Kamala Harris’ VP choice in spotlight

Op-ed views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

With Obama’s endorsement in hand, presumed Democrat nominee, Kamala Harris will turn to running mate selection. The two names that seem to pop up as the best options are Arizona Senator, Mark Kelly and Pennsylvania Governor, Josh Shapiro.

Both Kelly and Shapiro hail from states the Dems won in close elections in 2020. Republicans won both in 2016. Both bring different assets that could translate into electoral votes.

It would be expected that Kelly would help in both Arizona and Nevada. Both states are leaning Republican this time around. He might also give Dems a slight boost in neighboring New Mexico, which looks like it will be in play. All three have Senate races that could determine control of the Senate. Democrats need a sweep.

Shapiro looks to be the answer in Pennsylvania, which is also leaning “red.” He is the darling of the Democrat establishment. He has fundraising connections and is counted upon to convince wavering Eastern Pennsylvania Democrats to stay home and support the nominee. It is believed that many might support RFK, Jr. or even vote for Donald Trump. J.D. Vance’s selection as Trump’s running mate will have a mild impact in the western part of the state. Shapiro could offset any “bump” the Ohio Senator might bring.

Additional Considerations

Should Harris win, Kelly’s selection would open a seat in Arizona. Even if the Dems swept the three contested seats, there would still need to be a special election in Arizona to fill the vacated seat! In the worst case, Kelly would return to Washington as a member of the Senate minority.

Shapiro’s selection and subsequent Harris victory would present no such problem. He would be a solid number two and balance the ticket in magnificent fashion. Unlike Kelly, he comes from the opposite end of the country. He would be an asset in a state that Democrats cannot afford to lose.

Arizona has 11 electoral votes. Pennsylvania has 19. Nevada has six and New Mexico has five. Smart money suggests that Trump will win Nevada, no matter who the running mate is. If Republicans win New Mexico, it will be a long night for Democrats. They simply cannot win the election if they lose Pennsylvania.

A Possible Factor

While it should not be a factor, it unfortunately might be. Josh Shapiro is Jewish. In normal times in a less divided country, it might not even come up. But it has. These are tense times. Trump and supporters are calling this election ‘the most important in American history.” There appears to be wavering Jewish support from voters who have never voted Republican. Israel has moved to the forefront of international tensions. All eyes are on the two candidates. Trump is unquestionably making inroads.

MAGA Republicans have taken Trump’s pro-Israel position at face value. Many of his supporters are Evangelicals who have always been very light on antisemitism. Union members backing Trump is relatively new. His Republican party has become the party of the working class. The emphasis placed on protecting Social Security and Medicare is welcomed by Americans who feel forgotten by the Washington D.C. establishment and elites nationwide.

Here is where it becomes potentially problematic.

Trump supporters believe that the former president has (or should have) won the support of Jewish Americans with his staunch support of Israel. While it may be more complicated that this one issue, we are not talking about intellectual reasoning, as much as inspiration that is heavily faith based. The Morning Joe’s and Rachael Maddow’s may harbor contempt for these Americans, but their conviction is real. Or it appears to be…

How Deep are the Convictions?

For Josh Shapiro to magically show up on the bottom of a Harris ticket might result in a massive “rethink.” For many loyalists, this could be construed as a double cross. So far, they have looked the other way when asked to correlate the actions of Merrick Garland and Jack Smith to consensus Jewish opinion. They would rather point to Mark Levine and Alan Dershowitz as true voices of Jewish America.

Normally, this would amount to a good, coffee house debate. 2024 is different. The country has not been so divided since 1861. Everything is magnified, especially the banking system, globalism and anything that stands to be an excuse for worsening economic conditions spurred by the most devastating inflation since Jimmy Carter times.

A Harris-Shapiro ticket might potentially unlock alt-right notions D.C. insiders dread the worst. It would be easy to associate a Philadelphia lawyer, who happens to be Jewish, with Wall Street and the banking system. The Rothchild family’s immense wealth and complicated history has been a trite subject over the decades. The reminder that they were expunged from banking in Germany, later Austria and France by Adolph Hitler has historically bred sympathy. However, younger generations are revisiting the question, sans previous pre-disposed paradigms.

Far right participants have questioned Goldman-Sac’s input in today’s stock market. They are joined by an increasing number of centrists, another disturbing trend!

The “cherry atop the sundae” is the long rumored “global currency reset.” Still prevalent on social media despite continuous censorship efforts are the promises of “Nesara-Gesara,” which insists that “compounding” translates to theft and monies stolen over the decades should be returned to the rightful owners and their heirs. Renaissance Catholicism considered compounding “usury,” a “sin of the devil” as outlined in Dante’s “Inferno.”

People throughout the nation are hurting. The worst inflation in a half century has America reeling. Rubbing additional salt in the wound is the corporate media’s conclusion that the economy is booming, jobs are a plenty, and the immigration question is non-existent. An increasing number of Americans are awakening to the fact that the media has intentionally “gaslit” them. Coupled with an assassination attempt on President Trump earlier this month and the moment ripens.

It’s potentially a perfect storm! Not really the time for Shapiro or any Jewish American to side against Israel! As Harris’ running mate, this would be the perception.

It would lend credence to another mostly discredited assertion: “That the children of Israel are the only true biological Jews.” The rest are “Khazarians.” Google it.

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