Episode 196 with Hutch and Pondering Politics
As the election looms, we’re debating a pair of fellow YouTubers, Hutch and Pondering Politics, on what the Harris-Walz campaign has shaped up to be. Is Kamala in a position to win in just a few weeks? Is their insistence on campaigning with Liz Cheney a political winner or death knell? Get our answers below:
We’re nothing if not fair, of course, so our discussion delves into what has worked about the campaign — and what stands out is the excitement we felt as progressives about the decision to make Walz the VP nominee. Among a crowd of bigger names and more safely conservative picks, Walz made a name for himself by taking aim at Republicans’ weirdness and touting his real progressive bona fides as governor of Minnesota. Now, it’s a bit of a shame that he seems underutilized by the campaign, and his more left-leaning tendencies haven’t been enough to meaningfully shift the campaign in the right direction.
When it comes to the bones we have to pick about the Harris campaign, the list goes on. Most disturbing is the campaign’s sustained refusal to condemn and pledge an end to the Israelis’ genocide in Gaza that the Biden admin keeps funding. There’s also the campaign’s unabashed pride in the endorsement it received from Dick Cheney and the relative weakness of its policy platform. Americans supporting Kamala with their votes on Nov. 5 are taking a leap of faith here, knowing the devastation a Trump presidency would once again bring. So why isn’t Kamala fighting harder?
You can listen to this episode as a podcast when it’s released tomorrow on major streaming platforms.
