So ... how well has The Anointment worked to unify Democrats?

Oh ... this well. 

After Veepstake talk heated up around popular Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, progressives made their displeasure known about Shapiro's affinity for Israel and criticism of pro-Palestinian "demonstrators" on college campuses. The Hill reported on a letter from 50 progressive "leaders" urging Kamala Harris to recognize Shapiro's "shortcomings as a national leader" and instead focus on, er ... Andy Beshear and Tim Walz.

Beshear and Walz? What talent do have they ever displayed for "national leadership"? Beshear's a nepo baby who managed to franchise the family name in Kentucky, while Walz let Minneapolis burn in 2020. To be fair, that did set an example for numerous other cities that undercut law enforcement and let rioters run wild for weeks.

House Democrat Jared Moskowitz of Florida translated this as rank anti-Semitism.  And he wasn't shy about letting everyone know it, either:

These Progressives don’t want a Jew. Let’s say it out loud. Imagine if moderate Dems said they didn’t want a certain minority. The condemnations would be deafening. Yet now we hear much silence. https://t.co/rjQ0Yv5tej

— Jared Moskowitz (@JaredEMoskowitz) August 1, 2024

Moskowitz isn't the only one calling foul. ADJ chair Jonathan Greenblatt -- himself a political progressive --- tore into the Philadelphia chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America this week as well for openly opposing Shapiro over his support for Israel. As Greenblatt points out, Shapiro's public views on Israel and the war are similar to the other Veepstakes contenders, so it's miiiiiiighty curious why DSA singled out Shapiro:

“So @JoshShapiroPA shares the same views on Israel and the Middle East with all the other Dem VP prospects, but the DSA singles only him out for attack on these issues. When the DSA holds Jewish people to double standards, it’s #antisemitism,” wrote Greenblatt, adding:

Like Hamas and the Islamic Republic of Iran, the DSA refuses even to write the word “Israel,” instead referring to an OECD member as the “Zionist project in Palestine.” When the DSA delegitimizes the Jewish state, it’s #antisemitism.

Can't you just feel the unity?

This anti-Shapiro campaign could be working. Late yesterday, Shapiro abruptly pulled out of at least two events with Harris, claiming schedule conflicts had suddenly emerged. And oddly enough, so did Beshear [update -- see below]:

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear withdrew from key events capping off this week amid fervent speculation about their chances of winning Vice President Kamala Harris’ veepstakes.

Shapiro is no longer attending at least two long-planned fundraisers for his personal campaign committee in the Hamptons over the weekend, The Post has learned.

His office did not provide an explanation for the sudden cancellation. “The Governor’s trip was planned several weeks ago and included several fundraisers for his own campaign committee,” the governor’s spokesman Manuel Bonder told The Post. “His schedule has changed and he is no longer traveling to the Hamptons this weekend.”

Are those tea leaves that these two men are not getting the nod? Or perhaps that they don't want to become Harris' running mate? It's tricky to guess, and some speculated that maybe it means they're the finalists and that Harris doesn't want to make it obvious. I'd guess the changes are irrelevant to Harris' decision, but YMMV. The schedule conflict excuse sounds pretty flimsy, however; those kinds of events get planned well in advance, so it's very difficult to believe that a conflict has suddenly emerged. In regard to events, that is. [See update below.]

Anyway, back to all the unity of The Anointment, where James Carville has a suggestion for Harris. His advice? Tell the progressives to "go f*** themselves." NSFW, obviously:

“Understand this, and I’m going to say this as clearly as I can: Anybody that has ever listened to anything that the progressive left has ever said has lived to profoundly regret it. On literally every issue, they’re dead ass wrong,” Carville said. “Ask Elizabeth Warren about Medicare for All. She blew her campaign up with one speech. Alright, ask the ‘defund the police’ people … I’d love to read a good article on who really was the strategic idiot behind her 2020 presidential campaign, because they were real fuckin’ idiots, alright?”

“And why is the border an issue? Because Biden listened to these people early in his term. They weren’t just wrong; they were catastrophically wrong,” he continued. “Understand that. These people are not just wrong — they’re really walking catastrophes. And the fastest people realize that, the better off they’re going to be. And they don’t have very much power. I wish she’d tell them all to go fuck themselves … Their power is totally exaggerated — they can’t win an election outside of a D+25 district.”

Well, that's a keeper!

As good as this advice is -- and it's excellent -- don't expect Harris to take it. She will run the progressive playbook from start to finish, and will bungle it all along the way to boot. And when she does, the only unity Democrats will have is in wondering how they managed to paint themselves into a corner ... again. 

Update: I must have misread this report last night. I thought the events being canceled were with Harris, but they were fundraisers that Shapiro and Beshear were holding for themselves. That does lend more credence to the idea that they may be gearing up for being named running mate.