows because they wanted money and got scared about polling.
And since I know we have some Harris haters on this site, yes she’s not polling better than Biden, but none of your favs were either.
It’s impossible to have a competitive process if no one else is running. I think there are a few reasons for no one else jumping in, mainly that it’s so late, and it’s a daunting task to put together a presidential campaign on such short notice. I wonder if JB wasn’t being a bit canny here by running out the clock so that no one else would have the time to put together a campaign. If so, nice job, Joe!
But there’s another reason no one else is running. A group of high profile Black women within the party put together a “whip operation” while all the drama was playing out. The vice president had nothing to do with it and didn’t know about it, but they wanted her to be ready to go if Biden withdrew. Brilliant! They delivered the call sheets to the vice president the moment the word came and she could begin making crucial calls. The first calls went to possible competitors to ask for their support. They all knew in that moment that Kamala was way ahead of them and were quick to offer their endorsements. Maybe the most amazing thing about this “whip operation” in the last three weeks is that it never leaked. Who says women can’t keep a secret? 🤫
Thanks Brassy Rebel that is great info. I absolutely love the way people spoke with dollar bills about how much they want Kamala Harris to win.
I didn’t know this! Amazing!
I love this info with my whole heart. We owe those women a great debt. But then as a Democratic Party don’t we always.
Where’s Clooney with his endorsement and cash?!? He was extra LOUD about Biden needing to go. He got his wish. So it’s time to pony up the cash and endorsement, Clooney. You’ve had almost 36 hours. Round up your Oceans buddies and pull off the heist of all heists….errr, I mean round up all your rich buddies…. and give ALL that blood money, errr…. ‘hard earned money’ to Kamala.
And it’s utterly unsurprising to me that a group of women of color banded together to help save democracy. Again. They save us every g’damn time and they never get credit. So to the whip operators….I salute you. Bravo! And thank you!!
This. I’m ready for him to write something twice as long about Harris. I’m waiting.
He endorsed this morning. Whatever. It’s proven we don’t need his money but we can use it anyway.
Women of color have saved our butts so many times, and fight so hard EVERY time. I’m a middle class, middle age, straight white lady in a solid blue state, I know I’m safer than most, so the best advice I heard years ago was “vote like black women do.”
Glad he publicly endorsed Harris, but Clooney better pony up serious cash.
Great strategy!
Oh my goodness, Kaiser. All this knife in the back stuff. Biden was losing, and it was getting worse by the day. States he won comfortably in 2020 were swinging towards Trump. Not only were we on track to lose the White House, but the effect down-ballot was going to be a disaster for this nation. A literal disaster. A say goodbye to democracy disaster. A send the entire planet into chaos disaster.
On top of being a thoroughly decent man, Biden has been a terrific President but he wasn’t going to win.
On top of this, the media was never ever going to let the story be the issues and what is at stake as long as he was in the race. If I’m mad at any players in this story, it is the role the media played in all of this.
Pelosi, once again, did what she had to do. For all of us. And I doubt it was easy for her given her decades-long relationship with the man.
Thank goodness Biden not only listened but immediately supported Harris. Books will be written about the genius of that move.
Hard agree. This is politics and Dems would be wise to remember that sometimes it gets ugly because it’s about the good of the nation not loyalty. We don’t want that sort of system. Nancy is the best at politics.
I think a lot of people are pissed that it had to be so public. President Biden is not a dummy, and he didn’t deserve the attacks. He was always going to make the right decision. He made the right decision after GOP locked in their ticket and after he got updated internal polling from battleground states. It’s not a coincidence that everything was lined up and ready to go for VP within hours. I sincerely believe that he always had a Plan B.
It has been reported that his top aides were shielding him from the polls and only told him what was actually going on when Pelosi and Jeffries forced the issue.
