My biggest concern about Sanders as our nominee is that I have no idea who he might pick...

[SKKY]

...as a running mate. And to be honest, it scares the bejesus out of me. Never will a running mate be more important than in this upcoming election, and I just don't think we can win with 2 democratic socialists on the ticket. I'll vote for whoever, but I'm not voting in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, or Ohio and a ticket with 2 socialists on it will go over like a fart in church there.

[still_one]

1. One requirement in my book is it has to be someone younger

[TheCowsCameHome]

8. That's my preference for either position

[LaurenOlimina]

2. I have a friend who swears Tulsi Gabbard.

Blech....

[SKKY]

4. Please don't say that!

[MisterFred]

12. Never going to happen. No reason to think it would.

Seriously, I have NO idea how people think this is even a possibility.

[awesomerwb1]

31. You really have no idea?

A look at his awful salaried surrogates not enough of a clue?

[MisterFred]

37. None of them have policies anywhere near Gabbard's.

Sanders surrogates are far-left. She is conservative. No similarity.

[awesomerwb1]

42. She likes Russia and Russia likes her

[MisterFred]

75. Another reason Sanders wouldn't want her as a running mate. nt

[thesquanderer]

69. Gabbard is not conservative. There are some exceptions, but overall...

...her domestic policies are very close to Sanders', for example. Remember, she quit her DNC position four years ago to support Sanders' presidential campaign. Her own positions, then and now, are consistent with that decision.

[MisterFred]

76. I remember the DNC in 2016

Back then I was thinking "that's weird. Gabbard must be doing this to make a name for herself as an outsider, because her policies seem a lot closer to Clinton than Sanders."

That said, I know Gabbard mostly for her atrocious views on foreign policy.

[VarryOn]

54. I know, right?

I’ve seen her mentioned a couple times on here. I don’t get it.

[pnwmom]

55. They watched her on the debate stage, clearly angling for it. And she never

attacked Bernie liked she attacked several other then leading candidates.

[thesquanderer]

66. She also never attacked Biden, and in fact had his back a couple of times. (n/t)

[kcr]

43. Your friend isn't the only one. It will be Tulsi.

[thesquanderer]

68. Tulsi Gabbard could actually be a strong electoral choice, in terms of...

...shoring up on-the-fence ex-Trumpers, any gettable Republicans (where Fox has made Tulsi seem like the Dem they wish would run), and yes, even some portions of our own party. Her domestic positions are close to Sanders more often than not, and she stresses non-interventionism in foreign policy, which also has appeal both to the far left and the far right. She's also a charismatic campaigner.

My biggest issue with her is that, should something happen to Bernie, I'm not comfortable with her as president. But I do think she would help Bernie beat Trump.

[LaurenOlimina]

71. OK, well said.

I'm worried she's another Russian asset.

[Rorey]

78. That's my guess too

And if that happens, I will have some thinking to do before I fill out my ballot.

[totodeinhere]

92. That won't happen. I think he will most likely pick someone from a swing state who could

help him win that state's electoral votes. The ticket will carry Hawaii anyway.

[Srkdqltr]

3. You have no idea who any of them would pick.

He will win until he doesn't. With or without a running mate you like.

[SKKY]

5. No, but you get an idea with most of them...

...except Bernie.

[MisterFred]

11. Who would Biden pick?

I honestly have no idea & am just curious.

[PatSeg]

14. Most likely a woman

Perhaps Stacy Abrams or Kamala Harris. Maybe Klobuchar.

[MisterFred]

18. Thank you. nt

[33taw]

56. I agree. If you are looking for the Midwest appeal, I would say Klobuchar because of

her Minnesota roots. I like the other two picks as well. I really like Abrams.

[Laelth]

29. Biden has already announced ...

... that he intends to pick a woman, a PoC, or someone who is both.

Bernie has telegraphed nothing on this issue to my knowledge.

-Laelth

[MisterFred]

35. Thank you.

I do regard that as a bit of a broad set of criteria, as it encompasses most Democrats in the country.

I agree with you Sanders has telegraphed nothing. I wish it were otherwise.

