Nicole Shanahan: Who is she? Why is she here? Because RFK Jr. needs the money.

[Celerity]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/03/27/rfk-jr-running-mate-nicole-shanahan-money-vice-president/

https://archive.is/DPVjV

Nicole Shanahan speaks at Tuesday event in California after joining Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s independent presidential campaign as a candidate for vice president. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

To paraphrase the memorable words of a notable figure who once ran for vice president on a third-party ticket: Who is she? Why is she here? With apologies to Adm. James Stockdale, a man with a distinguished military career who lightheartedly posed those questions about himself as Ross Perot’s running mate during his opening statement at the 1992 vice-presidential debate, they are worth asking in all seriousness about the selection that independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday.

Kennedy’s pick for the vice-presidential spot on his ticket is Nicole Shanahan, a 38-year-old philanthropist and tech entrepreneur who has never run for office before. At the rally in Oakland at which he introduced her, Kennedy described Shanahan as “my fellow lawyer, a brilliant scientist, technologist, a fierce warrior mom.” “I need someone with a spiritual dimension and compassion and idealism and, above all, a deep love for the United States of America,” Kennedy added.

Whatever Shanahan’s other virtues, the most important reason for her selection is that she is worth a fortune as the ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who ranks as the 10th richest person in the world on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Their 2023 divorce settlement is confidential, but the Wall Street Journal reported that she was seeking more than $1 billion.

Now that Shanahan is on the ticket with Kennedy, campaign finance law allows her to pour unlimited amounts of money into his campaign — something he badly needs. His campaign treasury is running low, with just over $5 million cash on hand reported in its latest federal filing, and qualifying for a spot on state ballots across the country is an expensive proposition. Candidates must have the resources to gather hundreds of thousands of signatures.

snip

[Johonny]

1. If she had any political desires

Ditching the Democratic party to run with a spoiler that won't win, is nuts, is a good way to ensure she will never win a future political office. That she will pay millions for the privilege to end her own political career before it starts would indicate she's not as brilliant as billed.

[sop]

2. "Techno-optimists"

Interesting article: "Behind the Curtain: A new, powerful political movement"

"This group — mostly rich, white, middle-aged men with tech jobs, companies or investment funds — is building impressive, if unorganized, political muscle through social media, podcasts, new journalism projects, and political donations and activism."

"These moguls have shifted the politics of an entire social media platform (X), helped elevate the most formidable third-party candidate in decades (RFK Jr.), and built a powerful and popular podcasting network."

"If the techno-optimists have a presidential candidate, it's RFK Jr.. But if they decide a third-party candidate isn't viable, they seem much more likely to turn to former President Trump than President Biden, based on their posts and podcasts."

"They're universally proud free-market capitalists who find Biden, 81, too old and too approving of thought and word policing."

"The bottom line: It's not clear how many votes they can move. But tens of millions of Americans — especially white men outside of big cities — listen to, read or follow them."

https://www.axios.com/2024/01/30/techno-optimist-silicon-valley-us-elections