HUGE NEWS: Perhaps Inspired by Tim Walz, the White Sox Won a Game
On Tuesday, August 6th, Vice President Kamala Harris chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to be her running mate. He made his official debut before a raucous crowd in Philadelphia, following speeches by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, the final man he beat, and Harris.
Then, mere hours after the announcement, the Chicago White Sox won their first game since July 10th. Where? In Oakland, California, Harris’s birthplace.
Based on the extensive scientific research I performed on Twitter, a large majority of people online are stoked about Walz: Democrats, because he’s a fun midwestern dad with serious experience and an established progressive record, and Republicans, because that established progressive record fits the “Radical Left” narrative much more squarely than Shapiro’s.
For today, just a couple of brief thoughts.
Was Walz the pick because Shapiro is Jewish?
Nonsense. Well, maybe. I have no idea. But calling Shapiro the obvious slam dunk but for his religion does a bit of a disservice to Walz.
Democratic politicians are frequently portrayed as out-of-touch coastal elites, and the stereotype isn’t without some truth. Every single Democratic presidential and vice presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter has attended law school (and everyone graduated but Al Gore, he of the St. Albans and Harvard education, who dropped out of Vanderbilt’s law school to successfully run for the congressional seat once held by his literal dad). Obviously, this brings joy to my lawyer’s heart—truly, this is America’s party (I jest). Anyway, Shapiro went to an elite law school in Georgetown and has spent his entire career (i) in politics or (ii) practicing corporate law in Philadelphia. Speaking as a practicing corporate attorney, it’s not the most salt-of-the-earth gig.
Walz, meanwhile, grew up in various small towns in Nebraska. He says he graduated from high school in a town of 400—Butte, Nebraska might have had 400 residents then, but as of the 2020 census, it’s down to 286. He enlisted in the Army National Guard at 17 and ended up serving for 24 years. After a stint in manufacturing, he went to Chadron State College to get a teaching degree like his father (Chadron, Nebraska is a town of 5,000). After he and his wife moved to Mankato, Minnesota (a bustling metropolis of 45,000) in 1996, Walz took a job at Mankato West High School teaching geography and serving as defensive coordinator for the football team, which won its first state championship in 1999. He hunts; he fishes.
And beyond that, he has more experience in elected politics than Shapiro. He represented a rural, southern Minnesota district in the House of Representatives for twelve years before becoming governor in January 2019; he was reelected in November 2022. If you’re counting, that’s over forty years of being a normal, middle class dude who likes football, then nearly twenty of developing serious political bona fides.
None of this is to say that Shapiro wouldn’t have been a good choice—he’s popular, remarkably charismatic, appealingly moderate (or unappealingly, depending on your perspective), and seems very likely to one day contend for a spot at the top of the ticket. Oh—not to mention that there is no real path to the presidency if Democrats can’t win Pennsylvania (uh oh—was this a mistake?). But to act like Walz, a Lutheran, is merely the convenient Christian, someone who fits the bill because the Democratic Party is kowtowing to its anti-Israel faction, seems like a stretch.
I will admit that I am grateful I finally get to reference perhaps my favorite episode of Parks & Recreation.
Should Republicans be excited too?
Yes—I think former President Trump and Senator Vance and everyone in their campaign probably breathed a big sigh of relief. Shapiro has 19 months of relatively moderate governance under his belt—what little track record is there would be hard to attack. He’s a beautiful blank slate, the formidable “Baruch Obama.” Plus, again, the Pennsylvania part. Bold move by Harris passing that up.
Walz, meanwhile, has some stuff in his record that Republicans are going to have a genuinely good time attacking. And no, not the school lunch thing—I saw a post arguing that when Republicans disparage Democrats for being progressive, what they’re talking about is Tim Walz signing a bill for free school lunch, paid family leave, or universal pre-K. I’m not sure that’s right. I think they’re much more likely to look to Walz signing a bill codifying the right to an abortion, or the suite of climate bills, or bills providing state services to illegal immigrants, or the hotline for people to report violations of COVID rules, or Walz’s reaction in 2020 to the protests and riots that followed George Floyd’s murder.
Ironically, there’s a lot about Walz’s economic populism that Trump and Vance might like under different circumstances—he has a record of voting against trade deals, signed a pro-family package of tax bills that included a fully refundable child tax credit and expanded tax credits for K-12 education expenses and child care, and has a strong pro-labor record. There’s a certain convergence between the parties on some economic issues that hasn’t been there for some time.
But on social and climate issues at minimum, Republicans will have the ammunition they want. Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty described Walz as “Bernie Sanders in hunting gear.” Much of what Republicans will attack endears Walz to progressive Democrats—there are just some issues on which the parties disagree, and on those issues, Shapiro has a less established record.
Wait—does the vice presidential candidate even matter?
Well, according to Trump, not really.
More to come.
Random Fact
If you combine Joe Biden and Tim Walz, you get almost one full head of beautiful white hair.
Also, speaking of epic losing streaks, the California Institute of Technology’s men’s basketball team lost 310 conference games in a row, a remarkable feat that lasted from January 1985 to February 2011.
Random Recommendation
Don’t discount the longterm value of small changes made today.
Also, if you’re looking for a cheap meal, try tomatoes and white rice with an obscene amount of Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning.
A great American (for the record, if you uncover something horrible, consider that a seasoning blend-specific comment).
Subscriber Update
Today, I want to highlight my favorite subscriber: my wife, Kaylee, who, among so many other (more important) things, always tells me my articles are good.
We are in the unenvyable position of having two presidential tickets with no fidelity to American principles. One more so than the other.
To cover the horse race is fine. But more attention should be placed on governing philosophy. (Not that we need to be governed by other fallible people).
The contrast between the free state of Florida and the coersive state of Minnesota is telling. In Minnesota they are fleeing and in Florida they are gaining population. That is the contrast that should be explored.
In a free society one should be able to chose slavery for one's self, but not for others. Sadly we are so deep into tyranny that even those who know better still kling to the State.
Take care.