I think that she made a good choice for all the right reasons.
Minnesota’s governor captured the internet’s attention and swayed Democrats’ messaging by succinctly summing up how he views Republicans: they’re weird.
…It’s not just the “weird” of it all: he’s been able to run through a list of what Democrats want, and what he’s done as governor during a banner time for Democrats in his state, that articulates to voters what they would be voting for, not just the danger of what they’re voting against. He speaks plainly and pragmatically, showing the commonsense policies his party stands for.
…Walz, 60, was born and raised in small-town Nebraska. He became a teacher, first in China, then in Nebraska and finally in Mankato, Minnesota, where he taught geography and coached the high school football team. He was the faculty adviser for the school’s first gay-straight alliance chapter in 1999, long before Democrats nationally stood for gay rights. He also served in the army national guard for 24 years, enlisting at age 17, a role that took him around the country and on a deployment to Europe. And like JD Vance, Walz has a penchant for Diet Mountain Dew.
He had a whole life before politics.
“Frankly, a lot of politicians are just not normal people,” said David Hogg, a gun control advocate and a Walz fan. “They just don’t know how to talk to normal people.”
He comes across as what he is: a straight-talking teacher, America’s youth football coach. He’s “right out of central casting as the way you think of Minnesota governor would be like”, said Michael Brodkorb, the former deputy chair of the Minnesota Republican party.
…In Minnesota, Democrats secured a narrow government trifecta in 2022, taking both chambers of the legislature and the governorship, and Walz and his colleagues in the legislature got to work, delivering a laundry-list of progressive policy wins such as free school meals, abortion protections, gun restrictions and legal marijuana.
This article has more on Walz’s policies and the enthusiastic recemption his nomination has received from many quarters.
The vice-presidential choice has to bring some assets to the ticket and Walz does. He has a diverse biography and progressive record and may be able to appeal to those Democrats who have been angered by the Biden-Harris polices on Gaza. It helps if a running mate has a good personal relationship with the top of the ticket and Walz is reported to have a genial personality that is easy to get along with. At the same time, the running mate has to be able to be an attack dog on the opposition, allowing the presidential nominee to largely take the high road and focus on policy. Walz does not strike me as particularly combative but he does seem to have a sense for good attack lines delivered casually, being credited with the ‘these guys are weird’ message that has gone mainstream.
People like Walz who are new to the national scene face intense sudden scrutiny like they’ve never faced before. Even with the most careful vetting, that can bring up things that are embarrassing and even damaging, as we have seen with weird JD Vance,. You can be sure that Republicans will be scouring Walz’s entire life history as well as those of his family to dig up any dirt to tarnish him. Be prepared for all manner of things to emerge.
One definite line of attack is that the Harris-Walz ticket is too liberal. But that will be too policy wonky for creepy Donald Trump. He likes red-meat attacks. He has the benefit of not being bound by facts and makes up anything he likes. He will, as usual, crank it up to 12 and perhaps say that Harris and Walz are Marxist baby-killers who want to destroy the white race by allowing in hordes of murderous and insane people of color as part of their plan to undermine the country. Maybe he will try to suggest that Walz in not really white and only became so recently. With creepy Trump, no possibility can be considered too outlandish.
We’ll see the attack lines emerge in the next few days. The creepy Trump-weird Vance ticket has not had a good two weeks ever since Joe Biden dropped out of the race. Expect them to come out swinging, trying to gain ground as quickly as they can.
You know what I am reminded of by those two? The Mary Tyler Moore show. Especially the first episode where Lou Grant tells Mary she has “spunk”. I know this is far too old-school for the younger voters they are courting, but maybe a TV ad on this theme could be aired during the late night news to capture some Boomers.
I recall the disappointment with Bill Clinton and his “trianguation”. I recall the disappointment with Obama. I feel cautiously optimistic now.
It’s going to be comical to see what the rump campaign will invent in an attempt to smear Walz. He is exactly as advertised, and definitely gives off cool, lovable Uncle vibes in person and in media appearances.
The NRA is already whinging about him destroying constitutional rights because we have gun control laws that privilege public safety.
Trump would have said the same thing about any two Dem nominees. He won’t have anything specific to Walz that will “stick”, just as he doesn’t seem to have anything specific to Harris (beyond her laugh, race, and gender, the attacking of which doesn’t seem to be working with anyone outside of Trump’s troglodytic base).
This ticket is Kryptonite to creepy Trump and weird Vance.
I’m astonished the Trumpoids haven’t yet claimed that he was brainwashed -- or had a microchip implanted -- while he was in China. Or maybe they have and I’ve missed it (I know they have ludicrously described Harris and Walz as “communists”).
That’s not a good example of what can emerge despite careful vetting! Trump told us why he chose Vance: because Vance appeared to like him more than anyone else did.