In the comments, a reader has suggested that Walz didn't lie in 2006. It was his campaign manager and communications director who lied, therefore my suggested headline (and critique of CNN's headline) is wrong.
The most plausible scenario, I think, is that Walz told his campaign staffers what to say. After all, this was a highly personal matter. In short, Walz lied to them; they repeated his lies.
Another scenario is that these staffers lied without Walz's knowledge. This is worse, since it suggests he had no control over his campaign staff. As near as I can tell, these staffers weren't fired or otherwise punished. So I think this scenario is unlikely.
Assuming Tim Walz told his staffers lies which they then repeated for him, this is worse than lying himself, for getting someone to mouth your own lies is really low.
Really low but par for the course in politics. This is known "taking one for the team". Presumably the other side is that you will be rewarded when it all blows over. An example is Antony Blinken arranging for former CIA officials to falsely claim during the 2020 campaign that the Hunter Biden laptop was a fake. They did so, the issue went away, the press conveniently forgot about the whole thing, and Blinken was made Secretary of State in the Biden administration. So if you wonder why we have so many people in high places now you know. They are selected for their ability to lie. Apparently nobody wants a Boy Scout, least of all a politician running for office.
Granted one of the two imbeciles will be elected. Neither has much experience or thoughtful positions on domestic, economic or foreign affairs that will benefit the citizenry or the rest of the planet. As ironic as it is to say it, however - Trump has a tiny bit more of each for at least sitting behind the Resolute desk on his rump for four years.
Walz's actual DUI could be called a "youthful indiscretion" But he doesn't get off with his later denial at 42. His character was on display and he is another empty suit in terms of the policies needed to guide the U.S. in a better direction and away from the calamities facing us.
As this is the week of the DNC convention, focusing only on the Democrats: it appears the Obamas have beaten out the Clintons as the silent force behind Harris. Therefore, if she's elected, it will be the fourth term of the Obama administration in terms of staffing - and staffing is destiny. (We've already seen how well that has worked out for both Obama and Biden).
The CNN headline reflects the contents of the article below it: the false statements about the DUI arrest that CNN reported were made by Walz campaign staff, not by Walz himself.
If true, that suggests Walz had no control over his campaign staff--that they lied for him. In which case he should have fired them and apologized for their lies.
I think Walz is a massive creep, but I don’t think that absolves you of a responsibility to be accurate. Your reply is trollish: it is not true that my comment, “if true,” suggests anything about Walz whatsoever. It is fair to hold him accountable for what his campaign does; I am holding you accountable for what you have written.
I think what I wrote is accurate. I don't think it plausible that campaign staffers made stuff up about Walz's personal life. I believe the lies, or, if you prefer, the order to lie, came from Walz.
If I tell a lie to you and then have you repeat it in my name, I am the liar, not you. You were just doing your job, assuming you worked for me.
That is ultimately a subjective statement. If you want to maintain that a headline which accurate summarizes the contents of the article below is very odd, then I have to concede the point, odd as it is.
(2) That “It wasn’t his campaign that falsely described details. It was Tim Walz himself.”
The first of those sentences is unambiguously false, unless you were saying the entire CNN article is fiction – though in actuality you were pointing to it to point out the alleged oddness of the headline above it.
The second sentence, that Walz himself made false statements about his arrest, is entirely plausible, but you provide no evidence for it. And now you are trying to bootstrap that inference into a demonstration that your initial assertion is accurate.
Isn’t is easier just to concede you misread the CNN article in haste than to make these increasing tortured arguments?
The CNN article says his campaign manager and his communications director lied about his arrest and jailing for DUI.
Now, unless you believe both these people were putting out information without consulting Walz about what happened, it's obvious Walz told them what to say. How else would they know about Walz's personal life unless he told them?
So, Walz lied to his staffers, who then repeated those lies on his behalf.
I would be hard pressed to name a single person in Trump's administration that bore any integrity whatsoever. (If there were some, please remind me who.) Like unto it, Biden's administration is as bad or worse. Let us remember, not a single cabinet member resigned in protest over the genocide in Gaza. Now the DEI host of speakers at the DNC convention haven't allowed a single Palestinian (or pro-Palestinian) to address the giddy crowd. On a scale of 1 to 10 on the integrity scale, we are swirling in double-digit negative numbers, and not only in the executive branch.
Of integrity, I would like to think either you got it or you ain't. Alas, as noted, people make mistakes so some scale seems only reasonable, but the propaganda that props this system up is both tiresome and extremely dangerous and deadly.
