Kamala fans, what can you tell me about Tim Walz?
I did my best to research everyone on her shortlist & I don’t remember Walz being a name mentioned as a serious contender. What are your thoughts?
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I’m surprised you didn’t know he was a serious contender. He’s been on the lists for more than a week from every news source I read.
He came up with the viral idea that the Republicans are weird. He’s known for being plain talking. He was born to a farming family in Nebraska. He was a teacher for years. He beat a very conservative incumbent to get into the Minnesota legislature, and he has helped get many progressive laws passed while governor including universal free school lunches and legal marijuana.
I’m pleased with the pick.
He’s been in the public eye long enough that a trademark lawyer purchased the “Harriswalz.com” domain name for $8.99 in 2020.
I wouldn’t consider myself a “Kamala fan,” but he’s a midwestern progressive governor. As @Hawaii_Jake points out, he’s been a teacher for many decades, helped push through popular progressive legislation that seems to be making a difference in people’s lives in Minnesota. He comes across as a real person, and perhaps most importantly, I’m not seeing a history of him taking huge donations from shady companies and people, unlike his running mate.
I’m sure that some particular Flutherite will post all sorts of dirt in a couple hours.
As I understand it, he is an affable, traditional, middle-of-the-road Democrat from a midwestern state. He has been successful in governing a state with a large rural and conservative population.
He’s soft spoken with a sense of humor.
I made a mistake. He was elected to Congress and not the Minnesota legislature.
I should probably go ahead and write the “Harris-Walz Waltz”!
I’m delighted with the choice. He’s only been on my radar recently but he seems like a solid progressive who has gotten things done in Minnesota while also being a white guy from the Midwest. He won’t carry the tinge of “coastal elite.”
Andy Borowitz, the humorist, has already put out a post that Walz only turned white a few years ago!
Whoever would have thought this election might be becoming fun!!!
As a born Minnesotan, I have kept close to the States politics and government.
He has done quite a bit for the state and is also well liked.
He appeals to the common man. I don’t think there is anything negative to dig on him.
I think this is a good choice.
I know little about him but from what I read he has worked hard to improve lives for the people of his state and is practical, progressive, fair, and excellent at getting his point across about what is the right thing to do. He works for his check. He seems to understand his constituents don’t want to pay his paycheck and see no results and that what people want is to be able to put food on their table, get their children educated, and have a roof over their heads.
He’s the one who coined the phrase weird. Because he points that its weird not to want what is best for the people of the Nation. Like Republicans not caring about clean air or water. Why? How isn’t that weird or wrong? We all eat and we all breathe.
Though he’s being nice about it. It’s not so weird when you figure a lot of them are old people who would sell their mama for power and have their own water super filtered and figure it will be a while before air pollution or toxic land can affect them.
However, I worry that a lot of people won’t look him up to see what he is about and may be put off because VP Harris didn’t pick someone more well-known than they wanted. But progressives that follow him or know about him may absolutely love him as a choice.
@Pandora I have the feeling people will be getting to know him very well in the next few months. He doesn’t seem like a shrinking violet.
I think he ticked a lot of the boxes of what we need to win, even if he just turned bald a few years ago!
@Pandora ”...But progressives that follow him or know about him may absolutely love him as a choice.”
I’d never heard of him. But after reviewing his record he’s the only reason I’m voting for Kamala and not Dr. Cornel West. That’s a datapoint of 1, but I think he may bring some much-needed grassroots energy to the game.
He was the advisor to the Gay-Straight Alliance at the school where he taught. He’s a solid ally.
^He also signed an executive order in 2023 protecting gender affirming care for trans youth. I’m very pleased with this choice.
Somebody just posted on FB, he’s just like your favorite high school teacher.
@janbb Bald just makes some guys look younger. Unless its a bald spot. Then that looks old.
@LadyMarissa Just finished watching a few videos of him in interviews. Wow! What a huge difference to the crap we normally hear. He’s like a breath of fresh air and sounds so genuine and well-informed while not being boring. Must be his teacher back ground. I actually enjoyed listening to him and I haven’t found anything he said to disagree with.
