Josh Marshall is like the regular folks who lived through that period. We have exact lists of those who pushed Joe Biden out and who would NEVER say that his replacement should be Vice President Harris. We know who you are, and you’re not going to be allowed to pretend otherwise.
We will never ever ever be able to repay Joe Biden for supporting Vice President Harris and pulling off the UNO REVERSE against the haters.
Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) posted at 11:00 PM on Fri, Aug 23, 2024:
The basic concept is simple. In an extraordinrary crisis the VP is the logical and expected person to take over from the President. That’s literally what they’re there for. The constitution obvs doesn’t speak to the succession of a nomination. But the principle is deeply …2/ embedded in American political culture, at least as the default assumption. What happened after the late June debate was just such an extraordinary crisis for the Democratic political coalition, one in which no legitimate recanvassing of the primary process could take…
3/ place. So when Biden stepped aside Harris was the logical, expected and basically inevitable replacement. that reality was rapidly confirmed by a vast cross section of Democratic activists, voters, small donors, and elected officials. Biden added his own legitimacy and …
4/ blessing to Harris’s ascent. But he had no ability to force the matter on his own. He couldn’t even save his own nomination. No one else decided to challenge Harris because no politician enters a campaign to play out any writer or pundit’s fantasy. They would only .
5/ challenge her if they thought there was a good chance they could win. And every one of them rapidly realized there was no chance they could win. And it was over. The Thunderdome crowds conceit that they were standing up for an open process against party elites was ..
6/ always a mix of comical and grotesque. It was precisely the most connected and wired commentators, editorialists and influencers who backed the idea, along with quietly quite a number of elected officials. The idea that the folks at the center of power, with the biggest …
7/megaphones were standing up for an open process against a smokefilled room elite was some kind of collossal failure of self-awareness or basically a fraud. Many said, well maybe it’s too late now but it wasn’t when we first proposed the idea in the spring. But of course it was.
8/ The idea was first proposed right as Biden was clinching the nomination in the primaries. What possible logic was there to hold another fake pundit-constructed process when the actual process was underway. Democratic voters chose Biden. Maybe they were wrong. Maybe Biden ..
9/ was wrong to run. But both those points are irrelevant in terms of just winging it and making up a new process because you want to and you have a big enough platform to come close to manifesting your fantasies into reality. The simple reality is that everything changed …
10/ after the June debate. Some things that had been impossible became possible, the door closed on others that had been viable before Biden’s poor showing. It became clear over a period of days and weeks that Biden had suffered a catastrophic loss of confidence and support ..
11/ among Democratic voters and party stakeholders and one that couldn’t be repaired. And we know what happened from there. The whole Thunderdome idea wasn’t just unrealistic and, as is now even more clear, likely a disaster for Democrats’ electoral prospects. Most importantly…
12/ it was deeply wrong, a perversion of the most basic scaffolding of democratic legitimacy. None of this is directed to the MAGA influencers pretending to care about Biden’s fate. They’re professional liars, raised on deception and feigned grievance like mother’s milk.
13/ But it’s really shameful for the purveyors of the Thunderdome fantasy to be lo-fi burnishing the idea that Harris’s nomination was some kind of rush-job effort forced on Democratic voters. The simple reality is that precisely the opposite is the case. The masses of …
14/ masses of Demcoratic voters, small dollar donors and activists made their views known with the voiced support of Biden himself in all the imperfect ways they were able to without a formal voting process. That’s obvious to anyone who was watching and if that wasn’t ..
15/ obvious enough the proof of it was in the basically unanimous support for Harris once her grasp on the nomination was clear. There’s this really perverse desire to ignore these pretty clear expressions of popular opinion in the name of some pretend ‘open process’.
16/ Skepticism about Harris, the various machinations to shunt her aside all came from precisely the party elites and the pundits and influencers with the loudest megaphones. Pretending otherwise is simply absurd.
