This lengthy discussion of Walz’s military record is a perfect example of how the Right is so often successful in changing/framing a conversation on their own terms. (And also somewhat reminiscent of Jonathan Swift’s oft-remixed quote: “Falsehood flies, and the Truth comes limping after it.”)
The whole discussion here started with Loach vaguely mentioning how Walz’s military record is “being turned against him in a way I’m having a hard time disagreeing with.,” When challenged, he posted as fact - but without a cite - that “he left his unit and retired immediately after they got orders to deploy to Iraq. Leaving a hole at the top of their leadership the had to be hastily filled by someone else” and his opinion that “A CSM leaving his battalion on the eve of their deployment is a very bad thing.” (Among other things, but I’m sticking to this particular point for clarity).
When asked for details about this, he cited noted tabloid bullshit newspaper The New York Post. And then we are off into dozens of posts over a couple of days digging into whether Walz abandoned his unit on the “eve of deployment” (spoiler alert: he didn’t), instead of discussing things like:
- Walz championing free school breakfast and lunch for all students in MN
- Walz being a longtime LGBT ally, going all the way back to the 90s when he was a high school teacher
- Walz’s tax policies that lower the burden on lower-income families and resulted in an expected budget surplus of $3.7 billion
Which isn’t to say those things haven’t been mentioned already in this thread, but they are not catching fire like this unproven assertion of, essentially, cowardice, which was originated by right-wing outlets like the Post, and uncritically carried here like a disease to infect this entire thread, and which many of us are guilty - myself as much as anyone else - of wasting considerable time questioning and refuting.
Until anyone brings actual cites that prove that Walz is a coward, I’m not engaging in that bullshit anymore and suggest nobody else does either. Let’s talk about the things that Walz has actually, provably done and not waste time on unfounded right-wing talking points.