August 9, 2024

Friday, August 9, 2024. Annette’s News Roundup.

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Joe is always busy.

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Kamala is always busy.

And always moral.

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How the Midwest is won.

Football and celebrity could bring the White House home.

Tim Walz Could Take It to the House by Howard Wolfson.

Howard Wolfson is a senior political adviser to Michael Bloomberg, a former mayor of New York, and was a deputy mayor of the city from 2010 to 2013. He also was a senior adviser to Hillary Clinton’s Senate campaign and the communications director for her first presidential campaign.

Kamala Harris has done a remarkable job of consolidating the Democratic Party’s base of women and voters of color since President Biden dropped out of the race just over two weeks ago. She is now polling in a virtual tie with Donald Trump.

With her announcement on Tuesday that Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota is her running mate, Ms. Harris has chosen a Midwest governor whose biography should give him an important opportunity to reach out to the male voters Democrats are struggling to reach.

There is no substitute for an energized base. But while that is a prerequisite to success, it is not sufficient for victory. For that Ms. Harris will almost certainly have to improve her numbers with a group of male voters whose drift away from Democrats predates her entry in this campaign.

As a former adviser to Hillary Clinton, I know all too well that there are some men who are reluctant to vote for a woman, and polling has made clear that young men in particular are increasingly backing Mr. Trump and the G.O.P. Ms. Harris can afford to lose this cohort. But she must cut into Mr. Trump’s margin.

It is clear that Ms. Harris understands this challenge — a key reason all of the top contenders for vice president were white and male, and why she was right to choose Mr. Walz.

All of the runners-up were impressive, especially Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, whose popularity and strong record in a critical swing state would have made him an excellent choice.

But only one is a former high school football coach: Mr. Walz. It’s an identity that has stuck over the years.

Why does that matter? Because football may be the last remaining unifying force in a deeply divided America.

Of the hundred most-watched network TV programs last year, 93 were N.F.L. games. Universities collectively draw hundreds of thousands of spectators to their stadiums, in red states and blue. And high school contests under the lights on Friday nights shut down entire towns.

Football is our civic religion. I grew up watching the Giants every week with my grandfather and father. Today I watch RedZone every Sunday with my teenage son over pizza. Millions of other American fathers and sons spend their weekends this way.

For us, football is a common language, a way of understanding the world and what it takes to be successful. In this cosmos of heroes and villains, the coach looms large.

There is a reason “Friday Night Lights,” a popular TV series about high school football, revolved around the team’s coach, and why the show’s signature line was his: “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.” Players come and go. In the N.F.L. in particular their careers are often short and their faces are obscured by helmets and face masks. The Babe Ruth or Michael Jordan of football is a coach, not a player: Bear Bryant. Vince Lombardi. Nick Saban. And we venerate them, not just for their understanding of the game but also for their understanding of men — for their ability to shape and motivate young men into a team. Only the coach is visible throughout the game’s entirety, prowling the sidelines and willing his team to victory.

Mr. Walz gets this. He played high school football in Butte, Neb. At Mankato West High School in Minnesota he helped coach the football team to a state championship. He understands the power of his experience, and ran ads in previous campaigns that emphasized his coaching, even taking his case to voters directly from the 50-yard line.

This background — as a coach, and as a member of the armed services — helped him represent a blue-collar swing congressional district in Congress. He was re-elected in the red wave year of 2010 and ran nearly 15 points ahead of Mr. Trump’s winning margin in his district in 2016 — one of the highest margins of overperformance in the country.

Put simply, Mr. Walz has a record of earning support from precisely the kinds of voters Democrats need to retain the White House.

At the Republican convention last month, Mr. Trump showcased a wrestler and an ultimate fighting championship executive. Mr. Trump understands the value of strength in politics. Imagine a Democratic convention in which Tim Walz is introduced by former players who can attest to his character in supporting and guiding them to victory on the field and in life. That’s an inspiring brand of toughness. Bill Clinton reminds us that “strong and wrong” beats “weak and right.” With Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz, Democrats can own right and strong.

Mr. Walz could then begin a running conversation with voters, particularly young men, throughout the fall about football — high school, college and pro. The blue wall states Harris must win, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, are football crazy. Park Mr. Walz in them and let him crisscross the states, hopscotching from tailgates to watch parties. Put him on podcasts and talk radio that focus on football.

