You know what really bothers me about Tim Walz?
— JD Vance (@JDVance) August 7, 2024
When the US Marine Corps asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it.
When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, he dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him. I think that's shameful. pic.twitter.com/Dq9xjn4R51
August 7, 2024
Devastating... or is there an answer to this? Better get it out quick.
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NBC's Chuck Todd says 'Walz pick is a ‘yellow flag’, shows that Harris may be easily controlled by far left' - KH is the far left.
Filed under: Something the Democratic Media will never ask the VP candidate.
For the Democrats, refusing to serve in George Bush's war may be a feature and not a bug. For the rest of the country, not so much.
He was leading by being left behind
They are counting on the dearth of military veterans in the 2024 voting cohort to cover for this. This is a signal that they live in a bubble, to me. I may be wrong and they may be right. The people with traditional military values are not on their short list of advisors, and they probably don't have people who have served in their circle. Coach is supposed to cover for all that.
The rollout has been professional, and the media is pretty united in pushing the narrative. Let's see how that works. They won't be forwarding the Vance clip - you'll have to find it on X. At least they can't censor it off of X. At least I hope not. "Vance has cooties. Eyeliner." - the media.
The easiest Democrat answer is that JD Vance was a lawyer, whereas Vance was a National Guardsman. Of course, that is a garbage answer, so the best thing is to never talk about it at all.
It's why they really can't afford to let Vance debate Walz, though.
The answer on the left .... is TO ... LIE ABOUT IT.
I have seen that the guy who took over Walz's command has been savaging him over this.
Walz is such a bad choice that it's almost caught the Republicans flat-footed. There's almost the question of "What are we missing here? Are the Dems playing 4D chess with us?!" Furthermore, Walz is so target-rich, it's hard to know where to even start, or what line of attack will be most effective. It's a veritable buffet of options.
Maybe that IS the 4D chess?! Come up with a VP pick so ridiculous that it throws Republicans into confusion and leaves them flailing?! So many lines of attack it's hard to land a knockout punch?! That must be the plan. I'm sure of it.
Governor Walz Signs Veterans and Military Affairs Bill Into Law
“Other prominent veterans who served in those wars are speaking out against Vance, as well as the notion that he represents them.
Those veterans — including retired Marine Corps officers Joe Plenzler and Scott Cooper, as well as Amy McGrath, a former Democratic political candidate from Kentucky and the first woman to fly a combat mission for the Marine Corps — accused Vance of political flip-flopping and criticized his isolationist stance toward foreign policy.
Vance’s promotion of unfounded claims about the 2020 presidential election doesn’t align with the oath of enlistment and the promise to defend democracy, McGrath argued.”
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2024/08/06/jd-vance-represents-veterans-on-ballot-but-some-ask-at-what-cost/
This is bad but I'm not sure if it is devastating. I don't think this will depress Left wing turnout much if any. The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth campaign against John Kerry was somewhat effective because Kerry was trying to portray himself as a war hero, but had a history of saying very disparaging things about his fellow service members. That kind of hypocritical and two-faced behavior is galling to many. I don't know Tim Walz's history of campaigning but unless him being in the national guard was very forefront, him avoiding going to Iraq won't seem that bad to folks who were or were likely to vote for the Democratic ticket. Plus he is the VP candidate not the Presidential one. If it reflects poorly on Kamala it is that she was forced to pick such a weak VP candidate, presumably because no one better wanted to risk their own political career on her winning.
Retired at 41 after 2 dozen years in the National Guard? Am i missing something?
He served many many years.
Serving when there is no risk and then resigning as soon as risk occurs is still pretty much cowardice.
Now there is an effective attack by JD Vance. In golf there is a saying, "Go straight for pin."
mezzrow
They are counting on the dearth of military veterans in the 2024 voting cohort..
they're counting, that the only military "veterans" in the USA that would vote for Kamela are Howard and Igna's daughter.. Both of which "claim" to be veterans
Vance wasn't a lawyer in the Marines. He joined right out of high school, before he went to college.
May 2005, was that before or after Trump turned against Bush's War?
It’s the most stunning transformation of a party’s presidential prospects I have ever seen. I think Democrats should be happy that Biden was as bad as he was at the debate.
but unless him being in the national guard was very forefront
Inga went out of her way to mention it, so it must be in the talking points. There was a desire to counter JD Vance's service, and this was the Dem's answer.
I knew Inga would try. Personally, I hope we talk more about the military and war, so that we can finally have a discussion about Afghanistan. For that matter, we can perhaps discuss Niger, that the Harris Administration just abandoned last week. Inga's claim Trump is isolationist, but it is the Harris Administration abandoning US military bases (and Consulates, can't forget the helicopter evacuation of those too) around the world when the going gets tough.
Perhaps that his retirement papers didn't have his signature because he was no longer reporting for duty?
Rich
It’s the most stunning transformation of a party’s presidential prospects I have ever seen
that's Rich! just wait a few weeks, then tell us about That stunning transformation
Look at all the little lefties playing dumb and dancing around obfuscating what occurred with Walz and his Stolen Valor cowardice! So much confidence!!
"Retired at 41 after 2 dozen years in the National Guard? Am i missing something?"
Why yes, readering, you are! And by choice.
Poor Inga is in Panic Cut and Paste Mode (she gets like that whenever she cannot defend what her anti-semitic/pro-Hamas New Soviet Democratical Party is up to.
Poor Rich is forced to try and come up with his own LLR-democratical talking points without guidance from above with the predictable results.
Its amusing.
Walz claims to have been a Sgt. Major in the Guard. Among enlisted, that's sorta an "executive position".