I don’t think I’m what you would call a Kamala fan, but… I’ve loved him since I recently learned about him. I really didn’t want to vote for Biden and was considering a Jill Stein vote. Since Kamala emerged as the likely nominee, I thought that she would win my vote if Walz was selected as her running-mate. Likeable guy, smart, hardworking, ex-Military captain, ex-teacher, solid commitment to children/women/marginalized folks. I’m a big fan.
Probably the first time I’m actually excited about a VP pick (I’m mid-40s).
THANKS everyone!!! When I asked this Q I had a whole afternoon of meetings planned.All that changed so I was able to do some reading for myself. He gives me hope & I like the way he thinks!!!
@Hawaii_Jake Actually, looking back I had heard of him but the name didn’t click.What I initially read indicated that he was on the bottom of the list. At that time Kamala was on the “young” kick & he didn’t look young, so I promptly forgot him. He’s signing laws that protects women’s right to choose for themselves. He’s big on protecting the LGBT+ communities. He’s sounding like an angel to me!!!
@janbb Rod Stewart stopped his concert over the weekend to announce that 45 used to be white but now he’s turning orange. I enjoyed that one!!!
@LadyMarissa I just saw him and Harris at the Philly rally. OMG. I will tell you.I have never stood up and applauded my computer or TV set in my home. I mean a clap or two at something funny. But never stood up to applaud someone who can’t see or hear me while I was alone watching. That’s just weird. But I did it twice. It was such a joy to see a NORMAL Ticket both top and bottom—two versions of real Americans and what their vision is for the Nation.
I truly have hope for the future. Genuine hope.
@Pandora I watched it as well and I teared up with happy tears. A few weeks ago I was depressed. Now I have hope.
Not sure if I was ever a fan of any politician. I do admire John Adams enough to get a collectible bust of him.
Was a bit concerned Harris might pick Shapiro and I could feel she almost did. Heard that her decision was made in the last minute?
Picking Walz so far seems to be not only the right choice but an inspiring one. I can only hope the Harriswalz campaign doesn’t make too many mistakes.
It’s so great to feel enthusiastic and excited about a political campaign again.
^^^Yeah! What the penguin said!
Fun fact: Tim Walz is the only person running who does not wear makeup.
I know very little about him. I googled to find out about his time as governor and opinions on issues, and I only found domestic information (makes sense since he’s a governor) so right now I know nothing about his geo-political international views.
I’ve heard him speak, and I have to say I really like how he speaks. I’m not a fan of listening to Kamala at all, so listening to Walz as a surrogate for her is attractive to me.
He looks older than he is, that’s too bad for the ticket. I doubt he helps young people feel motivated to actually go vote. They might like him ok, but I’m talking about you g people usually just don’t bother to vote.
Some criticisms from Republicans I’ve already seen online are: Walz let the rioting response to George Floyds murder go on too long. You might remember some property was destroyed. Also, I’m seeing people write he signed off on putting tampons in boys/men’s bathrooms at schools. One Democrat friend said he’s a terrible pick regarding strategy. He said historically MN VP candidates never help bring in enough votes to win. I’m hoping he can bring Michigan. Pennsylvania I don’t know, I think it is an uphill climb. Not sure about other swing states.
Jewish Republican friends are saying Harris was too afraid to have Shapiro who is Jewish on the ticket, “too afraid her base would flip out.” I had said something similar. I didn’t say flip out, but worried they wouldn’t show up to vote or vote for someone else.
Kamala fans could cheer chanting “Build the Walz! Build the Walz!” when he campaigns.
He seems like a good pick to me and I also had never heard much, if anything, about him.
I was initially thinking Harris didn’t have a chance but now I am guessing she has a good chance.
I saw Vance saying she’s very liberal and so is Walz, but it doesn’t seem like Walz is. He is a gun owner, and a hunter, and he’s from a state that’s very big on hunting and therefore, probably on gun ownership, too.