(https://x.com/joshtpm/status/1827194280798040124?t=ueXV9w5fBHeU2G-Pmf2Xqw&s=03)
Lisa Rubin (@lawofruby) posted at 0:53 PM on Fri, Aug 30, 2024:
NEW: Former GA election workers Ruby Freeman & Shaye Moss, who hold a $146 million judgment against Rudy Giuliani, have asked a New York court to transfer to them all his personal assets, including his claim against the RNC and the 2020 Trump campaign for ~$2 million in “unpaid
(https://x.com/lawofruby/status/1829578297899954649?t=hqJbBlEd4SDxaimUv4JDtQ&s=03)
Mara Davis (@MaraDavis) posted at 7:27 AM on Mon, Aug 26, 2024:
The absentee ballot process in GA after SB202 is ridiculous. You have to print out the form, sign, then upload. It’s laborious&ppl will give up. I think this will backfire for voting seniors who are not tech savvy. Getting an absentee should be as easy as paying a bill online.
(https://x.com/MaraDavis/status/1828046517212426370?t=62tfykfmkmriQe367XZ7fg&s=03)
CJ G (@cjgproduxions) posted at 6:54 AM on Tue, Aug 27, 2024:
If our votes really didn’t matter, Republicans wouldn’t be spending all this money on division campaigns to tear up the Black community. Going even as far as creating fake bot accounts to help spread misinformation.
(https://x.com/cjgproduxions/status/1828400701447266692?t=T9wS6GTsQq9IN8wUsbQ3wg&s=03)
Take Back the House and Save the Senate (@Needle_of_Arya) posted at 7:23 AM on Thu, Aug 29, 2024:
the complete irony of a people who have the word “freedom” dripping from their mouths at every opportunity being the ones who want to turn America into a permanent religious dictatorship
(https://x.com/Needle_of_Arya/status/1829132861699502359?t=a6o72wMjWFeGbG0KnuxuHA&s=03)
Reecie @BlackWomenViews (@ReecieColbert) posted at 6:04 PM on Thu, Aug 29, 2024:
I need the folks trippin off reporting on VP Kamala Harris’s tax proposals to come down to their tax bracket on earth because I know y’all ain’t got a $100 million net worth (unless you do then let’s be friends lol). VP will cut middle class and working class taxes, not raise https://t.co/1Uz7cYuMTA
(https://x.com/ReecieColbert/status/1829294031349707001?t=Iudyq0JugwtHLGMwHXSWpg&s=03)
🪷 Madam Auntie VP Kamala Harris for PRESIDENT! (@flywithkamala) posted at 4:43 PM on Thu, Aug 29, 2024:
I love that VP Harris was introduced by HBCU Savannah State class president Katelyn Green.
https://t.co/R39qtAZVsY
(https://x.com/flywithkamala/status/1829273579986583582?t=tEz8RiEoe6C_Ok-prSaDfw&s=03)
The Chanteezy Is Real ♉️💛🪷 (@iamchanteezy) posted at 5:54 PM on Thu, Aug 29, 2024:
President Biden knew actually what he was doing… that’s why he stepped aside and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for President. #HarrisWaltz2024 #BidenDelivers https://t.co/B1jI5Pl4zW
(https://x.com/iamchanteezy/status/1829291662251807086?t=ctMLsGmnxPMCu3bJoE2GrA&s=03)
Article about Nara Smith
https://x.com/ByBiancaBee/status/1826662491201388738?t=yLd21ROv82SmgFlCLYhCNA&s=19
Travis Akers (@travisakers) posted at 9:26 AM on Fri, Aug 30, 2024:
And to think that this man”—she was referring to Trump—“came here and put his thumb up—”
She fell silent for a moment on the telephone, taking a gulp of air. “I’m trying not to cry.”