It's a fair cop, what Pudge Vance says. Political ambition over leading your Man is a very very bad look. The stupid cool kids running the DNC just look to see if a box is checked they don't bother to read the footnotes
I don't think there's an answer, I think it's to neutralize the Democrats trying to present Walz as some glorious fighting man, which apparently they are already trying to do this based on longevity. Plus he's been filmed giving talks talking about carrying weapons into combat and he never did do that.
https://votevets.org/press-releases/votevets-makes-historic-first-ever-endorsement-for-president
“On behalf of its over-1.5 million supporters, Veterans group says “Harris-Walz ticket will defend America and our Veterans.””
Here is USA Today touting his service. Here is Politico on how Walz can help Harris connect with veterans. Here is The Miami Herald running the same piece as USA Today, so it must be from the Harris campaign. Here is a similar piece in Stars and Stripes reaching out to veterans.
I think we can be certain he was chosen based in part on his service.
" I think Democrats should be happy that Biden was as bad as he was at the debate."
You think it was a "surprise" to them? Just "good luck." EVERYONE who sent him out on the stage knew what would happen.
This was all part of the plan. There was no "luck."
1. This Spring the whisper campaign started, but Joe wouldn't step down.
2. So, let's put Hunter on trial. But Joe wouldn't step down.
3. Send him out on stage to embarrass himself with a full diaper on national TV. The earliest presidential debate that I can remember. Just a coincidence! But, Joe wouldn't step down.
4. Now the whisper campaign become a full throated revolt. But, Joe wouldn't step down.
5. Joe gets "sick" in Vegas & maybe gets threatened with a little 25th Amendment....aaaaaaaaaand BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE!
There is no "luck" involved. It was persistence.
Look at Drago masturbating all over the comment section whenever they get an Itch in their pants
I bet they lose a lot of supporters. Pretty dumb IMO.
And uh oh lefties!!! It appears that the Stolen Valor lies of Walz just might be on video........(I will allow the 72 hour rule to apply here but lets all take a look at it anyway, shall we?):
As the article calls it out, here's Walz going Full Metal Stolen Valor:
"I'll take my kick in the butt from the NRA. I spent 25 years in the Army and I hunt. And I gave the money back. And I'll tell you what I have been doing. I’ve been voting for common sense legislation that protects the Second Amendment, but we can do background checks. We can research the impacts of gun violence. We can make sure those weapons of war, that I carried in war, are only carried in war."
https://redstate.com/streiff/2024/08/07/tim-walz-goes-full-metal-stolen-valor-in-anti-gun-rant-n2177841
Okay, lefties, Walz claims to have carried "weapons of war" "in war".
Did he?
Note: can you imagine how furiously Inga will be cutting and pasting irrelevant items on Althouse after this one? If the New Soviet Democraticals stick to form, I suspect LLR-democratical Rich will inform us Wikipedia, just now, as we speak, redefined the word "war"!
The stolen valor has been hiding in plain sight for the entirety of Walz’s career, but reporting locally has been nonexistent. He has no good answer for it, either. I’m glad it’s coming out now, because (a) Walz deserves it and (b) it will force the local media to acknowledge that they’ve covering up the story for years.
Retired at 41 after 2 dozen years in the National Guard? Am i missing something?
Maybe. Walz committed to 6 more years in writing, a requirement to be selected for Command Sargeant Major school and promotion to that rank. When the unit was mobilized to Iraq, he changed his mind about his commitment and retired.
I don't know what was in Walz's mind, but it looks bad. I mean, going to war is what 20+ years of training with the unit was for, right?
He left his unit without their most senior enlisted man at the worst possible time and expected the others to pick up the slack.
Reading between the lines, I think if Walz had been well thought of by those under him, they wouldn't be going after him like this now.
I imagine he's searching for somebody from his unit to come out and praise him to counter this. Let's see if he can come up with anyone.
"I imagine he's searching for somebody from his unit to come out and praise him to counter this. Let's see if he can come up with anyone."
If the video of Walz claiming to have carried "weapons of war" "in war", which by the way originated from an account tied to the dems as a bragging video about taking on the NRA so its likely good to go, then its straight up egregious Stolen Valor regardless of whatever anyone else may say or interpret.
"Free" stuff is the opiate of the masses. VoteVets is a Progressive 501(c)(4) organization, so their endorsement is no surprise.
Weak, Inga, even for you.
VoteVets is a progressive organization closely aligned with Congressional Democrats according to Wikipedia
Promised his troops he would be with them, quit when they were about to be deployed to Iraq
Tim Walz left National Guard battalion ‘hanging,’ ‘slithered out the door’ before Iraq deployment: vets
Here are the source documents of the statements made by his fellow soldiers against him.
The issue is that he had reenlisted for a 6-year term, but he left about 4 years into that term. He also left soon after being notified his unit was being called up to serve in Iraq. A lot of things can change in 4 years. Maybe the call-up had nothing to do with the timing of his departure. Maybe.
The question of whether he fulfilled the requirements to be a Sgt. Major is at the center of the controversy.
Keep up the brave face, dude. We feel your pain.
The Star Spangled Banner is a Waltz.
In the old days, Vance would challenge this jerkass to a duel for continuing the couch smear.
"VoteVets is a progressive organization closely aligned with Congressional Democrats according to Wikipedia"
VoteVets was another in a long line of astroturfed operations launched in the 2000's to try and counter the deserved impression by the general public of the New Soviet Democraticals being anti-American, anti-vet, etc. They'll couch their far leftism behind a couple bills here and there that dribble some cash into some vet programs while refusing to take on things that really address veteran needs.
Witness NYC throwing vets out of housing to make room for illegals, including Inga's beloved "spark of divinity" MS13 machete murderers. Witness idiot leftists on this very blog during the antifa/BLM riots claiming those leftist morons were just like the lads that stormed Normandy. Remember that? Worse, many of these idiot leftists called for antifa types to receive military benefits for the "anti fascist" service they were providing.
