Pure ^_^ 🇺🇦🥥🐝

Usually just reading and retweeting stuff. He/Him

[Square Enix Manga & Books @SquareEnixBooks]

🚨TODAY’S THE DAY! 🚨

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[Pete Buttigieg @PeteButtigieg]

VP Vance has cast the deciding vote in the Senate to cut Medicaid, take away food assistance, blow up the deficit, and add tax breaks for the wealthiest.

This bill is unpopular because it is wrong.

Congress votes this week, but it’s our voices - and our votes - that will have the final say.

[DCPetterson.bsky.social @dcpetterson]

This is spectacular. Right on the money. Whoever wrote this absolutely understands our popular culture.

[Republicans against Trump @RpsAgainstTrump]

This wins the internet 🤣https://t.co/yGF4zGkRps

[Mike Nellis @MikeNellis]

Liz Cheney accomplished something most of us could only dream of—convincing our Republican dads to vote for a Democrat 👇

[Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1]

Secretary Buttigieg: "I'm not a retired naval officer, but I did proudly serve in the Naval Reserve. I remember when I went to officer training in Newport, Rhode Island, outside every one of our rooms they put a little biography of just one of the people from the Navy who won the Medal of Honor and a little write-up of how they got that Medal of Honor.

"You would feel about this big compared to these people. And maybe that's why those stories just break Donald Trump's brain. He literally cannot comprehend that kind of sacrifice. And he certainly cannot comprehend a concept of politics that is not about you, not about your glorification, but about what you can do to make other people better off." @Morning_Joe

[Mark Hamill @MarkHamill]

He reportedly told 30,573 lies during his 4 years in office. Impressive, but considering he managed 162 lies in 64 minutes... hardly surprising. Read the gobsmacking analysis from @NPR here. https://t.co/N0CJwv1XbB

[MrJamesonNeat 🇺🇸 @MrJamesonNeat]

The @DNC should have Pete Buttigieg give the keynote speech at the convention. He’s the best speaker in the Democratic Party & a rising star within the party. The DNC needs to spotlight the next generation of visionary leaders. If anyone can inspire and lead us forward, it’s him.

[Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 @cmclymer]

A little over two weeks ago, a user on Twitter posted a joke claiming, with a knowing wink, that J.D. Vance, the junior senator from Ohio and Trump’s running mate, had been quite intimate with an alluring chesterfield.

(long thread)

[CALL TO ACTIVISM @CalltoActivism]

HOLY LORD, every Christian must see this!

[Robert Reich @RBReich]

Clarence Thomas ruled in favor of Citizens United. Harlan Crow and his family's political contributions then went up 862%. Then we later find out Thomas let Crow take him on lavish trips, buy his mom's house, and help fund his wife's conservative nonprofit. See how this works?

[Mark Hamill @MarkHamill]

Harris Supporters Against Gun Violence UNITE.
Please join us on Zoom TODAY Tuesday 8/6 hosted by @fred_guttenberg!!!

Sign up: https://t.co/8ULu1RibeT…
Donate: https://t.co/xniQtmBOSa
Hope to see YOU there! 👀
#KamalaHarris2024

[Touré @Toure]

Saying "America isn't ready for a female/gay ticket" is deeply problematic. You're saying 'I'm not racist/sexist/homophobic but others are and we have to be mindful of their opinions.' So you're centering the opinions of bigots at the expense of helping marginalized folks rise?

[Julián Castro @JulianCastro]

I went through the VP vetting process in 2016, part of a group of potential running mates considered by Secretary Clinton. Here’s what that experience was like:

I got a call from a top Clinton campaign official in mid-June 2016, asking if I would like to participate in the VP vetting process. Expectations were set at the very beginning. Sec. Clinton was vetting about ten candidates and might well select someone else—still, nothing was set in stone, I was told. 

It’s a grind of a process. Teams of lawyers and investigators were each assigned 2-3 candidates to vet. Weeks before candidates were contacted, the teams had put together extensive dossiers of each person. Candidates had to answer a 150+ question background questionnaire that delved into political, employment, legal, financial and personal family history. 

Once that was turned in, each candidate sat with their vetting team for several hours to answer detailed questions. They were direct and precise, mining for any potential political problem lurking in one’s background. (Memories of the Sarah Palin embarrassment loomed large in this cycle). Some questions were also meant to put the candidate on the spot, “Would you have any problem if I were to take your phone from you right now (pointing at the cell phone) and look through it?” They didn’t actually take it. 

A brief follow up interview came a week or so later. Then, about a week after that, Sec. Clinton interviewed perhaps 6-7 candidates. These meetings varied in length but were generally aimed at gauging chemistry, giving each candidate a chance to make their case, and assessing governing and campaigning ability.

After at least five weeks of direct candidate vetting, Secretary Clinton made her decision and Senator Kaine was announced as her running mate on July 22. 

Generally, presidential nominees have sought to balance the ticket in different ways to gain a perceived political advantage— geographic (Kennedy/LBJ, Dukakis/Bentsen, Gore/Lieberman, Kerry/Edwards), ideological (LBJ/Humphrey, Carter/Mondale), experience (Obama/Biden), old Washington-trailblazer (Mondale/Ferraro, Biden/Harris). As the swing states in contention have shifted, these considerations have become more of less important. As many have said, though, what doesn’t change is the need for the VP to at least do no harm (a rule violated by Palin and probably Vance). 

Are running mates chosen specifically to help the ticket win in a home state? For Democrats, not usually. Mondale (‘76), Ferraro (‘84), Lieberman (‘00), Biden (‘08), and Harris (‘20) came from relatively blue states. Gore and Kaine were exceptions, as Tennessee had voted nearly 58% for Bush in ‘88 and Virginia had gone for Obama by only 51-47 in 2012. Bentsen (‘88) was chosen when Texas was still winnable for Democrats and the GOP nominee (H.W. Bush) was a Texan. 

In 2016, the speculation was that Clinton might choose a Black or Latino male to balance the ticket. This year, conventional wisdom is that a white male will be chosen. The good news is that VP Harris has several great options.

VP Harris has more experience than most previous nominees and has reenergized the Democratic base without alienating moderates. She’s also opened the battleground map back up to include AZ, NV and GA. Trump doubled down on his base with the choice of Vance, making Trump perhaps less competitive with independents than he might have been with a different pick. That gives VP Harris a lot of latitude to select a running mate—a progressive or a moderate— who won’t just help her win an election but with whom she has great chemistry and will help her govern effectively.

[Secretary Pete's Starbase One 2028 🐝🚀🛸🍷 @TrekkiesforPete]

"I know a Pete Buttigieg will win my poll, so I won't include him" has to be one of the weirdest trends ever.

[Nerdy Pursuit 🐉 @nerdypursuit]

I love that Secretary Buttigieg always takes time to meet with students who intern at USDOT. Years ago when I was a federal intern, I never saw my Secretary at all.

Here he is talking about his own internship experiences:

[Victor Shi @Victorshi2020]

Oh my goodness.

Interviewer: “Did Donald Trump make a mistake when he chose JD Vance?”

Nancy Pelosi: “No, I think it was a great choice” and then laughs hysterically.

Golden. Nancy Pelosi is a national treasure.

[Mark Hamill @MarkHamill]

TODAY 8/5- I'll be joining some of the funniest people on the planet in support of @KamalaHarris for President! (I promise to just listen & not tell a single knock-knock joke) Please JOIN US!!! 🙏