Calls against Shapiro as Kamala Harris’ Vice-President pick

One critic argued Harris would risk alienating “precisely the people she needs to ensure her victory over Trump” if she picks Pennsylvania’s Governor as her running mate.

Reports that presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is leaning toward selecting Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as her running mate have sparked warnings from progressives who say his record and policy positions on key issues – from Palestine to public schools to climate – are cause for serious alarm and should be disqualifying.

Earlier this week, dozens of progressive leaders from across the United States wrote in a letter to Harris that Shapiro’s “support for school vouchers is in direct conflict with our teachers union allies and the Democratic Party Platform, threatening to undermine labor support” in a general election matchup with Republican nominee Donald Trump.

The letter’s signatories recommended Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear as possible alternatives to Shapiro, who last year relented to pressure and vetoed a school voucher program that he previously supported. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported last month that Shapiro “says school vouchers are still a priority for him.”

“Democrats need a credible and respected voice that has a track record of winning over and exciting an electorate, especially the ability to turn out young voters, immigrants, and independents in swing states,” reads the progressives’ letter, signed by the chair of the California Democratic Party’s Progressive Caucus, the head of the Nevada Democratic Party, the executive director of Progressive Democrats of America, a member of the Ohio Democratic Party’s executive committee, and others.

“Shapiro has... done far more than most Democrats to attack pro-Palestine antiwar demonstrators, in ways that call into question his basic commitment to First Amendment rights,” writer David Klion argued in The New Republic last week, noting that the Pennsylvania governor compared protesters rallying against Israel’s genocide in Gaza to the Ku Klux Klan.

A coalition of pro-Palestine groups has launched a website dubbing Shapiro “Genocide Josh” and warning Harris against picking him as her running mate. Shapiro has also faced criticism for supporting corporate tax cuts.

Harris is expected to announce her vice presidential pick ahead of a scheduled rally Tuesday in Philadelphia, part of a broader campaign swing through pivotal battleground states. According toPolitico, a Harris aide “cautioned against reading too much into the first city chosen for the tour,” pushing back on speculation that the event’s location confirms Shapiro will be Harris’ running mate.

A survey released earlier this week showed that Trump is narrowly leading Harris in Pennsylvania, and it’s far from clear that picking Shapiro as her running mate would help her win the state.

“Other names in the mix include Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg,” Politico reported earlier this week. “Shapiro said on Tuesday that he had not spoken to Harris since July 21, the day that Biden dropped out.”

Will Bunch argued in a column for The Philadelphia Inquirer “that it’s no wonder that progressives seem to be lining up in the VP contest behind Minnesota’s Walz, who like Shapiro has some policy wins on cherished liberal issues like expanding free school lunches but isn’t lugging around political baggage like the Pennsylvania governor.” “Whether Harris, said to have close ties to Shapiro, sees it the same way will tell us a lot about her White House bid,” Bunch added.

(https://www.commondreams.org/)