News & Brews August 8, 2024
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Shapiro is ‘not a No. 2’
As the Philly Inquirer continues to dissect every which way and angle Gov. Shapiro did NOT make the Harris presidential ticket, one of the latest stories highlights the simple fact that he’s not a good fit for a Number 2 slot. “Shapiro has long acknowledged he’s gravitated more toward executive roles,” the story notes. And he says he loves that he gets to do his job as governor “on my terms.” In other words, playing second fiddle to a president might seem a step down to the person who wants to be president.
‘Kamala Harris has a Scranton problem’
NOTUS (News of the United States, which is a newer media outlet), reports that voters in Lackawanna County felt that President Biden (aka “Scranton Joe”) understood the issues facing their community. “Vice President Kamala Harris has burst into the presidential race with a groundswell of enthusiasm…. But for all the new energy, there’s new concern about her winning coalition. Harris’ support among white, non-college-educated voters — the voters who helped win Pennsylvania for Biden and, therefore, propelled him to the presidency — is far from guaranteed.”
Walz is Harris’ hope for rural Pa. counties
The Post-Gazette reports, “In a memo released Wednesday, Battleground States Director Dan Kanninen singled out four historically Republican counties in Pennsylvania — Cumberland, Lancaster, Union and York — as areas where the [Harris] campaign hopes to hold down the GOP advantage.” And key to this strategy is VP nominee Tim Walz. “One of the reasons Ms. Harris chose Mr. Walz was his appeal to rural voters.” Will it work? We’ll see.
An interview with Dave McCormick
VISTA Today (in Chester County) caught up with Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick to talk about his background, his entrance into politics, the best advice he’s ever received, and more. The interview is less a political narrative and more a personal profile.
NEA strike could harm pro-Harris election effort
In case you missed it, the National Education Association (NEA) is facing a strike. Nope, not a teachers’ strike. A strike of its own employees. Wall Street Journal editorial writer Mene Ukueberuwa explains, “The work stoppage started when the staffers held a three-day strike at the NEA’s national convention in Philadelphia last month. The NEA struck back with a full lockout, and it’s shown no sign of letting up.” But here’s the thing: “The timing is miserable for the NEA, for which politics is the main event.” The union had planned to organize for Harris for president. “But now the union is barring the workers who help turn its money into political action. It will have to hire temporary staff, who may lack the organizing know-how.”