Sadly that is the type of 'homo politicus' who enters, survives, and even thrives in politics. Sadly, I cannot think of a period in history when it was different, with the odd individual exception, such as Cincinnatus. We have to rediscover the idea of service to your fellow man, or go down in flames.
A little off topic, but speaking of headlines leaving key pieces missing, there was this in the NYT this morning.
"The War in Gaza Is Making Thousands of Orphans: Extended families, hospital staff and volunteers are stepping in to care for Gaza’s many newly orphaned children, some of whom are injured and traumatized."
I would phrase it a bit more honestly. The Israeli slaughter in Gaza has not only killed thousands including women and children, but left thousands of children as orphans--many severely injured--and for those who have survived thus far, deeply traumatized; their humanity denied.
All well and fine, he lacked honesty regarding this event in his life. But again, do we want Donald Trump president? A man who has absolutely no honest bone in his body? A resounding no.
Another scenario is that Walz and his senior campaign staff knew what the truth was and decided that it would be better for Walz's campaign to lie about it to the press and public. They also decided that the lie itself would be told by a senior member of the campaign staff so the press attribution would be able to avoid the question about whether the candidate himself was a liar. In a campaign, the most important person is the candidate. CNN apparently went along with this scheme, knowingly or not.
You are never gonna find a perfect Candidate out there nowadays because the first thing they're gonna try to do is dig up Dirt on you. Check out the New York Post for all the juicy sensationalism crap on any Candidate. I'm having none of it. I don't know why any one bothers to run in this generation of Vipers.
We need Dirty Laundry??? Not me. If your not part of the solution your part of the problem. I have utter disgust for the western worlds obsession w/ voyeurism and how it makes spectator slaves of us all...
You are right I should not have brought it up. Hamas has held Gazans hostage for years. Iran and its allies want Israel destroyed. Israel and its right wingers and the hard core settlers have been bad actors for longer actually. I don’t know what the answer is. Somehow the 2 sides need to make peace. Problem is it won’t happen with Bibi or the orange guy. Between this war and Ukraine, you can understand people’s feeling of dread.
Well somebody better make Peace because if they don't I see a 3rd. World War on our horizon, and if it goes Nuclear its Game Ovah!!! Human Race. And.., as Carl Sagan believed most advanced races probably haven't survived to explore the Cosmos, or visit Earth is because they self-destruct during this critical stage!
Much speculation here by Bill and commenters. Typical of you Bill that you act like you were in the room when these decisions or actions were made. Your intention is not to do a hit piece then you do a hit piece.
Walz made what could have been a grevious mistake. God knows I could have been picked up for a dui multiple times in my stupid phase, which was longer than it should have been.
I’m sure you can write about this till it comes out about how the Harris/Walz administration, if elected, will dictate how they react to the war in Gaza.
Sorry to be flippant about the war but just following your lead.
Do you think it's only "flippant" to compare an ongoing genocide in Gaza to questions about Walz's candor about his arrest in 1995 for DUI and reckless driving?
"Flippant"?
And is it really a "war" in Gaza when one side is vastly more powerful than the other and is flattening the entire area and killing more than 40,000 people, and possibly as many as 186,000 according to The Lancet? Yes, that's the Israeli side that's doing all that killing, with American-made bombs and munitions. What's your stance on that?
How do you read what happened? The facts are clear. In 2006, the Walz campaign (i.e. Walz) lied about his DUI arrest in 1995. What lesson are we to take from this? Any at all?
I live in Minnesota. I haven’t read anything until recently when this all came out. I don’t remember it being a big deal in any of his campaigns and I don’t know why that is. Maybe because it happened a while ago and seems like he owned up to it. Now whether the campaign staffers lied, Walz directed them to or they did it on their own, the truth is out and seems he owned it.
I feel he’s a good man who made a mistake. He’s certainly done a lot for his constituents and the whole community for many years.
Fair enough. He had a DUI in 1995. He and/or his staff lied about in 2006 during his election for Congress. In the past few years, he has owned up to it.
I find it hard to believe his senior campaign staff would lie in 2006 without any discussion with Walz over what exactly happened in 1995. No campaign works this way. So I think the most likely scenario is that Walz sought to play down what happened in 1995 to boost his electoral chances in 2006.
It raises questions about his integrity; it suggests he's an opportunist. That doesn't mean he's a bad person or a bad candidate.
I'm glad to hear you believe he's a good man; I would say his lack of candor in 2006 aggravated the DUI/reckless driving arrest in 1995.
