2022 Midterm Election MEGATHREAD

[alfred russel]

I was impressed by Fetterman in PA, although I haven't really followed him. I know he suffered a recent stroke, which put his campaign in doubt, but obviously it didn't hurt him in the election.

He also looks like a professional wrestler. The man looks like he could pile drive DeSantis into the ground so hard that DeSantis would be speaking Chinese.  On Twitter someone said he looks like if a union was a man 

It did hurt him in the election (though he still won)... he was trouncing Oz in the polls until they debated, which is something he was reluctant to do and if you watch the debate, you'll see why.  On account of his stroke he is really struggling to communicate clearly and it's pretty difficult to watch.  I really hope he recovers his speech since I think Fetterman is great.

I do wonder how much the whole "The dems are running a mentally deficient person" thing helped him though- a hell of a lot of people in the country will have someone close to them who has had a stroke and be able to see through that.

I mean he was running against Dr. Mehmet Oz, a Turkish & muslim citizen who lives in a different state and spent years on TV peddling nonsense to improve your orgasm, who had his TV benefactor (oprah) endorse Fetterman. A while back the democrats won against a super terrible candidate in Missouri (John Ashcroft) running a person who was literally dead. Some people are just tough to vote for.

[Berkut]

All that is true. You seem really intent on coming up with 100 reasons why the GOP under performed, rather then conceding that your premature victory lap you ran before the election based on a single reason why you wanted us to believe the Dems would under-perform - because they impeached Trump.

Weird. It is almost like your analysis is entirely driven by your need for validation on Languish.

Of course it goes without saying that the GOP running moron candidates helps the Dems. But they run moron candidates, in part, because they have gotten themselves into a place where their Dear Leader Trump gets to pick the candidates, and he loves morons, and America despises Trump, except for those who love him and support him and want to protect him from being called to account for his actions.

Herschel Walker is not the candidate *despite* Trump, he is the candidate because of Trump. Imagining a "better" GOP candidate doesn't mean that they would beat the Dem easily, because they would have to run on an entirely different platform. One of policy and boring crap like actual plans, rather then "Owning the libs" - which Walker does a great job at, and the Trumpists just love love love.

You cannot disconnect the fact that Oz is the candidate from Trump, the two are linked. And you cannot disconnect Trump from what happened on the 6th, and you cannot disconnect what happened on the 6th from how the Dems chose to respond, which includes holding a Senate trial against the objections of Moscow Mitch and you.

And I love that your premature spooge was all about the midterm election, and now that that has fallen flat, you are shifting to the 2024 *Presidential* election polling as your New and Improved Reason Why I Was Definitely Right All Along for Sures.

[OttoVonBismarck]

The last time the VP was the nominee in 2000 with Al Gore. Cheney didn't run in 2008, Biden stepped aside for Hillary in 2016, and Biden was not the primary front runner until South Carolina in 2020. VP selections are more about balancing the existing ticket rather than setting up the heir apparent.

Absolutely--the Presidential candidate selects the VP candidate he/she believes will most contribute to their ability to get elected. There is no other primary reason. Consideration of future party Presidential candidates or certain other concerns can definitely factor into the thinking, but there is no way someone who is running for President picks any veep candidate other than the one they think most contributes to their own election odds.

[The Larch]

I initially thought that Biden picking Harris as VP served in part as a desire to groom a successor (maybe Biden was only planning to serve one term on account of his age?), by elevating Harris' stock after her lackluster primary campaign, but given the lack of exposure that Harris is having I can see that that was not the plan. Unless that changes radically in Biden's 2nd half of this term, that is.

[DGuller]

It's possible that it was the plan, until Harris floundered and forced the plan to change.  She wouldn't lack exposure if exposure of her was a good thing.

[Barrister]

I initially thought that Biden picking Harris as VP served in part as a desire to groom a successor (maybe Biden was only planning to serve one term on account of his age?), by elevating Harris' stock after her lackluster primary campaign, but given the lack of exposure that Harris is having I can see that that was not the plan. Unless that changes radically in Biden's 2nd half of this term, that is.

I think he didn't mind if Harris became his successor, but really he had committed himself to picking a woman of colour and just figured she was the best he could find with those demographics.

