Pick your poison

The headline came out only a few days ago.

Progressives don't want Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro to be Vice President. A Jew would be too much.

One letter signed by nearly 50 progressive leaders pointed to Shapiro’s “shortcomings as a national candidate” and urged the vice president to consider Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) instead.

“With the compressed timeline ahead of us to defeat the Trump-Vance-MAGA threat, we simply cannot afford any setbacks,” the letter said. 

A letter from another progressive group, known as “VP Unity,” said Harris’s consideration of Shapiro has “set off alarm bells” among young voters, Muslims, Arab Americans and activists. 

Some progressive critics of Shapiro say his response to the pro-Palestinian protests in Pennsylvania, which they labeled as “heavy handed,” could impact a Harris-Shapiro ticket more negatively than his views on the Israel-Hamas war more generally.

Here's another headline, also from The Hill. 

Seems to be more of the same.

A group of progressive leaders is urging likely Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris to consider Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) or Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) as her running mate and rule out Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), as the party seeks to consolidate its base ahead of November.

Close to 50 progressive leaders hailing from states ranging from California to Kentucky — including the originator of the coalition efforts, California Democratic Party Progressive Caucus Chair Emeritus Amar Shergill — signed onto a letter released Tuesday telling Harris that they “whole-heartedly” endorsed her campaign while noting that “it is difficult to overstate the importance of your decision in selecting a Vice-Presidential running mate.”

...while Shapiro is a “valued member of the Democratic coalition,” he has become known for his “shortcomings as a national candidate,” including “controversial policy decisions” like his backing of school vouchers.

“Choosing Tim Walz or Andy Beshear as Vice-President Kamala Harris’ running mate will invigorate the nation by rallying all of our diverse communities, especially young voters, public education advocates, and the working class,” California Democratic Party Progressive Caucus Chair Fatima Iqbal-Zubair said in a statement. 

There is one reason that Progressives don't like Shapiro and it has nothing to do with his stance on school vouchers. Nice try. The truth is as easy to see as the nose on his face. They do not like Jews or anyone that supports Israel and its existence. Anyone that acknowledges Israel's right to defend themselves from attacks like October 7th is a pariah.

The governor has been a vocal supporter of Israel in the months since the Oct. 7 attacks, but has also been critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his handling of the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza. 

Shapiro allies are pushing back.

“Throughout his entire career and particularly over the last several months, Governor Shapiro — who enjoys a close personal relationship with Muslim-American, Arab-American, Palestinian, Christian, and Jewish community leaders — has brought people together, listened, and worked with them to try and keep our communities safe and heard,” Shapiro spokesperson Manuel Bonder told The Hill. 

Shapiro has not been a knee jerk supporter of either Israel or Netanyahu, I believe that his views are quite similar to mine. But his ethnicity alone is enough to be declared verboten by the progressive hordes. And it has a lot of good Democrats running scared. Horrors! A woman of color and a Jew on the same ticket. Too much!

*

I received this letter this morning, from a progressive Jewish friend, a lawyer who is aligned with J Street:

Hi

Forgive me for writing this to you.

I am writing because I am hoping that you might be willing to do what I have done just now. I am hoping that if you agree with me, you might want to take the action I am suggesting. You needn’t reply to me, and I am not trying to convince you.

I am concerned that if Josh Shapiro is selected by VP Harris, it will unleash a torrent of antisemitism like we we have never seen.  I respect and appreciate him.  I believe selecting him will alienate some Democrats.

I called Eric Holder’s law firm.  They sent me to a hotline that he has set up to field calls and I left a message. His number at the Covington firm is 202 662 6000.

If you share my concerns, and have a connection with anyone within the Harris campaign, please consider contacting them to express this concern.

Sent from my iPhone

I wrote him back and let him know that I totally disagreed with his premise.

I do not agree. I think that the large progressive coalition that is anti Shapiro because of his faith are disgusting and I want nothing to do with them.

He wrote back that he was concerned about anti-semitism from the right. I countered that I was just as worried about antisemitism from the left, which in my opinion is just as bad. Try walking through a university with a kippah or Star of David.

I have no idea if Josh Shapiro is the best possible candidate for the Vice Presidential position. But I think it is craven and horrible that he should be excluded simply because Progressives won't want a person of his ethnicity in the oval office. And I think and truly believe that that is the case here.

We Jews get attacked from both the left and right, both onslaughts are equally pernicious. We are both patronized and used. This is why I don't feel really comfortable in either party.

Pick your poison.

From Axios:

Between the lines: A story in The Atlantic on Wednesday noted that Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the two other top VP contenders, are not facing such campaigns despite having similarly pro-Israel politics.

• "Activists have not organized in force to discredit any of the non-Jewish contenders for vice president on these grounds. There are no viral memes against 'Killer Kelly' or 'War-Crimes Walz,'" author Yair Rosenberg wrote.

Several high-profile Jewish lawmakers, including Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), have since called out what they say is an antisemitic double standard.