Following up on this, as all readers will likely know, Harris has picked the Minnesota Governor as her VP candidate. (VP Harris is a longtime reader of the blog, did you know?) I was worried about choosing the Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro; he is certainly popular in Pennsylvania, but his selection would have thrust Israel/Gaza to centerstage given his outspokenness on this issue, and alienated some younger "progressive" voters. I'm not sure America is ready for a Black/Asian woman as President, although I'm hopeful, but I would worry even more about asking "low information voters" to vote for a ticket that also includes a Jew. (Judging from the vulgar Twitter abuse being directed at Harris, most of it is focused on her sex, not her race or ethnicity, which is telling about how deep-seated that pathological prejudice runs.) As i said the other day, Walz is a good talker, and getting him maximum exposure should have a positive effect. Positive enough to win in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania? I'm far from confident, although I think given the geography, choosing Walz should be enough to tip Wisconsin solidly to the Democrats.
Sadly, the race is still very close, which itself is horrifying given the monster child and his not-so-crypto fascist running mate. Although the Democrats now have a chance to prevail, it's very far from a sure thing at this stage. To make matters worse, Netanyahu seems hell-bent on provoking a total war in the Middle East, no doubt on the (correct) supposition that another Trump Administration would give him an even freer hand. As we also know from Achen & Bartels, events right before an election have a disproportionate impact, so if the current signs of a recession mature into a real economic downturn, that will be big trouble for the Democrats.
UPDATE: I was pleased to see he has a strong pro-labor record as well. This will hopefully help with the union vote in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, which is important.
Recent Comments