Why Walz Matters and a Must-Read Book Review August 7, 2024 How a self-described “old white guy” can help many Americans reimagine themselves. Walz is an unusual figure on a Democratic Party ticket: the first non-lawyer on a Democratic presidential ticket since Jimmy Carter, the son of a farm family, a public school graduate with a fancy-school-free résumé, a longtime teacher and coach, an Army reserve soldier — all in all, a truly working-class, regular-guy, non-coastal-elite vice presidential nominee that Republicans simply cannot dismiss as the Other . . . The far right often tries to tarnish Democrats as a bunch of effete coastal folk trying to ruin sports, take away your guns, unravel traditional understandings of gender, replace white people, usher in communism, and more. It is vital that everyone stand up to this bullshit. But there can be special power in an old white guy saying: This is bullshit. A guy who hunts and keeps guns. A guy who coached football. A guy who fought in the military. A guy who did all the supposed “guy” things and emerged with a belief in equality and dignity for all of us . . . To compete with those who are offering fascist solutions to men despairing about their place in the future, Democrats need to have not just a message but also a messenger. And Walz is well equipped to call in those who feel like they haven’t had a home in the Democratic Party for a long time . . . Worth reading in full. [Yesterday’s story about how he taught the Holocaust to his high school students is equally telling.] GREAT QUESTION Glenn Hudson: “Why aren’t we hearing more about Senate Republicans blocking the child tax credit?” “Senate Republicans love to talk about how they are the party of family and business. So it’s very odd to see them come out so aggressively against expanding the child tax credit and rewarding business with the [research and development] tax credit,” Schumer said on the floor of the chamber. R.I.P., BILLY My baseball heroes were Duke Snider, Jackie Robinson, and Pee Wee Reese. Then the Dodgers left Brooklyn and it would be four decades before I found another: Billy Bean. In his warmth, modesty, decency, and commitment to a better world, Billy hit it out of the ballpark. MUST READ: JD Vance Just Blurbed a Book Arguing That Progressives Are Subhuman