Is The Time Of Keisha Lance Bottoms Now?
It might be. But if not, it is a genuine question for Democrats. Of all the Democrats on a national platform over the last few days, including Joe Biden, who has not been bad at all, Keisha Lance Bottoms stands above all of them. She is making a case, and not for herself, as much as for American humanity and competence.
My preferred candidate for the Democratic nomination, Sherrod Brown, did not even run. Bernie, Liz, Bloomie, Amy, Kamala and Tulsi barely registered. Voters, in many states, voted and the Democratic nominee will be Joe Biden. Again, whatever your preferences, voters voted.
So, the talk is turning to who will be Joe Biden’s running mate as VP? The usual suspects, along with Stacy Abrams, are in the preceding paragraph. But it is a different woman from Georgia, way before Abrams, that ought to be seriously considered.
Keisha Lance Bottoms. The Mayor of Atlanta. Before you go any further, view the video clip attached. Seriously, go watch it. You will be glad you did.
She is really genuine and impressive. Not endorsing her per se, just noting that she deserves into the consideration. A week ago, I thought she was good, but time not currently here yet. Now, not so sure about that. She deserves serious consideration. There is something genuine and real with her. Something refreshingly sober and somber, but quite positive.
Bottoms has an unusually clear air and ability about her. Biden has to pick who he is both comfortable with, but that he is sure has the mettle to take over if needed by any emergency to him. And that can capture the interest of both young and old in the party. This woman, this mother and mayor, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, seems to have that stuff in abundance. She is young, strong, and good on every level. She deserves in the conversation, and near the top to it, for Biden.
If now is not yet the time of Keisha Lance Bottoms, it is coming soon. She has that political star quotient, keep your eye on her.
I suspect Atlanta wants to keep her around.
Thanks, bmaz. Yes, this is exactly what we need to see in our leaders!
Wow!
Thanks bmaz. You’re keeping us on our (mental) toes these weekends.
Powerful bmaz.
I keep thinking we wouldn’t be here without our current white house occupant.
Yep. And how to get out of it? There needs to be something different in general. Biden may be the current candidate, and so be it. But it would be nice to have some tie to the future too. Is Bottoms it? I have no clue, but she is a good and powerful politician.
It would be more than “nice to have some tie to the future” It is essential that we have that!
Yep.
Impressive. And the police chief (Erika Shields) was also good, with her statements and circulating through the crowds yesterday.
Thanks. That was so powerful. It’s so refreshing to find someone who cares about her fellow citizens as much as she cares about her own children, but it certainly feels genuine coming from her.
For those who might not have seen it yet, the Killer Mike speech last night also was incredibly moving: https://youtu.be/JxHWVJYXkeU
Astonishing.
Thank you, and I’d recommend this to anyone.
vvv is right, Atlanta Police Chief Erica Shields statement was also superb.
If you haven’t seen it, here it is in full.
Thanks bmaz for the introduction of this Mayor, I had not heard of her at all but I totally agree with your assessment that she would be a very strong candidate for VP. This is exactly what this nation needs today & tomorrow, passion, focus, perspective & reason.
Dangit. I hate it when I think I’m putting a comment at the bottom of the post and it shows up as a reply to someone. Oh well…
Lol, like you have no way to fix it!
Well, that’s extra work and runs the risk of freaking you out…
She’s definitely someone to watch.
I’ve seen her a few times on CNN in recent weeks discussing Georgia’s Covid situation, and my impression was generally positive. That clip is next level, though – threading a needle that would be difficult for anyone, but for a black woman especially so.
Do I think Biden will pick her? No.
Unless there is something in her history or politics we don’t know yet why would Biden rule her out?
I agree. She’s good, smart, calm and as you say young, attractive. Biden’s main concern should be his vp pick. He had to thread the needle and get that right.
Yeah, I’m glad I saw that video. I like her. I also like Whitmer in Michigan. I wish Warren would be the one, but we can’t lose that Senate seat.
Wow, she is impressive. I’m an anyone but Sen. Klobuchar, and the George Floyd murder seems to have torpedoed her chances. I hope he doesn’t pick Sen. Warren because Massachusetts is not a lock for the Dems to hold. I would enjoy watching Sen. Harris debate VP Pence. I am confident she would eviscerate him. I am disappointed Biden is going to be the nominee, but I will crawl over broken glass to vote for him in November.
Totally OT but years ago in the early 90’s I played inna band called “burnt”, all small case letters and grungy/Stonesy – I really flashed back there.
:-)
She has passion when she tells the idiots among them to go home.The governor of MN also told them to go home or be arrested – maybe tonight. Seems we have some white supremacists in the crowd who want to burn things down. I heard her earlier and, like you, I was much impressed.
Quite frankly, her words, voice, and facial expressions left me balling from the pent up emotions which have had no words up until now. Before the clip finished I stopped it in order to find my spouse and play it from the start so we could experience it together. For me the emotional response dates back to the week before the 2016 election. I was volunteering for the HRC campaign doing door to door canvassing. I came home after a very long day trying to do the work with many dedicated people. The anemic campaigning efforts from the HRC presidential run in 2016 was evident and frustrating for many of us in Michigan. As progressive as Folks in Michigan can be, it can feel at times as if there are far more 5150 right wing nutters who are absolutely opposed to anything that lets a woman have a say in the way the world works.
Anyway, the vile garbage I heard from men was not nearly as ghastly as some of the women who answered the door. I saw what was about to happen. I have been worried for my children and grandchildren since that night.
Here we are and the USA still being dismantled from within by those who admire evil because it feels better to them to be full of hate than to allow others to have hope.
