VP Harris unleashes Tim Walz!

August 14, 2024

Three overlapping developments on Tuesday boosted Democratic prospects in November. The race remains tight nationally, in swing states, and in the electoral college —but the trends all favor Democrats.

The developments include Governor Tim Walz's strong debut as a solo campaigner, the fallout from Trump’s anti-union remarks on Musk's Twitter interview on Monday, and the qualification of ballot initiatives in Arizona and Missouri that would guarantee reproductive freedom for citizens of those states.

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Tim Walz makes strong solo debut in Los Angeles

Proving the wisdom of selecting Tim Walz for the vice-presidential slot, Walz turned in a strong performance during his first solo campaign outing at the Los Angeles convention of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Tim Walz gave a rousing speech, emphasizing the Harris-Walz support for labor unions—and Trump-Vance’s hostility to organized labor.

The full speech is included in this article: PBS News, Walz tells union members in Los Angeles that Trump and Vance have ‘waged war on working people’. It is worth your time to watch a few minutes of the twenty-minute speech. It will inspire confidence in Tim Walz as a partner, ally, and effective surrogate for Kamala Harris.

As usual, Tim Walz did not mince words. While noting that he and Kamala Harris both joined union members on the picket lines, he reminded the audience of 4,000 union members that UAW president Shawn Fain just called Donald Trump “a scab.” Walz said that Trump had spent his career “stiffing service workers on his own properties” and opposing increases in the minimum wage.

Walz recounted Trump's recent statement at a gathering of billionaires, “You’re rich as hell and we are going to cut your taxes.” Walz asked, “Who do you know wants to cut taxes on billionaires but opposes raising the minimum?” Walz then put a cherry on top by reviewing the Senate voting record of JD Vance, noting that he is one of only four Senators who “has never cast a vote in favor of a pro-worker bill.”

Walz addressed the manufactured controversy over his military service record by taking the high road, praising everyone who “put on the uniform” to serve our country:

[JD Vance] is attacking me for my record of service. I am proud to serve my country and always will be.  . . . I was a member of the Veterans Affair Committee and a champion of our men and women in uniform. I am damn proud of my service to this country, and I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person’s service record. For anyone brave enough to put on the uniform for our great country, including my opponent, I have just a few simple words: Thank you for your service and sacrifice.

Walz’s earnest delivery on this point is worth watching. See the jump link to the video here: Tim Walz comments on his service in the National Guard.

Walz closed his speech by urging Democrats and union members not to take anything for granted in the 2024 election:

This is going to be a close, tough race. But if each of us does an extra shift, devotes an extra hour, does a little bit more, we get to wake up on the morning after the election and know that the work we did transformed the lives of millions, transformed generations, impacted the world. That’s how it happens. We organize, we donate, we volunteer. . . . We have eighty four days to control our destiny.

It is easy to see why Tim Walz has a net positive (11+) favorability rating—a rating that eclipses every other candidate on the presidential and vice-presidential slates for 2024. JD Vance, by comparison, has a net negative (-9) favorability rating nationally, a rarity for a vice-presidential candidate. Worse (for Vance), among the voters who know him best (in Ohio), Vance holds a negative favorability rating of -16!

The more voters get to know Tim Walz, the more they like him. The opposite is true for JD Vance. Kamala Harris chose well!

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UAW sues Trump and Musk for comments made during Trump's Twitter interview

Among the many bizarre occurrences during Musk’s “conversation” with Trump on Twitter, Trump praised Musk for firing workers at Telsa who attempted to unionize. See Newsweek, Donald Trump Cheers Elon Musk Over Firing Workers: 'You're the Greatest!'

During the Twitter conversation, Trump said,

I love it. You're the greatest . . . I mean, I look at what you do. You just walk in and you just say, 'You wanna quit?' They go on strike, I won't mention the name of the company, but they go on strike and you say, 'That's OK, you're all gone . . . Every one of you is gone.'"

Unfortunately for Trump and Musk, it is a violation of federal law to intimidate workers for attempting to organize. On Tuesday, the UAW filed a complaint against both Trump and Musk. The UAW issued a blistering statement along with the complaint:  

Under federal law, workers cannot be fired for going on strike, and threatening to do so is illegal under the National Labor Relations Act.

“When we say Donald Trump is a scab, this is what we mean. When we say Trump stands against everything our union stands for, this is what we mean,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “Donald Trump will always side against workers standing up for themselves, and he will always side with billionaires like Elon Musk, who is contributing $45 million a month to a Super PAC to get him elected. Both Trump and Musk want working class people to sit down and shut up, and they laugh about it openly. It’s disgusting, illegal, and totally predictable from these two clowns.”

Ouch! For a hot minute, Trump was courting the labor vote. No more! Although the Teamsters Union declined (last month) to endorse Biden or Trump, the Black Caucus of the Teamsters Union voted on Tuesday (after the Twitter interview) to endorse Kamala Harris. See. Politico, Teamsters' Black caucus defies leadership with Harris endorsement.

So, in an unscripted “interview” with Elon Musk, Trump manages to start a war with organized labor. Meanwhile, Tim Walz is proving his chops as a national campaign surrogate for Kamala Harris. It’s nice when Democratic strengths overlap with Republican weaknesses.

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Abortion rights ballot initiatives qualify for ballot in Arizona and Missouri

In another positive development for Democratic prospects in November, abortion rights ballot initiatives qualified for the November ballot in Arizona and Missouri. See CNN Politics, Abortion rights measures will be on November ballots in Missouri and Arizona.

