WalzPilled

According to multiple outlets and flight records, the Vice President has picked Tim Walz as her running mate.

Which means we’re in for some awesome Midwest wholesome fun.

Chatter away.

Update: Here’s the campaign press release.

Today, Vice President Kamala Harris announced her selection of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate in the 2024 presidential election. Together, Vice President Harris and Governor Walz will fight for a future that strengthens our democracy, protects reproductive freedom, and ensures every person has the opportunity to not just get by, but to get ahead.

Vice President Harris and Governor Walz have spent their careers fighting for working families across the country. As a prosecutor, attorney general, senator, and vice president, Vice President Harris has taken on the big banks, led the fight for reproductive freedom, and stood with our allies against Putin’s aggression. Governor Walz is a champion for working families, a retired Army National Guardsman, a former high school teacher and football coach, Member of Congress, and two term governor where he cut taxes for working families, lowered the cost of insulin, and protected women’s right to choose.

Vice President Harris wrote: “I am proud to announce that I’ve asked Governor Tim Walz to be my running mate. One of the things that stood out to me about Tim is how his convictions on fighting for middle class families run deep. It’s personal. As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he’s delivered for working families like his own. We are going to build a great partnership. We start out as underdogs but I believe together, we can win this election.”

Later today, Vice President Harris and Governor Walz will make their first joint campaign appearance at a rally with thousands of supporters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This event is the first of a five-day barnstorm to introduce the Harris-Walz ticket to voters in key battleground states.

From now until Election Day, Vice President Harris and Governor Walz will continue to crisscross the country to outline the choice between two very different visions for the future: Vice President Harris and Governor Walz, who are running to move the country forward, not backward — or Donald Trump and JD Vance, who are running to enact their extreme and dangerous Project 2025 agenda that will roll back Americans’ rights and freedoms, hurt the middle class, and threaten our democracy.

Governor Tim Walz

Governor Walz is a champion for America’s working families. He enlisted in the Army National Guard, rising to the rank of Command Sergeant Major. After attending college thanks to the GI Bill, Tim Walz served his community as a high school teacher and football coach – taking his team to the state championship for the first time in the school’s history. He became a member of Congress in a Republican district by representing the needs of farmers and rural America. Governor Walz has done more to help middle class families get ahead than any other statewide leader in recent memory. That experience makes him the ideal running mate for Kamala Harris, who has taken on the big banks, led the fight for reproductive freedom, and stood with our allies against Putin’s aggression during her time as a prosecutor, Attorney General, Senator, and Vice President.

As governor, Walz lowered the cost of insulin to $35 per month for many Minnesotans. He eliminated junk fees. And, he signed paid leave into law so that parents can take care of sick family without losing their job. Governor Walz stood up for fundamental freedoms and made Minnesota the first state to pass a law codifying abortion rights after the Supreme Court overturned Roe. He funded Minnesota police departments, putting more cops on the street and investing in body cameras, and established universal background checks for gun purchases. And, he worked across the aisle to pass a bipartisan infrastructure package.

A lifelong Midwesterner, Governor Walz grew up working on his family farm. He enlisted in the Army National Guard when he turned 17, following in his father’s – a veteran’s – footsteps. During his 24 years of National Guard service, he specialized in heavy artillery and retired as the highest-ranking enlisted National Guard soldier in southern Minnesota.

Governor Walz is a gun owner, avid pheasant hunter, and supporter of the Second Amendment – and he, like millions of gun owners, believes that Congress must do more to tackle gun violence in our communities. As governor, he established universal background checks for gun purchases.

For six terms, Governor Walz represented Minnesota’s First Congressional District – a conservative-leaning district where he was only the second Democrat elected since 1890. The son of an Army veteran and a retired Army National Guard member himself, Walz was the ranking member on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, where he passed legislation to help stem veterans’ suicides.

Governor Walz met his wife Gwen teaching high school in Nebraska before moving to Gwen’s home state of Minnesota. A former union member, Tim taught high school for two decades.

Governor Walz and Mrs. Walz have two children, Hope and Gus. Governor Walz and Mrs. Walz struggled with years of fertility challenges and had their daughter, Hope, through reproductive health care like IVF – further cementing his commitment to ensuring all Americans have access to this care.

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213 replies
    • emptywheel says:

      I hope you’re as positively gleeful about incoming Minnesota Nice humor as much as I am.

      • Peterr says:

        Oh yeah.

        The image of a former schoolteacher debating JD Vance is mouthwatering. Minnesota Nice does not mean someone is a pushover. It just means that they’ll apologize as they metaphorically disembowel you on the debate stage.

        See “weird”.

        • emptywheel says:

          Plus he is authentically everything JD pretends to be: Service in the military, small town, down to earth.

        • Badger Robert says:

          The Minnesota nice response to Vance: No normal person thinks like that, but from what I know about you I am not worried, because I don’t think you believe it anyway.

        • Rayne says:

          Upper Midwesterners aren’t passive aggressive. Whatever spurs “Well, bless your heart!” in a southerner will likely prompt “Oh fer cryin’ out loud,” or “Fer Pete’s sake, eh.”

        • Dark Phoenix says:

          Well, there are those who aren’t happy with the Walz pick; the political pundits and the never-Trump Republicans. They wanted Josh Shapiro instead.

          That idiot Nate Silver is especially incensed; he keeps calling Waltz the “Tim Kaine safe pick” and argues that Josh Shapiro would have been “more bold”. How he thinks that I’ll never know.

        • JustaPerson says:

          Think Garrison Keillor Minnesotan humor with the sexual harassment baggage.

          Walz’ line about being will to debate Vance if Vance is willing to get off the couch is right out of Lake Woebegon humor.

        • synergies says:

          Reply to Dark Phoenix:
          Nate Silver is Gay. When his career first started he was, do the math well & report well. Possible fall faults, long term gambling is always a loss on reality. IMO, it wouldn’t surprise me, Peter Thiel, the right wing self hatred devil of hell, is paying him under the table. Nate Silver’s been gone for quite a long, long time. The absurdity of saying Shapiro during war. Paid, IMO obvious. I.e. early genius, now speaks in muck, thick I might add. Addled. I like Shapiro totally. Not this point in time.