Mayor Bottoms is tops on my list for potential winning VP picks at this point.
Scarier times ahead. If the protests continue, I pray they can turn it into a general strike versus a flashback to the race riots of the past.
Donnie wants to turn military loose within our borders.
Slightly OT:
Back in 2004, you might recall Ralph Nader was making a go for President of USA. He had no traction in the media so he jumped at the invite and came to Canada and spoke at Queens University. I caught him on Public Television and he made a statement that I will never forget. ” In the USA, we are only one more act of terrorism away from a total Fascist State”. That hit me right up the side of the head. And here we are today.
Please keep up the good work Wheeley Staff.
I thought maybe London Breed since she’d managed the San Francisco pandemic pretty well plus had her homelessness focus, but someone there thought she was out of her league, especially nationally. Perhaps Keisha is it – understands cities, executive experience, yadda. I do like candidates who win elections.
Biden and the country need a confident, younger, progressive half to the ticket. If empathy and calm are two of the three requirements for leading a people out of disaster, the third is painting a picture of hope and recovery. The next biggest challenge will be facing Trump-out-of-power. When he loses, he smashes the game board and throws away the pieces. He also torches the place while you’re sleeping. Team Biden needs people who can laugh at that and get the job done.
Joe can soothe and corral cats, but he needs old turks who know what to do and young ones who can do it. Regarding his VP pick, I agree that Bottoms is a credible choice, as are Demings and Warren. (But I see too much conflict in his history with Warren for him to pick her.) Who else should be on the short list?
Whoever makes the cut, they and we will have to endure the guerilla warfare Trump will foment. Having lost power despite cheating, and seeing themselves slipping further into a permanent minority, the GOP is not likely to renew its faith in representative government. It is more likely to resort to unprecedented extremes. Dredging up Germanic, stabbed in the back folklore will be the least of its crimes. As for blame, Trump will spread it around like a herd of incel bull elephants on laxative.
Yeah. I love Liz Warren, but she is a very effective Senator, and am not crazy about putting her seat in play, even if only for six months or so, with a Republican governor. That is how Scott Brown suddenly owned Teddy Kennedy’s seat. Should Biden win, that first six months will be critical. Also, Warren is old and white. New and younger blood is in order, whoever that may be.
I agree on both counts (GOP governor and better as a Senator now) and I find it interesting that the ones pushing Warren keep saying that Governor Weld isn’t really a lockstep Republican. However, he’s still a Republican and will toe the party line to keep the campaign cash coming for his next election. Have they learned nothing from Collins and Lindsey’s bootlicking after having “concerns” about DJT?
It’s not like Warren’s ideas are so radical that no one else is pursuing them in the Democratic Party.
Fuck, I’m white and old?
Warren would be great but she grates on people’s nerves. She comes across as too crass. For me, that’s fine, but for the USA no, so I don’t think Warren will be the VP.
I prefer Amy, from the Midwest.
Warren is a fantastic Senator. Keep her in the Senate.
If Klobuchar was not dead in the water before the last four days, she certainly is now after her dissembling pablum on the the Floyd situation in her hometown. Amy is toast, and deservedly so.
You are too harsh.
You are running on your emotions….
Be thoughtful.
Lol, that is not emotion, it is the truth. Klobuchar would have been a terrible choice before the Floyd murder and her tepid and lame reaction to it. She is done. She would be toxic to any citizen of color now, if she was not already because of her lock em up prosecutor past. Amy will be lucky to even get reelected to her senate seat if she is challenged on the left.
I’d agree except for the re-election statement. The statements by Klobuchar and her track record with Chauvin in particular would be death to the D ticket if she is on it. The Ds have to have the base energized and this guarantees almost all minorities will sit on their hands in November and DJT “wins”.
That is fair. And as Amy likes to say, she has never lost an election, at least not in Minnesota. But, man, she has not done herself any favors lately. She simply cannot be on the Dem ticket.
I have voted for Sen. Klobuchar every time she has ran for office and that includes her tenure as Hennepin County attorney. I’ve never voted for her in a primary. Of the potential VP picks I fear her the most. She would be a terrible person to have a heartbeat from the presidency. Her redeeming feature is she is not a Republican. We have much better options. If nothing else, like Sen. Warren, Sen. Klobuchar’s seat would not necessarily be safe from falling to Republicans. That alone should disqualify her from being Biden’s pick.
Crass is an usual description for Warren. That and “grates on people’s nerves” sound like a misdescription of competence. After Trump and what he will do to keep America ungovernable after him, I’d be happy to have her. But I agree, she’s not the best balance for Biden. Once the MA governorship is in Democratic hands, though, Warren would make an excellent choice for Biden’s cabinet. There will be much rebuilding to do. Neither Harris nor Klobuchar, on the other hand, would make my short list.
If Governor Baker runs for reelection, he will win.
I live here, and he is a reasonable leader, and well respected.
He is not a dickhead Republican.
What the fuck is a “misdirection of competence”
Warren is very competent, but to the rest of the USA, she does not sell well. I love her and her energy, she sells with me, but to main street America, unfortunately they don’t see it that way.
I’m trying to be realistic….
I think you’re over-generalizing about Ms. Warren’s vulnerabilities as VP. But, she and Joe have a lot of history, and there are other candidates who would better complement him and sell well to an electorate literally dying for competence and empathy.
After the past year, it seems commonplace for the MSM to label as “crass” and “grating” women it considers “unelectable.” More precisely, women its corporate owners would rather not be elected. (I would say WTF back at you, but that might be crass.)