Finally, I've never suggested I was "in the room"; I'm making educated guesses based mainly on human nature and common sense. If you disagree, perhaps you might tell me what you think happened. Or maybe it doesn't matter to you, which is fine.
“Reading the account at CNN, Walz subsequently denied he’d been driving drunk and denied he’d been briefly jailed. He made these false statements in 2006 when he was running for Congress. Later, in 2018 as he ran for governor, he admitted he had been driving drunk, depicting it as a wakeup call, a life-changing moment.
“The headline of the CNN story is very odd: ‘Tim Walz’s 2006 campaign falsely described details about his arrest for drunk driving in 1995.’
“Think about that a moment. It wasn’t his campaign that falsely described details. It was Tim Walz himself.”
CNN’s headline accurately reflects the contents of the article it heads: the false statements about the DUI arrest quoted therein were made by two Walz campaign staffers, not by Walz himself.
So the headline, at least, is not “very odd.”
Beyond that, unless Bill Astore has another source quoting Walz personally making a false statement about the arrest, then his assertion that “[i]t wasn’t his campaign that falsely described details. It was Tim Walz himself” is unsubstantiated.
Obviously it is legitimate to ascribe to Walz a degree of responsibility for false statements (uncorrected by him at the time) made by his campaign aids.
In the comments, a reader has suggested that Walz didn't lie in 2006. It was his campaign manager and communications director who lied, therefore my suggested headline (and critique of CNN's headline) is wrong.
The most plausible scenario, I think, is that Walz told his campaign staffers what to say. After all, this was a highly personal matter. In short, Walz lied to them; they repeated his lies.
Another scenario is that these staffers lied without Walz's knowledge. This is worse, since it suggests he had no control over his campaign staff. As near as I can tell, these staffers weren't fired or otherwise punished. So I think this scenario is unlikely.
Assuming Tim Walz told his staffers lies which they then repeated for him, this is worse than lying himself, for getting someone to mouth your own lies is really low.
Really low but par for the course in politics. This is known "taking one for the team". Presumably the other side is that you will be rewarded when it all blows over. An example is Antony Blinken arranging for former CIA officials to falsely claim during the 2020 campaign that the Hunter Biden laptop was a fake. They did so, the issue went away, the press conveniently forgot about the whole thing, and Blinken was made Secretary of State in the Biden administration. So if you wonder why we have so many people in high places now you know. They are selected for their ability to lie. Apparently nobody wants a Boy Scout, least of all a politician running for office.
Yes. Well put. And obviously this applies to Republicans as well as Democrats.
True that
Granted one of the two imbeciles will be elected. Neither has much experience or thoughtful positions on domestic, economic or foreign affairs that will benefit the citizenry or the rest of the planet. As ironic as it is to say it, however - Trump has a tiny bit more of each for at least sitting behind the Resolute desk on his rump for four years.
Walz's actual DUI could be called a "youthful indiscretion" But he doesn't get off with his later denial at 42. His character was on display and he is another empty suit in terms of the policies needed to guide the U.S. in a better direction and away from the calamities facing us.
As this is the week of the DNC convention, focusing only on the Democrats: it appears the Obamas have beaten out the Clintons as the silent force behind Harris. Therefore, if she's elected, it will be the fourth term of the Obama administration in terms of staffing - and staffing is destiny. (We've already seen how well that has worked out for both Obama and Biden).
Thanks for pointing out what the headline should have said. The obvious bias of CNN for the Democrats is nauseating.
The CNN headline reflects the contents of the article below it: the false statements about the DUI arrest that CNN reported were made by Walz campaign staff, not by Walz himself.
If true, that suggests Walz had no control over his campaign staff--that they lied for him. In which case he should have fired them and apologized for their lies.
I think Walz is a massive creep, but I don’t think that absolves you of a responsibility to be accurate. Your reply is trollish: it is not true that my comment, “if true,” suggests anything about Walz whatsoever. It is fair to hold him accountable for what his campaign does; I am holding you accountable for what you have written.
Don’t you want to be accurate?
I think what I wrote is accurate. I don't think it plausible that campaign staffers made stuff up about Walz's personal life. I believe the lies, or, if you prefer, the order to lie, came from Walz.
If I tell a lie to you and then have you repeat it in my name, I am the liar, not you. You were just doing your job, assuming you worked for me.
I have pointed to two assertions by you:
(1) That the CNN headline is “very odd.”
That is ultimately a subjective statement. If you want to maintain that a headline which accurate summarizes the contents of the article below is very odd, then I have to concede the point, odd as it is.
