Mark W. Schwiebert: Some thoughts on the Democratic ticket
On a recent trip to Minnesota, I had the opportunity to learn more about the person the Democrats have selected as their vice-presidential candidate, Gov. Tim Walz.
Stories circulate about his many years as a high school social studies teacher and state champion football coach at Mankato West High School in southern Minnesota. A native of West Point, Nebraska, he enlisted in the National Guard after high school and worked in a factory before graduating from college in Nebraska and moving to Minnesota. There he worked as a public school teacher and continued to serve in the National Guard for 24 years until 2005 when he resigned to run for Congress.
Running in a Republican leaning district, he was elected and re-elected five times before successfully running for governor in 2018. During his six terms in Congress, he built a reputation as a moderate with focus on constituent services and veterans' issues. He opposed the bail out of big banks after the 2008 economic recession those banks largely caused. He then supported assistance for hog and dairy farmers dealing with low prices in 2008/2009. In 2013 he refused pay during the government shutdown forced by Tea Partiers, directing his pay go instead to hunger relief organizations.
As an ardent hunter, Walz also improved the Democrats fortunes in the annual Congressional Trap Shooting Competition!
Since Walz was elected Governor in 2018, he's established himself as an advocate for working folks and veterans. He enacted reforms requiring paid leave, increasing spending on infrastructure and environmental issues, and protecting women's reproductive rights.
Putting this record together with that of Kamala Harris, a former prosecuting attorney, U.S. Senator and sitting vice president, the Democrats have a highly qualified team to take a nation forward in a direction benefiting all Americans and not just the wealthiest among us. Add to this the impressive record of the Biden Presidency - producing near record low unemployment, a record high stock market, dramatically dropping crime rates and inflation, and a record of legislative achievements, from the multi-million job - creating Infrastructure Improvement Act to drug price controls through Medicare - and the choice this year should be pretty clear.
This is particularly true when contrasted with the alternative the GOP nominated in Milwaukee. At the top of the ticket is Donald Trump - convicted felon - whose record as president included driving the national debt to record highs (largely through tax cuts for rich folks like himself) and left us with one of the highest unemployment rates since the Great Depression.
Add this to his rambling incoherence such as in the recent presidential debate; and his 2021 attempt to overthrow the government after losing the election by over 7 million votes, and one could wonder how this man can possibly be heading a national party ticket.
Then there is J.D. Vance. Trump's new acolyte began by (quite accurately) calling his current hero "an American Hitler" and "cultural heroin." A native of suburban Ohio, he gained fame with a book about growing up poor among relatives he labeled "hillbillies." After graduating from Yale Law, he practiced briefly with a blue-chip law firm. Then he moved to California to work for wealthy speculator, Peter Thiel.
There's very little here to connect either Trump or Vance with working folks and their hardships and hopes.
This year provides a stark contrast in visions for America. One is bright with both accomplishment and promise for a better America for working families. The other - dark with gloom, lies, and bitter resentment - promises only to "Make America Hate Again."
Americans have a history of favoring the light of idealism tempered by practicality over darkness, of helping one another not just survive but thrive.
Let's work to see we choose that light again this election year.