Lefties gonna lefty. Can't change that.
An AstroTurf organization is meaningless, Inga. Try harder. I know you can make all of us melt down if you just try harder.
*VETERENS* who support a ticket selected by Soviet Style, performative ceremonial elections.
THIS. This is how you cancel elections BTW. You don't start by cancelling the presidential election and declare yourself dictator. The public would reject that. First, you have to cancel the "minor" elections. Get the Ingas all comfy with having only one name on the ballot. Ignore a primary election and let the party's Top Men substitute their wisdom for the will of the electorate. Inga will show up like a good girl and get her "I Voted!" sticker. She will not pause to wonder why there was only one name on the ballot. Nor, will she be upset in the least that the one name is an 81-year old geriatric that everyone knows lacks the stamina to be president. And, she doesn't feel offended in the least when the parties Top Men "change their minds" 😉 and switch the candidate out without any say whatsoever from the voters.
And, if that works--and, judging from the Ingas of America, if is pretty likely--the next step will be to cancel other elections. Maybe start with those uncontested races. A special election here and there. These are minor things what's the big deal? Get everyone comfortable with the Top Men making all the decisions for us.
THEN CANCEL ALL ELECTIONS.
That's how it works. White women are being targeted as the useful idiots. Distracted with celebrities and memes while our rights are being taken away. Remember how we were told that Al-Qaeda was such an existential threat that we needed to give up civil liberties to protect out freedom?
Now Inga is being told "We have no choice but to cancel elections so the other guy won't cancel elections." And she didn't question it AT ALL. It causes inner turmoil to even QUESTION party leadership in any way and in any matter even when they steal your vote. Now THAT is loyalty, y'all.
We are fucked people.
Perfect comment (p.s. why I look for your comments first)
I suspect that there's more to this story. I wouldn't be surprised if he was encouraged to retire in lieu of facing some sort of disciplinary action.
Look at the face of Tom Behrends. https://x.com/i/status/1820971325869158610
Compare it the face of Tim Walz. It speaks volumes.
Look at the face of Tom Behrends. https://x.com/i/status/1820971325869158610
Compare it the face of Tim Walz. It speaks volumes.
"Shameful" is a tough concept to sell to Democrats who are shameless.
Sounds like he served long enough weekends to collect benefits but punched out when he was really needed.
"The question of whether he fulfilled the requirements to be a Sgt. Major is at the center of the controversy."
It is quite clear that he did not. Scumbag extraordinaire.
There was also his DUI in 1995, which anyone familiar with the military at that time can tell you should have ended his career.
Is there an answer to bad thing X about the Dems?
Yes. Trump. That's just the thing, the Dems can always point the finger back at the Republicans. Walz is an awful person and he abandoned his unit when they were deployed to a battle zone. But the thing is - HE SERVED for 24 years and Trump did not serve one moment. So yet another thing to zing the Dems for comes to naught.
Out here in Los Angeles where whatever Kamala does is fine among the natives, my criticism of Walz was quickl met with "Walz served 24 years". (I'm a former Guardsman myself--and I was a lawyer when I served six years in a mechanized infantry company as an enlisted man). Vance was a young enlisted man , combat correspondent etc. He served. Walz sorta coasted along, although I understand he did one six month's tour in Iraq.
Dump the fat gut. Queue up the queer guy.
Thanks to Walz and X, I learned a new term - Blue Falcon.
"But the thing is - HE SERVED for 24 years and Trump did not serve one moment. So yet another thing to zing the Dems for comes to naught."
Thats not how it works with Stolen Valor there dummy. I'm not surprised in the least that you would attempt to minimize it to attack Trump.
When your fellow soldiers are openly calling you a Blue Falcon, that is a really bad red flag. NOBODY likes a Buddy Fu--er.
"Walz sorta coasted along, although I understand he did one six month's tour in Iraq."
This is false.
Walz spent 6 months in Europe "supporting" efforts in the middle east. Basically, paperwork and enjoying long lunches. It doesn't get any cushier than that. Biggest danger is too much food and wine.
Not Iraq, Italy.
An unfair attack.
Walz isn't a traitor.
Walz is a deserter.
(He's also a desserter, but that's just that's fat-shaming, a sin much more depraved than infanticide according to the left.)
I can't believe I'm saying this but even though the little Lord Fauntleroy Donald Trump had his daddy get him out of the Vietnam draft because of a fake diagnosis of bone spurs it's undeniable that he took a bullet because he was commander in chief and because of the threat of him becoming Commander in Chief again. He pretty much eliminated the coward moniker that was hanging over his head.
"Thanks to Walz and X, I learned a new term - Blue Falcon."
A Stolen Valor "Blue Falcon".
The only thing worse is to go over and help the other side.......Hey! Which is exactly what the American Taliban John Walker Lindh actually did, helping to get other American soldiers killed (wasn't it 4 of them died while searching for the deserter?)....and you know what happened to him?
The New Soviet Democraticals made him a hero, complete with his parents invited to the Rose Garden while obambi praised him.
My goodness, but this thread is suddenly experiencing a space-like silence from our previously active little lefty busy bees.
Drago writes, "It doesn't get any cushier than that. Biggest danger is too much food and wine."
They also serve who only stand and wait for a nice table with a view.
BREAKING NEWS: A man was admitted to a hospital today with 23 plastic toy horses inserted in his rectum. The man, identified only as Rich, was found screaming the phrase “23 and me!” by medics called to the scene by passersby.
Doctors have described his condition as “stable”
Tim Walz chose the fight for Congress over combat with his troopers.
"They also serve who only stand and wait for a nice table with a view."
