Tim Walz: Our VP Nominee

[47of74]

Thought I'd start a new topic for Governor and VP Nominee Walz.  Kamala talked a bit about Walz's Midwestern upbringing, political record, and his commitment to his family.

Quote

In an Instagram post announcing the pick, Harris said: “One of the things that stood out to me about Tim is how his convictions on fighting for middle-class families run deep. It’s personal.”

She cited his upbringing in Nebraska, and how after his father’s death to cancer, his family relied on social security survivor benefits to make ends meet. He used the GI bill to attend college. He coached high school football and advised the high school’s gay-straight alliance. His background is “impressive in its own right”, but also informs his governing, she said.

Minnesota Democrats’ legislative record played into her choice – she noted a law that constitutionally protects access to abortion and one requiring universal background checks for gun purchases.

“But what impressed me most about Tim is his deep commitment to his family,” she added.

 

[K'Z'K]

For those, like nearly everyone, who know pretty much nothing about Walz, the New York Times made a list of interesting facts: 

Spoiler

19 Facts About Tim Walz, Harris’s Pick for Vice President

Until recently, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota was a virtual unknown outside of the Midwest, even among Democrats. But his stock rose fast in the days after President Biden withdrew from the race, clearing a path for Ms. Harris to replace him and pick Mr. Walz as her No. 2.

Here’s a closer look at the Democrats’ new choice for vice president.

1. He is a (very recent) social media darling. Mr. Walz has enjoyed a groundswell of support online from users commenting on his Midwestern “dad vibes” and appealing ordinariness.

2. He started the whole “weird” thing. It was Mr. Walz who labeled former President Donald J. Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, “weird” on cable television just a couple of weeks ago. The description soon became a Democratic talking point.

3. He named a highway after Prince and signed the bill in purple ink. “I think we can lay to rest that this is the coolest bill signing we’ll ever do,” he said as he put his name on legislation declaring a stretch of Highway 5 the “Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway” after the musician who had lived in Minnesota.

4. He reminds you of your high school history teacher for a reason. Mr. Walz taught high school social studies and geography — first in Alliance, Neb., and then in Mankato, Minn. — before entering politics.

5. He taught in China in 1989 and speaks some Mandarin. He went to China for a year after graduating from college and taught English there through a program affiliated with Harvard University.

6. He is a decorated veteran. Mr. Walz enlisted in the Army National Guard as a teenager and retired 24 years later in 2005, having served primarily in responses to natural disasters. He received honors including the Army Commendation Medal for heroism or meritorious service.

7. He was a rare breed in Congress: a Democrat from the rural Midwest. For more than a decade, Mr. Walz represented Minnesota’s First District, in the southern part of the state. He was the top Democrat on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, supported funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, voted for the Affordable Care Act and voted against restricting federal funding for abortion.

8. He is a Nebraskan by birth. He was born in West Point, Neb., grew up in Valentine, Neb., attended high school in Butte, Neb., and graduated from Chadron State College before moving to earn a master’s degree in educational leadership from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

9. He got involved in politics after being barred from a George W. Bush rally. In 2004, when he was still a teacher, he accompanied students to the rally and objected when, in his telling, they were denied entrance for having volunteered for Democrats.

10. The woman who trained him to run for office is now his lieutenant governor. Mr. Walz attended Camp Wellstone, a Democratic political training camp named after former Senator Paul Wellstone, before ousting a Republican incumbent to win his House seat in 2006. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan was a trainer there.

11. He was an early supporter of gay rights. He sponsored Mankato West High School’s first gay-straight alliance in the 1990s and has said it was important at that time for the sponsor to be “the football coach, who was the soldier and was straight and was married.” When he won his House seat in 2006 in a conservative district, he ran on support for same-sex marriage.

12. He has shifted politically on other issues. He was more moderate than many Democrats during his time in the House, voting for stricter vetting of refugees and receiving endorsements from the National Rifle Association. He shifted significantly to the left on guns and on other subjects when he ran for governor in 2018, and he and Minnesota’s Democratic legislature have enacted a sweeping progressive agenda.

13. He is a gun owner and hunts pheasants and turkeys. He introduced a “Governor’s Turkey Hunting Opener” to kick off the turkey-hunting season in Minnesota and runs a similar event for the pheasant-hunting season. “I guarantee you he can’t shoot pheasants like I can,” he said on CNN of Mr. Vance.

14. He would be the third vice president from Minnesota. Hubert Humphrey (who served under President Lyndon B. Johnson) and Walter Mondale (who served under President Jimmy Carter) were the first two.

15. He and his wife had their two children through in vitro fertilization. It took seven years of fertility treatments for them to have their daughter, whom they named Hope. Mr. Walz spoke about the experience publicly after an Alabama Supreme Court ruling this year upended I.V.F. treatment there.

