On the Campaign Trail

 

Maybe this introductory trek across America for the Harris-Walz team should be called "Make America Happy Again" because, to many pundits and the overflow crowds in attendance, these are joyous occasions. Watching on TV, one can feel the energy, see the smiles, and watch audiences laugh again. Not that these rallies are full of jokes, they have lots of serious content, but it is described without rancor and not at the expense of others.

Tim Walz was an excellent choice in my opinion. He is being described as America's Dad and is quite relatable. "Dad jokes" are proliferating across the Internet.

In the Atlantic, Charlie Warzel describes Walz as Dad-coded.

"All of the Internet posts celebrate and elevate a particular kind of person; a normal guy who is uncomplicated and decent. He isn't cool and he knows it - a self-awareness that brings a kind of liberation. From a strategic standpoint, the Harris campaign seems to understand that the Dad is exactly the right meme to counter the alienating and extremely online tendencies of the right wing. While good vibes online may not do all of the necessary work of drawing voters to Harris in November, optics do matter."

Warzel further describes the memes, (paraphrased here)

"Tim Walz is the dad an entire generation wishes they had instead of the one they lost to Fax News. Tim Walz is outside mowing my lawn or raking my leaves, or getting rid of that hornet's nest for me. He's the guy in the hardware store who explains hex bolts.

The trope of 'Dadness', as refined by the internet, is a cherished caricature. Dad fixes things, but he is also an anchoring presence, tethered not to the choose-your-own-reality of the Internet but to the solid ground of the physical world."

As reported by Axios, others have said:

"Tim Walz could teach me how to drive a stick shift without making me cry once."

It further noted that Walz's "Big Dad" energy was winning hearts across the internet.

Even before Vice President Kamala Harris officially picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, social media was replete with memes hailing him as "everyone's Midwestern dad."

Why it matters: The internet's embrace of Walz's affable nature and everyman appeal further highlights the contrast between the Republican and Democratic tickets in the 2024 race when it comes to appealing to young voters.

The big picture: In the weeks since Walz's stock began rising in the veepstakes, wholesome photos of him dancing, holding a sleeping piglet, and happily being hugged by a group of children have circulated on social media.

The Daily Show joked that Walz would change the oil on a drone to save the Pentagon money.

The campaign's ability to play into the social media deluge underscored the fact that a younger candidate — one more in touch with young voters online — had taken over the ticket.

On the other hand, former President Trump's running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) has already faced the internet's ire — and mockery — over his comments about "childless cat ladies"

Even the Style page of the Washington Post got on this topic as columnist Monica Hesse wrote:

Masculinity's check engine light is on. Let Tim Walz have a look.

Vice-presidential nominee Walz's "Midwestern dad vibe" comes with opportunities to rethink a whole tool kit of types.

"Tim Walz beeps at you at a red light, motions for you to put your window down, and tells you that your right rear tire could use some air," read another. Or: "Tim Walz has enough 10 mm sockets for everyone in the neighborhood." 

"But people are not fanboying and fangirling over Walz as a warm and loving person. They are praising him as, specifically, a man. A man who served in the National Guard, who identified as a proud hunter, who once strongly supported the NRA, and who coached a high school football team all the way to the state championships.

I'd been trying to think of a better descriptor than Midwestern Dad to get at the aura Walz projects. After all, not all good men are Midwestern or dads. Soon I realized the perfect term had already been coined. "Tim Walz has tonic masculinity."

Why does any of this matter? Voters like to find their elected officials relatable. That is why the meme of Walz mowing a neighbor's lawn or snow-blowing their driveway feels real. Certainly, few people would expect to find his opponent in that position. When I watch him give his stump speech, I believe he stands behind what he is saying; he is not just reading words someone wrote for him. He even had to get tutored on teleprompter use, as it was not his usual style. Walz got personal when he described the problems he and his wife had with conception and took his audience through the heartbreak that led them to IVF and, eventually, their daughter Hope. How many in his audience could identify with this? I expect there are many thousands.

I know such remarks will not solve inflation, poverty, famine, or the wars around the globe, but his demonstrated affability, big-heartedness, and openness give his audience confidence that he will get to work on whatever portfolios Kamala sends his way. After the school shooting at Parkland, he returned money donated to him by the NRA, which he previously supported. This shows that he is not stuck in the mud, or wedded to old ideas, such as his opponents are; new information or events can help him change his mind. Walz's description of JD Vance is priceless:

("Like all regular people I grew up with in the Heartland, he went to Yale, had his career funded by Silicon Valley billionaires, and then went on to write a best-selling book trashing that community. Come on!")

And, unlike the former president, he does not change his mind when billionaire owners give him contributions, such as with Tik-Tok or Budweiser Beer.

The phrase 'we're not going back" repeated at every rally shows how much the audience wants not to return to the failed policies of the Maga crowd. They are looking for new ideas, which, as Kamala states, will not only allow them to get by but also to get ahead. Isn't this what we expect of our elected leaders? Do you remember how excited we were when President Obama first ran? When Hope and Change were in the air? Do you feel some of that excitement today?

The crowds have been amazing, with thousands standing in line under high temperatures. In Las Vegas, they had to end the lines, when people fell ill from the heat; still, over 12,000 were in the arena. Some lines at other venues stretched for miles, with people abandoning their cars along the way. (Walz apologized to the audience for their long walks.)

No wonder the Magas are claiming photos of these events were artificially created by AI programs. (They wish!) Truth Social posted the supposedly doctored photos – fakes themselves! In his recent rambling press conference where he answered only a few questions and did not allow the questioners to be heard, DJT claimed his crowds were larger than those at Dr. King's March on Washington, which was an absurd claim. Do you remember when he made his press secretary claim his inaugural crowds were larger than those for President Obama- also patently false!

Can you also recall when Senator John Kerry ran for President against George Bush and the scurrilous campaign waged against him which we now call "swift boating"? As reported by Raw Story, Harlan Crowe, the billionaire closely associated with Justice Clarence Thomas, funded that campaign in 2004; Chris LaCivita, now a spokesperson for DJT, managed that vicious effort. Of course, they are trying this again, by attacking Walz for his 24-year career in the National Guard and questioning whether his unit served in combat. Walz stated the unit supported the Afghanistan effort, but was based in Italy. Some have claimed that he only ran for Congress when there were rumors that the unit was going to be sent to the battlefield. Facts provided in this New York Times article show the dates don't match and are more detailed in this article from PBS. Even the Wall Street Journal called these allegations "thin gruel".

Oregon Public Broadcasting explores both the Swift boating episode and Vance's claim of "Stolen Valor" and debunks them both in the article linked above.

So, so much is happening; I've but only touched the surface here, but I hope it has made you get ready to start making phone calls, knocking on doors, or sending postcards to get out the vote. AP reported Harris raised $310 million in July after announcing, another 32 million came in after the Walz selection, and a Nancy Pelosi fundraiser yesterday collected another 12 million in contributions. There is a lot of money out there and a ton more to be spent. If you can give, please do so.

So that's it for today. News is moving fast these days, I'll try to keep up!

Til next week- Peace!