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

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4800359-kamala-harris-josh-shapiro-andy-beshear-tim-walz/

37 comments

  1. There is just too much baggage with Shapiro. Please just pick Walz, Beshear, or Buttigieg

  3. Shapiro is a shit pick he has way too many skeletons coming out of the closet right now.

  5. Shapiro would be a big mistake.

    1. Analysts are saying VPs don’t bring in their home state that much. Nate Silver predicts a 0.4% bump. Not worth it consider the following…

    2. He has little experience.

    3. It was just reported he was enrolled in the Israeli military. That should be disqualification on its own.

    4. Progressives, Muslims, and Gen Z will be against his strong Israel support.

    5. He’s being accused of brushing a sex scandal of one of his aides under the rug.

    6. As Attorney General his office determined a woman who was stabbed 20 times including in the back was a suicide. An expert argued that at least one of the stab wounds happened after she died. The State Supreme Court is now taking up the case.

    7. He supports school vouchers and charter schools.

    8. Moderate Christians will be less likely to vote in someone who would be the first non-Christian VP/President.

  6. Can’t wait for Shapiro, who has never served in the United States Armed Forces, to explain why he felt the Israeli military was the only one worth volunteering for

  7. Walz or Beshear please! Two progressives, same message, VERY different deliveries. Walz is your awesome former teacher, straight shooter. Beshear is a man of faith whose faith is the very thing that calls him to protect LGBTQ rights and the right to choose.

    The Dems are known for shitting the bed though, so we’ll see.

  8. Seems like there was a shakeup today with the Harris campaign axing Mike Donilin, weird endorsement video of Shapiro from philly’s mayor, around the same time a Pelosi source told the hill she prefers Walz, and a bunch of new Obama aide hires eta: and then a few hours later an article about how Biden likes *both* Walz and Shapiro, interesting I’m surprised nothing has leaked

  9. Kamala has been pretty smart about her campaign so far I doubt she’ll pick Shapiro.

  10. I think she’s going to pick Beshear. The least amount of controversy.

  11. Literally anyone besides Shapiro, please and thank you

  12. Walz and Beshear are strong choices, Roy Cooper is off the shortlist, Kelly is still a consideration…

    Shapiro has his own record, but as plenty of articles have suggested, his views on the war in Gaza may alienate some voters. I’m not expressing my opinion either way, but that’s one of the concerns I’ve seen floating around.

    What’s strange is that I’ve also seen criticisms from some progressives directed at Shapiro for his stance on school vouchers.

    > More than two dozen public education advocacy groups wrote a letter asking Harris not to select Shapiro over his support for private school vouchers.

    While he’s received endorsements from progressives in his state.

    > Progressive Pennsylvania state Sen. Nikil Saval touted his [Shapiro’s] “strong willingness to build coalitions with people that he also disagrees with, and to change his views and policies through that act of coalition-building.”

    But like I said, some view his stance on the conflict in Israel as too rigid…

    > As Klion notes, Shapiro, when attorney general, backed the state’s anti–boycott, divestment, and sanctions law, describing [it] as “rooted in antisemitism.” The Forward described Shapiro as having “been a fixture at local rallies supporting Israel during its repeated wars in Gaza.”

    Then there’s clips that have surfaced like this:

    > During a radio show on Oct. 11, Shapiro said, “We need to gird ourselves for what appears to be, you know, going to be a long war and we need to remain on the side of Israel.” Since then, as the Philadelphia Inquirer put it, he has “resisted” calls for a cease-fire.

    There’s also some criticisms directed at Shapiro’s support for lowering the corporate tax rate in PA even further down to 4% and some tension over the fact that he broke from some Democrats during COVID and voiced some opposition towards mitigating measures and mandates.

    But I guess the broader point here is that he might offend or turn away some Democrats that have expressed support for a cease fire and civilians in Gaza, while voicing their opposition against the way the Israeli government/Netanyahu are handling this conflict, as well as the role that the U.S. government is playing in funding it.

    I’m an American Jew myself with Ashkenazi heritage. Knowing where my ancestors are from in parts of Eastern Europe, it’s likely that one or two of them were Zionist. I’ve chosen however, to not take an indiscriminate stance on what’s going on in Gaza. It’s a complicated conflict with a history of cyclical violence that extends back to the end of WW1. Some historians would argue it goes back to the late 19th century.

    But because I have deliberately studied this history, I can have a nuanced opinion about this conflict while understanding that neither the Palestinian people, nor the Israeli people are a monolith.

    Josh Shapiro however, happens to be someone who holds an inflexible view towards this war. And I don’t necessarily hold it against him, I just wish there were fewer politicians (and protestors) with such indiscriminate views surrounding this conflict.

    I can condemn both Hamas and Netanyahu’s far right coalition. I can sympathize with innocent Palestinian civilians who have been repeatedly punished and dispossessed of their land and I can sympathize Jews who have suffered historically as a result of the Jewish diaspora and from violent pogroms.

    However, the more I learn about Walz, the more I like him as a candidate, and a less divisive one at that.

    Walz has the background, and one that Donald Trump could only wish he had.

    Walz served 24 years in the Army National Guard, The only thing Donald *bone spurs* Trump ever fought for was a medical exemption from the military.

    Walz was assigned to the veterans affairs committee and has staunchly supported veterans benefits since coming into office. In fact, the year he came into office, the house passed his Traumatic Brain Injuries Center Act, while Trump on the other hand, has referred to soldier’s brain injuries as “headaches”

    Walz also supported legislation that expanded education opportunities for veterans, and *he spoke about the need for the VA and Department of Defense to work together to make sure that returning service men and women “do not fall through the cracks when they transition to civilian life”.*

    > Walz was the lead sponsor of the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, which directs the Veterans Administration to report on veteran mental health care and suicide prevention programs. It also gives the VA permission to provide incentives to psychiatrists who agree to join the VA medical system.*

    Donald Trump on the other hand, has repeatedly made disparaging and disrespectful remarks about our veterans, POWs and soldiers who lost their lives fighting for our country.