(2) That “It wasn’t his campaign that falsely described details. It was Tim Walz himself.”
The first of those sentences is unambiguously false, unless you were saying the entire CNN article is fiction – though in actuality you were pointing to it to point out the alleged oddness of the headline above it.
The second sentence, that Walz himself made false statements about his arrest, is entirely plausible, but you provide no evidence for it. And now you are trying to bootstrap that inference into a demonstration that your initial assertion is accurate.
Isn’t is easier just to concede you misread the CNN article in haste than to make these increasing tortured arguments?
OK, here we go. Let's go down this road:
The CNN article says his campaign manager and his communications director lied about his arrest and jailing for DUI.
Now, unless you believe both these people were putting out information without consulting Walz about what happened, it's obvious Walz told them what to say. How else would they know about Walz's personal life unless he told them?
So, Walz lied to his staffers, who then repeated those lies on his behalf.
The staffers aren't responsible, Walz is.
Tell me where I'm wrong here.
I would be hard pressed to name a single person in Trump's administration that bore any integrity whatsoever. (If there were some, please remind me who.) Like unto it, Biden's administration is as bad or worse. Let us remember, not a single cabinet member resigned in protest over the genocide in Gaza. Now the DEI host of speakers at the DNC convention haven't allowed a single Palestinian (or pro-Palestinian) to address the giddy crowd. On a scale of 1 to 10 on the integrity scale, we are swirling in double-digit negative numbers, and not only in the executive branch.
Of integrity, I would like to think either you got it or you ain't. Alas, as noted, people make mistakes so some scale seems only reasonable, but the propaganda that props this system up is both tiresome and extremely dangerous and deadly.
Sadly that is the type of 'homo politicus' who enters, survives, and even thrives in politics. Sadly, I cannot think of a period in history when it was different, with the odd individual exception, such as Cincinnatus. We have to rediscover the idea of service to your fellow man, or go down in flames.
In the District inside the beltway a "weak and hypocritical character" is one prerequisite!
The other issue is: what was Walz' term of enlistment, or how many strings had to be pulled to let him retire instead of deploying to Iraq?
Having both active duty and reserve service, members with no active duty seemed to me to be "different". But I am Vietnam era!
A little off topic, but speaking of headlines leaving key pieces missing, there was this in the NYT this morning.
"The War in Gaza Is Making Thousands of Orphans: Extended families, hospital staff and volunteers are stepping in to care for Gaza’s many newly orphaned children, some of whom are injured and traumatized."
I would phrase it a bit more honestly. The Israeli slaughter in Gaza has not only killed thousands including women and children, but left thousands of children as orphans--many severely injured--and for those who have survived thus far, deeply traumatized; their humanity denied.
This is interesting🧐
https://heated.world/p/tim-walzs-green-resume-has-an-oily
All well and fine, he lacked honesty regarding this event in his life. But again, do we want Donald Trump president? A man who has absolutely no honest bone in his body? A resounding no.
Why leaders lie, by John Mearsheimer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPe5f5dcrGE
Another scenario is that Walz and his senior campaign staff knew what the truth was and decided that it would be better for Walz's campaign to lie about it to the press and public. They also decided that the lie itself would be told by a senior member of the campaign staff so the press attribution would be able to avoid the question about whether the candidate himself was a liar. In a campaign, the most important person is the candidate. CNN apparently went along with this scheme, knowingly or not.
You are never gonna find a perfect Candidate out there nowadays because the first thing they're gonna try to do is dig up Dirt on you. Check out the New York Post for all the juicy sensationalism crap on any Candidate. I'm having none of it. I don't know why any one bothers to run in this generation of Vipers.
Politics is the dirtiest game in town. Even "Dirty Harry" hated politics!
"Mr. Mayor, you're on! I know, Jimmy, I know. Well, let's go down there ..."
As long as someone has atoned for their past sins is fine w/ me and lets move on. We're all a mixed bag...
Of course. But it's always best to know the good, the bad, and the ugly before casting your vote.
And the Good, the Bad, and the Uuuugly is why I don't care about the personal lives only who's the best to Govern --
. "If it bleeds it leads" Give us "Dirty Laundry" Henley had it right!!!
Not sure I follow. What you do in your personal life can say much about one's character and ability to lead and govern.
We need Dirty Laundry??? Not me. If your not part of the solution your part of the problem. I have utter disgust for the western worlds obsession w/ voyeurism and how it makes spectator slaves of us all...
