Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

He really is that stupid.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Giving in to doom is how we fail to fight for ourselves & one another.

This fight is for everything.

The snowflake in chief appeared visibly frustrated when questioned by a reporter about egg prices.

When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty. ~Thomas Jefferson

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

If America since Jan 2025 hasn’t broken your heart, you haven’t loved her enough.

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

Weird. Rome has an American Pope and America has a Russian President.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

In my day, never was longer.

You are here: Home / Elections 2024 / This Is Now A Walz-stan Account

This Is Now A Walz-stan Account

by | 189 Comments

This post is in: ,

Here is the first ad:

VP Harris is speaking 5:30/4:30/3:30 and whatever time it is for those slackers on the West Coast have (I kid, 2:30)

If I’m around I’ll put up a link, but her YouTube channel is…wait for it….Kamala Harris  and it will be streamed there.  And yes, I’m a little spicy today – very little sleep and hopped up on Walz excitement vibes.

This entire thread is worth the read.  I started it last night, but there is more now.

Okay, I’ll stop now.

Open thread

Reader Interactions

189Comments

  1. 1.

    RaflW

    For all the Nate Silvers out there punditing by the seat of their vibes that Shapiro would deliver PA so he was ‘the better choice’ or Chaits (gack) pushing “run to the center”:

    Aaron Huertas‬ ‪@aaronhuertas.bsky.social‬

    Tim Walz won a House district in 2016 that Trump carried by 15 points. There are thousands of Trump-Walz voters and he apparently did not have to torch progressives to get their support.

    Shockingly, performative hippie punching and abandoning one’s values aren’t the only ways to win over voters!

  4. 4.

    karen marie

    What a guy!  How did America get so lucky?

     

    This is a video he made at the end of the first year of his first term as governor of Minnesota.  It makes me so hopeful!

  5. 5.

    Scout211

    That is one awesome ad!  I have a feeling that is just the first of many, many awesome ads for Harris-Walz. What a great team.

    Also too, I won’t post a spoiler but the USWNT today vs Germany. Wow.

  8. 8.

    Central Planning

    I’m a little glad it wasn’t Shapiro – he graduated from the University of Rochester and we never would have heard the end of it up here if he were selected (and then when Kamala won)

  9. 9.

    TaMara

    And he’s a Nebraska boy! I haven’t polled my hunting/farming/blue collar relatives in a truck stop diner off of Highway 81, but they might secretly be proud of this vs. the steaming hull of what’s the trump campaign.

  12. 12.

    Ishiyama

    Boom, boom, ain’t it great to be crazy
    Boom, boom, ain’t it great to be crazy
    Giddy and foolish all day long
    Boom, boom, ain’t it great to be crazy?

  13. 13.

    Old School

    Twitter is suing companies who don’t advertise on them.

    That is why, today, X has filed an antitrust lawsuit against the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), and GARM members CVS Health, Mars, Orsted and Unilever. This is not a decision we took lightly, but it is a direct consequence of their actions.

    The illegal behavior of these organizations and their executives cost X billions of dollars.

  14. 14.

    Steve LaBonne

    This guy is Republican Kryptonite the same way Joe Biden was and Sherrod Brown is. They all are so obviously real, thoroughly decent people that it’s almost impossible to “other” them and make it stick. Come to think of it Harris has that quality too- down to earth humor and complete lack of pomposity. Trump and Vance- LOL I can’t even finish that sentence.

  16. 16.

    Yutsano

    I am chuffed. Tim Walz almost has the Obama/Biden vibe but I swear this energy is so different. It’s almost infectious. It makes me want to get into a new apartment so I can get registered to vote even though I’m a solid blue state.

    OT: there are people who have such amazing courage in the world. Afghanistan has three representatives* in the Olympics and one runner decided to send a message.

    *They’re not officially sanctioned by the Taliban government, but they are representing their homeland nonetheless.

  17. 17.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Magdi Jacobs again making a whole lot of sense on I/P:

    I am not telling you not to care. I am not telling you not to talk about it. I am telling you to not engage with people who are trying to make this election focus on ideological conformity around fixing the conflict. That is a path to division and strife.

    Furthermore, I/P has given Russians the biggest gift they’ve ever had in terms of electoral interference. They are using I/P to divide the opposition to fascism in both the US & the EU. They are using I/P to fuel domestic riots & divides. All to elect Trump & other authoritarians

    The Russians, just as they did in 2016, are using the far-left as an entry point. You will receive responses about “Genocide Tim,” etc. Some of these responses will be from real “leftists.” Others will be from foreign bot/trolls. Cut these people off. They are trying to weaken us

    There will also be trolls on the other side, arguing Harris is anti-Israel. Cut these people off as well. They want us to tear each other to shreds so that we are so weak Trump wins, destroys NATO, & allows Russia to wreak havoc across Europe, Africa, & the Middle East.

    So, again, advocate for your positions, but tolerate disagreement about truly complex subjects. While disagreeing, maintain your friendships. Argue in a way such that our arguments to not fuel “Democrats in Disarray” discourse. If we do this for all issues, we will win.

