The Election is Over

Or, at Least My Interest In It Is

Kamala Harris’ selection of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz sealed the deal for me on this Presidential election. As someone dedicated to the defeat and political exile (if not physical) of Donald Trump, I was somewhat heartened by the (appropriate, professional, competent) removal of the doddering President from the Democratic ticket. His replacement (Harris) is bad—terrible—on every issue, but appears “compos mentis” which is more than we can say for the occupant of the nation’s highest office since January of 2017.

My determination was (and is) this—if she picked Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro—I would proceed with an open mind as to the possibility of voting that ticket in November. She is not crazy (but wrong on virtually all policy issues), and he is competent, very competent. But she did not pick him. And so I will not continue to vet her candidacy and I will not vote for her. Should you wish to vie for my write-in, the comment section is open.

The press is full of reasons why she passed on Shapiro, but two seem most prominent.

First, there is the line peddled by Pennsylvania’s Junior Senator John Fetterman that “yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look”, or Shapiro’s own ambition and sense of self would render him an ineffective and potentially disruptive influence as #2. Fetterman and Shapiro have been rivals for influence in the Pennsylvania Democratic Party for years, and Fetterman’s wielding of the shiv seems petty and misguided. It never ceases to amaze me how someone could vie for the greatest office in the world with a real chance of winning it and be threatened by the competence and ambition of someone else. What more do you need to prop up your ego? Do you fear an underling when you stand atop the pile? Well, reportedly this line of attack landed with Harris, and Shapiro' missed out.

The second reason is the plain antisemitism of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Shapiro is a Jew, and an observant one. He is a Zionist. And he has had some very solid things to say about the lawlessness of the pro-terrorist demonstrations on Pennsylvania’s campuses this year (stand by, they’ll be back in school in the coming weeks). This does not please the wildly online young, progressive chunk of Harris’ party, and she has caved to them.

Lots of folks looking for monocausal explanations here, but I think her choice reinforces my sense of her elemental weakness as a human being. She’s not big enough to have a big man on her team, and she’s not big enough to stare down the radical elements of her own party.

And so we hurtle headlong into an election in which each Vice Presidential pick was made in order to shore up “the base”. On the one hand, J.D. Vance has beclowned himself in efforts to show his fealty to the Orange Duce and his love of the mouth-breathers of the Trumpenproletariat. On the other Tim Walz is an old lefty who sees socialism as neighborliness. On the one hand, J.D. Vance and his ilk would have us walk away from the brave and just fight in Ukraine. On the other Tim Walz and his ilk would have us walk away from the brave and just fight in Israel.

I honestly thought that this election would be about appealing to those voters not well served by either party at this point. Instead, both major candidates have doubled down on the worst elements of their base. And so I will return to a relatively passive stance and sharpen my write-in pencil.

On The Drudgery of Shaving

I don’t like shaving. At all. It is a waste of precious morning time, I invariably miss spots that bedevil me all day, and then there is the likelihood of bloodletting. If my face didn’t itch so bad at two weeks of growth (and if I were in a relationship with a woman who’d allow it) I would grow a beard. But I can’t and I’m not. So I shave every few days, including this morning, during which I got a thought. If I could take a pill that made me never have to shave again, and that did not have other “hormonal” drawbacks, would I take it. The answer is a resounding yes.

Don’t get me wrong—a few days growth is not at all bad for my middle of the road looks—but I’d trade the limited sense of rakishness to get the time and effort back. What do my beard capable readers think? Would you walk away from the razor forever?

Apologies

Sorry to let down those whose week was ruined by not waking to the Conservative Wahoo in your Emailbox Monday. I got busy over the weekend. Could be a repeat performance next week, as I have another busy weekend and travel.