With the controversial JD Vance making waves in a negative way, and undermining Donald Trump, the question arises, with about a week until the decision on the Vice Presidential nominee for Kamala Harris, whether Harris should go “radical”, or stay safe in her selection.
If Harris were to choose to go “radical”, then Gretchen Whitmer, Governor of Michigan or Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of Transportation, will be selected, as choosing a woman or a gay male would be seen as “radical”.
A less “radical choice” would be Josh Shapiro, Governor of Pennsylvania, or JB Pritzker, Governor of Illinois, as both are Jewish, and already with a potential Jewish First Gentleman Douglas Emhoff.
If Harris chooses to go traditionally, then the choice would be among Roy Cooper, Governor of North Carolina; Andy Beshear, Governor of Kentucky; Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota; or Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona.
There is also the issue of age, as Kelly, Walz, and Cooper are older than Harris, and Pritzker is only months younger, while Buttigieg, Beshear, Shapiro, and Whitmer are much younger, so any of them could be Presidential material after serving as VP under Harris.
As I see it, she has to demonstrate being very stable, but point out and reiterate those unstable qualities of Trump. His mental failings, the Reactionary tenants he embraces, and also include his criminal transgressions.
As far as her speeches and message…. she must be the inverse of Trump.
It’s hard to decide. The Democrats have a very impressive bench.
This Political Ad is exactly what we have been talking about…
https://youtu.be/lyPgIbNgOXc?si=MG-H2OQwV1s3JMMm
Harris released a statement Monday that supports Biden’s call to Congress to enact sweeping changes to the Supreme Court, including an enforceable ethics code and term limits for justices.
In a new ABC News poll, Harris’s favorability rating went up from 35% to 43%.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/harris-sees-boost-favorability-after-biden-drops-race/story?id=112306763
Roy Cooper has removed himself from VP consideration.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/29/politics/harris-vice-president-roy-cooper/index.html
“Old and quite weird”: Democrats finally discover new effective attack
https://www.salon.com/2024/07/29/old-and-quite-weird-democrats-finally-discover-new-effective–and-hate-it/
A Republican mayor in Arizona is backing Harris.
https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2024/07/29/mesa-mayor-republican-vote-kamala-harris/74583703007/
Sounds like Harris is going to be making her choice soon.
Vice President Kamala Harris and her newly chosen vice presidential running mate will travel to a series of battleground states next week, a source familiar told CNN.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has indicated that she is out of the VP sweepstakes as well.
The Republican Party, led by virulent racist/misogynist/etc. Convicted Felon Donald Trump, freaks out over wildly successful “White Dudes for Harris” call, the amazing surge in Democratic enthusiasm and fundraising over the past 9 days, etc.
https://bluevirginia.us/2024/07/party-led-by-virulent-racist-misogynist-etc-convicted-felon-donald-trump-freaks-out-over-wildly-successful-white-dudes-for-harris-call-the-amazing-surge-in-democratic-enthusiasm-and-fundraisin
Politico is reporting Harris will announce her running mate before Tuesday, when the vice president plans to hold a rally in Philadelphia with her pick.
Harris and her VP pick will then campaign together across several key states, including Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.
While Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is reported to be on the short list of possible contenders, a Harris campaign official told Politico that the location of the rally shouldn’t be taken as an indicator of who she’s picking.
Reuters reported earlier Tuesday about the plan for Harris to hit swing states with her running mate. Reuters also reported Harris would make her pick as early as Monday.
Biden is expected to speak on the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, according to CNN and CBS citing sources familiar with the event’s planning.
Fred Trump III, the son of Donald Trump’s late brother, Fred Trump Jr., threw his support behind his uncle’s opponent on Tuesday during an appearance on “The View.”
“I believe in policy over politics,” he said. “And without question, Kamala Harris’ policies are what I get behind, so I will be voting for Kamala Harris.”
He added: “If I’m asked, I will campaign for her without hesitation.” (The Harris campaign is aware of the offer, having shared a clip of his appearance on social media.)
A memoir written by Fred Trump III called “All In The Family: The Trumps And How We Got This Way” was released Tuesday. Previously published snippets from the book revealed how the former president allegedly suggested that disabled people “should just die” and that he repeatedly used the N-word.
