A Tale of Two Shapiros

This is the story of two Shapiros: one of them is a current sitting governor, former Attorney-General and enjoys an approval rating of over 60% in his state (as reported in a Sky News article last month) - a feat not achieved by a Pennsylvania governor in two decades. The other is an extremely conservative podcaster with, quite frankly, dangerous views on political issues on his show, the Ben Shapiro show. Of course, I'm speaking about Governor Josh Shapiro and Ben Shapiro.

Governor Josh Shapiro's rise and tenure

Going into the 2022 midterms, the Democratic Party was crying out for new, young leaders as the old guard of Nancy Pelosi, Dianne Feinstein and Joe Biden seem to wither away and die off slowly, but surely. The then Attorney-General was running in a hotly contested race against Doug Mastriano for governor of Pennsylvania, a crucial state for the battle of the Presidency in 2024. Shapiro won the governor's mansion by nearly 15 points in what was hailed as a rejection of "MAGA-ism" in a very crucial swing state.

As Governor, despite having a divided legislature, he signed the first major breast cancer screening bill in the nation, ensuring that insurance companies must cover for the cost of preventative breast cancer screenings especially for high-risk women so that they can get it without worrying if they can afford it or not.

When running for office, he ran on a pro-union platform, and he has delivered for the Pennsylvania working class. He has shown his pro-worker stances by negotiating with striking Philadelphia transit officers by giving them a three-year contract with a 13% increase over the next 36 months. He has shown his pro-worker stance by reducing the power that investment contractors have over the State Employees Retirement system (SERS). He is also a major proponent of raising the minimum wage to $15/hour in the state but hasn't done so due to a divided legislature.

He is also a major proponent of funding public schools and ensuring no child is left behind in education. He continued the free breakfast programme started by his predecessor's administration. Additionally, he proposed a 14% increase in funding for public schools, a 900 million dollar to fund special education and even created a new State Board of Higher Education.

The horrors of Ben Shapiro

By contrast, Ben Shapiro has been, for basically his entire life, propagating conservative beliefs that aim on taking the United States backward, and not forward into the 21st century on issues like abortion, economics and homosexuality.

He frequently talks about women who have abortions as "baby killers" and is of the opinion that abortions should be banned unless a health care professional determines that the mother's life is in jeopardy. He has called for the prosecution of doctors who perform abortions in an effort to stop a healthcare professional from doing their job. He has even called abortions as "violent".

On economics, he does not believe in the idea of "retiring", which according to him is stupid unless one has a serious health issue. In his show, he has subtly hinted that he thinks the retiring age in the United States (age of 65) is way too early for anyone to retire. Of course, all members of society have a right to retire to prevent corporations from working one to death. He has also long advocated for the privatisation of Social Security and tax cuts for the wealthy in an effort to screw over working classmen and exacerbating income inequality in this country.

Finally, he has long argued that homosexuality should not have been removed as a mental illness and has held that view since 2010. He has also long opposed the Supreme Court ruling that reaffirms bans on gay marriage is unconstitutional. This has been a view that is typical of bigots and homophobes like himself that wants to preserve a "straight America" which should have no place in modern American society.

The contrast between the two Shapiros could not have been starker. which Shapiro are you? I hope it's the former.