After just over two weeks of grueling vetting, Kamala Harris announced her pick for vice president. Tim Walz is her running mate. She rejected the calls of special interests, aka AIPAC and their cronies, the “mainstream” media outlets like CNN, and “intellectual” Democrats, to tap Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania.

For me, and I believe many others, the choice for the top of the ticket has become easy. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz can be our choice. Before this recent announcement, when Biden stepped down from the top of the ticket, I was still unsure if I wanted to cast my vote for Harris. For one, I was unsure about her “bedfellows.” Would she succumb to the special interests and select another Zionist, mirroring Biden? Would she pander to those “Israel First” lobbyists and special interests and be made to forget that her first duty is to the USA and not to a foreign country that is dragging the US into the mud of regional conflicts? Honestly, with her choice of Walz, I was a little relieved.

My wonderings may seem naive and simplistic. However, I tend to accept small wins. I have never been a single-issue voter. I always looked at the big picture. I prioritized the needs of the country, in balance, ahead of my own. Many times, I went to the voting booth holding my nose and voted for the lesser of two evils. However, when it comes to this November 2024 presidential election, I truly cannot, in good conscience, vote for someone who sold our country wholesale to a foreign monster and, along the way, abandoned everything this country stood for. I was unwilling to vote for Biden because he truly showed that the genocide of Palestinian men, women, and children, occurring in real time, does not faze him. I consoled myself that we survived four years of Trump and our country is resilient, so we can survive another term.

As for Harris’ choice, I commend her. In my opinion, Shapiro would’ve cost her the loss of many decent Americans who cared about America and her values more than pandering to special interests. As described by Mehdi Hasan in his Zeteo columns, “Shapiro volunteered on an Israeli army base in his youth, tried to penalize Ben & Jerry’s for refusing to sell ice cream in illegal Israeli settlements, and spent the months since Oct. 7, 2023, defending Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, refusing to call for a ceasefire, and comparing anti-war college protesters to the KKK. This would have alienated key segments of the Democratic base – Arab-Americans in Michigan, Black pastors in Georgia, and young and progressive voters across the country. (Plus, aside from Gaza, the teaching unions weren’t happy with the Pennsylvania governor’s education policies either.)”

I am under no illusion about what Walz stands for vis-a-vis Palestine. However, he still believes that pro-Palestine advocates have the right to express their views. He did not smear them. He encouraged them to vote and make a difference.

In his tweet in June 2023, Walz said, “You don't win elections to bank political capital, you win elections to burn political capital and improve lives.” So, Governor Walz, we expect you to improve the lives of Americans, first.

I plan to vote for the Harris-Walz ticket. I will encourage those I may have some sway over to do so. In the meantime, I implore Harris and her team not to waver in putting America first and standing for its values. We will, like many others, continue to watch the course of this campaign.

Do not disappoint us! We still own our vote…