Black Journalists’ Association Says Yes to Trump but Snubs Harris
https://www.thedailybeast.com/nabj-co-chair-karen-attiah-steps-down-after-trump-accepts-convention-invite
What on earth are they doing??? It’s very appalling.
Saw this on Morning Joe.
VP Harris is now leading or close to former President Trump in every battleground state, according to new Bloomberg/Morning Consult polling.
https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/harris-is-now-leading-or-close-to-trump-in-every-battleground-state-216071237599
Trump has a new nickname: Duckin’ Don
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/duckin-don-team-harris-ridicules-trump-new-debate-dodge-2024-election-rcna164227
United Auto Works have endorsed Harris.
After getting criticism for snubbing her, the Black Journalists’ Association is working to schedule a question-and-answer event with Harris in September.
The Trump Q&A with the Black reporters was a disaster.
He ranted off-topic for much of the discussion, and complained that the microphones weren’t working.
In addition to insulting the Black journalists who interviewed him, the MAGA hopeful also claimed not to know the race of his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, whose mother was Indian, and whose father is Jamaican.
https://www.alternet.org/trump-black-journalist-convention/
She had a rally in Georgia last night. It was the kind of to-the-rafters crowd Donald Trump lies about drawing.
At a Sigma Gamma Rho sorority event in Houston, Kamala Harris responded to Donald Trump’s comments Wednesday about her racial heritage, saying it was “the same old show” and that the “American people deserve better.”
LOL! Trump’s campaign claims that the contentious Q&A at the National Association of Black Journalists conference was meant to “unite the entire country”.
Umm…more like divide the country…yet again.
‘Y’all got played’: Joy Reid issues ‘exactly 3 reasons’ Trump attended NABJ in scathing fact-check
You can see the video here:
It’s birtherism 2.0
As far as her VP pick is concerned, some progressives don’t particularly like Shapiro.
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/josh-shapiro-vp-pick
Labor groups oppose Mark Kelly.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/labor-unions-unite-kamala-harris-concern-emerges-potential/story?id=112198865
A report from Axios on Thursday suggested Harris is leaning toward a sitting governor.
https://www.axios.com/2024/07/31/kamala-harris-vp-pick-wall-street-donors
In terms of my personal favorites, go back and forth between Walz because he would probably help most with increasing turnout among progressive youth, Kelly because he and his wife have incredibly inspiring stories that the media could not resist writing powerfully positive news stories about, and Shapiro because he won Pennsylvania, the biggest and most evenly divided and thus crucial swing state, by 17% in the same 2020 election where Biden only won by a bit over 1%. But I think all three of them, and indeed all the top contenders, would be great.
I’m rooting for Mark Kelly.
I’ve seen multiple polls in the last 2 days that show Harris ahead of or tied with Trump in the Blue Wall states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. She doesn’t need Walz in Minnesota because she’s winning that state and Walz looks old which undermines the campaign’s criticism of Trump now being the oldest candidate. (Yes, I know Walz is younger than Trump, but looks older.)
Kelly could cut Trump’s lead in Arizona and put it in reach for Harris. That would give us 4 out of 7 swing states.
Plus, we’d get Gabby Giffords as part of the VP package and he and Mark’s very inspirational life story. And Kelly is beloved by Arizona for his strong record on border security which is exactly what we need to combat Trump and the GOP’s attacks on Harris regarding immigration.
Axios is reporting that all signs are pointing to Shapiro being her running mate.
https://www.axios.com/2024/08/02/josh-shapiro-harris-vp-running-mate
I personally think these attacks on Shapiro are unfair and have tinges of antisemitism.
The Philadelphia Inquirer has an opinion article saying that Shapiro has had the back of the Muslim and Arab community in the face of Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism.
Marwan Kreidie, from the Philadelphia Arab American Development Corp., applauds Gov. Josh Shapiro for listening to and working with the Muslim and Arab community despite disagreements.
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/shapiro-arab-muslim-communities-pennsylvania-20240731.html
What polling shows about the VP picks.
https://apnews.com/article/harris-shapiro-kelly-beshear-walz-vp-democrats-d01c79817844b66c5bf466a1cd403c50
Sounds like her selection is going to be made soon. Mark Kelly, Josh Shapiro, and Andy Beshear are all cancelling events this weekend.
She’s meeting with about 5 or 6 of them this weekend. Her pick will be at the Philadelphia rally on Tuesday.