I’m Canadian so I don’t really get a say in this, but he seems like a decent guy. Most astronauts are hard working, smart, and know to rely on other smart people to get tasks accomplished. His wife ain’t no pushover either, nobody can question that couple’s commitment to America.
It’s funny. Literally every astronaut I’ve met is exactly like this - quietly competent, affable, team player. As is the astronaut candidate I’ve met.
And yet…
Every person I’ve met who has been keen on becoming an astronaut or astronaut candidate has been an insufferable self-aggrandizing jerk face. Like, just awful people who suck all the air out of any room they’re in, expounding on how they (or the idea they’re selling) are the most amazing thing ever.
For those that don’t remember:
What does this have to do with anything? Edit: figured it out, he is married to Gabby Giffords.
One of the people who was shot at this event is then-US representative Gabby Giffords. She was shot in the head and survived, but six people were killed. She is Mark Kelly’s wife. I would presume they’re going to have very strong opinions on gun control laws because of this.
He does not support Medicare for all, and also does not support the green new deal, according to his wiki. He also supported increased oil drilling.
So he’s pretty moderate right IMO, which sucks. I hope he’s not her choice.
Yeah, see this is why I was so attached to Biden. The average Democrat isn’t really all that left. All this stuff with climate change and unions under Biden was very much an anomaly, and we’re probably returning to a certain amount of status quo with Harris.
Idk, I could be wrong; maybe she’s super left and this guy’s being floated as a gift to the New York Timeses of the world so the ticket will be acceptable to the six figure Manhattan shitheads that their editors are friends with, so they won’t print bullshit about her to try to lose her the election. And she still doesn’t want to destroy American democracy and all climate change remediation since Obama, which makes her worth voting for. But yeah we can expect a certain amount of corporate bullshit to come back into the equation now, I think. 😕
From what I’ve heard, it sounds like her senator policy stances were left of Joe? But chances are, her vp will prolly be more center, and who knows what her policies look like when she has to take stances that aren’t representing just California.
The average Democrat is to the left of their representatives on a lot of things, including climate change: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/08/09/what-the-data-says-about-americans-views-of-climate-change/
Kelly is not an average Democrat representative, he’s definitely on the right end of the caucus.
True, but he is representing AZ, and technically he should be following the wishes of his constituents.
The real problem with picking him I would think, would be opening a senate seat in a purple/red state like AZ. The last thing the senate needs is another Sinema (or an even worse republican ).
I think he’s pretty electable and, right now, anyone who helps win is good.
I think “electable” is dead in the water and, for now, a thing of the past. What the Democrats need is someone who will get dems to the polls come election day. Luke warm glass of milk isn’t going to cut it because MAGA is fired up. Dems need to be fired up too.
What the Democrats need is someone who will get dems to the polls come election day.
Democrats in contested states.
We win the popularity contest, time and again, but because we keep picking blue-state Democrats, we keep losing elections.
If we would ever pick a Democratic candidate who has actually won an election in a red state, the election would be a runaway landslide, and the GOP would have to come crawling left.
Because we abandon the Red and contested states entirely, the GOP is free to run candidates like Trump.
Yet the people around this instance thinks he’s a great VP candidate…
Funny how you’re upvoted a lot for mentioning this, but someone else does, then it’s a downvote parade.
If the goal is preventing Trump from winning and shoring up harris’s weak points, Kelly is a pretty good choice. We can argue about drilling and green energy after Trump is in jail for all his crimes.
Trump is never going to jail. For fuck sakes, when will you stop drinking that kool-aid? It’s a practical fantasy at this point. If he hadn’t gone to jail for two impeachments and so far hasn’t gone to jail for the recent convictions - what makes you think he’ll ever go to jail now? Get over it.