    Walz is pro-union, voted to raise the minimum wage and has supported the expansion of Medicaid along with allowing the program to negotiate drug prices.

    Walz supports women’s rights, LGBT rights, access to abortion, and has received a 100% rating from planned parenthood and the ACLU.

    Walz has been married to his Wife, Gwen, since 1994. Trump on the other hand…

    Walz voted for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which addresses limitations to equal pay lawsuits related to pay discrimination.

    Walz has also received a very high grade from the nation’s largest LGBT rights organization.

    After the Stoneman Douglass Highschool shooting, Walz changed his position on gun rights and denounced the NRA, and then donated all of their campaign contributions to a veteran’s fund.

    Walz was an educator for twenty years, and has supported more funding and support for public schools as well as lowering tuition costs.

    Walz has spoken out against bailouts for large financial institutions, and has encouraged more oversight of Wall Street.

    Walz supports police reform and accountability, as well as better training programs for police officers encountering people undergoing mental health crises, and he also advocates for better de-escalation training.

    This obviously doesn’t cover it all, but it should go without saying that Walz has a pretty good record as a liberal. He was also the highest ranking, retired enlisted soldier to ever serve in Congress at the time of his swearing in.

    Republicans will probably attack him on some of his liberal policies, but with such a strong record in support of veterans, especially in comparison to Trump, he could serve to attract veterans and troops to the ticket.

    With that being said, MN hasn’t lost a general election to a Republican since Nixon, and if Walz is chosen, it’s likely that a democrat-farm-labor candidate will eventually fill the vacancy. So it begs the question, if there’s any chance a VP pick could draw swing state voters, would Harris be better off choosing a candidate that gives her a better electoral boost?

  13. Kelly will pull people from Trump. The progressives are already voting for Harris, go for the numbers.

  14. Kelly is the obvious pick imho. He will appeal to moderate men way more than anyone else– which is what Kamala needs to win the election.

    He’s kind of boring but I personally don’t think that’s a bad thing. He’s no nonsense and serious, which is a good foil to Kamala’s fun loving nature.

  15. I’m not even what I would consider a progressive and I would really like for Shapiro to stay where he’s at. 

  16. I commented this in a sub comment, but: 

    The fact that there’s infighting to this level already over this guy is evidence itself that he’s not the right pick in a moment when we need to be as unified as possible. 

    Shapiro ain’t it. 

  17. The reality is that Reddit is full of perpetually online people. Yes I see the irony in posting this here. The vast majority of Americans frankly don’t care about Israel or Palestine. It doesn’t rank in the top 10 of most voters concerns. Foreign policy positions rarely impact elections, especially those of a VP pick, and especially those the VP candidate expressed 20 years ago and has now moderated on. This is double true for a region that has seen religious conflict for 100’s of years. On the flip side, Shepiro has a 60% approval rating in the most important state to win, and if he could improve her vote share there by 0.5-1% this could put her over 270 EC votes to win the White House. He’s also an excellent speaker with generally agreeable policy positions.

  18. I dont think anyone beats Mark Kelly at this point. Im down for a Harris/Kelly ticket. Hes got an impeccable track record with a Military and congressional background. And of course hes an astronaut. Who doesn’t like an astronaut?!

  19. Such an embarrassment of riches. I had almost given up hope about the next generation!

  20. Walz. Enough bullshit already. So dumb to sit and create caricatures of people. Guess why Walz is good? He fights for everyone. Enough w identity politics bullshit. People like people who will help improve their lives. Way more Americans don’t care about race or gender or sexual orientation than mainstream media would have you believe. Most people just want leaders who ACTUALLY LEAD.

  21. Please for the love of God and all that is holy pick either Walz or Beshear

  23. Walz is our governor and he’s seriously awesome to the point that I selfishly don’t want to lose him, but he would be an incredible vp.

    Of the big options out there currently, though, Kelly makes the most sense and she really really really shouldn’t pick Shapiro over him.

  25. I didn’t know who Walz was until I heard he was a contender for VP. I watched a few videos and he is really likeable! And a great speaker, good at handling tough questions and a gf generally no nonsense guy. Plus from what i understand it’s more preferable to have Kelly remain in his Senate seat until 2028. My vote is for Walz.

  26. Just listened to Walz on a podcast. That guy knows how to talk real. He’s down home and pragmatic, and says funny shit occasionally.

    I realize he’s from blue Minnesota, but he’s got the right stuff.

    Shapiro. I dunno man. “Too much” fight. Is that possible? Like, he’s playing Trumps game. Voters can get that from Trump himself. Plus the Palestine stuff is not a good look right now.

    Kelly looks absolutely stellar on paper. And the border stuff helps. I was all for Kelly till I heard Walz. But he’s a little bit too wonky in his delivery, imo

  27. Don’t believe what we hear until we hear it from Kamala herself and we all need to get behind her anyways.

  31. Plz no double former AG ticket. No no no

    Give me Kelly or Walz

  32. I hope she picks either Beshear, Walz, or Kelly. Shapiro would be a huge mistake.

  36. Ha! The Dems ***never*** do what the Progressives want. They are trying to attract Centrists – and Centrists *despise* Progressives and want, pretty much, the exact opposite of what Progressives want. It’s insane how Reddit never realizes this, and always thinks that Progressives have power within the party.

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