Beneath the Camo

Tim Walz was a good choice for Kamala Harris’ running mate. He could be better.

Somebody said that Walz looks like a guy who just climbed out of a deer stand. Having witnessed many guys soon after they’ve departed their deer stands, I’d say that’s about right.

Walz is a hunter, a former teacher and football coach, a veteran and a carnivore. He’s on the ticket to be a regular guy and thus relatable to male voters and Midwesterners. That’s fine. I’m glad they’re making the attempt. But, just as Harris needs to sit down with a reporter and answer some substantive questions, at some point Walz needs go beyond the veneer.

He has to get to the substance of the question: why do Democrats do so poorly with men and with blue collar voters?

Part of the answer is in Walz’ selection itself. While it’s welcome, it’s also an example of how Democrats view the world. They parse it up into identity groups. They appeal to Black voters with this rhetoric and those policies. Then it’s on to women and then Hispanics and the LGBT community, native Americans, Pacific Islanders, etc.

An obvious example of one group they have never tried to appeal to is white men. They probably thought they covered that base when they talked about unions, assuming that every blue collar white guy belonged to one.

So, if Walz ever gets around to addressing the substance of why he’s on the ticket, here’s what I’d suggest.

Don’t talk to guys as guys. Men don’t care if you “look like them.” In fact, that phrase drives them up a wall because it runs against the grain of what they believe: that what you look like should count for nothing. It’s performance that matters.

Talk values, not details. Talk about the value of hard work, of getting what you’ve earned, of getting a fair break. Work hard and play by the rules and you should be able to get ahead, but you don’t get anything just for breathing. Emphasize personal responsibility and initiative. Don’t talk about victimhood.

Don’t equate labor with unions. Only one in ten American workers belong to one. Unions are fine, but union members are atypical among the workforce. I’m pretty sure Walz will mess this up once again when he travels to Milwaukee on Labor Day. Details aren’t yet available, but you can be sure he’ll show up at a union picnic. That’s fine, but it wouldn’t hurt to visit a Wal-Mart as well.

Don’t equate labor with hard hats. Most workers don’t wear one. They work at the Kwik Trip or as bookkeepers or selling or working to repair cars, that kind of thing. Democrats seemed to have formed their impression of the American worker in 1950 and they haven’t updated it since.

The problem with all this is that much of it runs counter to the NPR Liberal wing of the Democratic Party. They really do believe that all white men (and men in general) are oppressors regardless of their station in life. They really do view everyone as a member of an identity group rather than as an individual. They really do believe that identity is destiny and personal initiative counts for little. They really do support current discrimination to make up for past discrimination. They celebrate victimhood and assign value based on its depth. They really do think that merit is a tool of the oppressors. They think everyone should get a guaranteed income just for being alive. They really do think that talking about hard work is racist. They really do equate labor with unions.

So even if Walz gets it, he might not be able to talk about it, at least not during the campaign.

If his very existence on the ballot picks up one point for Harris in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, he will probably have done his job. But I hope that once he and Harris are safely in office he can spend some time as Vice President addressing these issues head on. After all, he won’t have anything else to do.