VP Harris, Do Not Choose Pete Buttigieg as your Running Mate

In my previous post I asserted that the nomination of Ms. Harris as the Presidential candidate for the Democrats will make them winning the White House more difficult than if Mr. Biden was the nominee. The reason is I believe that there are many who may really  dislike the idea of Donald Trump being President again who are also uncomfortable with the idea of a woman of colour being President. That could result in many of them staying home on election day, particularly in some of the states she needs to carry to win the election.

If she now turns around and selects an openly gay man as her running mate she can probably kiss the White House goodbye and the Democrats would probably lose both Houses of Congress as well.

While having those two running together is the proverbial wet dream for progressives on both sides of the border those very same progressives have to remember that not everybody thinks like them. Racism and homophobia are still very strong in the US, even amongst voters who identify as Democrat, so having both a visible minority and a gay person running together, along with the Presidential candidate being a woman could be a recipe for disaster.

It is unfortunate but that is the hand she has been dealt.

I am willing to accept the idea of such a ticket attracting alot of new young voters but history has demonstrated that while young voters may be becoming more and more involved in politics they still do not vote in numbers to really effect outcomes. So, if the Democrats are counting on the youth vote to act as a counterweight to those more dependable voters who would be uncomfortable with a woman of colour as President and a gay man as Vice President they could be in for great disappointment.

So please Ms. Harris, choose a middle aged, white guy, who is just a little right of centre as your running mate. Yes I know that they are already overrepresented in politics but they still reflect a sizable proportion of your electorate (and ours in Canada) so you cannot ignore their concerns and expect to win.