Kamala Harris's VP election in the spotlight

The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

With Obama's endorsement in hand, presumptive Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris will resort to the selection of running mates. The two names that seem to be popping up as the top choices are Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.

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

Kelly would be expected to help both Arizona and Nevada. Both states lean Republican this time. It could also give the Dems a slight boost in neighboring New Mexico, which looks set to be up for grabs. All three have Senate races that could determine control of the Senate. Democrats need a sweep.

Shapiro appears to be the answer in Pennsylvania, which also leans “red.” He is the darling of the Democratic establishment. He has fundraising connections and is counting on convincing Eastern Pennsylvania Democrats to stay home and support the candidate. It is believed that many might support RFK, Jr. or even vote for Donald Trump. The selection of JD Vance as Trump's running mate will have a mild impact in the western part of the state. Shapiro could make up for any “shock” the Ohio senator might bring.

Additional considerations

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

Shapiro's selection and Harris' subsequent victory would not present this problem. He would be a solid number two and would balance the ticket superbly. 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. The smart money suggests that Trump will win Nevada regardless of who the running mate is. If the Republicans win New Mexico, it will be a long night for the Democrats. They simply cannot win the election if they lose Pennsylvania.

A possible factor

While it shouldn't be a factor, it unfortunately could be. Josh Shapiro is Jewish. In normal times in a less divided country, it might not even appear. But yes These are tense times. Trump and his 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 certainly making inroads.

MAGA Republicans have taken Trump's pro-Israel stance to face. Many of his supporters are evangelicals who have always been very light on anti-Semitism. Union members supporting Trump are relatively new. His Republican party has become the party of the working class. The emphasis on protecting Social Security and Medicare is welcomed by Americans who feel forgotten by the establishment in Washington DC and elites across the country.

This is where it becomes potentially problematic.

Trump's supporters believe the former president has won (or should have won) the support of American Jews with his staunch support for Israel. Although it may be more complicated than this topic, we are not talking about intellectual reasoning, but inspiration that is very faith-based. The Morning Joe's and Rachael Maddow's may harbor contempt for these Americans, but their conviction is real. Or it seems to be…

How deep are the convictions?

Josh Shapiro magically appearing on the bottom of a Harris ticket could cause a massive “rethink.” For many faithful, this could be interpreted 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 consensual Jewish opinion. They would rather point to Mark Levine and Alan Dershowitz as the true voices of Jewish America.

Normally, this would make for a good coffee debate. 2024 is different. The country has not been this divided since 1861. Everything is magnified, especially the banking system, globalism and anything that can be an excuse to worsen economic conditions fueled by the most devastating inflation since the days of Jimmy Carter.

A Harris-Shapiro ticket could unlock alt-right notions that DC insiders fear the worst. It would be easy to associate a Philadelphia lawyer, who happens to be Jewish, with Wall Street and the banking system. The immense wealth and complicated history of the Rothchild family has been a well-worn topic over the decades. The reminder that they were de-banked in Germany, then Austria and France by Adolph Hitler has historically generated sympathy. However, younger generations are revisiting the issue, without predisposed previous paradigms.

Participants on the far right have questioned Goldman-Sac's contribution to the stock market today. They are joined by a growing number of centrists, another disturbing trend!

The “cherry on the sundae” is the long-rumored “global currency reset.” The promises of “Nesara-Gesara”, which insists that “composition” amounts to theft and the money stolen over the decades must be returned to the rightful owners and to his heirs. Renaissance Catholicism considered the combination of “usury,” a “sin of the devil,” as described in Dante's “Inferno.”

People all over the country are suffering. Worst inflation in half a century has America reeling. Rubbing additional salt into the wound is the conclusion of the corporate media that the economy is booming, jobs are plentiful and the immigration issue is non-existent. A growing number of Americans are waking up to the fact that they have been intentionally “gassed” by the media. Couple that with an assassination attempt on President Trump earlier this month and the moment is ripe.

It's potentially a perfect storm! This is not really the time for Shapiro or any American Jew to side with Israel! As Harris' running mate, that would be the perception.

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

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