This week, Kamala Harris announced that she was going to add Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her vice president.
In my opinion, Harris made a significant mistake by shunning Governor Shapiro, clearly the more beneficial candidate, caving to the far left in the party.
Talking Points…
- Shapiro was the right choice
- Walz brings baggage
- Analysis
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro was the no-brainer selection for Kamala Harris to win this election. He hails from a key battleground Blue Wall state and would also impact Michigan. However, there was one problem… he is Jewish.
One of the reasons the Dems wanted Biden out of the race was because he had lost the far left in the party. Harris, by snubbing Shapiro, caved to the far left who would have lost their minds having a pro-Israel VP on the ticket. Instead, Harris immediately went after PM Netanyahu, saying far too many innocent Palestinians had been killed, and put a VP on her ticket who allowed his streets to literally burn during the George Floyd rioting.
Giving the nod to Walz was a gift by Harris to the GOP, even if we are not seeing the fruits of this pick just yet, and probably will not for at least two months. We still have to get through the DNC before things will start to settle down, so expect more accurate polling by mid-September. The media, however, realizes that Harris goofed with her pick, with Washington Post columnist Megan McArdle writing:
"My fears about Harris are that she is incredibly bad at public speaking, and that she reliably makes bad political decisions.
"So far, she has done nothing to allay either fear. I'm not saying she can't win, but I wish she gave me more confidence."
Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, also took a shot at Walz, stating:
"She has sort of the San Francisco, California, vibe. He's going to have sort of the Bernie Sanders in hunting gear vibe. So, it's the same product, just in different wrappers…"
"…Rising crime, big high-profile fraud causes within state government under his watch, with a legislative auditor, nonpartisan, saying, 'You're not taking it seriously.' The target audience for a lot of this is going to be persuadable voters in swing states."
Walz also has some serious baggage behind him. This starts with a DUI arrest in 1995. Now, people make mistakes, so this by itself is not really an issue. However, when you look at his record as a whole, it is the cherry on top of the sundae. The more significant issue is how Walz acted during the BLM riots after the death of George Floyd. Minnesota GOP Chairman David Hann explained:
"[H] e's been a disaster for Minnesota and is by far the most partisan governor that I can remember having.
"Going back to 2020, certainly – he did nothing to try to stop the riots going on in Minneapolis. I think he was fearful of alienating his 'progressive' base, who were supporting the riots. Kamala Harris was raising money for the rioters."
Some other issues that the GOP can focus on were the lockdown in the state during COVID, a lack of oversight during the COVID relief funding, with fraud allegations of roughly $250 million, as well as Walz's alleged interference in the investigation into the fatal shooting of Ricky Cobb II, a black man, who was killed by Minnesota State Trooper Ryan Londregan.
This is quite arguably the worst possible ticket that Democrats could present, yet Harris is already leading Trump in national polling and key battleground states. This is a shiny new apple for voters, but Walz's record and the lack of success by this administration will eventually catch up to them. Eventually, I believe Walz's record will hurt Harris, but as I have stated in previous reports, I don't think we will see the polls level out until September. In the meantime, the GOP must expose this ticket as the most extremist ticket the GOP has ever faced off against.