  18. 18.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Yutsano: A lot has happened since Obama/Biden.  Black Lives Matter.  Bernie Bros.  The 2016 Election.  Trump.  Covid.  January 6th.  Etc.

    We’ve all learned a lot and our perspectives are much different now.

  20. 20.

    RaflW

    @David 🐝KHive🐝 Koch: My biggest give of the campaign just went in from an email with Tim Walz as the sender, on behalf of their ticket.

    There’s lots of ways to communicate, but one is: Walz opens my money tap. LFG!

  21. 21.

    JerseyBeard

    I really like the Walz pick. Kicked another $50 to Kamala. I’m excited to see how the two of them run circles around the opposition.

  23. 23.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    I know what’s meant by Walz-stan, but for a moment it sounded like you were referring to a Former Soviet Republic, scrunched in between Borduria, Pottsylvania, and Carjackistan.

    Feeling a lot better about America’s prospects now than I was a month ago today. Has it really been only sixteen days since Biden passed the baton to Harris?

  24. 24.

    RaflW

    @UncleEbeneezer: I’ll say it again. “Walz knows exactly who he is, and because of that he can’t get knocked off his grounded, centered self.”

    I think that’s true of Harris, now. Can’t say for sure about four years ago, but I think that’s different in a good way now for her.

    And it applies to us. We should be grounded and know our stance is legitimate. Don’t go into response mode automatically! (That last is a comment pointed at me, too!)

  25. 25.

    Kay

    Interesting:

    After their meeting on Sunday, Shapiro called Harris’ team and made clear that he was “struggling with the decision to leave his current job as governor of Pennsylvania, in order to seek the vice presidency,” according to a person familiar with the selection process.

    I think we have to remember that not everything is outside actors controlling/manipulating events. These people are pros and they make their own decisions. Agency.

  28. 28.

    Steve LaBonne

    @Kay: I never could understand why he would want it. He’s only 51, ambitious, and only 2 years into being Governor. Seems like a really bad career move to put himself on the shelf for (fondly do we hope) 8 years. So I’m hardly surprised if the same thought occurred to him. He will continue to be a rising Democratic star.

  29. 29.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Kay: I noted this morning, when someone mentioned that there might be a cabinet gig for him, that he is currently the popular governor of a state and that’s an important job too.

  30. 30.

    Dagaetch

    @Kay: maybe I’m just cynical, but that sounds to me like Shapiro knew the meeting didn’t go well and he was trying to lay the groundwork for an “it was my decision, I didn’t really want it” storyline down the road.​

  31. 31.

    japa21

    OT, if you didn’t see it live, try to watch a replay of the 1500m race. No spoilers, but what a finish.

  34. 34.

    Kay

    @Dagaetch:

    He’s only two years into governor. Maybe he has stuff he wants to do. The VP is not a great job, in terms of actual policy or power.

    I would have picked Shapiro because I think he probably could have locked PA but apparently Harris made this decision herself – good for her. I would expect nothing less.

  37. 37.

    zhena gogolia

    Okay, the Walz commercial made me cry.

    Love the pet video — great use of Tchaikovsky!

  38. 38.

    Matt McIrvin

    My Mastodon follow who was preemptively rejecting all “we have to support the ticket” arguments, and who I was most worried about freaking out if the VP pick wasn’t to his liking… preferred Walz.

    A lot of fights I was steeling myself to jump into just got cancelled.

  39. 39.

    Leto

    @Yutsano: the other two athletes are sisters who participated in the women’s road cycling race. They did really well, and I hope they’re all an inspiration to so many back home.

  41. 41.

    Al Rennick

    Steve Kornacki Explodes Myth of Tim Walz’s Rural Appeal on MSNBC

    NBC News and MSNBC national political correspondent Steve Kornacki delivered some bad news for Democrats hoping that Minnesota Governor.

    Walz in 2022, he didn’t gain any ground that the Democrats had lost. He didn’t do that here, he didn’t do that in other counties. Walz really owes his victory, that margin he got, eight points there statewide, he owes it to the Twin Cities area here, the area where Democrats in Minnesota and all these other states are already doing well.

    Look at his electoral history, Tim Walz’s in 2022, and the idea that he’s got this automatic appeal with these small town areas in those three key battleground states, you don’t see it in what he actually did on the ballot in 2022.

    Honestly, when you look at Walz’s victory in 2022 in Minnesota, it looks like Biden’s victory in Minnesota in 2020 — not a different coalition.

    https://www.mediaite.com/tv/steve-kornacki-explodes-myth-of-tim-walzs-rural-appeal-on-msnbc-you-dont-see-it-in-what-he-actually-did-on-the-ballot/

  43. 43.

    HumboldtBlue

    DougJ:

    Tim Walz is a sixty-year-old white guy from Nebraska who attended Chadron State College and had a moderate voting record while representing a rural Congressional district in southern Minnesota. Here’s why he is a woke radical who is sure to alienate everyone but the far left.

  44. 44.

    Matt McIrvin

    @moops: The Not Just Bikes guy already declared North America a lost cause and urged any advocates living there to move off of the continent. I suspect he’s not going to be satisfied with anybody who can win an election here.

  45. 45.