I think most Democrats support IVF. If you can believe it Rick Scott in Florida is running on supporting IVF. He has commercials playing for his current primary run that in the commercial he solely talks about supporting IVF and that his grandchildren are here because of IVF.
The evangelicals tend to support it, it’s the Catholic church that is against it, even though a lot of Catholics do it.
I hear he’s popular in Texas. They even have a song named after him: Walz Across Texas! ~~
@JLeslie “He looks older than he is, that’s too bad for the ticket. I doubt he helps young people feel motivated to actually go vote.”
My son is 20 and he and his friends are getting excited about him the more they learn about him. I do think he’ll help bring younger, progressive voters out on Election Day.
@jonsblond I’m not sure if your son is a typical young adult when it comes to voting, but I hope you are right.
@jonsblond “My son is 20 and he and his friends are getting excited about him the more they learn about him. I do think he’ll help bring younger, progressive voters out on Election Day.”
I have to agree. When we look at the young voters, the age of the candidate isn’t as important as the policies they’re pushing. Tuition free college, paid family leave and other populist policies to a generation that’s struggling is extremely appealing. Remember that Bernie (“the old white jewish guy”) had tremendous support from primarily young voters.
@JLeslie Perhaps you might do some reading about him. I didn’t know much but from what I’ve been learning – and there is plenty around – he is very appealing to a wide swath of demographics. And I’ve heard that the Switfies are mobilizing for the ticket.
@janbb I definitely will. The thing is, he will not be President. Are people more excited about him than Kamala?
@JLeslie I think he balances the ticket nicely. Some people are excited more about her and some more about him. It seems like a good pairing.
A little off topic but the excitement of these two remind me of the excitement of Bill Clinton and Al Gore. I remember Bill, Al and their wives on stage at the inauguration and Fleetwood Mac along with Michael Jackson singing Don’t Stop.
I’m as excited and hopeful now as I was when Obama ran the first time.
@JLeslie gorillapaws made a great point. Bernie was much older and he was very popular with the younger generation.
My youngest is 26, and they are very excited by this Democratic ticket.
@JLeslie I don’t think it was for that reason but rather Shapiro doesn’t have a lot of experience, two, he and Kamala would be to similar, one from the east coast and one from the west. No real diversity. Kamala is already married to a jewish man. So why would she need a jewish VP. But what she did need was someone who can represent middle America. Someone middle class Americans from rural areas can relate with. Shapiro wouldn’t fit that bill. Her pick makes me nervous but in all honesty, he seems so genuine and relatable compare to Shapiro. Just his smile makes you smile. Don’t get me wrong, I like Shapiro but I liked the 19 electoral votes he may or may not bring.
Shapiro also needs to cook a little longer as a politician.
I just heard the Republicans now coming after Walz’s military service. It is the swiftboat all over again. Oy.
@Pandora I think she picked Walz for the Midwest vote, and she probably simply liked him. I think Pennsylvania is a lot like the Midwest in many ways. I think Walz will appeal to union workers.
I myself was concerned having a Jewish VP pick would be a negative, but I was not sure, I just worried about it, and was thinking it was better to avoid testing it. Not only because of the Israel issue with progressives, but also because the left and right have people in their groups that stereotype Jews as having too much power. Similar to gay people saying they don’t think the country would accept Buttigieg, or when women say the country won’t elect a woman. For 25 years I have said the country would vote for a woman and most people disagreed with me. In my opinion I was right. Hillary received the most votes. I think Republicans would vote for a Republican woman. As far as gay, I really don’t know. Jewish, another maybe. I think both are possible.
He is a little more progressive than me on some things, but lined up on others. No idea his views on the international stuff. I like how he delivers in front of a crowd, which I think is a really good thing. I’m voting for the Harris ticket obviously, what choice do I have.
@Demosthenes Okay, reading it I can see how it could still look like a suicide, but in the end its kind of undetermined. So how is a prosecutor supposed to charge that? I knew of a young lady who used to self-harm and sometimes severely. And they said her place was locked up tight. I imagine it means it was bolted from the inside where someone going out wouldn’t be able to do even if they have keys. If that’s the case, then what? If it was a stab to the chest, it could be even that she fell on it by accident or on purpose. With no proof of it being from an outside source, how do you prove your case.
