As much as things change, they often stay the same
87) Breaking the Mold for a VP Pick, apparently is more fraught today than it was before
In the year 2008, Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama was about to enter the Democratic National Convention, and he needed to pick a sure hand as a running mate.
The choices were between long-time Democratic Senator of Delaware, Joe Biden and Democratic US Senator of Indiana, Evan Bayh. Senator Biden was the very well-known gray haired guy who could reassure white working class voters in Pennsylvania, and across the rest of the country.
Evan Bayh, was a junior Senator from a (now ruby red) State, who largely went unnoticed prior to being in contention for VP. The Democratic Convention was being held first that year prior to the GOP convention.
We all know the Democrats went with the safe pick in Biden, as they were unsure of who presumptive Republican nominee John McCain’s running mate might be. There wasn’t much push-back by anyone on Obama’s pick.
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Even though in hindsight, Bayh might have been a better recruit to keep the Democratic Party strong for generations to come.
With VP Harris’s much anticipated Presidential Campaign rally coming up in Philly, the VP nomination appeared to be Shapiro’s to lose. Now I’m not so sure anymore.
Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee is at a similar inflection point now, where she has narrowed her pick down for the Democratic VP Nominee;
Between gray haired and mild mannered Democratic Governor of Minnesota Tim Walz. Or the uber-impressive Democratic Governor from the pivotal swing State of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro. (He also happens to be Jewish. More on him being Jewish in a bit).
The bar was set pretty high for Obama who was about to become the first Black President. He was even reported to have said that while he was enticed by Bayh as his running mate, he settled on Biden, because (as it was reported) he figured he himself was enough of a change-agent, and he wanted someone more predictable for politics. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/06/why-did-obama-pick-biden-as-his-veep-in-the-first-place.html
The betting markets (as of late Tuesday evening on August 5th) say that Tim Walz is favored over Shapiro to be the VP nominee.
If Tim Walz is the pick, it will feel to me like a cowardly move for the Democratic Party. Josh Shapiro is certainly the more audacious pick.
Shapiro also is more of a public face for Jewish Americans in support of Israel than any of the other gentile democrats who publicly support Israel, so they do not draw nearly the same ire as him. That along with the amount of antisemitic attacks lodged at Josh Shapiro, appears to have made Harris and her team dig a little deeper into finding the safest of “safe” running-mates.
The thinking might also be that since Kamala’s husband is Jewish, that is already enough of a high profile Jewish person in place in a Harris White House.
As the Hill.com reports
Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) responded Monday to the increased criticism of vice presidential contender and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) within the Democratic Party, arguing it had a “strong undercurrent of antisemitism.”
“Those in the overly online left who are attacking Josh Shapiro’s pro-Israel positions in a different way than they are attacking non-Jewish veep contenders positions, they’re just telling on themselves. There’s a strong undercurrent of antisemitism,” Auchincloss told Kasie Hunt on “CNN This Morning,” adding that “it’s unacceptable.”
“Holding him to a different standard because of his religion just simply isn’t who we are as a Democratic Party,” he continued. https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4811297-shapiro-vp-criticism-undercurrent-antisemitism
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