We should have expected this. Donald Trump’s good buddy, Sebastian Gorka, responds to the news that Biden has resigned and will almost certainly be replaced by Kamala Harris:
Gorka joined Mark Dolan on GB News to discuss how Harris would stack up against Donald Trump in a race for the White House.
This disaster whose only qualification is having a vagina and the right skin colour…he said before being interrupted by GB News host Mark Dolan.
We can’t expect that most right-wingers will be that blatant. Another pundit, Chloe Dobbs, on GB News tried to rephrase the hate to be a little more palatable.
Political commentator Chloe Dobbs said she sympathised with Gorka’s view, but felt he worded it too strongly.
I wouldn’t have used exactly the same words, but he does have a point, she said.
Being a woman of colour in this world definitely gives you a leg up. She is very unpopular and she is often accused of using word soup, no one understands what she stands for, she is a very weak candidate.
How do you get to that position when you’re that unpopular? I think the colour of your skin and the fact you’re a woman plays some part.
She wouldn’t use the same words, she says, before saying exactly the same thing.
The reality is that she is an accomplished politician, and that Harris is as popular as Biden, even slightly more so, and she hasn’t even begun a prominent campaign for the office. I’m far more comfortable putting her into the oval office than I was for Joe Biden.
Yeah, there’s going to be plenty of sexist and racist hate cast towards Kamala. I am behind her candidacy. I loved when she put Biden in his place during a Democratic debate last election cycle.
The fashy Rethugs will hate her, but I imagine much gnashing of teeth amongst Democrats and the much further Left. She was a prosecutor for instance.
If not Harris, I hope not someone like Manchin. We shall see…
Also any relation between Chloe Dobbs and the recently deceased Lou Dobbs?
Harris’ candidacy will help clarify a few things about the Republican party–for starters, how racist, mysogynistic and sexist they are. I think she will bang the abortion drum every chance she gets. She’ll have to walk a fine line between being tough-minded and empathetic/caring, but I think she can do it.
If your bigotry is so blatant that a GB News host feels obliged to shut you up, it’s something really special!
Hemidactylus@1,
Is there “anyone like Manchin” other than Manchin? He, presumably realising he hasn’t a hope in hell, has ruled himself out.
“How do you get to that position when you’re that unpopular? I think the colour of your skin and the fact you’re a woman plays some part.”
As you well know, as you well know…How does it feel knowing you’re the GB DEI hire? A young, fresh white face to vomit old hate and make it palatable.
I was the first woman in a 300 man group from 1977 to the early 90’s. Seen variations of this too many times. Keep on the Botox honey – there’s a fresh new clone coming down the pipe behind you.
This is good.
Let the fascists squirm and flail.
They are afraid.
The more they scream their racist bullshit, the more you should be convinced that it was a good move.
Harris is indeed a less shit candidate than Biden, for once the Dems played their hand well.
The choice is pretty much made, this is going to be your horse in the race and the time for questioning this and the whole system that gave you this is after the elections.
Again please please please this is not the time for infighting or self criticism, we have a few years to limit climate change and a president that pays lip service to the issue is better than one who will deliberately make things worse because he saw something on cable TV.
And yes, a vaguely democratic system is easier to push than an outright fascist one.
Once the elections shitshow is done, do start thinking about how to tear the system down.
“Tear the system down?” Why not just…you know…fix it?
LOL.
Kamala uses “word soup” when Trump can’t speak a coherent sentence? Trump sounds like Jim Jones during the peak of Jones’ drug-induced paranoia.
At this point I’m convinced MAGA is a cult. There’s nothing resembling lucid thinking coming out of there.
I might be a biased incrementalist, but I concur with Raging Bee. Fixes can lean more radical, such as if Obama stuck with a public option on ACA. Would single payer be akin to burning part of the system down so to speak? Or be a larger incremental move?
