Vice President Harris chooses Tim Walz as running mate
19thnews.org
Walz, the governor of Minnesota, is a former high school teacher, Army officer and member of the U.S. House.
  • Varyk@sh.itjust.works
    108·
    11 months ago

    haha, okay, he’s the guy that came up with the “just weird” label for trrmp and vance, that’s a strong enough starting endorsement for me

    • ieatpwns@lemmy.world
      101·
      11 months ago

      s/

      No no no he’ll be the puppet master pulling the strings from behind the scenes

      /s

      • vxx@lemmy.world
        8·
        11 months ago

        Aren’t they currently saying this about Harris during the Biden Presidency? Of course while claiming she’s dumb and not qualified.

    • ChillPenguin@lemmy.world
      2·
      11 months ago

      Nah, they’ll just talk about his old rocks and cows quote, or how he’s making sure children are fed in schools.

    • PapaStevesy@lemmy.world
      59·
      11 months ago

      He may not have gone to space, but Tim has been an awesome governor here in Minnesota, I look forward to seeing what he brings to the campaign.

    • Telodzrum@lemmy.world
      15·
      11 months ago

      The seat is too valuable to give up an incumbency advantage, particularly so given Kelly’s high approval rating in state.

      • tetrachromacy@lemmy.world
        12·
        11 months ago

        I knew this intellectually, but in my heart of hearts was hoping for Kelly anyway because having a former astronaut for a president would be freaking awesome. That being said I’m not even a little upset with Walz and I’m 100% here for Walz and Harris both.

    • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
      10·
      11 months ago

      There was a story a day or two ago that it had been narrowed to Walz or Shapiro. Between those two, I’m pleasantly surprised.

      • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.worldEnglish
        53·
        11 months ago

        Same. I’m delighted to be wrong. I thought for sure she was gonna pick Shapiro just to show progressives who’s boss.

    • rezifon@lemmy.worldEnglish
      102·
      11 months ago

      I wanted the gay dude who makes Fox News his bitch.

      Still pretty fucking hyped to vote, either way.

    • Bonesince1997@lemmy.world
      5·
      11 months ago

      I wonder if he needed more time with his wife. She’s the former congresswoman who was shot, right? I just thought that that might have factored into it.

      • WanderingVentra@lemm.ee
        3·
        11 months ago

        I think it was too risky to give up his Senate seat. His seat is too purple, it could easily go to a Republican in a special election.

    • someguy3@lemmy.world
      4·
      11 months ago

      Kelly didn’t have enough government experience, only 2 years. I’m not sure he was ever taken as a final contender.

        • cowfodder@lemmy.world
          521·
          11 months ago

          Is it really a criticism though? There’s nothing of merit to it. I could see criticizing the pick based on Walz’s views (though I’d probably argue against that too; Walz has a pretty stellar record).

          He’s basically the same age as Harris, so the “old” portion of the criticism is right out the window. What we’re left with is that he’s a white man, which is always what the VP pick was going to be. The unfortunate truth in this country is that a lot of voters are not ready to support a presidential ticket with two women or people of color.

          • ABCDE@lemmy.world
            1·
            11 months ago

            A criticism of something and a critique imply different things; criticism can be short, like theirs was, and that is fine for online forums. You can, of course, criticise their criticism, I can can criticise that.

    • CompostMaterial@lemmy.worldEnglish
      183·
      11 months ago

      It is obviously a cycle we need to break. That said, a campaign has to make choices that lead to victory. Kamala is already a person of color and a woman. If she wins, it would be only the second time to have a non-white President and the first woman.

      The fact is that while many us are hungry for change to the old norms, many will be more conservative to change (and I don’t mean in the crazy MAGA way). Having an old white guy on the ticket acts as an anchor for those who are too scared to fully jump into all out change, ensuring that those votes aren’t lost to the other side.

      • Telodzrum@lemmy.world
        11·
        11 months ago

        Almost a third of the U.S. population is white and male. In a representative democracy, it’s only reasonable to expect that population to often make up a plurality of all office holders.

      • Buelldozer@lemmy.today
        0·
        11 months ago

        Having an old white guy

        He was born 4 months before Kamala Harris, if he is “old” then so is she. Are you saying that Kamala is old?

        As for a “white guy”, well, the majority of the United States is white and roughly half of it is male. If race and gender matter for representation, as you seem to be claiming, then it’s entirely reasonable for one of the two positions to be a white male while the other is a PoC female.

        • CompostMaterial@lemmy.worldEnglish
          0·
          11 months ago

          Old, yes, they are both old. Not elderly, but old. The minimum age for a present is 35. I would very much like to start seeing younger presidents that will be more in touch with what current issues really are and can energize a younger generation of voters.

          And yes that was exactly my point on having a white man as an anchor.

          • Buelldozer@lemmy.today
            0·
            11 months ago

            Old, yes, they are both old.

            I don’t feel that 59/60 is “old”, especially not for people who take care of themselves.

            I would very much like to start seeing younger presidents that will be more in touch with what current issues really are…

            In general I agree with you but there’s a solid argument that POTUS / VPOTUS should be more experienced and that comes with age.

            And yes that was exactly my point on having a white man as an anchor.

            I apologize if I misunderstood your comment but you started with “It is obviously a cycle we need to break.” and I disagree with that. There’s no “need” to break a cycle of proportional representation (assuming we can actually get one). There’s nothing inherently noble or superior about having both the POTUS and VPOTUS both being non-white and non-male simultaneously. It should not be prevented but it’s also not some kind of achievement that needs to be unlocked.

            Walz was a good choice and not just as an “old white guy anchor” but also because his politics and beliefs are in line with many Americans. He’s an electable person regardless of his skin color and gender.

            • doctordevice@lemmy.ca
              01·
              11 months ago

              IMO 59/60 should be about the max for a first term president. That would put them at retirement age if they serve two terms. I think Walz is a great choice to make the whole thing more palatable to progressives like me (who feel that now for a third time in a row we’ve been deprived of a fair primary). I do wish the VP were a little younger than the president to set them up for a run of their own afterwards. Not sure if Walz has any intention of running afterwards, but we’d be right back to a retirement age candidate if Kamala serves two terms.

              Personally, I’d like to see more presidents in their 40s or early 50s. That’s plenty of time to get “experience” while still in principle being able to understand the needs of the majority of people. Plus it helps that they’ll still live for a while in the world they shape after their term.