        • Rayne says:

          Reply to synergies
          August 7, 2024 at 2:34 am

          First, your statement about Silver’s sexuality is unnecessary if not simple bigotry.

          Second, spend more time composing your comments for coherence. This one is so poorly written the system flagged it as spam.

        • synergies says:

          reply to Rayne,
          I apologize. I’m Gay. Nate Silver is so disappointing when his early promise was so huge.

        • Rayne says:

          His sexuality — and yours, for that matter — are irrelevant without appropriately spelled out context. If Silver was opining about the LGBTQ+ vote it might be relevant as would your opinion on the same.

          But if Silver is going off about COVID’s origins* as a particularly annoying example, his sexuality has fuck all to do with it.

          Do better.

          * side note: first sentence in that essay is gold for the appropriate use of “weird.” Prescient, much?

        • paulpfixion says:

          eh, yoopers are Northern Wisconsin in spirit–more akin to Minnesota than Southern Wisconsin or Michigan’s lower peninsula. Only difference is they mostly like the Packers not the Vikings. Northwoods North Coast Represent!

        • Benji-am-Groot says:

          Bill, Cheeze and paulp – Rayne pretty much nailed it in her response below.

          At lease you didn’t refer to it as ‘the upper UP’ like many denizens from South of the Manson-Nixon Line…

          /s/

      • North Shore Fan says:

        I agree!
        Da Yoopers – a band from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan – has some pretty funny stuff to play for a convention. It would add some much needed brevity to the show.

        Yoopers – PEOPLE who call the Upper Peninsula of Michigan home. To even be considered part of the area you have to be above the 45th parallel. Parts of WI and MN are above it, so we all get along… until football season.

        • Rayne says:

          Yoopers could be even more disagreeable when it comes to football had they not a legacy of shitty broadcast TV service from below the bridge. Hence their preference for Green Bay Packers — whose games they can actually watch — versus the Detroit Lions.

    • Bugboy321 says:

      I saw someone commenting (here maybe?) that Alaska residents never saw that “awe-shucks”, “youbetcha” Sarah Palin routine while she was governor, it started the moment she got the VP nod.

      • Philip Munger says:

        That’s not true. I’ve known her dad for 40 years, and he talks like that. Sarah could pick that Fargo accent up or leave it. She sat at the next table from my son and I at Chepo’s Restaurant in Wasilla two months ago, and she was talking in Fargoese.

  1. Just Some Guy says:

    Tim Walz is a great choice though tbh I’m kinda bummed Kamala didn’t choose Andy Beshear.

    • elcajon64 says:

      Same. Waltz is about as good on labor, but Beshear is younger and more dynamic. He’d be more likely to run (and be interesting to younger voters) in 8 years.

    • Error Prone says:

      Walz is a moderate, with both Minnesota Houses Dem, so that they legislated, he signed. He and Harris should be expected to follow Biden policy on Climate Change, and energy independence via renewable resources, moving forward. He’s not been a slave to any ideology.

      He was more an administrator than a vanguard activist, again, trusting the legislative process. Minnesota has a good judiciary, elective, but with midterm appointments being important because incumbent judges in Minnesota frequently get reelected. He’s been sound as far as the judicial appointments he’s had, since Mark Dayton’s two terms as Governor.

      He will be attacked on the aftermath of the George Floyd killing, where the event happened in Minneapolis, as an epicenter. He will be attacked on the Feeding Our Future multi-million dollar fraud. He will be respected over farm policy, some thinking ethanol fuel is not a good idea, but farm support for it is strong. Cargill is a major Minnesota privately held 800 pound gorilla corporation, and Walz has not leaned too far either way to set a farm policy with them in mind.

      Personally, I agree with those thinking Beshear is a more dynamic person, but it was Harris’ choice to make and Walz should help the ticket. I think he’s younger than Trump, surely in better shape and cogent. Cliche free in comparison. His children are normal. Clearly Walz was picked with Minnesota less a battleground state than Pennsylvania and with fewer electors, so Harris and her people like him apart from vote fetching.

      It’s been many years since a statewide Republican candidate has won in Minnesota, but the House seats are divided. The district Walz represented was red before he flippled it and most recently has gone red again.

      As part of a cabinet, and presiding over the Senate (presuming …), he knows DC and will not make enemies by actions. I can imagine in a VP debate Walz saying Project 2024 is not aimed to create good jobs nor to make the nation better than it already is, and yet Vance is close to Keving Roberts, while Trump is trying to distance himself, Vance is closer to embracing Heritage Foundation.

      • Norskieflamethrower says:

        You are absolutely spot on with regard to Waltz as a “moderate” democrat (whatever that means) but is better identified as one of the best politicians and political administrators in our country of any party. He also took what used to be one of the most right wing districts in the state and turned it blue, survived the neoliberalization or Clintonization of the party in congress and became the best governor of the state of Minnesota since Floyd B Olson. He also taught social studies at the same high school as Vice President Humphrey’s advance man and personal assistant, Eiler Ravenholt.

      • Just Some Guy says:

        All good points. Let me be clear: I like Walz a lot!

        However, since Andy’s not going to be veep, and Yared Nuguse only (ha!) won bronze in the men’s 1500 today, I’ll have to wait until Sunday to see if the Chicago White Sox can lose 27 straight games, thereby beating the 1889 Louisville Colonels’ 26 game winless streak, and ending the curse of Chicken Wolf. It’s the little things.

  2. Taxesmycredulity says:

    LGM had a VP poll recently and at 1300 votes cast, Walz received +80%. I was happily shocked. Finally! A progressive ticket!

  3. OldTulsaDude says:

    Great choice; Waltz represents the antithesis of Trump and in so doing makes Trump seem small.

  4. synergies says:

    Hurray! Tears. Great choice! Can We finally have a Democratic Party that gets the horse & cart on down the road instead of by the side of the road arguing over who gets to sit at the front of the cart, while adversaries jeeringly pass US by.
    One of the gifts President Joe Biden has gifted us, it’s about time, We United Democrats.
    I’m 73. Hurray! Tears : )

    • Raven Eye says:

      I sent that link to my brother. He replied:

      “Maybe the world’s most optimistic pragmatist? I can’t not vote for a map freak.”