From wikipedia:
Kelly ran as a moderate in 2020 and voiced support for bipartisanship.[79][80][81] Since joining the Senate, he supported abolishing the filibuster in order to pass voting rights legislation[82] and a federal minimum wage increase to $15 per hour. He has criticized Joe Biden’s approach to border security.[83][84] As of October 2022, Kelly has voted in line with Biden’s stated position 94.5% of the time.[85]
Abortion
As a candidate in 2020, Kelly said he was “pro-choice” and was endorsed by Planned Parenthood.[86] He supports codifying Roe v. Wade into federal law.[87] He has said that late-stage abortions should be legally protected.[88]
Climate and environment
Kelly has voiced support for climate action, but said he “does not favor” the Green New Deal.[89] The League of Conservation Voters gave him a 97% score in 2021.[90] In 2022, Kelly also advocated for an expansion of oil drilling in the wake of rising gas prices.[91][92]
Guns
Kelly became an outspoken advocate for gun control following the attempted assassination of his wife, former U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords, at the 2011 Tucson shooting.[93]
Kelly voted for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in response to the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas.[94][95]
Health care
Kelly supports building on the Affordable Care Act to include a public health insurance option.[93][96] He opposes Medicare for All.[97]
Immigration
Of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, Kelly has said, “Dreamers are as American as anyone”, and has expressed support for it.[98][86]
Trump administration
In February 2021, Kelly voted to convict Trump for incitement of insurrection in his second impeachment trial,[66] and has been outspoken in his disdain for him.[99]
This is interesting. People are calling him a mixed bag, yet looking into this he clearly supports expanding on existing solutions and has supported potential solutions that offer real-world results, such as expanded drilling. A realistic solution that makes sense in a swing state. The only outlier is Medicare for All and he’d probably say behind closed doors that he needed the votes and compromised with reinforcement of the ACA.
From what I remember and have seen recently, he strikes me as someone who is quietly playing the game. Becoming VP may allow him to step out and take more progressive stances. Or less progressive, of course. I’ll have to look into him more, though it’s my opinion he’s a good pick, both for more favorable (for us) policies and for the larger election strategy.
I’ll make an early call that he’s more progressive than he seems at face value. Shame we don’t have that bot which messages us X time later. I’d like to come back to this in the future, see if I was right.
Sure. He’s white, straight, and male, to balance out the ticket for racists/sexists/homophobes. Package him, ship him out, and let’s defeat Trump and Project 2025!
Could you shortly define “fairly progressive” in this context for a non-American? (Nordic, specifically.)
Don’t ask lemmings to define people’s progressive cred rofl
Literally nobody is left wing. It’s a pure, unattainable ideal, untainted by mortals and their worldly failings.
He’s a pair of wraparound sunglasses and a selfie in a truck away from looking like a lot of Trump’s base. That sort of thing helps because we should not assume voters humans are rational.
Trump’s base is voting for Trump… Going after them even a little is a waste of everyone’s time, energy, and money.
Yes, but if people adjacent to Trump’s base see themselves on the Democratic ticket they’ll be less likely be alienated from the party.
I’ve lived in Trump country. For every Red Hat there’s five or six undecided guys who work/drink with them. If they see a guy who could also be pounding Rolling Rocks with them on the Democratic ticket it will help a little bit. And when there’s 10,000 votes between us and fascism we need all the help we can get.
To repeat: Stop assuming humans will be rational.
Right?! How about instead of “balancing” the ticket for bigots on the right, we balance it for progressives on the left?!
Oh but the left never votes and the center right always does… Yeah, because the center right always has at least 2 candidates to choose from while the left has none.
Believe me, I agree with you; I wish I had a true Progressive to vote for this November! By the way, we’re not really balancing the ticket for right-wingers, it’s more courting undecided voters, whether they be left, center, or right. Like it or not, the swing states will decide this election. And we can’t let Donald Trump and Project 2025 win, there’s too much at stake.
Please vote, volunteer, and donate for Kamala Harris. When she’s president, turn that attention to getting progressives elected. Showing the American people an improvement in their lives is the only way to avoid these narrow 50/50 splits between good and bad candidates as we reform and improve things…
I don’t believe there are that many undecided voters in the center… The “undecided” voters are all on the far left… And they’re deciding whether to show up, or not show up at all. Going after them by showing that the Dems will actually be fighting for them (against the oligarchy) is the smart move. The center is already decided.
However, I am open to the possibility that what’s true on a national level might not necessarily be true in the swing states… So if anyone has any studies comparing the center undecided with the left undecided in the swing states, I’d love to see it
Not a fan of him teaming up with Manchin to promote more oil drilling.
Manchin got us to 50 in a deep red state. There are so many red states in middle America that, in the current political spectrum, it is nigh impossible to get to 50 dems in the senate.
I hear you, Manchin wasn’t my guy, but we would have got bunk from the Biden administration without him.
Something something, it’s easy to hate, harder to love.