While entirely tearing down the current sovereign consult Hobbes on the resulting war of all against all. Or look toward the anarchic paradise of Somalia. A vacuum sprouts warlords.
A concerted effort toward entirely tearing down the system currently in place will merely fail violently and become fodder toward the enactment of Schmitt’s state of exception. Have fun with that reactionary extra-legal by any means necessary expediency. Then comes the gloves off friend-enemy distinction which provides warrant for the looming dictatorship. It has already warranted, in the not so distant past, the Patriot Act. Next time Niemöller‘s “first they came” will apply.
I am not familiar with “GB News.” Who is it that is giving a platform to literal Nazis such as Gorka?
(Looks at photo)
OK she is a woman.
European, I think. Not darker than any co-worker that spends time in the sun. Black? Asian? Neither is obvious. You have to obsess about race in order to dig out the information.
.
Also, Gorka and Strphen Miller are not the only ones to start foaming at the mouth on TV. It is beautiful. I suddenly feel more hopeful.
It will be a pleasure to watch her make mincemeat out of Trump in the debate. Of course, Trump may do his best to squirm out of it. Republicans are already insisting that it should be moved to Fox News because……reasons.
File this one under “Who asked?”
Manchin says he wouldn’t serve as Harris VP
Reginald Selkirk@11,
GB News is an attempt to replicate Fox News in the UK. It’s run at a loss; the motivation is entirely political, to normalise the far right. Nigel Farage and a clutch of the most repulsive Tories have been given slots as presenters, and Ofcom, which is supposed to ensure a degree of political balance in broadcasting, let them get away with just about anything.
Oh really?
This is going to be news to any women of color. Because it isn’t true.
Look at the US House and Senate or any state legislature. White males are vastly overrepresented in terms of their percentage in the population.
[I see that KG beat me to it.]
Reginald Selkirk @11: I hadn’t heard of them either, but Google gave me the answer right away.
From Wikipedia:
I guess “GB” is for Great Britain.
My local PBS World Channel gives me a half-hour English language show from DW (Deutsche Welle) News in Berlin. I like to watch it because it gets me out of the US-only bubble, at least for a little bit.
didn’t Trump already refuse to debate her in September? he doesn’t want to go head-to-head with her. it’s hard to say whether this will on-balance make him look weak or principled.
re: “tear the system down”; i choose to acknowledge that it’s a statement of frustration rather than beg for moderation in tone. the democratic party is fractious and has a history of dangling the promise of a better-functioning system in front of its constituency and failing to deliver. maybe those failures are due to unavoidable political realities, maybe not.
birgerjohansson @ #12 — Harris’s heritage is Tamil (mother) and Afro-Jamaican.
raven @ #16 – “This is going to be news to any women of color. Because it isn’t true…White males are vastly overrepresented…” Ain’t it the truth which is a reason to vote for a woman…of color or not…over a white male, if all else is equal. We white men have so screwed things up, I firmly believe we need to give a lot more other folks a chance. Perhaps they’ll get something done besides make rich white men richer and more entitled.
Biden’s crime bill filled up the prisons and Harris tried not to let people out of prison so they could be slave labor to fight forest fires.
Two monsters.
GB news is to TV in Britain what the gutter press is to the printed word. And they had to rein in Gorka.
Like the SNL sketch where John Belushi plays a Klansman that has been fired from the Klan for being too violent.
@Raging Bee #7, @Hemidactylus #10
Because we “western democracies” have a system that allows people to accumulate a lot of power.
This power is then used to erode whatever checks and balances you put in place.
This happened in places as the US but is happening also in very different places like Sweden, which used to be very egalitarian but now has seen its wealth inequality skyrocket and -guess what?- everyone is blaming immigrants.
This does not mean that reforms can’t be useful but… “We the people” have actually only very limited control on our governments.
Most of it lies with monied interests, who can invest in campaign donations, think tanks, favorable news coverage, influence in the job market, and buying a politician or two.
Tweaks and nudges are not enough.