And my gosh, the views! Magnificent.
"The question of whether he fulfilled the requirements to be a Sgt. Major is at the center of the controversy."
Nope.
The question at the center of the controversy is Walz's public bragging claim that he carried "weapons of war" "in war".
He did not.
Stolen Valor....with Blue Falcon piled on top.
Drago said...
"Walz spent 6 months in Europe "supporting" efforts in the middle east. Basically, paperwork and enjoying long lunches. It doesn't get any cushier than that. Biggest danger is too much food and wine."
Octoberfest qualifies for combat duty pay.
My guess is that Walz chose to serve and to serve as an enlisted man as a way to advance his political career. Apparently it worked. When called to go over to Iraq, he resigned. If the terms of his enlistment allowed him to resign, I see no great dishonor in resigning. But neither is it an occasion to celebrate his valor. He acted in his self interest, which is what people mostly due......I don't think Trump ever envisioned a political career, certainly not when he was young. Like most affluent young men of that era, he looked for a way to dodge the draft. The exceptions were young men who were looking for politics as a career or whose parents were politicians. Guys like Gore, Bush, Kerry, et al. served.....Me, I served during the Vietnam era. I wasn't stationed in Vietnam, and if there were some honorable way of avoiding service there, I would have taken it.....I consider Vance's service more honorable than that of Walz, but I don't consider Walz dishonorable. I don't think Trump's record reflects any credit on him, but that's how affluent young men handled Vietnam.
Lefty Mark is outraged that Walz spent 22 summer camps and Trump didn't do any. Plus of course all those weekends that Trump didn't "serve."
I'm gonna defend Waltz here. He served 24 years, so past retirement at 20 years of service, and was over 40 years old. He served his enlistment to the end (he wasn't an officer and so couldn't resign). He had other obligations, including family.
I served 4 years active duty and 3 years in the Guard and left at the end of my enlistment in April, 2001 because I was getting married and thought that being deployed was not compatible with married life. I couldn't have predicted 9/11, but I did know that deployments happen. So, I left because I had other commitments. I didn't rejoin after 9/11, either. Does that make me unpatriotic?
That being said, I'm not running for VP. There's a higher standard. However, the problem JD Vance has is that he was a REMF. A Marine REMF, which is a higher standard of REMF, but a REMF. He was the same kind of REMF that Al Gore was when he served in Vietnam (bet you didn't know that.) Gore didn't talk about it, and that was cool of him.
I'm not a Democrat, but people get weird ideas about military service, and I think some pushback is ok. A single decision at 17 does not commit you to lifelong service in every war that happens for the rest of your life.
Going to get interesting. I saw a couple of pundits on CNN this morning who didn't know that Vance had done an enlistment in the USMC.
On his rear in the rear with the gear, that was Walz, which there's nothing wrong with that, just don't try and make it out like it was more than what it was.
I'm actually more interested in all the money that has apparently gone missing in Minnesota during his tenure. And what is this about him taxing old people's social security??
Just as Bill Clinton means the Democrats can’t make infidelity charges stick against Trump, Trump’s Vietnam deferment means Republicans can’t attack Democrats for failure to serve.
The only war zone Walz ever served in was Minneapolis.
So Drago only considers right wing veterans as true veterans, why am I not surprised?
Kevin said...
The question of whether he fulfilled the requirements to be a Sgt. Major is at the center of the controversy.
No, that's not in question. He didn't fulfill the requirements. The issues is that he's gone around claiming to be a retired Command Sergeant Major since he got into politics. His promotion to CSM was conditional, based on his fulfilling the requirements. He did not do that and has no right to claim that he retired as a CSM.
@ William
My father volunteered for the draft in 1967 and was sent to Korea to watch the DMZ. Didn't go to Vietnam, didn't reenlist. Was that bad? He didn't choose to go to Korea, but he didn't volunteer to go to Vietnam, either. I'm here, so I'm biased in thinking he made a good choice.
And yeah, you are correct in saying Trump dodged the draft. He did. So did Biden, but he's not running.
"Just as Bill Clinton means the Democrats can’t make infidelity charges stick against Trump, Trump’s Vietnam deferment means Republicans can’t attack Democrats for failure to serve."
False.
Stolen Valor/Blue Falcon status is not remotely equivalent to not having served.
This is not a difficult concept.
Why is there no “community note” on Vance’s tweet? It’s been 2 hours.
Timmy Tampon has his priorities!
https://x.com/DrewHLive/status/1820853980370792740
He apparently had 20+ years in, including overseas service. Depending on the timing his oldest child would have been young. That gets a pass in my book, particularly considering the illustrious military service of the Republican presidential candidate.
BTW, someone commented Vance was a lawyer--not true--law school came later. He was apparently a very good public relations enlisted man.
Back to Althouse's question of how to respond
Trump dodged the draft for Vietnam. He's running for President.
What's the problem with Waltz?
Biden is out, so his draft dodging is not an issue now.
"And yeah, you are correct in saying Trump dodged the draft. He did. So did Biden, but he's not running."
Did Trump claim to have served in a "war zone" when he did not? Did Trump claim a rank he never achieved?
Not a difficult concept.
How many years did Bill Clinton serve? Joe Biden? Barack Obama? Kamala Harris?
"What's the problem with Waltz?"
LOL
Somebody desperately wants to "Move On.Org" on this one! Not gonna happen.
Walz says he quit to run for Congress. This was in 2005. Remember the tenor of the times? Perhaps he calculated that service in Bushitler's war would work against his ambitions as a Democrat running for national office
"That gets a pass in my book, particularly considering the illustrious military service of the Republican presidential candidate."
Lying about combat service is not the same as not serving. But I get it. Trump hate rules over all.