[Barrister]

It's possible that it was the plan, until Harris floundered and forced the plan to change.  She wouldn't lack exposure if exposure of her was a good thing.

Well Biden hasn't exactly put her in positions to succeed.  He put her in charge of "the border" but his administration hasn't exactly made that a priority, for example.

[Caliga]

I initially thought that Biden picking Harris as VP served in part as a desire to groom a successor (maybe Biden was only planning to serve one term on account of his age?), by elevating Harris' stock after her lackluster primary campaign, but given the lack of exposure that Harris is having I can see that that was not the plan. Unless that changes radically in Biden's 2nd half of this term, that is.

I think he didn't mind if Harris became his successor, but really he had committed himself to picking a woman of colour and just figured she was the best he could find with those demographics.

Correct, I believe he repeatedly promised during the primaries that his running mate would be a woman, and would not be white (doubt those were the exact words he used, but it was something to that effect).

[Berkut]

Mayor Pete!

[Barrister]

Mayor Pete!

After that surprising 2020 primary run he's definitely solidified himself as a great speaker (and apparently cable news guest).

HIs resume though is still so thin... small city mayor, then Secretary of Transportation.  And as a member of Biden's cabinet he definitely can't run against Biden if he seeks to run again, and it'd be difficult to run against Harris.

Actually I can't think of any serious Presidential primary candidates whose biggest claim to fame was being a cabinet secretary.

[alfred russel]

All that is true. You seem really intent on coming up with 100 reasons why the GOP under performed, rather then conceding that your premature victory lap you ran before the election based on a single reason why you wanted us to believe the Dems would under-perform - because they impeached Trump.

This is a deranged lie.

If you think my analysis of the election was significantly off, you are a moron in addition to a lier. I made thousands betting on what was going to happen on the midterms. I think I had a fairly good pulse on what would happen.

[garbon]

It's possible that it was the plan, until Harris floundered and forced the plan to change.  She wouldn't lack exposure if exposure of her was a good thing.

Maybe but the media has also her found her uninteresting to cover. If I just look for what mentions I see of her in my day-to-day reading of the news, she could be dead for all I know. However, if I do a specific search on her, I can see there are plenty of articles on Kamala but they never rise to the top.

[Sheilbh]

Maybe but the media has also her found her uninteresting to cover. If I just look for what mentions I see of her in my day-to-day reading of the news, she could be dead for all I know. However, if I do a specific search on her, I can see there are plenty of articles on Kamala but they never rise to the top.

Yeah - you wonder if that's deliberate from the White House as well.

If you're an elderly leader the last thing you want is lots of coverage on the young deputy, so I wonder if they're deliberately positioning it all around the White House and Biden?

[Barrister]

Maybe but the media has also her found her uninteresting to cover. If I just look for what mentions I see of her in my day-to-day reading of the news, she could be dead for all I know. However, if I do a specific search on her, I can see there are plenty of articles on Kamala but they never rise to the top.

Yeah - you wonder if that's deliberate from the White House as well.

If you're an elderly leader the last thing you want is lots of coverage on the young deputy, so I wonder if they're deliberately positioning it all around the White House and Biden?

I really don't think that's it.  Strategically if Biden is elderly and risking to appear a little bit out of it, why wouldn't you want to emphasize you have a youngish and vibrant vice president?  It's not like Biden has any further ambitions after being President.

I think it's either:

a. Biden just doesn't have a great rapport with Harris.  I think I've read that Biden still tends to rely on some of the same team of advisors from Delaware that he's used for years and decades.  Ironically though Biden and Obama apparently had really good relationship; or

b. Harris just isn't as interesting to cover.  Joe Biden always made for good copy (compelling personal story, would speak without as much of a filter, the whole Onion "waxing his Corvette on the WH lawn" thing), but Harris much less so.

[garbon]

b. Harris just isn't as interesting to cover.  Joe Biden always made for good copy (compelling personal story, would speak without as much of a filter, the whole Onion "waxing his Corvette on the WH lawn" thing), but Harris much less so.

At least as far as the current media stance is considered. I think there is a lot of interesting things that could be covered based on Harris's biography.