A Mind-Numbing Stolen Valor Pass for Walz
This was so tone-deaf that it raises the question: Was it written by the Harris/Walz campaign?
There are many adages to describe a person who stumbles onto a truth by chance. “Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn now and then.” “Even a broken clock is right twice a day.” You know a few…
Such was the case when the Washington Post editorial board recently slammed Kamala Harris for her asinine economic plan. The Post flamed the policy, noting, “The times demand serious economic ideas — Harris supplies gimmicks.”
Taking that lead, former Obama economic adviser Jason Furman declared: “This is not sensible policy, and I think the biggest hope is that it ends up being a lot of rhetoric and no reality. There’s no upside here, and there is some downside.” Even CNN’s Catherine Rampell blasted Harris’s price-control plan as “totally unworkable,” noting, “We’ve seen this kind of thing tried in lots of other countries before — Venezuela, Argentina, the Soviet Union, et cetera — it leads to shortages, it leads to black markets, and plenty of uncertainty.”
Unfortunately, sometimes otherwise dependable editorial pages stumble into affirming a lie, a BIG lie. And that was the case recently with the Wall Street Journal editorial board in an article on Tim Walz’s history of stolen valor — his well-documented fabricated claims about his record as a weekend warrior with the Minnesota National Guard.
Yes, Walz has a long history as a pathological prevaricator, a liar. Whatever he needs to say to comport with some political narrative, he does so shamelessly.
Many of his lies are revisionist personal history, like lying about using in vitro fertilization (IVF) in order to have children. He used that lie as a platform to attack pro-life advocates, and the Harris/Walz campaign has now admitted it was a lie. And there are Walz’s lies to advance his political ambitions, like lying in his first congressional campaign about his DUI arrest — CNN found and debunked that lie this month.
As you recall, Walz abandoned his National Guard unit before it deployed to Iraq in order to mount that 2006 campaign.
Which brings me to a series of false narratives Walz has spun for 30 years about his military service, and a mind-numbing pass he got from The Wall Street Journal.
Recently, I outlined Walz’s record of stolen valor in great detail, providing the most comprehensive account of the most egregious examples of his stolen valor claims.
That would include his congressional campaign official announcement asserting that he was “a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom.” That claim was a lie, and he knew it. He has had ample opportunities to correct the record but has not.
SSG David Bellavia, an actual Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran and Medal of Honor recipient, strongly condemned Walz. Asked about Walz’s claims to have served in combat, Bellavia said: “That’s the unforgivable sin. … [Democrats] don’t understand the warrior class in America, which is why President Trump overwhelmingly has the support of combat Veterans. … I just find the whole thing disingenuous. Hold a press conference; explain what the record is. [Walz’s] failure to do so, to me, speaks volumes.”
There are Walz’s repeated and debunked claims about being a retired Command Sergeant Major. Those claims were a lie, and he knew it. He has had ample opportunities to correct the record but has not.
As for his claim about “weapons of war that I carried in war,” another assertion that he served in a warfare theater, that claim was a lie, and he knew it. He has had ample opportunities to correct the record but has not.
Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI), an Iraq War Veteran and USMA graduate, notes that Walz has “played fast and loose with his military bio to stay above water as his congressional district drifted right.” Apparently.
Thus, I note that just prior to compiling my analysis on Walz’s stolen valor record, the Wall Street Journal editorial board posted this question as a title: “Is Tim Walz Guilty of ‘Stolen Valor’?” Good question.
But I was stunned by the assertion under that headline: “His military record isn’t a good reason to oppose his candidacy.” That is the most ill-informed teaser I have ever read in the Journal, an otherwise solid source for news and opinion.
According to the Journal’s editors: “There are plenty of reasons to criticize Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, and we’ve told you about several. But the charges leveled so far about his military service look like ‘thin gruel’ as our friends at the New York Sun put it.” Since when does the Wall Street Journal editorial board take its editorial direction from the New York Sun?
The editors insist, “His retirement timing wasn’t ideal, leaving his leadership position when his unit was headed into a war zone.” But they then excuse him for doing so.
Regarding Walz’s repeated assertions about being a retired Command Sergeant Major, the editors assert, “That seems to have been a bureaucratic issue…” Well, no, it’s a fact, and Walz knows it and has lied about it.
The Journal does not list the other stolen valor claims and concludes, “There are other and better reasons to oppose Mr. Walz’s candidacy.”
This mind-numbing editorial board post was so tone-deaf that it raises the question: Was it written by the Harris/Walz campaign? In this rare case, the editors seem to have fallen into a Beltway groupthink dark hole.
I have searched the bios of those serving on the Journal’s editorial board and have yet to find any record of military service. While I have a high degree of respect for those editors, and one does not have to be a Veteran to opine on Walz’s record of stolen valor, it would help if they sought the opinion of some Veterans before dropping that editorial.
As for our post on Walz’s stolen valor record, for the most authoritative assessment on Walz’s plethora of fabrications, I turned to the highest-ranking Army Veteran among my friends and colleagues, GEN B.B. Bell (USA, Ret.).
He summed up Walz as follows: “Like many Patriot Post readers, I served to the best of my ability and did what the military asked of me as best I could for the 39 years I was honored to be an active-duty Soldier. That’s all our nation asks, and all one’s fellow Service members or fellow Veterans expect. In the case of Governor Tim Walz, this bond of steeled brother and sisterhood has been crushed by his disgraceful embellishment and lies regarding his military service. They are real, they are irrefutable, and they are an affront to any Service member or Veteran who ever wore the uniform, in peace or war. It fully and irrevocably disqualifies Governor Walz from serving as our Vice President or President. He should withdraw his candidacy now, seek the forgiveness of his fellow Service members, and ask our Lord for His Grace and Mercy. Nothing else is acceptable.”
Finally, it was notable that when Walz delivered his keynote litany of lies at Kamalafest this week, he made virtually no mention of his military record other than noting he was once in the National Guard.
And the Wall Street Journal’s disgraceful pass notwithstanding, in an open letter to Walz, Congressional Veterans condemned him for stolen valor, writing, You’ve … demonstrated your … lack of honor through your blatant misrepresentations exploiting and co-opting the experiences of America’s combat veterans for personal gain.“
Footnote: For perspective on the real Tim Walz, consider what his older brother Jeff has to say about Tim’s record: "I’m 100% opposed to all his ideology. … The stories I could tell. Not the type of character you want making decisions about your future.” Asked about endorsing Trump, Jeff said: “I’ve thought long and hard about doing something like that! I’m torn between that and just keeping my family out of it.”
Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Pro Deo et Libertate — 1776