    Kent

    I’ve been paying so much attention to the Walz news that I forgot there is actually a primary happening today here in Washington State!

    Go Marie Glusenkamp Perez.  She was one of the candidates that Balloon Juice supported last cycle and is back in our jungle primary going against the same MAGA dickhead as before.  This district (the WA 3rd) is the second most red district in the country that is currently held by a Democrat (Alaska is first with Mary Peltola).

  51. 51.

    Snowlan01

    @TaMara: Yes – He graduated from Chadron State College in . . . Chadron, Nebraska.   As a guy with Panhandle Nebraska roots, I am so proud!

  52. 52.

    Sean

    I’m finding myself less worried about Harris/Walz winning now as I am what happens after they win with Trump and company clearly forecasting that they intend to use their useful idiots on state boards to not certify results in an effort to sabotage the outcome.

    It’s becoming clear that may be their plan A, as opposed to winning the election, which seems more like their Plan B.

    I don’t live in a state that “matters” unfortunately, so I can have little direct volunteer impact on this point. Are there legal organizations we have directed funds to in the past here to shore up their ability to respond? At least I could send some $ their way. What other directed action can I take as someone outside looking in on the 7 states that will decide this thing on this particular point?

    I signed up for postcards today and will probably textbank as well.

  53. 53.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Dagaetch: Sometimes people are just honored to be considered.  VP is a weird job and one that isn’t generally a career builder for young politicians.  I would say that Shapiro is in the same position as Buttigieg.  They have a chance to build their national presence that was enhanced by being considered.  They will be major players in 2028/2032 (hopefully 2032).  Walz is probably not going to take a shot at the top job, so he is someone the very ambitious younger players can support now without penalty.

  54. 54.

    EarthWindFire

    @Kay: I would have picked Shapiro because I think he probably could have locked PA

    I think that’s one of those things that’s changed, but we’ve been deprived another opportunity at a test case. Has what states can they can win been a VP consideration since Clinton/Gore (assuming it was even then with two Southerners on the ticket)?

  55. 55.

    FastEdD

    Walz is also a member of AFT, the American Federation of Teachers. My union, the one I’ve worked for and supported for decades. I am STOKED!

  57. 57.

    JML

    If Shapiro wants to be president (nothing wrong with ambition, IMHO) staying as PA governor and getting re-elected could be just as good as becoming VP. And he might enjoy the position a lot more. I have no issue with it. I’m fine with Shapiro, generally, and look forward to what he can do for PA. I would like him to stay far away from vouchers (which too many big-brain Dems flirt with for my comfort) but if teachers in PA support him (which they do) then it should be fine.

    Walz is already in his second term, a bit older, and from a smaller state. This is a step up for him and a great platform for him to work on things he cares about from a national stage (caring for veterans, education, etc). Maybe he’ll consider running in 2032…maybe he won’t.

    I think Walz got picked because Kamala Harris thought he was someone who she could work well with, he had good experience and credentials, no real negatives, and could be an asset in a campaign and an administration. An affirmative choice, not process of elimination. But also not a knock on Shapiro, Beshear, Kelly, Pritzger, Buttigieg, or anyone else that might have been in the mix. The right fit for one person doesn’t have to be a knock on the others.

  59. 59.

    Chacal Charles Calthrop

    Reading the comments to a Mark Penn editorial promoting Shapiro, I realized just how much Trumps’ TV show and lack of prior office-holding enabled the Republicans to position the 2016 election as “a breath of fresh air – an actual businessman” vs. the Washington establishment.

    Walz enables Harris to be a “breath of fresh air.”  Shapiro is just wrong for the moment, given his record on Israel, school vouchers, and the fact that the other half of the ticket is already a lawyer & former AG with a Jewish husband.  He might be a fine choice after Israel makes a fair peace, but he’d be a disaster as VP right now.

  61. 61.

    KatKapCC

    I love that he said the word “abortion” in the ad. A lot of Dems still shy away from it and say “reproductive rights” or “the right to choose” or whatnot, which are both fine, but abortion is not a dirty word and we should not be afraid to use it.

    Great ad overall. Love it. Let’s go!!

  64. 64.

    Sister Golden Bear

    Sage advice from Joohn Choe ove me at the Book of Face:

    Remember what we’ve seen Republicans throw against the wall to see if it stuck in the past two weeks:

    – “Biden actually dead” conspiracy theories
    – “DEI hire” rhetoric
    – Olympics opening ceremony outrage
    – Imane Khelif lies
    – Doug Emhoff’s affair
    – Harris is an “SF liberal”

    The closest they’ve got to an actual scandal I’d say is literally an extramarital affair that Emhoff had the last marriage which his ex-wife has also spoken out on. It’s a nothingburger and it makes them look tawdry, and hypocritical next to Trump’s serial marriages & adultery.

    So I’d contend the movement of a substantial number of Republicans to such a weak talking point as “Harris is antisemitic because she didn’t pick a VP we also would have hated” is a signal worth attending to, especially in context. That signal is saying, they really don’t have anything on Harris, especially given that they’re stuck with Creepy Don and Weirdo Vance, and the media honeymoon with Harris is taking alarmingly long to fade in the meanwhile.