  5. Peterr says:

    The Guardian has a good backgrounder on Walz, including reactions/explanations from folks who’ve seen him at work. A taste , , ,

    It’s not just the “weird” of it all: he’s been able to run through a list of what Democrats want, and what he’s done as governor during a banner time for Democrats in his state, that articulates to voters what they would be voting for, not just the danger of what they’re voting against. He speaks plainly and pragmatically, showing the commonsense policies his party stands for.

    Walz, 60, was born and raised in small-town Nebraska. He became a teacher, first in China, then in Nebraska and finally in Mankato, Minnesota, where he taught geography and coached the high school football team. He was the faculty adviser for the school’s first gay-straight alliance chapter in 1999, long before Democrats nationally stood for gay rights. He also served in the army national guard for 24 years, enlisting at age 17, a role that took him around the country and on a deployment to Europe. And like JD Vance, Walz has a penchant for Diet Mountain Dew.

    And later on:

    “Frankly, a lot of politicians are just not normal people,” said David Hogg, a gun control advocate and a Walz fan. “They just don’t know how to talk to normal people.”

    [snip]

    If Democrats want to see what their party governing would look like, Minnesota is the example. But maybe the policies would be too liberal for the national stage, one TV interviewer posed to Walz.

    “What a monster! Kids are eating and having full bellies so they can go learn and women are making their own healthcare decisions,” Walz said jokingly.

    Hogg pointed to a speech Walz gave when Trump came to Minnesota last week, in which Walz was dressed down – like a midwestern dad – in a camo hat and a T-shirt, as an example of how he’s down-to-earth. The outfit caught attention online for not looking like a politician’s attempt to look like a regular person, but just like Walz’s regular clothes. “He might run for Vice President or he might clean the garage. It’s the weekend, anything can happen,” one tweet quipped.

    More at the link.

    • Just Some Guy says:

      Today’s the worst Mankato-related news for Republicans since the My Pillow guy got served by the FBI at the Hardee’s drive-thru! LOL.

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      Meredith Willson captured Midwestern Nice in his Music Man’s, Iowa Stubborn. Two examples of the contradictions between tough as nails (winter, you know) and neighborly:

      And we’re so by-gone stubborn, we can
      Stand touching noses for a week at a time,
      And never see eye-to-eye.

      But we’ll give you our shirt,
      And a back to go with it,
      If your crop should happen to die.

      So what the heck!
      You’re welcome!
      Glad to have you with us!
      Even though we may not ever mention it again!

      https://www.songlyrics.com/willson-meredith/iowa-stubborn-lyrics/

    • boatgeek says:

      My aunt is from central MN. It’s always jarring to go back there because she and her sisters all sound like they just walked off the Fargo set.

      I cannot wait to see how he disembowels Vance with kind words at the VP debate.

      • earlofhuntingdon says:

        Northern Midwest analogs to the biting but oh-so-polite Southern put downs are just as effective. They communicate reams of information in just a page or two. Bless your heart.

    • John Heine says:

      All of “Fargo” was set in Minnesota, except the bar scene where Jerry hired the hitmen. As one of the Coen brothers said, ‘who would go to a movie named “Brainerd?”‘

    • BobBobCon says:

      The followup TV series Fargo is really good too. It’s essentially independent of the movie except for being set in Minnesota and sharing a similar vibe.

      The last season had Jon Hamm as the villain, playing an ultra right wing sheriff in pursuit of his ex wife, played by Juno Temple. It did a great job digging into the ways misogyny feeds so much of the right’s mania.

    • Attygmgm says:

      In 2015, I had to fly out of Duluth. I had no idea what to expect, but it turns out the airport is very small. Once through security, as I picked up my shoes and looked for a place to pause to put them on, I encountered a table with many shoehorns on it, long and short. I observed to the officer nearby, as I was using one of them, that in all the airports I’d been through I had never seen shoehorns. “That’s Minnesota Nice, right there,” she replied. A fitting definition.

    • PensionDan says:

      Back in the 80s, the Iowa governor wanted to put ‘A State of Minds’ on the Iowa license plate. I remember reading a strenuous objection from a mortified resident, saying that she often drove to Minnesota and couldn’t bear the teasing she expected to get about it.

  6. Steve13209 says:

    I am thrilled at this pick. Against Trump/Vance, no reason not to go full progressive. People might finally see that progressive policies help most Americans.
    Nothing against Govs Beshear and Shapiro, but I like them staying where they are and campaigning for Harris as Governors.

    • chicago_bunny says:

      I really hope – and actually am optimistic – that all those who have been great advocates during the VP audition stage will continue to be vocal in their support for this ticket. The unity has been incredible, and this is a real opportunity for a rising tide to lift all boats.

      • Spencer Dawkins says:

        I was telling my wife and a friend yesterday that I didn’t care who Harris picked (certainly, I don’t care among the names bandied about) as long as they were not a sitting senator or representative in a red state. The MAGA morons have gotten to the point where preventing impeachment and removal for no reason based on no evidence needs to be driving our politics, and that’s just insane – but I remember that we had a filibuster-proof majority under Obama from the time (months after the election) when Franken was finally seated until Ted Kennedy was too ill to attend for votes, and part of the reason for that was Obama pulling out Democratic senators to serve in his administration and assuming that Democrats would hold those seats. They couldn’t even hold OBAMA’S seat, right?

        (After checking – Obama was replaced by a Democrat appointee, but that guy was replaced by Mark Kirk, a Republican)

    • Ed Walker says:

      I feel the same way about my governor, JB Pritzger. I was expecting a standard rich lazy guy when he ran. But he’s been terrific, getting better every year. He’ll be a great advocate for this team.

  7. Peterr says:

    Meanwhile, it’s primary day here in Missouri. Our media has been filled with MAGA ads for some bruising statewide GOP contests, as they all try to out-MAGA one another. The Dems, OTOH, have been quietly battling one another in their own primary races.

    On the GOP side, you get the feeling that the losers will not get out to help their nominees win in November. The Dems, though, will be anxious to get together to run hard. It’s still going to be an uphill climb for MO Dems, but there is clearly a path for some good results in this red state.

    In the midst of all this euphoria about the top of the Democratic ticket, remember these three words:
    Downballot.
    Races.
    Matter.

    • Grain of Sand says:

      I have some hopes for Iowa, too, but may take another cycle before Iowa shakes its trump-drugged stupor.