[PatSeg]

67. I had always assumed

that he would probably pick a woman who was also a PoC. This would give him a really broad appeal and hopefully open the door for a woman president in the near future. If Joe hadn't been running, I probably would be supporting a woman candidate. I like both Warren and Klobuchar.

[Watchfoxheadexplodes]

6. My money is on Tulsi

Would continue with Sanders somewhat burn it down philosophy.

[cherryinpa]

7. Guaranteed Tulsi

They've been sending signals for months.

Remember in one of the earlier debates when she did the full frontal attack on Kamala?

The purpose of that was to clear out the remaining left challenger to Bernie.

Tulsi as VP will be payback for that.

[MisterFred]

10. LOL What signals. DU's favorite conspiracy theory.

No way in hell will Sanders pick Tulsi. There have been NO signals. Just people in a fever reading way too much into a random action from months ago.

[cherryinpa]

20. Lots of signals

It started with the attack on Kamala Harris in the second debate. She had proved by taking on Biden that she was the true left wing alternative to Bernie. But then Tulsi comes in with the dive bomber of an attack on her in the second debate that began he descent / exit. Now you can see that Tulsi is the only one of the candidates who is trying to get favor with the Bernie camp. Hillary has called it out already, you can go and look it up. And Tulsi is almost even more pro-Bernie than pro-Tulsi, isn't that a bit odd to you?

Almost 99% chance that Bernie will pick Tulsi as VP.

[MisterFred]

24. No signals.

First you mention something Gabbard did for her own purposes.

Then you mention something Gabbard did for her own purposes.

Third, you mention something Gabbard is doing for her own purposes.

No one in the Sanders camp likes Gabbard. Her actual polices are WAAAY too conservative for us. We don't like her racism. Or Hindu nationalism. Sanders hasn't given any indication he wants anything to do with Gabbard. Gabbard would hurt his chances in any election.

There's no chance in hell Sanders selects Gabbard.

[MrsCoffee]

27. Ffs have you forgotten the last primary already.

Bernie and Tulsi are two peas.

[MisterFred]

33. No, I haven't forgotten.

She backed him in the DNC to make a name for herself, not because of any deal. He never promoted her. And she was always more conservative than him. Their policies never matched up.

[MrsCoffee]

34. Whatever helps you sleep at night.

[MisterFred]

38. Uh... not sure what avoiding caffeine has to do with this. But okay. nt

[MisterFred]

74. What does avoiding caffeine have to do with this? nt

[seaglass]

49. Oh for chrissake, she's a fellow at the Sanders Institute. n/t

[Nanjeanne]

60. So are Robert Reich, Harry Belafonte, Jeffrey Sachs, Bill Mckibbon, Danny Glover, Ben Jealous,

Stephanie Kelton, Michael Lightly, Yanis Varoufakis, Shaun King, Robert Pollin, Carmen Yulin Cruz, James Zogby, Simon Sinek, David McWilliams Niki Ashton, along with Nina Turner and Cornel West.

I don't think any of them are going to be Bernie's running mate.

But I'd love it if Dr. Stephanie Kelton, Robert Reich and Jeffrey Sachs were in his administration.

[seaglass]

63. Couldn't care less who Bernie would choose, that wasn't what I was responding to. n/t

[Nanjeanne]

64. Okie dokie. My error in misunderstanding your reason for bringing up Tulsi and the

Sanders Institute.

[seaglass]

70. The person I responded to seemed unaware that a relationship existed between Bernie and Tulsi. n/t

[MisterFred]

73. I didn't know that. Thank you. nt

[MrsCoffee]

23. Putin loves Tulsi.

Tulsi was a Bernie surrogate.

They spout the same nonsense about Russian interference. Bernie votes against Russian sanctions, Tulsi voted present on impeachment.

All the signs are there.

[MisterFred]

25. Another reason Sanders would not want her as a running mate. nt

[MrsCoffee]

26. Roflmao.

They both love Russia.

[MisterFred]

32. Incorrect.

Sanders does not like right-wing autocracies.

[MrsCoffee]

36. Again, whatever helps you sleep at night.

That’s some cozy cognitive dissonance.

