Who replaces Kamala Harris as veep if Biden steps down?

I’ve voted third party 5 times in the presidential during my lifetime. 4 times recently, Perot twice 1992 and 1996, Gary Johnson twice in 2012 and 2016. The difference is I wanted Perot to win, the other two times I didn’t care who won. I only wanted my vote officially registered as being against both major party candidates.


My first presidential vote was back in 1968 when one had to be 21 to vote. The thing about elections is one must win them. It does no good to stand on principle in your example if you can’t get elected to office. In order to win, you must attract independents who ideological wise usually fall somewhere in-between Republicans and Democrats. Or like me, you’re for somethings the Republican propose and against some. Same for the Democrats, for some, against some.


Trump isn’t about to win a general election. Independents dislike him too much. It wasn’t so much his policies; independents were relatively split on those. It was Trump himself, the man, the individual they disliked. That dislike has carried over into other elections. The loss of the house in 2018, the loss of the presidency and the senate in 2020. A red wave election which turned into a red trickle in 2022.


General elections are all about winning. The loser doesn’t accomplish anything. To me the real RINO’s are Trump and his supporters as they have thrown traditional conservative values out the window onto the trash heap of history to follow a man. A 7-time party switcher who adopted the political philosophy of whatever party he belonged to at the time. Trump never had a political ideology of his own and still doesn’t. He’s all about himself, he doesn’t give a coyote’s howl about the Republican Party. Trump has fought and denigrated many more Republicans than democrats. Trump is a vengeful man out for revenge against anyone who ever had a bad thought about him. Trump and his followers are the real, true blood RINO’s in my opinion.

 

As to your first point, that we all don't get, what most of us want-- let me introduce you, to the host of all of our parties: "Life." Regardless of how we feel about it, Existence does not simply cater to our desires. Those who DO, are the ones who get results. There is not much, IMO, that can really be done to change that, other than to motivate more people, to give a crap. Though I suppose one might try to mandate participation, through coercion, there is a good argument to be made that getting a lot of people, who don't really give a crap about something, to participate in major decisions about that thing of insignificance, in their eyes, is not a recipe for improving results.


As to your prediction, however, I am in partial agreement with you. This is because, to me, it seems a disingenuous, or at least faulty, proposition, to say that people would prefer a different option, without that specific option, yet existing. For a Democrat to say that he doesn't want Biden to run, unless the person is willing to stipulate who they'd prefer, in his stead, does not mean much, IMO. Surely, you are not saying that, no matter who it turns out to be, the majority of Democrats will automatically prefer him, to Biden(?). The same applies to Trump, though his respondents are more likely to be able to cite the name of a preferred candidate. Still, I don't think this would be a majority of Republicans. While many don't want Trump to run, I don't believe that most have yet settled in supporting DeSantis (who has not even technically declared that he's running, yet). So what this really represents, is those respondents' hopefulness, their wishful thinking, that there will be a candidate they will prefer to Trump, at some point. But not only, do we not all get, whatever we want-- we also are creatures, who are known to change our minds.

I therefore feel that the most these polls can be said to show, is an openness to the idea of candidates, other than Trump and Biden. Being younger than these two, will certainly be considered, by most, to be an asset; but it will be far from the only information, factoring into their ultimate preferences. My own, earlier stated opinion, while giving some weight to the age issue, did not see it as determinative, in and of itself. I feel that one's political disposition, and positions, will also play a part, in a determinative number of voters' minds.

More specifically, whether Trump, or the younger DeSantis, emerges as the GOP candidate-- with the path of things, as it appears, at this juncture-- I would predict a Biden victory. If, however, the Republican candidate were both younger, and more moderate-- by which, I'd suggested someone like Maryland Governor Larry Hogan-- then I would foresee his being potentially able to beat out incumbent President.

 

I think polls are useful as they give you a barometer as to what the people think. There useful to a point as a lot of people change their minds as time goes by, as different things happen. Yes, most Americans don’t want a rematch of Biden vs. Trump, but they don’t always get what they want as you point out.


I wouldn’t underestimate DeSantis if he does run. He’s much more political savvy, more experienced in running and campaigning. He doesn’t have Trump’s baggage or his what I call obnoxious, uncouth, rude persona. For a lot of independents, an election is a popularity contest, a beauty contest. History shows independents tend to vote for the most charismatic candidate. Look at recent history, your two term presidents were very charismatic, Reagan, Bill Clinton, Obama. G.W. Bush wasn’t all that charismatic, but he had the down-home boy persona. Then again, he went up against two statues in Gore and Kerry.


You couldn’t come up with a more uncharismatic candidate in Biden, old, uninspiring, but he behaved like an adult and what people thought a presidential candidate should. Trump, his old obnoxious, rude self whose behavior as president, most independents thought below the dignity of the office of the presidency. He lost independents 54-41.