The person who is going to turn a close election into a solid Democratic victory is Donald Trump. J.D. Vance just underscores and reinforces Trump weaknesses. Trump is going to lose by erosion.
Tim Walz credibly reunites Washington governance with mainstream America, that federal programs that are the backbone of almost a century of Democratic party policy leadership do deliver widespread benefits to the American people. He has implemented some of the forward leading edges of the Democratic program in Minnesota.
It's today's All American team going up against the Wackos.
The Trump show itself is ready for the late night reruns. He's definitely turn-the-channel material.
I see Rich is still in hover mode awaiting new talking points.
Trump deserves a medal for not getting VD.
Over at KamalaHQ: "I spent 25 years in the Army, and I hunt," Walz says at the beginning of the clip. He said he supports "common sense legislation" that "protects the Second Amendment," but said he favors extensive background checks.
"We can make sure those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is [sic] the only place that those weapons are at," he said.
Except he never went to war, unless we were fighting Italy.
IIRC J. Kerry collected Purple Hearts without even doing an 'overnight' in the infirmary and got mostly butterfly closures. He later threw his 'medals' over the fence at the White House. Pure Kabuki photo op. Some time later, he got them re-issued. Like a Kamikaze pilot who flew 10 successful missions, no?
He Kills Bambi for sport. Oh... wait, that's so 90s. Successful pivot.
"IIRC J. Kerry collected Purple Hearts without even doing an 'overnight' in the infirmary and got mostly butterfly closures."
Kerry was also the individual that wrote up the award recommendation for...John Kerry.
A hypothetical first time for stability, Iman. The cope among progressives is intense: I really assume all the candidates abruptly lost VP interest after merely talking to Kamablah.
https://www.startribune.com/walzs-24-years-in-national-guard-get-renewed-scrutiny-from-gop-opponent-who-didnt-serve/600216280
Link? I would love to see that :)
Military Reddit is full of such, Inga. They represent a tear-drop of the actual sentiments in the military at large. I've seen it from both angles.
I believe he resigned, not retired, he refused to go to Sgt. Major training to make his temporary grade permanent.
Sigh. Dagnammit. Stick to the issues!
"Is there an answer to bad thing X about the Dems?
Yes. Trump. That's just the thing, the Dems can always point the finger back at the Republicans."
That's changing the subject, not an answer.
"He later threw his 'medals' over the fence at the White House."
Actually, he threw someone else's medals over the fence. Pure John Kerry.
He abandoned his post as Governor while his wife sniffed burning tires.
The answer is, "SHUT UP YOU RACIST!"
Josh green then at bloomberg started repeating the lie
I can see where partisan Republicans would think this is devastating, but it's not. The man had served 24 years and retired as a Battalion Command Sergeant Major. That's a lot of service.
This is nothing like that scumbag John Kerry, it's more like Rather and Mapes going after George W. Bush joining Texas ANG.
That said, it's hard to square all that military service with Walz' support for the BLM rioting. And the transgender child mutilation stuff is also very disturbing.
Looks like all swift boating of Walz hasn’t made any impact on Walz’s respectability. Look at these lines in Eau Claire.
Who is the "GOP opponent who never served" in the title of the article?
He has implemented some of the forward leading edges of the Democratic program in Minnesota.
That's what we are afraid of dummy.
This has been an open secret in Minnesota, a least as an accusation. But the Star-Tribune so controls the boundaries of acceotable political discussion, with the willing participation of the vast majority of liberals who sincerely believe conservatives are evil, that it's been handily ignored.
Apparently they also work at the Star Tribune.
https://www.dossier.today/p/stolen-valor-tim-walz-launched-political
Tim Walz left the National Guard after 24 years to run for Congress. J.D. Vance left the Marine Corps after 4 years to go to college and then law school. Both men served honorably, but the only one stealing anyone’s valor is J.D. Vance. Deplorable.
Nobody is saying Walz didn't serve or that he couldn't legitimately retire. He's being faulted for re-committing for 6 more years to get a promotion then bailing on that when deployment to Iraq came up and soldiering got real.
He's also being faulted for lying about being the highest-ranking enlisted vet ever elected to Congress by claiming he was a retired CSM when he had actually been demoted back to Sargeant Major because he bailed on the above commitment and never actually completed requirements to be CSM.
He is also being criticized for claiming to have fought in a war he deliberately avoided fighting in. I don't know what his true reason was. It might not have been cowardice, but whatever the reason, he did deliberately avoid going to Iraq.
It's true, Trump avoided the draft, as a lot of guys did in those days, but as far as I know, he hasn't claimed to have fought when he didn't.
Walz took an acting appointment to CSM and retired the next month after finding out he would deploy to Iraq. Not something one would do if they were already set to retire. Vance went twice and every Marine is a rifleman.
I only just barely saw this, apparently at least one "journalist" is reporting that Walz did fight in Iraq, which is incorrect.
"At the time, the Iraq War was ongoing (and going badly), and he stood out as Command Sergeant Major Walz, a 24-year veteran of the Army National Guard, recently returned from serving in Iraq as part of Operation Enduring Freedom." (my emphasis)
Walz deployed for six months in 2003 to Italy. He never served in Iraq.
Hat tip Jordan Schactel.
Before you know it, she'll be telling us people showing up to today's Walz appearance clearly prove the total inaccuracy of the story.
Walz accepted the Command Sergeant Major position when it was career-enhancing to do so, and then walked out on it *a month later* as soon as he heard he had to actually live up to his promises
1.5 million members votevets... Of which, how many are actually veterans? They've been regularly popping up in my Facebook feed, undoubtedly pushed by Facebook algorithms because I'm a member of multiple military groups. Every single issue they've pushed had been hard left- and anathema to most veterans.
