yah all these fine grain delineations are cool in like a college lecture hall. I might agree.
imo 90% of people don't do that.
in actual practice. it's just zionist = jew for most people.
Roy Cooper is out here signing anti BDS legislation, he's arguably signed more "pro zionist" legislation than Shapiro.
But Shapiro is an actually jewish so he gets tagged with "zionist".
i think it's highly naive to act like the fact that Shapiro is actually jewish doesn't play a big role in how is so called "zionism" is perceived,
I agree that the majority of Americans definitely do see being Pro Israel as being interchangeable with being Jewish, especially if you live in parts of the US with little or Jewish people. We’re both in fairly urban bubbles and have met Jewish people with differing opinions on Israel and can draw a distinction.
I would say that the people who are withholding their vote over Gaza tend to reside in similar bubbles though. So among people for whom Gaza is a deal breaker, they know the difference.
IMO, the biggest liability of having a Jewish (Zionist or otherwise) VP would be the loss of the sort of Black male voter who you and
RustyShackleford
have been discussing. The sort who have a very narrow definition of Blackness and/or are very patriarchal/alienated from Black women and/or have beef with immigrants.
For some less educated, downwardly mobile Black men, all they have left is being a macho, straight man and they see Jews (particularly those behind the scenes in entertainment) as working with Black women to feminize them and take away their last bastion of privilege. However, they know that the GOP is extremely anti-Black so they’re conflicted. That’s the voter I’d worry about.
In the past, alienating southern white Dems would be a potential and much larger issue but southern whites have largely sorted themselves. The Dixiecrat pretty much doesn’t exist anymore and they’re the group that is see otherwise voting Democratic but defecting if there a Jewish VP.
The more I think about it, the more that Charles Barkley unironically would be a good VP choice. He is as “ADOS” as they come but he’s also the kind of Black guy who wouldn’t alienate swing voters. He’s also a celebrity which is an asset in our political environment. He’s wealthy but has a working class, down to Earth aesthetic.
I have know idea if he’s up for it but he’d create so much buzz, keep the hoteps (and various other racialized yet lumpen young men) in the fold, and win over a lot of undecided Midwestern/suburban white dads.
He never won a ring but he’d be able to win something even more meaningful.
Harris-Barkley 2024, the not turrible ticket.
