The election of Joe Biden was meant to bring with it a certain promise. Here was a seasoned politician from a state with conservative elements, with a moderate style that eschewed America’s deepening cultural divides, who believed in compromise and dealmaking with his rivals. When the moment came, he would use these attributes and a narrow Congressional majority to aggressively push through a bold progressive agenda.
That didn’t quite work out with President Biden. But it did, at least at the state level, with Minnesota governor Tim Walz.
As you read this, House Democrats are reportedly pushing Walz as running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris, with even former House speaker Nancy Pelosi reportedly leaning toward her former House colleague. Walz rocketed to national attention after single-handedly coining the entire Democratic establishment’s new attack strategy on Donald Trump and the Republicans, but so far hasn’t been considered a front-runner in the vice-presidential stakes. That’s too bad, and hopefully it’s changing.
A Walz vice-presidential pick would not only consolidate a far-from-united party base and geographically balance out a campaign headed by a corporate California liberal. It would also create something of a bizarro version of the 2008 ticket: one where an exciting, historically diverse candidate is joined by an old white moderate with a history of appealing to more conservative voters. The twist is that this time, the old white moderate would also, paradoxically, be a progressive populist.
Tim Walz has ended up an…
La suite est à lire sur: jacobin.com
Auteur: Branko Marcetic
