Yesterday, Ed wrote about the obvious reason that Josh Shapiro, the obviously better choice for Kamala Harris' Vice Presidential running mate, was rejected. 

Shapiro had a lot of things going for him, including the fact that he is the popular governor from a must-win state: Pennsylvania. He is also ideologically more attractive to moderate voters, an outstanding speaker, and while liberal he doesn't come off as one. 

If you have any doubt that Shapiro has the chops to appeal to voters in the middle, watch his press conference in which he described his conversation with Corey Comperatore's wife after the assassination attempt in Butler.

We lost a fellow Pennsylvanian last night: Corey Comperatore.

Earlier today, I spoke to his wife and his two daughters. They asked me to share that Corey died a hero — diving on his family to protect them from danger.

I’ve ordered United States and Commonwealth flags to be… pic.twitter.com/UEN3P4D1Ju

— Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) July 14, 2024

I was very impressed at the time, and nothing has changed my mind. I wouldn't vote for him, of course, because he is still a liberal, but I thought he would be an excellent choice for Harris. 

So did many others. 

Let's face it, Tim Walz is pretty much Bernie Sanders-lite but a bit more radical and hails from a state that is neither a must-win nor one that Kamala is in much danger of losing if she has a shot at the presidency at all. If she wins, she will win Minnesota. If she loses, she still will probably win Minnesota. 

Walz has so many vulnerabilities that attacking him on the trail will be complicated by choosing just which idiotic policies are the least popular, and which insane things he did will impact the vote more. 

He was a terrible choice. Only a San Francisco liberal could think otherwise. He might not cost Harris the election, but nobody in his right mind thinks he will help outside of solidifying her base. And if she hasn't done that already, this won't help. 

So Van Jones said the quiet part out loud: Shapiro was excluded because he is a Jew. 

You know that. I know that. Everybody knows that. While Walz won't be necessary to solidify the base, Shapiro threatened tearing it apart. Even as a liberal, anti-Netanyahu Jew, Shapiro is just too Jewish to be presented to the Democrat antisemites.

Van Jones admits that Kamala picking Walz was her "caving in to some of these darker parts in the party" in terms of appeasing "anti-Jewish bigots" that have "gotten marbled into this party." pic.twitter.com/UTspmYkFfF

— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) August 6, 2024

Not all Democrats are antisemites. Most of them are obviously not. And most Jews are Democrats, although if polling is any indication the Democrats are going to have trouble keeping a lot of them in the fold. 

But the most rabid Democrats--the "vote Blue no matter who" radicals, won't vote Blue if he is a Jew. 

It really is that simple, and Van Jones as an honest man said so. I have gotten blowback before for praising Jones, but I think he is as straight up a guy as you find in politics. I don't agree with him, but I think he tells it like he sees it. 

And he sees "dark forces" in the Democrat Party, and has the guts to say so. 

I don't praise him because I agree with him on this point. I do it because he told the truth. And it is an uncomfortable truth that the Democrat Party has to confront if it is going to be allowed near power. 

Hate is a powerful force in politics, and it isn't a Left or Right issue, although in general, I think that the Left is in the grips of a hatefest and has been for a while. There are hateful Republicans, and we know who they are. 

Right now the Democrats have an antisemitism problem as large as the Trump Derangement problem, and it will persist longer unless it is stamped out. 

I can't call the Vice President's decision a canary in the coal mine because the canaries are already dying left and right. This is more like the first obvious sign of an impending explosion in the mine.