Your opinion of Senator Elizabeth Warren has been carefully crafted for you, not by Main Street, which loves the Professor, but by Wall Street, righteously terrified of the honest, intelligent, progressive and real grass-roots American Senator from Massachusetts (God bless the Commonwealth). Elizabeth Warren has the facts to show what is wrong with capitalism-subservient government. She is a lioness in the Senate.
Yes, and yes.
Also, she appears to have a compendious knowledge of tax laws, economic data, and spent years doing research on what we now call ‘inequality’.
She also understands the Senate, and once McConnell’s a$$ is kicked to the proverbial curb, we have a chance at some genuine talent in the Senate, including:
— Bullock (MT)
— Hickenlooper (CO)
— McGrath (KY)
Add in some other Dems who look to be straight out of the feisty, no-nonsense ‘let’s figure this out and get a plan’ Warren branch of the party, and we could see the ship of state stabilize. That kind of talent in the Senate would put a lot of wind in Biden’s sails.
In addition, IIRC, Warren was the first candidate – ever! – to stay for selfies for as much as 4 hours at each event, and if you’ve heard her speak about that experience, it clearly taught a lot and moved her deeply. She appears to be a phenomenal listener, and that’s essential right now.
Biden’s Delaware made its fortunes by hosting tax havens. Like a poster farther up the thread, I’m no Joe fan, but I’ll crawl over broken glass to vote him in. Nevertheless, that legal-economic peculiarity of Delaware could be a problem for Joe; for that particular problem, Sen Warren would be the best possible antidote — although the GOP is probably the last party on earth to smear Biden over tax havens, as they depend utterly on tax-haven-enabled Dark Money. And Trump is the apotheosis of the trouble (economic, social, political) with tax havens.
I emphatically agree with OOFH’s assessment that Wall Street loathes her. They’ll have to decide which they loathe more: Liz Warren, **or** their cities consumed by flames with Trump as dictator proclaiming martial law. For most of us, that choice is a no-brainer.
On the upside, the past few months, as Trump has made himself ever more obnoxious in approximate correlation to his increasing irrelevance, it’s been encouraging to see people wake up to the importance of governors, mayors, and police departments. The amount of good sense, level headedness, and human decency on exhibit in the YouTube links on this page is cause for guarded optimism.
readerOfTeaLeaves, as a resident of CO, I am curious why you think that Hickenlooper would bring talent to the senate. As a former constituent, I can’t think of one talent he has for this job. He doesn’t even think he’d be a good senator. I’d love to know your reasoning. If he wins the primary, I’d love to have one reason to vote for him besides, “better than Gardner.”
I know several people who knew him back in the day, when apparently he originally entered politics via the brewpub biz. They view him as a pragmatic, but creative, person and felt that he was able to move from business to government without losing his ego or his soul.
He’d bring practical experience to the senate, with far more focus on ‘how things work’ than the ideological gadflies who infest D.C. (a la Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and the appalling Mitch McConnell).
At this particular moment in US history, in my view we urgently need practical people who have solved mundane problems, know how to cooperate, and understand that most of the time ‘a half of a loaf is better than leaving your opposition empty-handed.’
People with that kind of experience and temperament are often governors and mayors. (Legislators, in my observation, are too often the egotistical ‘peacocks’ of politics, who don’t actually have to solve the kinds of practical problems that governors and mayors encounter daily. Consequently, they are susceptible to ideological conflicts and economically ruinous, impractical forms of stupidity. Did I mention Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Mitch McConnell…all of them lawyers with no practical experience making a government of any size actually function?!)
People who have had executive experience have dealt with budgets, council meetings, various departments, and a range of personalities, with all their quirks. By necessity, they are forced to develop a more holistic view of government; they understand how things are interconnected in a way that someone like Mitch McConnell (or, God help me, the SCOTUS) simply does not grasp.
If we could get a couple new (Dem) senators entering Congress with a holistic, interdisciplinary sense of how the different parts of a municipal or state government intersect, it would be a godsend.
I don’t expect Hickenlooper to be Einstein, and I don’t need to swoon. I’m just looking for pragmatism and enough curiosity to think through problems and find practical solutions.
(FWIW, your other CO Senator, Michael Bennet, seems to be one of those quietly analytical, refreshingly practical people who are rare gems.)
Too long a response, but as I see the disastrous implications of Trumpism playing out, I think that pragmatism is our best path forward.
More engineers and people with practical experience solving problems are urgently needed. A forensic accountant or two wouldn’t hurt, either ;^)
I’m curious about your lack of enthusiasm for Kamala Harris?
She is more conservative than I would like. More importantly, I don’t think she was much better than Klobuchar as a prosecutor or as state Attorney General.
The heights of government have more than enough people with prosecutorial experience. It has few with experience representing defendants or the public interest. No former top lawyers at the ACLU, Consumers’ Union, EFF, or the NAACP to be had.
Even when they’re around, they are not governing alone but in tandem with more conservative, often corporate lawyers. If government is to serve more progressive priorities, it needs more counterweights to those corporate, law ‘n order voices.
Well she managed to get $25B in foreclosure settlements from the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers.