    • Sloth Sloman says:

      I hear you got a real winner running for (R) Secretary of State over there. At least she’s honest, I guess.

      • Peterr says:

        They are all a piece of work.

        With all ads being run by the GOP candidates for statewide offices, I haven’t see so many guns since the last time I watched Saving Private Ryan.

    • harpie says:

      Not all of them :-) :
      https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/08/06/us/kamala-harris-vp-trump-election#4ac1c364-8c5c-5902-89a7-41867b07c9e2
      Aug. 6, 2024, 9:55 a.m. ET

      The group Democratic Majority for Israel just put out a statement praising Walz, calling him a “pro-Israel Democrat with a strong record of supporting the U.S.-Israel relationship.” Many Democrats who strongly support Israel had expressed a preference for Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, who had been a more vocal supporter on the war in Gaza.

      Minneapolis has a large population of Muslim Americans, and Walz urged Democrats to listen to their concerns during a protest-vote movement against President Biden in the state’s primary.

    • SelaSela says:

      Some of the attacks against him (calling him “Genocide Josh” etc.), did sound like thinly veiled antisemitism. So they were right.

      • Clare Kelly says:

        While name calling, particularly that one, makes no sense, there were serious concerns over some of his very public statements and actions regarding both the humanitarian failure in Occupied Palestinian Territory and his reaction to student protestors.

        “But the ties have frayed over the past 10 months of war in Gaza and intense debate over it here. Muslim and Arab activists — as well as some Jews critical of Israel’s response to the Hamas attack — have been disappointed by Shapiro’s framing of a broad swath of pro-Palestinian protesters as antisemites. He pushed the University of Pennsylvania to more harshly discipline faculty and student protesters, and pressed for its president to resign over her handling of anti-Zionism on campus.”

        Arno Rosenfeld
        J Weeky: The Jewish News of Northern California
        July 30, 2024
        https://jweekly.com/2024/07/30/josh-shapiros-position-on-gaza-tests-close-bonds-with-arab-and-muslim-communities/

        Criticizing this extremist Israeli government is not in-and-of-itself antisemitism.

        See: Israelis protest Netanyahu and Likud.

      • Marinela says:

        How is being concerned about Palestinians civilians getting killed in large numbers veiled antisemitism?
        This is double talk.

        You can be appalled by the Hamas actions and still be appalled by the war in Gaza.
        The war in Gaza is disproportionate response.
        Two wrongs don’t make it right.

        I would be really concerned about the Israeli settlements, Bibi’s responsibility in proping up Hamas to prevent Palestinian governance, in dividing his own country, in pulling all stops to derail a cease fire, in his open actions to draw an edge in American politics, Bibi’s preference to Trump, I mean the list goes on an on.
        But no, you are just worried that Josh is criticized about his stand against students demonstrations in support for Palestinians.
        Not everything is about Israeli’s and antisemitism.
        Palestinians should have the right to defend themselves, in their own country.
        We all hear that Israel has the right to defend itself. Palestinians have the same right.

        • SelaSela says:

          Of course concern for Palestinian civilians being killed in NOT antisemitism. There is no argument here. Criticizing Israeli actions and leaders is certainly not antisemitism either. But this is not what we’re talking about.

          Shapiro is a vocal critic of Netanyahu, and even called him “one of the worst leaders of all time”. But yet, he is singled out as “Israel supporter” and being called “Genocide Josh” because he criticized some of the protesters, and undoubtedly because he is Jewish.

          I’m not worried about protesters who call for ceasefire in Gaza. I understand them and would welcome ceasefire as well. I am worried about the protesters who chant “From the river to the sea”, which literally mean the destruction of Israel, those how call “there is only one solution, intifada revolution”, which is literally a call to support terrorism, and those who block and object anyone who is a “zionist” (i.e. anyone who believes Israel should exist). This have nothing to do with protecting civilians in Gaza.

          Tim Walz said:
          “‘We saw your children feeling like they couldn’t be on [college] campuses in Minnesota. And that not only breaks my heart, it is wrong.’”

          This is not that different than what Shapiro said.

        • SelaSela says:

          Rayne asked to stop the off-topic discussion. So I will.

          I just wanted to respond briefly to SteveBev that I have no intention to downplay the Israeli’s right-wing opposition to Palestinian statehood, and Netanyahu’s actions to undermine it. My point was just to reject what looked like whataboutism, not to defend Netanyahu or the Likud (which I don’t. I strongly oppose them).

        • Rayne says:

          Reply to SelaSela
          August 7, 2024 at 12:00 am

          This is not what I meant by stopping the off-topic discussion and you know it. Knock it off or find yourself in auto-moderation.

      • Clare Kelly says:

        Replying to SelaSela, who wrote:
        “I am worried about the protesters who chant “From the river to the sea”, which literally mean the destruction of Israel”.

        See Likud Party platform: “Between the Sea and the Jordan there will only be Israeli sovereignty.”

        • SelaSela says:

          Clare Kelly: to be precise, that was the Likud platform in 1977.

          Similar ideas or even language may be in the platform of ultra-nationalist parties that are currently part of the Israeli government. Yes, they are horrible. But one form of extremism should not give legitimacy to extremism from the other side.

        • SteveBev says:

          SelaSela
          August 8, 2024 at 12:19 am

          Is there a reason why you chose to downplay the extent to which Isreali political figures promote appropriation of Palestinian land as a political goal?

          “In 2020, right-wing lawmaker Gideon Saar, an ally-turned-rival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said, “Between the Jordan River and the sea there won’t be another independent state,” meaning a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

          Religious Zionist politician Uri Ariel said in 2014, “Between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea there will be only one state, which is Israel.”

          Netanyahu, who also opposes Palestinian statehood, has favored the phrase “west of the Jordan,” which refers to the same territory.”

        • Rayne says:

          Reply to SteveBev as well as Clare Kelly and SelaSela
          August 8, 2024 at 6:18 am

          This is drifting off topic. Focus on the VP nomination and the topic of this post. Thank you.

  8. Sussex Trafalgar says:

    Excellent choice by Harris!

    I spent a lot of time conducting business in Minnesota during the 1990s and found the people of Minnesota fantastic, and that was twenty years after spending some time there and in the Red River Valley in the early 1970s. And the people were fantastic at that time, too.