[MisterFred]

40. ??? Do you have some reason to think he likes right-wing autocrats? I don't.

[mopinko]

9. considering his other picks so far, yeah, makes me nervous, too.

if he picks someone in a mold of nina turner, we are screwn.

[Ferryboat]

13. Reportedly his campaign looked into if the VP could head Treasury

His thinking was EW at the time. Not sure where I saw that.

[Tom Rinaldo]

15. I expect Kamala Harris

They have worked well together in the Senate, and she was an early supporter of Medicare For All. She's young Black and female, all things that Bernie isn't. Plus she has the respect of more mainstream elements of the Democratic Party.

Bernie is running for President to become President. After all that he has gone through to get to this point he won't settle for just making a righteous political statement. He wants to win. Someone like Tulsi brings nothing to the ticket that Kamala doesn't have. Tulsi struggles to clear 1% in polls but Kamala brings what Bernie needs to actually become President.

[SKKY]

16. That is a best case scenario in my book.

And I would breath much easier if he did pick Kamala. I'd also be fine with Booker, or Stacey Abrams.

[HarlanPepper]

46. There's no way she's hitch herself to that train wreck

It would ruin her career after the loss.

[BeyondGeography]

21. That's an obvious disaster in the making

Harris couldn’t even explain her own health care plan. How would she fare in any discussion of the details of Bernie’s plans which even he hasn’t sorted out?

[pinkstarburst]

22. Agree. Bernie wants to win

He's not going to make an unwise pick. He's going to choose someone smart and capable who is also appealing to voters who may be shying away from him.

[Moderateguy]

58. He wants to win...

Then he better pick someone who appeals to the moderate wing of the party. However, I think Harris would be welcomed by the moderates

[MrsCoffee]

17. Imagine Tulsi Gabbard.

A male almost 80 who recently had a heart attack and stent placement isn’t likely to be around for much longer.

I cant believe that he is anywhere close to being our nominee. What a fucking joke.

[pinkstarburst]

19. I think it will be a smart pick

He's not going to pick Gabbard. Sanders wants to win. He may like Gabbard (and Nina Turner) but I think he can read the writing on the wall there.

I think he's more likely to go with someone who shares his ideals, and will also bring in voters. Elizabeth Warren is the most likely one.

If not her, he might also pick someone like Julian Castro, another smart progressive candidate who would be popular with POC voters. (I still think Warren is the more likely pick since she's more popular with the electorate overall.)

He might even go for someone like Buttigieg, Harris or Klobuchar, who are popular figures, moderates, and would soften the ticket into more of a compromise ballot.

But again, I think he's going to pick someone who will support him, and also help him win. Sanders wants this.

[Laelth]

28. I wonder if he would have the guts to pick AOC.

Last edited Tue Feb 25, 2020, 10:05 AM - Edit history (1)

She’s not old enough, technically, but the SCOTUS has never enforced the Constitution’s age requirements.

Edited to add: Although I thought that the SCOTUS had addressed, but chose not to enforce, these provisions, it appears that I was in error. The SCOTUS has never addressed this question. The Senate has, and it has chosen to admit and seat a number of under-aged Senators over the years. The trend, however, is toward not seating a person in the Senate until that person reaches the Constitutionally-mandated age.

https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Youngest_Senator.htm

I apologize for any confusion caused by my original post.

-Laelth

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

53. That would be a horrible choice.

[former9thward]

72. When have age requirements ever come up and SCOTUS not enforced them?

[former9thward]

83. He took office in the U.S. Senate when he was 50.

On his wiki page there is no reference to a court case. He became a member of the U.S. House when he was 28. You just have to be 25 to be a member of the House.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Calhoun

[Laelth]

87. Henry Clay, Armistead Mason, John H. Eaton, and JOE BIDEN have ALL become Senators before turning 30

https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/why-does-a-presidential-candidate-need-to-be-35-years-old-anyway

Apparently, the SCOTUS doesn't care.

-Laelth

[former9thward]

89. Now that you were proven wrong on Calhoun you are changing the goalposts.

Biden was 30 when he assumed office. He met the Constitution requirements. The others were not challenged. So SCOTUS never ruled on them one way or the other. Your original post was not true.

