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Willie Brown advises Harris to turn down VP offer. (Original Post) TheProle Aug 2020 OP
Who's Willie and why should I/anybody listen to him? abqtommy Aug 2020 #1
I hope you are jesting? whistler162 Aug 2020 #3
I assume you are joking. TheProle Aug 2020 #4
I'm not ashamed of being ignorant. I'll make sure to never ask you for information. abqtommy Aug 2020 #32
I can't believe that a DU poster would not know who Willie Brown is. totodeinhere Aug 2020 #57
Do you know the names of every speaker or Ilsa Aug 2020 #68
Willie Brown is one of the most influential and consequential African American politicians of the totodeinhere Aug 2020 #72
So you just want every poster who doesn't know Ilsa Aug 2020 #75
I think they used to date and he does make some valid points. n/t monmouth4 Aug 2020 #7
She doesn't listen to him anymore. Early in the campaign he... brush Aug 2020 #28
I agree and would like to see Rice w/Harris as AG, also the other option. They're all great. n/t monmouth4 Aug 2020 #37
He makes some great points. Iggo Aug 2020 #59
My thoughts exactly Mosby Aug 2020 #17
He was an extremely powerful Calif. Democratic leader Bradshaw3 Aug 2020 #18
why would a decades-old past affect her nationally? Ilsa Aug 2020 #76
Why would that complicate anything ? And he needs to go away JI7 Aug 2020 #2
There a number of ways. TheProle Aug 2020 #14
She is in her 50s with an accomplished career. Not some 20 or 30 something starting out JI7 Aug 2020 #22
She was 30 something starting out when they were dating. LisaL Aug 2020 #41
++ North Shore Chicago Aug 2020 #66
She would be an amazing AG. Can you imagine Phoenix61 Aug 2020 #5
Brown's argument is pretty unconvincing in my opinion. comradebillyboy Aug 2020 #6
Most of the time it is. TreasonousBastard Aug 2020 #8
this isn't most of the time qazplm135 Aug 2020 #9
Point is, the Veep has no explicit powers of her own. She cannot do anything without... TreasonousBastard Aug 2020 #34
VPs of late qazplm135 Aug 2020 #46
They still do not have the independent authority of someone like an AG or Interior Secretary... TreasonousBastard Aug 2020 #52
so what? qazplm135 Aug 2020 #53
That's actually my point-- she wouldn't get much of a chance to make her mark as Veep, but... TreasonousBastard Aug 2020 #54
And based on the campaign she ran last year BeyondGeography Aug 2020 #64
but when it isn't the upside is huge dsc Aug 2020 #44
Yeah, clearly Joe Biden went nowhere after his vice-presidency. ZZenith Aug 2020 #13
I wish he'd given this advice one-on-one (privately) hlthe2b Aug 2020 #10
Suggest to me that mean that the direct avenue a burnt bridge salin Aug 2020 #48
+1 crickets Aug 2020 #51
I think she'd be a good VP tavernier Aug 2020 #11
Yeah, but there's more likelihood than normal that the VP will one day be president. nt LAS14 Aug 2020 #12
this trof Aug 2020 #16
More like, "Just ask Joe Biden" - fixed it for them. 🙄 Budi Aug 2020 #15
Dick Cheney didn't do too bad either. LisaL Aug 2020 #23
Where's Brown been since 2008?! Certainly Cha Aug 2020 #29
It's damn insulting as well. Don't even put their names in the same sentence, Willie. Budi Aug 2020 #39
So right.. it is insulting! Cha Aug 2020 #43
as past relationships go, Brown is a lot less embarrassing than Stormy Orangepeel Aug 2020 #19
Willie's past his prime DonaldsRump Aug 2020 #20
Exes always give the best advice. LisaL Aug 2020 #21
Thanks, Mr. Brown, but I'd rather see Sally Yates as Attorney General, elleng Aug 2020 #24
Absolutely. I've been hoping for AG Yates, as well. Budi Aug 2020 #27
"Tells Harris. sheshe2 Aug 2020 #25
My feelings exactly. LisaL Aug 2020 #30
This ⬆️ 🤬 Budi Aug 2020 #35
She nailed his ass there. sheshe2 Aug 2020 #47
Umm hum, Not suggest, or counsels, but tells. herding cats Aug 2020 #55
!! ++ North Shore Chicago Aug 2020 #67
Maybe she already has? ucrdem Aug 2020 #26
He implied he knew mzmolly Aug 2020 #31
Ooooh..Willie has a super duper special inside line to Biden, now? Budi Aug 2020 #42
Yes. mzmolly Aug 2020 #45
He (whoever he is) "told" her nothing. TheCowsCameHome Aug 2020 #33
Fair point. TheProle Aug 2020 #40
I know very little about Willie Brown, but I swear not_the_one Aug 2020 #36
While I respect Willie Brown, he's way off base with his opinion. TwistedTinkerbelle Aug 2020 #38
Willie Brown looking for the headlines again SiliconValley_Dem Aug 2020 #49
Him sticking his nose in just brings up the "Willie Brown's Mistress" talk to surface yet again Baclava Aug 2020 #65
This is incredibly condescending. crickets Aug 2020 #50
But Willie Brown was talking to an audience of one and the one is Joe Biden. n/t totodeinhere Aug 2020 #58
How respectful of him toward both of them. nt crickets Aug 2020 #63
Willie BGBD Aug 2020 #56
I wonder if he gave Joe Biden this same advice days before Obama selected him StarfishSaver Aug 2020 #60
Senators have more power than all but three people in this country pecosbob Aug 2020 #61
She wants to be President one day so VP is the best, especially under Biden . If she isn't picked as JI7 Aug 2020 #62
Interesting he did this publicly. honest.abe Aug 2020 #69
I wouldn't put too much stock in what WB said... PunkinPi Aug 2020 #70
Why would a suggestion from a retired politician "complicate" things? brooklynite Aug 2020 #71
If Harris' goal is to be president, she'll accept. Drunken Irishman Aug 2020 #73
Oh shit. I didn't know Willie Brown was still alive. Mike 03 Aug 2020 #74

