Harris chooses Gov. Tim Walz — an abortion rights and public education advocate — as running mate
19thnews.org
Walz, the governor of Minnesota, is a former high school teacher, football coach and member of the U.S. House.
  • Varyk@sh.itjust.works
    1541·
    3 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

  • Buelldozer@lemmy.today
    32·
    3 months ago

    I’ll say the same thing I said in the other post. He’s a solid Mid-Western guy; reasonable and practical. He’s a fine choice and I like him.

    • CompostMaterial@lemmy.worldEnglish
      265·
      3 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.

      • Buelldozer@lemmy.today
        342·
        3 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.

        • vxx@lemmy.world
          13·
          3 months ago

          It’s the same argument with jobs. Every boss wants a 25 year old with 30 years experience in their craft.

        • CompostMaterial@lemmy.worldEnglish
          69·
          3 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
            19·
            3 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
              72·
              3 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.

              • CompostMaterial@lemmy.worldEnglish
                1·
                3 months ago

                Thank you for being more articulate in your explanation of the age issue than I was. I agree whole heartedly. 64-65 is retirement age, I like to see presidents that are experienced but not at what would normally be the end of their working years.

                Personally, I’d like to see a max cap for ALL elected officials at 70.

      • Telodzrum@lemmy.world
        141·
        3 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.

        • Tyfud@lemmy.world
          23·
          3 months ago

          That’s not how criticism works. There needs to be something of substance for a critique to have merit.

          This was just stereotyping someone based on their looks. You know, the thing we give the other side shit for doing with Harris. It’s not productive, not a good look, and outside of the internet it’s a great way to tell the people around you that you have nothing of value to add to a conversation or discussion.

          • ABCDE@lemmy.world
            1·
            3 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.

        • cowfodder@lemmy.world
          682·
          3 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
            11·
            3 months ago

            Your post is whining with nothing constructive. Not all criticism needs to be so constructive, it’s an online forum. But, it’s a criticism of the establishment of old white men, which many of us are tired of.

        • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
          3·
          3 months ago

          Well he has a job that can be very stressful and in the White Guys For Harris interview, he talked about him and his wife fighting SEVEN YEARS to conceive, so that may well have taken its toll too.

          And then there’s the ever present danger of being hit by an errant hockey puck or violated by a moose or an elk inherent to life in Minnesota, of course.

    • Bone@lemmy.world
      6·
      3 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·
        3 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.

    • Xanis@lemmy.world
      3·
      3 months ago

      Tbf, we have enough fucking space cadets in politics. Could use some more down to earth candidates.

    • rezifon@lemmy.worldEnglish
      133·
      3 months ago

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

      Still pretty fucking hyped to vote, either way.

    • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
      11·
      3 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
        63·
        3 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.

    • BarqsHasBite@lemmy.world
      4·
      3 months ago

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

    • PapaStevesy@lemmy.world
      87·
      3 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.

      • CPMSP@midwest.social
        19·
        3 months ago

        Amen friend, all through the early pandemic days and afterwards I’ve been damned proud of what Walz brings to the table. He’s been a good governor – I guess we have to share now.

    • Telodzrum@lemmy.world
      22·
      3 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
        18·
        3 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.

  • mctoasterson@reddthat.com
    546·
    3 months ago

    Purely strategically, it is an absolutely braindead move to not pick Shapiro. 538 has done a lot of work recently showing the likelihood that whoever wins PA will almost certainly win the election. So why would she decline to select the PA candidate with 60+% approval in that state?

    • aleph@lemm.eeEnglish
      421·
      3 months ago

      You can bet they have their polling data that says otherwise. Shapiro was a deeply controversial pick who could have killed a lot of the enthusiasm, and he only helps in one individual swing state. Waltz Walz has broad demographic appeal, so they presumably weighed up both and decided that he was the better bet.

    • ChillPenguin@lemmy.world
      2·
      3 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.

    • ieatpwns@lemmy.world
      141·
      3 months ago

      s/

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

      /s

      • vxx@lemmy.world
        81·
        3 months ago

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

      • Samvega@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        6·
        3 months ago

        That would be an even more horrendous accusation if he were Jewish.

        I’m actually just checking to see whether he has any Jewish ancestry for RW conspiracy nuts to bring up, just in case.

    • nova_ad_vitum@lemmy.ca
      66·
      3 months ago

      VP picks are usually diversity hires. They’re chosen specifically for who they are (and who they can appeal to) rather than anything they can actually do. How many times has a presidential candidate from the North east chosen a running mate from the south to appeal to southern voters? It’s basically a tradition. The thing that makes it racist is to only notice when non-white people are involved.

      • Fedizen@lemmy.world
        281·
        3 months ago

        The 12th amendment mandates the vp and president inhabit different states. That is a form of diversity hire, by constitutional requirement

        • ImADifferentBird@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
          35·
          3 months ago

          Technically, it doesn’t mandate that. But it does mandate that no elector can vote for both a President and Vice President from their own state, so it would open up the possibility of a split administration. Which is why parties avoid it.

          It was amusing to see people float Gavin Newsom as Harris’s VP pick for that reason. With that rule, and the outsized number of Electoral votes that CA has, it’d practically guarantee a Harris/Vance administration if she won.

          • samus12345@lemmy.worldEnglish
            15·
            3 months ago

            Yet another severely outdated law we have. Although getting rid of the EC would also take care of that problem.

            • Wiz@midwest.socialEnglish
              10·
              3 months ago

              No, they would do the Dick Cheney thing and say, “Ackshully I live in a different state now.”

  • kn0wmad1c@programming.devEnglish
    1181·
    3 months ago

    EDIT: I don’t know why my particular lemmy instance is displaying this image so large, but if you’re also affected by the largeness of this image, I deeply apologize.