Ms. Harris is betting big that she and Mr. Walz in tandem will showcase the breadth and depth of the Democratic Party — coastal and Midwestern, male and female — and build a coalition of voters to rival those that elected Barack Obama and Mr. Biden. Mr. Walz will complement her, spending time in exurban and rural areas that Democrats rarely venture into, while she’ll focus on the suburbs and cities. Their partnership will send a strong signal that every American is welcome in Ms. Harris’s America.

Vince Lombardi once said, “People who work together will win, whether it be against complex football defenses or the problems of modern society.” Tim Walz understands this, too. And it’s why he is the best choice to be Ms. Harris’s running mate. (Op-ed, New York Times)

Here is a celebrity with her football playing boyfriend.

Maybe they would like to join Kamala and Tim at a few rallies in the Midwest? Maybe this woman on the left below 👇 would like to join them?

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Trump Cozied Up to Extremist Leader He Claims Not to Know

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Vance tries to ‘swift-boat’ Tim Walz, but the truth doesn’t support him.

Vance Attacks Walz’s Military Record, Accusing Him of Avoiding a Tour in Iraq.

Senator JD Vance of Ohio also claimed Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota had exaggerated his service record.

Mr. Walz said a decision to retire and run for Congress came months before any notice of deployment.

Mr. Vance based his accusations on a Facebook post from 2018, and a paid letter to the editor to The West Central Tribune that same year in which the writers, Thomas Behrends and Paul Herr, both retired command sergeant majors in the Minnesota National Guard, accused Mr. Walz of “conveniently retiring a year before his battalion was deployed to Iraq.”

The criticisms were first leveled by Mr. Behrends and Mr. Herr during Mr. Walz’s first campaign for governor.

But Joseph Eustice, a 32-year veteran of the national guard who led the same battalion as Mr. Walz and served under him, said in an interview on Wednesday that the governor was a dependable soldier and that the attacks by his fellow comrades were unfounded.

“He was as good a soldier as you’d find, and to have two former sergeant majors say that he wasn’t, it’s just not true,” Mr. Eustice said, adding that he disagreed with Mr. Walz’s politics and most likely would not vote for him in November even though they were friends.

Mr. Eustice recalled that Mr. Walz’s decision to run for Congress came months before the battalion received any official notice of deployment, though he said there had been rumors that it might be deployed.

The two men were exercising in early 2005, when Mr. Walz, who was then a command sergeant major, turned to Mr. Eustice, who was then a first sergeant, and said: “I got to ask you something. I’m thinking about running for Congress,” Mr. Eustice recalled.

“I said, ‘What the hell’s wrong?’” he added. “I mean, why would you want to do such a thing?”

The Harris-Walz campaign did not provide any new details about the timeline of Mr. Walz’s decision to retire. Instead, it pointed to other past comments from fellow guardsmen who said that Mr. Walz had been considering running for office for some time and that the decision to retire from the military had weighed heavily on him.

“After 24 years of military service, Governor Walz retired in 2005 and ran for Congress, where he chaired Veterans Affairs and was a tireless advocate for our men and women in uniform,” said Ammar Moussa, a campaign spokesman, “and as vice president of the United States, he will continue to be a relentless champion for our veterans and military families.” (New York Times)

Walz earned several Army commendation and achievement medals during his more than 24 years of service. Walz deployed in August 2003 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The Minnesota National Guard told CBS News the battalion supported security missions at various locations in Europe and Turkey. (CBS News).

What was JD Vance's military experience?
Vance served four years in the Marine Corps as an enlisted combat correspondent, in public affairs, and deployed once to Iraq for roughly six months, according to his military record. (CNN).

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On that question of Israel, Jewishness and antisemitism.

Tabulating Jewish members of Congress by Party.👇

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Your daily reminder.

Trump is a convicted felon.

On May 30th, he was found guilty on 34 felony counts by the unanimous vote of 12 ordinary citizens.

The Convicted Felon Donald J. Trump was scheduled to be sentenced on July 11. He will now be sentenced sometime around September 18th.

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Olympics Update.

Yesterday was a BIG DAY. 3 gold medals. 8 medals. for American athletes.

Steph Curry, 6’2”, scored 36 points. Men’s Basketball. USA Men came back from 17 points down to beat Serbia. It will be USA v.France for the Gold Medal on Saturday.

As expected, American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone proved unstoppable. She lowered her world record for the sixth time, finishing the 400-meter hurdles in 50.37 seconds for another Olympic blowout.

It turns out the Fastest Man in the World, American Noah Lyles, had Covid, and left the stadium in a wheelchair, and still earned a place on the podium. He likely will not run the men’s 4x100 meter relay.

One more thing. Or two.

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