    One of the fantastic people I met and did business with was the late Eddie Phillips, Representative Dean Phillips’ father. Eddie was creative, innovative, sharp as a tack, fun and had lots of integrity.

    Walz will make an excellent president someday!

  9. harpie says:

    Then, there’s this:
    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/06/us/peggy-flanagan-tim-walz-minnesota.html

    If Kamala Harris is elected president alongside Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, who is said to be her running mate, the state’s lieutenant governor would get a history-making promotion.

    Under the succession plan laid out in Minnesota’s Constitution, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, 44, would become the state’s first female governor, as well as the first Native American person to assume the role. […]

      • John Lehman says:

        “I wonder if the Cherokee delegate to the House of Representatives will ever be seated.”

        As soon as Andrew Jackson’s* image is removed from the 20 dollar bill.

        *Hero to Steve Bannon and the former president he served.

    • boatgeek says:

      According to one site, Walz was the least affluent US Rep when he was in the House. I would want to get confirmation before posting far and wide, but at least he’s not a billionaire. As a HS teacher, he’s certainly known people who struggle to pay bills.

  10. Clare Kelly says:

    I was trying not to get too attached as the “no impact”* Republican VP to an indicted criminal ratcheted up his ‘identity politics’ yesterday regarding Josh Shapiro (the possible lack thereof).

    But a Harris Walz is the perfect dance for our times: Legislative, executive, educational, and military experience delivered with broadly appealing humor, wit, and infectious optimism.

    Making America Fun Again.

    “Tim Walz earns praise from Democrats – and Republicans
    Kamala Harris’s newly named running mate has fired up progressives, and some Republicans have also praised the decision”

    Martin Pengelly
    The Guardian
    August 6, 2024
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/06/tim-walz-vp-pick-reaction

    *Trump statement regarding VP’s

  11. RitaRita says:

    Brilliant choice!

    Politically and capabilities-wise. His midwesterness balances out the coastalness. Good experience in Congress and in the state executive office. Brings to mind the Happy Warrior Hubert Humphrey image. Seems genuine, nice and tough.

    • RitaRita says:

      I think (and hope) that the Democrats are developing a deep bench for the future.

      I could see President Harris running for a second term with a different VP – maybe Whitmer, Shapiro or Beshear, which would enhance their chances in 2032.

  12. Ray Harwick says:

    I now know three people named Walz.

    Jeff – the head coach of U. Louisville’s women’s basketball team (love the guy but I’m still a UConn woman’s BB fanatic)
    Chris – my doctor (likes men’s tennis. Ugh)
    Tim – In my usual odd way, I started paying attention to him because I liked Jeff and Chris so much. (UConn’s Paige Bueckers is from Minnesota. She was the national player of the year as a freshman. It’s a sign.)

  13. ChuckVoellinger327 says:

    I’m happily eating my hat that my prediction here a month ago that Biden stepping aside would be a negative. I better get out of political predictions because I didn’t think Trump would even get the nomination in ‘16. We’re not going back!

    • dopefish says:

      Same. Until the day President Biden dropped out, I was certain he was going to be the nominee. After the past few weeks I can say I’ve never been so happy to have been wrong.

      Democrats still have to do the hard work and win in November (and keep MAGA assholes from cheating) but once that is accomplished I expect Harris will make a great President, and the highest and toughest of glass ceilings will finally have been shattered.

      The U.S.A. needs to go boldly forward into the future, not retreat into the past. Democracy and civil rights are on the ballot. Trump, Vance and Project 2025 are creepy and weird, while Harris and Walz are normal competent pols who will get things done and improve the lives of everyday Americans.

  14. Veritas Sequitur says:

    Hurrah for Kamala Harris & Tim Walz; plus more Democratic candidates on the ballot across the country in 2024.

  15. Magbeth4 says:

    Thank goodness! It’s Walz! He represents a figure of warmth and genuine humanity. Such a contrast with the nastiness of Trump and his running mate. I believe, people are sick of the mean-spiritedness running through the current Republican Party. There is no sense of humor. There are only middle-school level taunts and insults, and in the case of Trump, absolutely vile racism and sexism, coupled with “christianist” memes, glossing over his total lack of attending Church of any kind.

    The majority of people in this country are decent, law-abiding, who live in harmony with their neighbors. Trump’s followers are blinded by the distortions created by mass media, which makes lots of money from exploiting criminal behaviors as an excuse for “news.” Sensationalism sells.

    But, meanwhile, decent people will gravitate toward Walz, seeing themselves in his life habits. Teachers will be thrilled to have one of their own at the top of government, countering
    the vile policies of Republican governors, such as DeSantis, et al, who ban books in schools, etc.

    Hooray! for Kamala, for her wisdom.

    • bgThenNow says:

      I agree. I do believe our country has more decent and caring ppl than those who are selfish and mean.

      • harpie says:

        I think I read that he said [something like] he was forged in the fire of 20 years of lunchroom monitoring. :-p

  16. Ray Harwick says:

    I would LOVE to hear Tim Walz skewer JD Vance for balking at a debate invitation: “He’s fleeing the interview” a la Sheriff Marge.

  17. Rugger_9 says:

    Walz is a quick learner and thinker, and he’ll wipe Vance out. Harris picked a gem, but to be fair the Ds had a whole lot of options.

    My pal Jay from the Vinson Vermin was a Minnesota rugger (a damn good prop) and taught me this song (sung to ‘Oklahoma’), it also has visuals when sung at a rugby party.

    Miiiinnnesota where the snoos flies thicker than the snows
    And behind each weed you’ll find a Swede and the winters are 43 below!
    Gosh by yiminy the fish jump higher than a foot,
    And the skeeters grow a big as crows from Rochester all the way up to Dulut’,

    You can have your Vermonts and your Maines, but we have 10,000 lakes when it rains,
    So if you want recreation, take your next vacation to the beautiful land Minnesota,
    Minnesota, Ya sure!

