On the sixth of August, in the swamp of D.C,

In the heat of the day, in the cool of A/C

She was splashing… enjoying the media's great love

When Harris the Veep called on a Fudd

Horton the elephant may have heard a who, but with all apologies to Dr. Seuss, Harris the donkey has found her Fudd in running mate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. 

"Tim Walz is totally a Fudd," says MN Gun Owners Caucus chairman Bryan Strawser, who's been keeping tabs on Walz since his days representing a rural (and pro-2A) congressional district. Strawser says Walz was a reliable pro-Second Amendment voice in Congress, but when he announced his run for governor in 2018, he suddenly "evolved" on the issue to fall in line with the vast majority of Democratic politicians, in both Minnesota and beyond. 

He definitely painted a different picture when he was a congressman from a conservative district that Donald Trump won by huge margins in southern Minnesota [in 2016], but when he went to run for governor he became a Fudd. And he'll tell you, anytime the subject of guns comes up, that he's a hunter, he owns guns, he hunts pheasant, or whatever, but you'll only ever see him with a shotgun. 

Strawser says since Walz decided to run for statewide office, he's been an adamant supporter of magazine restrictions, "red flag" laws, bans on so-called assault weapons, and universal background checks. Walz has also called for raising the age to purchase "military style" firearms from 18 to 21, even though the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently declared Minnesota's ban on concealed carry for adults between the ages of 18 and 20 unconstitutional. 

Our One Minnesota Budget proposes universal background checks on all firearm sales, raises the minimum age to purchase military-style firearms, and bans high-capacity magazines.

This isn’t a partisan issue – this is about protecting Minnesotans. Let's get this done.

— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) January 23, 2023

Interestingly, Strawser says Walz has remained mum on the Eighth Circuit's decision, which came down after his name started being bandied about as a potential running mate for Harris. You'd think that would have drawn a response from Walz given his own support for infringing on the Second Amendment rights of young adults, but perhaps Walz decided it would damage his "moderate" credibility to declare that under-21s shouldn't be allowed to protect themselves with a firearm. 

Strawser says Walz's flip-flops on Second Amendment issues are a prime target of opportunity for the Trump/Vance campaign, adding that Walz is loathe to talk about the importance of self-defense when it comes to our right to keep and bear arms. 

You can go back and look at his statements on the Heller decision, for example, where he praised that, and now he advocates for laws that would have violated even what was in the Heller decision. So I think you can point out his inconsistency and his flip-flopping, that he can't be trusted on that issue. 

But I think you can also appeal to voters who are interested in the Second Amendment as the right that allows you to possess firearms to defend yourself. And Tim Walz talks about the Second Amendment about being about hunting, and they are not the same thing. 

And you can even look at his inability to protect people during the civil unrest here and the need to be able to have firearms to protect yourself against his approach to civil unrest.  

The national media, including the New York Times, is already highlighting Walz's election to Congress in a district won by Donald Trump, but they neglect to mention his changing positions on the right to keep and bear arms. But Strawser pointed out that not only have Republicans held the seat since Walz was elected governor, Walz himself failed to win his old district when he ran for governor in 2018 on a pro-gun control platform. The Harris campaign is hoping that Walz will help her win over rural and more moderate voters, but when it comes to the Second Amendment, there's really no difference between the anti-gunner at the top of the ticket and the Fudd she's picked as her running mate.