This is what Elizabeth Warren said about her: “As the fraud was being uncovered, many of the AGs were yelling ‘Settle, settle, settle.’ They just wanted to get their hands on the money,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who during the negotiations was setting up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for the Obama administration. Warren has endorsed Harris for U.S. Senate and has appeared in one of the attorney general’s campaign ads. “[Harris] was the one who said ‘No, we have to do better, and we have to investigate more. Too many families have been destroyed by the crisis and the illegal activity of these banks.’” No other state did nearly as well.
https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-senate-harris-banks-20161016-snap-story.html
You might consider this analysis of Harris’s claims of success regarding the mortgage fraud deal. https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2019/01/kamala-harris-tells-big-lie-2012-mortgage-settlement-good-deal-homeowners.html
Harris did get California a better deal than other states. But Naked Capitalism describes that as, “a height competition among peanuts,” because of the overall poor quality of the settlement. It netted from the defrauding banks about ten cents on the dollar of the stated amount. Of note was Harris’s decision not to prosecute Steve Mnuchin’s mortgage company. https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Kamala-Harris-mortgage-meltdown-record-under-13730708.php
Dave Dayen, who reported extensively on the mortgage fraud scandal from the consumer’s perspective, concurs:
https://theintercept.com/2019/03/13/kamala-harris-mortage-crisis/ Two fuller analyses of Harris’s record are in Vox and Jacobin. From Vox:
Jacobin sees her mortgage fraud deal as a microcosm of her “broader political agenda,” which seems to be to play it safe:
There is much good in her record, and much good that she could do in a Joe Biden administration. But not, I think, at the top of it.
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/1/23/18184192/kamala-harris-president-campaign-criminal-justice-record
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/08/kamala-harris-trump-obama-california-attorney-general
This is correct. Earl likely remembers, but there are many newer folks here who may not, but David Dayen, i.e. DDay, is for me, Marcy, Jim, Ed, Rayne and Peterr, our former colleague at FDL when this blog was part of that community in our early years.
He is right about Kamala and the “super settlement” she got on the mortgage issue. In fact, it was shit, just a little less shitty than some other states got. Frankly, AZ got a couple more extra hollow bucks too, same as Kamala. Still hollow. She and CA had serious leverage to exert that others did not, and she played for a sound bite and political ad, not as an actual tough advocate.
I’ve been aware of Harris from even before our days at FDL because I occasionally have to practice criminal law in CA and she was head of the DA’s office in San Francisco. Once she left for the greener pastures of AG, and then Senator, she was succeeded as DA by someone I have personally dealt with before, George Gascon. He actually stands more for the things Kamala just bandies about as political tools. Not perfect, but better.
Kamala Harris is a very talented politician, and I like her in many ways. But her record as a “tough prosecutor” is bad. Not just bad on criminal justice fairness, but bad for consumers too as DDay and Earl remind.
Regarding Kamala see my comment to both of you below.
I would just say that Gascon may have more closely aligned with your thinking than Harris, but he ultimately is blamed for the enormous increase in the unhoused on the sidewalks with open drug use. There also was the absolute failure of the handling of the case of the killer of Kate Steinle . I know that he was previously the Police Chief of Mesa and perhaps you know of him from there as well.
He has ultimately left town for LA, initially ostensibly to care for his aged mother, but now he is running for DA of LA.
This article from the Chronicle speaks to the legacy he has left in San Francisco.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/Gasc-n-made-enemies-as-SF-s-reformer-district-14545705.php
For the reason you wrote about is why biden will give her the top job at DOJ. She’s friendly with wall street and that’s not a good thing for us on Main Street.
TLDR; George Gascón certainly talks a big game about being a reformer, but his record speaks otherwise. As reported by the New York Times and Forbes Magazine, Gascón, when he was San Francisco’s DA, valued making a political statement over seeking justice in my high-profile case, just as he did with Kate Steinle. (Create a boogieman and overcharge to create the “crime of century,” a common strategy with corrupt DAs.)
More info on Gascón’s troubling record:
• He was a lifelong Republican before moving to San Francisco.
• He has never tried a case in a courtroom.
• He failed to get endorsements from anyone who worked closely with him in San Francisco. A prosecutor he supervised, Nancy Tung—as well as Interim D.A. Suzy Loftus, the D.A.’s union of Los Angeles, and the SF Police Union—all wrote scathing reviews of his performance. San Francisco Mayor London Breed and City Attorney Dennis Herrera endorsed the incumbent over Gascón.
• In a sworn video affidavit, the San Francisco Police Union president accused Gascón of using offensive racial slurs directed at Blacks and Mexicans.
• In San Francisco, Gascón knowingly hired corrupt and disgraced Solano County prosecutors Andrew Ganz and Donald du Bain despite Brady Violations (failure to disclose exculpatory evidence) while allowing another attorney, Jennifer Morgan Frost, to prosecute cases during her suspension from the California Bar.
• In direct contradiction to his political rhetoric about police accountability, Gascón never once brought charges against any SFPD officers in the high-profile shooting deaths of five people of color in San Francisco: Alex Nieto, Mario Woods, Amilcar Perez Lopez, Louis Gongora, and Jessica Williams. The SFPD shot and killed 24 civilians while Gascón was DA—13 of them Black or Latino—and he did not file a single charge against any of the officers involved.
• Gascón repeatedly over-charged cases with the most potential for advancing his political agenda. To stand up to Donald Trump’s criticism that San Francisco was a weak-on-crime sanctuary city, he charged José Inez Garcia-Zarate with first-degree murder for what was clearly an accident. Most of the charges were eventually thrown out and Garcia-Zarate received only a firearm possession conviction which was later overturned on appeal.
To send a message to the city’s cycling community, Gascón pursued unprecedented felony vehicular manslaughter charges for my bicycle accident, all the while refusing to acknowledge exculpatory evidence and eventually strong-arming me into a conviction. After my sentencing, he called a press conference and said, “‘This was not so much about Mr. Bucchere. This was about preventing future collisions and death.’”
