Helping Kamala Choose a Veep

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Delegates to the upcoming Democratic National Convention have been "virtually" voting to select a presidential nominee for the past couple of days, and yesterday - Friday -  it was announced by the DNC that Vice President Kamala Harris now has enough votes to win the nomination.   The official announcement will be next Monday evening when the virtual voting closes.

The Democratic National Convention will convene in Chicago two weeks from Monday, on August 19th, where all of the spectacle, speeches, and balloon drops will take place.  The party is holding an early virtual vote to insure that its presidential ticket meets all of the various state deadlines for getting on the November ballot. 

Now that Kamala Harris has a lock on the Democratic nomination, her most pressing concern becomes the selection of a vice-presidential candidate to run with her on the Democratic ticket.  Normally several months of serious vetting and deliberation go into the selection of a running mate, but with President Biden's late exit from the presidential race that process has been compressed into just a few weeks.  Harris is reportedly meeting individually with four or five finalists this weekend and plans on quickly making an announcement and being on the campaign trail with her veep pick by Tuesday.

In the event that Vice President Harris decides at the last possible moment that she would like my input on the matter, I decided to put my thoughts into this posting where she could have easy access to them.  I readily admit that my preferences on the matter have bounced around over the past few days as more and more information on the candidates has surfaced, but as of this morning, August 3, 2024, here is my thinking:

1.  Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota, is my top choice for the nomination for Vice President.   I have listened to two extended interviews with Governor Walz (both on "Pod Save America") and firmly believe that he and I speak the exact same language.  Before entering politics and serving in Congress and as the governor of his state, Tim Walz had a full career as an educator where he taught high school social studies (my field) and was a very successful football coach.  He has a young family - a son who is seventeen and a daughter in her twenties who is a social worker, and he is a strong proponent of education as the governor of Minnesota where he promotes such radical ideas are free school breakfasts and lunches for all students.

Governor Walz has ended the practice of "conversion" therapy in Minnesota, initiated protections for Trans individuals, strengthened reproductive freedom in his state, ended book bans based on ideology, and is an outspoken proponent of gun control.  

In addition to being a retired educator and a veteran of ten years in Congress, the 60-year-old Governor Walz is also a retired Command Sergeant Major with the Army National Guard.

Tim Walz is a bright, well-spoken, and humorous individual with proven leadership skills.  He would bring quite a few positives to the Harris' campaign and would be an invaluable partner in her administration.

2.  Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of Transportation, would also be a very dynamic candidate whom, I believe, would move the ticket forward.  The most common refrain among the political chattering class is that while most agree the former mayor of South Bend is extremely smart and well spoken, the country is just not ready for a gay President.  Twenty years ago the very same people were also confident that the country was not ready for a Black President, or not long after that the country was not ready for gay marriage.  Times change, and sometimes they change awfully damned fast!

Pete Buttigieg is one of the sharpest and most persuasive speakers in the country.  He uses clear and concise language, and has even earned the grudging respect of some of the gas bags on Fox News where he often appears.  I think Secretary Pete would complement Kamala Harris on the campaign trail, present the team's idea's clearly and forcefully, and maybe even make JD Vance cry in a debate.

3.  Mark Kelly, US Senator from Arizona, not only bears the glamour of being a former astronaut, he has won two statewide races in Arizona in the last four years, not an easy task for any Democrat.  Harris needs to have Arizona in play this year, and having Mark Kelly on the ticket should help with that effort.  Senator Kelly also has the added benefit, at least from my perspective, of having strong credentials in the fight to control the spread of guns and to make them safer.  Kelly and his wife, former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, are near the center of the nation's gun control movement, and his elevation to Vice President and Gabby Gifford's return to Washington, DC, as the wife of the Vice President would serve to highlight the issue of gun control and keep it before the public.  That would be an additional win.

Those are my top three:  Walz, Buttigieg, and Kelly.  I also think Gretchen Whitmer, the Governor of Michigan, and Andy Beshear, the Governor of Kentucky, would each add some zing to the ticket as well as a dollop of midwestern practicality and plain speaking.  But regardless of whom Kamala ultimately chooses, Pa Rock will be with her!

Give 'em hell, Kamala!