Is Harris/Walz a Throwaway Ticket?
This has already been a weird election cycle, and no, I'm not talking about anything JD Vance said about cat ladies. It's the Democrats that are behaving strangely, even for them - and given that they have been maintaining a Weekend at Bernie's presidency for almost four years, keeping befuddled old Joe Biden in place, insisting he was "sharp as a tack" and "on his game" until they couldn't hide the fact any longer that His Dessicatedness has lost it. So now they have anointed Joe's life insurance policy, Kamala Harris, Queen of the Word Salad. And as RedState informed you, she has picked Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her VP.
Monday, I wrote an article evaluating Kamala Harris's possible Veep picks. Regarding Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, in particular, I wrote:
Governor Tim Walz: It won't be Walz. He's from a reliably blue state and has all the charisma of a lemon peel; he brings literally nothing to the campaign.
I stand by that statement - especially the lemon peel part. So why did Kamala Harris pick the pale, pasty-white, far-left Governor of Minnesota, a state that was sure to go to the Democrats in the Electoral College in any case? And why did Eric "Fast and Furious" Holder, who was in charge of vetting candidates for her, recommend this guy?
He brings nothing to the table. He has no moderate chops to balance Kamala's commie-progressive stances. Minnesota, as noted, was an Electoral College win for the Dems in any case, barring Trump somehow turning in a 1972 Nixon-style 49-state landslide - that is the last time Minnesota's Electoral College votes went to a Republican. And then there's the lemon peel bit.
The choice is a little baffling. The only choice that might have been worse would be Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whose incompetence both as Mayor of South Bend, Indiana and in his current role is legendary.
"My fears about Harris are that she is incredibly bad at public speaking, and that she reliably makes bad political decisions. So far, she has done nothing to allay either fear. I’m not saying she can’t win, but I wish she gave me more confidence," Washington Post columnist Megan McArdle wrote.
Professor and podcaster Damon Linker reacted, "Rather than pick the very popular governor of a neck-and-neck must-win purple state, Harris chose a dime-a-dozen blue-state governor who gives feels to progressives. That's about what I'd have expected from her a month ago."
Author Matt Lewis declared it wasn’t a "bad pick for Kamala" but feels Walz will do little to appeal to anti-Trump conservatives.
"If you were a Never Trump conservative who was hoping to rationalize a vote for the Dem ticket (a short-term alliance), it just got harder," Lewis wrote.
Walz is, like Harris, a radical leftist. He doesn't bring a swing state to the table. There are blemishes all over his record. Here at RedState, we've been covering all the reasons this was a bad choice - unless you're Donald Trump and JD Vance, in which case this is a superb choice, a superlative choice. There are doubtless some glasses (and cans of Diet Coke) being hoisted at Trump campaign headquarters this morning.
'Most Left-Wing Ticket': No Mercy Shown in Republican Reactions to Kamala Harris Picking Tim Walz
The Press Rush to Put Lipstick on the Pig, but the Tim Walz Pick Is a Disaster for Democrats
There is one possible explanation.
In 1996, it was generally accepted that Democrat Bill Clinton was going to coast to a reelection victory. He did. The GOP, perhaps (as has always been my suspicion), nominated good old Bob Dole. Dole was one of the senior party members, a WW2 hero, and had been gunning for the top spot for some time - but who, in a party with fresh memories of Ronald Reagan, didn't blow up many skirts. So the party nominated him, took the L, and came back stronger in 2000.
Could the Democrats be doing this now? Could the Harris/Walz ticket be a sacrificial lamb? Will the Dems punt on the 2024 election and hope to find a better candidate to face JD Vance in 2028? Granted they could hardly find a worse one, and the selection of Walz doesn't help her odds any.
Was that choice deliberate? Have the Dems just torpedoed Kamala Harris? Bear in mind that Eric Holder, who was in charge of vetting VP candidates, is an Obama creature; make of that what you will. Furthermore, it's doubtful Kamala Harris has any idea of the fleet of buses she's about to be tossed under if this is indeed what's happening.
I may be reading too much into this. But this is one possible explanation for why Kamala Harris and her people made such a bafflingly bad choice.
Post a Comment