Would someone who values politics over justice be good for Los Angeles? Is Gascón just another disingenuous politician whose words don’t line up with his actions? L.A. needs a principled D.A. who will prosecute cases according to the law, not to fulfill his political agenda and advance his career.
For more information, visit https://facebook.com/LiberalsAgainstGascon
Hi Chris, and welcome to Emptywheel. Thank you for your input, but I have known Gascon from his time as Chief of Police in Mesa. He has proven the willingness to see problems, address them, and make changes. Some of what you propound may be true, but you might ponder whether his instinct for change is why he is unpopular in your eyes.
I do remember him as dday. I’m glad he has a bigger perch, as editor-in-chief of American Prospect. He is also the author of, Chain of Title: How Three Ordinary Americans Uncovered Wall Street’s Great Foreclosure Fraud.
https://prospect.org/topics/david-dayen/
https://www.salon.com/2016/05/19/it_is_happening_again_david_dayen_on_the_epidemic_of_mortgage_fraud_and_the_rigged_economy_that_sets_it_in_motion/
Gentlemen, Thank you for your thoughtful analysis. I have some understanding of both of your views on a number of issues so it helps me asses your positions on Kamala Harris. You have given me a lot to review.
You mean Warren grates on your nerves. Just own it and stop projecting on other voters.
Klobuchar’s history as a prosecutor in Minnesota has now borked any chances of a VP nod unless Biden wants to lose.
Amy didn’t really excite the base during the primary season. Given the events this weekend and her reaction, I think she would hurt Biden more than she would help as a VP choice. The Democrats don’t want to give minority voters an excuse to not vote on Election Day.
And what’s Stacy Abrams, chopped liver?
Yes. Compared to Bottoms, absolutely.
While I agree that Warren would make the best VP and also agree that Bottoms is a comer, I think Abrams has the kind of intelligence only matched by Warren.
Abrams seems to have recently tripped over her own ambition. She also walked away from a run for the Senate, which surprised me.
Just as Hillary Clinton’s victory was stolen from her, so was Stacey Abrams’ victory for the Georgia governorship. She is a very talented woman and knows what she’s talking about as far as taxes, capitalism and governance.
Georgia is poorer as a result of her loss.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stacey_Abrams#Early_life_and_education
Yeah, I’m still scratching my head about why she passed on the Senate run. If I’m weighing Senate vs VP, I go for the former.
(Now don’t go getting your hopes up–I’m too old for either. :~)
Stacy Abrams was created by God to be the first 21st century governor of Georgia. J/k, I’m an atheist, but she seemed to be utterly committed to that until the VP talk got to her, which is why she turned down a Senate run. I admire her greatly and I look forward to her winning the governor’s race in 2022, but she’s too inexperienced to be VP. So is Lance-Bottoms.
Thank you for posting. I had read her name, but did not know anything about her. I was very impressed.
Yes, Mayor Lance Bottoms is great and would be a great pick for VP, but Atlanta may need her more than the country needs her. She follows an apparently corrupt administration and the city needs to get back on an even keel to advance. My pick for VP would be Stacy Abrams who I’ve met at a meeting. She’s really smart, knowledgeable about legislative processes and came across as someone who could run GA effectively and solve our many problems. She could take over from Biden easily, if necessary, and do a great job too.
As far as the protests last night in Atlanta I thought the bicycle brigade was really effective, but whoever allowed the group of police cars to be parked in the midst of a protest was just asking for trouble. Apparently there were people committed to violence, but giving them a bunch of shiny targets was not good management.
The vice president has be someone that can be president right away AND win the next election. A nice play would be for Joe to step down in the first year and give the vice a boost. I think we all know that no one is a vice presidential slam dunk. Warren was the best presidential candidate, but not the best vice presidential candidate. Harris seems tantalizing, but we’ve all seen her weakness as a candidate, especially if you’ve been watching her for years out in California. But maybe she’ll do better as a leader, then candidate. It’s possible.
The waves of protesters in Lafayette Square, across from the North Portico of the White House, could make the same point, but if they wore Maga hats, beer bellies and beards, and open-carried, the police would be calm and stoical. They might also consider that they are in the most intensely surveilled geography on the planet, especially remade by team Cheney after 9/11.
In addition to being intensely surveilled, and ignoring the goodies buried underneath that section of Pennsylvania Avenue, Lafayette Square might be home to more former Wimbledon competitors than anywhere outside the UK. And they don’t play tennis. So play nicely.
And don’t forget Hawaiian shirts — which they have ruined for those of us who liked them for summer wear.
I’ll bet you have a couple of Thomas Magnum originals.
Naw. His are too flashy. I prefer the more conservative 100% cotton, reverse print, pull-over, button-down collar variety. And they’re harder to find.
I was a Sherrod Brown guy all the way. I soooo wanted to see him go up against Drump in a debate with his rumpled, political “Columbo” persona and after a severe tongue lashing, just as Frump was about to respond, interrupt, with “oh and just one more thing sir” while checking his notes.
Before the wife and I retired south of the border five years ago Atlanta was my hometown. I have been aware of Mayor Bottoms for a couple of years and was always impressed with her. But, that speech was of the charts and convinces me she is certainly the best woman of color, if that be Biden’s prescription for a VP, of anyone. I was a Val Demings fan over Abrams and Harris, and even found Rice intriguing. However, Bottoms is tops.
Glad to hear a voice who has seen Bottoms close up. We can ill-afford one-speech wonders at the top. I like Sherrod Brown immensely, too. He and Warren work especially well together. His Columbo-like appearance hides a Yaley mind (Russian Studies) and progressive heart. We’ll need that in a Democratically-controlled Senate. The clean-up on aisle 9 will take a lot of work.
BTW, who is this frumpy Drump you refer to?
Earl, FWIW, I talked to several people in Atlanta and with knowledge of Bottoms before writing and posting this, they were uniformly positive. Her Wiki page shows a couple of somewhat ticky tacky campaign finance gripes, but she seems to be exactly who she appears to be.
Hi Ralph, I agree completely. Except I have a thing about using silly names for the President of the United States. Long timers here will tell you I also objected to Obummer for Obama and Red Queen for Hillary. It is a bad look. Other than that, excellent comment.
Ok, I’ll clean it up. Bye the way, when I first signed on last year my username was Elevator. Can I get back to that somehow. Someone may come looking for me with my name here.
[You were “elevator” and “elevator48” previously. Pick one and I will change your most recent comments to reflect this username. Thanks. /~Rayne]
ok, back to elevator. Thanks
[Thanks for the heads up. Will change your username in the last few posts in which you ‘Ralph H white’. /~Rayne]
Saw her on the American news a few times and was impressed. Of course I’m a Canadian, so I don’t count, but give the U.S.A. is our neighbour and if the American Pres. passes away, I’d be fine with her running the U.S.A. She’s smart. comes across well. Best of all she is likeable. She has experience Running a major American city is not for the faint of heart.
In my opinion, she would be a better running mate for Biden than many of the others under consideration. What is also very important in elections, is how some one comes across on t.v. and she comes across well. She is well spoken, she is V.P. material.
MSNBC’s Ali Velshi, having returned to field reporting, hit in leg by rubber bullet in Minneapolis. He reports that police, “fired unprovoked into entirely peaceful rally.” https://twitter.com/AliVelshi/status/1266911534963478532
He is one of many reporters hit, in addition to demonstrators and passersby.
The attack on reporters in Minneapolis appears programmatic.
https://twitter.com/mollyhf/status/1266911382613692422
Then, there are scenes like this, as demonstrators encircle and keep the crowd off a police officer who became separated from his unit. https://twitter.com/rachel_maria65/status/1266872545300512770
Programmatic. One reporter hit in the eye.
https://twitter.com/Lollardfish/status/1266795291912613890
She was working today. Amazing. And protesters got her to the hospital and rescued her audio recorder.
https://twitter.com/KillerMartinis/status/1266850151215312897
The Minneapolis cops have shot at least two reporters with rubber bullets – they were *not* close to protestors, had visible ID, and at least one had a camera crew. They arrested one.
The SLC SWAT team intentionally knocked down an old man who was using a cane.
Ms Bottoms is on the short list of vp candidates and has admitted she is being vetted for the position.
She seems to be only potential candidates that CNN has kept in their top of the rotation as a “go to” interview during the pandemic, that may be because she is the only one always saying “yes” or it may be a sign that CNN is smitten with her as well, and is deliberately giving her exposure.
Either way, her interviews are the best I’ve seen and she nails it with ease, and most importantly without alienating,
My first thought is she would be Trumps worse nightmare, but then I listened to the clip BMAZ provided without watching the video and couldn’t shake the image of her being the mother Trump never had, Trump is stuck emotionally at whatever age he was when the trauma became too much for him to do much more than survive.
If she gets much more attention, and continues in this articulate “tough love“ way of communicating to the people of her city, it is going to be real interesting to watch the dynamic.
” . . . or it may be a sign that CNN is smitten with her as well, and is deliberately giving her exposure.” Well, CNN is based in Atlanta – so she’s their hometown girl. It seems only natural.
A while ago someone wrote a piece saying Biden will always have a place in the hearts of most people of color because he always appeared to be honored to play second fiddle to a black man.
I‘n not in a position to judge that opinion but I think it’s intriguing.
I have been watching Ms Bottom with interest since she started getting more and more air time over the past few months.
I don’t know much about her reputation or politics, but her speaking style and presence really stands out.
Does she come off as a female version of Obama to anyone else?
If so, how do you think that plays for Biden?
In Philadelphia:
Anna Orso: “This is Deyuana Fisher and her 5-year-old son Dean. She said on the way out of their home today, she explained they were gathering with others “to help make the world better.” She said Dean responded: “I hope the world feels better soon.”… [photo] ”
https://twitter.com/anna_orso/status/1266788098773483520
Goddamn.
Never thought you’d make me cry, bmaz.
I’m sympathetic to the fury, but the boogaloo factor makes me worry. She seems….clear on that.
Keisha’s fire. Good call.
This is the first that I’ve watched the mayor and am duly impressed. I suspect that her focus will be on Atlanta, as it should, and not running for VP. I agree with others that her star is ascending.
Stacy Abrams and Keisha Lance Bottoms are both great. They would both make great VPs but I don’t see it happening. I think they both suffer from the lack of experience needed to meet the “heartbeat from the Presidency” test. I would be happy with either one there, but it is a risk Biden is unlikely to take. Also, KLB has to clear some hurdles here. The former administration is under federal investigation for some very corrupt practices, and her name continues to get drawn into the fray. She is likely not culpable but, her name gets associated with some of the procedural issues that come up during the investigation creating just enough bad publicity to scare off Biden. She needs some time to distance herself until the cases involving the last administration are cleared. Also, I wish Stacy had gone for the Senate seat. But, after spending years as a Georgia state legislator, she wants an executive position, not legislative. I think there is a very good chance she defeats Kemp in two years, and then the Presidency becomes a real option for her later. And, in the meantime, many of us who live in Georgia would be fortunate to have her as governor. And, if KLB can clean up Atlanta, her future looks very bright as well. (I should note, however, that a week after I sheltered in place and a week before it became official policy, KLB sent out a phone message encouraging us to “dine at restaurants to support local business, and tip your wait-staff well.” Well-meaning but obviously the wrong move. Since, she has been great during the lockdown.)