  18. paulpfixion says:

    It was interesting to find out that Gov. Walz taught English in Foshan in 1989-1990. The article from the star-tribune doesn’t say when or why he decided to go (I would love to know the answer), but the timing is incredible. He graduated in ’89 so he probably decided to go to China before Tiananmen happened, but maybe he decided immediately after? I’m hoping some slightly older and wiser hands than myself can shed some light on sentiment and how it shifted over that summer. Were college kids in the spring eager to go join the energy of the bubbling democracy movement? Did the massacre turn opinion/will of the (American) students? I only can say that he was there during a generation defining moment–the reaction to that tragedy has shaped the challenge of the present moment both inside and outside of China. Here is a link to a picture of the article:

    https://twitter.com/ericfish85/status/1820825142718501168

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      An American teaching in a school in China c. 1989-90 was tough duty all round, in school and out. It says a lot about Walz he was able to do that.

    • paulpfixion says:

      Here is a video clip from VOA where he talks about his decision to go:

      https://twitter.com/VOAChinese/status/1820827628317585751

      Here is an excerpt from an interview in the Hill about why he went (sorry, not sure how to format it to look like a block quote, everything below is from the article):

      “China was coming, and that’s the reason that I went,” said Walz, who was then a rare Westerner in a society only starting to open up. His Chinese students nicknamed him “Fields of China.”

      “‘Because your kindness was as big as the fields of China,’” his students explained. They also called him “big-nosed one” and “foreign devil,” though neither, he believes, was uttered with malice. Upon returning stateside, Walz and his wife set up a company, Educational Travel Adventures, to coordinate summer trips to China for American high-school students.

      • earlofhuntingdon says:

        Those are standard references to foreigners in China.

        What’s not standard is that Walz and his wife set up a high school foreign exchange program for American students to visit China for a summer. That takes more than donors. It takes imagination, networking, a lot of work, and overcoming systemic bureaucratic hurdles. Tim Walz is a good pick.

        And btw, I’m appalled at how MSNBC seems driven to reduce this ticket to a pejorative bumper sticker phrase.

        • paulpfixion says:

          Totally agree with you about the foreign exchange program. That would take a ton of work, the folks who I am personally familiar with who have managed or owned similar programs are often some of the folks most able to understand how Chinese culture actually works (I’ve spent 8 years in China to date). “Foreign Devil” or “Yangguizi” is quite pejorative now, but would have been bitingly “playful” depending on the speaker in the early 90’s. “Big Nose” is pretty positive, but “fields of China” is one neither I nor my partner, who is native to South Western China, recognize. That one feels pretty genuine and not something locals would brand you with unless you were pretty special.

  19. LeftsidePortland says:

    I guess now that he’s been invited to the big party it will be “Walz to the ball” from here on…
    (yep, seeing myself out…)

  20. Peterr says:

    Oh my. From the Guardian:

    “It’s no surprise that San Francisco Liberal Kamala Harris wants West Coast wannabe Tim Walz as her running-mate – Walz has spent his governorship trying to reshape Minnesota in the image of the Golden State,” said Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign press secretary.

    “From proposing his own carbon-free agenda, to suggesting stricter emission standards for gas-powered cars, and embracing policies to allow convicted felons to vote, Walz is obsessed with spreading California’s dangerously liberal agenda far and wide. If Walz won’t tell voters the truth, we will: just like Kamala Harris, Tim Walz is a dangerously liberal extremist, and the Harris-Walz California dream is every American’s nightmare.”

    You would think Trump’s press secretary would be in FAVOR of allowing convicted felons to vote.

    • Just Some Guy says:

      It’s hilarious how bad the Republicans are at campaigning against popular policies. Walz is incredibly popular in Minnesota for a reason: he’s been able to enact popular policies!

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      Donny is running scared. He should be. He should also reserve Deck Chair No 1 by the pool at MAL. He’ll be using it a lot.

      • DrStuartC says:

        Yes, he’s definitely scared, they had campaign plans for Joe and never expected this. The President putting the country before his personal ambitions his has thrown him and the GOP for a loop! I think tho, he will more likely start his retirement from politics, not with a deck chair, but rather, with a one way plane ticket to Moscow.

    • Alan Charbonneau says:

      DrStuartC
      Yes, the campaign was built for years on running against “Sleepy Joe”—they never had a Plan B. Such campaign malpractice is unreal, but good for democracy!

      • JR_in_Mass says:

        They made the same mistake as Sauron: they knew that Joe was stubborn, and believed that they could weaken him, but that he would remain in contention. It never occurred to them that he might lay aside his power for the greater good, because that is something that they would never do themselves.

  21. GV-San-Ya says:

    Am I the only one getting a Tim Kaine vibe from this “do no harm” pick?
    (That didn’t work out so well last time.)

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      Not in the slightest. The do-no-harm-schtick is a media concoction. I don’t think we’ll find that it’s how Harris-Walz will operate.

    • Peterr says:

      I’m actually picking up a Joe Biden vibe here.

      Let’s start with the obvious: pro-labor, pro-teacher, pro-gay rights, pro-women’s rights, pro-feeding hungry kids, as well as in favor of addressing climate change. . . and then there’s the down to earth language — not as a thing you try on, but as his authentic voice. For Biden, it’s his “c’mon, man” and for Walz, it’s “these folks are weird.”

    • Rayne says:

      I can see now I should have written and published a delta-plus analysis of each prospective VP candidate. Walz isn’t the “do no harm” candidate.

  22. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Oh, my. MSNBC resuscitated Chuck Todd again. It deserves a Nobel for its medicine, but not for its judgment.

    Todd’s judgment, that Walz was the more risk-free choice is a backhanded compliment, typical of how the media treats Democrats. I can’t agree. Walz will be tough, smart, funny, and kind. Shapiro would have been tough and smart, but perhaps too willing to run for President while being Vice President. He’s also young enough to run as Harris’s replacement, next time the Dems need one. Kelly, too, would have been tough and smart, but probably a little prickly, as Arizonans can sometimes be. Also, Navy pilots don’t generally like to ride shotgun.

    But it was a close call all round. Let’s be happy we’ve gotten this far, this smoothly, in so short a time. And beat the two weird guys, keep the Senate, and retake the House.

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      To top it off, MSNBC found John Kasich in the woods somewhere, East of Coshocton. How does it inform viewers to have a former investment banker and hard right Republican governor of Ohio to comment on Tim Walz. Pathetic.

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      MSNBC must have gotten the memo from its owners. Having christened Harris//Walz as the Do-No-Harm, Middle of the Road, Grey-Haired [White] Guy ticket, its job is done. That’s what passes for progressive news coverage in America. LOL.