Trump received 5 deferments during the height of the Viet Nam War. I'm not sure if that makes him a draft dodger or not, but he made damn sure he would never have to go to Viet Nam.
Odds are tightening - Trump at -101, Harris at +112. This is close to where we were before the debate - Harris is still behind Biden, but (if memory serves, and dammit,I really should have made a spreadsheet, and yes I know it's not too late but...) Trump, I thought, at one point was either -102 or -105 against Biden.
I'm curious to see what a few more days of Walz exposure will do..
As others have said, the title of Command Sargent Major is normally awarded (it's an honor) to the most experienced enlisted man in the ranks. There's a 6-year obligation (commitment) to future service in order to attend the training school - and a pay grade bump. Walz signed up, attended school, and re-upped for the 6 years. But then the Iraq war heated up, and his unit was called up, a 'Warning Order'. A few weeks after the call-up, Walz suddenly resigned before his unit was placed into active duty. He didn't follow procedure - his resignation form is unsigned. His unit mobilized without him and had to scramble to fill the leadership position. He's claimed an E-9 rank on record - but this was revoked because of his early termination (less than 4 years into his 6-year obligation). He's also claimed his rank as a retired 'Command Sargent Major' on record, as a Congressman - which is another lie: He never qualified, because he never fulfilled his obligations for the rank, and was acting provisionally as CSM. You don't claim a rank that you never had, although you may have served, conditionally, as that rank.
Walz's claim at the time of resignation, was that he was resigning in order to run for office. But the regulations do not stipulate that one must do this - there's simply another dispensation procedure to follow in this case. Nevertheless, Walz chose this as his excuse for avoiding the warning order.
This is simply a case of having a stack of old lies finally catching up - and as others have also noted, had the media been doing their job instead of being in the tank, the exposure of the truth would not have been delayed.
LLR-democratical lonejustice, the runt of the LLR-democratical litter, has this to say.....
"Trump received 5 deferments during the height of the Viet Nam War. I'm not sure if that makes him a draft dodger or not, but he made damn sure he would never have to go to Viet Nam."
Did Trump ever lie about serving in combat? Walz did.
Stolen Valor.
And I see Inga is back to volume cut and pastes!
LOL
I'm on board with the comment but the explanation could be even simpler. Harris and her team really are stupid. Mean, communist-big-government-is-best, incompetent and stupid.
"I only just barely saw this, apparently at least one "journalist" is reporting that Walz did fight in Iraq, which is incorrect."
Indeed, the media Inga's are in Full Liar Mode at this point. An "expert" on this morning (CNN or MSNBC) literally claimed Vance never served.
This. +100
Unfortunately it doesn't matter to the iNags of the world. They're grasping for crumbs trying to bake a cake of moral hazard for Trump in the face of this atrocious spotlight ranger.
Well it was frankens replacement not an expert
Why did Sgt. Walz run away?
Because if he got killed in Iraq he couldn't live to legalize child molesters.
Since with the current comment format one can only reply to the top-level comment (or at least that's how it is on my phone), here we go: no, inga, it's not that drago only credits the opinions of right-wing vets (although s/he may; I don't actually know drago). It's that this is an astroturf organization. Like Kamala!'s bazillion dollars in "small donor"donations that were actually ActBlue smurfing: it, in itself, does not reflect real public opinion. What you have to do to make your point is poll a bunch of actual ets.
My dad was a Vietnam vet, an Air Force helicopter pilot. He has also regrettably turned leftward, from being (in my estimation) a centrist, maybe slightly to the right, for most of his life. Trump is the culprit in his case, or more properly media messaging about Trump: my dad gets his news from the TV and actually believes that Trump is trying to get elected so he can go Stalin. My dad is a very intelligent man - which makes him more, not less, susceptible to the incessant hammering of media messages; when he only hears one thing, but it's from a source he has spent his whole life trusting, he runs that one thing through the filter of his own intelligence and concludes that because he's not hearing anything to the contrary (except from avatars of the other side who are chosen by the media because they represent it so poorly), it is "logically" true.
Clearly that's not the case for you, inga.
Side note: does anybody but me think real-inga is on vacation and her vice-commenter is holding the fort? The tone has changed quite a bit.
Second side note: apologies again for typos; I'm doing my best to proofread but this comment format is making my usual long comments almost impossible to scroll through. (Maybe that's why Google is doing this.)
By running away Walz threw away golden opportunities, not only to become the Veep (Face it, Inga, he's toast. Walz has torpedoed himself and Kamala.) but Iraq was full of little orphans longing for a comforting embrace, a perfect pedo hunting ground.
Semper Fidelis is not a National Guard thought. The Guard goes for the benefits and has a few weeks summer camp and a weekend a month unless called up. Then the guys with enough time in can resign. It’s all for them, not for the country. But it’s a Reserve,
Slim Dusty - Waltzing Matilda
Deplorable.
It's my understanding that Vance got his REMF assignment not because - like Gore - he had anyone in his life who could pull strings, but through luck (and maybe others' recognition of some particular skillset he had). Is this not the case? I find it hard to blame a person for not being assigned to the front lines.
Just a reminder: Biden, a multi-sport high-school athlete, also got five deferments, for asthma, a condition very difficult to disprove. When I first heard of Trump's bone spurs, I looked up the condition and found that it (a) would prevent someone from serving, and (b) shows up clearly on x-rays, so an actual draft-dodger would undoubtedly allege something else - asthma, for instance. Saying "he made damn sure" looks like a damned lie, unless you think he somehow intentionally got bone spurs by walking too far in the wrong kind of shoes.
The Guard is the militia and the militia is the Guard, at least that was the intention. The problem is that the "militia" has been used overseas in support of the Army so damn often it's an Army Reserve more than it is the "militia" anymore.