You are right I should not have brought it up. Hamas has held Gazans hostage for years. Iran and its allies want Israel destroyed. Israel and its right wingers and the hard core settlers have been bad actors for longer actually. I don’t know what the answer is. Somehow the 2 sides need to make peace. Problem is it won’t happen with Bibi or the orange guy. Between this war and Ukraine, you can understand people’s feeling of dread.
Thanks. Appreciate your comment.
Well somebody better make Peace because if they don't I see a 3rd. World War on our horizon, and if it goes Nuclear its Game Ovah!!! Human Race. And.., as Carl Sagan believed most advanced races probably haven't survived to explore the Cosmos, or visit Earth is because they self-destruct during this critical stage!
Now I feel better. Sometimes you just want to run away and hide. Easy for us to pontificate from our safe haven.
Much speculation here by Bill and commenters. Typical of you Bill that you act like you were in the room when these decisions or actions were made. Your intention is not to do a hit piece then you do a hit piece.
Walz made what could have been a grevious mistake. God knows I could have been picked up for a dui multiple times in my stupid phase, which was longer than it should have been.
I’m sure you can write about this till it comes out about how the Harris/Walz administration, if elected, will dictate how they react to the war in Gaza.
Sorry to be flippant about the war but just following your lead.
Do you think it's only "flippant" to compare an ongoing genocide in Gaza to questions about Walz's candor about his arrest in 1995 for DUI and reckless driving?
"Flippant"?
And is it really a "war" in Gaza when one side is vastly more powerful than the other and is flattening the entire area and killing more than 40,000 people, and possibly as many as 186,000 according to The Lancet? Yes, that's the Israeli side that's doing all that killing, with American-made bombs and munitions. What's your stance on that?
My "intention" wasn't to do a "hit piece."
How do you read what happened? The facts are clear. In 2006, the Walz campaign (i.e. Walz) lied about his DUI arrest in 1995. What lesson are we to take from this? Any at all?
I live in Minnesota. I haven’t read anything until recently when this all came out. I don’t remember it being a big deal in any of his campaigns and I don’t know why that is. Maybe because it happened a while ago and seems like he owned up to it. Now whether the campaign staffers lied, Walz directed them to or they did it on their own, the truth is out and seems he owned it.
I feel he’s a good man who made a mistake. He’s certainly done a lot for his constituents and the whole community for many years.
Fair enough. He had a DUI in 1995. He and/or his staff lied about in 2006 during his election for Congress. In the past few years, he has owned up to it.
I find it hard to believe his senior campaign staff would lie in 2006 without any discussion with Walz over what exactly happened in 1995. No campaign works this way. So I think the most likely scenario is that Walz sought to play down what happened in 1995 to boost his electoral chances in 2006.
It raises questions about his integrity; it suggests he's an opportunist. That doesn't mean he's a bad person or a bad candidate.
I'm glad to hear you believe he's a good man; I would say his lack of candor in 2006 aggravated the DUI/reckless driving arrest in 1995.
Finally, I've never suggested I was "in the room"; I'm making educated guesses based mainly on human nature and common sense. If you disagree, perhaps you might tell me what you think happened. Or maybe it doesn't matter to you, which is fine.
Integrity from the leaders of the Democratic Party? Surely you jest.
Bill Astore writes above:
“Reading the account at CNN, Walz subsequently denied he’d been driving drunk and denied he’d been briefly jailed. He made these false statements in 2006 when he was running for Congress. Later, in 2018 as he ran for governor, he admitted he had been driving drunk, depicting it as a wakeup call, a life-changing moment.
“The headline of the CNN story is very odd: ‘Tim Walz’s 2006 campaign falsely described details about his arrest for drunk driving in 1995.’
“Think about that a moment. It wasn’t his campaign that falsely described details. It was Tim Walz himself.”
CNN’s headline accurately reflects the contents of the article it heads: the false statements about the DUI arrest quoted therein were made by two Walz campaign staffers, not by Walz himself.
So the headline, at least, is not “very odd.”
Beyond that, unless Bill Astore has another source quoting Walz personally making a false statement about the arrest, then his assertion that “[i]t wasn’t his campaign that falsely described details. It was Tim Walz himself” is unsubstantiated.
Obviously it is legitimate to ascribe to Walz a degree of responsibility for false statements (uncorrected by him at the time) made by his campaign aids.
Did Walz fire those campaign staffers and apologize for their lies?
I think it much more likely these unnamed campaign staffers were repeating exactly what they were told to say by their boss--Tim Walz.
You should have said as much in this post, rather than make the inaccurate assertions you did.