totodeinhere

(13,034 posts)
57. I can't believe that a DU poster would not know who Willie Brown is.
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 11:20 PM
Aug 2020

People really need to read and educate themselves.

Ilsa

(61,675 posts)
68. Do you know the names of every speaker or
Mon Aug 10, 2020, 07:45 AM
Aug 2020

head assembly person for every state? I sure as hell don't, and I doubt I'm alone.

totodeinhere

(13,034 posts)
72. Willie Brown is one of the most influential and consequential African American politicians of the
Mon Aug 10, 2020, 02:10 PM
Aug 2020

past few decades. He is not just another assembly speaker from a random state. I don't think that anyone who doesn't even know who Willie Brown is should be offering opinions at DU because obviously they they don't have the knowledge necessary to offer an intelligent opinion..

Ilsa

(61,675 posts)
75. So you just want every poster who doesn't know
Mon Aug 10, 2020, 03:25 PM
Aug 2020

every "influential" pol to leave DU? I had no idea that this was the same Willie Brown from 55 years ago. It's a pretty common name.

Would you like to establish testing at the polls while you're at it?

I live on the east coast. I know of most influential politicians, including many who are not D, in this half of the US. I don't know ALL of the retired or dead ones, but I think I'll stay active just the same, thank you.

BTW, way to run off interested young people who are just getting their feet wet.

brush

(53,467 posts)
28. She doesn't listen to him anymore. Early in the campaign he...
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 08:18 PM
Aug 2020

tried to insinuate himself into it by hinting that she owed her career to him. She kinda told him to back off. There's some bad blood there.

I wouldn't mind though if Rice is chosen and Harris gets the AG slot.

I also wouldn't mind if Harris gets it and Rice gets SOS.

