Kamala’s Big Decision

[Newman]

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/in-race-against-trump-harris-hours-away-from-consequential-announcement

Deciding big decisions is important, because, they’re really big, and leaders decide big decisions because they’re important.

Meanwhile, beyond offering the rose to one of the VP aspirants, the world is burning and teetering toward war. Another headline also on FOX News says Kamala has been pulled off the campaign trail to help with the international crises. Maybe she’ll help find the root causes.

i can hardly express my comfort level knowing that Senile Joe and Our Lady Kamala are at the helm at this dire moment. At least Joe will be wheeled out about 3 pm.

[gary m]

It will be interesting to see who the DNC anoints as her running mate.

[Celeste Chalfonte]

It's too bad she has apparently eliminated Buttigieg and Shapiro. Either one would pretty much have guaranteed she wouldn't win. Assuming all those "progressive" Democrats aren't lying about being willing to vote for a black woman for President, ain't no way they're all ready to vote for a woman and an observant Jew or a queer at the same time. They like to ration their minorities.

[Newman]

It's too bad she has apparently eliminated Buttigieg and Shapiro. Either one would pretty much have guaranteed she wouldn't win. Assuming all those "progressive" Democrats aren't lying about being willing to vote for a black woman for President, ain't no way they're all ready to vote for a woman and an observant Jew or a queer at the same time. They like to ration their minorities.

I guess you're ahead of me on the news today (I've been on the beach). I thought Shapiro had it in the bag. Now he's been bagged?

I was hoping we'd get some clarity on the Greenberg teacher who committed suicide by stabbing herself 20 times, including 10 times in the back of the head.

Buttigieg is a pothole, a cipher, and this Arizona guy, Goebbels or whatever his name is, is just an attack dog.

Unfortunately, if she (or the DNC, to Gary's point above) is looking for someone who in comparison makes her look smart and articulate—the job she has done so well for senile Old Joe—I am sad to report that Stan Laurel is not available.

[Celeste Chalfonte]

I guess you're ahead of me on the news today (I've been on the beach). I though Shapiro had it in the bag. Now he's been bagged?

I was hoping we'd get some clarity on the Greenberg teacher who committed suicide by stabbing herself 20 times, including 10 times in the back of the head.

Buttigieg is a pothole, a cipher, and this Arizona guy, Goebbels or whatever his name is, is just an attack dog.

Unfortunately, if she is (or the DNC, to Gary's point above) is looking for someone who in comparison makes her look smart and articulate—the job she has done so well for senile Old Joe—I can report that Stan Laurel is not available.

Sorry, I misunderstood the article I saw. It's down to Shapiro and Wahl. Shapiro is not going down well with the Hamas-lovers.

[Newman]

I don't know much about Walz. I don't think his tenure as governor of MN has been anything to brag about. But it looks like his rising prospects as V-P candidate were launched by his thinking of the word "weird."

Tim Walz's VP Chances Surge Ahead of Kamala Harris Announcement - Newsweek

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's chances of being chosen as Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate have surged in recent days ahead of the expected announcement, according to odds.

As a vice-presidential candidate, Walz has been something of a dark horse. While his name has been floated in recent weeks as a possible contender to be Harris' vice-presidential pick, he has not typically been seen as one of the front-runners.

Walz's profile has risen after he became the first Democrat to publicly label Trump and his running mate Ohio Senator JD Vance as "weird"—a narrative that has since been seized upon by Democrats.

"These are weird people on the other side. They want to take books away. They want to be in your exam room. That's what it comes down to. Don't, you know, get sugarcoating this. These are weird ideas," Walz told MSNBC last month during an interview.

Harris' campaign has since honed in on the descriptor, now regularly referring to the Republican ticket as "weird." Several Republicans have reacted strongly to the insult.

Walz's successful Republican-critical messaging has boosted his profile as he has also been praised by progressives for his policies, some of whom have urged Harris to choose him, including free school meals for children, paid family and medical leave, and an expansion of the child tax credit.

The perfect candidate for the social media age. Weird.

[scott]

Maybe she’ll help find the root causes.

[scott]

The fact that Walz can win in Minnesota is why he can't win nationally.

[scott]

I really hope they don't try to oversell his veteran status. 24 years of cushy "one weekend a month and 2 weeks a year" isn't quite the same as almost EVERYONE ELSE in the military since 1990. No combat deployments while he was a senior NCO in the Guard post 9/11 while barely trained supply soldiers were sent over and killed or maimed in Iraq? That's not a good look. Definitely "in the rear with the gear."

[Newman]

Gosh, Josh, we hardly knew ya.

Vice President Kamala Harris names Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate: AP | Fox News

Tim Walz. He's just wierd.

(When they wheeled Old Joe away, the Dems turned on a dime and mocked Trump's age. I guess they've dropped that line. It won't be easy to make if there's a debate between Walz and Vance.)

[Newman]

I really hope they don't try to oversell his veteran status. 24 years of cushy "one weekend a month and 2 weeks a year" isn't quite the same as almost EVERYONE ELSE in the military since 1990. No combat deployments while he was a senior NCO in the Guard post 9/11 while barely trained supply soldiers were sent over and killed or maimed in Iraq? That's not a good look. Definitely "in the rear with the gear."

He was a teacher.

He taught English and American History in China for one year through a program at Harvard University before being hired in 1990 as a high school teacher and football and basketball coach in Nebraska. Six years later, he moved to Mankato, Minnesota, to teach geography at Mankato West High.

Far worse.

[Newman]

"One person's socialism is another person's neighborliness." — Tim Walz

Soon to go in my signature here. Socialism by any name is a path that goes downhill to a pool of blood and misery.

[Celeste Chalfonte]

She's trying to check boxes for "balance." Midwestern (but Minnesota these days is Midwestern with an asterisk). Veteran; does the fanbase know or care if it was all stateside admin stuff? Football coach/teacher - going for folksy. And for those who would have trouble choking down an all-minority ticket, an older white male who checks all the dad boxes. The one thing I really like about him is a story HRH told me, about him hyping the MN state fair with his daughter, who's a vegetarian. He reportedly said something along the lines of, "And now we're all gonna go eat some turkey legs," and when daughter said, "Except me - it's meat," Walz reportedly said, "Not in Minnesota - turkey is vegetarian." OK, that's funny - and probably largely true. Minneapolis is deep blue, but farmers don't do that vegetarian thing.

[gary m]

The Last Walz
image.png

[Newman]

She's trying to check boxes for "balance." Midwestern (but Minnesota these days is Midwestern with an asterisk). Veteran; does the fanbase know or care if it was all stateside admin stuff? Football coach/teacher - going for folksy. And for those who would have trouble choking down an all-minority ticket, an older white male who checks all the dad boxes. The one thing I really like about him is a story HRH told me, about him hyping the MN state fair with his daughter, who's a vegetarian. He reportedly said something along the lines of, "And now we're all gonna go eat some turkey legs," and when daughter said, "Except me - it's meat," Walz reportedly said, "Not in Minnesota - turkey is vegetarian." OK, that's funny - and probably largely true. Minneapolis is deep blue, but farmers don't do that vegetarian thing.

I don't really see the "balance." He's as progressive as she ever was.

Just as an aside, since it seems Shapiro was pushed aside because he's Jewish, it's interesting to think back a generation ago to the late Joe Lieberman's candidacy alongside Al Gore.

The Democratic Party has changed.