The Tim Walz Nod: Caving to the Left? No. Reaching Into the Heartland.
Let’s start with Tim Walz’s positive attributes. One: He’s an extremely successful two-term governor—in fact, he’s almost certainly the most successful Democratic governor in the country (go read about the “Minnesota Miracle”). Two: He served 12 years in the House of Representatives, so he has considerable Washington experience, serving on both the Veterans and Armed Services committees. Three: He’s from the Midwest, which is a great thing—think how often the Democrats are accused of ignoring “flyover country.” These were all compelling reasons for Vice President Kamala Harris to pick him as her running mate on Tuesday.
But let’s keep going. Four: Walz is a former high school football coach, and not in Minneapolis or St. Paul, but in a small town of around 8,000 people in Nebraska (he was born in Nebraska, in a town fortuitously named West Point). Later in his schoolteaching career, in the larger city of Mankato, Minnesota, he became the faculty adviser to the school’s first straight-gay student alliance. Five: He enlisted in the Army National Guard when he turned 17, and he spent 24 years in the guard. He never saw combat, but he attained the rank of command sergeant major. That is a great thing for a Democratic ticket. Six: His educational credentials are fantastic for a Democrat—his undergrad degree is from Chadron State College, and his master’s is from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Not only is his résumé unblemished by an Ivy League credential—he didn’t even........
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