It was the way it was done. He wasn’t being given the full picture by his staff and at the same time a group overthrew the sitting president unceremoniously. It was ugly and in many camps mistakes were made that made it unnecessarily ugly. That is why a lot of people were turned off by the behavior. Agree it is politics and we need to win this for the country’s sake. I can love a Harris run and also be mad at the ugliness with which they dispatched the man who saved us from Trump
Intra-family squabbles are the most painful, for sure. I can absolutely see how the “close ranks and shut out the bad news” mentality of Biden’s closest aides — borne of loyalty and the best of intentions for their principal — ended up forcing a lot of this to become more public over time. I still don’t doubt that most on both sides had good intentions.
Ultimately, it’s the sign of a healthy party to work this stuff out – however painfully – and not abandon tough conversations in favor of blind fealty. I say this as someone still so sad, personally, that it unfolded like this for Joe.
I agree with you and with Mina-Esq above about this being so public. His aides shielding him were part of the problem, of course – as was the public pressure, and as was the media.
I mean I wish now the story was Trump’s obvious mental decline after the media spent the last month focusing on Biden but we know that isn’t going to be the switch they’re going to make. MSNBC was already talking about whether anyone would want to have a beer with Harris (I told my husband – of course I do – and he was like, I feel like she’s a giant glass of rose kind of person and I was like EVEN BETTER lol.)
Maybe there was not another way to handle it. But I have to wonder if Pelosi et al had been able to get through to his aides sooner or had been able to provide the polls sooner if this might have been avoided. I don’t know.
At this point though, I just want to move on and throw all of our energy behind electing VP Harris.
I agree. It’s the way it was done so publicly. Biden’s aides were wrong to shield him from the truth when so much is at stake in this election. If they’d been upfront with him, then perhaps this could have been handled privately without the public fallout. Yes, it was ultimately Biden’s decision to not run (and I believe he did the right thing passing the torch to Kamala) but the way it was done left the “impression” of him being bullied out by big money donors and party leaders. I believe it was Joy Reid who said this was a “horrible precedent and something which will not be forgotten by the Democratic Party’s foot soldiers.” Many are talking about remembering names and hoping to primary folks in the 2026 and 2028 elections. This has done lasting damage to the Dem infrastructure and people need to acknowledge that.
#Harris2024
The problem was the public pressure. Biden could have made the decision on his own, without being bullied.
He wasn’t going to make a decision, though. Remember his recent interview where he said he was fine with losing as long as he did his best? That is not the attitude needed and doesn’t signal any self-reflection about what is good for the other 350 million citizens of this country.
I still believed that he could win but it was getting more and more difficult with the media bias against him. All that negativity and the focus on his stuttering and his age was so distressful. I think Covid was the final straw and I’m glad he finally listened to others and himself. If Joe could do it, he would still be in it. His vision for the party and the country is more important to him and I believe to President Obama and the other powers that be.
Thank you Originalmich. Nancy Pelosi is a brilliant woman who absolutely does what has to be done, regardless of how hard it is, unlike most politicians that can’t stand the heat. I believe we are indebted to her.
I agree with you that this was a poorly planned ratfck attack. Obama wanted to run Deval Patrick, Clooney wanted to run himself, none of those pasty white boys like Ron Reiner and Stephen King have come out and endorsed Kamala Harris with their whole chests, they’ve just anemically reposted a few tweets. They didn’t believe the country would rally behind a black woman. Suck it, bros. Biden is a savvy and experienced enough politician to see what needed to be done to salvage the situation, i.e. get behind his VP. She’s going to win, partially because a lot of people are mad at the way this was handled, but mostly because she’s a great candidate.
Did Clooney tell you that? I swear some people here are getting as bad as the Derangers
Did you read the article he wrote or the one that someone planted in the LA Times? But, yeah, he made a personal call to this player here and told me. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-07-13/column-instead-of-just-criticizing-biden-maybe-george-clooney-should-take-his-place
How do you get people on board? You invite them in to actively make a choice. You don’t just tell them what to do. Pelosi knows something about how to herd cats and get to successful outcomes. For this to succeed, it couldn’t be a coronation dictated by her or anyone — saying it would be an open process, not a foregone conclusion, was ironically the best way to ensure folks genuinely came together of their own accord for Harris. Which begets the enthusiasm you’re seeing now.