16. He coached the 1999 football state champions. It was the first state championship title for Mankato West High School.

17. He is a Lutheran. More specifically, he sometimes describes himself as a “Minnesota Lutheran.” “Because we’re good Minnesota Lutherans, we have a rule: if you do something good and talk about it, it no longer counts,” Walz joked during a speechlast spring. “So what you have to do is to get someone else to talk about you.”

18. He doesn’t drink after a D.W.I. in 1995. Mr. Walz has said he stopped drinking alcohol after he was pulled over for speeding in 1995 and failed a sobriety test. His wife told him at the time: “You have obligations to people. You can’t make dumb choices.”

19. He also does not drink coffee. He prefers Diet Mountain Dew. As does his Republican counterpart.

[libgirl2]

Regarding the whole Ten Commandments in schools, he said “We don’t have the 10 commandments posted in our classrooms but we do have free breakfast and lunch for our kids”

[keen23]

Tim Walz and his Dad Vibes work for me. Plus, you know, his competency and overall decent human beingness.

[Howl]

I'm going for America's grandad. 

Finally, FINALLY, Dems are on top of messaging and Repubs are caught flat footed. 

Trump is no longer sucking the oxygen out of the room 24/7 and MSM is turning the narrative around because VP Harris and Gov. Walz have traction and can get clicks.

Anyway, MSM coverage has gone 180, and Trump can yell "I'm GONNA SUE!!!!! Eleventy!!!!!" and nobody will give a ****.  The "the emporer really doesn't have any clothes" moment has finally arrived.  I also see a vision of a balloon Trump that's been poked by a needle and is slowly deflating.  

 

[GreyhoundFan]

 

Too funny:

 

[GreyhoundFan]

It's pretty sad that this is what the BTs are playing "gotcha" with...providing feminine hygiene products in schools. I would have greatly appreciated it when I was in school as my family was living below the poverty level.

[Bluebirdbluebell]

2 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

It's pretty sad that this is what the BTs are playing "gotcha" with...providing feminine hygiene products in schools. I would have greatly appreciated it when I was in school as my family was living below the poverty level.

Typical Republicans!!!!!! and Conservatives!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Always obsessed with women's bodies and their private parts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

🤬

[GreyhoundFan]

[GreyhoundFan]

[K'Z'K]

Such a quotable speech, and not just the couch bit (though that was terrific). A few lines, as transcribed by NYT reporters:

“Violent crime was up under Donald Trump. [pause]. That’s not even counting the crimes he committed.”

“In Minnesota, we respect our neighbors and their personal choices that they make. Even if we wouldn’t make the same choice for ourselves, there’s a golden rule: Mind your own damn business.”

“These guys are creepy, and yes, just weird as hell.”

 

He did not, however, share his thoughts about sharks, batteries, or Hannibal Lecter. VP Harris didn't either.

[GreyhoundFan]

 

This is the kind of thing I'd do to save my dog.

 

 

[SPHASH]

Happy for my Gov and former Congressman!  I met him once years when he was campaigning for reelection to Congress.  Nice fellow.

I thought Kamala was going to pick Shapiro.

[GreyhoundFan]

People seem to be excited:

[GreyhoundFan]

I love this:

[Howl]

His daughter is named Hope because they used some kind of reproductive tech (IVF?) to get pregnant after 8 years of no luck. 

I have a feeling that Walz will decimate Vance in a debate because Vance is a fraud and a total ass, and Walz is the Real Deal.  

Bring it. 

And yes, Walz went for a couch reference, which is beyond awesome! 

[FiveAcres]

1 hour ago, GreyhoundFan said:

It's pretty sad that this is what the BTs are playing "gotcha" with...providing feminine hygiene products in schools. I would have greatly appreciated it when I was in school as my family was living below the poverty level.

Seriously. There are probably young women all over this country who skip going to school because they are afraid that they won't have enough supplies to get them through the day. And although I settled into a regular cycle when I was in my twenties which lasted for decades, I was all over the place as a teen.

 

 

[Audrey2]

7 minutes ago, Howl said:

His daughter is named Hope because they used some kind of reproductive tech (IVF?) to get pregnant after 8 years of no luck. 

I have a feeling that Walz will decimate Vance in a debate because Vance is a fraud and a total ass, and Walz is the Real Deal.  

Bring it. 

And yes, Walz went for a couch reference, which is beyond awesome! 

I look forward to a Walz-Vance debate. Vance might have gone to law school but Walz had to deal with knucklehead teenagers for 20 years who thought they knew everything. He coached football too which means he had to have dealt with some obnoxious football dad's who thought their son was going to be the next great thing in the NFL.

[47of74]

1 hour ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I wonder if the Governor will be at the MN State Fair later this month.  If so I hope to see him.  And if the Good Lord willing be able to shake his hand and wish him good luck.  And if I'm really lucky get a selfie with him.