We’ll see what happens. I wouldn’t be surprised to see DeSantis become president. Depends on who the democrats run.

 

How many more stashes of classified documents do you think he can weather and still not step down?

The sky's the limit? The hypocrisy truly knows no bounds whatsoever.

 

Now it looks like Biden's days are numbered! Why? Because now one of the slimiest sleezebags in the entire Democrat Party -- ADAM SCHIFF -- has turned on him! Link: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/de...eopardized-bidens-mishandling-classified-docs

Best for them to get rid of Biden AFTER he's put in at least two full years in office, and that's coming up before the end of this month.

Kamala-la-la runs a rubber-stamp 'caretaker' presidency until 2024, just like Biden was going to do anyway... and meanwhile the Democrats start grooming the new stand-in vice-president for loftier things... somebody Black, very 'woke', and very 'East Coast', like CORY BOOKER....

 

There's no doubt about it that if Adam Schiff is against your ass they have turned on you like a pack of pit bulls.

The only question now is how long will it take the useful people that defend him here on this site to finally jump ship? To finally get the memo to stand down....



@Lee Atwater how much longer do you think people support of the old oatmeal brain will last?

 

But that's part of the beauty of it! Democrats get to ditch Biden, and at the same time challenge Republicans to disavow Trump permanently, too. After all, nobody will want touch any 'baby' in shitty diapers by the time this melodrama is through!

 

It's time for two terms of President DeSantis to set this country straight!

 

I don't object to DeSantis, but I definitely would like to see Sen. Tom Cotton run, even though he said that he won't... damn it! Nikki Haley should be strongly considered for VP, no matter who's at the top slot....

 

Either one would make a fine vice president. If it were Tom Cotton we would truly have our first African-American vice president instead of one whose father is Jamaican and mother is East Indian who is said to be African-American.

Not that anyone should be selected for that quality but if it should happen that would be a feather the Democrats could not put in their plantation owning hat.

 

And how many documents, stashed at improper locations, would it have taken, for you to have called for Trump to step down? Assuming that number is not more than 300, the implication would be that you would now, not vote to put him back into office-- can you acknowledge that common sense proposition?

Then, in the scenario of Trump as the Republican nominee, and any one besides Biden, running for the Dems, do you expect any of us to believe that your own, I will call it inconsistency-- but you called it "hypocrisy"-- would not be proven, that is, through your voting, nonetheless, for document-stasher Trump?

 

I know that you're a real fan of facts and reality....

So here's some factual reality for you.... Trump is and was not president when the documents were found .... And shame on him for what he did wrong.

But Biden is and was the president, when the documents were found.

I don't mean to keep you in suspense because I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this....

But.... I will leave the rest for you and any fairly astute reader, to go ahead and fill in the blanks.

And since you're keeping such close tabs of my opinions... You should go ahead and update your file folder that I have said several times that Trump does not need to run again.

 

Well, Tom is a White guy. And Nikki Haley isn't Black, so I'm not understanding who you meant.

Here's Tom.

 

Because the documents happen to be found when a person is in office is, in your mind, somehow worse, than having classified documents found, that are being kept by a private citizen? I've got news for you: that is not a logical argument.


If one would have called for a document-stasher to step down from office, because of the seriousness of his offense, had the docs been found while he was still in office, it is patently obvious that the same person would not vote to put that man right back, into office.
If that is your disposition towards Trump, now-- and we all know that it is-- guess what? That means that any sensible person is going to have to call bullshit on your implying, that you would have expected Trump to step down, if circumstances had been for him, exactly as they now sit, with Biden. So, when you try to take the moral high ground, against Democrats, it is overtly clear whose "hypocrisy knows no bounds whatsoever."

FatBack said: ↑
How many more stashes of classified documents do you think he can weather and still not step down?

The sky's the limit? The hypocrisy truly knows no bounds whatsoever.

 

Republicans can't win without Trump or his support, period. Yes, I've read all the silly attempts by the GOP wannabees who want to get the nomination for themselves and their media flacks running the smears of his alleged 'loss of influence', all pretty much rubbish and wishful thinking. Democrats really have nobody, and their coalitions of racist minorities and sexual deviants was doomed to fail eventually anyway, they all pretty much hate each other and fight over the spoils so even if they 'win' they self-destruct. The GOP isn't any better off, and Trump's percentages mean he can take the GOP down easily, so if they want to commit political suicide as a Party then good riddance, their class warfare fetishes are just as destructive as the Democrats are, doesn't matter which Party decides to die first to indie voters and patriots; they're all scum and just organized criminal syndicates anyway..

