Why The Walz Nomination Checks Every Box

Credit where credit is due. Teri and I were talking about this last night, and she said that she just had a feeling that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz would get the nod. And she even had the humility and grace not to take a victory lap today. My padawan learner is coming along nicely.

In a snap poll taken immediately after Walz’s nomination, 71% of Americans polled said they had no opinion of Walz, simply because they knew nothing about him. because for the next 6-8 days Harris and Walz are going to be like bad weather, everywhere. They’re going to hit up MI, WI, NV, AZ, GA, and NC. And by the looks of it, every stop is going to be like Beyonce is on tour.

But as I like to say, You never get a second chance to make a first impression. And with today’s rollout, Harris and the Democrats hit a walk off grand slam in the bottom of the 9th in game 7 of the World Series.

The auditorium on the campus of Temple University was packed to the gills. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro literally screamed himself hoarse ramping the crowd up. Harris herself started the contrast, and also defined Walz by giving an impressive point-by-point rundown of exactly she chose him. And in his acceptance speech, Walz showed exactly why he is going to be such an incredible asset on the campaign trail for the next 91 days.

But let’s back up for just a moment. Over the weekend, it appeared that the race had culled down to three individuals. Walz, Mark Kelly of AZ, and Governor Josh Shapiro of PA. Even though running mates are seldom chosen for electoral map purposes, let’s leave personalities aside, and just look at the map for a moment.

If you pick Shapiro, he helps to sew up PA, and possibly slops a little benefit over to neighboring MI. But if Shapiro is all in for Harris, which he appears to be, he’s almost as effective as Governor as VP candidate. Kelly helps you to seal up AZ’s important electoral votes, and maybe slops marginally over the border to NV.

Walz on the other hand can help to shore up what been a purpling Minnesota, He could also slop over to neighboring WI, but he also has a secret weapon. He joined the Army National Guard at age 17, but unlike Vance, he stayed for 24 years, ending his career as a Command Sargent Major. His military creds are solid gold.

There are at least four battleground states out there in 2024 with a large military and military retiree populations, NC, FL, GA, and AZ. And with his creds, Walz can walk into cities and towns anywhere in those states, and straight shoot talk the talk, because he’s already walked the walk. And the simple fact of the matter is, the smaller the town the better, due to Walz’s other secret weapon.

Walz was born and raised in a small, 400 soul farming community in Middle-of-Nowhere, Nebraska. Walz is a walking, talking slice of authentic rural heartland Americana, and it’s core to who he is. PA state rep Malcolm Kenyatta has already said that he plans to spend the next month dragging Walz off to every county and state fair they’ll spring him for. Can you imagine a same day walk off between Walz and Vance at a rural PA county fair? I can, and it boggles the mind.

Because unlike Beggar Vance, Kamala Harris has no qualms about letting Walz off of his leash to campaign as miuch as he likes. And if today’s appearance is any example, Trump and Vance are sunk. Walz has a sharp edge combination of Will Rogers and George Carlin, without the potty muth. Mostly. To wit from his speech today;

• And despite what he says, crime was up under President Trump! (wild applause) And hell! I’m sure that doesn’t even include the crimes that he committed! (roof comes down)
• On JD Vance: I can’t wait to debate this guy! If you can get him off of the sofa that is!
• Right now we have 91 days left. Hell, that’s EASY! We’ll sleep when we’re dead!
• In Minnesota we believe that people are free to make their own choice. And even if you wouldn’t make the same choice, we have a Golden Rule, Mind your own damn business!
• A few days ago Walz released an instagram post in which he said, We have 100 days to go, and I’m going to do everything in my power to help Vice President Harris win this election. Because on day 101, I want to look Trump in the eye and tell him that A black woman kicked your ass!

Former Democratic strategist and New York Democratic state Chair Basil Smikle summed it up perfectly today on MSNBC, This is one of the most pragmatic VP choices I’ve ever seen. For those Democrats who are still mourning the loss on the ticket of President Biden’s honor, dignity, decency and sense of humor, now you have Tim Walz. That keeps sticking with me. Not only will Walz be Harris’s top surrogate, he’ll also be Biden’s top surrogate with his voters.

And Harris has already beaten Traitor Tot and Vance to the punch by personalizing Walz at the rally today. After outlining how Walz as a coach that took a team that went 0-27 to the state football title in three years, she repeatedly referred to him as Coach Walz in her speech. And dammit!, the guy looks like every high school football coach you’ve ever seen in your life!

A month ago this election was shaping up to be a referendum on Biden, and Trump was heavily favored to win. But as Harris nicely shaped it today in her speech, this is now a choice election, between autocracy, bigotry and hatred, or kindness, normalcy and a brighter, better, more prosperous America. Which is exactly what so many Americans were begging for when they didn’t want a Trump-Biden rematch. Mission Accomplished.

I thank you for the privilege of your time.