Last time I checked Somalia was not the result of someone trying to build a society based on mutual aid, so you seem to have an extremely warped idea of “anarchism”, as in the actual libertarian socialist ideology.
If you want to see how such a society worked (and did not) there’s plenty of resources, perhaps read George Orwell’s Homage to Catalunya?
If you want an example of libertarian socialist systems, I’m a big fan of the Zapatistas in Chiapas (300K people) and the Kurds in Rojava/AANES (2 million people).
And to be perfectly clear, if you think you are in a position where you can obtain a reform of the Electoral College, or reduce voter suppression, or remove some money from politics, or get stronger climate action, or any tweak to the law that can make the world a better place, please go for it.
I just think that in the long term we need a system where we don’t have to fight a hopeless battle every time we want our government to do the obviously right thing, and the current one is not it.
Jaundiced fantasy by drew:
Actual reality:
Fewer people in prison than during Trump’s term, and proposed changes to the CJS:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/04/25/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-celebrates-second-chance-month-announcing-new-actions-to-strengthen-public-safety-improve-rehabilitation-in-jails-and-prisons-and-support-successful-reentry/
Racism is so blatant in the days of Trump.
Um. Could we please stop referring to female candidates—and only female candidates—by their first names?
Steve Morrison @27
No.
Besides it’s not as if nobody said “The Donald”, “Uncle Joe”, or “Mayor Pete”. Instead of Bush, there was “Jeb”. His brother was “Dubya”.
I voted for Hillary and will vote for Kamala. Bending over backwards to deem something sexist that is perfectly innocent is itself offputting and alienating. Why not target the actual misogynists who will be coming out of the woodwork than drag someone who affectionately refers to her as Kamala, which is a bit more unique, identifying, and personable than Harris, not to be confused with “estrogen vibe” Sam or the aerospace corporation. I mean I will refer to her as Harris too or Kamala Harris. Kamala suffices for me.
ACAB. That’s all that needs to be said about Kamala Harris.
Nobody buys your coronation. You call yourselves a Democratic party. Have a democratic process for choosing your candidate for fuck’s sake.
Black and a vagina, we now know the two biggest fears of far-right ensemble.
@29, there was a democratic process, it was called the primary. The winner has since decided not to accept his victory any more. If you wanted a different candidate, you could’ve voted then. Unfortunately there isn’t enough time to run through the whole process again.
And also, back in the day, I was a forced-birth, sexist, “all gays are abominations who deserve Hell”, racist, right wing Christian. I got better. People can change. Strangely, I got better almost immediately after I shed that last word in the description.
Let me be clear, voting for anyone who is not the democratic candidate at this stage of history is a vote to take rights away from LGBT people, and those who have a uterus. Voting for anyone who is not the democratic nominee is racist. There is no way around that now. I want to fix the system as much as anyone else, but trying to do that right now is unbelievably selfish and makes you worse than the MAGAts, after all, you are smart enough to know better.
@#28: So, the “Dear Muslima” argument again?
Steve Morrison @28
You seem to be trolling. How the fuck does Dear Muslima apply to what I said?
BTW when I voted for Hillary I gave her the nuance to understand what she actually meant with the two baskets including “deplorables”. She was spot on. I doubt like five people in the world knew what she intended.
Maybe you are one of those anti-woke nutters hoping to set the SJWs off against each other with what amounts to a silly argument against how someone prefers to refer to a POTUS candidate they are completely in favor of. You failed to persuade me.
drew with the disinformation again…
https://www.politifact.com/article/2019/aug/01/were-tulsi-gabbards-attacks-kamala-harris-record-c/
tl;dr: some lawyers (out of around ~1,000) under her AG office made that argument without her knowledge, and when informed, she directed her subordinates not to use that argument. While it being not her, but a member of the organization she was in charge of doesn’t absolve her of responsibility, but you can’t seriously expect someone to closely monitor 1000 individuals.
