Kamala Harris is now the presumptive Democratic nominee -- what this means for DU

[EarlG]

This year, we did what we always do on Democratic Underground during a presidential election year. While the presidential nomination was still up for grabs, we were in Primary Season. Since Joe Biden had no serious opposition this year and essentially ran unopposed, we called an end to Primary Season on March 6, immediately after Super Tuesday. At that point, we switched to General Election Season.

The difference between the two seasons is subtle but significant. DU's "Don't bash Democratic public figures" rule states, in part, "Do not post anything that could be construed as bashing, trashing, undermining, or depressing turnout for any Democratic general election candidate."

When we are in Primary Season, Democratic candidates for office are not considered "general election candidates" -- they are still fighting to win that honor -- and so DU members have lots of leeway to advocate for their own candidates and criticize their opponents as part of the primary campaign. Once the primaries are over, the winners become "Democratic general election candidates" and as such, receive a lot more protection under the rules. They cannot be bashed, trashed, or undermined once Primary Season is over.

We've done things this way for 20 years on DU because allowing people to continue to oppose Democratic nominees once the primaries are over is counterproductive, provides an obvious entry point for trolls, and is contrary to DU's Core Principles ("...to elect more Democrats and fewer Republicans to all levels of American government" ).

I don't regret sticking to the policy this year. For as long as Joe Biden remained the Democratic nominee, it would not have been right to abandon the policy, and doing so would have set a confusing precedent. For as long as he was in the race, Biden was the Democratic nominee, and he deserved to be protected in the same way that previous nominees had been protected before him. I know some people disagreed with this decision, but I believe it was the right thing to do.

As soon as Joe Biden dropped out of the race, however, we were in unprecedented territory. The logical thing to do seemed to be to return to Primary Season, since the Democratic Party no longer had an official nominee, so that's what we did on Sunday.

48 hours later, Kamala Harris has already secured enough pledged delegates to become the presumptive nominee. Therefore I see no reason at this time to remain in Primary Season. The vast majority of the Party has lined up behind the Vice President, and with enough pledged delegates to secure the nomination, it is now highly unlikely that anyone but Kamala Harris will be declared the official Democratic nominee when all is said and done.

And so, we are now returning to General Election Season with Kamala Harris as our nominee and we're ready to move forward. Thank you all for your patience while we navigated these tricky waters. Hopefully we are now ready to unite and move on to the next goal which is the most important of all -- to defeat Donald Trump this November, take control of Congress, and put MAGA out of business for good.

Thank you for reading!

EarlG, on behalf of Elad -- The DU Administrators

[spooky3]

1. Thanks. Nt

[GPV]

2. Thanks!

[TwilightZone]

3. Quickest primary season ever.

I've always been in favor of shortening campaign season. While this situation is unique, of course, it's proof positive that shorter campaigns would be a very good thing. It's silly that House members, for example, have to start running their campaigns the day after the prior one ended.

[CincyDem]

4. Bada bing. Bada boom. Let's go. All in.

[Chipper Chat]

5. Yessssssss!

[malaise]

6. K & R n/t

[Rhiannon12866]

7. Thanks, EarlG!

I'm on board! (And so is my cat!)

[JohnSJ]

8. Excellent. We all must get behind our candidate, Kamala Harris

[ismnotwasm]

9. WOOT!

[relayerbob]

10. Thank you for everything you do at DU!

[Renew Deal]

11. But Joe Manchin is going to become a Democrat again!

[madinmaryland]

35. No. No. No. he is waiting for Joe Lieberman to tell him what to do.

😄

[sop]

63. Manchin will have to get a ouija board and hold a seance.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

86. Maybe George Santos will become a Democrat (again?)

Equally meaningful.

[AllaN01Bear]

12. please note: the eula states that we support all dems . go maddame prez and the first husband.

the prosocutor takes on the con. make it so. anyone to defeat the evIl trump.

[sheshe2]

13. Thank you.

Vote Harris 2024 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[honest.abe]

14. Perfect!

[msfiddlestix]

48. This is the Best Photo! Love this one,

[honest.abe]

52. Really looks like a Madam President!

[llmart]

53. What a beautiful picture!

Can't wait to see it hanging in our White House and Capitol and on the covers of major publications.

[onetexan]

59. Ditto!! Perfection!

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

15. Okay Earl... sounds good to me!!

[Upthevibe]

16. EarlG

Thank you, EarlG.

Is it appropriate for us to discuss the pros and cons of her possible running mates (in a respectful manner)?

[EarlG]

20. Yes, absolutely

I understand why you asked the question since this year has obviously been unprecedented when it comes to the selection of our nominee, but as far as I can recall, we have never had any problems on DU when it comes to discussion of a nominee's VP choice, so I don't think there's anything special I need to say about it this time around. Members are free to discuss the pros and cons of VP choices -- provided that they stay within normal DU rules of course.