    Now, as in this week, with slightly over 90 days to go, is a weak spot in the Republican strategic timeline; the DNC is going to take up the news cycle next, and unless Trump like, has a stroke or says the N-word out loud he’s not going to dominate the headlines again like he did after getting shot at three weeks ago.

    So, probably a good time to focus on attack.

    The cat ladies in the back said “Everyone attack!” and it turned into a Walzroom Blitz (with apologies to Sweet).

  66. 66.

    Lapassionara

    I am so excited to see the aura of normalcy in this ticket. What the GOP used to refer to as “middle American values” are now dancing with Harris/Walz. While the other side has the weird guys.

  68. 68.

    SatanicPanic

    @UncleEbeneezer: I feel like every ten years the I/P situation captures the left’s imagination as something we can fix. I’m like – if a pretty young blonde woman getting run over by a tank (Rachel Corrie) doesn’t change anything I’m out of ideas. I’ve come to a couple conclusions that put me at odds with the foreign policy left:

    1. Palestinians aren’t really the good guys, because there are no good guys
    2. This issue should never be even close to a deciding factor in our elections. It is an unsolvable mess and not our problem even if we supply Israel with guns

    i wish we could all just ignore the whole thing

  72. 72.

    BR

    I just watched MSNBC for a bit, and Andrea Mitchell seems to be really struggling to speak clearly. I don’t know why they still have her on air.

  77. 77.

    randy khan

    Okay, anybody who’s into butter sculpture gets my vote.

    (And, believe it or not, butter sculpture may be coming to the Smithsonian as part of a show on state fairs.)

  80. 80.

    Jess

    That piglet looks so happy to be cuddled by the Gov.

    And I love the Scout and Afton mix.

  81. 81.

    hueyplong

    I blame the recent Troubles for the fact that the bad guys have allocated a single, hapless trainee to troll this site.

    Back in ’16 we had lots of them, with 5x the sarcasm quotient.

    They obviously think their work is done here.

  82. 82.

    Kay

    @SatanicPanic:

    A lot of people wish we could just ignore it. That’s why every single mention of it is immediately portrayed as “wrong” and policed.

    There’s some perfect Goldilocks way of talking about it, but no one has ever achieved it.

  83. 83.

    Dave

    I’m sure the Trump/Musk interview is going to totally dispose of “these are some uncomfortably weird dudes” thing forever.  Very normal and in touch set of people involved.

  86. 86.

    Jeffro

    @Sean:

    I’m finding myself less worried about Harris/Walz winning now as I am what happens after they win with Trump and company clearly forecasting that they intend to use their useful idiots on state boards to not certify results in an effort to sabotage the outcome.

    It’s becoming clear that may be their plan A, as opposed to winning the election, which seems more like their Plan B.

    have to agree, unfortunately

    needs to be pointed out relentlessly: we will not sit by and let trump stooges refuse to do their duty.

  87. 87.

    Sure Lurkalot

    Love Tim Walz being not only unapologetic but positively and proudly front and center about his achievements in Minnesota. Republican congresspersons take credit for infrastructure projects in their states that they voted against and the child care tax credit (which failed in the Senate) actually passed in the House with broad support.

    The Marxist/commie/socialist label for initiatives that benefit MAJORITIES OF PEOPLE is a fucking tell and it’s way past time to stop running away from the good things good governance brings.

  89. 89.

    Geminid

    @Steve LaBonne: Yeah, I guess the question is, how will Harris win Pennsylvania without Shapiro on the ticket.

    One factor: Bob Casey Jr. will be in the ballot, and Sen. Casey is as or more popular than Governor Shapiro.

  90. 90.

    SatanicPanic

    @Kay: I’m just over it. It’s an impossible situation, it sucks and every one of us will be dead before anything good happens there. I’d rather talk about the colonoscopy I’m a few years away from experiencing than I/P.

  91. 91.

    Kay

    @Geminid:

    I think she CAN. I just think the VP is not that important in terms of policy and Shapiro could give us a lock on PA. But I do think she will win PA w/out him. I wanted a fall back.

  92. 92.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Leto: I carry a single blade Laguiole pen knife most of the time and a Swiss Army knife if I am in the woods.  You guys are more useful than I am.

  93. 93.

    Leto

    I know someone already mentioned this, but the men’s 1500m final was fire from the starting gun. When they do the replay tonight, absolutely don’t take your eyes off of it! WOW!

  94. 94.

    Matt McIrvin

    @hueyplong: The UNLIMITED CORPORATE CASH guy came back under different names for several cycles in a row, but I don’t remember him appearing after 2016 (this isn’t him–very different style).

    2016 was an interesting one in that he switched in succession to supporting basically every Republican candidate other than Trump, and at one point accused us of being Trump stooges for saying that Trump was going to get the nomination. Then Trump got the nomination and he was 100% MAGA.

  98. 98.

    Kay

    @SatanicPanic:

    Certainly valid. Where I run into trouble is ” and no one else can talk about it either, because it’s upsetting”. I get that it’s politically inconvenient. It’s also reality.

  100. 100.

