One of the big questions in the Harris/Walz campaign has been how to address the stolen valor issue. 

How do they respond? How big an issue will it be? Can they wordsmith their way out of it, or will Walz's bid to become Vice President be holed below the waterline?

After more than a week of taking fire over the issue, Tim Walz has given his response to the charges, which amount to "I served honorably, so quit attacking my military service."

It's a straw man response--nobody is criticizing him for his service. Walz is being criticized for lying about it. He claimed to have a rank he didn't earn, and claimed to serve in a war he didn't--many, many times. He traded on fake valor in order to get ahead politically. 

Walz is now playing the victim card, saying he is being attacked for his service.

No amount of mental gymnastics is going to change his stolen valor.

Walz has ZERO shame. pic.twitter.com/5PlvxlQGxG

— Spitfire (@DogRightGirl) August 13, 2024

The response may be ridiculous, but for many, it will cover their desire to give Walz a break. The desperation to defeat Trump will lead them to accept a complete BS response. And the mainstream media is absolutely desperate to carry water for Walz and Harris, so they will push a lie to help them. 

Here's @GovTimWalz , on Page 374 of the MN Military and Vets Museum's publication on MN in the War on Terror.

He puts himself on the ramp, at Bagram...Iraq:@EdMorrissey @davidstrom @radioblogger

Download this before it's memory-holed. https://t.co/4kO5Z3bnXs pic.twitter.com/geNlpCZ02W

— Mitch "The Wałęsa Project" Berg 🇺🇸🇳🇴🇪🇪🇦🇷 (@mitchpberg) August 14, 2024

After all, they see that as their job, and they do it extremely well. 

🚨SUPERCUT: Here is two and a half minutes straight of Governor Tim Walz falsely claiming his rank of Command Sergeant Major.

This is textbook Stolen Valor.
pic.twitter.com/9oSd6YzC1V

— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) August 13, 2024

So if this line of attack is successful, the Trump campaign and his allies will have to break through the propaganda and pound home the truth about Walz's lies. A nice tour in Italy that amounted to little more than a taxpayer-paid vacation was not service in Iraq or Afghanistan, both of which Walz has claimed or implied he served in. 

WTF!? Another one? Is there a single clip anywhere of Walz correcting someone when they claim he fought in a war? Or is it just clip after clip of stolen valor to advance his political career? https://t.co/nBNAkdmdM7

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) August 11, 2024

They are going to give it the old college try, or should I say the new workingmen's try to break through, and I expect that over time, the efforts will make a difference. The crazy cat ladies will ignore the truth but aren't in play anyway. 

WOW.

Talk about a devastating ad for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, and this barely scratches the surface of his failed record.

I hope Walz stays on the ticket.pic.twitter.com/IrcFZb2Hee

— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) August 13, 2024

The Stolen Valor issue is, as with most issues in this campaign, more important to men than women and most important to working-class men, to whom Walz is supposed to appeal. It won't be the winning issue, but it will undermine the image that the mainstream media is working so hard to create. 

🚨JUST RECOVERED: Tim Walz lied to John Kerry about his service record.

In this endorsement letter from Kerry he states Walz’s incorrect rank of Command Sergeant Major—and that he served IN Operation Enduring Freedom, not in SUPPORT of.

Did somebody say Swiftboat 2.0? pic.twitter.com/KEAeVfLmXN

— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) August 14, 2024

Walz is an awful person, a radical leftist, and a liar extraordinaire. Exposing him will take a lot of work, but it is possible. He is vulnerable on many issues, and this is one of them.