Antisemitism could cost Democrats the 2024 election if they lose Pennsylvania because Vice President Kamala Harris declined to choose Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, as her running mate in favor of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
The reasons to pick Shapiro were obvious. He is popular in his state; he is good-looking; and he represents a state with 19 Electoral College votes, more than any other battleground state, and nearly twice as many as Walz’s Minnesota (10).
The reason Harris rejected Shapiro was just as obvious. Shapiro is Jewish, and pro-Israel, even though he tried to recant some of his earlier, more strident views.
That was a problem for the growing antisemitic wing of the party.
Already, the Democrats are bracing for radical pro-Palestinian protests in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention. Harris knew that picking Shapiro would inflame them even further, creating ugly scenes and division.
That, by the way, is how discrimination typically works. People don’t think of themselves as bigots, and often they aren’t. But they worry about how others in their peer group, who may have bigoted views, will react to them if they show tolerance to a disfavored group.
Harris is no antisemite; she’s married to a Jew. But she lacks the courage to stand up to antisemitism in her party. And so, like many Democrats in the Jim Crow era, she chose to conform.
Walz adds nothing to the ticket, except the kind of big-man braggadocio that Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff once called “toxic masculinity.”
Walz may have started his career as a moderate in Congress, but he has become a radical leftist as governor. Transgender surgery for kids; free health care for illegal aliens; “green” energy policies that drive up prices; riots in the cities; stagnant economic growth. He’s like California’s Gavin Newsom, without all the hair.
Harris now owns all of Walz’s left-wing politics. He comes with other liabilities, as well. Walz is facing credible accusations of “stolen valor,” after he exaggerated his military record.
Democrats do not seem to care — and that is the point.
Walz was chosen because he does not offend any of the party’s various factions, least of all the anti-Israel contingent. It was a choice made for a base-turnout strategy, not an appeal to independents or swing-state voters.
The base certainly seems excited, relieved from the burden of pretending to believe that President Joe Biden could win. So let us assume that Walz helps Harris hold the party together.
Let us assume that she wins almost all of the states that Biden won in 2020. That would give her 303 Electoral College votes (down from 306, after the latest U.S. Census, due to people leaving Democrat-run states). That would give her the win.
But then there is Pennsylvania.
Biden was already struggling in Pennsylvania. In pandering to Muslim voters in Michigan — many of whom voted “uncommitted” in the primary — he alienated some Jewish voters in Pennsylvania. Harris made that situation worse when she passed over Gov. Shapiro.
Now add in Harris’s past opposition to fracking — a major industry in Pennsylvania — plus the surge of enthusiasm among Trump voters after he survived an assassination attempt in the state.
Moving Pennsylvania’s 19 Electoral College votes to Trump still leaves Harris with 284, more than the 270 required. But she can’t afford to lose much else.
If Trump takes Georgia, with 16 Electoral College votes, he wins.
Even without Georgia, if the “uncommitted” voters in Michigan decide Harris isn’t anti-Israel enough, there could be a 269-269 tie.
That would send the presidential election to the House of Representatives, which would meet to decide the winner on — yes — January 6th.
It is not clear yet which party will control the House, but the presidential votes would be cast by state, not by member, according to which party has the most seats in each state’s particular congressional delegation.
Democrats currently control the Pennsylvania delegation, with nine seats to Republicans’ eight. But according to the Cook Political Report, two of those Democrat-held seats are “toss-ups.” Having Gov. Shapiro on the ticket would have helped Democrats hold those seats. But now they could flip to the Republicans — with presidential consequences.
It is said that antisemitism destroys every society, or institution, that allows it to fester. Democrats may be about to learn that lesson the hard way. And if not in 2024, then in the long run.
Justice is coming; the only question is when.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