    Trollhattan

    @Geminid: Like I know Pennsylvania but don’t they concentrate on Philly and Pittsburg metros and by the way, the governor can stump for them even not being on the ticket?

    And they’re opposing two weirdos. I can well imagine what Philly folks have to say about those two.

  101. 101.

    S Cerevisiae

    @Kelly: A man after my own heart, nothing like a real Leatherman to be prepared for whatever. As a Minnesotan I am very happy with the choice and as an Ojibwe I am stoked that our Lt. Governor taking over is an Ojibwe woman from the White Earth band.

  105. 105.

    Sean

    @Geminid: Shapiro is also still a popular governor who will likely barnstorm the state for her. If anything, he’ll have more time to coordinate and boost the state level resources if he isn’t campaigning all over the whole country.

    He’s still going to be an asset. If he’s that beloved in the state and he’s screaming “vote for Kamala/Walz” from every available outlet, that’s still an advantage. I’m sure Whitmer will be ringing the same bell in MI.

  106. 106.

    Trollhattan

    @Leto: Not WFH today so will have to watch tonight. I can’t imagine it tops yesterday’s women’s 1500, which included a fistfight and DQ. Whee!

  107. 107.

    KatKapCC

    His Twitter account (personal, not the Gov one) has gained over 100,000 new followers since the announcement :D

  108. 108.

    Leto

    @Omnes Omnibus: I’ll say that in-garrison, you shouldn’t be using a Leatherman most of the time. But deployed they’re absolutely essential. Also I’m going to spare everyone another trip down memory lane of their evolution in the 2E/3D career fields.

  109. 109.

    Suzanne

    @Kay: I see comments and assertions that antisemitism was a factor in not selecting Shapiro, and I hope that isn’t true. I voted for Shapiro and I think he’s doing a great job here as my gov. And I also really like Walz, and I’m pretty confident that chemistry, which is real but undefinable, is why she selected him rather than Shapiro.

    Shapiro is talented and ambitious and has a bright future, and I will absolutely vote for him again. But he isn’t owed anything. No one at this level “earns” things. It’s your moment or it isn’t. It isn’t fair but it is reality.

  111. 111.

    zhena gogolia

    Just ordered a yard sign and a baseball cap (not coming out until Sept. 5, so I’ll have to wait!).

  116. 116.

    KatKapCC

    @Dagaetch: Not necessarily “knew it didn’t go well”, but he’s certainly well aware of how many “ewwww don’t get Jew cooties on our nominee” people are out there, and maybe he didn’t want there to be even a small chance of it causing issues.

  117. 117.

    Kay

    @Suzanne:

    We agree. No one is owed anything. According to Politico Shapiro was the choice of the Dem strategists and Harris surprised them by insisting on making the decision herself. Wonderful. I would expect nothing less of her. Her call. I also love how popular Walz is with the Dem base. They’re over the moon. That’s good. We have to keep our “fun” theme going, although many of us (me) are not that fun :)

  118. 118.

    KatKapCC

    @Al Rennick: Shouldn’t you be hanging out at playgrounds telling toddlers there’s no Tooth Fairy and it’s just their parents putting money under their pillows?

    I sincerely hope you get a paper cut between your fingers every day for the rest of your life.

  120. 120.

    Darkrose

    @FastEdD: As a fellow AFT member, I wholeheartedly cosign! I was talking to our grievance steward just now and she’s going to send me the link to volunteer through the union. I’m…excited. Still feels a little strange to say, but yeah.

  121. 121.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Leto: In the field if I couldn’t fix it with a Swiss Army knife, it was probably best left to the kind of people who carried a Leatherman.  A man’s gotta know his limitations.

  122. 122.

    BR

    @Kay:

    I was so resigned to the idea that we were going to resume intra-party fighting today even if we would get a bump in PA polling.

    So relieved that Harris showed us that bad things aren’t inevitable.

  123. 123.

    Kelly

    @Leto: Don’ t know since I just made that up.

    I don’t know what model mine is. It was my dear departed Dad’s. Dad also carried a tiny crescent wrench, a tape measure and an a massive collection of keys.

  125. 125.

    japa21

    @Kay: Probably more than any other issue I/P discussions frequently devolve into extremist ends of the spectrum.  People have said Biden doesn’t care about Gaza or the Palestinians (a lie), Israel needs to do what they are doing and it’s all Hamas’ fault (also a lie), and everything in between.

    There is no middle ground, or least none that anybody has found yet.  I have always appreciated your comments on the subject, even though I have disagreed with you at times.  At least I view you as approaching the issue in good faith, which I can’t say for everybody.

  127. 127.

    Kay

    @Suzanne:

    I was Shapiro so I didn’t delve into Walz and it’s hysterical how many people are Walz experts. He ticks a lot of boxes! I just read his IVF story and it was like – “nooo. Not that too!”

  130. 130.

    Gravenstone

    @RaflW: Shapiro would deliver PA

    If a supposedly popular sitting Governor can’t electorally help deliver a state as an advocate and spokesperson for the ticket then you have to question how much value they’d have brought on the ticket.

  133. 133.

