Tim Walz: The Unexpected Strength Behind Harris’s VP Pick

[Social Media]

 

As the presidential campaign heats up post-Labor Day, it's time for a moment of self-reflection and a confession: I was wrong about Kamala Harris’s selection of Tim Walz as her running mate. Initially, I believed choosing Walz was a mistake, but his recent performance on the campaign trail has proven otherwise. Watching Walz rally union voters in Wisconsin over Labor Day weekend made it clear that he is a vital asset to Harris’s strategy. After Donald Trump managed to out-populist the Democrats in 2016, Walz seems poised to prevent a repeat of that narrative in 2024.

 

Harris appears determined to reclaim blue-collar populism from Trump, as evidenced by her shift in policies, including her decision not to tax tips. Walz embodies this approach perfectly, positioning himself as the voice of the everyday worker while casting Trump as a detached elitist. During his Labor Day speech, Walz didn’t hold back, highlighting Trump’s hypocrisy: “He’s sitting down at Mar-a-Lago … and this was his exact quote, he’s talking to a bunch of folks at Mar-a-Lago: ‘You’re rich as hell, and we’re gonna give you a tax cut.’ At the same time, he was telling workers they get paid too much already. That’s who this guy is.”

 

Walz drove his point home, challenging the audience: “You tell me who in Wisconsin is sitting around saying, ‘Damn, I wish they’d give billionaires tax cuts and screw me over. Damn, I wish they’d take my health care away. I wish they’d underfund my public school. I wish they would make my job more difficult and more dangerous. And then at the end of the day, I wish they’d make me work ’til I’m 75 years old.’” His words resonate deeply with voters who feel left behind, and his blunt, relatable style draws a stark contrast with Trump’s VP pick, J.D. Vance, whose inauthenticity and rigid right-wing views are seen as liabilities.

 

Reflecting on my initial skepticism, I had backed Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro for Harris’s VP slot. Shapiro’s moderate record and youth were appealing, and he would have brought a fresh generational change to the ticket. However, unlike Walz’s relatable “Joe Sixpack” persona, Shapiro comes across more as an academic or technocrat, lacking the down-to-earth appeal that Walz brings to the campaign. While Shapiro would have been a safe choice, it’s now evident that Walz’s populist credentials and charismatic appeal are crucial for Harris’s strategy, especially in key battleground states.

 

Walz’s rise to the VP nomination was unexpected. He thrust himself into contention after some standout TV appearances where he sharply criticized MAGA Republicans. My concerns about his relatively obscure background and potential vulnerabilities, such as scrutiny over his progressive policies as Minnesota governor and his military service, initially made me wary. But the media’s focus on Trump’s attacks on Harris rather than digging into Walz’s past allowed him to escape the intense vetting that could have hindered his momentum.

 

With the election fast approaching, Walz’s impact on the campaign cannot be understated. While running mates rarely make or break a presidential ticket, Walz has shown he can enhance Harris’s appeal among working-class and rural voters without overshadowing her—a balancing act that is no small feat. If I could choose today, knowing what we now see of his ability to energize key demographics, I would echo Harris’s decision and put Walz on the field for the final stretch. His everyman charm, his sharp critique of Trump, and his ability to connect with voters on a visceral level are proving invaluable to the campaign. 

 

Harris made a calculated risk in selecting Walz, but as he continues to engage with voters, rally support, and embody a more authentic populism than the opposition, it's clear that he was not just a good pick—he was the right pick.

 

Credit: The Hill 2024-09-06

 

 

 

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[pegman]

Like this guy more every time I see him. 

[Tug]

1 hour ago, pegman said:

Like this guy more every time I see him. 

I agree just a decent guy that gets good thing done exactly what we need,no more con man grifters!

[Cryingdick]

Historically crazy socialists from Minnesota haven't ever gone anywhere. I think Walz was a worse pick than Vance was. His track record isn't very good. I am not joking about minnesotans. I am from there and we don't have a single memorial highway dedicated to anybody that took it all.

[TedG]

19 minutes ago, Tug said:

I agree just a decent guy that gets good thing done exactly what we need,no more con man grifters!