    • Savage Librarian says:

      I couldn’t agree more, EoH. Excellent choice. Great team. Phenomenal first decision for our first Madam President.

  23. Purple Martin says:

    Retired USAF Senior Master Sergeant (and former AF advisor to the Washington National Guard), I’m more than normally happy with the choice of Minnesota NG Command Sergeant Major (Ret.) and Governor, Tim Walz. I started leaning to Walz early, not just because we share a similar background (I share background with Sarah Palin too, and I never leaned toward her). What nailed it was listening to Gov. Walz in extended conversation with some smart people, especially his thoughtful, smart, wide-ranging dialog with Preet Bharara on his podcast recently.

    I regularly post at several military sites along with a bunch of other retired senior NCOs with not enough to do, who demonstrate a MAGA-obsessive emotional attachment to a simple black-and-white cartoon world ruled over by an authoritarian daddy-figure. I do that partly out of interest in the topic but, feeling an obligation to counter a stereotype, also to demonstrate that not all old male, white retired SNCOs view the world the same.

    Gov. Walz seems one of a very few I’d trust with higher-level command. I mean, I loved my old comrades as brothers, admired their abilities and inventiveness, and would (and sometimes did) trust them with my life. But in most cases I’m glad they had no vote on our unit’s military strategy, or other topics requiring a nuanced perception of ambiguous facts and consideration of 2-order and 3rd-order consequences.

    Of course, except for the admired and trust part, that’s pretty much how I feel about Tommy Tuberville (ex-football coach like Walz) and Donald Trump. I trusted my fellow SNCOs as warfighters, but Donny or Tommy? Not in a million years. Because their actions demonstrate such a Dunning-Kruger-scale unfounded belief in their own knowledge and abilities, both would have been complete failures as SNCOs, let alone a Senator judging military capabilities…or a Commander in Chief.

    So, now I start calling as many of my (mostly conservative) swing-state family and acquaintances who might have reason to consider me as reasonably sensible, to try to get them thinking about the logic of Harris/Walz as contrasted to Trump/Vance, and to urge them to contact their circles in their states with the same message.

    (And…can’t we switch to three-month-only election campaigns now?)

    • Ed Walker says:

      This is the kind of recommendation that makes a difference in my thinking. Leadership is an attribute that I was taught by my experience in the Army, not by classrooms instruction, but by watching the senior NCOs who handled the day-to-day business of running a long-range Signal Corps operation.

      I was a perfectly green 1LT when I took over the unit. I trusted my NCOs to run things and to bring me problems they thought needed me. My main job was to shield them from all forces that interfered with their decisions and their work.

      That’s not Trump, and it’s not Vance. They think they know better than the people doing the job every day, and they think they’re entitled to run everything.

      Biden doesn’t do that, and I’m sure Kamala and Tim won’t either..

      I hope you have some success with your relatives and friends.

    • Norskieflamethrower says:

      Thank you for your view of Waltz from a retired military perspective and especially your view of your retired NCO friends. He’s one who doesn’t wanna be called “sir”.

    • ToldainDarkwater says:

      I grew up across the road from Blaine AFS, a radar station in NW Washington State. There’s a chance you know it. I knew the children of many AF personnel, including some SNCOs like you describe. One was a piece of work, nasty as could be. But others were people who enriched my life. Maybe they were Staff Sargents not Master Sargents, but they made a difference for me.

  24. MsJennyMD says:

    Gov. Walz. Mr. Authentic. Superb solid choice. Thank you Madam Vice President soon to be Madam President.

  25. John Heine says:

    Walz will be a good campaigner and a good vice president.

    When he first sought the governorship in 2018 I backed another candidate in the primary, and wished for Walz to remain in Congress, as he was good at it, and his seat in southern Minnesota was apt to revert to republicans (it did). But he has been stellar as governor, working with the slimmest of majorities to advance the DFL agenda.

  26. John Paul Jones says:

    I’m hoping that many voters will make the connection that while the Democrats are running real people as candidates, people of ability and experience, the Republicans are running strange culture-war figureheads, and having made the connection, will vote reality rather than fantasy. That said, fantasy can be powerfully effective as a drug/attractant. Still, I’m hoping.

    OT: Maddow caught up to the Egyptian bribe story last night, but said nothing about potential China connections.

  27. originalK says:

    Walz may have a rep & cred for being progressive, but, like Senator Amy Klobuchar, he is a moderate in MN, and leads from the middle.

    His stellar leadership skills were on full display during the pandemic here, and particularly after George Floyd’s murder, and were even more remarkable given the complete vacuum of leadership at the presidential level that year. I hope that the campaign can counter the multitude of (egregious) lies that the republican candidate regularly spreads about what actually happened in 2020, and emphasize Walz’s effective role.

    • Norskieflamethrower says:

      Yes! Unfortunately, Waltz got tagged to Mayor Frey of Minneapolis when The Black mayor of StPaul called out the Minneapolis government and police department responses to the demonstrators.

    • Error Prone says:

      Yes, Walz is a moderate. Paul Wellstone is the absolute Minnesota gold standard, of being a progressive and great human being. Ihlen Omar is a progressive. Her predecessor in Congress, Keith Ellison, is a progressive. Don Fraser and Bruce Vento were moderate, close to being progressive, and were moving forces on the BWCA Canoe Area Wilderness legislation in 1976, back when California’s Philip Burton was a very influential House progressive who steered the legislation into law. (The old days.) Humphrey was progressive for his time. Tina Smith, a former MN Planned Parenthood leader, is more a progressive than Klobuchar, who I’d call a cautious conservative. Smith and Walz are comparable on a scale of conservative-to-progressive.

  28. bloopie2 says:

    Virgil Flowers (born of Lucas Davenport) lives in Mankato. Perhaps he can head up the FBI in the Harris/Walz administration.

  29. bevbuddy says:

    So happy.

    Thom Hartmann after writing about the damage to citizens via neo-liberal policies, is amazed that the Democratic Party could pivot so quickly away form it, all due to President Biden, Vice President Harris and now Governor Walz, Harris’s VP choice. Bye, bye tax cuts for the wealthy, and for austerity for the rest of us.

    His policies are wonderful for kids, families, and workers. This is hopeful to problem solving our future to help the kids and grand kids.