Measures ensuring access to abortion and reproductive healthcare are currently qualified on eight state ballots: Arizona, Missouri, Nevada, Colorado, South Dakota, Florida, Maryland, and New York. Two additional states—Nebraska and Montana—are possible late additions. See KFF, Ballot Tracker: Status of Abortion-Related State Constitutional Amendment Measures.

The presence of the ballot initiatives bodes well for turnout in each of the eight (or ten) states. Although turnout is important everywhere, Arizona, Nevada, and Florida loom large on the electoral map. Republicans managed to achieve a reactionary judicial revolution after fifty years of effort. Democrats are now turning the issue against Republicans. Reproductive liberty is not a “small issue” as Trump claims but may prove decisive in Kamala Harris’s victory.

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What about Trump's slurred speech yesterday?

Some major media outlets have mentioned Trump's slurred speech on Monday evening’s Twitter conversation. But many of the references were in passing (e.g., the NYTimes). If President Biden has slurred his words in the same way, it would have been the headline in the Times for a week.

Some commentators, including Jay Kuo, have suggested the slurring was the result of audio compression. Okay. Fair point. But if it was a technical glitch, why has the campaign denied that Trump slurred his words? Why not blame the technical glitch? And why didn’t Musk experience the same problem?

Moreover, a camera at Mar-a-Lago recorded Trump’s side of the conversation—which would not have been compressed. Why not release that video? And then there is the fact that Trump has slurred his words during live remarks televised by the White House. See, e.g., CNN (December 7, 2017), Did President Trump slur his speech?

At the very least, there is a question to be asked. But, again, the media has given Trump a free pass over an issue the media used to drive Joe Biden out of the race.

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Trump turns to Barron Trump to help reach Gen Z voters

I have difficulty believing this story is not satire: Trump is reportedly turning to his son Barron for help in overcoming Kamala Harris’s lead among Gen Z voters. The story is being reported in multiple outlets. See, e.g., The Independent, Trump turns to teen son Barron and his influencer best friend to try to rival Harris’s ‘brat’ Gen Z appeal.

I will spare you the details, but the high-level takeaway is that Barron is friends with a 17-year-old right-wing influencer (Bo Loudon). Bo, in turn, has put Trump in touch with other right-wing influencers, including Andrew Tate’s “heir apparent,” Justin Waller.

I hope the names of the influencers mean nothing to you. But they represent MAGA extremists. For example, Wikipedia describes Andrew Tate the "king of toxic masculinity", as part of the manosphere; is described as both right-wing and far-right, and has previously self-described as a misogynist.” [Citations omitted.] If Justin Waller is Andrew Tate’s “heir apparent,” he represents a small slice of Gen Z.

So, if Barron Trump has put his father in touch with the “heir apparent” to the “king of toxic masculinity” as a way of boosting Trump's standing among Gen Z voters, Barron is repeating the mistake his father is committing on the campaign trail—refusing to make any effort to expand his base. Moreover, it is a sign of desperate amateurism to turn to a seventeen-year-old son to advise on a national presidential campaign. If true, using Barron Trump to reach Gen Z is a sign that the wheels are coming off the Trump campaign.

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Note re Adam Schiff fundraiser on Wednesday at 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern

If you signed up for the Adam Schiff + nine US Senate candidates fundraiser on Wednesday and haven’t received an email with a link to the event, please check your spam and junk folders. I have received about a dozen emails saying, “I haven’t received a link to the event.” In every case except one, the link to the event had been diverted to the junk or spam folders of the reader making the inquiry.

Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!

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Concluding Thoughts

The media has criticized Kamala Harris for not having announced her policy positions. Like many of the media’s criticisms, this one is designed to create false controversy.

Let’s start with the obvious fact that Kamala Harris is the sitting Vice President. Anyone interested in her policy positions could check the administration’s current policies—which number in the thousands. If journalists are unfamiliar with WhiteHouse.gov, I highly recommend that website to journalists as a resource for educating themselves about the administration’s policies.

And then there is the fact that Kamala Harris was one-half of the Biden-Harris ticket that campaigned in dozens of primaries and won 14 million votes this year. Again, for reporters who can’t find their way to the now-superseded Biden-Harris website, it is here: Official Campaign Website

Finally, Trump has been campaigning for president since January 6, 2021—nearly four years ago. He has had ample time to develop his despotic agenda. Kamala Harris has been a candidate for president for less than four weeks. Criticizing her for failing to have detailed policy statements so the press can pick them apart is part of the media’s mistaken belief that it is the center of the universe.

So, for the media eager to find grounds for criticizing Kamala Harris, she stands on the Biden Harris record—in part because she must. She is still part of the Biden-Harris administration and cannot undermine Joe Biden’s presidential authority. To her great credit, she was loyal to Joe Biden until the last second before he withdrew from the race. Trump could learn something about loyalty from Kamala Harris. And reporters could learn a lot about her policy positions if they quit pretending she just fell out of a coconut tree as an unknown presidential candidate with no policy history.

That’s it for this evening! Talk to you tomorrow!

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Below is a photo of the Cave Nebula, which is 2,700 light-years from Earth and has a diameter of 70 light-years. The photo was taken during a sixty-minute exposure in Los Angeles, California, on 8/10/2024.

In response to reader questions, I note that a “sixty-minute exposure” results from “stacking” 360 individual ten-second exposures into a single photo. That process “amplifies” the faint photons that have traveled 2,700 light-years to pierce the dome of light pollution that covers Los Angeles.