Biden’s crime bill filled up the prisons…
Yeah, right, our prisons were totally empty before “Biden’s crime bill.” Who do you think you’re fooling, little troll?
“We the people” have actually only very limited control on our governments.
Do you really think “we the people” will have more control of ANYTHING in the chaos and civil war that results from “tearing the system down?”
@Raging Bee #36: Please read what I wrote.
I gave you the example of two very bloodless revolutions, that worked because of all the work that had been done before they happened and that indeed resulted in a far more even distribution of power.
There is no need for “tear the system down” to mean it has to be a quick and bloody revolution.
It just means that fixes and tweaks and nudges are not enough in the long term.
The system we use now is inherently flawed, we should stop thinking that it’s the best system possible: there are better system being used, right now, in the real world.
Speaking of a nosedive straight into the sewer, a state senator from Ohio has called for a civil war if Trump loses.
The GOP aren’t deep thinkers.
.1. It never occurs to them that if there is a civil war, they might be victims of violence and killed.
In fact a week ago, Trump was almost killed in an assassination attempt.
.2. It never occurs to them that they could just lose their civil war. Again.
They lost their last two civil wars. The one to keep slaves in 1865 and their insurrection on January 6th, 2020.
George Lang is a generic internet troll. He is also an elected GOP state senator from Cincinnat, Ohio.
@21. drew : “Biden’s crime bill filled up the prisons and Harris tried not to let people out of prison so they could be slave labor to fight forest fires.Two monsters.”
If Biden and harris are monsters what does that make Trump who is about a thousand times worse? I’ve noticed you always seem to appear to attack Democratic figures but not Repug ones. Why is that please?
@29. beholder :
I notice you never seem to answer my questions such as those asked here :
https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2024/07/21/biden-out/#comment-2228601
For your ease of answering I’ll repeat them here – please answer & stop drive-by trolling :
Given your use of “Genocide Joe” and considering Trump is much more genocidal towards both Palestinians and Ukrainians and calls without restraint for Israel to “finish the job” why don’t you call Trump Genocide Don?
Would you rather have the Republicans or the Democratic party in charge of the USA and esp its foreign policy?
2b Who do you think Netanyahu and Putin would prefer & why and wdoes this factor intoyour thinking at all?
Given you think the democratic party deserves toimplode and become irrlevant,; what do you think the Republicans deserve?
(Note these parties are currently the only realistic alternatives to each other.)
Good refrsher onwho Gorka actually is via Sam Bee here
Dr. Sebastian L. v. Gorka, Trump Whisperer | Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Huh. Could swear I had numbers and spaces between my questions to beholder in #39! That’s right, forgot, there’s some sorta annoying glitch w that on this blog.. Sigh..
Take II – clarity & usefulness fix attempt :
Beholder, please answer & stop drive-by trolling :
.1) Given your use of “Genocide Joe” (#30 in the ‘Biden Out’ thread) and considering Trump is much more genocidal towards both Palestinians and Ukrainians and calls without restraint for Israel to “finish the job” why don’t you call Trump Genocide Don?
.2) Would you rather have the Republicans or the Democratic party in charge of the USA and esp its foreign policy?
.2b) Who do you think Netanyahu and Putin would prefer & why and does this factor into your thinking at all?
.3) Given you think the Democratic party deserves to implode and become irrelevant( #30 ‘Biden Out’ again); what do you think the Republicans deserve?
Note that these parties are currently the only realistic alternatives to each other. Yes, the system needs to change so that is no longer the case; however that is the current reality so if the Democrats vanish then the Repubs win and hold unchecked power.
While I think the Democratic party has serious problems, yeah, we need them to win this election if we’re going to have another.
She was a prosecutor not a cop. Sure, they share in the blame for the worst excesses of this country’s judicial system but they’re mostly not the ones killing unarmed Black people either.
Surprise, non-surprise, beholder has still not answered my questions in #41. Its been quite a while so given them plenty of time.