TIM WALZ!

Teachers understand the assignment

I have been on vacation in Maine with super spotty internet for nearly a week. I woke up in a renovated boat house on the water and watched fishermen come in and out each morning. I visited lighthouses and I had my first lobster roll. It did not disappoint.

We drove to Land’s End and watched the waves break. We drove back roads to see cottages and fishing villages. I saw lobster pots in yards and buoys hanging from sheds and mailboxes. We had coffee and blueberries on the water each morning and clam chowder or oysters or lobster on the water each evening.

Maine is exactly what I envisioned and I am so happy I was able to finally visit. It is a checkmark off my bucket list.

I was in airports all day yesterday trying to get home to Missouri where my daughter will begin a new school year in another week. This is my third year out of the classroom and every August feels a little mournful.

I miss the act of teaching intensely. I miss the hassle of a few nasty parents and the micromanagement of a few administrators not at all.

But this morning, I woke up to some of the most hopeful and exciting news…Kamala Harris picked Tim Walz as her VP. From the day I saw his name on the short list, I was rooting for Governor Walz.

He is a former Social Studies teacher and he understands the assignment.

Walz is so perfect for the job of VP. He’s a rural progressive. He’s my people. A dirt road Democrat. He’s a liberal guy who lives among conservative folks. He’s a veteran, a teacher, a lawmaker, and a dad. Walz can speak to Republicans and can likely help pull in Independent votes.

He can show up to an event in a tee and a hat and a Carhart jacket and not look like he’s trying to be something he isn’t.

Walz is the guy who could install your gutters and snake your drain and patch a hole in your drywall. He can also sign a bill into law to feed every kid in your state breakfast and lunch for free. How can you not love the guy?

Here are just a few of his education and child-centered accomplishments:

As governor, Walz took advantage of a Democratic trifecta in state government to push through a progressive policy agenda that included free breakfast and lunch for all schoolchildren. Minnesota was the fourth state to offer school lunch to all students, an early adopter of a policy that has become a growing national trend.

The budget he signed in 2023 included a major funding boost for Minnesota schools and a $1,750 per-child annual tax credit that aimed to reduce childhood poverty. Congress has failed to reinstate the pandemic-era federal child tax credit that dramatically cut childhood hunger and poverty.

Walz also signed a free college tuition program for Minnesota families earning less than $80,000 a year. The program provides last-dollar scholarships that close gaps between students’ financial aid packages and the actual cost of attendance.

Tim Walz was my pick from the short list because of what he has done for kids in his state. I can’t tell you how heartwarming it is to see a person who actually cares for kids enact policies. In a time in which I am overwhelmed with mailers for political candidates who claim to be “pro-life” or “pro-child” but who are really just about abortion bans and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, Governor Walz is a breath of fresh air. He’s the real deal.

His Midwestern dad vibes are true.

Here’s the fun part though: Gov Walz is speaking on a call tonight — Rural Americans for Harris. I started talking with a few rural organizers two weeks ago about setting up a call to mimic many of the others supporting our next President, Kamala Harris. We worked to get several rural folks and lawmakers on the call and Gov Walz agreed to speak last week. I’m crossing my fingers that he can still make it since he’s had some big news today.

Here is the invitation below and here is the link. I will be on the call as well. I would love to see you there.

I feel so hopeful, friend. I feel so excited for our country.

Seriously, I have not been this pumped for national candidates in such a long time. You know I try to stay Missouri-centered because that is where the nasty policies for my state originate, but I am going to bask in the warmth of a woman Presidential nominee and her Social Studies teacher VP for a few minutes.

LFG.

~Jess

P.S. Missouri has the chance to elect our first woman Governor, Crystal Quade, and I am on my way to vote for her in the primary as soon as I hit send!