The Walz pick. The progressives can take some credit for this.
I was talking with some old high school chums yesterday about the Kamala Harris campaign and the vp choice.
“Funny that just three weeks ago we were all feeling depressed about the prospects and this afternoon we’re making jokes and feeling good.”
Another old buddy piped up. “Nobody is more cynical about elections than I am, but amazingly I’m feeling optimistic.”
I couldn’t take it anymore. “Look,” I said. “Nobody who is 76 years old should ever underestimate the ability of the Democrats to fuck this up.”
Feeling as good as we were, everybody laughed, knowing what I said was true.
Like most of the news media we all were predicting Kamala would choose Pennsylvania’s Governor, Josh Shapiro.
Minnesota’s Governor Tim Walz has been in the mix and was generally considered the more progressive of the choices.
Progressives and Gaza peace activists had expressed their opposition to Shapiro who has not only been a BIG supporter of Israel but was a loud critic of Pro-Palestinian students during the encampments last Spring.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro called on the University of Pennsylvania to disband the pro-Palestinian protest encampment on campus Thursday "to restore order and safety on campus."
"Over the last 24 hours at the University of Pennsylvania, the situation has gotten even more unstable and out of control," Shapiro said during an event in Westmoreland County near Pittsburgh. "More rules have been violated, more laws have been broken. That is absolutely unacceptable. All students should feel safe when they're on campus. All students have a legal right to feel safe on campus. And the University of Pennsylvania has an obligation to their safety. It is past time for the university to act to address this, to disband the encampment and to restore order and safety on campus."
The comments from Shapiro come on the same day Penn disciplined 12 student protestors, including six who were placed on mandatory/temporary leave. Many of the students are seniors and it's unknown if the disciplinary action will affect their graduation, which is set for Monday, May 20.
It appears that the progressive and peace forces within the Democratic Party were able to make Shapiro into a choice with too much baggage for this election.
They should take credit.
Even while Walz himself is no AOC or Bernie.
Clearly Shapiro was the choice of many among the Party’s regulars and, I suspect, the Clintons.
I expect to see a polling bump for the Harris/Walz ticket.
And with any luck, the Democratic Party may not fuck it up this time.