I don't know if the Guard model survives this century with what I think is coming...or what we might be in right now.
a leisurely waltz, in the American manner.
The thing about Walz is that he gives me this slimey, salesman kind of vibe. Just look at his weird smile when he tells a joke that is not really funny.
Vietnam was an unjust and idiotic war, and many made legal (such as going to college) and illegal choices not to go. Even the draft-dodgers that went to Canada were and are still celebrated by leftist stooges throughout the country. That was their choice and in some cases their right, one that doesn't involve dodging responsibilities you actually signed up for and leaving subordinates holding the bag like Walz the Wuss.
And bailed when he was going to be deployed to Iraq. Trump has never claimed to have served- nice try, though.
Yeah, but was he a dookbritch?
Blue Falcon made me think it had something to do with Key and Peele's Power Falcons skit, but no such luck.
I know guys who got multiple deferments who then enlisted right after the major shooting stopped in SEA. They did their few years and separated, and I'm not aware of any that went into politics.
In JROTC (two years mandatory in Memphis Public Schools until 1971 or 1972) the sergeants told us not to be detriments. A detriment, they said, was a danger to hisself, his fellow buddies, his unit, and his higher formation.
I tried not to be a detriment then, and avoided possible dookbritch status later.
The Viet Nam war was only popular with those who didn't have to participate.. LBJ chose to fight it with draftees, so anybody who could figure a way out, did. Myself, I joined the Navy with thousands of other guys. Plenty went to grad school And of course women were home free.
My father was in Korea as a marine during the war, and reservist until he retired as a Colonel about 20 years later.
During Vietnam I barely became draft-age. I found out much later that he had plans to send me to Canada to avoid the draft. (Which would have been unnecessary, I would have been 4F for sure).
Military attitudes toward service are complex.
But the thing you don't do is run away - Dad's main service award was for precisely NOT doing that.
Please wait until your preferred candidate actually has an unscripted press conference before you go celebrating
Inga nobody is 'Swift boating Governor Walz". You can't do that because he never got on the boat.
When one brags about credentials, one would expect those credentials to be examined. Is that not how it works?
Walz is getting drug hard over on X. And he deserves every bit of it. Actual vets posting pics from deployment tagged: "not being tim walz".
The militia is "the people", not the Guard. The Guard is part of the militia.
It is obvious the Harris campaign did not do their oppo-research homework on Walz which is hardly surprising considering a good chunk of her people are mouth-breathing 20 somethings with college degrees worth less than the paper they're printed on.
Walz's "I was a great solider" boast is as hollow as his claim to be an "average smalltown Midwestern guy. BTW, how does someone with leadership skills to be a state Governor not become an officer in the NG? Was he, as Trump would say "Low energy"? Or was there something in his background?
"I'm gonna defend Waltz here. He served 24 years, so past retirement at 20 years of service, and was over 40 years old. He served his enlistment to the end (he wasn't an officer and so couldn't resign). He had other obligations, including family."
He did not serve out his enlistment. He re-upped for an additional six-year term and left after having served about four of those years. The issue is the timing of his departure. He left soon after he was notified that his unit would be called up to Iraq.
You are correct that he couldn't simply resign. Evidently, his unit commander chose to allow him to go rather than enforce the term of his enlistment. That makes sense. Forcing the senior enlisted man to go to Iraq against his will may have been worse than letting him leave, with a reduction in rank. Walz's job in Iraq would have been to lead and inspire the rank-and-file soldiers in his unit. You can't do that if they all know you're there against your will.
I doubt Walz chose to serve to advance his political career. It's possible, but I doubt he'd mapped out a future political career when he signed up as a 17-year-old. If he had, he would most likely have left after serving his initial enlistment.
Semper Fi JD. The National Guard is Army reserve that gets the benefits fo having to train in the Summer and a weekend a month and that’s about it, unless called up. Balz took the wise way out …after all only fools risk giving their lives for their brothers.
Left Bank, Walz claimed to have carried "weapons of war" "in war".
He lied. And now you are lying for him as well...and you are doing a piss poor job of it....perhaps you should run away from this task...like Walz did...before he claimed to have served in a war that he did not.
I can see why that would seem "heroic" to a lefty like you.
I wouldn't even mind Walz choosing not to go to W's idiot war, just as I don't mind Trump and W avoiding Vietnam. Walz's problem is that he had just gotten promoted, and was fine with "serving-" just so long as serving was incredibly safe at home.
He is also being criticized for claiming to have fought in a war he deliberately avoided fighting in
If he did this, then I think that will legitimately hurt him. I think lots of folks, especially those that are likely to vote Democratic, can come to terms with someone not wanting to fight in a dangerous warzone and exercising a permissible option to avoid that. However if someone does exercise that option to avoid combat but then turns around later and claims to have fought in that dangerous combat it will be generate genuine disgust.
Inga
So Drago only considers right wing veterans as true veterans, why am I not surprised?
Inga does the same with left wing "vets." Most vets are "right wing" that I know. Not many left wing vets except Kerry's crew.
@ Lance
Yeah, it's not Kerry. The rioting is much more damaging, IMHO.
Walz left his team as they were being called into Harms' Way, and if he had any loyalty to his soldiers he would have done his tour like everyone else. If he had, he could have come back and run for office as a real combat vet and he would not be in this pickle today. Bad judgement at age 41 is hard to excuse in this case for somebody who wants to be 1-step away from Commander-in-Chief. Why he compounded it by claiming to have attained the CSM rank makes it look purely opportunistic. This is consistent with his far-left governing record which reflects the dues he pays to the DFL party in Minnesota to get to play Governor.
