Editor’s Note: From the Back Forty is Liberty Nation’s longest running and most popular weekly column. 

Heartlanders were introduced to Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota this past week. Of course, Gopher State residents already knew him as the guy who let his cities burn during the “peaceful” George Floyd protests of 2020. For those elsewhere in the Midwest, however, who hadn’t heard of Walz or perhaps just didn’t care to get to know the man, that all changed when he was picked as Kamala Harris’ running mate. And the governor has not made a great first impression in many swing states.

Then there’s Kamala Harris – who was pushed into the campaign by the Democratic party rather than having voters choose her. She has yet to give a speech or answer questions without either a teleprompter or earpiece to keep her on track.

What else stands between Team Harris-Walz and a clean race? The people of middle America are critical thinkers: They don’t take the word of CNN, MSNBC, or even Fox News as truth without some investigation. Oh, no, they’re diggers, and when Mr. Walz was brought up as the next best thing since sliced bread, the excavation began.

Walz and the Question of Service

Did he or did he not serve? That is one of the many questions heartlanders have regarding Mr. Walz. He stated back in 2018 that he was in favor of banning certain types of firearms, adding, “And we can make sure that those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at.”

Walz did, in fact, serve. He spent 24 years in the National Guard. However, his bio says he retired as a Command Sergeant Major when, in fact, he didn’t complete the necessary coursework or time in the rank to keep it when he retired in 2005. Instead, his rank was later adjusted back down to Master Sergeant. But the timing of his exit – just months before he would have been sent to Iraq but after receiving notice of the impending deployment – made for terrible optics.

Walz also does not correct his fans and colleagues who talk about bravery on the battlefield. That irks Karen GM from Huntsville, AL, to no end. “Stolen Valor . . . says everything about the man.”

One Navy veteran, Hal DeKeyser of Las Vegas, had something to say:

“Criticism about Walz’s claim that he claimed to carry weapons of war — when he was nowhere near war in his military service — is perfectly valid and appropriate. He said this (in talking about limiting access to guns): ‘We can make sure those weapons of war, that I carried in war, are only carried in war.’ That’s beyond the pale. He didn’t carry weapons of war in war. The most accurate term for that is a ‘lie.’ I was a Navy photographer on an aircraft carrier, spending most of my deployments in an official combat zone. Some of it would be considered dangerous, like working on the flight deck during air ops or flying in a helicopter, shooting (photos) out the open door. But I didn’t carry a weapon of war in war (unless you consider a Nikon a weapon), and I’ve been very careful NOT to call myself a combat veteran. Those guys in harm’s way from enemy fire are, in my estimation, more than a small notch up above me regarding the risk they endured for their nation.”

Another nod to America’s service members was made by Hector Montemayor of Alabama, who was cagey about his comment: “In the eyes of we service members, a bona-fide c o w a r d. Stop-loss was in effect when this c o w a r d’s retirement was submitted in lieu of deploying with the unit; the unit had a deployment date, and the c o w a r d knew that based on old Yeller’s position . . . it should have never been approved!”

“He quit when he got the call,” said Billy Heath in Jonesboro, AR. And that alone does not sit well with your average heartlander. Suffice it to say there isn’t a lot of love for the guy when it comes to his military credentials.

How a Hashtag is Born – It Is Painful

Try as they might, elite media types just can’t erase the controversy of the governor’s stance on female hygiene products in public schools. It’s good that he wanted to provide girls access to these items, but the scandal came when he insisted on stocking boys’ bathrooms with them as well. Walz, a biological male, signed the Menstrual Equity Bill into law in June 2023. Minnesota Rep. Sandra Feist (D), who sponsored the bill, said: “First, there are a lot of schools that are moving towards gender-neutral bathrooms, and if we add ‘female,’ we might become obsolete very quickly. Second, not all students who menstruate are female – we need to make sure that all students have access to these products.”

The CEO of the American Principles Project, Terry Schilling, went on the record with Breitbart News: “Pushing tampons into boys’ bathrooms ‘is dangerous for girls, and it’ll end up making boys miserable,’ because it denies the real biology-based differences between the two sexes.”

Schilling wasn’t quite finished:

“That’s the thing that hurts them politically, and it makes us seem unreasonable if we’re opposed to providing tampons to girls. The whole reason why we’re calling him Tampon Tim is because he gives it to the boys. He wouldn’t be called #TamponTim just for supporting women’s hygiene products . . .  It’s an intrusion.”

In Dudley, GA, Rick Gunn ended the discussion by saying: “Harris & Walz are certainly a toxic shock.”

Policies? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Policies

Reporters aren’t hearing much from the tightly scripted candidates. Harris and Walz appear for short events with entertainment to keep an audience in their seats, but the speeches are the same 15 minutes of nothing. Cheryl Barbee Hooker, one of those critical thinkers in Hartville, GA, is watching and keeping track: “Same speech for the 4th time.”

No policy. No achievements. No “Here’s what I’ll do on day one to fix things.” Instead, Harris delivered this gem to UAW members: “You know, the one thing about all of us is we like hard work. Hard work is good work. Hard work is good work. The thing that we like about hard work is we have fun doing hard work.” Hmm. Define “hard work.”

Can US voters catch a glimpse of a plan before the next debate? Unlikely. Harris and Walz are being quite coy about public appearances – probably terrified of what happened in the last debate. But flyover folks are just waiting for either of them to talk policy.

Stacie Nelson is one such voter: “Oh, I can’t wait for JD to mop the floor. JD is going to be calm, cool, and collected, and Walz will have a meltdown. We know this in MN.”

Butch Salkowski, a Beagle-loving guy in rural Pennsylvania, isn’t buying what they are trying to sell at their inflated price: “They talk about freedom! You call this freedom? They talk about Joy instead of policies to run this country! Well, there is no JOY IN THIS MUDVILLE, and those two Democratic Nitwits aren’t going to fix it! WAKE UP PEOPLE!”

City Folks Better Love This Guy

Walz is a progressive voter’s obsession whose record speaks volumes. And, yes, Americans should thank him for his 24-year service in the National Guard – though he should probably apologize for leaving his command on the eve of battle and misrepresenting his service record afterward. But heartlanders can live with a heartfelt apology. What flyover folks cannot abide, however, is the constant cover-ups, shilling for transgender radical activists turning tender-age children into science projects, and the fact that regular folks cannot afford food, gas, or utilities. Let’s talk about that.

In Whitelaw, WI, Joey Tisler doubts whether Walz can govern effectively if elected: “The guy who lets cities burn and wants to defund police,” is that what we have on the Democrat ticket?