I think you very much misunderstand Pelosi here – both her intentions and her actions to help us get here. I don’t doubt Kamala was the choice all along. You don’t call for a vote unless you know the numbers are there; this steady stream of support for Harris is not some surprise to Pelosi or anyone else.
There’s no ratf-cking here. I don’t think that idea serves Joe OR Kamala and it doesn’t move us forward.
Nancy would NEVER call for a vote if she didn’t already know the results.
@BerkeleyFarm
You are 100% correct. I have watched Pelosi for a very long time, paid close attention to what she’s said or not said and she ALWAYS knows what’s up.
Look… someone had a plan.
Harris had support from literally all Democratic governors within 24 hours.
87% of Democratic House and Senate members endorsed her by noon on Monday.
By Sunday night, she had 500 delegates and by Monday night she had over 2,000. No one bothered to challenge her. Not even Manchin. Fundraising is off and running.
I’ve been a Democrat too long. I always think we are going to shoot ourselves in the foot. There was a plan … otherwise we would be fighting over who is the nominee.
And look – as the Republicans keep screaming this is a coronation – I believe that Dem leadership had to have delegates step up and support her first.
Biden/ Harris campaign was able to transition to Harris campaign because the apparatus was already set up. Biden told his staff he was stepping down & that if Harris needed them to say on. People were already working behind the scenes prior to Biden stepping down in case he did, namely the DNC. That’s why it was smooth.
They keep underestimating President Biden’s political savvy. The man is beloved after nearly 60 years in politics. That takes skill. His legacy remains intact. I’ve personally lost a lot of respect for others, Pelosi included.
I’m right with you @ Mina_ESQ!
Legally, the money raised for Biden Presidential campaign can only go to Kamala so there was never going any contention as to where money would go after Biden dropped out. Pelosi had no other choice but to endorse Kamala because the rest of the party except Obama was coalescing around her but it’s good that she’s finally given her endorsement.
She did it 🙂 I’m happy.
I lived in Nancy’s district when she was first elected in a special election (more on that afterwards). Yes, I am old. I’ve had a love-hate relationship with her.
I will say that one of Nancy’s old-school skills is that she 100% knows how to count votes and is always realistic about that. She has also known Old Handsome Joe Biden for decades and he respects the hell out of her. She seems genuinely happy for Kamala.
Re the running for reelection part, I do hope she’s got a succession plan, but the history of the seat is “died with their boots on”. The district was Phil Burton of blessed memory’s till he died, his widow took over, and when Sala Burton died days after being sworn in for a term, Nancy got the seat after the crazy special election.
Pelosi and Biden are both masterful politicians and I’m grateful to both of them for decades of service. I liken what Pelosi did to Goldwater telling Nixon he had to resign for the good of the party. Pelosi absolutely wanted Biden in the race but she counts votes. Biden is a master in how he named his successor. Realistically Harris is the only one who now has the money to run but still he completely shut down a contested convention. lastly, I hope that after the election Joe can sit in his beloved beach house and be lauded for his sacrifice for his county for the rest of his life and that eases the pain of his sacrifice.
You are really leaning into the right wing talking points. The Dems rightfully got in trouble in 2016 for anointing Hillary way too soon, and alienating the Bernie bros. That division cost them the election. The concern here is making the same mistake again, anointing VP Harris without letting people have a say. So they’re trying to let her “earn” this, which was her very first statement and was precisely right. They’re letting this happen organically, and the public response is showing her support and giving her as much credibility as possible, given the circumstances. It’s messy no matter what, but let’s try to leave the conspiracy theories where they belong: over on FOX News. We’re better than that. You’re better than that. At least, I hope you are.
Hear hear, Robyn!
Lost so much respect for her with this maneuvering
I know the real situation is probably more complicated than that, but, it looks like Biden did an end run and neutralized/tied the hands of the traditional power brokers in the Democratic Party, in declaring the next candidate. It will be interesting to read about the inside scoops, as soon as they are released.