[Upthevibe]

65. Thank you!

[riversedge]

17. And away we go!!!

[PCIntern]

18. Agreed in toto and thank you. Nt

[lindysalsagal]

19. This also quells any wanna-be trolls. Thankyou.

[hlthe2b]

21. I am already seeing posters called out for mildly criticizing prominent Dems for NOT ENDORSING our presumptive nominee.

(Not attacking the non-endorsers but merely questioning why they are not/have not). It would be helpful if you could touch on these more subtle adjacent issues. Thanks, EarlG

[claudette]

55. Agree

[Bettie]

22. Thanks Earl

for keeping it all together.

[Easterncedar]

23. You have great rules!

Thanks, as ever, for making this great place.

[Maeve]

24. Thank you, O Great Cat-herder!

I know we drive you crazy sometimes (well, I know I do!) And we are lucky you put up with the madness.

[ImNotGod]

25. Agree, looking forward to tRump getting his ass kicked by Kamala Harris nt

[usaf-vet]

26. At 77 I am thrilled that I will get to vote for a woman for POTUS. I hope I live long enough the see her get elected....

.... and sworn in for a second term in 2028.

[NewHendoLib]

27. Great - thanks. Let's win this thing!

[MustLoveBeagles]

28. Thank you for all you do

[oasis]

29. Full Speed Ahead!

[FalloutShelter]

30. Noted.

Thanks Earl.

[solara]

31. Thank you EarlG

"Kamala Harris is now the presumptive Democratic nominee" !!

Thank you for staying on it.. and for doing everything you do.

[samsingh]

32. Makes sense.

[duhneece]

33. Your/DU's stance is reasonable, makes perfect sense

Especially in these uncharted waters.
DU remains my touchstone, my sanity , my sanctuary, my family and my friends.
Thank you, EarlG and all of the DU family.

[Martin68]

34. Good decision.

[Mountainguy]

36. Fastest primary ever

Marianne Williamson is gonna be pissed.

[Butterflylady]

37. Yippee!!!!!!!!

[Ford_Prefect]

38. Thank you!

[SunSeeker]

39. K & R

[ornotna]

40. Excellent

As it should be.

[sarchasm]

41. Fired up and ready to go!

Fighting For The People and Delivering For America.

[FailureToCommunicate]

42. I just donated again...

Thanks EarlG for your sound leadership.

donate here:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218885532

[FSogol]

43. Awesome! Now we can all fight over who the VP should / will / can be.

/s?

[liberal N proud]

44. Amazing times

[Blue Dawn]

45. Perfect!

All in for Kamala!

[Think. Again.]

46. Thanks!

I'm looking forward to strong, positive posts in support of all our Democratic candidates, and strong, NEGATIVE posts against all the others.

Fighting FOR Kamala!

Fighting AGAINST trump!

ONWARD!

[msfiddlestix]

47. Well Done! Much Appreciated! Fully Agree on Every Single Point, Thank You!

[spicysista]

49. Thanks, EarlG!

Yes we KAM!

[Tetrachloride]

50. fun and clear read

[claudette]

54. Does it mean

be careful? I ❤️ Kamala Harris and will vote for her.

[gademocrat7]

56. Thank you, EarlG

Your efforts in this endeavor are greatly appreciated.

[AmBlue]

57. And boy, that was FAST!!

Thank you EarlG!

[WheelWalker]

58. Winner winner chicken dinner!

[Initech]

60. This time two weeks ago, I was totally dejected and wanted the election over.

I actually told a coworker of mine that I'd rather throw my TV out the window than watch 5 minutes of election coverage.

Now I'm back in and ready to help sink Trump and Project 2025 for good!

[yankee87]

61. Thank you

Go HARRIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Wild blueberry]

62. Thank you!

Wise decisions.
EarlG, Elad, DU Administrators, you're the BEST! Thank you.

[Paladin]

64. Many thanks, EarlG and Administrators.

In all my many years here, I've never been happier or prouder to be a DU participant.

[Eliot Rosewater]

66. Friendly reminder most don't need it but her name is pronounced

Comma La

[TBF]

67. I need a "I'm w/her" t-shirt! :)

Absolutely ready to put in the work to get rid of MAGA! Now that I've seen Project 2025, it's not just Trump - it's all of them.

[MiHale]

68. KnR...nt

[Dem2theMax]

69. Thank you, EarlG and Elad.

You forgot one thing. We need some new avatars. Pretty please.

[Conjuay]

70. I've never said thank you to the administrators of this group

This is the only thing that kept me sane since 2015. I salute your efforts, and , again say 'Thank You'.

