Anyone watching Kamala Harris speaking in Philadelphia

The Democratic Party in the US is divided into three factions. The reasonable, the unreasonable, and the ridiculous. ALL Democrats and ALL Republicans are not alike. Yes, as in any country - as in America, there are the lemmings who follow the loudest voice and trend. Moderate Republicans and Moderate Democrats are what America needs. But when there is a vacuum of acceptable leadership offered, one choses the candidate who will keep our economy out of the toilet. Democrats are infamous for spending, spending, spending - just look what Biden has done, and he continued over and over to EXTEND Covid era breaks and offer to pay back student loans clearly to buy votes this term.

The cat remark was at least two weeks before Harris was even brought into the campaign. "Cat lady" refers to a reclusive who owns more cats than she should because all her pension is taken up with feeding cats and buying cat litter - which is unwise and nonsensical. Have not heard the context in which JD made the comment, but will review it before even deciding if it warrants more feedback.

Exactly. Factor in that any woman has to be twice as good as a comparable man to succeed and it’s an even more ridiculous assertion.

she can't win as a prosecutor. She actually didn't convict as many people as her predecessors, iirc. But if she convicts people, she's a cop. If she doesn't, she's weak on crime. You can already see people trying to have it both ways with that.

The DA doesn't make the law. She enforces it. If she smoked cannabis (now legal in California) that doesn't mean she isn't obligated to enforce the law as written. It means the law did not match reality. And it was changed.

She's definitely improved at being off script, and she certainly is not stupid if you look at her record.

How on earth is she dim? Attorney general
for the world’s sixth biggest economy,vp, presidential candidate. Would you be so critical of a male candidate and why on earth are you not saying the same about Trump and JP ‘cat ladies’ Vance?

Agreed. Can't believe a lot of people would rather have trump, someone who is actually dangerous. I wouldn't want to put that man in charge of my socks let alone my country.

If it takes scraping the barrel to get rid of Trump, its worth it.

Impressive?
God I have a visceral reaction to her fakeness and honestly, her stupidity. I really do think she’s a bit dim. She can deliver an autocue speech but anytime she is off script, she’s really not good

That one about Venn diagrams, the description of Ukraine/ Russia, that incomprehensible phrase she keeps saying about being unburdened for what will be?!!

Also her track record when she was a prosecutor is pretty appalling, harsh jail sentences for marajuana handed out mainly to black youths, yet admits with glee that she smoked it. Theres something up with her!

I realise she’s ’better than Trump’ but scraping the barrel or what!

@Sheri99 the second you use the words "play the race card" you lose all credibility.

Not just Trump but standard right wing boilerplate. Not even worth a good fisking. Every other Western country is suffering from having universal health care and maternity leave, you know.

It's oversimplified to compare the Democrats to parties in other countries. Since the Democrats are still fighting for things that are standard in other places, they look more right wing. Goodness knows that the Tories would never bring in the NHS. It's much harder to abolish an established programme than to stop it being established in the first place, which is why the right wing of the GOP never did get rid of Medicare and Social Security. But in some matters the Democrats are quite left and the nature of US elections mean that the Democratic Party has to be a coalition. The problem is that the Republican Party has gone from being its own coalition to being the far right so the Democrats have become the Party of Everyone Else.

Right out of the trump playbook.

Yes, Trump’s campaign is very negative and divisive - just look at the kerfuffle over Kamala’s race and his VP’s childless cat ladies comment thing. And also, he a bad choice for the safety of the world in general with isolationist policies and wanting to put tariffs in place. Many countries in the world rely on trade and a tariff war would be difficult.
Plus Elon Musk is funding their campaign and I can’t stand him or the way he tried to stir things up with the UK race riots.

The Democrats are still to the right of what we are used to in Europe / Canada / Australia and it makes me laugh when people call them “far left”. But at least they are more positive and will work with countries. I liked the fact that the Biden administration was quieter in general without riots at Capitol Hill and making stupid, divisive remarks. You just want politicians to get on with it basically.

I really like her and I think she’s great for America!

I agree that the enthusiasm is genuine, but I think it's triggered by relief:
-Omigod, how great, someone under 70!
-Omigod, how great, someone conversant with law!
-Omigod, how great, someone who's not a lifelong bigot!
-Omigod, how great, someone who's always flirting with criminality!
-Omigod, how great, someone with normal human relationships!

I find Harris a little uninspiring , like she is not being herself or something. She’s on a script that she is not moving from, we aren’t getting a sense of her. She’s definitely doing a good job though. Walz seems like a great match for her. He’s a normal guy, relatable, good craic at a bbq, no highfalutin language. Hopefully together they can smash this

Walz is my state’s Governor and (since I’m involved in the SMALLEST way in local government) I was just in a room listening to him speak to a group of us last month. I’m so, so proud of him today, but it’s a little bittersweet to think of him leaving Minnesota. I truly hope he does though; the thought of another four years under Trump is unbearable.

Since I live in an (annoyingly) Conservative rural part of the state where not everyone loves Walz as much as I do, I know exactly what the opposition will latch onto in regards to his background and governmental choices, but I think the team surrounding Harris/Walz is smart enough to neutralize it. I really think they’ve got a real shot and it feels so…electric and hopeful here right now.

Walz has done right by us in Minnesota; the free school meals alone have relieved such a burden on my family personally. Whenever anyone around here disparages him I just say that my biggest issues are education and infrastructure and he’s invested more heavily in them than any governor in recent memory, and even the most hardheaded among my neighbors will grudgingly admit that’s true.

I felt quite emotional watching her. Her energy, enthusiasm and warmth are so appealing. Please US voters, do the right thing.

It's partly relief but there is genuine enthusiasm. She's gotten off to a terrific start, very organised, very on message. As for shouting "USA!" it's just the done thing. I would say that amongst American liberals overdoing the patriotism is not really a thing, but people want to show that the Trumpers don't have a monopoly on it. It's better than the things they chant at Trump rallies.

Josh Shapiro (PA governor) gave a really good speech. Walz has a good sense of humour though very midwestern!

She's given decent people hope.

I'm hoping that people remember that the rapturous reaction is not necessarily because she's the best presidential prospect in the country, but it probably largely just is a relief to have someone who seems like a more reliably viable candidate at a time of crisis.

Also, I hate to say this, but I'm appalled at how often voters - at least American ones - just are always looking for the next new thing. Also, I hate the chant of "USA! USA!" Do other countries do this?