Iggo

(47,486 posts)
59. He makes some great points.
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 11:54 PM
Aug 2020

Making those points months ago or even weeks ago might have been helpful.

But a day or two before the announcement is made, he wants her to turn down the job she's been actively lobbying for?

Why?

We're way past that.

Bradshaw3

(7,453 posts)
18. He was an extremely powerful Calif. Democratic leader
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 08:01 PM
Aug 2020

And she had a relationship with him when she started out, which some people think may have helped her career. He definitely knows politics and maybe he thinks their past would come back to haunt her.

Ilsa

(61,675 posts)
76. why would a decades-old past affect her nationally?
Mon Aug 10, 2020, 03:32 PM
Aug 2020

Oh wait. Because women are held to a different standard. Maybe we should just challenge and bury those old sexist tropes.

TheProle

(2,094 posts)
14. There a number of ways.
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 08:00 PM
Aug 2020

He is a political mentor and ex-boyfriend and, by inserting himself at this late stage of the veepstakes, he risks robbing her of full agency (or at least the public perception of it) as she is potentially poised to make the biggest decision of her life.

JI7

(89,172 posts)
22. She is in her 50s with an accomplished career. Not some 20 or 30 something starting out
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 08:08 PM
Aug 2020

If she wanted his advice she would ask him for it.

LisaL

(44,962 posts)
41. She was 30 something starting out when they were dating.
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 08:32 PM
Aug 2020

She might have been asking him for advice back then, but I don't think she needs it anymore.

Phoenix61

(16,949 posts)
5. She would be an amazing AG. Can you imagine
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 07:53 PM
Aug 2020

all the resignations from Trumpsters if she took the lead of the Justice Department?

TreasonousBastard

(43,049 posts)
34. Point is, the Veep has no explicit powers of her own. She cannot do anything without...
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 08:22 PM
Aug 2020

permission and/or direction from the White House.

Cabinet members actually have vastly more power than Veeps do. They run entire departments and have executive decision- making powers.

But, Biden says he won't run for a second term, so the office is an excellent springboard.

qazplm135

(7,447 posts)
46. VPs of late
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 08:46 PM
Aug 2020

are given loads of responsibility and Biden has already said he will do the same.

You are operating on an outdated paradigm.

TreasonousBastard

(43,049 posts)
52. They still do not have the independent authority of someone like an AG or Interior Secretary...
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 10:11 PM
Aug 2020

Any influence or authority they have is, specific, derived and limited.

OK, everyone in the executive dept has derived authority, but when was the last time you saw a Veep actually running anything?

qazplm135

(7,447 posts)
53. so what?
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 11:04 PM
Aug 2020

The goal isn't to have "independent authority" the goal is to be President for Harris.

LOT better shot doing that as VP than some cabinet post, and better as a Senator too.

Last time I saw a VEEP running anything? Biden.

TreasonousBastard

(43,049 posts)
54. That's actually my point-- she wouldn't get much of a chance to make her mark as Veep, but...
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 11:11 PM
Aug 2020

she could walk into the nomination in '24. Or even earlier if something happens to Biden.

Other than that, she could "do" more as a cabinet secretary.

But, it's entirely irrelevant if she's not offered the job. Or if she turns it down.

BeyondGeography

(39,276 posts)
64. And based on the campaign she ran last year
Mon Aug 10, 2020, 06:27 AM
Aug 2020

That’s the only way on earth she could ever get the nomination. Which is why I hope Biden goes elsewhere.

dsc

(52,129 posts)
44. but when it isn't the upside is huge
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 08:37 PM
Aug 2020

Yes, more VPs than not never get to president. But many have made it. Adams, Jefferson, Van Buren, Taylor, both Johnsons, Ford, Nixon, Bush, Truman, Coolidge, Roosevelt, Arthur among others became President after having been VP.

salin

(48,954 posts)
48. Suggest to me that mean that the direct avenue a burnt bridge
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 08:52 PM
Aug 2020

thus public is the avenue that might get heard. That said, like you, I wish he hadn't (done it publicly.)

tavernier

(12,322 posts)
11. I think she'd be a good VP
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 07:59 PM
Aug 2020

But good is about as far as that title goes. OTOH, I think she would be a fantastic AG!

