I think you have a pretty good idea

When Kamala Harris revealed the identity of her vice presidential running mate yesterday, I’d venture to say that most of you said, “Who?”.

A few weeks ago, two moderate democrats were seen as the finalists in Harris’ veep-stakes.

Over the past couple of weeks, though, the field was narrowed to one and the perceived front runner was Josh Shapiro, the extremely popular governor of the pivotal swing state of Pennsylvania.

From a politically strategic perspective, that choice would’ve made a ton of sense.

His record as governor has been pretty moderate, even from my conservative perspective, and his being on the ticket would have gone a long way toward appealing to the undecided center.

During his first term in office, Shapiro quickly became a party favorite, gaining national notoriety for his ability to build bipartisan coalitions and he has consistently outperformed other Democrats at the polls and in polling.

Instead, Harris threw a bone to the radical left in naming a relative unknown by the name of Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota.

Who? More importantly, why? I’ve been trying to definitively answer that question since the two of them engaged in an awkward, inexplicable and seemingly endless laugh fest just before yesterday’s official announcement.

It was, in a word, “weird.”

But why not Josh? C’mon, you know the answer, right?

While some claim the concern was over Shapiro potentially stealing the spotlight from Harris, the much more plausible explanation is that her campaign was afraid of alienating progressives over the governor’s support of Israel.

According to Hank Sheinkopf, who worked on Bill Clinton’s re-election campaign, “The ticket would have been too pro-Israel. Harris doesn’t need a battle over Israel-Gaza.”

“She has to keep the progressives in the fold,” he added.

Speaker Mike Johnson agreed, saying, “She was reluctant to put a vice presidential nominee on the ticket with Jewish heritage because they’re having a split in the Democratic Party.”

“They have a pro-Palestinian, in some cases pro-Hamas wing in the party,” Johnson added. “Sadly for Josh Shapiro, I think that’s the reason he was overlooked.

The Biden-Harris administration has been seeing support from the Muslim and Arab communities plummet over its support of the Israeli government since the Jewish state was the victim of the unprovoked attacks of October 7.

Before yesterday’s big reveal, JD Vance predicted the Shapiro snub, saying it would result from “antisemitism in their own caucus and in their own party.”

Following the announcement, Vance said, “I genuinely feel bad that, for days, maybe weeks, he actually had to run away from his Jewish heritage because of what Democrats are saying about him.”

Of course, not everyone is quite as torn up over the whole thing.

“The choice of Walz over Shapiro cannot be divorced from the enormous momentum the Palestinian rights movement has built here in the U.S.,” said Ahmad Abuznaid, the executive director of U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action.

On Monday, the website, Jacobin —which describes itself as “a leading voice of the American left, offering socialist perspectives on politics, economics, and culture”— ran a headline that read, “Josh Shapiro’s Palestine Record Should Disqualify Him as VP.”

It followed with the following blurb:

Joe Biden stepping down offered a chance for Kamala Harris to reset the worst of his bloody complicity in Israel’s Gaza genocide. Harris picking Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro as vice president would signal a doubling down on Palestinian slaughter.

Another site, nogenocidejosh.org (yeah, that’s a thing) was launched in late July by activists with ties to groups including the Democratic Socialists of America and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

What strikes me as odd is the fact that Tim Walz and previous VP contender Mark Kelly have both expressed their support for Israel, but neither has been the subject of this sort of backlash from the anti-Israel cabal.

During his time in Congress, Walz consistently voiced his support of the Jewish state, voting with Israel on multiple occasions, including in 2017, to condemn a United Nations resolution declaring Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal.

In a nutshell, Walz’s voting record was generally in line with most mainstream Democrats in supporting Israel.

Over in the Senate, Mark Kelly was an even stronger supporter of Israel, particularly with respect to US military cooperation and assistance.

Following the Oct 7 atrocities, Kelly released a statement that read, “The United States continues to stand with our ally Israel as they defend themselves against these terror attacks.”

Kelly has also co-sponsored legislation aimed at combating antisemitism, despite critics arguing that the measure could stigmatize pro-Palestinian activism.

All three of them support Israel’s right to defend itself and have condemned the Hamas attacks. They all support a two-state solution, and all have been critical, in some manner, of Israel’s prosecution of the current war.

Hell, Shapiro went so far as to call Benjamin Netanyahu “a dangerous and destructive force” and “one of the worst leaders of all time.”

The day following the horrific attacks against Israel, Josh Shapiro reached out to Marwan Kreidie, the executive director of the Philadelphia Arab American Development Corp.

“He called to check up on me as well as to ask how our community was in light of the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, and the subsequent Israeli counter operation in Gaza,” Kreidie wrote. “He wanted our community, the Arab American community in Pennsylvania, to feel safe and protected.”

“He was clear that he had our back,” Kreidie added.

Meanwhile, in Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz ordered flags to be flown at half staff in the North Star State after the Oct. 7 attack and told attendees at a temple a few days after the massacre, “If you did not find moral clarity on Saturday morning…you need to reevaluate where you’re at.”

Funny, Shapiro called a Muslim dude and Walz visited a temple.

So, the question remains – why not Josh?

Could it be because of certain inconvenient biographical items, such as the fact that he maintains a kosher diet, attended Jewish day school and proposed to his wife in Jerusalem?

Yeah, those might not play too well in places like Dearborn or Minneapolis, both of which are home to sizeable Muslim and Arab populations.

“Josh’s position on Israel is almost identical to everybody else, but he’s being held to a different standard. So you have to ask yourself why,” said Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz, who is Jewish.

Fellow Floridian Representative and Jew Debbie Wasserman Schultz agreed.

“It has been very noticeable that of all of the people that she is carefully considering, that the only Jewish candidate is getting excruciating, very specific scrutiny, particularly around his positions on Israel,” she said, calling the political dynamic “deeply concerning.”

From where I’m sitting, on my Irish Catholic ass, I agree with both of the Florida lawmakers. The motivation behind passing on Shapiro in favor of a guy who brings absolutely nothing to the ticket couldn’t be more obvious.

For what it’s worth, I’m glad it’s not Josh. He’s a good man and, frankly, Kamala Harris doesn’t deserve him. For that matter, neither does the Democrat Party.

Another reason I’m happy he won’t be on the ticket is that I think he would’ve been a much more formidable opponent for Republicans.

Tim Walz, on the other hand is a freak who’s about to get brutalized.

Mazel tov, Tim.

Share

Brian O’Leary is a retired Marine Corps colonel, who served for 30 years, including combat deployments to Somalia and Iraq, and command of an infantry battalion in Afghanistan. Additionally, he has spent 25 years in the financial services industry. Brian earned his BA in English from Penn State University and his MA in National Security Studies from the US Army War College.

IG – @brian_oleary34 X – @brianoleary34

DANGER CLOSE: Why Not Josh