If Kamala Harris Is a D.E.I. Candidate, So Is JD Vance
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
.....I wonder: Why do people look at Vance’s life story and achievements and see a vice president and they look at Harris’s life story and achievements and see a D.E.I. candidate?
You have to look pretty far into history to find a vice-presidential nominee with a slimmer résumé than Vance. In fairness, he is only 39. Before he entered the Senate 18 months ago, his public service experience consisted of a stint in the Marine Corps, which is a solid early entry on a political résumé. This champion of forgotten America made his fortune by writing a best-selling book that portrayed the rural white community he came from as lazy and undisciplined, responsible for its poverty and misery. He got even richer working as a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley, hobnobbing with the billionaire fleece-vest crowd at invitation-only conferences among the über-elite. He is clearly a person of talent and drive. But it is hard to imagine that he could have gotten this far were it not for the value that elite institutions place on biographies like his.
Affirmative action of a kind is built into our political system. The drafters of the Constitution did not have the term “diversity, equity and inclusion” at hand, but how else do you describe a system that gives two senators and at least three Electoral College votes to a state that based on population qualifies for only one member of the House of Representatives? Our Constitution does not lecture Wyoming, Alaska, the Dakotas, Vermont and Delaware to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and do a better job of competing for residents with states like California and New York in order to earn their disproportionate representation.
Some of the earliest settlers of the United States were religious minorities fleeing persecution, and protection of the rights of certain minorities lies at the core of our founding documents. For better or worse, our Constitution finds value in tempering the power of the majority, though that has worked out in ways no one fathomed in the 18th century. It is telling that these kinds of preferences, the valuing of geographic and religious diversity, are so deeply embedded in our history and do not read to most people as unearned or unjust.
Personally, I think powerful institutions should value this kind of diversity. Over the course of my career I have hired and promoted many people, and diversity in the broadest sense has always been important to me. I have found that the best leaders I have worked with are eager to build teams from as wide a range of geographic, religious, class, ideological and, yes, racial and ethnic backgrounds as possible.
Kamala Harris and JD Vance, despite their political differences, have a few things in common. They were raised by tough, charismatic matriarchs. They both pursued legal careers. They both sought and won high elected office. They both come from backgrounds that are underrepresented in the halls of power. And now they are both engaged in the core work of politics — translating their stories into power. We would do well to ask why only one of these two remarkable Americans stands accused of getting where she is based on D.E.I. The answer, I fear, is written on their faces.
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It would have helped her situation had she actually been elected by the people to run for President.
Of course, she was elected to be VP. I guess that doesn’t matter.
And all along, it has been the Biden/Harris campaign. Guess that doesn’t matter, either.
Also, in the primaries, you’re voting for delegates, not candidates. The delegates select the nominee at the convention - which hasn’t happened yet. And the delegates are free to vote their conscience.
And of course it’s totally Harris’s fault that Biden chose not to make himself available for the nomination.
But yeah, “blah blah blah DEI something something. Oh wait, that’s offensive? Ummmm blah blah blah something about voting.”
I mean you know it’s shameful to dismiss her as a DEI hire, but rather than condemn it, and too afraid to defend it on the merits, it’s best to pivot to voting, I guess. Lame, but it’s all you can do.
I never brought up DEI. But I get it. You appear to be okay with disenfranchising voters as well.
OMG that’s thick. You’re in a seed about DEI and you responded to a comment specifically mentioning it. But I understand. You don’t like when someone points out your lame deflection attempt.
For clarity, what appears to be a quotation in my comment, was not one. It’s my own words. I have no idea why it got formatted as a quotation.
No one has been disenfranchised.
Did 14+ million people vote for Harris in the Primary? No, not one of them. So every one one of them, by definition, has been disenfranchised. Every one.
No other reasonable way to put it.
What makes it worse was I believe this was the plan all along. Protect Joe until there was no chance of electing a replacement, give him a little too much rope, wait for him to screw up bad enough (the debate), force him out and shove in your preferred non elected candidate
So bobs your uncle ….. all set.
And again, I never brought up DEI. My point did relate to it as brought up by others. Are you intimating that only DEI specifically, can be discussed in this article?
If so, now that is really dim …..
Kinda, yeah. She was always going to be the VP. That was well known. That means she takes over if Biden can’t do the job. Everyone also knew there was a good chance that would happen.
What definition? The one in your imagination? People voted for a guy highly unlikely to be able to serve a full term - if he even made it to Election Day - AND they did so knowing who would replace him, if necessary. If anything, nominating Harris will show respect for those votes.