If I was her parents I would feel this is ridiculous or a cover up as well but that doesn’t mean its true. Samurai, use to rip their guts outs just to keep honor and they weren’t mentally ill. There was a person who recently set themselves on fire over the Isreal Gaza stuff. People have been known to drown themselves, jump cliffs or run their car into a wall. None these sound pleasant, oh and lets not forget hang themselves and shoot themselves in the face.
@chyna I remember Bill, Al and their wives on stage at the inauguration and Fleetwood Mac along with Michael Jackson singing Don’t Stop.
With all the contemporary musicians jumping on Kamala/Tim bandwagon. With the likes of Beyonce, Megan Thee Stallion, Bon Iver, and of course Taylor Swift, I expect we might a similar type of inauguration celebration in 2025!
I voted for him and will again. I’d be surprised if they find any dirt on him. He seems to truly want to serve as apposed to seeking power. Makes me think Paul Wellstone in that respect. He excels at speaking to people at their level without condescension.
Yesterday I mentioned to my parents the swiftboat comment I made, and my dad said, “well, it turns out the swiftboat people are working for the campaign.” I wish I had made a bet! Trump was so impressed with how effective they were against Kerry.
@JLeslie I get why they’re doing this, but I doubt it will work nearly as well as it did in 2004. We were involved in two ground wars in 2004, the attack was against the presidential candidate himself, and the attacks were not directly coming from the opposing campaign. 2004 was also close enough to 9/11 that it was still very taboo to say you didn’t support the Iraq War or to question American foreign policy. Times have changed. I don’t think “stolen valor” is going to go very far this year.
@Demosthenes IMO what made the swift boat attack so effective was the timing was delivered so close to the election that there wasn’t enough time for the truth to come out. This attack is coming in August, so there’s ample time to fact check it.
@Demosthenes Agreed there are differences, but I feel like since 9/11 there has been constant messaging aimed at Republicans that Democrats are not “good Americans” and don’t support our troops and don’t serve as much. Many of them probably ignored or have amnesia that Biden’s son served and Trump dodged and Trump’s kids of course would never serve. Many of the same Trumpers dwell on Black football players (translate to Democrats) disgracing the flag by not standing for the national anthem, which is the same as spitting on soldiers who fought and died for us. That’s their thought process and observations not mine.
My point is, you are thinking logically, but it’s not always logical, it’s just whatever they decide is important, and they can be made to believe something is important.
Your point might matter for Independent voters, which would be good. I think swiftboat might be hoping to get blue color voters who are independents or willing to switch parties.
@gorillapaws The truth didn’t matter before, and I doubt it will this time. I hope I’m wrong. I do see memes across social media trying to put the truth out there, but I already saw mistakes on those memes. Sloppy work.
@gorillapaws …the timing was delivered so close to the election that there wasn’t enough time for the truth to come out.
That observation is spot on. I was working with the local Kerry campaign. The swift boat issue was one of several things that affected the outcome. The other was the 3rd party candidate. I truly feel that in that case these two factors cost the Democrats votes.
@Strauss Jill Stein is currently considering a Palestinian-American running mate. Maybe she already picked someone, I’m not up to date.
Jill Stein has proven herself to be unelectable. The best she has done, after numerous runs at all sorts of things, is to be part of a committee for her small town.
@canidmajor I was responding to third party candidates that can take votes away from Harris or Trump. Stein is more likely to hurt Harris. I don’t think Stein has any chance of winning, that wasn’t my point. Candidates like her can be good to push issues that need attention and are being missed. They can get the issues out into the main stream, but to actually put herself on the ballot could really hurt us in states like Michigan. Even in New York, although there is probably enough room in NY that it wouldn’t actually go red, but I will not be surprised if NY has a narrower vote than the last election.
I was just making an adjacent remark about Stein, that’s all.
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