 

Budi

(15,325 posts)
15. More like, "Just ask Joe Biden" - fixed it for them. 🙄
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 08:00 PM
Aug 2020

"Basically, no one takes the vice president seriously after election day. Just ask Mike Pence."

Harris is lightyears beyond mousey MikePence.

More like, "Just ask Joe Biden"

Biden will allow Kamala to shine right next to him.
He's not about to keep her star from growing in brilliance all the way thru to President Harris ~ 2024.

💙 BIDEN/HARRIS 2020 & beyond

LisaL

(44,962 posts)
23. Dick Cheney didn't do too bad either.
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 08:08 PM
Aug 2020

Now, he didn't go on to become president, but he surely had a lot of influence when he was a VP.

Cha

(295,899 posts)
29. Where's Brown been since 2008?! Certainly
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 08:18 PM
Aug 2020

not keeping up with the times.

That's silly to compare Harris as VP to the Fascistrump's vp.

 

Budi

(15,325 posts)
39. It's damn insulting as well. Don't even put their names in the same sentence, Willie.
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 08:29 PM
Aug 2020

Good thing Willie wasn't on Biden's top 3 list. He surely wouldn't accept such a dead end job like VP. 🙄

#ByeWilleSomebody

DonaldsRump

(7,715 posts)
20. Willie's past his prime
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 08:03 PM
Aug 2020

How could ANYONE think this is a normal VP selection? Indeed, BHO gave Joltin' Joe wide latitude, and 2020 is far different than 2008/2012.

Willie, you done good, but take care of that bridge that's name after you connecting SF to the East Bay. It might be a better use of your time than advising your former flame. VPs Gore, Cheney, and Biden have all held very substantial roles. A VP Kamala Harris would be no different.

Kamala Harris would be great for many roles in a Joe Biden administration, such as VP or AG.

elleng

(130,126 posts)
24. Thanks, Mr. Brown, but I'd rather see Sally Yates as Attorney General,
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 08:12 PM
Aug 2020

and if K. Harris is not V.P., keep her in the Senate.

 

Budi

(15,325 posts)
27. Absolutely. I've been hoping for AG Yates, as well.
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 08:16 PM
Aug 2020

Truth is, Biden has such a vast arsenal of the very best to choose from.
I can't wait! 💙🙂

sheshe2

(83,319 posts)
25. "Tells Harris.
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 08:12 PM
Aug 2020

TELLS!

TheProle

0. Willie Brown tells Harris to turn down VP offer.


The man has spoken! WTF? Guess he man 'splained to her that it was the wrong job for her.

herding cats

(19,549 posts)
55. Umm hum, Not suggest, or counsels, but tells.
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 11:13 PM
Aug 2020

Angle is obvious, and I'm not listening.

Shh, don't speak at me. Speak to me. Then I might hear your voice amid the noise.

ucrdem

(15,512 posts)
26. Maybe she already has?
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 08:14 PM
Aug 2020

Which is a polite way of saying I don't think he needs to worry, and he probably isn't.

 

Budi

(15,325 posts)
42. Ooooh..Willie has a super duper special inside line to Biden, now?
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 08:33 PM
Aug 2020

He doesn't know anymore than we do.
But whatever gets your name trending, Willie! Ride it to fame & twitter 'likes', buddie!
Wooohooo !

 

not_the_one

(2,227 posts)
36. I know very little about Willie Brown, but I swear
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 08:24 PM
Aug 2020

my gaydar went off every time I heard him speak...



NOT that THAT is a bad thing...

