The ‘Everyman’ Image of Rep.-elect Walz
12/23/2006
By Matthew Spieler
NY Times
Published: December 21, 2006
The following article, by CQPolitics.com’s Matthew Spieler, updates what Democratic Rep.-elect Tim Walz is doing to shore up his support base after winning a come-from-behind Nov. 7 victory in Minnesota’s Republican-leaning 1st Congressional District.
The story is the latest in an occasional series about Democratic House freshmen from politically competitive districts, what they are doing to steel themselves against future Republican challenges and what the GOP is planning as the party tries to reclaim at least some of these seats in the next national campaign.
Nothing turns a political newcomer into an instant party celebrity like winning a big upset victory. That is something Democrat Tim Walz, whose House campaign this year in Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District was his first bid for public office, has quickly discovered since he ousted seven-term Republican Rep. Gil Gutknecht Nov. 7.
Although he will not even be sworn in to his seat in the 110th Congress until Jan. 4, Walz has been courted by some Democratic activists to challenge first-term Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, whose seat will be up for election in 2008.
It’s an idea that Walz considers, “very strange, awkward and flattering.” And Walz, not surprisingly has unequivocally ruled it out.
The congressman-elect will, in fact, likely have his hands full fending off a targeted Republican Party effort to reclaim the 1st District seat in the 2008 elections.
When Walz announced his challenge to Gutknecht, his bid was viewed as quixotic — or, at best, uphill. Though the sprawling and largely rural southern Minnesota district is not an iron-clad Republican stronghold, President Bush was favored there over 2004 Democratic challenger John Kerry by 4 percentage points.
And Gutknecht, despite a strongly conservative voting record that might have placed him a bit to the right in this district, has a personable manner that previously had made him more popular than his party in the 1st. Just two years ago, Gutknecht pulled down 60 percent of the House vote, running 9 points ahead of Bush in the district.
But this year, the downturn in the Republicans’ national political fortunes hindered Gutknecht, rendering him vulnerable to Walz, a political outsider with an “everyman” image and a strong grass-roots organization.
Walz’ election represented a stunning ascent for someone who only became politically active two years ago.
A high school teacher and retired sergeant major in the Minnesota Army National Guard, Walz was spurred into action after accompanying some of his students to a campaign rally for Bush — only to see them interrogated about their political views after one student was found to have a Kerry sticker on his wallet.
When asked if he would have run for the House this year had it not been for that incident, Walz told CQPolitics.com: “Probably not.”
Following the event, Walz signed up to volunteer for Kerry, and soon became the campaign’s county coordinator. He also became district coordinator of Vets for Kerry.
Walz was not discouraged by the 2004 outcome, in which Bush was elected to a second term in the White House and the Republicans gained seats to pad their majorities in both the House and the Senate. Instead, Walz began looking ahead to 2006 “to see who was running” in the 1st.
The nomination, it turned out, was pretty much Walz’s for the asking. The “bench” of potentially Democratic challengers was weak. Walz said, “We tried to get full time Democratic offices opened” throughout the district, including his hometown of Mankato.
Much has been made of the fact that many of the 30 seats gained this year by the Democrats in their successful campaign to gain a House majority were in Republican-leaning districts such as Minnesota 1 — which some analysts see as portending a shift toward the center for the liberal-oriented party.
But, in fact, Walz was one of several Democratic challengers who won by projecting a down-to-earth profile while sticking to an agenda of traditional Democratic Party principles.
In early 2005, when Walz began seriously exploring the possibility of running for Congress, he underwent political training with Camp Wellstone, a St. Paul-based organization that aims to produce grass-roots progressive candidates in the mold of the late Democratic Sen. Paul D. Wellstone, a liberal icon who died in a 2002 plane crash.
With his victory in November, Walz joined Democratic freshman-elect Keith Ellison of Minnesota’s 5th District as the first Camp Wellstone graduates to be elected to Congress.
Walz says Camp Wellstone, in addition to teaching the basics of campaign organization and fundraising, demonstrates “how to maintain your authenticity” amid the rigors of a campaign, when many candidates become overwhelmed by advice from consultants and handlers. “A lot of candidates struggle with who they are,” Walz said.
Walz also was notably helped by the liberal “blogosphere.” While he ran well under the radar of Democratic campaign operatives in Washington for most of his campaign, bloggers “spread word of our viability.”
These “Netroots” activists, eager to more boldly challenge Republicans on national security, also were looking for Democrats with military service — especially those who could apply that experience to their opposition to the war in Iraq. The group of Democratic veterans seeking office became known among activists as “Fighting Dems.”
Walz, with 24 years of National Guard experience in Minnesota and his native state of Nebraska, seemed highly attractive. And he did not disappoint: Walz’s criticism of the Iraq War and support for a redeployment of troops struck a chord with voters in Minnesota 1.
Walz also proved to be a highly skilled campaigner. His gregariousness contrasted with Gutknecht’s more reserved bearing. In debates, Walz’ grasp of a wide range of issues and detailed knowledge of military affairs appeared to blindside Gutknecht, who had become accustomed to weak challengers.
Among other Democratic agenda items, Walz embraced universal health care and increasing the minimum wage.
Reaching into his background as an educator, Walz also criticized shortcomings in Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” education program — though not with the kind of abandon applied by Democratic candidates in some other districts. He states that the law has done some good, helping teachers to “learn the language of accountability.” But as an incoming member of Congress, Walz hopes to help shape changes in the law, charging that the Bush administration has ducked its responsibility to fund the program and puts too much emphasis on “punitive measures.”
“When it comes to influencing student performance, the record is still very sketchy,” Walz said.
In regard to the Iraq War, Walz acknowledges that the president, as the commander in chief, holds the authority on how to conduct the war. But Walz said he believes political pressure — more from Republicans than Democrats — will persuade Bush to consider a redeployment of troops.
While sympathetic to Democrats who are skittish about cutting funding for the war, Walz thinks Democratic leaders should “look hard at only providing money for the troops” and using Congress’ “power of the purse strings” to reduce U.S. involvement in the war.
While Walz’s populism likely helped him win this rural district, he also embraced a politics of openness that appears to have enhanced his cross-party appeal. One of his biggest criticisms of the Republican-controlled Congress was not over a policy or bill, but lack of “open debate.”
Walz’s longevity in the district is still an open question. In 2006, Republicans faced the voters in a daunting political climate. This was especially the case in Minnesota — a state Bush lost in 2004 — and Walz likely was aided by Democratic county prosecutor Amy Klobuchar’s landslide (58 percent to 38 percent) victory over Republican Rep. Mark Kennedy in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Mark Dayton.
Though Republicans failed in their efforts this year to brand Walz as too liberal for the district, it’s unlikely they will abandon this tactic for the 2008 contest.
Walz , though, says he is reaching out to those who didn’t vote for him in 2006. His leadership style, he says, is “not about only meeting with people who support me.” He said it’s “not pandering,” but “open dialogue,” that will keep him in his constituents’ good graces.
He also stressed that “effectiveness, not ideology” will guide his approach to governing.