Duluth, Minnesota – Rural County Republican Chairman Central Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz slammed the common media narrative that he is a “moderate,” telling Fox News Digital that rural voters across the country are being “fooled” by that talking point.
“I want to say to most of the rural folks out here and to anyone else watching this: You’re being lied to,” Lowell Smith, a state college educator in Brainerd, Minnesota, and chairman of the Crow Wing County Republican Party, told Fox News Digital.
“You’ve been fooled. He’s lying. He doesn’t stand for rural America. All he’s interested in are very liberal policies that are supported by the elites. He doesn’t stand for us. Basically, he’s — I don’t remember who said it, but it’s true. It’s Bernie Sanders and flannel. They’re trying to sell him as something he’s not, but he’s just a liberal who wears flannel. He’s against the Second Amendment. He doesn’t stand for rural America.”
Smith added, “Governor Walz’s values are completely out of sync with much of rural Minnesota, or even much of rural America. He appears to have run for office as a moderate, but every policy he’s taken, every thing he’s done since being elected, has been ultra-liberal and doesn’t reflect a moderate at all. So it makes sense that Kamala Harris would choose him as her running mate.”
Smith told Fox News Digital that speaking to rural Minnesota voters, “everyone’s really angry” that Gov. Walz “let the state burn for like four days” during the 2020 George Floyd riots, which caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.
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Smith also pointed to Minnesota’s tax policy and business climate under the Walz administration, saying Democrats in control of the state “squandered” a $17 billion surplus under Walz’s administration.
The nonpartisan Tax Foundation’s 2024 State Business Tax Climate Index, released in October 2023, ranked Minnesota as the 44th best tax climate state in the nation for businesses.
An analysis released in January by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that Minnesota has the most progressive tax code of all 50 states, with only the District of Columbia having a more progressive tax code.
“In Minnesota, we respect our neighbors and their personal choices,” Walz said. told a crowd in Philadelphia When introduced as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, he spoke about abortion: “Even if we don’t make the same choice for ourselves, there’s a golden rule: take care of yourself.”
Smith told Fox News Digital that rural Minnesota voters dispute that claim, given Walz’s record on COVID-19. Widely criticized By the Republican Party.
““His policies didn’t reflect that at all,” Smith said. “He basically created a tip line where you could tell your neighbor if they weren’t wearing a mask or if they were still open for business, and you would be subject to civil fines.”
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Democratic vice presidential nominee and Minnesota governor Tim Walz speaks at a campaign event in Detroit on Aug. 7, 2024. Vice President Kamala Harris and Walz have been campaigning across the country this week. (Andrew Harnick)
“So it kind of reminds me of the communist era, when families spied on families. And we in rural Minnesota don’t really believe in that sort of thing.”
Smith told Fox News Digital that residents in the county call Walz “Tampon Tim” because of his policies on transgender issues, such as allowing menstrual products in school bathrooms across the country, including boys’ bathrooms. Pushed back While some have spoken out against these attacks, Smith said Walz has essentially made Minnesota a “sanctuary state” on transgender issues.
““They have embraced the idea of transgenderism enthusiastically and made Minnesota a sanctuary state. If you’re a minor living in Iowa, South Dakota or North Dakota and your parents don’t consent, you can drive into Minnesota and at that point, for lack of a better term, the state of Minnesota can take you and give you transgender surgery or medical care without your parents’ consent or knowledge,” Smith said. “Even in Minnesota, if a child is gender confused, the state can step in and take the child and give them medical directives against their parents’ wishes. That doesn’t sit well with us here.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz gesture during a campaign rally at the Thomas and Mack Center at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, on August 10, 2024. (Rhonda Churchill/AFP via Getty Images)
Smith told Fox News Digital that residents around Brainerd are so fed up with Governor Walz’s policies that a local business along Highway 10 in Royalton, Minnesota, put up a sign showing Governor Walz with his head up his ass, visible to thousands of drivers. The sign reads, “Governor Walz, Northern Minnesota wants to see things from your perspective. Sponsored by Rocks & Cows of the North.”
“Rocks and cows” refers to comments Waltz made in 2017 about rural America, which the Trump campaign seized on and some have called “the worst thing that could happen to anybody.” It was taken out of context.
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Fox News Digital asked Smith what issues the county’s rural voters are most concerned about in the November election.
“The top three issues we hear about right away are about the nation’s finances, about money,” Smith explained. “We want to have a strong economy, and that doesn’t seem to be going very well. Next is controlling crime. Crime is rampant in most democratically controlled areas, and people want to feel safe in their neighborhoods and in their homes.”
“Finally, border control. Major flooding or, as we hear so often here, invasion of our country by other countries on a weekly basis. Those are the three most common stories I hear from county residents.“
Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris-Waltz campaign for comment but did not receive a response.