Based in what? A fever dream?
Every registered voter has the option to vote for the next PotUS from the candidates. That is the vote that counts.
Biden dropping out so late in the process was a historic first. It created a unique problem and the Ds worked through it. They had no chance to conduct a primary so they are relying upon the released delegates. Given the overwhelming support for Harris, the 'no primary' argument is further enfeebled.
Sure, this is not ideal, but the caucus system in many states is also not ideal in that it makes it difficult, if not impossible, for many people to vote in the primary.
You are pursuing a loser argument, Sparty. Those who would support it were going to vote for Trump anyway. I doubt that anyone undecided would vote for Trump merely because the Ds had no time to conduct a second primary after Biden's departure but overwhelmingly support Harris.
Kinda only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades but I understand. It’s what Obama wanted so Obama got.
Really? Voting for someone who very likely wasn’t going to finish their term? I can honestly say I’ve never heard of that. Nor have I ever done it.
Much stranger things have happened. Did you see this interview?
What now? A stand in? Hmmmmm …….
Obama? This is all Obama’s fault? Guy hasn’t been in office for 8 years, and you’re still blaming him for shit?
Biden is going to finish his term - unless he gets much worse or drops dead. I guess you’d call that “disenfranchisement,” too?
He hasn’t yet been elected to a second term. He hasn’t even been nominated for a second term.
You do know - I hope - that every election, someone runs, gets some votes, and later quits. That happens. It happened in the Republican Party just this year. Nikki Haley had almost 100 delegates ready to vote for her, and she quit. Did she disenfranchise people? No! This is the dumbest argument you’re offering.
Richard Nixon resigned while in his second term. Did he disenfranchise people by not waiting for an impeachment trial? Lyndon Johnson quit his re-election bid in March 1968 when he already had 12 committed delegates. Did he disenfranchise people?
Just this year, at least six members of the House of Representatives have resigned outright. And I don’t mean they decided not to run for re-election. They just quit and went home. This includes Republicans. They include:
Elected officials leave their posts for lots of reasons. Some get ill and physically need to quit, or at least do less. That’s Biden - he feels he can’t run the country and campaign. So he’s quitting the campaign, not the job.
Some officials get appointed to other positions - like the president’s cabinet. And if the governor back home is of a different party, he will likely appoint a replacement who isn’t even in the same party as the person being replaced. During campaigns, candidates run out of money, or scandal sabotages them. In 2020, a few Democrats quit so the campaign would be easier for Biden. In short, it is common for someone to receive votes and end up not finishing the job.
So the MSM is lying to frame Obama. That's the conspiracy theory you are running with?
MSM reports that Obama pushed Biden not to run in 2016 and you call it a lie.
MSM reports that Obama helped pushed Biden to stop his candidacy in 2024 and you call it a lie.
Bizarre. The idea the MSM is conspiring to lie about Obama of all people is pretty funny.
Is that the lie you want to argue?
You’re 2-for-2. Two statements. Two clear lies.
3 Lies and you’re out. I’m done talking to you.
Pretty good try but what has that got to do with a candidate, no one voted for, running for President in 2024. A representative from Rhode Island or Utah ain’t running for President in the general election and a candidate dropping out in March is four months earlier than July.
Yeah well, I don’t see any agreement in our future on this one so you have a pleasant evening now ya hear!
Obama himself dropped the idea in the interview that I linked above. Of course the party line will be that he was kidding but I say he was as serious as a heart attack. Did or is it actually happening? No way we’ll ever know with the swamp creature DOJ and FBI these days.
Seems the Ds do not have a problem with Harris securing way more delegates than needed to be nominated. The complaining all comes from Trump supporters. And that makes sense because with Biden out of the picture, Trump has a real problem.
Thing is, you can complain about this all you want, but this argument is not going to work. The people who are not committed to vote for Trump will likely not care that the candidate highly and enthusiastically supported by the Ds was not a result of a normal primary.
It seems that the party of sheep have accepted the fact that their overseer’s have told them who their nominee will be and that their votes are worthless.
That is a far more accurate statement.
It is amusing watching Trump supporters struggle to find some line, some argument, ... anything ... that is going to work.
Have you tried something to do with Mountain Dew?
When you lack the ability to post a rebuttal, revert to lame insults.[✘]
And they seem to be alright with that...
If you put forth a ridiculous claim expect it to be shot down and shown to be ridiculous.
You made a gratuitous derogatory statement about the Ds. It lacked any factual basis, just emotive rhetoric. Too bad that a rebuke stings.
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Hilarious.