I should also say that I appreciate you bringing KLB into the conversation. She is a great public figure and, I have strong reason to believe, very sincere in her desire to move Atlanta forward. You spotted her strengths and introduced her to a lot of people. Thanks for that.
I’m not sure why it took me so long to get there, but this morning I finally realized that in this impassioned plea, Bottoms is hitting many of the same notes we got a couple of years ago right here in Rayne’s “Angry Mom” series. Maybe that’s why it was both so moving and yet so familiar at the same time.
FWIW, my mother died when I was seven so I’ve grown up without any kind of “mothering” sensibility – but after watching KLB, it felt like I’d just gotten a very strong dose of it!
Now I understand what happened to the Krell. One reporter on how he was specifically attacked and pepper sprayed by police, knowing he was a reporter. https://twitter.com/MichaelAdams317/status/1266945268567678976
I guess some people believe Trump when he says that the press, not Trump, is the enemy of the people, the people he fundamentally despises for not adoring him enough.
Trump keeps doing things that remind me of two Star Trek villains. One is the outrageously fat and overdressed character played by Melvin Belli, who feeds off anger, rage, and the innocent. In his lust for chaos and the inevitable harm that follows it – which make him feel at home – Trump is also a kind of Redjac, a wolf in the fold, whose hunger and twtr feed never sleep.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_the_Children_Shall_Lead
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_in_the_Fold
Stay tuned for news of reporters mysteriously falling out of windows.
[note to mods: my user name is “Ken Muldrew” but somehow it got cut off with autopopulate and I didn’t notice before hitting “send”. Sorry about that.]
[Fixed your name. /~Rayne]
I’m not going to make it through the Sunday shows anytime soon so I don’t know if he is making the rounds but Cornell West on Chris Wallace is worth checking out if you have the time.
IMHO He talks too fast (and deep) for people that aren’t tuned into his message but there were at least a dozen sound bites that could and should be used.
His (indirect) comparison of the Trump admin to the money changers Jesus ran out of the temple is the one sticking with me.
Google also states that the term “den of thieves” originated in the story of Jesus and the money changers
Matthew 21:13
Full disclosure;
I have a fixation on how Trump checks every damn box for being an agent of the devil and that “righteous“ Christians are his core group of soldiers.
Thank you for the post. Powerful clip.
Can we really imagine “Biden Bottoms” winning? It just seems to be asking for ridicule. Not everyone is grownup…
biden vp pick will be whoever the dnc gatekeepers want. The person will not be a progressive in any way. Sorry but hopism for a good Amerikan govt is DOA.
I’ll be voting Green Again.
Thank you for exercising your rights and supporting democracy.
How nice to have the privilege of tossing a vote away on an as-yet unknown candidate who won’t draw a competitive number of votes for the sake of making a point; Trump’s brand of fascism is perfectly okay with you for at least four more years.
Fuck that.
Very much.
You might as well vote for Trmp. It would be more honest. Since you don’t respect democracy.
Yeah, that happened last time. So, sounds like Trump is working out well for you?
Why?
Thought of you when I saw this tweet.
Thank you Rayne,
In the last Provincial election, in B.C., one riding was won by the NDP, by 9 votes. Its how we got rid of the “conservatives” and have a progressive government. Back in the day, 1970s. One riding was won by one vote. the successful candidate became known as “Landslide Al” Every vote counts in an election.
When P.M. Trudeau was elected, the first time, more than one Green, NDP, and even Conservative Party members. etc. voted Liberal to ensure the federal Conservatives were NOT returned to office.
You see Harper,. because he had a majority in the House of Commons, passed eight pieces of federal legislations which were in contravention of our Constitution, and he knew it. All were appealed by various groups and individuals and Harper lost all of them. It sent a signal to Canadians this man was not to be trusted with our democracy. The only party most of us felt could defeat the federal Conservatives were the federal Liberals. They did and today we’re in much better shape. Some times you just have to hold your nose and do the right thing, what is best for the country. As you write, voting Green in the U.S.A. is throwing your vote away.
Please continue to write about your message. People need to understand, this isn’t about the environment, this is about the survival of the American democracy and rule of law.
Been reading this site for awhile so upfront apologies as I’m just this side of Forrest Gump in intellect, but may as well dive in ’cause I’m a political junkie (of which the bar is low so…). I think KLB would be a fantastic VP pick, but don’t think it’ll happen. Biden will go a little safer and my early Nostradamus-like musing would be Whitmer.
Since I’m throwing caution to the wind by even posting here, I may as well go all the way and say, fuck it. I think KLB is Biden’s pick for AG. And it was her speech posted above that cements it for her.
Be gentle.
Hypothetical speaking, if KLB is the VP, and she becomes the President, just think about these GOP women with aspirations to be the first women President.
All those dreams destroyed by a “nobody”.
Biden is the queen maker.
And her Dad was Major Lance….
When are the Democrats field the “First Team”? Of course, I am speaking of both Biden and Nancy Pelosi, since being the current House Speaker has 150 members in the waiting line to replace her.
