Walz: the running mate who defies traditional political labels

At a rally in Bozeman, Montana, Donald Trump called Minnesota governor and Kamala Harris’ officially nominated running mate, Tim Walz, a “freakish” communist “comrade” beloved by “pink-haired Marxists.”

Yet the New Republican news site states that the ideologies embraced by Walz, a former schoolteacher, football coach and Army National Guard veteran who served six terms in the US House of Representatives, cannot be understood in terms of left and right.

According to the news site, even the Maryland Republican governor, Larry Hogan, was unable to nail Walz down in traditional political terms. “He’s not a centrist,” Hogan said, adding that he “wouldn’t label him a radical” either.

Walz’s ideology is better measured according to the “me/we” yardstick that goes from libertarian to communitarian, and Walz is very much on the communitarian end of the stick, reports the news site

This has been illustrated by several of his achievements as governor, such as providing children with free school breakfasts and lunches and a law that provides free tuition to Minnesota college students from families with incomes below $80,000.

Photo: screenshot of Kamala HQ X account

Both policies can be seen as practical investments in the future of the state and its children, improving the chances of producing a higher proportion of law-abiding, tax-paying citizens further down the road.

The investments can also be understood as issuing from a simple communitarian ethic, according to the New Republican. As Walz has said in response to the accusation that he is a dangerous liberal, “One person’s socialism is another person’s neighborliness.”

Photo: screenshot of Kamala HQ X account

The left love Walz but Walz is not exactly leftwing, according to the Vox news site. While he has passed a raft of progressive measures dubbed the Minnesota Miracle during his time as governor, he has also shown himself to be tough on issues such as crime.

The progressive policies passed by Walz in Minnesota include paid family leave, the free school meals, marijuana legalization, a 100 percent clean energy mandate by 2040, and a number of protections for organized labor.

But Vox points out that while the measures are progressive they fall firmly within the boundaries of mainstream Democratic ideology.

Reuters reports that Walz’s champions see him as “a model of masculinity for modern America,” who has no qualms about taking orders from a woman of color, and is happy to support reproductive rights while also enjoying hunting and fishing.

After accepting his nomination as Harris’ running mate at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Walz made it clear that the issue closest to his heart was freedom.

“When we Democrats talk about freedom, we mean freedom to make a better life for yourself and the people that you love,” he said.

The 60-year-old added, “Freedom to make your own healthcare decisions. Your kids’ freedom to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the hall.”

Walz condemned the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025  – a suspected blueprint for Trump if he gets into power – as “weird,” “wrong and dangerous,” and “an agenda that serves nobody except the richest.”

Photo: screenshot of Kamala HQ X account

Chosen for his potential appeal to working class voters in America’s swing states, Walz countered chants of “Coach” with “We'll build a country where workers come first, health care and housing are human rights, and the government stays the hell out of your bedroom.”

This last comment was in response to Trump and J.D.Vance’s condemnatory stance on LGBTQ rights as well as abortion.

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