The Note: Biden bets on practicality over purity

Biden's campaign has now pronounced itself open to the support of Super PACs.

ByRick Klein and MaryAlice Parks
October 25, 2019, 6:02 AM

The TAKE with Rick Klein

It may be one of the biggest gambles -- in terms of dollars as well as signals -- of former Vice President Joe Biden's campaign.

His campaign has now pronounced itself open to the support of super PACs. Campaign aides are framing it as the only choice "in this time of crisis in our politics," with untold millions already freely flowing to President Donald Trump's reelection effort.

PHOTO: Democratic presidential hopeful former Vice President Joe Biden gestures during the fourth Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season in Westerville, Ohio on Oct. 15, 2019.
Democratic presidential hopeful former Vice President Joe Biden gestures during the fourth Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season in Westerville, Ohio on Oct. 15, 2019.
AFP via Getty Images, FILE

This is the kind of commitment to winning that many prominent Biden supporters have been looking for.

It is also the kind of commitment to winning that many prominent Biden detractors have been waiting for.

"It's a recipe to maintain a corrupt political system which enriches wealthy donors and leaves the working class behind," Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign manager, Faiz Shakir, said in a statement.

With rumblings of unhappiness about the current field, and signs that other centrist candidates could gain traction, this shows Biden acting in favor of practicality over purity.

But for a candidate seeking to distinguish himself from the "swamp," it could rejuvenate a debate over whether the former vice president is part of the solution or part of the problem.

The RUNDOWN with MaryAlice Parks

Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton are set to speak Friday at the Baltimore funeral service for Rep. Elijah Cummings, the civil rights leader and beloved elder of the Democratic Party who died last week.

PHOTO: The flag-draped casket of Rep. Elijah Cummings is prepared to lie in state during a memorial service at the Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol, Oct. 24, 2019, in Washington, DC.
The flag-draped casket of Rep. Elijah Cummings is prepared to lie in state during a memorial service at the Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol, Oct. 24, 2019, in Washington, DC.
Greg Nash/Getty Images

Several other nationally-prominent Democrats will also offer remarks, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former NAACP leader and Maryland Rep. Kweisi Mfume.

Trump is not planning to attend, nor has the White House announced if someone from his administration will be present.

Cummings and Trump, of course, often tangled publicly over issues including the treatment of immigrants at the border and Cummings' oversight work related to the president's finances.

Cummings called President Trump a racist after his attacks on four freshman congresswomen of color. Trump aimed his brand of personal and vindictive politics back at Cummings' hometown referring to Baltimore a "rat and rodent infested mess."

In the last few years, the Democratic Party has seen both a call for a generational shift of power and as well as a renewed appreciation for leaders with a historical perspective. Cummings, for example, could talk personally about living through segregation and experiencing racially-motivated violence. In the last few years, he provided a vital perspective and wisdom for his party as it navigates how to respond to this president and this White House.

The TIP with Chris Donato

There was good news and bad news among the Democratic contenders for president on Thursday.

In the morning, Quinnipiac University released a poll showing Sen. Amy Klobuchar grabbing 3% among Democratic/Democratic-leaning independent voters, which, according to an ABC News analysis, means the senator from Minnesota will be on the November debate stage. To make the November debate stage, candidates had to receive at least 3% in four polls and meet a donor threshold – her campaign had previously announced she had met the donor threshold.

Her campaign had raised over $2 million since last week's debate and after securing the debate-qualifying poll on Thursday, her campaign manager, Justin Buoen, said they would "use this momentum to continue building on our strong grassroots operation as we head into Iowa and New Hampshire."

PHOTO: Democratic presidential hopefuls Tim Ryan and Amy Klobuchar participate in the first round of the second Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season hosted by CNN at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, July 30, 2019.
Democratic presidential hopefuls Tim Ryan and Amy Klobuchar participate in the first round of the second Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season hosted by CNN at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, July 30, 2019.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images, FILE

The news on Thursday afternoon was very different for Rep. Tim Ryan. He announced that he was "withdrawing from the presidential campaign" and would "run for re-election for my Congressional seat." The Ohio congressman had been campaigning since making his entry into the race with an announcement on ABC's "The View" back in April, but he failed to garner attention from voters. His low poll and fundraising numbers prevented him from qualifying for the third and fourth debate stages.

