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Evaluating various attacks on Walz
Since Vice President Kamala Harris selected Tim Walz as her running mate, the second-term governor has faced renewed scrutiny over his life and career. Most of the stories have appeared in some form or another in various Minnesota media over the years, but we’ve been exposed to a flood of coverage in both local and […]
Gus Walz wins the night at the DNC
Sure, it was a good speech and all, especially since Gov. Tim Walz kept it less than 20 minutes. Walz accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president of the United States by introducing himself to the American public with a mix of biography and shots at the Republican ticket. But the star of the third […]
The GOP’s losing message: America and Minnesota are terrible, no good places
Republicans are back on their heels now that they’re the ones supporting a candidate who seems to be losing his mind, insofar as there was anything there to begin with. They’re settling on a curious argument for people claiming to be patriots: America sucks. What with the childless cat ladies running things. (Former President Donald […]
Walz 2006 campaign misled on DUI charge
Gov. Tim Walz, the presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee, has been telling a markedly different story about his 1995 drunk driving arrest since 2018 than the claims made by his first campaign for Congress in 2006. In 2018, he told me he had been drinking and watching football with friends when he was pulled over […]
Here’s what Tim Walz has done as governor of Minnesota
Democrats have swiftly fallen for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s Midwest dad persona, sharing videos of him working on a car, going on a rollercoaster with daughter Hope at the State Fair, signing a bill renaming a street in Prince’s honor in purple ink. But he’s also got a long record as governor. Walz’s first term […]
From a Mankato classroom to the White House: Harris names Walz her vice presidential nominee
Gov. Tim Walz fused his everyman personality with an optimistic progressive message to win the most important audition of his political career the past few weeks, winning the quick admiration of Democratic activists — and Vice President Kamala Harris, who named Walz as her running mate Tuesday. “As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and […]
Tim Walz isn’t complicated. America is.
I’ve watched with some amusement as coastal, very online lefties have crushed on Gov. Tim Walz, who can ably voice progressive ideas while (authentically) wearing Carhartt. You’d think he were a cat who suddenly started playing a blues guitar. And I get the excitement: A presidential ticket pairing Walz with Vice President Kamala Harris, the […]
What will happen to Emmer’s beloved Constitution when they carry out their mass deportation?
About a decade ago, Minnesota’s own U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer made a fascinating appearance on the public radio program, “This American Life.” It was about the turn in St. Cloud against Somali immigrants. Some white people were calling for a “moratorium” on new Somali residents in St. Cloud, which — whether proponents acknowledge it or not […]
Minnesota’s influential Democrats back Harris
Minnesota Democratic elected officials — including U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith and U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar — quickly backed Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s presidential nominee after President Joe Biden announced Sunday he’s dropping out of the race. U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum had already endorsed Harris, urging her to name Minnesota […]
If you’re an elected Democrat, speak up now
About a year ago, I wrote a column warning Democrats that they were “walking toward a cliff with their eyes closed.” “What happens,” I asked, “if Joe Biden is incapacitated a year or 15 months from now? What then?” Biden isn’t incapacitated, but his fumbling performance during the first presidential debate — and then a flurry […]
Flooding news roundup; special legislative session comes into view
Minnesota lawmakers, who adjourned last month, have begun calling for a special legislative session to confront the destruction of rising floodwaters, as residents, businesses and managers of key infrastructure — especially water systems — begin cleaning up while bracing for more. State Sen. Grant Hauschild, a Democrat who represents a northeast swing district that’s been […]
MPD still claiming officers were truthful in Jaleel Stallings case. They weren’t.
An important footnote to the police murder of George Floyd was the infamous press release the Minneapolis Police Department sent out after Floyd’s death. The headline: “Man dies after medical incident during police interaction.” The description was equally brazen in what it left out: “Officers were able to get the suspect into handcuffs and noted […]