Someone on Morning Joe said Obama was in favor of Harris picking Walz

[democrattotheend]

That was a bit of a surprise to me, since Kamala and Shapiro are both OG Obama supporters and he's pretty close with both of them, from what I understand. I expected he would be in Shapiro's corner.

The cynical part of me wonders if maybe Shapiro decided he didn't want to be on the ticket, or had too many demands or limits on what he would do on the campaign trail, because he wants to preserve his brand for 2028.

The other possibility is that Kamala just vibed better with/trusted Walz more and Obama advised her to go with her gut.

Thoughts?

[Ocelot II]

1. I think with so many very qualified people, all of whom would help the ticket

in different ways, eventually it came down to the vibe. Walz projects the same positivity and joy as Harris, and maybe that's what did it.

[DFab420]

2. I think there might be something there on your point about Shapiro running in 8 years

Walz is unlikely to seek higher office after two terms as VP. This gives Walz the ability to fully run on the Harris ticket and be an effective number 2 without fear of worrying about what’s coming down the line.

Shapiro can now focus on legislative wins in the state of PA and build up on his already impressive resume to run in a primary in 8 years

[MaryMagdaline]

4. Shapiro had a strong future

He could be President one day.

[DFab420]

6. Very much so!

[hlthe2b]

16. Honestly, I didn't give 'voice' to that, but clearly Shapiro is ambitious and might be eyeing a

Presidential run (likely so).... I don't think it unusual that that might factor in-- as a VP eyeing an imminent Presidential run after 2028 might be looking for ways to show some independence from Harris in the second term. That can get awkward.

[DFab420]

18. I think that's also why she didn't pick Pete too.

Now Pete can run in a primary without any potential baggage accumulated from the previous ticket

[MaryMagdaline]

3. Obama has strong Midwest vibes.

Maybe because his grandparents raised him. I was raised by midwestern parents and I have a bit of the midwestern soul myself. Obama always sounded like my practical midwestern family.
Or maybe they did polling and figured out that Tim was best for the team and best for winning in November.

[JohnSJ]

5. The Walz pick should help with the rural vote

[Sky Jewels]

7. They probably wanted to avoid the controversy and divisiveness of picking Shapiro

because of the sexual assault investigation in his administration, the school voucher question, and, most importantly, his stance on Gaza and his criticism of protesters, which could have turned off some Gen Z voters (like my two, including one who has peacefully protested Israel's decimation of Gaza). Even a few percentage points peeling off due to Shapiro could have been significant, and not in a good way. David Hogg was really pushing for Walz if they wanted to galvanize Gen Z; I could not be happier that she went with him. This is going to supercharge the campaign in a way that Shapiro wouldn't have been able to, in my opinion.

[democrattotheend]

8. The flip side is, some Jewish voters in PA and elsewhere may feel snubbed that she didn't pick Shapiro

Especially if that was her reason. Honestly, I would feel that way if I thought that was why she didn't pick Shapiro. I don't think it is - I think she trusted Walz more and felt Shapiro might be more focused on his own 2028 ambitions. But Jewish voters are still an important part of the Democratic coalition, and the way some people here talk about it it kind of feels like we don't matter anymore.

[Sky Jewels]

9. Yes, that's a shame if some feel that way, but

in a campaign, it's more important to "first do no harm." Donnie Fucko learned that the hard way.

[democrattotheend]

11. But "snubbing" Shapiro may do harm

I went to a Jewish high school in Montgomery County, PA during the Bush years. Many of my classmates still live in the area. Some became orthodox and went hard core right wing and are a lost cause. Others are more moderate but still pro-Israel and may be less trusting of Kamala in light of her statement after meeting Netanyahu and her "passing over" Shapiro, who was seen as the frontrunner. At a minimum, I think scheduling the kickoff rally in Philadelphia was a mistake if she wasn't sure she was picking him.

To be clear, she had plenty of good reasons to not pick Shapiro that have nothing to do with Israel. My guess is that she was leaning toward him but just didn't vibe with him, or he had too many demands and made her feel like she couldn't trust him. But I wish this had played out a little differently so it didn't feel like he was passed over.

[hlthe2b]

14. Less trusting of someone married to a Jewish man and stepmother to his Jewish children? Really?

How is her attitude toward Netanyahu any different from Shapiro's himself who said of Netanyahu: “one of the worst leaders of all time”

Disappointment I can get, but...

[DFab420]

17. He was literally the runner up! That's not being passed over!?

Sometimes you just don’t get picked for the big dance. I don’t think he was passed over at all. If anything he’s been elevated to a national figure now.

[DFab420]

10. I haven't felt that way at all. Just because she didn't pick Shapiro doesn't make me think

She doesn’t care about the Jewish voters at all.