    Yutsano

    @Trollhattan: Meh. I’m just in case analysis phase right now so I don’t have a lot to do. It’s too bad we can’t just send them back to Norway, although they probably ejected them in the first place.

  134. 134.

    Leto

    @Kelly: well, I’m gonna run with it anyways. I like it, it fits, and something we can have silly fun with. “A collection of massive keys” haha, god if that’s not so many dads/grandads.

  135. 135.

    KatKapCC

    @Jess: Agree. Chemistry comes into it, for sure, too. Maybe she clicked with Walz in a way she didn’t with the others. Not to say she doesn’t like them or get along with them, but, you know…there are those folks you just have a different connection with.

  136. 136.

    Raoul Paste

    Right out of the gate with a professional ad defining Tim Waltz.  This is what competence looks like

  137. 137.

    David 🐝KHive🐝 Koch

     Trump says Tim Walz will be the “worst VP in history”

    He’s already conceding Walz will hold the VP office.

  139. 139.

    Suzanne

    @KatKapCC: The rumor I am seeing is that Harris’ team was concerned that Shapiro, who is pretty obviously thirsty and ambitious, might try to eclipse her authority. I can understand why a woman, especially a black woman, would want to avoid that dynamic.

    Spawn the Younger had an amazing teacher this last year, a black woman with a Ph.D. who insists on being addressed as “Doctor” rather than “Mrs.” or “Ms.”. Spawn was bothered by it at the beginning of the year, I think she thought it was a bit pretentious. I told her that her teacher worked hard for that degree, deserved to be addressed with respect and authority, and that she was maintaining an atmosphere of professionalism in the classroom. So address her as Doctor, damn it.

  140. 140.

    tam1MI

    @Al Rennick: I saw that video. What he kept mentioning but not emphasizing was that he improved his percentage over Hillary Clinton and stayed even with Joe Biden, which was enough to win the state, and that he more than offset his losses in the red areas with gains in the blue areas. (Also he failed completely to explain how the rural northeast of the state went solidly blue). Also he mentioned in passing but failed to emphasize that Dems are now picking up a lot of votes in the suburbs, which used to be solidly Republican territory.  Also, what was his criteria for picking that one specific county as “representative”?

    I came away from that thinking that Kornacki could make one hell of a delicious pie from all those cherries he picked…

  141. 141.

    Geminid

    @Omnes Omnibus: Clinton would have won Virginia without Kaine, I think. At the time, I thought Clinton picked Kaine because she felt he added the most ticket strength across-the-board. Also, she knew Kaine and was confident he’d make a good Vice President and if neccesary, a good President.

  142. 142.

    rikyrah

    @Kay:

    I also love how popular Walz is with the Dem base. They’re over the moon. That’s good. We have to keep our “fun” theme going, although many of us (me) are not that fun :)

     

    I love it too. I love that people see his work in Minnesota and are proud of what he’s accomplished. No more apologizing for putting our values into legislation and accomplishments.

    I can’t tell you how his ten toes down of what the Democrats did in Minnesota, without an ounce of hesitancy, just bowled me over and made me smile.

  145. 145.

    KatKapCC

    @Suzanne: This has already been gone over, but the whole “he was gonna usurp power” thing makes zero sense. How? How would he do that? The VP does not HAVE any inherent power. Whomever is in the role only has whatever power is given to them by the President. By what methods would he have done so?

    And I am going to say this again because it seems like people cannot get the message: Using terms like “ambitious” (which is not a negative trait BTW!) or “power-seeking” or whatever else regarding a Jew is questionable at best. The same way that Biden once got in trouble for saying Obama was “articulate”. Context matters. We are always portrayed as sneaky, shrewd, power-hungry, secretly running things behind the scenes, etc etc. It needs to stop. For fuck’s sake.

    And I will also say again: EVERY SINGLE POLITICIAN IS AMBITIOUS. You do not get into politics if you have no ambition to keep climbing.

    Editing: I also want people to truly examine why they view Shapiro, above others, as being “ambitious” and “power-hungry” when you do not know him, have probably never spent a single second in a room with him, etc. Ask yourself why you bought into that so quickly. Be honest. Do better.

  146. 146.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Suzanne: Interesting.  I had professors in college who wanted to be addressed as Mr despite their doctorates.  They also tended to address students as Mr or Ms.

  148. 148.

    BR

    @KatKapCC:Nobody was saying that about Pritzker. Please don’t make this into something it’s not.​ Edit to add: And imagine of Newsom had been considered (he couldn’t be legally because can’t have two Californians on the ticket) — they would have said the same things about Newsom as they did about Shapiro.​

  151. 151.

    BR

    @Omnes Omnibus: ​

    According to all the reporting he was as much a contender as Pete and Beshear. Maybe not one of the final two. But my point is I think it’s fine for people to have judgements about individual people that have nothing to do with their demographic group, because not everything is.

  152. 152.

    KatKapCC

    @BR: Pritzker never seemed to be near the top of the list. If he had been, and if the media had been fluffing him as much as Shapiro, it would have come up.

    Regarding Newsom, I will repeat myself. CONTEXT MATTERS. In the same way that if Biden had said John Kerry was “articulate”, it would not have been the same kind of comment as saying it about Obama. When the things you’re saying about an individual have been used as bigotry against that individual’s minority group for centuries and centuries, yeah, it makes a difference.