This was you:
Also you, moments later:
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Good catch, Tacos. The hilariousness of his post is monumental
Here's what's really going on.....
Did I miss Trump saying he would only select a white man, or limit his search based on race and or gender in any way?
Did he really have to say it ?
Biden removed all doubt. Without any proof, you are just making false equivalencies.
So the only way someone can be "DEI" is if a conservative says they are?
I think I'll start describing racist conservatives using that logic.
No, it is a DEI hire if the main criteria used are race and sex.
Only using leftist logic (in other words no logic) would Vance be considered a DEI hier.
Fortunately, they weren’t the main criteria, so you shouldn’t have a problem.
But I sense you aren’t sure. Read this from your comment:
You see it doesn’t take two hours to figure out if someone is black or female. Generally, this can be established fairly quickly. Even a conservative should be able to acknowledge that.
What does take two hours is a serious analysis of whether or not a person might be qualified and competent to be a good vice president. That’s a conversation that’s going to cover education, professional experience, references, and probably a lot more. That’s the main criteria.
It’s pretty easy to find a black woman in this world. It’s hard to find a good VP, no matter what they might look like.
I find it telling that conservatives never worry about whether or not Trump chose Vance for some reason other than qualifications. They just assume he is qualified. In fact, they voted for Trump even though he had no political experience, just assuming he could do it, also. I wonder why?
I would think it would take more than 2 hours to vet a VP candidate, but I've never been involved in any type of hiring process
I’m sure it does. I understood that to say that the report on the vetting took 2 hours. And that’s per candidate, which only included finalists. I expect there were teams of people working on this for weeks. And then, in the wake of those reports, I’m sure there was Biden himself considering the content of those reports and having actual conversations with the candidates.
All of this is to say that a hell of a lot more thought and concern went into this beyond “pick a woman.”
Are you saying that they all knew Biden was going to step away? It's only been a week since he said he wasn't running.
We’re talking about the VP selection process in 2020. I don’t know how that process could possibly have any connection to something Biden decided last week.
Didn't see that anywhere. Perhaps I missed it and you can point it out. Thanks.
2.1.3.
Well, he has said he doesn’t want black guys counting his money and that he looks for Jews to do his accounting. So, there’s that.
Bothsiderism, really?
Is it though? Seems like it’s just applying the same standard all around. And if it’s ok for one, but not the other, we have hypocrisy.
Yes
Good God, what an absolutely ridiculous comparison.
Really ? why?
Harris has a much better resume that Vance has. Why is he in his position ?
Because Trump was the picker.
Comparing a State to an individual? Ridiculous.
I dont know what you are talking about but thats not that unusual.
Try reading your own article.
I assume you can show where Vance slept his way to the top of the political food machine in his state./S Like Kamala did.
Yes her time as the most liberal Senator and failed time as a VP makes her qualified in leftist land to be VP.
What was her military service again?
You forgot she knew she couldn’t even win her own States primary in 2020.
Excellent choice for 2024.
I was just watching replays of a Trump rally and a Harris rally. The Harris rally was alive. The crowd cheered for each line. Harris was on fire. The excitement in the room palpable and contagious.
At Trump's rally the crowd was dumbfounded and dead silent. They were looking at each other like, "OMG! Has he gone nutters?"
DEI Harris whooping Trump is going to be particularly gratifying...
Super! Good luck in November.
Most Americans don't want this.
Does anyone else see the need for NT to implement a Diversity Reachout Program? It's strikes me that the membership here is heavily weighted towards white older males. We should be able to hear more voices of woman, people of color and younger perspectives.
A good faith set of goals might have been enough in the past. but now we should see and evaluate the success of NT diversity recruiting and outreach efforts. The best place to start is with the demographics of our current membership.
Yeah, I think that would be great.
Thanks, I don't know what is taking them so long.
The desire to reach out and invite strangers to the table is a worthy one. Actually getting it done can be a lot harder.
Absolutely, but I'm unaware of any ongoing effort to even try.
Does anyone know what the NT DEI strategy is?
A diverse and inclusive social media presence would help build a sense of NT community. A diverse community might allow NT to escape the weird, site advertising which seems oriented on older white males.
Is NT a victim of unconscious white, elder male bias? We would all benefit from a much more diverse perspective. It's past time to go forward and embrace diversity and inclusiveness here.
There doesn’t seem to be much support for a DEI effort at NT. Perhaps the many old, white men here enjoy their dispersant voice. Maybe the few females don’t feel empowered to speak up. Where are our young males of color?
They may be quiet or not here but there are plenty of people willing to speak for them.
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