Walz Wilts Under National Spotlight
As a relatively obscure figure from Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz has been able to fly below the political radar. Now, as the running mate of Vice President Kamala Harris in her bid for the Oval Office, he finds himself in the glare of the national spotlight, and the picture emerging is not so pleasant.
The Democrat’s 24-year career in the Army National Guard served him well during his ascension to power, but it came back to haunt him when he was tapped by Harris. Shortly after his rollout as the number two man, Walz was ambushed by charges of stolen valor and abandoning his Army unit before its deployment to Iraq. His reputation was strafed by none other than his former commanding officer.
“I do not regret that Tim Walz retired early from the Minnesota Army National Guard, did not complete the Sergeants Major Academy, broke his enlistment contract, or did not successfully complete any assignment as a Sergeant Major,” said Lieutenant Commander John Kolb, the head of the Walz’s battalion. “Unwittingly, he got out of the way for better leadership.”
Addressing Walz’s contention that he rose to the rank of Sergeant Major, Kolb stated: “He did not earn the rank or successfully complete any assignment as an E9. It is an affront to the Noncommissioned Officer Corps that he continues to glom onto the title. I can sit in the cockpit of an airplane, it does not make me a pilot. Similarly, when the demands of service and leadership at the highest level got real, he chose another path.”
According to the Lieutenant Commander, Walz's departure cleared the way for a new Sergeant Major to lead the unit in Iraq. “Thomas Behrends was the right leader at the right time,” Kolb said. “He sacrificed to answer the call, leaving his family, business and farming-partner brother to train, lead and care for soldiers. He earned the privilege of being called Command Sergeant Major. Like a great leader, he ran toward and not away from the guns.”
Walz immediately drew fire from his opponent on the Trump presidential ticket, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance. In expressing his views on gun control, the governor referenced assault weapons as if he had used them in combat, leading Vance, who served as a Marine in Iraq, to call him out for stolen valor. “I criticized his retirement decision and, most importantly, l criticized his lying about his own record,” Vance said in a recent interview. “This is a guy who was captured on video saying, ‘l carried a gun in war.’ He never went to war. I’m not criticizing his service; I’m criticizing him for lying about his service for political gain. I do think it’s scandalous behavior.”
Another rap on Walz has been his response to the Black Lives Matter riots in Minneapolis and St. Paul that caused $500 million in damages and a number of deaths. His refusal to accept President Trump’s assistance to quell the riots precipitated one of the most destructive civil disturbances in U.S. history. Later, he joined Harris in posting bail for those arrested for destroying the Twin Cities.
As scrutiny of the veep candidate intensified, a new nickname for Walz emerged, “Tampon Tim,” based on his directive to provide feminine hygiene products in the boy’s bathrooms of Minnesota elementary schools. He also forced COVID patients into nursing homes, joining former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a policy linked to the deaths of thousands of senior citizens. Walz clamped down hard on Minnesotans during the pandemic shutdowns and went as far as setting up hotlines so people could turn in neighbors who weren’t wearing masks or obeying social distancing rules.
Seen as even further Left of his California running mate, Walz signed a 2023 state law prohibiting the enforcement of out-of-state warrants for parents or guardians who take children to Minnesota for gender-transition care, a practice currently restricted or banned in 25 states. Walz’s law goes even further by giving state courts “temporary emergency jurisdiction” over parents if a minor is denied access to gender-changing procedures.
Walz’s record does not sit well with Long Island veterans who vowed not to vote for him. See their comments in this week’s South Shore Press Man on the Street.