Tim Walz spoke one for the Gipper Wednesday night at the Democratic National Convention.
The former football coach’s acceptance speech to be Kamala Harris vice president, evoked the memory, spirit and faith in America that President Reagan personified.
“We’re all here tonight for one beautiful, simple reason—we love this country,” Walz said. “So thanks…for your passion, for your determination, for the joy that you’re bringing to this fight.”
Joy, passion and love of country – did someone say “morning in America?”
This former high school teacher/coach, now 60, wears plaid shirts and totes a rifle during deer season.
Face it America, Tim Walz is not your father’s Democrat. You can label him a progressive, but I think he’s a common-sense Republican, reminiscent of Jack Kemp, John McCain and the Gipper himself.
Walz supports the Second Amendment but this guy who served 24 years in the Army National Guard is against assault weapons for the masses.
“Look, I know guns,” Walz said during his speech. “I’m a veteran. I’m a hunter. I was a better shot than most Republicans in Congress and I have the trophies to prove it.
“But I’m also a dad. I believe in the Second Amendment. But I also believe that our first responsibility is to keep our kids safe. That’s what this is all about. The responsibility we have to our kids, to each other, and to the future we’re building together—a future in which everyone is free to build the kind of life they want.”
For Walz –and Reagan — freedom is just another word for getting government off our backs. Walz’ freedom includes keeping government out of our bedrooms, school libraries and doctors’ offices.
“In Minnesota…we’ve got a golden rule: mind your own damn business,” Walz said. He was talking about reproductive freedom for women.
“We respect our neighbors and the personal choices they make, even if we wouldn’t make the same choices for ourselves.”
Reproductive health care is personal for Walz. He and his wife, Gwen, tried for years with IVF to have a child.
“Even if you’ve never experienced the hell of infertility, I guarantee you know somebody who has. I remember praying each night for a call with good news, the pit in my stomach when the phone would ring, and the agony when we heard the treatments hadn’t worked.
“It took me and Gwen years. But we had access to fertility treatments and when our daughter was finally born, we named her Hope.”
Then, in a touching moment, Walz looked out in the massive crowd. Near the front, sat his wife, daughter and son Gus, all in tears.
“Gwen—you are my whole world. I love you all so much,” Walz said. In one of the most emotional moments of the night, Gus Walz, 17, stood up –tears streaming down his cheeks — pointed to his father and said, “That’s my Dad.” Hope Walz, 23, made the sign of a heart with her hands.
That’s the kind of political and human moment you can’t fake. It harks back to those pre-Trump days of Conservative family values.
Walz has a way of taking traditional Republican talking points and turning them upside down.
But the Walz philosophy is about the future.
“We’ll keep moving forward. We’ll build a country where workers come first, health care and housing are human rights, and the government stays the hell out of our bedrooms.
“That’s how we make America a place where no child is left hungry. Where no community is left behind. Where nobody gets told they don’t belong.”
Just before the speech, the stage was filled with former high school football players. Walz coached them at Mankato West High School. The current governor of Minnesota led the Scarlets to a state championship.
These one-time kids were heading to middle age but they still remembered and respected their old football coach. Ben Ingman played basketball and track for Walz in seventh grade.
“Coach Walz got us excited about what we might achieve together,” Ingman said. “He believed in us and he helped us believe in each other.”
President Reagan believed in America and its people. He picked up the nickname “Gipper” from the famous running back at Notre Dame. In one of his best screen roles, Reagan played George Gipp, who on his deathbed told his coach Knute Rockne, “Win one for the Gipper.”
Sometimes, football transcends politics
Walz closed his speech with some football metaphors. The old Coach turned Chicago’s United Center convention hall into a football locker room:
“Let me finish with this, team,” Walz told the crowd. “It’s the fourth quarter. We’re down a field goal. But we’re on offense and we’ve got the ball. We’re driving down the field.
“And boy, do we have the right team. Kamala Harris is tough. Kamala Harris is experienced. And Kamala Harris is ready.
“Our job…is to get in the trenches and do the blocking and tackling. One inch at a time. One yard at a time. One phone call at a time. One door knock at a time. One $5 donation at a time.”
“Look, we’ve got 76 days. That’s nothing.”
But every good team needs its rest. No worry, said Coach Walz.
“There’ll be time to sleep when you’re dead.”
Right now, Tim Walz and the Democrats are very much alive.