    It is really exhausting having to beg people to understand context and history and not to tell someone they’re wrong about the bigotry they’ve experienced their whole life, that their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents ad infinitum have all experienced.

  153. 153.

    tam1MI

    @BR: I just watched MSNBC for a bit, and Andrea Mitchell seems to be really struggling to speak clearly. I don’t know why they still have her on air.

    The Power of Contracts?

  154. 154.

    Suzanne

    @KatKapCC: I think there’s a difference between “usurping power” and “trying to command attention and outshine”. The first is not a concern. The second might be.

    I have personal experience with some men not being good at taking direction from women, or trying to stand out from their team, in a “claiming credit” kind of way. So when I read that, I related.

    I will note that “ability to be a good second banana” has been a critical factor in the past. Biden and Harris both demonstrated it and it was a factor in both of their selections to their tickets.

  155. 155.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @BR:  I think that if Jewish people saw some antisemitism in some of the opposition to Shapiro, we should pay attention. We don’t want to go down that road even accidentally.

  156. 156.

    Suzanne

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    No, you can’t call me
    By my first name,
    And yes,
    I know that
    A male professor
    Told you that titles
    Are silly
    Because a certain genre
    Of man
    Is always dying
    To performatively
    Divest himself
    Of his easily won
    Authority.

    Susan Harlan, My First Name

  157. 157.

    BR

    @KatKapCC:

    I understand stereotypes, as a brown person subjected to many other stereotypes in my life. But let me understand — Harris, whose husband is Jewish, snubbed Shapiro because of her anti-Jewish bias, and Shapiro snubbed himself because he told her after their meeting that he wasn’t sure he was ready to leave the PA gov role?

  158. 158.

    FastEdD

    @Darkrose: It is exciting! When I worked for AFT in 2008 I wasn’t an official paid employee, but boy did they treat us right. Plane fare, rental car, nice hotel room, and an expense account for food. We worked in three states and won all of them. There’s no compensation like making the world a better place for all of us. (I’m working closer to home this year.) When Obama was declared the winner we sang God Bless America and hugged each other and cried. I’ll remember it the rest of my life, and when we win this year you will too.

  159. 159.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @BR: No one here is saying that Harris’s decision was influenced by antisemitism.  They are saying that the rumors and attacks on him sometimes were.

  160. 160.

    Suzanne

    @KatKapCC: I will note that, while I don’t know Shapiro personally, I do live here in PA. He’s widely regarded as wanting to climb high and he has pushed his career pretty fast. Which is great. But, like, “ambitious” is a fair way to describe him. I wouldn’t describe him as “power mad” at all. I have not seen or heard any evidence of that.

    OTOH, I don’t think Walz has any designs on the presidency. At the risk of reopening a wound…. in eight years, he’ll be too old.

  161. 161.

    BR

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Oh no doubt there were such attacks out there. I just don’t think they influenced Harris.

    And the right was planning to double down on it too — apparently there were grossly antisemitic flyers on the tables at Vance’s rally this morning because they had expected the pick to be Shapiro.

  162. 162.

    TF79

    “Honestly, when you look at Walz’s victory in 2022 in Minnesota, it looks like Biden’s victory in Minnesota in 2020” – oh no, he only did as well as the guy who won the last presidential election! \s

  163. 163.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @BR: This isn’t how dogwhistles work.  One counter-example doesn’t negate other examples.

    I know people who praise Bernie Sanders endlessly but also rant about devious George Soros.  Just because they are both Jewish, the former doesn’t magically erase the fact that the latter is a well known, historical, Anti-Semitic trope.  The fact that Jill Stein wasn’t subject to the obvious misogyny leveled at Hillary didn’t make the treatment of Hillary any less misogynist.  Etc.

  164. 164.

    KatKapCC

    @BR: Huh? I said nothing of the kind. I do not think for a second that Harris didn’t want a Jew on the ticket because she doesn’t like them. I think it’s possible Shapiro himself realized that there are a lot of liberals out there who have, you know, ~issues~ with Jews and maybe he was worried about the impact that might have. But I do not think at all that that came from Harris.

    Not sure why you’re putting words in my mouth to try to make whatever point you want to make. And you may understand stereotypes that YOU have faced, but you do not understand antisemitism, which is not only a form of bigotry but is actually a conspiracy theory. It is based in lies and conspiracies about who we are, what we do, etc. It is the same old shit for three millennia now.

  166. 166.

    tam1MI

    @Geminid: All those numbers guys seem to end up with pundit-brain. It’s like some prion disease.

    It really did seem to me like Kornacki started with his conclusion and backfilled from there.

  167. 167.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Suzanne: Oddly, the professors who did what I was talking about weren’t the “Call me Bob” sorts.  They were much more old school courtesy types.

    That being said, I understand the insistence on the title, etc., from more marginalized people.  I have found it is easier to an agreement for a continuance from more established male lawyers that it was from female lawyers.  The men knew that doing you a favor wasn’t going to be taken as a sign of weakness.  The women had no such confidence.  It was eye opening.

