Originally published at: The Petestakes: Everyone’s Clamoring For The Empty Seat At Harris’ Table - TPM – Talking Points Memo
As TPM has previously reported, Vice President Kamala Harris’ team began vetting potential running mates almost immediately after President Joe Biden announced his decision to withdraw from the Democratic ticket. Now that Harris is officially the party’s presumptive nominee, that process is gaining steam — including apparent jockeying for the role from the candidates on…
Sorry, but her veep should be a white straight guy.
There have been no women presidents and only one non-white.
We are still a nation that has deep bigotry.
One step at a time.
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My two cats agree.
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I’m on team Pete! He’s brilliant with the press, he’s not a current Senator, and he is fucking awesome.
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I think Pete is probably the smartest person in politics and would make a great VP and I’d vote for him for any office he ran for. I also think our country is full of bigots who would have a hard time voting for Harris and an even harder time if you put a gay man on the ticket. Which sucks. I think Mark Kelly will be her choice and that’s a smart idea for a lot of reasons.
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Pete has a lot of support here in Michiana. I would think that his sexuality would be no issue with the vast majority of Democrats, esp. Kamala_supporting Dems.
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Pete is pretty close to perfect, and he and Harris get along well. He communicates brilliantly, he’s able to reach conservatives, and he has the midwestern vibe. Really, the only knock is that he’s gay in a nation that might have an issue with it…once again we’re limited in progress by the reactionaries among us.
Maybe it’s time to ignore them. The LGB has pretty much been accepted as normal outside of really conservative arenas, and Harris is never getting them. Pete would fire up the base, and he’d also present a totally normal face for non-cis rights. Republicans would go apeshit and create horrific memes, which would paint them as even more backwards and turn off the youth vote. And, that youth vote doesn’t care…Pete is them and their friends in 15 years, with a competing story to tell about raising a family that a lot of them are going through.
Common wisdom says you have to have a moderate and a liberal influence for the Democratic ticket, but when Democrats try that it doesn’t go all that well (see Kaine, Tim). Biden was seen as a centrist, but obviously he’s a closet progressive in a lot of ways…it’s part of his secret sauce. Harris is talking about how we’re not going back, so maybe it’s a good time to put a completely normal, moderate, midwestern on the ballot who just happens to be gay.
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Yes, Murica is not ready for a man who is happily married with two children.
Murica wants a traditional twice-divorced philanderer and rapist who is nominally married to a Slovenian model!
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Regardless of what Pete does in his bedroom he is the best person for the job.
I wouldn’t underestimate the power of the queer community or the depth of their pocketbooks to support Pete
I think he should be the one…
But like everything in this race I’ll defer to Kamala and Biden and have their back regardless.
GOTV
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The people who won’t vote for Pete wouldn’t vote for a Democratic Party member anyway. We need people like him to get things done before the dreaded over-the-hill gang gets back in power someday. He has great qualifications.
ChingatuMAGA.
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“Normally, only one major party ticket needs a running mate, but in this year’s extraordinary race, we have seen a virtually unprecedented double veeping.” Huh? 1988? 2000? 2008?2016?
Maybe I’m misunderstanding what “unprecedented” means…
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“Successful electoral politics is the art of the possible. Let’s figure out how we can get this done…”
P. Biden
*way out of context but you get the point
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NO! NO! NO!
He’s our fat f*ck! We finally got a decent guv who isn’t destined for jail time 
.
I agree. Imagine the debate with Shillbilly! And if we go down because “the country wasn’t ready” for the gays and gals and browns (Oh My!), at least we go down fighting!
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I was actually amazed when I learned last night that the Colorado guv is exactly that … and Jewish.
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Pete got added to the list of VP candidates because Harris doesn’t want to be caught not vetting any of the popular names bandied about.
Being openly considered puts a feather in all their caps. Its good for building advocates and makes everybody feel good that their fave got considered, which makes everyone playing along at home feel smart.
In a crazy time like this, you don’t pull someone with the least impressive resume that couldnt get rkected in thier home state. (Maybe his new home state in a few years)
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I love Pete but I actually think he’d be better as Sec. of State… seriously, he’d do a kick-ass job, and there would be more for him to put his excellent intellect and communication ability to in that role rather than as VP (which, let’s be honest, is a weird role with not that much to do except a pet project here and there, and otherwise just supporting the Prez and breaking any ties in the Senate).
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So where is Chastain from, again???
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He’s a Michigander!
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So not Slovenian, or even eastern European??
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No (…not that there is anything wrong with it) – they have green Christmas trees in Michigan.
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