Will Walz's Stolen Valor and Demotion Be a Fatal Wound?

In politics, almost no wound is fatal. Bob Menendez was plagued with scandals for years and managed to get reelected. He literally had to be caught with Egyptian gold bars and be tried and convicted before he resigned from the Senate. 

Shamelessness is a superpower. 

But Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's rollout as Harris' Vice Presidential pick is a special case because Walz is just being introduced to the country, and if the controversy over his outright lies--and yes, they are lies--about his service in the Minnesota National Guard gain traction, any benefit Harris thought she would get from picking him might evaporate entirely. 

It will evaporate entirely. Stealing valor is a very big deal and goes to character. And given that Walz's only benefit to Harris is that he at first seems to be an avuncular Midwestern dad (a facade), being revealed as a liar boasting about serving in war could be devastating. 

J.D. Vance fires back at Tim Walz after he mocked him for attending Yale:

"What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor garbage. Do not pretend to be something you’re not. And if he wants to criticize me for getting an Ivy League education, I'm proud [...] I was able to… pic.twitter.com/0qt3waifq2

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 7, 2024

Both Beege and I wrote about this story yesterday, and while it isn't clear yet how much traction the story will get in the mainstream media, a subject so touchy with people is bound to have legs. War veterans will not be happy that a man running for Vice President abandoned his comrades before a deployment, lied about his rank, and claimed to have served in Iraq when he did not. 

He was even demoted from the rank he claimed. He has been bragging for years that he was the highest-ranking enlisted man to ever serve in Congress, and it was all a lie. 

BREAKING REPORT: Minnesota National Guard Confirms DEMOTION of VP Nominee Tim Walz, Casting Serious Doubt on His Official Bio..

ALL THEY DO IS LIE..

Governor Walz's biography claims a higher National Guard rank than he actually retired with, as he was AUTOMATICALLY DEMOTED for… pic.twitter.com/arezicCXkc

— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) August 7, 2024

Walz also used his fake service in Iraq as a hook for promoting gun control. He claimed to have served in combat with an assault rifle, but in reality, he got a notice that he would deploy and scooted before he could be sent to war. He abandoned his comrades in arms, and many of them are pissed and ready to talk about it. 

Not having served, I can't say what it would feel like to a combat veteran to have one's valor stolen, but I would have to think that the first reaction would be disgust and contempt. 

I understood the full extent of my commitment to this country when I served in the Army for 26 years.

My unit was deployed to Iraq in 2003. I left without hesitation and led a battalion of 800 soldiers to carry out our mission.

But when @Tim_Walz heard his unit was mobilizing… https://t.co/wCCPyqb0Be

— Laurie Buckhout (@lauriebuckhout) August 7, 2024

This will be devastating because it hits at Walz's supposed strength--being an avuncular Midwestern dad who everybody (supposedly) looks up to. 

A secret like this should have been vetted, discussed, strategized about, and Walz should have been discarded from consideration. It is at least a near-fatal wound, even if it will take a while to percolate into the public consciousness. 

The chances that Kamala Harris dumps Walz for a safer choice hover around zero, but then again, so were the chances that Harris would be the nominee this year until June. Weird stuff happens. 

Published:

Stolen Valor: Tim Walz launched political career on false claim as combat veteran in the War on Terror

VP candidate told public and media that he ran for office after fighting in Iraq.
https://t.co/PKB78yYsBg

— Jordan Schachtel @ dossier.today (@JordanSchachtel) August 7, 2024

Walz will likely try to hang on until the story dies down, and the mainstream media will try to cover for him, accepting excuses like he "misspoke" or some other bulls**t like that. That has already been trotted out, but Walz has been peddling this story for two decades and it has been featured in profiles of him over the years. It is part of his stump speeches, so no "misspoke;" he is just a younger Joe Biden with a Midwest twang. 

Ironic. 

Here’s Walz committing ACTUAL stolen valor and saying he went to war. Would be a shame if it went viral 💅 pic.twitter.com/wFN72y6Nas

— 🇺🇸 ~ 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐧 ~🎙️ (@RogueLou18) August 7, 2024

The problem Walz has is that his peer in the race IS a combat veteran who deployed to Iraq, and any BS about Vance not being a soldier isn't going to cut it. He was on the ground in a war zone, and combat veterans understand that even if many people don't understand MOSes. I'm certainly no expert on them either, but I do know that even truck drivers in Iraq took fire and are combat veterans in my book. 

HOLY SH*T!

Minnesota National Guard Leaders Expose Tim Walz for Stolen Valor, Lying About His Rank, and Quitting When His Unit Was Deployed to Iraq.

"As soon as the shots were fired in Iraq, he turned and ran the other way and hung his hat up and quit," said Tom Behrends, a… pic.twitter.com/14zvDeSPRV

— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) August 6, 2024

Thank you for your service, by the way! I was too old, too fat, and way too wimpy to serve. I am serious, however screwed you were by the government, and know you did a very brave and good thing. Americans are grateful to you, if not the politicians who got people killed and are watching Iraq begin the process to legalize child marriage. 

Veterans are now posting photos of their time (or their relatives') serving in a combat zone, and that trend will continue as people who went when sent express their rage at the coward who bailed to avoid going to Iraq. 

It won't stop anytime soon, and the election is SOON. 

Here is my wife in Iraq, not being Tim Waltz! pic.twitter.com/HN2bZRWeJ9

— Dr. K 🇺🇲⚓ (@tealkra) August 7, 2024

There is a lot more to come out about just how big a fraud Tim Walz is, but of all the critiques, I think this one will stick the most. It, along with his failures during the George Floyd riot, hit people on an emotional level, and there are lots of people willing to talk about the issues in a compelling way. 

I’ve seen the reports on Tim Walz’s military record and he has some explaining to do. pic.twitter.com/Qo6lhUbS4h

— Rep. Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) August 7, 2024

Tim Walz is a fraud, and I suspect that this will sink in even in the shortened campaign season. It may not cost him his spot on the ticket--how much chaos can the Democrats survive?--but it will have a devastating impact on a significant demographic. A demographic that votes, which understands the issue, has strong feelings about it, and will be happy to wallop Walz on it. 

This is some professional media spin by @RollingStone on Walz's military record. Ah yes, he was briefly deployed to Italy while a war was going on. That's totally carrying weapons to war. @JDVance is so owned! pic.twitter.com/flOnjuMt21

— Jarrett Stepman (@JarrettStepman) August 7, 2024

Democrats do have grasstops organizations of committed Democrat veterans, so expect a lot of pushback on this. But this is hard to defend, too difficult to spin, and hits right where Tim Walz was supposed to help Harris. 

Expect to see a lot more about this over the next few months and a nasty exchange at the Vice Presidential debate. 

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