[LuvJoesPartner]

71. Thank You!!

Let’s do this !!! 💄

[Peace lady]

72. YES!

I am happy and excited right now! Let's go!

[electric_blue68]

73. Ty, EarlG.

[redqueen]

74. Thank you for helping to save the country!

Seriously that is what is at stake this year so I'm glad to hear you didn't allow people to go ham on Biden and I'm BEYOND thrilled that Kamala has locked up the delegates already, so anyone who as a problem with it can be quiet about that and reflect on their priorities!

[bluewater]

75. Cool!

Let's get it on!

Harris for President

[lpbk2713]

76. Understood

Many thanks for keeping this place running.

[hibbing]

77. You rock EarlG!

[AKwannabe]

78. Go brat DU

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219223455

[Silver Gaia]

79. Thank you, EarlG!

Fired up! Ready to go!

Let's win this!

[greatauntoftriplets]

80. Thanks so much, EarlG.

The last few days have been such a whirlwind. Thanks for providing the means to keep up with developments as they happen.

[Cha]

81. And We're Good To Go With Lightening Speed! ! Mahalo, EarlG & Elad!

[barbtries]

82. Yes. election season is on,

and I for one am very happy about it. She can win, she will win, there are more of us than there are of them, this is reason for hope.

Joe Biden's brilliance is greater than i ever gave him credit for, and I'm sorry about that.

[calimary]

83. Thank you, EarlG for guiding us through these weird, wild waters.

I appreciate the thoughts in this announcement, especially THIS part:

"...and put MAGA out of business for good."

OKAY, TEAM, Game ON! Let's ROCK!!!!!

[Stinky The Clown]

84. Very Glad to see this!!!!!

[Escurumbele]

85. Full support to Kamala and DU...This election is going to be historic, and will allow us to finally

stop seeing trump in the news because, and I have no doubt, that once he loses, republicans who know he is bad for everyone will leave him behind, even the media will stop talking about him.

And I do believe that Kamala will be a great President, she is tough, brilliant, she will bring a different perspective to our government. The one thing we all need to do is make sure that both Congress and the Senate become a Democratic majority to allow bills that benefit the country, and the World, can be passed without republican obstruction.

[Iggo]

87. Excellent news!

All day Sunday I was having waking nightmares of a contested nomination process. “Dems In Disarray!”

No one was happier than I was when I saw Monday that it united us instead of dividing us.

Again, excellent news!

[I_UndergroundPanther]

88. Yeah I agree ❤️Kamala you are🔥🔥🔥

[proud patriot]

89. thanks EarlG

[B.See]

90. Thank you, EarlG (and thank God for DU)

[flying-skeleton]

91. Well said - Thank you

[maspaha]

92. Yes! General election season!

Time for falling in/out of love is over. Time to fall in line….

Or, if you prefer, just chop wood, carry water, no complaining, we have work to do….

Or, provide and follow your own favorite marching order….

[Dem4life1970]

93. Awesome! Let's unite and win!

The White House, House, Senate, and reform the Extreme Court.

[COL Mustard]

94. Joe rocks as President

Kamala will rock as President. I am looking forward to her mopping the floor with TSF.

As I told someone yesterday, I would walk over broken glass or hot coals (or maybe both) to see Trump defeated. Let's git 'r done!

[ffr]

95. REC #450

Looking forward to helping her campaign save American from the fascists!

[hard2figure]

96. While I will support Harris as the nominee I am disappointed that her selection was done behind closed doors

w/o ANY input from those of us who voted for President Biden.

[Ranting Randy]

97. I'm fairly new here but your policies seem well thought out. Refreshing! Especially after dealing with my HOA

[Aussie105]

98. Repugs in disarray!

Dead are their attack points like 'too old', 'his son is a criminal', etc.

But I'm sure their 'think tanks' are furiously digging to find the dirt on Kamala.

I'm going to ignore them all!

Meanwhile, Trump is still Trump - a lifelong acquired collection of nastiness and stupidity.

[AverageOldGuy]

99. Is it still permitted, during General Election Season, for us to . . .

. . . beat the shit out of Trump, Vance, and MAGAts in general???

[Hekate]

100. You guys are da best

[Shyguy24]

101. 100% behind her

I always felt Biden needed to pass the torch, this forum was always kind of against that idea, but I'm glad to see that now that it's happened there's so much energy behind it and online is exploding with support for Kamala. Thank you Joe Biden for doing the right thing.

[akbacchus_BC]

102. Thank you EarlG. NT

[AllyCat]

103. Went from worried sick on Sunday to

beaming with enthusiasm and energy two days later!

Love this!

[samnsara]

104. we need swag! Are any stores going to be open in DU?

..may as well buy from fellow DUers who are creative and can do this stuff..