    So Happy.

    Kamala can dance, and carries the joy of our future possibilities. We need to see Walz dance or create a new waltz in his name, for the joy of it all.

    All the while we all are 100% serious about how trump and maga will do anything to grab power and stay out of jail. I still like the “LOCK THE DOORS” of the Supreme Court by Jim Stewartson to prevent the court from just giving the presidency to trump.

    I believe Walz has the ability and background to recover some maga from their cult, in addition to appealing to rural and conservatives folks in many states. He will be a great voice for democracy and for saving it with our help.

  30. Savage Librarian says:

    I think it might be time to say, “Have a Pheasant Plucking Day!”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m09eEgy2Zhk

    “That’s what JD Vance’s shtick is, talking about guns. I guarantee you he can’t shoot pheasants like I can,” Walz said on Anderson Cooper 360.

    “And that’s a part of saying, but you know what, I guarantee I don’t want weapons of war in classrooms. And there’s no reason that you can’t have reasonable restrictions around that without infringing on your Second Amendment,” he [Walz] added.

  31. Ed Walker says:

    I’m delighted with this choice. I remember how I felt when I saw some of Biden’s early actions, working with Bernie and others on the IRA, and a noumber of appointments that proved terrific, like Lina Khan.

    Based on the little media I watch, Walz seems like a common sense white guy,. The contrast he presents with the Repubs embodies their weirdness.

  32. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Following the lamestream press, commentators are desperately trying to capture both the Harris//Walz ticket and each candidate in a simplistic, usually pejorative, bumper sticker slogan.”Vanilla” Walz, for example. Ha, ha. OK, try eating all your food for a few weeks without salt or pepper. Simple is good. You know when it’s not there and why you need it.

    But, sauce for the goose. Unlike Bonespurs and the Weird Hillbilly from Yale, Tim Walz can speak in full sentences, paragraphs even, without mumbling and fumbling or sounding like he learned English from a Thesaurus.

    • Peterr says:

      And when your political opponents are acting like petulant middle-school bullies, putting a retired school teacher who is also a retired senior NCO on the ticket makes a lot of sense.

  33. AndreLgreco says:

    And a sheepskin from prestigious Chadron State College, no less. How can we not see that this man is just another elitist?

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      But JD Vance served six months in Iraq…as a combat reporter for a Marine Air Wing.

  34. dadidoc1 says:

    Tim Walz seems to be an excellent choice with a history of delivering for ordinary working people. Thankfully, we won’t be worrying about couches and the perfect eyeliner.

  35. Molly Pitcher says:

    Occupy Democrats posted on IG “The election is essentially America’s Fun Aunt and America’s Fun Dad vs. a Convicted Felon and Your Weird Cousin”

    • Clare Kelly says:

      Love that! Perhaps I need a bigger bumper for the sticker, lol.

      AOC tweet:
      “Dems in disconcerting levels of array”

      And on IG Live:
      “It’s really kind of nuts,” she said. “I am trying to think about the last time Senator Manchin and I, respectfully, were on the same side of an issue.”

      • Peterr says:

        When I first heard that the two of them agreed about Walz, I had exactly the same reaction. I couldn’t come up with an answer.

    • Purple Martin says:

      Last week I called him America’s Uncle, no not that one, the Cool Uncle who drives a Mini Cooper and really listens when you need someone to talk to.

  36. Error Prone says:

    Harris will do fine. Walz will do fine. As long as the Party and volunteers GOTV. it will come down to that, and feel-good now is fine, as long as . . .

  37. earlofhuntingdon says:

    A very Kennedy-esque speech by Harris in Philadelphia. A calm self-assurance without the intellectual hauteur, a sense of humor, and a keen eye with a laughing lilt. It’s been a long time.

    First thing Tim Walz does in his speech is brag about what a guy Josh Shapiro is. He has an awareness of popular culture Trump and Vance can only dream about. Reminds me of my favorite small college president. His first day on the job, he had a gathering at his official residence. It wasn’t with the administration, faculty, board or donors. It was with the food service and maintenance staff. Like a senior NCO, he knew who made things work so well, you never noticed it.

    • Magbeth4 says:

      The rally and introduction to Walz, plus Harris’s speech were inspiring, and represented such a contrast to the razz-ma-tazz, show biz Trump rallies, which have no content but nasty insults.

      I’m so energized by these two people and what they represent. For once in my life, a Presidential ticket which represents my values on every level.
      (And, I go back as far as Roosevelt’s Adm!)

  38. Error Prone says:

    Who we are dealing with – Walz at a very serious moment. Addressing the press and public after the trial of the policeman who knelt eight minutes on George Floyd’s neck, killing Floyd as he repeatedly said he could not breath. The County Attorney deferred to Walz designating Attorney General Keith Ellison, former MN CD5 Rep, to prosecute; with all four policemen convicted. Walz after the trial closed and the jury was deliberating, this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3YF827vMwc

    Speaking from notes to start, then openly, showing an understanding of going forward, being better. Awaiting discussion from/with Mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul, the community must learn, improve, and move on better. He steps up to the job. He’ll be a good VP, if the ticket wins.

  39. observiter says:

    Wow, just watched Harris and Walz in Philadelphia. The Democratic Party has finally got it right!

    Two very-smart, very-inspiring, highly-skilled speakers/candidates with compelling backgrounds — not afraid to speak out clearly and directly about Trump and Vance.

    First time in a while I’ve felt we WILL win.

    • FLwolverine says:

      Don’t worry. My otherwise-well-informed husband didn’t get it either. It took me longer to figure out how to explain it to him than it did to explain it.

  40. dogshelpgod says:

    Nate Cohn & The NYTimes don’t wait to undercut the Dems: “With Walz, Harris Passes on a Chance to Redefine Herself.” Cohn and the Times need to go and do something to their own selves. (Guess what it is that they should do .)

    • HikaakiH says:

      “Harris Passes on a Chance to Redefine Herself” – If you know who you are and know you are good, you don’t “redefine” yourself. What clueless gits they are.

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      The almost 36-year-old Cohn – who hails from very rural Washington state and who, for some reason, has been at the NYT for over ten years – should help the NYT redefine itself, rather than strive too earnestly to tell those who don’t need it to do the same. Putz.

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