We’re not a monolithic voting block just like any other group. My most pressing issues are domestic things like healthcare, education and protection of democratic values and freedoms. Those matter to this Jewish voter and it seems like I’m being heard by the leaders of the Democratic party.

[democrattotheend]

13. I am Jewish too and I agree those issues are more important to me too

But if a Democratic leader ever supported boycotts against Israel or adopted any of the language from the far left about Israel they would probably lose me. I can't stand Netanyahu and am disgusted by the things he has done to make Israel a pariah, but it's also hard not to feel personally targeted by the pro-Palestinian demonstrations and the anti-Semitism that pervades some of them.

That said, a big part of me is glad she didn't pick Shapiro because I didn't want to deal with the likely rise in anti-Semitism from the far left and far right that would have resulted from him being picked.

[DFab420]

15. Fair enough but those are some huge hypotheticals that don't seem ever likely to happen

Has Harris or Walz or Biden or Jefferies or any party leader mentioned that as their position?

The antisemitism coming from the pro-Palestine protests is gross and disheartening for sure though. Don’t disagree there at all. The propaganda arm of the antisemites is always strong and now is being amplified on TikTok etc.

[Cha]

22. Gov Shapiro is right about those GD Hamas Supporting "protesters"

but yeah.. too divisive for those Holding Michigan Hostage if he were chosen

And the "Voucher" thing was Way Overblown but that didn't stop it being Spread around.

"To date, Shapiro has not signed any voucher legislation into law."

Shapiro ultimately line-item vetoed the funding amid a budget impasse between the Democratic-controlled state House and the GOP-controlled state Senate.

To date, Shapiro has not signed any voucher legislation into law.

https://www.cityandstatepa.com/politics/2024/07/shapiros-stance-school-vouchers-comes-under-focus-amid-vp-speculation/398333/

From your link.. Snip..

To date, Shapiro has not signed any voucher legislation into law.

Manuel Bonder, a spokesperson for Shapiro, highlighted the governor’s accomplishments on public education in a statement.

“In his time in office, Governor Shapiro has consistently delivered historic increases in public education funding and finally, after decades of inaction, moved Pennsylvania towards adequately and equitably funding our public schools,” Bonder said. “Despite being the only Governor in the nation with a divided legislature – and despite bad faith attacks from all sides – Josh Shapiro has been a champion for public education and delivered real results.”

In the state's most recent budget, signed into law on July 11, Shapiro championed and celebrated increases for public education funding, including a $225 million increase in basic education funding through the state’s Fair Funding Formula, bringing the state’s total basic education funding allocation to $8.1 billion. The budget also included a $100 million increase in special education funding, as well as new “adequacy” and “tax equity” allocations of $493 million and $32 million, respectively.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=19277144

Good thing now that Walz has been chosen the Dragging on Gov Shapiro can Stop.

They love Gov Shapiro in PA and he's Going to be an Excellent Campaigner Across the State for Harris and Walz.

[hlthe2b]

12. I'm sure Obama had many reasons and probably just thought the two of them would work well together

Given he knows them both quite well, he could probably anticipate they would 'gel.'

Walz has a strong civil rights profile too and he named the first black Justice to the MN Supreme Court, not to mention his decision to bring on a state prosecution of George Floyd's murderer with Keith Ellison personally overseeing the matter.

[democrattotheend]

19. That makes sense

And thinking about it some more, it may have been based on his own decision in 2008 to choose Biden instead of Hillary Clinton for VP, even though he ultimately chose her for Secretary of State. Slightly different because Shapiro didn't run against Kamala, but he was considered a strong possibility for 2028 before Biden stepped aside and endorsed Kamala this year, so there may have been concern about his ability to be a loyal #2, which I'm guessing he failed to alleviate when he met with her.

[helpisontheway]

20. I don't know anything about Walz or Shapiro

but I started seeing a lot of negative stuff about Shapiro online. I was concerned because we don’t want to give the media an issue to focus on. Maybe Walz has some things that might pop up too. Regardless, I hope she made the right decision. I like the little bit that I have seen of Walz.

[Mosby]

21. The cynical part of me

Tells me that Shapiro wasn't going to be the pick because the antisemitic hate factories on the internet went into overdrive to make up lies about him like for example that he volunteered to serve in the IDF (complete lie). Kamala Harris's team made a pragmatic choice, they knew that Shapiro was an observant Jew, and that would likely become a distraction because of the extent of antisemitic sentiments in the Democratic party.

[Cha]

23. Exactly.. that's more like the Reality of what's happening.

But now that Gov Walz has been chosen the Dragging on Gov Shapiro can Stop.

They love him i PA and he will be a Brilliant Campaigner for VP Harris and Gov Walz Across the State!

I just made this post about Gov Shapiro..

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=19294149

Mahalo, Mosby!