In this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown discuss likely Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's choice of Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as his running mate. Ohio State University professor Wendy Smooth joins the show.
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In this week's episode:
Biden Harris 2020
One-time presidential candidate Kamala Harris, who famously accused Joe Biden of being against desegregating schools through busing, is now his right-hand woman.
The senator from California brings a lot as the first Black candidate, and first Asian American candidate, on a major party presidential ticket. She has a long record of winning big elections and raising lots of money.
Harris is a skilled debater and questioner – just ask William Barr and Brett Kavanaugh. She’s young, at least much younger than Joe Biden. And, at least for this week, she seems to have energized the Democratic party.
If You Hold A Convention And There's No One To Hear It, Does It Make A Sound?
The Democratic National Convention starts Monday. It was supposed to be in a big arena in Milwaukee, with all delegates shoulder-to-shoulder cheering, wearing silly hats and waving signs. Instead, it will be mostly on Zoom.
Four nights of speeches are planned, with Joe Biden going last on Thursday. And there will be an unusual speaker on Monday night.
When you think of who should speak along with Bernie Sanders, Michelle Obama, and Andrew Cuomo, you might not expect a Republican from Ohio. But John Kasich, the former governor and "never Trumper," will speak on the first evening of the Democratic Convention.
In a tweet, Kasich said: “I will be speaking at the #DNC Convention because I believe that America needs to go in a different direction.”
Snollygoster Of The Week: Secretary of State Frank LaRose
Voting rights advocates and Democrats want to make it as easy as possible for voters to cast their early ballots. They want Secretary of State Frank LaRose to allow counties to put collection boxes in convenient locations.
This week, LaRose, a Republican, said he cannot do that.
Unclear about state law, he asked Attorney General Dave Yost to give him a legal ruling on this, which never came. LaRose says it's now too late because early voting begins in two months.
Yost’s office told The Columbus Dispatch they were ready to issue the opinion, then LaRose withdrew his request.
So, whether it was bureaucratic inaction or shrewd delay tactics, our Snollygoster of the Week goes to Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose – with an assist from Attorney General Dave Yost – for essentially passing the buck around and, in the end, doing nothing.
Send questions and comments to snollygoster@wosu.org.