I liked his COIVD snitch line. 

[Isaan sailor]

His own family doesn’t think he’s so great.

[spidermike007]

Walz served 24 years in the Army National Guard before retiring from a field artillery battalion in 2005 as a command sergeant major, one of the military’s highest enlisted ranks.

 

Have you ever taught High School? It's very hard work, so is coaching a team to a state championship, and 24 years in the National Guard is not easy work either, and 12 years in congress is not a slouch. 

 

That problem is authenticity, one of the major absurdist planks of Trump’s campaign, in which the scion of a New York real estate empire accuses his rivals of being “east-coast elites”. Walz, unlike almost every other high-profile Democrat going back decades – including Hillary Clinton’s affable and somewhat Walz-like 2016 running mate, Tim Kaine – is not a lawyer. He did not go to Harvard or Yale, a fact he is proving happy to weaponise. If Walz has the energy of a dad reminding his grown-up kids to stay hydrated, he is also, on the evidence of the first day of campaigning, still very much the high school coach running the cafeteria at lunchtime, using all the modes – sarcasm, booming aggression, sudden, sharp mockery – that traditionally keep feral adolescents in order.

 

Walz said to the crowd in Philadelphia: “Like all regular people in America’s heartland, JD Vance studied at Yale, had his career funded by Silicon Valley billionaires, and wrote a bestseller trashing that community … COME ON!”

 

I realize that conservatives are desperate to find something, with some traction, that they can use to criticize this man, but that's going to be a very difficult job. He's an impressive man, he's a great orator, he's energizing the crowds and right now Harris and Walz are doing something that Trump and Vance just simply cannot seem to be able to do. Get people excited about progress. Both Trump and Vance now appear to be very dull and humorless compared to Harris and Walz. 

 

I think the Republicans are simply floundering at this point, and Trump's entire campaign is lost. They're using the silliest little things to attempt to discredit Harris and Walz. Yes Walz did have a drunk driving incident, fortunately nobody was killed, he fessed up to it, he stopped drinking, which is a lot more than you can say for the vast majority of drunk drivers, and he's a really good man.

 

He's such a good man the Republicans don't know what to do with him, they've completely lost any sense of messaging, the campaign is floundering like never before, they're heading toward a massive and humiliating defeat, they seem to know it, and desperation has set in. 

 

[Cryingdick]

13 minutes ago, TedG said:

I liked his COIVD snitch line. 

 

Unfortunately it didn't lead to an extension for the Covid fraud line.

[Sorted2024]

I think you will find some slightly disturbing info in coming on other platforms on this guy

[sqwakvfr]

9 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Walz served 24 years in the Army National Guard before retiring from a field artillery battalion in 2005 as a command sergeant major, one of the military’s highest enlisted ranks.

 

Have you ever taught High School? It's very hard work, so is coaching a team to a state championship, and 24 years in the National Guard is not easy work either, and 12 years in congress is not a slouch. 

 

That problem is authenticity, one of the major absurdist planks of Trump’s campaign, in which the scion of a New York real estate empire accuses his rivals of being “east-coast elites”. Walz, unlike almost every other high-profile Democrat going back decades – including Hillary Clinton’s affable and somewhat Walz-like 2016 running mate, Tim Kaine – is not a lawyer. He did not go to Harvard or Yale, a fact he is proving happy to weaponise. If Walz has the energy of a dad reminding his grown-up kids to stay hydrated, he is also, on the evidence of the first day of campaigning, still very much the high school coach running the cafeteria at lunchtime, using all the modes – sarcasm, booming aggression, sudden, sharp mockery – that traditionally keep feral adolescents in order.

 

Walz said to the crowd in Philadelphia: “Like all regular people in America’s heartland, JD Vance studied at Yale, had his career funded by Silicon Valley billionaires, and wrote a bestseller trashing that community … COME ON!”