TwistedTinkerbelle

(137 posts)
38. While I respect Willie Brown, he's way off base with his opinion.
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 08:27 PM
Aug 2020

If the Dem Presidential candidate was anyone but Joe Biden, I would give some serious thought to his arguements. But it is Joe Biden and just like Obama, Biden wants a partner not puppet down hall. Biden is not an ego driven moron. Kamala Harris will have her own spot in the sun.

 

SiliconValley_Dem

(1,656 posts)
49. Willie Brown looking for the headlines again
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 08:53 PM
Aug 2020

just beinging his name up is meant to he a hit against Harris

 

Baclava

(12,047 posts)
65. Him sticking his nose in just brings up the "Willie Brown's Mistress" talk to surface yet again
Mon Aug 10, 2020, 07:37 AM
Aug 2020

Last gasp for attention?

crickets

(25,896 posts)
50. This is incredibly condescending.
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 09:17 PM
Aug 2020

If Brown really wanted to give Kamala Harris some advice, he could have called her on the phone and had a private conversation with her. It's really out of left field for him to inject himself into the situation this way. It's rude.

The VP position, particularly as it was defined by Obama and Biden during Obama's two terms, involved much more responsibility than in the past. The post under Biden is not at all likely to be the placeholder it might be for a different president. Not only that, turning down a VP request leaves no guarantee that the AG spot would be offered to her.

Biden picks these roles and does not need Brown's input.

Finally, while I wouldn't begrudge anyone all due career considerations before making a decision like this, Brown's emphasis on power and career over country really leaves me cold. The US is reeling: we're dealing with a pandemic, eminent economic collapse, social unrest, and a petulant wanna-be dictator.

When our government is teetering on the brink, a paternalistic career day lecture hits a sour note.

What Brown fails to take into account is that if offered the job, Kamala Harris might just want to accept because she hears the call to serve her country. That is entirely up to her -- or anyone else offered the job.

All the mansplainers and complainers need to butt out and let a grown woman make up her own mind.

 

BGBD

(3,282 posts)
56. Willie
Sun Aug 9, 2020, 11:19 PM
Aug 2020

isn't thinking this one through.

If I were the nominee and asked someone to be my running mate and they turned it down.....I'm not asking them to join the team after I win. If you weren't committed enough to be willing to put your name up there when I asked you aren't committed enough to help me govern either.

There's no such thing as the "best person" for a job like AG. There are numerous people who would be fantastic AGs. Harris could absolutely end up as AG, but if she's offered the VP spot and doesn't take it, that's gone.

 

StarfishSaver

(18,486 posts)
60. I wonder if he gave Joe Biden this same advice days before Obama selected him
Mon Aug 10, 2020, 12:16 AM
Aug 2020

I'm betting he didn't ...

pecosbob

(7,502 posts)
61. Senators have more power than all but three people in this country
Mon Aug 10, 2020, 12:52 AM
Aug 2020

Only President, House Speaker and Senate Majority Leader are more coveted positions IMO. I believe the position would be more of a sidetrack or a distraction for her than anything else. She currently holds membership on the committees for the Budget, Homeland Security, Intelligence and the Judiciary, all damned important positions.

JI7

(89,172 posts)
62. She wants to be President one day so VP is the best, especially under Biden . If she isn't picked as
Mon Aug 10, 2020, 01:18 AM
Aug 2020

vp than it's best to remain Senator .

honest.abe

(8,556 posts)
69. Interesting he did this publicly.
Mon Aug 10, 2020, 07:46 AM
Aug 2020

I am wondering if this is a way to ease the disappointment of Harrris fans like myself if she is not selected.

I was certain Harris was going to be the one but now not so sure.

 

Drunken Irishman

(34,857 posts)
73. If Harris' goal is to be president, she'll accept.
Mon Aug 10, 2020, 02:19 PM
Aug 2020

She won't be president if she turns down the VP role for the AG spot. It just isn't likely to happen. Fact is, the next VP is very possibly going to be the next president after Biden.

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