Tim Walz and that Midwestern Folksy Thing

Oh, you haven't noticed? We've been here all along.

Tim Walz - Facebook page

When the fuss about Joe Biden’s ‘retirement’ was over and I calmed down (okay, after seeing the magnificent fuss over Kamala Harris), I saw the list of potential vice presidential candidates and immediately latched onto Tim Walz.

Tim Walz, I thought, from my vantage point here in northern Michigan, is just what this country needs. A real down-to-earth Midwesterner, good guy quietly doing good works, wears his heart on his sleeve, laughs off the bad guys while calculating how best to take them down. Joyful. Underestimated. Plain talker. No bullshit.

I know those people. I’ve lived among them all my life. I AM them. So here I am, trying hard not to be amazed at how many Americans don’t know this is how most of the upper Midwest operates. Sure, there are those Trumpy bastions—way too many for our liking—but look at my state, Michigan, alone. We have Gretchen Whitmer. Also a down-to-earth plain talker who laughs off the bad guys while calculating how best to take them down. No bullshit. The Blues in our country have noticed her and they’re beguiled.

Again, a revelation to those of us who are used to that sort of thing. (That cluelessness of Flyover Country reminds me of that time I took a New York writer to the shores of Lake Michigan and she couldn’t get over the fact that she couldn’t see the other side. That’s how little she knew—or cared to know—about our mighty Great Lakes.)

Gov. Whitmer has built a movement here in Michigan and she did it by bringing in powerhouse women, solid outspoken progressive activists like Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, along with dozens of female high office holders.

Her lieutenant governor, Garland Gilchrist, is a Black man from Detroit, an engineer by trade, who works equally hard on problems like unfair incarceration, racial disparities, and bringing high-speed internet to underserved communities across the state. He serves as a perfect complement to the women in Lansing. Together, they’ve turned my state around from way too red to a definite Lavender Blue.

And you know who else is from Michigan? Pete Buttigieg. Yep. And he’s all of those things, same as Tim Walz and our Big Gretch. Right?

But on to those other Great Lakes states in the news lately. Have you seen what they did in Wisconsin? If you’ve been following

D. Earl Stephens ✍️

—and you should—he’s reporting on Wisconsin’s latest electoral victory, along with the slow but steady progress the Badger state has been making for a while now. Turning blue—like our waters.

And then there’s Minnesota—the gold standard of the Great Lakes. They’re so blue they almost outshine Lake Superior. (Almost. It’s not called ‘Superior’ for nothing.)

Tim Walz is governor there. Don’t you love it?

This from Wikipedia:

Historically, the state was a Republican stronghold, never voting Democratic from statehood until 1932, however, since then it has voted Democratic all but thrice- 1952, 1956, and 1972. 1952 is also the last time the state voted for a non-incumbent Republican, and only once (2016) has the state voted to the right of the nation since. [Ed note: what the hell??]

Minnesotans have voted for Democratic presidential candidates ever since 1976, more times consecutively than any other state outside of the South, and longer than any other ongoing streak. Minnesota and the District of Columbia were the only electoral votes not won by incumbent Republican President Ronald Reagan in 1984. Minnesota voters instead chose former vice president and Senator Walter Mondale, a Minnesota native.

And of course Minnesota also claims Amy Klobuchar. And Eugene McCarthy. Brownie points.

The point is, Tim Walz is one of us. Our guiding light. For the most part we’re populists in the best sense of the word. For the people. Bread and butter issues. Worker rights. Labor strong. Little League and all that. But we have our problems, too. We haven’t done right by many of the poor and disenfranchised. We haven’t solved our environmental or our public education or our diversity issues. We work at it but it’s a hard time coming. Which is why we’re excited now about this new and improved Harris/Walz juggernaut.

We here in the upper Midwest will be working our hearts out to get those two elected, along with the down-ballot Democrats who will need our help. It’s good to know you all see us now, thanks to that delightful gonna get things done by golly Coach.

And if you must know, yes, I do say ‘ope’. All the time. And it’s ‘pop’ up here, not ‘soda’. And if you haven’t tried Vernor’s Ginger Ale you don’t know what you’re missing. (OMG, if you read that article just ignore ‘Michiganians’. Horrors! We’re Michiganders!)

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