General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDodd draws fire -- and praise -- as Biden VP vetter
PoliticoAs Joe Biden readies to make one of the biggest decisions of his political career choosing a woman, and possibly a woman of color, as his running mate hes leaning on a 76-year-old male colleague from his days in the Senate for help.
Chris Dodd, a one-time Connecticut senator and lobbyist, is officially just one of four people on a vice presidential selection committee thats been operating behind closed doors for months.
But this week he burst into public view after POLITICO reported Dodd complained to a prominent donor that Kamala Harris, the frontrunner in the veepstakes, had shown no remorse for tearing into Biden during the first Democratic primary debate last summer.
The backlash was swift.
Chris Dodd was soon trending on Twitter Monday morning. A chorus of voices asked whether Biden had wrongly empowered an old friend from his time in the overwhelmingly male Senate to steer his potentially historic pick. They accused Dodd of singling out Harris for the kind of behavior that's rarely criticized when a man does it aggressively going after an opponent in a debate.
Renew Deal
(81,801 posts)It would be nice of the writers to give some examples to back up their point. There arent many in recent history.
brooklynite
(93,844 posts)When former Sen. Chris Dodd, a member of Joe Bidens vice presidential search committee, recently asked Kamala Harris about her ambush on Biden in the first Democratic debate, Dodd was stunned by her response.
She laughed and said, thats politics. She had no remorse, Dodd told a longtime Biden supporter and donor, who relayed the exchange to POLITICO on condition of anonymity.
Dodd felt it was a gimmick, that it was cheap, the donor said. The person added that Dodds concerns about Harris were so deep that he's helped elevate California Rep. Karen Bass during the vetting process, urging Biden to pick her because shes a loyal No. 2. And thats what Biden really wants. Through an aide, Dodd declined to comment. Advisers to Harris also declined to comment.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/27/kamala-harris-biden-vp-381829?
DeterDeter
(70 posts)I think that Harris is the best choice, and perhaps even will be the choice, but I don't think she's the only option. Everyone falling for the drama of these articles that were obviously designed to sh*t-stir will either 1.) Make it look like Biden was forced into picking Harris when she could be the choice already, or 2.) If he doesn't pick Harris, will make it seem like he was indeed afraid of her "ambition". That guy from the CNBC article had an extremely (donor) tangential relationship to Biden, and seems like a fair weather friend to Democrats in general. I wish that people would stop taking the bait, though I doubt that it matters in the long run. I'm sure there are just as many, if not more, people boosting Kamala behind the scenes. I do like that Harris' camp, unlike some of the other VP contender teams, has not seemed to leak during this process. Thankfully Biden has the unique experience of becoming the eventual VP to a former rival, and does not seem to be one to hold grudges.
brooklynite
(93,844 posts)1. Chris Dodd is helping to vet VP candidates for Joe Biden
2. Dodd made reported comments about Kamala Harris, a candidate for VP.
3. POLITICO is a website that reports on politics.
DeterDeter
(70 posts)"I wish that people would stop taking the bait", I didn't mean you. I mean the people on Twitter who seem to think that these articles/reports shine some big light on the process and are freaking out. I think that half of these VP related leaks are BS anyways, like the leak during 2008 that Chet Edwards was suddenly a leading VP contender.
brooklynite
(93,844 posts)Why is a political blog reporting on political news "sh*t-stirring"?
DeterDeter
(70 posts)I think we will agree to disagree. I think that Politico in general does have a fair amount of "gossip-y" articles that seem to rely on sketchy sources designed to divide and create a story, though they also have some worthy articles at times.