  170. 170.

    Hoodie

    @KatKapCC: I wouldn’t be surprised if Shapiro and Harris had frank discussions on such issues.  I didn’t understand why Shapiro would want the job anyway, he’s still pretty young and it can be a dead end for a political career.  And you could probably count on a lot of antisemitic garbage coming from the right if he had been the running mate, as bad or worse than stuff coming from the fringier parts of the left.   After all, putting him at VP would be an opening for all the innuendo and conspiracy mongering you refer to, e.g., insinuations of Jews pulling strings of a weak black female candidate.  We know the Trumpian GOP is not above that.   I like Shapiro and hope he has a future as a national candidate, but this wasn’t the right place or time.   I’m not saying you should shrink from such fights or let bigots dictate your choices, but pick your battles.  Harris will have enough of that kind of garbage to deal with.

  172. 172.

    Suzanne

    @Omnes Omnibus: I have a good friend who is a pediatrician. She now works in an academic role at a very good and very well-known health system that I cannot name. She has told me about dozens of incidents spanning her career in which men who are junior to her (nurses, techs, support staff) will address the men doctors by their title, but will address her by her first name as if she is a peer. I have experienced plenty of similar stuff, but not as much as she does. So I can relate to that concern.

    Some people aren’t great at being a second banana. It’s okay, but it does probably mean that VP isn’t the role for that person.

  173. 173.

    tam1MI

    @zhena gogolia:  It is exhausting. I hear you.

    I am a non-Jewish white woman, and I have seen that same dynamic of “ambitious”* being used as a perjorative play out with my demographic group as well. Hillary Clinton is probably a prime example of someone who got walloped constantly as being “too ambitious”, “shifty” and untrustworthy no matter what she did.

    * – See also “pushy”.

  174. 174.

    gvg

    @zhena gogolia: I think….I am not sure, it has to do with the way the media and even republicans were treating him and the other “ambitious” ones. The ones that triggered their reflexes as real bosses and would cause some people to start ignoring Harris, and going to him, no matter what he actually did. It can happen in work places a lot to women.

    In this case it might have to do with his schooling and manners being most like what those in Washington are used to.

    Maybe. I haven’t climbed the ladders very high, but that is the impression I get from hearing women, especially black women talk about it.

  175. 175.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Suzanne: I have a thing about doctors and their title.  If they call me Omnes, I call them Bob or Jennifer.  If I am Mr Omnibus to them, they are Dr Name to me.

  180. 180.

    karen gail

    I think that a big part of Harris’s choice was impacted by the chemistry between her and Walz; after all these years she has to know and understand just how much positive chemistry between people help not just the President and VP get along but it affects everyone who works with them. A meeting or a crisis is going to run more smoothly if those responsible for the choices get along and support each other.

    Walz is one of those amazing people that brings joy, just look at the way the school children hugged him after he signed that bill. Children respond differently when they hug freely rather than being forced; he started with fist bumps and the children went to hugs.

  182. 182.

    Commenting at Balloon Juice since 1937

    “Nice arms Walz,  we must use the same tan makeup.”

    — PAB (Trump)

  183. 183.

    Jinchi

    @Suzanne: ​
      At the risk of reopening a wound…. in eight years, he’ll be too old.

    I’m not exactly disagreeing with you here, but he’ll be about 10 years younger than Joe Biden was when he was elected, 2 years younger than Reagan and Trump and only 4 years older than Bush Sr.

  185. 185.

    Kathleen

    @TaMara: I was born on Omaha and lived in St Paul for 6 years and graduated high school from there. Walz was born when I was freshman or sophomore. Yikes.

  187. 187.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @tam1MI: I came away from that thinking that Kornacki could make one hell of a delicious pie from all those cherries he picked.

    Kornholi, like Choked Toad before him, is routinely fluffed  by his notwork as a super-smaht  “analyst” but in fact can barely count to twenty without his fingers and toes and has no clue whatsofucking ever what the numbers he quotes mean beyond what the notwork wants him to spout to generate page views. Unfortunately he’s not much different in all of that from the vast percentage of cretins who call themselves statisticians. Fuck both him and the Toad with an anthrax-dusted rusty chainsaw, sideways.

  188. 188.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @BR: I just watched MSNBC for a bit, and Andrea Mitchell seems to be really struggling to speak clearly. I don’t know why they still have her on air.​

    Yeah, she fucked up bad earlier with a comment that Minnesota was the only state the Democrats won in 1972. In fact that was Massachusetts; MN was the only state to go Democratic in 1984, with Mondale at the head of the ticket vs Ronnie Raygun. Both Mrs Greenspan and I were of voting age back then, the difference being that I, who am not paid to remember those facts, still do, and she, who is paid handsomely to remember them, no longer can, or seems to give a frying flock so long as the check clears.

  189. 189.

    Ruckus

    @RaflW:

    Harris was this person 4 yrs ago. I know because she was a senator for CA and before that as CA Attorney General. She is smart, she is well rounded, and she is good at the jobs she’s filled. I suspect that she’s learned a lot more as VP. And I will be proud to vote for her. Again.

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