Why Trump’s Arlington Debacle Is So Serious – The Atlantic https://t.co/PX68p0sHJX
(https://x.com/travisakers/status/1829526195941294580?s=02)
Karen Finney (@finneyk) posted at 2:21 PM on Fri, Aug 30, 2024:
Trump is desperate trying to run away from his record stripping away reproductive rights, he’s now claiming he’d impose a government mandate on health insurance to cover IVF – is that before or after he repeals the Affordable Care Act and signs a national abortion ban?
(https://x.com/finneyk/status/1829600259766694295?s=02)
StrictlyKamala 🇺🇦🌻 (@StrictlyChristo) posted at 2:35 PM on Fri, Aug 30, 2024:
Johnson pulled strings to get Trump into Arlington — and now the scandal is spreading
rawstory.com/johnson-trump-…
The U.S. Dept. of the Army oversees and maintains Arlington National Cemetery. According to a Washington Post report Wednesday evening, “Pentagon officials were deeply concerned about the former president turning the visit into a campaign stop, but they also didn’t want to block him from coming, according to Defense Department officials and internal messages reviewed by The Washington Post.”
“Officials said they wanted to respect the wishes of grieving family members who wanted Trump there, but at the same time were wary of Trump’s record of politicizing the military. So they laid out ground rules they hoped would wall off politics from the final resting place of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their nation.”
Trump’s team was told he could attend only in his personal capacity and that campaign staff members were not allowed. Some of his top campaign staffers reportedly attended Monday’s event despite the rules set by cemetery officials. Also in attendance were several Republican politicians, including Governor Spencer Cox of Utah, now under fire for using a photo of the event in a re-election campaign fundraising email.
“No hats, signs or banners were allowed, according to military officials,” The Post also reported. “No speeches. Reporters and photographers could follow Trump for a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns, but not to the 14-acre plot where veterans from recent wars are buried, known as Section 60. The media was kept away, unable to see the altercation — or anything else, for that matter — during that part of his visit.”
That “altercation,” reportedly involved a cemetery official who later filed a report stating Trump’s team verbally and physically assaulted her, according to multiple reports. She has said she is unwilling to press charges out of fear of retaliation from Trump’s supporters, according to The New York Times. The Trump campaign denies the allegations while campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told The Times the reason for her decision to refuse to press charges “is ridiculous and sounds like someone who has Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
The cemetery “employee tried to enforce the rules as provided to her by blocking Trump’s team from bringing cameras to the graves of U.S. service members killed in recent years, according to a senior defense official and another person briefed on the incident,” The Post adds. “A larger male campaign aide insisted the camera was allowed and pushed past the cemetery employee, leaving her shocked.”
The Daily Caller reports Monday’s event “would have not happened without Speaker Johnson,” according to an unnamed source.
“Speaker of the House Mike Johnson had to intervene to get former President Donald Trump into Arlington National Cemetery for the third anniversary of the Afghanistan withdrawal with Gold Star families, a family told the Daily Caller,” according to the right-wing website.
That source also reportedly told The Daily Caller, “Arlington Cemetery officials claimed the families didn’t want any media, photography, or videography at Section 60, contradicting what the families had actually requested. The families were fine with the media, designated by the Trump team, but Arlington kept pushing back, obstructing the process.”
Not all families were fine with Trump’s appearance and photography.
“The family of a Green Beret who died by suicide after serving eight combat tours and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery expressed concern on Wednesday that Donald J. Trump’s campaign had filmed his gravesite without permission as Mr. Trump stood in an area where campaign photography isn’t allowed,” The New York Times reports. “Relatives of Master Sgt. Andrew Marckesano issued their statement two days after Mr. Trump’s visit.”
“Sergeant Marckesano died on July 7, 2020, after moving to Washington to begin a job at the Pentagon. He had three children, and friends said he had chronic post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in combat. He earned Silver and Bronze Stars during his service. His gravesite is adjacent to that of Staff Sergeant Darin Taylor Hoover, a Marine who was killed in the 2021 bombing at Abbey Gate outside the Kabul airport in Afghanistan.”
