In the 1984 primary campaign, Democratic candidate Fritz Hollings said to Democratic candidate John Glenn (in that great Foghorn Leghorn accent of his): “You all confused in that capsule of yours.” I feel the same about Mark Kelly.
I’m just back from a one-week vacation in Deer Isle, Maine. When I left, Joe Biden was the Democratic nominee, Donald Trump a bloodied martyr certain to win re-election, and J.D. Vance a shrewd pick to be Trump’s running mate because of his youth and Yale-Law-trained sharp tongue.
What’d I miss?
I am, of course, kidding. Kamala Harris is now the Democratic nominee; discussion of Trump’s near-death experience has shifted to whether his ear, now bandage-free, was grazed by a bullet or by shrapnel; and even the Wall Street Journal editorial board puts its face in its hands when J.D. Vance defends his offensive comments about “childless cat ladies.”
I also come back to a world without my New Republic and Washington Monthly colleague Walter Shapiro. New Republic tributes to Walter by James Fallows and Matthew Cooper are here and here. If you want to watch a Zoom video of Walter’s memorial service, click here. I miss Walter already, not least because I can’t ask him who candidate Harris should choose to be her running mate. I don’t have strong views on the matter, but I do have strong views about who Harris should not choose. In my latest New Republic piece I argue that the Arizona Senator and former astronaut Mark Kelly would be a very bad choice. Click here to read why.
I know Tim the guy you want is that governor from Pennsylvania that yells into the Audience at rallies,, " we get SHIT done ' ,,,we get SHIT done ,GSD ,,you know the guy that wants to needless destroy the beauty Pennsylvania environment that the citizens of Pennsylvania have law suits pending and don't want to frack the hell out of Pennsylvania, ( after big oil payed millions to get him elected ) or maybe he is the same guy that wants to take hard earned tax payer public funds away from public schools and give it to those rich ( religious schools) and rich private schools ...sure everyone needs a little help especially when the private school tuition is $57,653.00 dollars .
You know the guy ( lawyer ) that is for "education for all " ,,
Sure tim that's the guy you want for v p of the United States.
And I bet a million dollars you know who he is ?
Good luck America.
The problem you have Tim is you don't look behind the real numbers,,, why do you think more businesses in Arizona support Kelly versus labor ?
Small businesses always have a labor problem both in getting qualified people and paying them well ,but take Starbucks for example , people work at Starbucks because when they wake up in the morning and go to work they know it will be there .small businesses, even successful ones fight each day to stay alive , they don't have like Starbucks one of those big Wall Street Hedge fund operations backing their payroll, cash flow, with stock market options and stock holder payouts ,buybacks and dividends that have nothing to do with the day to day operations of running a real business.
You never see those well payed union leaders going after some small mom and pop business operations do you ? And that's why small businesses in Arizona support Kelly .
Have you ever met a small business owner that wakes up each morning and says " how can I price gouge my customers today ?" Small businesses would love to pay their employees more money ,,if we lived in a more free and open market.
Just maybe America needs someone like Kelly ,, who will look after the small businesse guy that adds real value ,, and maybe as an added bonus,,, stops gun violence.
What do you think, America?
Vietnam Veteran 1966-69