Timothy James Walz was born and raised in rural, Nebraska in 1964 and is 60 years-old. After his father died, Walz moved to Houston, took courses in East-Asian studies. He returned to Nebraska and earned a bachelor of science degree from Chadron State College. His first job was a teaching position in Guangdong, China for WorldTeach. After a year, he returned to Alliance, Nebraska where he began teaching and coaching. There, he met his future wife, Gwen Whipple. Together, they ran an educational travel company, taking high school students to China, during summers. He has visited China 30 times. He earned his master’s in education. His political career began in 2006 when he was elected to the U.S.  Congress. He entered the National Guard at age 17 and serve there for 24 years, retiring as a master sergeant, having never entered a combat zone.

In Congress

In Congress, he represented the southern district of Minnesota. The focus of his congressional campaign was his opposition to the Iraq War. While serving in Congress from 2007 – 2019. He is the highest-ranking retired enlisted soldier to serve in Congress.  His congressional record ranges from moderate to progressive. During the 2008 financial meltdown, he voted against the TARP bill which used taxpayer money to purchase troubled assets from failing institutions. He also voted against loaning $14 billion in government loans to bail out General Motors and Chrysler. He voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. He supports job creation through government investments.  He supported the Affordable Care Act. He has received endorsements from the National Education Association, the AFL-CIO, Teamsters Union, numerous lawyer’s organizations, Americans For Tax Reform, numerous veterans organizations and the NRA. After the 2018 Parkland high school shooting, he denounced the NRA. He supports worker’s rights, LGBTQ rights and increased gun control measures.

As Governor

He was elected governor of Minnesota, serving from 2019 until today. In March of 2020, he declared a COVID healthcare state of emergency, closing businesses, public gatherings, schools and churches, for the next 15 months. After George Floyd was killed by police in May of 2020, riots broke out in St. Paul and Minneapolis, where half a billion dollars in damage was done. Governor Walz took three days to deploy elements of the National Guard and received criticism from the right for not reacting quicker and the left for not taking more steps to remake policing in Minnesota. He accepted blame for not deploying the Guard quicker and later supported legislation preventing the use of choke holds by police. In 2021, he opposed a defund the police ballot measure in Minneapolis and signed legislation limiting the use of no-knock warrants. Minnesota’s Center of the American Experiment has documented under Mr. Walz that Minnesota has become a high-crime state where student achievement has fallen while educational spending has skyrocketed. Minnesota’s per capita gross domestic product has fallen below the national average and Minnesotans are fleeing to other states.

Walz and Trump are closer to agreement on mining in the Boundary Wilderness, a pristine area along the Canadian border where large deposits of copper and nickel ore exist. The Biden-Harris Administration wants to block the mining project for 20 years. Walz and Trump feel, if mined with environmental safeguards, the ore could supply the clean-energy industry and provide hundreds of local jobs.

Editorial comment:

While conservatives have attempted to make Tim Walz the Manchurian candidate for his 30-trip romance with China, I cannot find proof. China is an interesting place, whose people need to escape communism. On the other-hand, I do know how the CCP works Americans, funding those who could be used as “useful idiots.” I do see how he fits the CCP’s criteria as useful and perhaps willing. A good example is Eric Swalwell, who was curried by Chinese agent, Christina Fang, while he was on the city counsel of Dublin, CA. She helped him raise money for his congressional run. James Comer and his House Oversight Committee are looking into Walz’s CCP connections.

Walz’ record in Congress is mixed.  He voted as a financial conservative on bailout issues and as a liberal for funding Obamacare. For electability reasons in Minnesota, he has leaned toward the progressive side, making him a good choice for Harris’ vice president, but with some moderate appeal for moderate voters. Walz is an overly kinetic campaigner who stays on the move, clowning and talking over and ignoring questions from media and the public. He was mostly quiet during the CNN, Dana Bash interview. At best, he was present.  He did explain his statement of carrying weapons of war in war zones as bad grammar. I don’t believe his bad grammar excuse as he has a master’s degree in education? His was an embellishment of his military record. He also earns a fudge factor for his claim he was in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest in China. Oh, he misspoke again, he was in Nebraska. In the debate with Vance, he did not appear to me as presidential material, should the need arise.