 

I realize that conservatives are desperate to find something, with some traction, that they can use to criticize this man, but that's going to be a very difficult job. He's an impressive man, he's a great orator, he's energizing the crowds and right now Harris and Walz are doing something that Trump and Vance just simply cannot seem to be able to do. Get people excited about progress. Both Trump and Vance now appear to be very dull and humorless compared to Harris and Walz. 

 

I think the Republicans are simply floundering at this point, and Trump's entire campaign is lost. They're using the silliest little things to attempt to discredit Harris and Walz. Yes Walz did have a drunk driving incident, fortunately nobody was killed, he fessed up to it, he stopped drinking, which is a lot more than you can say for the vast majority of drunk drivers, and he's a really good man.

 

He's such a good man the Republicans don't know what to do with him, they've completely lost any sense of messaging, the campaign is floundering like never before, they're heading toward a massive and humiliating defeat, they seem to know it, and desperation has set in. 

 

Just a minor correction:  A reference to Walz on his official campaign website as a "retired command sergeant major" was later updated to read he "once served at the command sergeant major rank"  He did not retire as a CSM for MN NG. 

[Cryingdick]

2 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

Just a minor correction:  A reference to Walz on his official campaign website as a "retired command sergeant major" was later updated to read he "once served at the command sergeant major rank"

Football coach has also been reduced to asisstant defensive coordinator. Bare in mind this is high school football we are talking about.

[earlinclaifornia]

22 minutes ago, Isaan sailor said:

His own family doesn’t think he’s so great.

I saw that and was told Trumps family saying the same about Trump

What goes around comes around

[sqwakvfr]

6 minutes ago, earlinclaifornia said:

I saw that and was told Trumps family saying the same about Trump

What goes around comes around

I learned at a very young age that not all relatives are family.  Just because someone is connected to you thorugh DNA or marriage means nothing to me and to those like me.   Some of Walz's relatives in Nebraska support Trump and one of Trump's nephews claim he said 'Just let him die" when asked for help for medical expenses. It's only September so more of this filter out until November. 

[earlinclaifornia]

Last time they spoke was eight years ago LOL

Last time we will hear from him.

[earlinclaifornia]

44 minutes ago, Sorted2024 said:

I think you will find some slightly disturbing info in coming on other platforms on this guy

QAnon or NewsMax or Tucker or the Five

Bring it on!

[Prubangboy]

38 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

Football coach has also been reduced to asisstant defensive coordinator. Bare in mind this is high school football we are talking about.

When I lived in the American South, the desire to coach high school sports was so demented that a half a dozen assistant coaches lolling about doing nothing was not uncommon.

 

Thank you for letting me know about assistant coordinators. Every coordinator needs someone to send out for coffee.

 

I can't remember a VP getting so much press. It's just down to Trump not being entertaining anymore and Harris being a blank slate that the VP's are the only way to fill up media space.

[earlinclaifornia]

1 hour ago, Isaan sailor said:

His own family doesn’t think he’s so great.

He said his MAGA friends were after his butt.

Cult's have an agenda

[earlinclaifornia]

1 hour ago, Cryingdick said:

Historically crazy socialists from Minnesota haven't ever gone anywhere. I think Walz was a worse pick than Vance was. His track record isn't very good. I am not joking about minnesotans. I am from there and we don't have a single memorial highway dedicated to anybody that took it all.

You use to say WV but your perhaps confused, it's ok

Want to bet again!!!!

Maybe the real crazy are MAGA. Time to reflect?

[stoner]

17 minutes ago, earlinclaifornia said:

1 hour ago, Sorted2024 said:

I think you will find some slightly disturbing info in coming on other platforms on this guy

QAnon or NewsMax or Tucker or the Five

 

so if kamala went on the 5 and gave an interview....what then ? would it still be fake news and lies ? 

[Tug]

1 hour ago, Sorted2024 said:

I think you will find some slightly disturbing info in coming on other platforms on this guy

lol more smear by innuendo perhaps?

[JCauto]

13 minutes ago, stoner said:

 

so if kamala went on the 5 and gave an interview....what then ? would it still be fake news and lies ? 

So if my grandmother had wheels, she'd be a bicycle. 

