Tim Walz, ‘Folksy’ Socialist

Have you heard about Tim Walz’s folksiness?

Surely you’ve noticed the “folksy demeanor” and “folksy manner” and “folksy appeal” and “folksy mannerisms” of this “folksy former soldier”? If you somehow missed it, the “folksy governor of Minnesota” exudes a “folksy … informal vibe” and “folksy relatability.” But don’t forget his “folksy rebukes” and “folksy plain-spoken and sharp-tongued approach,” either.

All these quotes are taken from major media outlets.

Kamala Harris’ vice presidential pick is a dedicated cultural and economic leftist who happens to inhabit the body of an average middle-aged bowling team drinking buddy. And because he doesn’t live in D.C. or NYC, the political media has settled on a nonthreatening description. Who doesn’t like folksy?

Virtually every major media piece on Walz is identical in its glowing tone and content, stressing his down-home everyman appeal while deemphasizing his insane record. Then again, as Walz says, “one person’s socialism is another person’s neighborliness.”

When Trump announced JD Vance as his veep pick, the stories painted a picture of a dour weirdo who was “radicalized” into an “ideological ally” and “zealous follower of the former president.” Walz, on the other hand, had merely “evolved” into his “progressive” positions, as one does.

The word “folksy” typically has two definitions. One denotes having the characteristics of “traditional culture and customs, especially in a contrived or artificial way.” The other is to act in an “informal and unpretentious” manner. It’s certainly fair to say that Walz is a more relaxed and unpretentious authoritarian than his tautology-spouting running partner.

In this case, though, folksiness has a third euphemistic meaning: “not the Jewish guy.”

Has anyone offered a single convincing reason — other than the obvious — for why Harris picked Walz for the national ticket over Josh Shapiro, the popular governor of a must-win state with more working-class voters than Minnesota? It is highly unlikely that anyone wins 2024 without Pennsylvania.

Democrats are gambling that the Jewish vote is secure enough to withstand the rampant antisemitism that’s taken hold on the progressive Left. It’s not a terrible bet, sadly. In Walz, Harris believes she can placate the activist base and growing pro-Hamas wing of the party while media covers her running mate as a folksy moderate.

It’s no accident that Squad members like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar were first out of the gate celebrating the Walz pick. Bernie Sanders loves it. Hamas apologists like The Washington Post’s Karen Attiah were tweeting like giddy teenagers, “TEAM WALZ!!!!!!!!!! ITS OUR TIME!!”

What about moderates and independents? It seems counterintuitive for Harris, who has accumulated a grand total of zero primary votes, to tap one of the most brazenly left-wing governors in the country as she attempts to walk back a raft of unpopular positions that were staked only a few years ago.

Like Harris, the folksy Minnesota governor has proposed socializing health insurance and eliminating fossil fuels. Like Harris, Walz wants to effectively decriminalize illegal immigration by signing laws to pay for the health care and tuition of illegals, and allow them to have driver’s licenses. Like Harris, Walz has taken a maximalist position on abortion, signing a bill codifying the procedure as a “fundamental right” into the ninth month, on demand, with no questions asked. Walz also signed a bill that lets children with gender dysphoria be mutilated by doctors.

Aside from all of that, Minnesota has seen a string of scandals and fiscal mismanagement under Walz.

Walz, who set up a snitch line to report COVID rule violators, watched as minority neighborhoods in Minnesota were being burned during the Black Lives Matter riots. When asked to call in the National Guard, Walz responded, “I will not patronize you as a white man without living [your] lived experiences.”

He speaks just like the average American!

Perhaps none of that will matter because vice presidents rarely matter. Some writers have speculated that Harris believed Shapiro, a more moderate political figure, would outshine her. Walz, it is true, has never made anyone look bad.

But it’s also clear that the Left is hoping voters will ignore the real Tim Walz and fall for the contrived harmless folksy fella of their imagination.

David Harsanyi is a senior editor at The Federalist. Harsanyi is a nationally syndicated columnist and author of five books — the most recent, “Eurotrash: Why America Must Reject the Failed Ideas of a Dying Continent.” His work has appeared in National Review, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Reason, New York Post and numerous other publications. Follow him on Twitter @davidharsanyi.

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