mtutiger

In terms of oppo, I expect them to focus a lot on Minneapolis post-George Floyd. Not even clear whether Walz handled it poorly (my recollection was that it was a **** hand and he played it about as well as he could). The counter to that though: if you are Trump's campaign or a supporter of Trump, why would you want to remind anyone of anything that happened in 2020?

Random observation, but I've already seen "party of the workin' man" supporters online talk disparagingly on Walz' educational background (Chadron State University, Minnesota State)... Second ticket in a row for Ds with no Ivy's represented... Cannot say the same for the GOP

I really like Tim Walz, have liked him long before this process... But I do sort of have a bad taste in my mouth that the process that led to him being picked led to a lot of impugning of Josh Shapiro and his faith. People can skewer me for that, but that's how I feel.

Lean Walz at this point... Shapiro makes it a difficult decision because of where he governs and how important the Commonwealth is to the Electoral College. But my sense is that on a personal level, Walz vibes better with Harris. And the personal relationship aspect matters a lot as well. Also think the framing around I/P issue is really unfair to Shapiro... At the end of the day, he and Walz are really close on policy.

The #KamalaCrash continues unabated apparently

"Kamabla" Kenta Maeda has more heat on his fastball at this point than this guy does lol

This is also not true...

This obviously is not true...

Curious to know what's funny about this.

I definitely want more cooperation, but from a policy perspective, I'd like two opposition parties who actually push and pull against each other, in good faith, as that often leads to the best policy outcomes. Part of the issue with Trump is that, due to the nature of his personality, it's impossible to really create that situation because he takes everything personally and can't get past his grudges. Because, though he's not diagnosed, he shares a lot of traits of someone who is a narcissist The part of me that's skeptical of Eric on this is the idea that (speaking from experience) you can never be perfect forever with someone with that personality issue.... you'll always slip up and things will inevitably turn toxic. You cannot win. I'm sure that would have happened even with a different initial strategy to dealing with Trump when he first took office.... and it's why it's really not a viable way to run a country IMO

I don't know that Eric is right on this (he honestly might be).... but the idea that for our government to function, it requires the political opposition engaging in flattery and obsequiousness of a President who appears to be a malignant narcissist... that's just not a way to run a country regardless.

Have no idea which direction she will go, but Walz' rise in this competition from relative obscurity is impressive regardless of who she goes with.

The polls are now fake again in Trumplandia

For the record, the Olympics this year have been really enjoyable... It's a shame that some are letting distractions inhibit the really impressive accomplishments by many of the athletes competing this year. Their loss, I guess

Could they have though? This was always going happen. None of the old guard, which includes CCW Cooke here, wants to admit this thing is a cult. They are in denial

Just an insane strategy here... Its like he *wants* to lose Georgia

We've come a long way from the "unity" message after someone took a shot at him A lot of good conversations happened after that... I'm not surprised that nothing that was discussed mattered apparently

It's bad enough that it affects the athletes, but our stupid culture war bull**** affects the families too. SMH

If you aren't pure enough, you get purged... Who wants to be a part of that?

I still think the dynamics favor Shapiro, particularly if she *likes* him personally... But Tim Walz has impressed me a lot. His political instincts and image I think are worthy of the hype he has gotten throughout this process. I'd be fine with all of them, but my guy tells me that it comes down to Shapiro and Walz IMO

Walz has been using the "weird" line for a long time as well... I remember seeing a clip of him from MSNBC from before Thanksgiving last year saying using that toward Trump. One of the criticisms is that this was some sort of work shopped/focus grouped line, and I don't think it's true. I think it went viral because JD Vance, in particular, gave it oxygen. I didn't hear him with Ezra Klein, but I did hear him talk to one of the Pod Bros and he made a good point (one that has probably been adopted by the campaign and should be adopted by supporters) of using it only toward the candidate or his surrogates, not supporters. I don't doubt what you are saying about part of how "basket of deplorables" backfired, but Walz' point is important: keep the focus on the candidate.