Why are you guys so set on making up hypothetical situations that are extremely unlikely to occur, then imagining what might happen, then pontificating as if it actually DID happen? Who does that kind of weird thing? Trying to think, something about sharks and electric boats...

[Tug]

9 minutes ago, JCauto said:

So if my grandmother had wheels, she'd be a bicycle. 

Why are you guys so set on making up hypothetical situations that are extremely unlikely to occur, then imagining what might happen, then pontificating as if it actually DID happen? Who does that kind of weird thing? Trying to think, something about sharks and electric boats...

Desperation perhaps that would be my guess kinda lame if you ask me.

[JonnyF]

So strong that he felt the need to lie about his military service.

 

That takes true strength.

[Chomper Higgot]

1 hour ago, Sorted2024 said:

I think you will find some slightly disturbing info in coming on other platforms on this guy

The cesspit corners of the of the internet, the NYP and FOX News are renowned for such stuff.

 

It’s an expectation.

[gargamon]

1 hour ago, Sorted2024 said:

I think you will find some slightly disturbing info in coming on other platforms on this guy

Oh Sue, another one?

[stoner]

12 minutes ago, JCauto said:

Why are you guys so set on making up hypothetical situations that are extremely unlikely to occur

 

who is you guys ? are you another one of the slow learners that still wants to call me a trump supporter because at times i say things you disagree with. check.

 

it was a simple question.... that you make it sound like the crusades. 

 

3 minutes ago, Tug said:

Desperation perhaps that would be my guess kinda lame if you ask me.

 

unlike your answers. which to be honest sound like you are about to blow your wad to any positive news for democrats. i can see why after you were wrong for so long. 

 

i fully expect on almost every single american political thread.....good old tug will be the first to comment. i could pull up a few of your real gushers over the last couple weeks but why bother..... we know they are there.

 

you however cannot pull up a single comment of me praising trump.

 

spare me tug. i am still not a trump supporter. you really need to catch on its growing quite boring. i was on here long before you saying bad things about the orange man. in fact things happened to me for using terms like that before. oh how times have changed.

 

i will get the same response as i did a few weeks ago when i said this to another poster.

 

 

 

 

[Chomper Higgot]

21 minutes ago, JCauto said:

So if my grandmother had wheels, she'd be a bicycle. 

Why are you guys so set on making up hypothetical situations that are extremely unlikely to occur, then imagining what might happen, then pontificating as if it actually DID happen? Who does that kind of weird thing? Trying to think, something about sharks and electric boats...

The logic Trump’s supporters, both foreign and domestic, are fond of is, like ‘granny’s wheels’ circular.

 

They construct a hypothetical situation and then argue with it, not realizing the source of the hypothetical and the argument against it are the both out of their own head. 
 

They just love arguing with themselves.

[luckymitchell]

35 minutes ago, Tug said:

lol more smear by innuendo perhaps?

Because there isn't smear coming from the Democrat establiment media at all.

[Chomper Higgot]

4 minutes ago, luckymitchell said:

Because there isn't smear coming from the Democrat establiment media at all.

Care to share an example?

[Tug]

10 minutes ago, stoner said:

 

who is you guys ? are you another one of the slow learners that still wants to call me a trump supporter because at times i say things you disagree with. check.

 

it was a simple question.... that you make it sound like the crusades. 

 

 

unlike your answers. which to be honest sound like you are about to blow your wad to any positive news for democrats. i can see why after you were wrong for so long. 

 

i fully expect on almost every single american political thread.....good old tug will be the first to comment. i could pull up a few of your real gushers over the last couple weeks but why bother..... we know they are there.

 

you however cannot pull up a single comment of me praising trump.

 

spare me tug. i am still not a trump supporter. you really need to catch on its growing quite boring. i was on here long before you saying bad things about the orange man. in fact things happened to me for using terms like that before. oh how times have changed.

 

i will get the same response as i did a few weeks ago when i said this to another poster.

 

 

 

 

I’ve been active on this platform since 2015,7years longer than you please spare me your histrionics I don’t care.im usually first on trump threads because of when i tend to be on my computer and mostly about trump because of the threat he represents no more no less.