Mikie Sherill and Abigail Spanberger ... who are they?
New Democrats, evidently. Okay, fine. But here's the thing ... I read and watch a lot of news coverage. I try to keep informed. I do my due diligence. Yet I don't recall hearing about them, to the best of my knowledge -- at least not more than in passing. Maybe…
Mikie Sherill and Abigail Spanberger ... who are they?
New Democrats, evidently. Okay, fine. But here's the thing ... I read and watch a lot of news coverage. I try to keep informed. I do my due diligence. Yet I don't recall hearing about them, to the best of my knowledge -- at least not more than in passing. Maybe they're great. Maybe not. I dunno. But if I don't know who they are and what they stand for, for all of my efforts, how many other people outside of their districts have heard of them? And how many unaware voters would put in the requisite time and effort to get to know who they are, what their positions are on important issues, and why they should vote for them?
In any campaign, never mind a short one, name recognition matters. No name recognition = no chance. Whatever happened to that "deep bench" the DNC keeps bragging about, with names most people have heard of already, at least in passing? We recognize all of the GOP shortlist names for VP, and often otherwise. Why do many people struggle to name who the Dems are after Biden and Harris?
So many questions, so little time, so little evident preparation by the DNC for a future beyond the top of the ticket. My three cents' worth, adjusted for inflation.
Exactly. People were floating Bashear (correct spelling?) as a VP pick for Harris. His name was familiar but I didn't know who he was or his positions on the issues.
Had to look them up. Both are D women. Su-r-r-r-re they'll be on a ticket together. Spanberger is running for Governor of VA instead of running for reelection to the House. Sherill is running for reelection to the House, and making headlines for demanding Biden go away.
I read that whole tweet as wishful, not serious. Bill's national security leaning: Sherill (NJ) is Air Force veteran and centrist and Spanberger(VA) is ex CIA and centrist. Each is considering gubernatorial run in her state. Spanberger isn't running for reelection to focus and Sherill hasn't declared.
This ticket throws nothing to liberals but has general election positive. No name recognition which is why I think it's part of the joke of the tweet.
Maybe so. Perhaps I make the mistake of taking a very serious issue very seriously. I'm glad Mr. Kristol is able to find some humor value in it. I lost that ability some time back.
At any rate I stand by my main point that most people do not know who the main Democrats are behind Biden and Harris. In our bubble here we are better informed. But the typical voter I see, not exactly eager to research candidates and issues as opposed to, say, playing with their devices and texting in their spare time, doesn't have much of an idea of who sits on that supposed deep bench. That's not a good circumstance, and even more so if The Powers That Be decide that Joe must go.
Abigail Spanberger is legit awesome, and will likely be the next governor of Virginia.
But to give you a taste of how the "average voter" makes these decisions, when she was running for Congress here in Richmond I heard some bimbo talking at the bar about how she wasn't sure if she could vote for someone whose name sounded like "Spam Burger." 🙄
I recognize the problem. Many folks put far more time into decisions about trivial things in their lives rather than taking a little time to dig around to find out if what they hear about presidential candidates on social media or elsewhere is true, false, a bit of both. It baffles me that a good percentage of people don't vote at all. Or they waste a vote on someone who can not win, or write in Abe Lincoln. Choosing a president isn't a joke, but it may as well be if you don't vote. Off topic a bit, but social media caught on so quickly and got out of hand well before the repercussions were carefully considered by Congress. The connecting with family and friends seemed to override the inherent dangers of those platforms. I read the accounts of the Sextortion scams resulting in suicides of teen boys. I don't have children, but I am stunned that all parents aren't loudly raising holy hell and demanding action by lawmakers. I suppose it's similar to the disinterest in regulating guns. If it doesn't happen to your family or someone you care for, it isn't a problem. I rarely see news about Frances Haugen, FB Whistleblower, in press coverage. The apathy is disappointing.
The few younger Dems most people know something about are now in the House and Senate. I can't see them leaving their seats anytime soon, plus we need them where they are now. We need voters to pull their heads out of their asses and vote Dem so we can have a chance to vote for those capable younger candidates in 2028.
With all due respect, both Rep. Mikie Sherill & Rep. Abigail Spanberger have been guests on Nicole Wallace's Deadline Whitehouse numerous times. But I don't see them being stronger candidates than any of the Democratic Governors so popular that they are now serving their second terms in office: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (Mich), Gov. Tony Evers (Wisc), Gov. Jared Polis (CO)Gov, Jay Inslee (WA), Gov. Gavin Newsom (CA), Gov. JB Pritzker (ILL).
I live in VA. Abigail Spanberger is currently in Congress and is running for Governor. I agree with you. Neither she nor Mikie Sherill have national name recognition. There are problems with the short-sighted DNC. We have a lot of things to fix in America. If we can stop the Maga threat, we'll have given ourselves a chance. I wonder if the citizens at large will realize how very close we were to the edge if a Democrat defeats trump. As a collective we tend to have short memories.
That's the major dilemma for any candidate not named Harris (and perhaps Newsom). No one outside of their states excepting political junkies like the Bulwark staff know who these people are.
