Vice President Kamala Harris has selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, capping the Midwestern Democrat’s short but swift ascent from a relative unknown to a leading driver of the party’s attacks on Donald Trump and the MAGA agenda.
He has a lot of baggage that has the potential to tank the ticket and stifle the positive trajectory Kamala has going. Part of her momentum is hoping for a better stance on Gaza compared to Biden and Shapiro would be harmful for that image. You can argue some of it isn’t justified, but politics is more emotional than rational and even past that some of his negatives are tough to swallow - like response to protestors, school vouchers, potential cover-up of an aides sexual misconduct…
I would think that it is more likely for Netanyahu to do something desperately stupid before the US election to try to change the conversation. Like start a war with Iran as the October surprise…
Waltz is a Zionist too, just not as zealous as Shapiro. I see no reason to believe the future will look any different from the current administration’s policies. Aka unconditional support for Israel with a couple strongly worded statements every once in a while
When he served in the House from 2007-2019, he frequently took pro-Israel votes, including voting to condemn a United Nations resolution affirming that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal
Mark Mellman, the chairman of Democratic Majority for Israel’s super PAC, praised Harris’ selection of Walz in a statement, calling him a “proud pro-Israel Democrat with a strong record of supporting the U.S.-Israel relationship.”
Walz has never diverged from the party line of unconditionally supporting Israel, a position illustrated by his comments earlier this year at an event held by the Jewish Community Relations Council.
“The ability of Jewish people to self-determine themselves is foundational … The failure to recognise the state of Israel is taking away that self-determination. So it is anti-Semitic,” he said.
He has a lot of baggage that has the potential to tank the ticket and stifle the positive trajectory Kamala has going. Part of her momentum is hoping for a better stance on Gaza compared to Biden and Shapiro would be harmful for that image. You can argue some of it isn’t justified, but politics is more emotional than rational and even past that some of his negatives are tough to swallow - like response to protestors, school vouchers, potential cover-up of an aides sexual misconduct…
It’s just an unnecessarily vulnerable pick.
So assuming Harris and Walz are going to be more difficult for Netanyahu to negotiate with, does this increase chances of a ceasefire in Gaza?
Probably.
I would think that it is more likely for Netanyahu to do something desperately stupid before the US election to try to change the conversation. Like start a war with Iran as the October surprise…
Waltz is a Zionist too, just not as zealous as Shapiro. I see no reason to believe the future will look any different from the current administration’s policies. Aka unconditional support for Israel with a couple strongly worded statements every once in a while
Thanks, makes sense.