I like Walz. Ettingermentum's
write-up on him is useful. I'll quote some of the meat from that article:
In other words, an extremely generic political career. If you live outside of Minnesota, you’d be entirely forgiven for having never heard of this man. And a big reason why he made so little news over the course of his first term was because he could, in reality, do very little. Walz was forced to endure divided government during his first four years in office, as, despite extensive efforts, the Minnesota State Senate stayed in Republican hands by the narrowest of margins after both the 2018 and 2020 elections. With control over the floor, they were able to block his entire agenda. Any dreams Walz may have had for Minnesota were left unknown to the world.
This would all change with the 2022 elections. As Democrats overperformed expectations across the country, they would unexpectedly flip the Minnesota State Senate, handing Walz a trifecta to start his second term. From there, Walz and his allies in the legislature have made quick work in passing a huge number of longstanding priorities. Abortion rights were codified into law, along with some of the nation’s first explicit protections for trans people. A paid family and medical leave program was established. Marijuana was legalized. Noncompete agreements were banned. School meals were made universal and free of charge for all children in the state. Walz would sign all of it, only using his veto pen to strike down a measure meant to increase pay for rideshare drivers in light of threats by Uber to pull out of the state entirely—a bluff I personally wish he called, but something that I also believe reflects more on the inherent limits of state-level policymaking than the Governor’s own convictions.
I am always impressed when I find a Democrat with a spine, and Walz appears to be in that category. I'm all for it!
