The New York Times continues to shit stir and meddle in campaign 2024. The latest example is an op-ed piece by former Clinton adviser Mark Penn in which he tries to revive triangulation as a strategy for Team Harris. And that is why Mark Penn is malaka of the week.

We begin with a background sketch of this week’s “honoree.”

Mark Penn is a veteran pollster and political consultant who worked on Bill Clinton’s 1996 reelection campaign as well as Hillary’s 2000 and 2006 senatorial races. Penn ran into trouble when he was chief strategist for HRC’S 2008 presidential campaign, which was marked by infighting with Penn as the main combatant.

Penn’s primary contribution to the Clinton campaigns was his focus on triangulation, which involves pitting interest groups against each other. Penn is a master of that dubious strategy and continues to advocate its use.

After being forced out of the 2008 Clinton campaign, Penn turned to the right becoming a defender of the Insult Comedian as well as advising his 2020 reelection campaign. Penn is also a Fox contributor.

That brings me to the reason I’m crowning Penn with the malakatude crown of thorns: The aforementioned NYT op-ed in which Penn offers unsolicited and gratuitous advice to Kamala Harris about her Veep pick. Penn argues in favor of Pennsylvania Gov Josh Shapiro.

Penn pulls out his dated triangulation playbook and argues that Shapiro is perfect for the ticket because he’ll clash with several Democratic interest groups on issues that matter to them:

Mr. Shapiro, who is unpopular with many progressives over energy policy, school choice and other issues, would send a signal that Ms. Harris is not captive to the left and that she puts experience ahead of ideology.”

Penn gets more specific as to who he wants Vice President Harris to piss-off by picking Shapiro:

Mr. Shapiro believes in school choice, which runs counter to one of the Democrats’ biggest support groups — the teachers unions (though he ultimately vetoed a school voucher bill he had initially supported). Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, is a fixture of the Democratic establishment, but her positions are unpopular with many other Americans — including those who believe that the Covid school shutdowns were dragged out unnecessarily.”

That’s right, Penn thinks it’s a great idea to piss off the teacher’s union. I do not: they provide foot soldiers vital to GOTV efforts in swing states. Since when did the Veep nominee’s views on an issue such as this matter? Poppy Bush was adamantly pro-choice before being picked as Reagan’s running mate in 1980.

Penn also thinks is a good idea to piss-off the Gaza obsessed leftists who call Shapiro Genocide Josh:

The governor would be the highest-ranking Jewish official in U.S. history. He has supported Israel and has been strongly critical of the campus protests, blasting the antisemitism on display at many of those demonstrations. Arab American leaders like James Zogby have suggested he could “create a problem” for Ms. Harris with some voters. His selection would be another push against the left wing of the Democratic Party that has taken a strong position against America’s ally.”

Long live party disunity. Why go out of your way to antagonize a group that’s apt to cause trouble for the ticket? In a word: triangulation. The malakatude, it burns.

My baseline response to Penn’s idiotic screed is this: 1996 called and wants its campaign strategy back.

Campaigns are supposed to be about addition, not subtraction. Penn’s strategy is premised on the notion that these groups have nowhere else to go so they can be gratuitously disrespected. He’s wrong: They can stay home on election day. The Gaza obsessives are apt to resume protests that will harry Team Harris and help Team Trump. That’s Penn’s real motive.

The New York Times continues to play a destructive role in campaign 2024. They helped hector President Biden out of the race, now they’ve published a ridiculous article offering unsolicited advice from a consultant whose last presidential campaign was Trump 2020.

Here’s the deal: I am NOT opposed to the Vice President picking Josh Shapiro as her running mate. That’s her decision not mine. If they think he brings enough to the table, they should go for it. Shapiro may be the best attack dog among the finalists.

But will Shapiro keep the Keystone State blue? He might help but I’m skeptical: Lyndon Johnson was the last running mate to bring an important state along with him. That was 64 years ago. Shapiro is a popular governor, but he’s no LBJ.

Penn inaccurately claims that the “history of governors helping to deliver their states is mixed” when, in fact, it’s nonexistent. In 1948 Tom Dewey added uber popular California governor Earl Warren to the GOP ticket in the expectation he’d help carry his home state. Harry Truman won the Golden State in ’48.

FYI, Penn maintains that Holy Joe Lieberman was a great Veep pick by Al Gore. I maintain that Penn should have his head examined.

The NYT might as well have published a Veep op-ed piece by Turd Blossom DBA Karl Rove. Penn is no friend to the Democratic party or Vice President Harris. He’s a Trump World plant in Clinton Word drag.

I think the Hippocratic Oath also applies to the Veepstakes: First do no harm. None of the other leading candidates including my man Mark Kelly will harm the ticket. Josh Shapiro might not either but only Mark Penn thinks his down sides are why Harris should pick him. The malakatude, it burns.

I’m just glad the Veepstakes ends tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Repeat after me: 1996 called and wants its campaign strategy back. And that is why Mark Penn is malaka of the week.

The last word goes to The Gin Blossoms with an aptly titled song from 1996: