# Kamala Harris's choice of Tim Walz as VP **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** kamala-harris\ **Created:** [August 6, 2024, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352 "2024-08-06T21:19:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/141 "2024-08-07T15:51:14Z")
I hope you’re right about Harris. That’s the only reasonable choice voters have. Trump’s presidency was a disaster. Walz is completely unknown to me. I’ve just started looking for balanced news reports about his record. I’m trying to understand how a retired military guy, teacher, football coach would be considered Progressive. I know a lot more will be reported about his political career in the next few weeks. For me, Progressive equates to the people responsible for Seattle and San Francisco. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/142 "2024-08-07T15:59:05Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’m not sure what you’re talking about. The people I know on the “far left” are generally suspicious of her, especially given her prosecutorial background. Exactly so. The only thing that makes her (or Walz) “far left” or “extremist” is GOP talking points and attacks. The actual “far left” in American politics is relatively small, and not particularly powerful; Bernie Sanders is one of the very few with any sort of political clout. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/143 "2024-08-07T16:00:50Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Harris has always had a reputation for being far left. It doesn’t help that she called for defunding the police. Well, it is true that low information voters consistently think of minority and/or women candidates as being more progressive than their actual records would indicate. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/144 "2024-08-07T16:01:53Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m trying to understand how a retired military guy, teacher, football coach would be considered Progressive. Support for LGBTQ, reproductive rights, legalized cannabis, organized labor, and stronger public schools, for a start. (FWIW, it saddens me that such stances are seen as “dangerous liberal agendas.”) Also, y’know, it’s possible for football coaches and military veterans to be liberal. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/145 "2024-08-07T16:03:15Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > The actual “far left” in American politics is relatively small, and not particularly powerful; Bernie Sanders is one of the very few with any sort of political clout. I did see some meme saying Harris’ voting record was closer to Bernie’s than any other Senator; not sure if that was supposed to be a good or bad thing. I find that extremely hard to believe, though, and suspect they were cherrypicking which votes to look at in order to arrive at that conclusion. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/146 "2024-08-07T16:05:45Z")
> **Off-topic** > > > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > > Support for LGBTQ, reproductive rights, legalizing cannabis, organized labor, and strengthening public schools, for a start. > > > > (FWIW, it saddens me that such stances are seen as “dangerous liberal agendas.”) > > I support those issues. > > That’s not what Progressives are doing in Seattle and San Francisco. New York eliminated bail. It’s dangerous to put a Subway mugger back on the streets right after booking. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/147 "2024-08-07T16:06:08Z")
That seems unlikely and probably shouldn’t be repeated without verification. Don’t help MAGA is my theory. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/148 "2024-08-07T16:06:48Z")
**Moderating** : Ask yourself, is this going off-topic now. The answer is yes. I will hide your post. Anyone that wishes to correct his mistakes can do so in a new thread. **If you are responding to something in a thread that is basically off-topic or likely to lead to a hijack, try this:** How to **Reply as a linked Topic** : Click Reply, in the upper left corner of the reply window is the reply type button, _looks like a curving arrow point to the right_. Choose **Reply as linked topic** and it starts a new thread. As an example, you can choose GD, IMHO or The Pit for it. That is actually the best method. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/149 "2024-08-07T16:06:51Z")
FWIW I know Walz is a progressives’ darling, but I’m also wondering what about anything he has done is beyond center left. Still he has shored up enthusiasm from that base. Score plus one. Other objectives? Do not rev up the opposition. And despite his policies being beloved by progressives, for whatever reasons, he has an identity, by demographics, story, and demeanor, that rural and blue collar voters will feel respects them, gets them. Score two. Appeal to unengaged voters. Just Minnesota nice. Coach. Competent. Less _noise_. Score three. Ability to help Harris thread the needle on the potentially divisive Israel-Gaza-Hamas-Iran/proxies issues. His actual positions have been about the same as Shapiro’s have been. She can’t move much farther on additional pressure on Israel now than she already has though IMHO, but she was going to have to stay constrained within supporting Biden’s course anyway. Neutral on the scorecard. Overall a good score. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/152 "2024-08-07T16:15:43Z")
> **Summary** > > > [@aceplace57](#): > > > > For me, Progressive equates to the people responsible for Seattle and San Francisco. > > Come visit Seattle, you might be surprised how nice it is. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/153 "2024-08-07T16:20:06Z")
Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/154 "2024-08-07T16:25:41Z")
OK, I checked it out. [Here](https://checkyourfact.com/2024/07/24/fact-check-was-kamala-harris-ranked-the-most-liberal-senator-by-govtrack/) is the top entry when I googled “Harris voting record closest to Sanders”; all the other top hits were quite similar. One website I’ve never heard of, [www.govtrack.us](http://www.govtrack.us), which appears to be a serious non-partisan organization, did in fact rank her as basically tied with Bernie for the most liberal Senator in the Congress from 2019-2020. However, they have since disavowed the methodology that led them to that conclusion; it appears that, in addition to sample size issues involved with looking at only one two-year stretch, they gave way too much weight to the question “How many Republican-sponsored bills did she join as co-sponsor”, which seems a) not particularly meaningful and b) more of a measure of partisanship than ideology. So, saying that her record was as liberal as Bernie’s is, at best, highly misleading, but it is true that one particular nonpartisan organization did indeed come to that conclusion, before changing their mind. Also keep in mind that this only accounts for her time in Congress; her record as California AG certainly doesn’t make her look particularly progressive. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/155 "2024-08-07T16:27:13Z")
Thank you for the follow-up. Good info. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/156 "2024-08-07T16:34:01Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Good for you. I don’t. As the Battalion CSM you are the daddy of the soldiers in the unit. You don’t abandon them when things get dicey. You certainly don’t do it for personal gain. He didn’t take a stand against the war. He left to concentrate on his campaign for Congress. The casualties in his battalion didn’t get that chance. So, he felt the war was unjust, so he left the military in order to run for Congress in opposition to the war. Seems to me that, by working in Congress to bring his battalion members home, he was doing a lot more good for them than he could have by remaining in the service. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/157 "2024-08-07T16:34:41Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Do not rev up the opposition. And despite his policies being beloved by progressives, for whatever reasons, he has an identity, by demographics, story, and demeanor, that rural and blue collar voters will feel respects them, gets them. Score two. > > Appeal to unengaged voters. Just Minnesota nice. Coach. Competent. Less _noise_. Score three. I think this is something that has been missing from (most) politics for a while. Not just the “He’s just like you”, but the “He cares about the people.” We saw a little bit of that with Obama and “Hope”, but so much seems to focus on “WE’VE GOT TO STOP THIS” and “THEY TOOK OUR JOBS”. He didn’t get free lunches in schools because it personally profited him; he did it so that the kids would all have at least some reasonable nutrition. His handling of the aftermath of George Floyd put accountability on the individual officers, and rightly so. He _is_ “Minnesota Nice” - he’s in it not for his own self-aggrandizement, but to help the people. A definite switch from the former guy and his hand-picked successor. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/158 "2024-08-07T16:46:06Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Ability to help Harris thread the needle on the potentially divisive Israel-Gaza-Hamas-Iran/proxies issues. His actual positions have been about the same as Shapiro’s have been. That’s true, but unlike Shapiro, he hasn’t gone out of his way to demonize Democrats who disagree with him on the issue. He’s been…Minnesota Nice about it! ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/159 "2024-08-07T16:49:45Z")
There seems to be a lot of confusion about Harris and her past positions. The article cited does help. It’s incumbant on Harris and Walz to clearly state their _current positions and platform_. What do they hope to accomplish in office? That’s the purpose of the campaign. Voters need to be told and understand the Democratic platform and what Harris supports. I’ve just started reading about Walz. I’d never heard of him before yesterday. That’s probably true for most voters that don’t live in Minnesota. These articles are a good start and appear balanced. > **[Five things to know about Tim Walz](https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-harris-vice-president-walz-minnesota-006bca6e18be7ce39ef4bfd97547c3b5)** > > Vice President Kamala Harris has decided on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. The 60-year-old Democrat and military veteran rose to the forefront with a series of plain-spoken television appearances in the days after President Joe Biden... > **[FACT FOCUS: False claims follow Minnesota governor's selection as Harris'...](https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-misinformation-walz-2024-election-cdf9f77a9975bc960b7311a3f08e52e1)** > > The announcement that Vice President Kamala Harris had selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate in the 2024 election led to false claims on social media. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/160 "2024-08-07T17:18:54Z")
Walz has already had some experience with other nations, so that’s good. (mostly kidding, and I wouldn’t really be proud of meeting Doug Ford anyway). > **['This is the Canada team,' former U.S. ambassador to Canada says of Harris VP...](https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/this-is-the-canada-team-former-u-s-ambassador-to-canada-says-of-harris-vp-pick-1.6990908)** > > Following the news of U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris' pick for a running mate, former U.S. ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman says he believes the pair would be ideal for Canada-U.S. relations. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/161 "2024-08-07T17:23:36Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I really hope they don’t hype his military experience. It’s already being turned against him in a way I’m having a hard time disagreeing with. Stick to the dad vibes and political experience. I agree. The less said about Walz’s military career the better. I come from a military family. My dad was in a similar rank as a First sergeant in a Squadron. That was after my dad’s Tour in Vietnam. Walz served his country. There’s no need to use it as a talking point or embellish it in the campaign. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352/162 "2024-08-07T17:39:41Z")
The vilification of Walz and his military service has begun. One poster on Xwitter trumpets claims of stolen valor, and another has his mugshot from his DUI arrest right next to Vance’s military photo. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harriss-choice-of-tim-walz-as-vp/1005352.md?page=9)