1 hour ago, SPHASH said:

Happy for my Gov and former Congressman!  I met him once years when he was campaigning for reelection to Congress.  Nice fellow.

I'm also happy for him.  He's also my Gov and is a trillion times better than those Branch Trumpvidians Kim Reynolds or Kristi Noem.

32 minutes ago, Audrey2 said:

I look forward to a Walz-Vance debate. Vance might have gone to law school but Walz had to deal with knucklehead teenagers for 20 years who thought they knew everything. He coached football too which means he had to have dealt with some obnoxious football dad's who thought their son was going to be the next great thing in the NFL.

After finding out that Walz was Kamala's pick, the former President of my law school joked that he had once tried to recruit the Governor to enroll as a student at my school. 

[47of74]

Meet the new VP candidate's pets

Quote

In February 2024, Tim posted to social media that his family had welcomed "a great addition" in the form of a new rescue cat, this time a calico-colored kitty named Honey, who was about a year and a half old when they took her home. In a video Tim made with the Animal Humane Society (from which they adopted Honey), Tim said that his family was drawn to her gorgeous honey-colored eyes.

He also said he was grateful for the work that the Animal Humane Society does, and encouraged others who were thinking about rescuing a pet to do so. He noted a universal truth about rescue animals as well: "I think as everyone who's listening to this probably knows, they rescue you as much as you rescue them."

In the same video, Tim mentioned that Honey was getting to be friends with her new canine brother. That's right, the Walz family also has a dog, a beautiful black lab mix named Scout. "Scout's been really good with [Honey]," he said, noting that Honey was still young and had a lot of kitten energy. "I'll come into the room once in a while and they'll be laying side by side."

Scout was rescued from Midwest Animal Rescue, after being found in a box next to a high-kill shelter in Oklahoma. Walz had actually promised his son that they could adopt a pup if he won the 2018 gubernatorial election. "We were in the room on Election Night, and the folks were in there, and it came on TV they called the race, and Gus immediately screamed, "I get a puppy!'" Walz said, per Fox 9. And so the following year, Walz made good on his promise and adopted a then-3-month-old Scout in 2019.

 

[47of74]

5 hours ago, Howl said:

His daughter is named Hope because they used some kind of reproductive tech (IVF?) to get pregnant after 8 years of no luck. 

I have a feeling that Walz will decimate Vance in a debate because Vance is a fraud and a total ass, and Walz is the Real Deal.  

Bring it. 

And yes, Walz went for a couch reference, which is beyond awesome! 

Yes.  Here's the couch reference.

 

[Destiny]

I had never really heard of him before yesterday. I knew the name but not a heck of a lot more than that. I happened to turn on the TV and Kamala (who was my choice in 2020 so I'm delighted) was about to speak so I figured I'd get to know the guy beyond his accomplishments. Friends, I have adopted him as my awesome uncle and anyone fucks with this national treasure and I grab the pitchforks and ride at dawn. Between the couch joke (yes, i know it's not a real story but I'm choosing to laugh at it in these dark times!) and the, "Mind your own damn business," and the rest of the awesome, I'm so here for this gem of a human.

[FiveAcres]

4 minutes ago, Destiny said:

I had never really heard of him before yesterday. I knew the name but not a heck of a lot more than that. I happened to turn on the TV and Kamala (who was my choice in 2020 so I'm delighted) was about to speak so I figured I'd get to know the guy beyond his accomplishments. Friends, I have adopted him as my awesome uncle and anyone fucks with this national treasure and I grab the pitchforks and ride at dawn. Between the couch joke (yes, i know it's not a real story but I'm choosing to laugh at it in these dark times!) and the, "Mind your own damn business," and the rest of the awesome, I'm so here for this gem of a human.

I think the couch jokes are a fitting, if delayed, response to the "but her emails!" shit posting that was done to bring down HRC.

[noseybutt]

13 hours ago, Audrey2 said:

I look forward to a Walz-Vance debate. Vance might have gone to law school but Walz had to deal with knucklehead teenagers for 20 years who thought they knew everything. He coached football too which means he had to have dealt with some obnoxious football dad's who thought their son was going to be the next great thing in the NFL.

Walz's social and emotional intelligence is off the charts. Meanwhile, Vance is still in kindergarten when it comes to emotions and understanding people. 
 

[libgirl2]

13 hours ago, FiveAcres said:

Seriously. There are probably young women all over this country who skip going to school because they are afraid that they won't have enough supplies to get them through the day. And although I settled into a regular cycle when I was in my twenties which lasted for decades, I was all over the place as a teen.

 

 

The library I work at installed free products about 2 years ago. These things are a necessity! I can't imagine what I would have done if I couldn't afford them.