[Laelth]

90. No need to be nasty.

My original post was in error. I edited it to better-reflect American political history.

You are correct to say that Biden was elected at 29 but that he was 30 when he was sworn in. The trend in the Senate appears to be not to seat a person elected to the Senate until that person reaches the appropriate age. As such, it seems far too risky for Sanders to nominate AOC.

-Laelth

[kentuck]

30. He would be inclined to pick Elizabeth Warren.

In my opinion.

If she were to drop out.

[uponit7771]

41. +1

[loyalsister]

86. As much as I would love that

I think he should pick someone younger. As in someone with 16 good years in very hard work ahead of them. Not someone who would be pushing 90 if the baton were passed.

[Democrats Ascendant]

39. You're right that

"Never will a running mate be more important than in this upcoming election" - no matter WHO the prevailing candidate will be....

The democratic electorate seems to want some sort of Frankencandidate (though not Al Franken, apparently): experienced like Biden, but visionary like Bernie, and as nice as Pete, but also a woman, who is black or brown.

The VP choice may have never been as important as in this cycle....

[kcr]

44. I don't understand why this isn't a bigger concern in general

Considering he will pick Tulsi Gabbard. There is so much denial on how highly probable that is, but it's the truth.

[HarlanPepper]

45. Zephyr Teachout or "Nena"

He won’t be able to get any A listers.

[Blaukraut]

47. He'll pick someone aligned with his ideology, but palatable to the greater voting population

Bernie isn't stupid, and he isn't running for president to prove a point. He does want to win.

[SKKY]

81. I hope you're right. I really do.

[Nanjeanne]

48. Relax. Bernie is a smart man who knows how to win. Personally I'd like Tammy Baldwin - but I trust

it's going to be someone with progressive ideas from a geographical area we need to win who is younger and probably female and/or minority.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

50. Only problem I have with Baldwin

is that there is no way a liberal wins that Senate seat in WI right now. Other than that, she would be fabulous.

[Nanjeanne]

51. Yeah - that's a good point. It's definitely something to think about.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

52. Do people really

vote for the VP ?

[SKKY]

59. I'm not sure it is a deciding factor for...

...but it certainly can be a detractor in a big way. We've all seen the movie Sarah Palin. We know how it ends.

[unblock]

79. even with palin, there's little evidence that affected the vote in any meaningful way

people vote the party and they vote the top of the ticket.

they simply do not vote the bottom of the ticket.

the bottom of the ticket is sometimes used to rationalize a vote, but it's nearly always a vote that was going that way regardless. a lot of people voted for reagan in 1984 claiming they couldn't vote for mondale/ferraro because they didn't think a woman could run the country, so they couldn't vote for ferraro as vp. but of course, these sexists were all republicans or right-leaning "independents" and were never going to vote for mondale anyway.

[unblock]

80. not really, no.

people vote party and the top of the ticket.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

57. Nobody has guessed Susan Sarandon yet.

You people kill me. Sanders could name the second coming of Christ as his running mate and y'all would find a reason that that was problematic.

[MichMan]

61. Rashida Tlaib ?

Aligned politically

POC

Female

Midwestern

[ElementaryPenguin]

62. Cory Booker

I think that's who Bernie would pick.

[Lucid Dreamer]

65. Sanders will pick Clinton as running mate if...

Sanders will pick Clinton as running mate if he wants to win.

This will please everybody that wants a rematch of 2016.
He will not be running in 2024 and Hillary will head the ticket then.

All Dems will be happy.

[SKKY]

88. That is about as close to a worst case scenario as I care to get...

...thus highlighting my concern over Sanders as our nominee.

[samnsara]

77. or if he choosesm to run as an indy....

[zackymilly]

84. Since Sanders refuses to release his medical records, maybe he should pick a doctor as his vp?

What's Ben Carson doing after November?

[totodeinhere]

91. I don't think we have any idea who any candidate would pick for VP at this point.

Myself, I would love to see Bernie throw it open to the convention to choose the VP nominee just like Adlai Stevenson did in 1052.