Progressives urge Harris to consider Beshear, Walz for VP, not Shapiro

Posted by omnipotentsandwich

36 Comments

  1. Can’t say I disagree. Any policy positions notwithstanding, Shapiro gives me “white male version of Kamala”. Beshear and Walz give a nice folksy next door neighbor vibe in contrast.

  2. > The progressives made the case for Walz and Beshear, saying the two are “persuasive advocates for core Democratic values and will energize voters across America without marginalizing any of the communities that we must engage in order to win the electoral college.”

    I don’t know Walt… kinda sus

  3. So progressives think Josh Shapiro has “shortcomings as a national candidate”, as opposed to Andy Beshear, whose dad was the Gov of Kentucky before he was?

    This isn’t a dunk on Beshear, he seems like a great guy and would be a solid option as VP. But if there’s any candidate on the shortlist who has a massive question mark in terms of being viable outside his home state where everyone already knows and trusts his family, it’s Beshear. It’s probably not the guy who just dominated the swingiest of swing states by 15 points in the race for Governor.

    I just don’t buy the idea that support for school vouchers is what’s *really* bothering these progressives when it comes to Shapiro. And given the fact that Shapiro Walz and Kelly have virtually identical stances on the conflict, it’s hard to ignore the idea that Shapiro is getting so much extra scrutiny on this issue due to his identity as a Jewish man.

  4. Harris is being depicted by the right as too progressive. This just makes Shapiro the best pick to balance out the ticket. Best endorsement he could ask for.

  5. I’ve been team Bashear for a while now. Walz is the most progressive pick, and I’m pretty sure that’s going to go over exactly as well as you think it might.

  6. As someone who lived in South Minneapolis during 2020, I worry about the baggage that 2020 would bring to Walz. Hindsight is 2020 but the state bungled the response to the looting and rioting and were very late to the party with tamping things down. There was very understandable reticence for a show of force to restore order after the first night of looting, but people were given an inch and went a mile. A complete lack of civil authority lasting multiple days is not acceptable in a first world country. 

    Laying everything at his feet wouldn’t be fair, but you can bet that people will and that many undecided voters will be convinced. 

  7. ThereWasAnEmpireHere on

    Idk Kelly sounding stronger by the day

    (Unless… is it… is that Big Gretch’s music??)

  8. Whatswrongbaby9 on

    Tim Walz has already set the tone for this cycle incredibly well. He may not want it, Minnesota is a great state and governor is a huge job, but he’d be a asset to the Harris campaign

  9. > Progressives urge

    Always do the opposite, it’s a proven algorithm for political success.

  10. I mainly hope Shapiro doesn’t get picked because I think he has a great future in Democratic politics, and being made VP at this stage may compromise that. He’s doing a lot of good as governor of PA and stands to do a lot more, and that means opportunities to make the state bluer. He’s been governor for less than 2 years and never held federal office. Leave him where he is.

    I’m also skeptical that picking Shapiro magically wins PA for Harris. Is there any data that he would attract more votes by being VP instead of just helping her aggressively campaign there? Because he’s definitely going to be aggressively stumping for Harris.

  11. Observe_dontreact on

    Does the US elect someone for Prez/VP if they publicly wear glasses? It may seem facetious but I cant think of anyone who wore them on the stump.

  12. Jessica4ACODMme on

    Boo.

    As a Jew, I want Shapiro as VP.
    As an American I want Shapiro as VP.

    Who cares what those ‘know nothings’ want?

  13. The fact that Kelly gets zero attacks (union thing got squashed so quickly) while topping every VP list + being an actual moderate + doing little defense shows its him.

    Everyone else is just fighting for time on the screen imo.

  14. There’s no way these 3 white dudes don’t have the same pro-Israel views, right? Interesting that there’s only 1 that progressives don’t want!

  15. BowlOfLoudMouthSoup on

    If she picks Walz, the GOP will have infinite attack advertising ammunition for the 2020 riots that took place in Minneapolis. I like Frey (mayor of MPLS) and Walz, but they sort of looked like clowns during that time.

  16. I feel like everyone in this thread bringing up I/P or racism is presenting a straw man argument. You can read the letter for yourself. There three concerns that these people are raising are (these are their links from their letter);

    1. Sexual Harassment Scandal – [https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/pennsylvania-dem-accuses-potential-harris-vp-pick-gov-josh-shapiro-of-sexism-covering-up-sexual-harassment/ar-BB1qHI4N](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/pennsylvania-dem-accuses-potential-harris-vp-pick-gov-josh-shapiro-of-sexism-covering-up-sexual-harassment/ar-BB1qHI4N)
    2. Support for private school vouchers – [https://www.pennlive.com/education/2024/07/inside-pa-gov-josh-shapiros-support-for-private-school-vouchers.html](https://www.pennlive.com/education/2024/07/inside-pa-gov-josh-shapiros-support-for-private-school-vouchers.html)
    3. His record on the environment – [https://insideclimatenews.org/news/26072024/potential-vice-presidential-pick-josh-shapiro-environmental-record/](https://insideclimatenews.org/news/26072024/potential-vice-presidential-pick-josh-shapiro-environmental-record/)

    You can read the letter here: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Dw4ymIdDfGbb8ji8Dhkk7l6SWvGGK8Pv/view](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Dw4ymIdDfGbb8ji8Dhkk7l6SWvGGK8Pv/view)

    If we are going to advocate for Shapiro we should be attacking the Strong Man of the progressives argument, not repeating our perceived grievances with progressives or alluding to racism. His Jewish background and I/P is not mentioned once in their letter. You can believe that is the reason for them not backing Shapiro but that is not the argument they are presenting, thus pushing back using arguments on that premise is a strawman.

  17. It’s funny since Walz is hated by the left in Minneapolis who blame him for all of their failures

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