 

Oh, wrong guy

 

Don't do your usual weak sauce and attempt to make things about me.

The point is the Democrat party is nothing but a bunch of abject hypocrites who only months ago thought the world was going to come crashing down over Trump doing the same exact thing that they now say oh that's different.....

You can sit here and try to make it about me but you can't make that go away.

 

I think this poll really illustrates the DNC's conundrum

 

Funny. The person who first brought out the charge of hypocrisy, is now saying that I am the one, ignoring the issue, to make my argument, about him. Pray tell, why were you not using the same "weak sauce," when you made that initial charge, against Democrats, generally, including your presumably Democratic interlocutor?


FatBack said: ↑
How many more stashes of classified documents do you think he can weather and still not step down?
The sky's the limit? The hypocrisy truly knows no bounds whatsoever.


Hypocrisy aside, your argument is patently based on a false premise: it is abundantly clear that the two instances, are not identical. But it is not reasonable to believe that you had not already had these differences explained for you, when you called Trump's intentional document theft "the same exact thing." So we are living in two different realities. Enjoy the one you are indulging in, but I am not going to join you, in it.

 

Well..... Buh bye! Go type a long-winded screed at someone else. Much bloviation to say very little.

 

Respectfully, I see your reasoning as an attempt to explain fundamental truths, through hindsight. The problem, is that I don't find yours, to be 20/20. Your explanations seem to be, more so, excuses or justifications, and they are not even universal rules, within themselves. For example, you explain Trump's loss of Independents as due to his "obnoxious, rude self," and his behavior, unbecoming of a President. You cite Trump's "obnoxious, uncouth, rude persona," as a reason why he can't compete with DeSantis. And yet, Trump was the same way, when he rolled over the Republican field, in the Primaries, and when many Independents did vote him into office, in 2016. So it seems you are being overly selective, in the way you consider data. Clearly, there is a significant constituency, for the uncouth. They actually like that he is unpolished, and speaks the way they do; this enables them to see the billionaire, Trump, as understanding and being concerned for the commoner.

I think your appraisal of Biden's appeal, suffers from the same defects of your reading into events, to try to explain them with some unified theory. Not that I think your observations are wrong, but nor do I think that they are complete. Note that, when Bush #43 didn't fit your mold, you found other explanations. But there's the problem: you don't know how many more exceptions, there are, to your "rule." Biden has proven that, even if it is not apparent to all of us why, he has staying power, enduring appeal.

There is a danger, I think, in trying to cast all voters, in a single mold. For myself, I admit that Biden had held no appeal, during the Primary, and that it was his competitor, Trump, who was the most persuasive argument to support Joe. As things now stand-- and you will probably disagree with my opinion-- I have been very impressed, overall, with Biden's performance, so would support him again, based solely on that. Of course, the caveat is "as things now stand." We cannot know what will happen, these next two years. Already, from being on top of the world, this story about documents being mislaid, is tarnishing Biden's image. This shows why a poll, this far out, is not meaningful: events are not static, and so, neither are people's opinions. Look at Bush #41: his approval rating was through the roof, after Desert Storm, and then a relatively minor, recessive, economic correction, sunk him. This principle, of course, applies in both directions.

All that said, I concur with your thinking, that DeSantis' chances are good, in the Republican Primary. I disagree though, that the broader population will be drawn to that same divisive, confrontational style of Trump's, which is DeSantis's hallmark as well, in sufficient number to defeat Biden (as things now stand). But maybe my faith in peoples' intelligence, to not be fooled twice, by the same trick, is unwarranted. Is all it takes, just a little image polish, to dupe the masses? We may find out.


The possibility which I am not predicting will happen, but which could occur, would be if the further "right" factions, of the GOP, split between Trump & DeSantis, then this might allow for a strong, politically moderate candidate, to triumph in that Primary. The person on my screen, to potentially fill that role, is Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (though I can't claim to be well acquainted with him). If this were to happen, as I have said, I think that both his younger age, and his moderate views, would make him a serious challenger, to Biden who, at the moment, seems the most likely Democratic candidate.

 

We all know that he did not purposely steal classified documents and that the likely source of these were his staff....he is complying with authorities and has not yet declared that he declassified them with the magic words "abracadabra" like the Orangle Blossom Special did. Give it up.

 

They were gone for 7 years. You don't know a damn thing except for what they tell you and what you choose to believe.

 

Your statement also implies that you somehow know that Trump stole them himself and that his staff weren't responsible just like you're claiming the Biden staff was so if you'd like to go ahead and post up the evidence for that I'll wait here...

 

Ok, I'll bite. What would motivate his staff to handle, much less move, classified documents not to just one location, but several without being told to do so? Take your best educated guess and enlighten the rest of us.