Okay, I'll ask out loud:
Mikie Sherill and Abigail Spanberger ... who are they?
New Democrats, evidently. Okay, fine. But here's the thing ... I read and watch a lot of news coverage. I try to keep informed. I do my due diligence. Yet I don't recall hearing about them, to the best of my knowledge -- at least not more than in passing. Maybe they're great. Maybe not. I dunno. But if I don't know who they are and what they stand for, for all of my efforts, how many other people outside of their districts have heard of them? And how many unaware voters would put in the requisite time and effort to get to know who they are, what their positions are on important issues, and why they should vote for them?
In any campaign, never mind a short one, name recognition matters. No name recognition = no chance. Whatever happened to that "deep bench" the DNC keeps bragging about, with names most people have heard of already, at least in passing? We recognize all of the GOP shortlist names for VP, and often otherwise. Why do many people struggle to name who the Dems are after Biden and Harris?
So many questions, so little time, so little evident preparation by the DNC for a future beyond the top of the ticket. My three cents' worth, adjusted for inflation.
I hear that there's a Democratic county clerk somewhere in Missouri that might have a really good shot at flipping Missouri. Hey, why not?
If Bill Kristol is endorsing them then they won't be attractive to Dem voters.
Exactly. People were floating Bashear (correct spelling?) as a VP pick for Harris. His name was familiar but I didn't know who he was or his positions on the issues.
Had to look them up. Both are D women. Su-r-r-r-re they'll be on a ticket together. Spanberger is running for Governor of VA instead of running for reelection to the House. Sherill is running for reelection to the House, and making headlines for demanding Biden go away.
I read that whole tweet as wishful, not serious. Bill's national security leaning: Sherill (NJ) is Air Force veteran and centrist and Spanberger(VA) is ex CIA and centrist. Each is considering gubernatorial run in her state. Spanberger isn't running for reelection to focus and Sherill hasn't declared.
This ticket throws nothing to liberals but has general election positive. No name recognition which is why I think it's part of the joke of the tweet.
Maybe so. Perhaps I make the mistake of taking a very serious issue very seriously. I'm glad Mr. Kristol is able to find some humor value in it. I lost that ability some time back.
At any rate I stand by my main point that most people do not know who the main Democrats are behind Biden and Harris. In our bubble here we are better informed. But the typical voter I see, not exactly eager to research candidates and issues as opposed to, say, playing with their devices and texting in their spare time, doesn't have much of an idea of who sits on that supposed deep bench. That's not a good circumstance, and even more so if The Powers That Be decide that Joe must go.
Abigail Spanberger is legit awesome, and will likely be the next governor of Virginia.
But to give you a taste of how the "average voter" makes these decisions, when she was running for Congress here in Richmond I heard some bimbo talking at the bar about how she wasn't sure if she could vote for someone whose name sounded like "Spam Burger." 🙄
I recognize the problem. Many folks put far more time into decisions about trivial things in their lives rather than taking a little time to dig around to find out if what they hear about presidential candidates on social media or elsewhere is true, false, a bit of both. It baffles me that a good percentage of people don't vote at all. Or they waste a vote on someone who can not win, or write in Abe Lincoln. Choosing a president isn't a joke, but it may as well be if you don't vote. Off topic a bit, but social media caught on so quickly and got out of hand well before the repercussions were carefully considered by Congress. The connecting with family and friends seemed to override the inherent dangers of those platforms. I read the accounts of the Sextortion scams resulting in suicides of teen boys. I don't have children, but I am stunned that all parents aren't loudly raising holy hell and demanding action by lawmakers. I suppose it's similar to the disinterest in regulating guns. If it doesn't happen to your family or someone you care for, it isn't a problem. I rarely see news about Frances Haugen, FB Whistleblower, in press coverage. The apathy is disappointing.
The few younger Dems most people know something about are now in the House and Senate. I can't see them leaving their seats anytime soon, plus we need them where they are now. We need voters to pull their heads out of their asses and vote Dem so we can have a chance to vote for those capable younger candidates in 2028.
With all due respect, both Rep. Mikie Sherill & Rep. Abigail Spanberger have been guests on Nicole Wallace's Deadline Whitehouse numerous times. But I don't see them being stronger candidates than any of the Democratic Governors so popular that they are now serving their second terms in office: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (Mich), Gov. Tony Evers (Wisc), Gov. Jared Polis (CO)Gov, Jay Inslee (WA), Gov. Gavin Newsom (CA), Gov. JB Pritzker (ILL).
I live in VA. Abigail Spanberger is currently in Congress and is running for Governor. I agree with you. Neither she nor Mikie Sherill have national name recognition. There are problems with the short-sighted DNC. We have a lot of things to fix in America. If we can stop the Maga threat, we'll have given ourselves a chance. I wonder if the citizens at large will realize how very close we were to the edge if a Democrat defeats trump. As a collective we tend to have short memories.
That's the major dilemma for any candidate not named Harris (and perhaps Newsom). No one outside of their states excepting political junkies like the Bulwark staff know who these people are.