And shortly after Trump’s election, as a staunch Democrat and progressive one as well, I was ‘demanding’ that Pelosi run for the nomination, and long before the wealth of non-progressive Democrats in the Senate, decided to jump in. Today, my mind has not changed since Biden is not a progressive in the truthful sense. And of course, the old ‘razz’ that “all politics is personal” still not incorporated into the Unity Mission, since the Centrists see my politics as either a “fringer” or “free rider.”
Pelosi should be replaced, but should never be let anywhere near the White House. She is de3relict as a Democrat. You call yourself a progressive while lobbying for two 80 year old centrist geezers in the clutch of centrism and big money for decades? You are spewing some crazy shit today.
She has transited over 300 pieces of House legislation into the Senate chamber. Obviously, “self=discipline, hard work and ambition” has no forte for consideration?
She is fucking straight up derelict. And, no I do not think the VP candidate should be even older than Biden. It’s one of the dumbest suggestions I have ever heard. She should just retire and go away.
It’s not as hard to pass that much legislation as it might seem – or vote for it as an ordinary member – when you know it will never be considered by the Senate, never need to be negotiated with it or paid for, never need to get past the ill-will of a moronic president.
Ms. Pelosi’s desk mountain of legislation is an arm-chair quarterback’s playbook. I do not believe it represents what she would do were her party in control of the Senate and White House.
Her virtual silence in the face of Trump’s daily moves toward fascism is more representative of her willingness to act. She does not seem to have moved on from her conviction that Donald Trump would impeach himself and that she need do nothing to bring it about.
The desk with the mountain of legislation is McConnell’s. The bills go to him, and he sits and grins at them, while confirming more RW judges.
And as a follow-on, I am currently writing a column for submittal to DailyKos and where I am “demanding” that “All Members of the SCOTUS must submit their public resignations” due to their anticipated Republican-designated majority opinion in which Dreamers are prohibited from eventualizing their citizenship here in the United States.
That is absolutely crazy, it should neither be written nor published anywhere.
Agreed.
Please enlighten me with your graphic detail!
It’s a great way to get a court that’s ENTIRELY right-wing.
You might want to do a little homework before asking for something that passionately displays not having done it. Either that or consider the First Rule of Holes.
Don’t fall for Keisha Lance Bottoms. Do your homework. Check out her city council tenure when she was equally-corrupt mayor Kasim Reed’s right hand. Check out how Kasim helped fund her campaign (while you’re at it, check out Kasim’s Twitter behavior during his two terms as mayor and see if you notice any similarities with a certain infamous Twitterer-in-chief). Check out Keisha’s employment history (pay special note to her “leadership” of the Parks Department under Kasim). Check out how fellow mayoral-hopeful Kwanzaa Hall mysteriously ended up on the city payroll after endorsing Keisha for the runnoff. Check out how Keisha had her campaign staffers get on the city payroll early (illegally) by choosing staff jobs by the salaries they’d like to earn. Check out how Keisha had the city pick up the tab for her husband’s visit to the Super Bowl in Minnesota. Check out how Keisha’s first few months in office were mired by an historic city records computer “hack” in the midst of a federal probe seeking access to many of the documents that were “lost.” Check out how Keisha used up every bit of her political capital as mayor to give an unprecedented windfall to billionaire developers for the opaque “Gulch” boondoggle. Check out how Keisha avoids local media like they are the coronavirus–while spending as much time as possible campaigning for the VP job…. I sincerely hope that Keisha is the VP nominee, just so we don’t have to suffer through a second term of her being mayor of our city… And in case you’re wondering, I did actually vote for Keisha for mayor (in the runoff). I’ll never vote for her again… If you want to see what real leadership looks like in Atlanta, check out Keisha’s local political rival Felicia Moore, Atlanta’s current City Council President. Police Chief Erika Shields is good, too (and don’t forget that Keisha actually demoted Erika to bring back the last [male] police chief as her supervisor in a newly-created, high-paying ‘Head of Public Safety’ role). And every last bit of the stuff I’ve referenced above has been well-covered by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other local media. Happy reading!
I did my “homework” and have seen almost everything in your screed without paragraph breaks. And it is mostly ticky tack garbage, slanted inference and innuendo. If you don’t like her, fine. I am not interested in Reed or other minor players. I am interested in Bottoms and her future.
One up to bmaz. We heard it HERE first:
https://www.newsandguts.com/video/keisha-lance-bottoms-new-contender-for-vice-president/
There’s no better time for Biden to select his VP candidate than this week. He has made his intentions clear as to the gender but selecting a woman of colour could instantly calm the nation. In particular, if he makes it clear that the VP’s major efforts will be the repair of domestic issues while the president repairs the US’s international reputation!
The VP must obviously possess a very strong presidential potential because for some reason or another, my gut says she will be president in a subsequent term?
The VP will show that mettle by vigorously, but intelligently, combatting Trump in the trenches of the campaign. And the more he tries to attack her the worse he will look. Regrettably I don’t believe Joe will fare well against Trump’s attacks?
There can’t be a screw up that results in a Trump win. I’m not saying Bottoms would be a screw up, but does she bring Georgia with her? I could say the same thing about Stacy Abrams. Camela Harris? California is not in dispute. The Veep needs to add a state in this possibly very close election. Val Demmings would be good; it’s risky, but she could seal the deal on Florida. My choice: Tammy Baldwin. Not a big risk, but she could definitely cinch Wisconsin, one of 3 needed to snatch back the blue wall.
The senator’s given name is Kamala. I’m not being a pedant here; I’m insisting a black woman senator is treated with the respect she’s due. Same for Representative Val DEMINGS, one M.
Baldwin votes most often with Chuck Schumer and Susan Collins. See her Ballotpedia entry. This is not the change the people want.