If inciting maximum fury is the goal, choosing Hunter Biden as her running mate is the way to go.
Harris/Biden in '24!
Take this for what it’s worth, but over at PredictIt, today they’ve got Shapiro hovering around 67 - 70% of being chosen, with no one else above 15% at the moment.
Love it. Campaign materials could refer to the fact that Hunter has nothing to hide. We’ve seen it all, literally.
Probably posted upthread, what about the true juggernaut ticket: Harris/Swift.
Kind of interesting to see the prices over time. Kelly had been the favorite and then nosedived yesterday, with Shapiro going from around 30-35% in the last week to 68% today. Did something happen? Is there a rumor out there?
Nahh the ultimate troll move (as suggested above) would be E Jean Carroll.
The Tuesday campaign rally is in Philly
That’s what I was trying to figure out - I was checking this thread off and on yesterday, since I know how there are more “ears close to the ground” here than any other board I frequent.
I was surprised to see nothing mentioned about Shapiro that made him the clear favorite.
The only thing is that Tues they’re in Philly.
[/quote]
If inciting maximum fury is the goal, choosing Hunter Biden as her running mate is the way to go.
Harris/Biden in '24!
[/quote]
I agree 100 %
My heart is with Pete, but I realize he has little chance. I’ve liked him since he ran for president last cycle. He has the “hip, young, smart” thing down pat. Plus he can pwn the Pubbies with both hands tied behind his back and a gentle smile on his face.
My head was with Kelly, but the last several days have seen a huge media push by most of the other potentials, but Kelly hasn’t been front and center at all (unless I’ve just missed him). He’s got the Right Stuff, but he’s not been nearly as present as the other contenders in the latest news cycle. Perhaps he’s not as interested in being considered as we have been in considering him?
I’m okay with Walz, hope it isn’t Shapiro for the many reasons others have stated. Bottom line, though, none of these men are a horrible choice. They all have their pluses and minuses. None of the candidates would make me upset if they were chosen (except possibly Shapiro, because he brings baggage that Harris doesn’t need).
I’ve been surprised to see so little of Kelly, too. The Washington Post had a pretty negative article about him this morning:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/07/31/kamala-harris-mark-kelly-background/
The long and short of it is that he’s shilled for an MLM (Shaklee vitamins) in China and had to return some speaking fees to UAE. Maybe just a bit too much grift for the present moment.
“When asked outside the U.S. Capitol Tuesday night by CBS News about whether he would be interested in being Harris’s running mate, Kelly responded bluntly that it “ain’t about me.”
That doesn’t sound like someone who’s enthusiastic about the prospect of being Veep. At least use the moment to push Harris.
I’ve also done some reading in the past few days (no links, sorry, done a lot of reading and I don’t remember where I read what) that Kelly isn’t much of an attack dog, he doesn’t have a taste for politics like that. He’s more a policy guy, not a politician. Also read he’s not much of a public speaker, or at least he hates doing it anyway.
He may not be the guy Harris needs.
That’s extremely disappointing. Not a good look at all: shilling for a Multi Level Marketing company is bad all by itself, but add in the motorcycle with American and Chinese flags on the handlebars… if there’s a video of that out there it would be very problematic.
Since when is Pennsylvania the Midwest? It’s a big state and the western part is starting to get close but Shapiro grew up in Montgomery County which is next to Philadelphia. The accent there is very distinctive and not at all like the Midwest.
ETA I went back and listened to him speak and I do hear a bit of a Philly/Delco accent in his vowels. It’s not strong. I would have to hear how he says the word water. Or hear him say he’s going to Wawa to get a hoagie.
A term I’ve heard is “political athlete”. If someone is a good political athlete, it means they are good at playing the political game. I don’t think Kelly is a good political athlete. He’s a good person, has a good record, and does good stuff, but he doesn’t seem adept at other political athlete stuff like getting on TV and being persuasive about policies.
For most elections, it wouldn’t really matter whether or not the VP is a good political athlete. They can be as bland as mayo on white bread and it wouldn’t matter. But in this election, the VP should to be someone who will be a very visible and positive presence to maximize the number of votes for Harris. Of the VP candidates, it seems like someone like Waltz would have the best potential to maximize votes to Harris by being an engaging political athlete.
Shapiro was a senior advisor to Robert Torricelli. Maybe it’s long enough ago that people won’t care but it is a skeleton shaking in the closet.
You never know what a deep dive vetting process will turn up. Re Kelly, I, too, noticed that when the chatter started, I was receiving funding solicitations and his profile seemed much higher. Then he kind of dropped from view.
There can be all kinds of reasons why he may have stepped back.
This one is purely speculative but it’s the one that makes the most sense to me. It is less nefarious than the idea that unexpected dirt turning up. His wife, who has already been through so much, may have had second thoughts about putting herself back into such a prominent, forward role, especially one that was going to make her a certain target of some wingnuts who are opposed to gun control of any kind.
I had that thought too. Being so nationally public, going against cultist gun nuts during a campaign where one candidate was already shot at may have been a bit triggering for both Gabby and Mark.
It’s not great, but the company in question has been a supplier for NASA for decades, so it’s not quite as bad as it sounds at first blush. Here’s an article that’s not an opinion piece by a Republican: