I am not against Kelly at all so let me preface with that before I say the following: it is so bizarre to me how there was such an insane purity test/demonization of any moderate stance for any potential Democrat candidate on lemmy yet a moderate such as Kelly is handwaved away with “but astronaut” lol
“But Astronaut” is a pretty damned high bar in many people’s views, in large part because of the stringent qualifications. They’re also the very few that actually get to experience the Overview Effect.
I get all that but like…being an astronaut doesn’t just overwhelm all other considerations lol
Anyway I like the dude. It’s just wild watching all the cheerleading for a very moderate, totally not-progressive VP pick “because astronaut.” I’m sure there are/were astronauts who are/were shitty people lol
You’re right, but it’s also not the only non-traditional qualifier though. For many people the fact that the Second Lady would be Gabby Giffords is also a consideration. Between the two of them, they’ve been on a national stage for a long time.
For many people, this Is one of the first times they’re really hearing about Shapiro, and the fact there’s a dipshit on the MAGA side with the same last name, well that just complicates average voter perception. Name recognition and differentiation is massive for the voters that don’t follow politics constantly.
Maybe I’m out of touch but I don’t think 99%+ of the country could name a single Second Lady besides those who became First Ladies later and I imagine most people can’t name any First Ladies other than Jill Biden, and/or Hillary Clinton, and/or Michelle Obama, and/or Nancy Reagan. Hillary Clinton for obvious reasons deserves an asterisks on that list.
I’m sure they’re great campaigners sometimes but I really don’t see a Second Lady having a meaningful impact on an election unless they’re already a household name and even then I’m skeptical.
That’s kind of my point though. Gabby Giffords was a US Representative that was thrust into the national spotlight when she survived an assassination attempt in 2013 at a public Town Hall.
Unlike most political spouses, she was actually the politician of the couple before Mark Kelly ran in 2020. He’s actually very new to politics directly.
Kelly would be cool as fuck.
Shapiro would make me feel better about this election.
I think Kamala will choose one of these two and have a pretty good chance of winning either way, so I don’t really care.
I am not against Kelly at all so let me preface with that before I say the following: it is so bizarre to me how there was such an insane purity test/demonization of any moderate stance for any potential Democrat candidate on lemmy yet a moderate such as Kelly is handwaved away with “but astronaut” lol
“But Astronaut” is a pretty damned high bar in many people’s views, in large part because of the stringent qualifications. They’re also the very few that actually get to experience the Overview Effect.
And then you have stuff like this.
I get all that but like…being an astronaut doesn’t just overwhelm all other considerations lol
Anyway I like the dude. It’s just wild watching all the cheerleading for a very moderate, totally not-progressive VP pick “because astronaut.” I’m sure there are/were astronauts who are/were shitty people lol
Gabby Giffords as Second Lady would be a great addition that comes included with a Kelly pick.
You’re right, but it’s also not the only non-traditional qualifier though. For many people the fact that the Second Lady would be Gabby Giffords is also a consideration. Between the two of them, they’ve been on a national stage for a long time.
For many people, this Is one of the first times they’re really hearing about Shapiro, and the fact there’s a dipshit on the MAGA side with the same last name, well that just complicates average voter perception. Name recognition and differentiation is massive for the voters that don’t follow politics constantly.
Maybe I’m out of touch but I don’t think 99%+ of the country could name a single Second Lady besides those who became First Ladies later and I imagine most people can’t name any First Ladies other than Jill Biden, and/or Hillary Clinton, and/or Michelle Obama, and/or Nancy Reagan. Hillary Clinton for obvious reasons deserves an asterisks on that list.
I’m sure they’re great campaigners sometimes but I really don’t see a Second Lady having a meaningful impact on an election unless they’re already a household name and even then I’m skeptical.
That’s kind of my point though. Gabby Giffords was a US Representative that was thrust into the national spotlight when she survived an assassination attempt in 2013 at a public Town Hall.
Unlike most political spouses, she was actually the politician of the couple before Mark Kelly ran in 2020. He’s actually very new to politics directly.
That’s a good point and I feel bad for forgetting about that
In fact, I hadn’t even considered the Giffords assassination attempt as a foil against Trump’s use of his own in his campaign advertising.