Walz lie number 1369: only when his lips move, sources say

Is there nothing that Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz will lie about? There's a better than even chance that when Walz's lips are moving, he's lying.

Walz told a tale about how the George Bush campaign was the catalyst that got him into a career in electoral politics. Predictably, it has more holes in it than a screen door.

An investigative reporter Gabe Kaminsky unearthed an entertaining yarn spun by Walz. According to Walz, he didn't initially set his sights on a political career—he had his epiphany after being barred from a Bush campaign rally in Mankato. Picture this: Walz, playing chaperone, brought along two students for what he dubbed an "educational experience." Little did they know, they were about to flunk 'Access 101.' The drama unfolded when a Kerry sticker on one student's wallet triggered a secret service-style rejection from a vigilant Bush staffer, dashing their rally dreams and nudging Walz down the path of politics. What a plot twist!

Kaminsky has a different take than Coach Walz.

First of all Tampon Tim actually went to the rally, and the teens were not his students and, in fact, had provoked a confrontation with the campaign several days prior to the event. I repeat: he went to the rally and his "students" Klaber and Burkart, were not his students. [Does he even have a dog name Scout?]

Klaber and Burkhart's brush with the Bush campaign before the 2004 rally was pure high school drama. The teen rebels were overheard tossing around some sassy remarks about Bush while standing in line — their version of a roast, if you will. Naturally, this earned them the campaign's version of a time-out: no tickets for you! According to a vintage news report dug up from the archives, it sounds like they got detention instead of a rally. Talk about getting schooled by the system!

After the story was reported by local news, because Klaber called the press, the Bush campaign contacted the dynamic duo and offered them tickets. In the lead-up to the 2004 election, there was an increase in protest activity, and police were making arrests at campaign events. Klaber’s parents, knowing Walz, asked him to chaperone the teenagers to the event, anticipating they might encounter issues.

Predictably, they did.

That day, as the three amigos waited in line, Bush campaign staffers sprang up like jack-in-the-boxes, telling them that the Secret Service had ranked Klaber and Burkhart on the threat level right next to alien invasions. Walz, recalling the incident with the fire of a thousand suns in 2006, said he was beyond livid. “As a soldier, I reminded them I had the undeniable right to see my commander in chief,” Walz passionately declared at a 2006 campaign event in Minnesota.

The Bush staffers questioned Walz, asking if he supported Bush, according to Tampon Tim. But while the students were barred from the event, Walz was not, andv he waltzed right inside, one source said.

First and foremost, the Secret Service decision was likely an overreaction—but it was their overreaction, not the campaign's. However, it all began with two teenagers misbehaving while waiting in line for tickets, and one of them escalated the situation by contacting the media. This certainly would have put them on the Secret Service's radar, which makes much more sense after July 13. Additionally, we should not forget that the Iraq war had sparked widespread protests, some of which were not peaceful, and the Secret Service had to take that into account when dealing with known activists trying to attend election rallies.

While the details don't jive, the differences in his claims aren't very clear. However, can we really believe this was Walz's political awakening?

Hardly:

In ‘04, I worked for the MNGOP. President Bush visited Mankota on August 4, 2004, and I took pictures of protesters outside the event. Tim Walz (pictured on the far-right) protested Bush’s visit to Minnesota. The thread below from Walz about his role at Bush’s event is dishonest. https://t.co/rEpzoF0yE9 pic.twitter.com/ygLiIEG4p1— Michael Brodkorb (@mbrodkorb) August 17, 2020

It's hard to know when Walz is telling the truth about anything. Sometimes it's half-truths, like in this instance, and sometimes it's stolen valor lies, like his claim of carrying weapons in war or retiring as a Command Master Sergeant. 

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