ONE MORE THING

It has been nearly a month since legislators released the whistleblower complaint that prompted multiple congressional committees' probes into President Donald Trump and the administration's actions in Ukraine. In the time since that complaint came to light, it's been rapid-fire witnesses on Capitol Hill -- but the whistleblower has remained largely out of the picture.

THE PLAYLIST

ABC News' "Start Here" Podcast. Friday morning's episode features ABC News Senior National Correspondent Terry Moran, who tells us about the impeachment inquiry strategy from Republicans, who continue to raise concerns about the process. Then, ABC News' Linsey Davis tells us why a freshman congresswoman's relationship is raising ethics concerns. http://apple.co/2HPocUL

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS WEEKEND

  • President Donald Trump speaks at the 2019 Second Step Presidential Justice Forum at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina, on Friday at 2 p.m.

  • Vice President Mike Pence participates in the ceremonial swearing-in of the director of the Office of Foreign Missions at 11 a.m.

  • A wake and funeral service for Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., will begin at 8 a.m. and be held at the New Psalmist Baptist Church in Baltimore. Speakers include former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Presidential candidates former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., will also attend.

  • Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-Texas, meets with high school students and faculty at 8:30 a.m. CDT in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday.

  • Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., campaigns in Goffstown and Lononderry, New Hampshire, on Friday.

  • South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg campaigns in New Hampshire on Friday and South Carolina for the remainder of the weekend.

  • Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., will hold multiple "End Corporate Greed" events across Iowa on Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, he will campaign in South Carolina and Michigan.

  • Tom Steyer joins South Carolina's Democratic Black Caucus for an "impeachment march and protest" at noon in Columbia, South Carolina, on Friday.

  • Marianne Williamson makes campaign stops in New Haven, Connecticut, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., throughout the weekend.

  • Former Rep. John Delaney, D-Md., attends "Pints & Politics" at 4 p.m. in Charleston, South Carolina, on Friday.

  • Warren leads a town hall at 5 p.m. in Florence, South Carolina on Saturday.

  • Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., hosts a town hall at 5 p.m. in Nashua, New Hampshire, on Friday. On Sunday, she participates in an interview at the J Street National Conference at 7 p.m. in Washington, D.C.

  • Bennet, Buttigieg, Klobuchar and Steyer attend the "Countdown to Victory" dinner at 5:30 p.m. in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Friday.

  • Andrew Yang holds a town hall at 6:30 p.m. in Las Vegas on Friday. On Saturday, he makes multiple campaign stops in Nevada. He then holds a rally at 3 p.m. in San Francisco on Sunday.

  • Montana Gov. Steve Bullock attends a high school football game at 7 p.m. in Helena, Montana, on Friday.

  • Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi speaks at Drake University at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

  • Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., holds a canvass kickoff at noon in Columbia, South Carolina, on Saturday.

  • Biden will make multiple campaign stops in North and South Carolina on Saturday and Sunday. He then appears on CBS' "60 Minutes" at 7 p.m. on Sunday.

  • Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, holds a town hall at 3 p.m. in Columbia, South Carolina, on Saturday.

  • Biden, Booker, Buttigieg, Harris, Klobuchar and Sanders speak at the 2019 Second Step Presidential Justice Forum beginning at 11 a.m. in Columbia, South Carolina on Saturday. Castro, Gabbard and Warren provide remarks there on Sunday.

  • Former Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld and Former Rep. Joe Walsh, R-Ill., participate in Politicon at 11 a.m. in Nashville on Saturday.

  • Castro, Sanders and Yang attend the People's Presidential Forum at noon in Las Vegas on Saturday.

  • Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., launches a canvass for Dan Helmer, a Democrat running for the Virginia House of Delegates, at 1:35 p.m. in Fairfax Station, Virginia, on Sunday. She then launches a canvass for Virginia state Del. Kathy Tran at 2:30 p.m. in Springfield, Virginia.

  • Sunday on ABC's "This Week": Martha Raddatz goes one-on-one with House Intelligence Committee Chair Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. Plus, the Powerhouse Roundtable debates the week's politics, with ABC News Political Analyst Matthew Dowd, former New Jersey Governor and ABC News Contributor Chris Christie, Democracy for America CEO and ABC News Contributor Yvette Simpson, and New Yorker Staff Writer and CNN Global Affairs Analyst Susan Glasser.

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