15 Comments
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Howie's avatar

The rule of thumb is nominate someone who is good and they will win

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Drexell's avatar

Although slightly ironic, it’s not much of a surprise that a campaign largely founded on identity over ideas would see a problem with this. However, I’m willing to bet that a large part of the story that won’t be told is that Pete would have overshadowed Kamala, and there was certainly an element of ego involved to the decision.

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David Marc Leifer's avatar

By far IMHO the group of people most interested in these ridiculous categories and intersections are progressive/leftists

The vast majority of Americans want competentance and do not care about identity politics

Democrats and especially progs worship at the alter of if identity politics.

To everyone's detriment

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Japhlet Bire Attias's avatar

Do the vast majority want competence? Not sure we’ve seen that on display. I mean in theory of course, but under stress, I feel like in-group takes over immediately.

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Mikeyswitz's avatar

Yeah, this is obvious, but it is completely disingenuous to suggest that identity politics was the part and parcel of progressives or leftist movements.

Identity politics in the way you describe, arbitrary identarian considerations for candidates which supersede their qualifications, are as much in the liberal tradition as much as they are in conservatism. The centrist liberal electorate were the ones calling Sanders supporters misogynists in 2016, for instance, and you would be hard pressed to find anybody who would consider corporatist, foreign disruptor, Hillary Clinton a "progressive".

Similarly, in 2024, it was the centrist, "moderate", liberal movement which attributed misogyny and racism to Harris' loss, rather than her policy positions and endorsement of a genocide.

The grift of "centrism" in liberalism and "moderation" in conservatism is that their uni-partied position necessarily blames leftists and progressives for the issues they generate; it is useful for the uni-party to create boogeymen to castigate threats to their power (populism, socialism), and to coopt critiques of how power intersects with identity in order to achieve this.

It is a lie, and a stupid one at that, to throw the blame of identity politics at the feet of the progressive movement when MSNBC and FOX debate identity politics every night while progressives fight for healthcare.

There is a reason healthcare plans in 2024 ranged from Live, Laugh, Love, to Conceptions of Plans.

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Rick Gore's avatar

My conspiracy theory is that she was lying and the real reason she rejected him is that his polling with black people is horrific. Is that because he’s gay? I don’t know, but I think she believes it is less embarrassing to reject him for being gay than for his popularity with black America.

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A. Hofferkamp's avatar

Pete would have been a great pick.

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Sufeitzy's avatar

The left is obsessed with categories, as evidenced by “intersectionality”.

The Right is obsessed with status, as evidenced by Trump.

The rest of us watch TV and smoke cigarettes I guess.

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Guy Hohenstein's avatar

Scott Bessent the Sec of the treasury is gay and a perfect choice for his position. Super intelligent and a great speaker on the state of the economy and how to proceed. Both Buttigieg and Harris can't carry on an intelligent conversation on where they are taking the country, would never get my vote.

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溪煮親, Lord Kaingin's avatar

I voted for him in the 2020 primaries.

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Japhlet Bire Attias's avatar

The one in your thumbnail? Yea. Every time.

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Slaw's avatar

Isn't the unspoken problem that black Americans are far more socially conservative than the elites in charge of the Democratic party and have a far more negative view of homosexuality?

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Zaid Jilani's avatar

It’s not unspoken, it’s been well acknowledged since a California vote on the matter in the 2000s. However at this point a majority of black Americans support gay rights.

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Matt L.'s avatar

America will not vote a gay into the Presidency. Not going to happen. Nor should it.

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