
<p>If I were an advisor to Vice President Harris, I would have not recommended Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate.</p>



<p>Initially, I thought Governor Josh Shapiro would have been by far the best choice. He is young, articulate and would likely lock in the critically important state of Pennsylvania. He is more moderate and would balance the ticket more than the others on the list of potential candidates – although balancing the ticket is more theory than reality.</p>



<p>In my initial analysis, I overlooked an important factor about Shapiro – at least in terms of the Democratic Party. ; He is Jewish. ; ; Democrats are plagued with a politically significant number of antisemitic voters who have risen to the surface over the Hamas War. ; They occupy the portion of the Democratic Party with which Harris is most closely associated – the radical far left. ; ; ; This does not mean that Harris, herself, is antisemitic, but merely influenced by those voters who are.</p>



<p>Shapiro might have brought in Pennsylvania for Team Harris, but according to many analyses, it may have cost her Muslim-rich Michigan – and even the traditionally safe Democrat state of Minnesota.</p>



<p>Because Shapiro was so obviously the strongest choice, it is difficult to find any other reason for his rejection – other than being Jewish. ; In fact, that was the issue that many media analysts raised in terms of Shapiro before and after the selection of Walz.</p>



<p>My next choice would have been Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. ; None of the candidates had a better personal resume. ; A former astronaut &#8230; married to gun violence victim and former Congresswoman Gabbie Gifford &#8230; from a battleground state &#8230; and a 24-year quasi-military carry as a sergeant in the Minnesota National Guard. ;</p>



<p>(Somehow, Walz passed up on the opportunity of calling himself to active duty during the George Floyd riots. When Walz finally got around to calling on his National Guard for help in quelling the violence, he was not on the rooster. Go figure. Seeing the governor in Army uniform with his gun in hand on the front line would have been a sight worth seeing. But I digress.)</p>



<p>Walz is governor of a state that is most likely to be for Harris – even had she picked Shapiro. ; She did not need Walz to carry Minnesota. ; So, why pick him?</p>



<p>He is a strong campaigner – but so are Shapiro and Kelly ; ; He has an impressive background – but no more impressive as Shapiro and certainly not nearly as impressive as Kelly.</p>



<p>But Walz is distinctive in one way. Of the three finalists, he is the most closely aligned to Harris in terms of issues and left-wing political ideology. Behind that kindly smiling grandfatherly face lies a hardcore left-winger &#8212; a no holds barred member of the Democrats’ progressive wing. They have already dubbed him “the happy warrior” – an appellation once given to fellow Minnesotan left-wing Senator Hubert Humphrey.</p>



<p>Of course, Walz will get the giddy hyperbolic praise the left-leaning media affords to the Democrat team. Kelly would have gotten the same biased exuberance. ; Maybe not Shapiro. ; The radical left is not kind to Jews or Jewish interests &#8212; as we have seen played out on the streets, on campuses across the nation and in Congress.</p>



<p>If you want to know just how far left Walz is on the political continuum, look at his fan club. ; Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders and virtually every member of “the squad.” ; What more do you need to know?</p>



<p>There is another factor involving Walz &#8230; image. ; While Walz is the same age as Kelly (and Harris) and only moderately older than Shapiro, he “looks” older.  ;This was driven home by a CNN panel that agreed that Walz is an “old” 60 and Harris is a “young” 59 — just a few months younger than Walz. ;  ;In fact, he looks like the stereotypical “old White man” that the young radicals in the Democratic Party abhor. ; He is not the “type” to appeal to the uncommitted younger voters.</p>



<p>How much Walz helps Harris is open to debate, but in terms of the plus/minus analysis, he is a small plus – mostly by not being a negative. ; But in the final analysis, will any of this matter?</p>



<p>The number one issue in Harris’s pick is whether Walz will add votes. ; There are not a lot who are undecided. ; Maybe 10 percent. ; But even small numbers matter in close elections. ;</p>



<p>But &#8230; how does Walz on the ticket help with the all-important Electoral College vote? He is likely to improve the Democrat vote count in Minnesota, but that state is already calculated to be a Harris state. Adding more Democrat votes in Minnesota will have no impact on the outcome of the November election.</p>



<p>Traditionally, vice presidential candidates are given great attention and importance at the time they are chosen but prove to have little importance with voters when they cast their ballots. ; There is no reason for that tradition to change this year.</p>



<p>In terms of Walz, we are currently experiencing a lot of exuberant and hyperbolic “sound and fury” that – in the final analysis – may mean nothing.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

Walz would have been my third choice
