Tim Walz: an improbable congressman
by Leigh Pomeroy
Tim Walz is suddenly a celebrity after his upset victory over Gil Gutknecht last Tuesday. No doubt Ph.D. theses will be written on the subject analyzing what the Walz campaign did right and the Gutknecht campaign did wrong.
I can't speak for others who knew Tim before he became an improbable candidate and an even more improbable winner, but I can contribute a few observations on this strange yet wonderful phenomenon.
First of all, I am more an acquaintance of Tim's than a close friend. He was one of my boys' teachers in high school, and they were among the students who went with him on his China trip in the summer of 2005. By that time Tim had announced his candidacy, but it was still a longshot, pie-in-the-sky effort. And no one was even sure if Tim would even be the party nominee.
I want to dispel any inkling that pundits or party operatives might give that Tim was "selected" by high-up honchos in the Democratic Party to run. The only people who deserve credit for his candidacy are his close friends who urged him to do so; the thousands of Democrats, Republicans and independents throughout Minnesota who recognized the unique qualities that would make him both a good candidate and a good congressman; Tim's family, especially his wife, Gwen; and, of course, Tim himself, who realized, humbly, that he could make the run and put in the effort to make it credible.
This was not a top down effort but one from the bottom up. This was an effort that began in southern Minnesota and was fueled initially and exclusively by volunteers. A key component were veterans who, like Tim, were disgusted by the Bush administration's duplicitous policy of promoting a disastrous and expensive war while claiming to support those having to fight it. In fact, the opposite was true. The government was not supplying the armor necessary to protect the troops, and when those troops were arriving home the government was not giving them the necessary support to help them continue their lives.
In short, the Bush administration was saying one thing and doing another. And for many veterans, including Tim, this was more than bad policy; this was un-American.
Tim is a patriotic idealist. He believes in the true ideals upon which this nation was founded: the freedom of the individual, the freedom of rational discourse, the right of the majority to govern, and the right of the minority to be heard. He does not look at politics as a means for one side to rule over the other and the country; rather, he sees politics as a means towards the end of good governance.
One might say that Tim is even naive. But naiveté is a key component of change. Our Founding Fathers were naive to believe that they could force a showdown with the most powerful nation on earth and win. Those American heroes who have been instrumental in igniting this country's preeminent battles — the end of slavery, women's right to vote, the social changes instituted during the 1930s, the civil rights movement — were all naive to think they could overcome overwhelming odds and eventually win.
In short, if Tim were realistic about the odds, he would have never have undertaken the odyssey that today makes him a congressman-elect.
But he was not alone in this naiveté. He is the first to say that he didn't win, "We did." For once he got started, there were dozens, then hundreds, then thousands who were just as naive as he, just as politically idealistic, to tip the scale towards first viability, and finally victory. The outside groups that poured so much money into the final media blitz on his behalf were never planning to do so. It was the crazy excitement that was being generated in southern Minnesota that convinced them of the possibilities of this candidate.
What most people don't know is that in the beginning Tim never expected to win. He was realistic in this sense. He told me he was running in '06 so he could win in '08.
Of course, funny things happen when all the elements come together. And in this case they did, like the stars aligning properly. It's almost as if the campaign were blessed, for even circumstances that could have created major problems, such as John Kerry's canceled visit to Mankato, were turned toward the positive. For the media showed up nonetheless, and Tim got the spotlight instead of Kerry. But he was well prepared for it. And when the reporters tried to trip him up over the infamous Kerry gaffe, Tim deftly steered them away to something he wanted to talk about. And like puppy dogs they went with him.
The Walz saga is far from over. No doubt he will be running again in '08, just as he had planned. But in '08 he will run as the incumbent instead of the challenger.
Related recent articles:
Tim Walz is suddenly a celebrity after his upset victory over Gil Gutknecht last Tuesday. No doubt Ph.D. theses will be written on the subject analyzing what the Walz campaign did right and the Gutknecht campaign did wrong.
I can't speak for others who knew Tim before he became an improbable candidate and an even more improbable winner, but I can contribute a few observations on this strange yet wonderful phenomenon.
First of all, I am more an acquaintance of Tim's than a close friend. He was one of my boys' teachers in high school, and they were among the students who went with him on his China trip in the summer of 2005. By that time Tim had announced his candidacy, but it was still a longshot, pie-in-the-sky effort. And no one was even sure if Tim would even be the party nominee.
I want to dispel any inkling that pundits or party operatives might give that Tim was "selected" by high-up honchos in the Democratic Party to run. The only people who deserve credit for his candidacy are his close friends who urged him to do so; the thousands of Democrats, Republicans and independents throughout Minnesota who recognized the unique qualities that would make him both a good candidate and a good congressman; Tim's family, especially his wife, Gwen; and, of course, Tim himself, who realized, humbly, that he could make the run and put in the effort to make it credible.
This was not a top down effort but one from the bottom up. This was an effort that began in southern Minnesota and was fueled initially and exclusively by volunteers. A key component were veterans who, like Tim, were disgusted by the Bush administration's duplicitous policy of promoting a disastrous and expensive war while claiming to support those having to fight it. In fact, the opposite was true. The government was not supplying the armor necessary to protect the troops, and when those troops were arriving home the government was not giving them the necessary support to help them continue their lives.
In short, the Bush administration was saying one thing and doing another. And for many veterans, including Tim, this was more than bad policy; this was un-American.
Tim is a patriotic idealist. He believes in the true ideals upon which this nation was founded: the freedom of the individual, the freedom of rational discourse, the right of the majority to govern, and the right of the minority to be heard. He does not look at politics as a means for one side to rule over the other and the country; rather, he sees politics as a means towards the end of good governance.
One might say that Tim is even naive. But naiveté is a key component of change. Our Founding Fathers were naive to believe that they could force a showdown with the most powerful nation on earth and win. Those American heroes who have been instrumental in igniting this country's preeminent battles — the end of slavery, women's right to vote, the social changes instituted during the 1930s, the civil rights movement — were all naive to think they could overcome overwhelming odds and eventually win.
In short, if Tim were realistic about the odds, he would have never have undertaken the odyssey that today makes him a congressman-elect.
But he was not alone in this naiveté. He is the first to say that he didn't win, "We did." For once he got started, there were dozens, then hundreds, then thousands who were just as naive as he, just as politically idealistic, to tip the scale towards first viability, and finally victory. The outside groups that poured so much money into the final media blitz on his behalf were never planning to do so. It was the crazy excitement that was being generated in southern Minnesota that convinced them of the possibilities of this candidate.
What most people don't know is that in the beginning Tim never expected to win. He was realistic in this sense. He told me he was running in '06 so he could win in '08.
Of course, funny things happen when all the elements come together. And in this case they did, like the stars aligning properly. It's almost as if the campaign were blessed, for even circumstances that could have created major problems, such as John Kerry's canceled visit to Mankato, were turned toward the positive. For the media showed up nonetheless, and Tim got the spotlight instead of Kerry. But he was well prepared for it. And when the reporters tried to trip him up over the infamous Kerry gaffe, Tim deftly steered them away to something he wanted to talk about. And like puppy dogs they went with him.
The Walz saga is far from over. No doubt he will be running again in '08, just as he had planned. But in '08 he will run as the incumbent instead of the challenger.
Related recent articles:
- "Mr. Walz goes to Washington" by James A. Bowey, Winona Daily News
- "Winning for Walz: Campaign workers share victory with their candidate" by Mark Fischenich, Mankato Free Press
- "Walz’s win has big impact on Ivanhoe native: His wife" by Robert Wolfington III, Marshall Independent
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