The Times reports while the Hoover family gave Trump permission to photograph, the Marckesano family did not, yet his grave “was shown in photos from the visit that were published online. A video was posted to Mr. Trump’s TikTok account featuring footage from the Section 60 visit and the gravestones from behind, with narration criticizing the handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.”
(https://x.com/StrictlyChristo/status/1829603846991314953?s=02)
Sarafina Chitika (@SarafinaChitika) posted at 1:06 PM on Fri, Aug 30, 2024:
Last time @realDonaldTrump was in the White House he appointed an anti-IVF judge to a *lifetime* position on the federal bench. She even made his Supreme Court shortlist.
Voters don’t buy Trump’s words because they have seen Trump’s actions. https://t.co/1jhXLYYSxe
(https://x.com/SarafinaChitika/status/1829581500926320748?s=02)
Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) posted at 10:06 AM on Sat, Aug 17, 2024:
Gov. Walz: Once I had my own children, it became so clear to me that every child who came through the door of my classroom was someone’s most special thing in their life. It gave me a sense of service https://t.co/tauGVHO1Sj
(https://x.com/KamalaHQ/status/1824825150254227609?s=02)
Democracy Docket (@DemocracyDocket) posted at 1:52 PM on Fri, Aug 30, 2024:
BREAKING: In a victory for voters, Pennsylvania court rules that officials must count timely cast mail-in ballots with missing or incorrect dates on the outer envelope. The ruling ensures thousands of ballots won’t be tossed out in the swing state. https://t.co/QbrfVNu4RZ
(https://x.com/DemocracyDocket/status/1829592999124516905?s=02)
I have never been this limber
I have seen maybe a handful of gymnasts this limber.
I ain’t never seen a man this limber 😳😳😳😳😳
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8J13A3F/
Tiff4Mahogany_44 🇺🇸 NATO MEMBER (@tiff4mahogany) posted at 9:50 AM on Fri, Aug 30, 2024:
Another Republican black man ended up on another network’s voter panel to discuss VP Harris.
I’m telling you these monsters are a threat to our national security.
(https://x.com/tiff4mahogany/status/1829532250817618231?t=h1gAJlUEPf2hwJvAr2wOdQ&s=03)
Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) posted at 11:00 AM on Fri, Aug 30, 2024:
Gwen Walz knocks JD Vance for his comments on teachers having children and fertility treatments: “We do not take kindly to folks like JD Vance telling us when or how to start our families.”
“So let me use my teacher voice … Mr. Vance, how about you mind your own business?”
(https://x.com/kylegriffin1/status/1829549653798568211?t=h5NiYGTEVgPACLMwBFDChQ&s=03)
Ragnarok Lobster 🐺 (@eclecticbrotha) posted at 9:14 AM on Fri, Aug 30, 2024:
JD Vance spends an awful lot of time accusing Kamala Harris and Tim Walz of having phony back stories but not enough attention has been paid to how JD Vance entire career is a complete fabrication of billionaire Peter Thiel.
(https://x.com/eclecticbrotha/status/1829522964557300033?t=rQ_GiX4Mqd9RouGuF67Zew&s=03)
Danielle Moodie (@DeeTwoCents) posted at 7:32 AM on Fri, Aug 30, 2024:
.@DanaBashCNN reformulated GOP smears and talking points as questions. She, a white woman, asked a Black and Indian woman to explain her Blackness—the same way Trump called for a birth certificate… how does this garbage pass as journalism?!? 1/2 #WokeAF
(https://x.com/DeeTwoCents/status/1829497444150964481?s=03)
Quin (@QuinThomasx) posted at 11:23 AM on Fri, Aug 30, 2024:
Angel Reese is 17 rebounds away from becoming the WNBA player with the most rebounds in a single season.
She is currently on pace to record over 500 rebounds this season, which has never been done in WNBA history. https://t.co/j08hUijfmC
(https://x.com/QuinThomasx/status/1829555541120819615?t=on4DytQsHZOFej_ADPWvsg&s=03)
Good Morning, Everyone 😊😊😊