The shilling from the dem base on this issue is intense, you just have to look at the comment stream since yesterday. I think they're realizing that they really fouled up on this one just like they fouled up on BRATwurst Barbie...it's a double-bottom ticket.
Desperation trying to pin the donkey's tail on anything else but the donkey is still desperation.
Inga doing her usual Dumb Deflection schtick.
"So Drago only considers right wing veterans as true veterans, why am I not surprised"
Walz claimed he carried "weapons of war" "in war". He didnt. Stolen Valor.
Walz abandoned his unit just prior to what would have been his first combat zone experience after 24 cushy National Guard years. Blue Falcon.
And as with Biden showering with and sexualizing his 12 year old daughter, Inga now comes out in support of Stolen Valor/Blue Falcon-ing.
"Unexpectedly"
4 hours now.
HAHAHAHAHAHA!
Just wait 'til JV Vance hears about The MAGAt overlord's case of bone spurs that got him out on 'nam
If anyone cares about this, I'll be surprised. This stuff tends to be pretty fluid in interpretation and reaction. David French served in Iraq, but lots of people here think he's a weasel. Vance can plausibly go after Walz and score points. Trump might need to be more careful about it.
At least a birdie, hope it is an eagle. Go Fighting/Brainy Hillbilly!
Being deferred from going to a warzone is infinitely more honorable than ditching responsibilities you signed up for. Now you sound like you have a problem with the differently abled. What a bigot.
They do NOT embarrass easy, bless their hearts.
Walz is a shameless fat poof.
“Biggest danger is too much food and wine.”
That’s the hard slog that resulted in fatman Walz’s Purple Heart.
OMG! Its gotten so bad for for the pro-Hamas/islamic supremacist aligned New Soviet Democraticals that CNN just Fact Checked Walz's Stolen Valor lies! Even they know its now completely unteneable!
That, ladies and gentlemen, exposes the entire Lie-filled firmament of the Althouse blog lefties.
Inga, Rich, Left Bank et al hardest hit....along with a few "reasonable" "respectable" republicans who just want bygones to be bygones.
But Trump. But Trump! Okay, calm down Mark. Trump has not falsely claimed a rank that YOUR guy did falsely claim. Trump did not obligate himself to lead others into battle and then quit when war came. Trump avoided serving, like most of us. Vance's statement obviously hurts your guy because it's true.
They wanted someone with military service. Just not service with the IDF.
That not how these things work anymore. You totally can criticize your opponent for the exact thing you did. Where have you been?
Bloomberg has just gone Full Inga Liar mode as well and altered their Walz bio to pretend Walz served in Iraq and not Italy!
On X, the pseudonymous Shipwreckedcrew has a really devastating take, https://x.com/shipwreckedcrew/status/1821233489343128003:
"The actual story is worse - he ACCEPTED the position of Command Sgt Major. There were responsibilities that went along with that.
He failed to take care to meet those responsibilities over 2+ years.
Then he retired to avoid deployment with troops trained by him. They went, he stayed.
They were extended for a total of 22 months.
He ran for Congress and included in his official bio that he retired at the rank of Command Sgt Major even after abandoning his unit and leaving that job to be done by someone else in a combat zone."
"Look at these lines in Eau Claire." That's amusing!
Yeah, the war zone Walz ignored, as his wife opened their windows to enjoy the smell of the blood being spilled and the burning businesses.
I don't see what Althouse wants Community Noted in Vance's X post:
You know what really bothers me about Tim Walz?
When the US Marine Corps asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it.
When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, he dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him. I think that's shameful.
Nothing untrue that I can see there.
DKWalser's comments are apt, but fail to reckon with Walz's misrepresentations about his supposed war experiences. And the anger of his fellow soldiers suggests that there was in fact some sort of betrayal.
I keep reminding people that Kamala is a very, very bad politician.
"Look at these lines in Eau Claire"
The Kamalablah camp drug in Billboard #1 performer Bon Iver with Justin Verno to perform at this "rally". Its the band's hometown!
LOL
I wonder if they take requests: like Stolen Valor Baby!
I wonder how Walz is doing in the Dems internal polling. This move isn't inconceivable. A lot of men who didn't serve but respect those who did are probably not feeling good about Walz. But considering the Dems seem to be going all-out for the XX voters (and XX renfields) the only important question is whether it turns women off.
That's been changed to "serving in Italy as part of Operation Enduring Freedom." No acknowledgement of the edit.
I have a bet with a friend that Kamala won't be the final candidate. When her polls start plummeting, they will just do the bait a switch routine again.
More weasel-ish than David French is a high bar, but Walz clears it.
And now we are seeing photo after photo of Walz wearing clothing with Special Forces crests, including Green Berets.
I'll bet Inga has never been prouder.
It's as if inga doesn't know that "swiftboating" is a Democrat co-opting of a shortcut term for a true and damaging objection to something a Democrat has done.
Just wait until TBH does what I did when I first heard of them and looks up 'bone spurs' on Wikipedia. They're a real and debilitating condition that shows up clearly on x-rays. Pretending to have them would be a really stupid way to try to avoid the draft, unlike multi-sport high-school athlete Biden's claim to have asthma.
Uh oh....
"A Democratic operative tells me Tim Walz has falsely claimed he "carried weapons of war in war" on numerous occasions; that it was a canned line he often used in his speeches, and there are numerous more known videos of it.
They picked someone they knew was guilty of stolen valor over a Jew.
Wow."
Well.
Starting to get an "Eagleton feeling" about this one...
Tim Walz served, but he lost any claim to valor when he abandoned his troops. Was it legal to do so? Apparently. Morally and ethically it stinks to high heaven.
Does anyone here consider French a weasel because of his service? Did French ever claim a rank to which he wasn't entitled, or claim that his service was something other than what it was?
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