Salem Political Snark

Watch Tim Walz's inspiring acceptance speech at Democratic National Convention

Like many millions of other Americans, I've become a big fan of Tim Walz. Tonight he gave an acceptance speech for the vice-president nomination at the Democratic National Convention that showed why he inspires so much love and affection.

Walz is a regular guy who happens to be a skilled politician -- a wonderful change from the usual skilled politicians trying to appear like regular guys. Yeah, I'm talking about you, J.D. Vance.

The problem for Vance and other regular guy wanna-be's is that you can't fake the sort of background Walz wears effortlessly, because it is who he is, not who he pretends to be.

Son of a soldier, 24 years in National Guard, skilled shooter and hunter who believes in gun control, social studies teacher, coach of a high school that won a state championship, father of two children thanks to fertility treatment, twelve terms in Congress as a representative of a conservative district,  Governor of Minnesota who worked with Republicans to get things done, and now, a candidate for vice-president of the United States.

Watch his acceptance speech. It's only about fifteen minutes long. Short and inspiring. 

I thought I grew up in a small town. But Walz beat me by a bit.

He says that his hometown in Nebraska had 400 people, with 24 students in his high school graduation class. Me, my rural California town had about 700 residents, and my eighth grade class had about 20 students, 100 or so in my high school class, which was in a town some distance away.

So I understand what Walz means when he talks in his acceptance speech about being a good neighbor. In small towns, in rural areas, people have to rely on each other, because outside help typically is quite distant. They may practice a different religion or belong to a different political party than their neighbors, but what binds them is stronger than what divides them.

At least, that's the way it used to be. That's how I remember it from the age of 75, and how Tim Walz remembers it from his age of 60. Things are different now. Our country isn't as united. But Walz and Kamala Harris want to change that. Sure, it'll be an uphill battle, assuming they win this November, given how angry and disappointed Trump supporters will be that their favored candidate lost.

Walz's acceptance speech shows how good-hearted this man is. He's the perfect person to become vice-president, someone with the character to work hard at healing our divisions, a successful coach who can help lead us to victory over fear and distrust of those who aren't like us.

Tim Walz is a joyous vice-president candidate, unlike JD Vance

There's no guarantee that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will be elected this November, but one thing is sure: they'll bring a heck of a lot more joy and positivity to the campaign trail than the dour Trump and Vance will.

I'm thrilled that Harris picked Walz yesterday. However, I would have felt this way about anyone she chose to be her vice-president candidate, because I trust Harris to make good decisions and she had way more knowledge about the possible VP picks than I or anyone else were privy to.

A New York Times story discussed "Five Key Reasons That Kamala Harris Picked Tim Walz."

His plucky dad vibes. Mr. Walz, a balding 60-year-old former high school football coach with a thick Midwestern accent, has become a liberal favorite on social media precisely for his off-the-charts levels of uncoolness.

His populist policies. As governor, Mr. Walz championed a host of liberal policies in Minnesota that are popular with Democratic and independent-leaning voters.

His potential to speak to rural voters. Raised in rural Nebraska, Mr. Walz is the son of a homemaker and a public school administrator. He enlisted in the Army National Guard at the age of 17.

His contrast with Trump's running mate, JD Vance. Ms. Harris and her advisers believe Mr. Walz will match up well on a debate stage against Senator JD Vance of Ohio, former President Donald J. Trump’s vice-presidential candidate and a fellow Midwesterner.

In the end, it came down to winning -- and chemistry. Several people close to the decision-making process said that Ms. Harris held in-person interviews at the vice president’s residence with several hopefuls, including Mr. Walz, Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona. In the end, they said, Ms. Harris simply connected the best with Mr. Walz.

Over and over again during the selection process, loyalty was emphasized as one of the most important criteria for Ms. Harris, who did not have a close and trust-driven bond with Mr. Biden, at least not immediately.

Her selection suggests that she trusts Mr. Walz not only to help her win but also to help her govern.

I was worried that Harris would pick Josh Shapiro. He comes across nowhere near as natural as Walz. Shapiro sounds like a professional politician. Walz sounds like a regular guy who just happens to be a politician.

Reportedly in his interview Shapiro asked a bunch of questions about the role the VP would play in a Harris administration, which indicates that he cared more about his own self-interest than serving the interest of Harris and the country.

By contrast, Walz is reported to have said, in line with the excellent soldier that he was for 24 years in the National Guard, that he'd do whatever needed to be done if he became vice-president. That sounds like a good soldier. I was clueless about the rank Walz held before he retired from the military, Command Sergeant Major. 

A post on X yesterday by retired Army general Mark Hertling told me what I needed to know.

This makes JD Vance's lies about Walz' military service disgusting and inexcusable. But what else would we expect from Trump's VP pick, since Trump is the Liar in Chief and wants his minions to follow his bad example.

Today Vance falsely claimed that Walz retired from the Army National Guard in 2005 to avoid being sent to Iraq after his unit received deployment orders. Vance called this "stolen valor," which is complete and utter B.S.

A CNN story today set the record straight. Vance should apologize to Walz for his lie, but I strongly suspect that Vance doesn't have the courage to admit when he's wrong, because Trump hates truth-tellers. Here's an excerpt from the story.

Walz filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission as a candidate for Congress on February 10, 2005. The next month, after the guard announced a possible deployment to Iraq within two years, Walz’s campaign issued a statement saying he intended to stay in the race.

“I do not yet know if my artillery unit will be part of this mobilization and I am unable to comment further on specifics of the deployment,” Walz said in the March 2005 campaign release.

“As Command Sergeant Major I have a responsibility not only to ready my battalion for Iraq, but also to serve if called on. I am dedicated to serving my country to the best of my ability, whether that is in Washington DC or in Iraq,” he continued, adding: “I don’t want to speculate on what shape my campaign will take if I am deployed, but I have no plans to drop out of the race. I am fortunate to have a strong group of enthusiastic supporters and a very dedicated and intelligent wife. Both will be a major part of my campaign, whether I am in Minnesota or Iraq.”

Walz retired from the Army National Guard in May 2005, according to the Minnesota National Guard. In a 2009 interview for the Library of Congress, Walz said he left the guard to focus full time on running for Congress, citing concerns about trying to serve at the same time and the Hatch Act, which limits political activities for federal employees.

Service members often submit their paperwork for retirement months before their retirement date. It’s unclear when Walz submitted his papers for retirement.

The Harris campaign did not immediately respond when asked about when Walz submitted his retirement paperwork.

A National Guard article on his unit’s deployment states that it received alert orders to deploy to Iraq in July 2005, two months after Walz retired. The unit first mobilized in the fall of 2005 to Camp Shelby Mississippi to prepare for deployment, according to the unit’s history, and then deployed in March 2006 for 22 months, which the Guard said was the longest continuous deployment of any military unit during US operations in Iraq.