Plain talk about plain truths
Tatter tots. If you don’t know about them yet, you will. They are one of the greatest inventions in the universe. They are also a food staple where I’m from — Minnesota — especially in the form of tatter tot hot dish. Not a casserole, a hot dish.
I’m a fourth-generation Minnesotan. I was born in a small farming town in southwestern Minnesota. It was then and still is within the congressional district that elected Tim Walz six times. I grew up a 45-minute drive from where Walz taught at Mankato West High School. Yes, Walz was born in Nebraska, but he moved to Minnesota in 1996 (the home state of his spouse), and he is a quintessential Minnesotan — nice but not putting up with anyone’s BS — caring about one’s neighbors but not getting involved in their personal business.
It’s that combination of being nice but not a doormat that describes being Minnesotan, including Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. It also describes many Americans regardless of what state they live in, or it at least is the type of decent, wholesome person with whom most people can relate.
I share these things with you to introduce the concept of 60–20–20 America. I’m a professor of social philosophy with a lifelong interest in politics. I try to understand and explain why people think and act the way they do. That’s why I write books about political action, including hostile ones.
The Harris-Walz ticket interests me not only because I feel a strong affinity with Tim Walz. The ticket interests and honestly excites me because it is directed at the 60 segment of America, and that is a rarity in recent American politics.
For far too long, the parties in America’s political duopoly have focused on reaching their own bases, attacking the other party’s base, and trying to cajole a few percentage points of the so-called independents. It is no wonder that voter turnout has been in a long-term downward trend. We can’t blame anyone who says that they don’t feel either party speaks to them.
It is often said that America is a politically divided country. This is true, but not in the ways that the talking heads claim — usually in terms of Democrats versus Republicans. Those aren’t the lines dividing Americans, not at the roots of the divisions.
There are a number of fault lines in American society. Loosely speaking, one of them is the one I am presenting: the 60–20–20 spheres from the perspective of the Democratic Party. The numbers signify approximate percentages of the populace who have general attitudes toward political matters. As a scholar, I’m focusing on the Democratic perspective because the Harris-Walz ticket is a significant departure in US politics. That departure is interesting not just from a scholarly standpoint but also for its effects on the country. We may be seeing a sea change in the political landscape.
The First 20
These people are Americans, but they don’t care much about what’s going on. They will be affected by politics, but they aren’t interested in participating in politics — even in voting. These people matter, but they aren’t part of the calculations of political parties. They can’t be reached by political campaigning and marketing.
The Second 20
These people are Americans, but they are the hard right wing. I single them out only because in the context of elections, they would never, ever even consider voting for anyone they believe isn’t sufficiently right wing. That’s their right, no pun intended. These people matter, but they can’t be reached by any appeals from anyone but a hard right Republican. That the Democratic Party has too often tried to appeal to this segment has been rather silly.
The 60
The majority of Americans are in this segment. Some of these people may not have much involvement in political matters, but they can be motivated to become active, or at least vote. Most of the Americans in this 60 segment pay attention to what’s going on and do vote.
The typical Democratic strategy of recent decades has been to use fear of the Second 20 — the right wing — to scare independents to join the Democratic base in voting against the right wing. I want to emphasize that against. For decades, other than 2008 with Obama, the Democratic Party has been focused on appealing more to fear than to hope. That persuades some people, but most people correctly see that as little more than a mirror image of the Republican Party strategy of fear and division.
There are political zealots on both sides motivated by anger at the opposition, but most people just want to get dren* done. They want a government that works and politicians connected to the real world and real people.
Enter Tim Walz. Agree or disagree with his policies, you can’t deny his authentic connections with real life. One pundit described Walz as a “normie uncle-dad” character. Sounds like many Minnesotans I grew up with. The point is that Walz is someone with whom you can picture yourself sharing a bowl of tatter tots. He’s someone with whom you can picture chatting about your kids, or the game this weekend.
Many pundits are remarking, almost shocked, that Walz is not a lawyer. It is a historical oddity that a presidential ticket that has someone who isn’t a lawyer. What’s an even greater oddity is that we don’t have a rich person on a presidential ticket. And it’s a bit odd that the pundits aren’t remarking on that. Walz is a teacher. When was the last time, if ever, a teacher was on a presidential ticket? It’s always rich lawyers or businessmen. Those are Americans, too, but they don’t share tatter tots with us normies.
But here’s the far more important thing, at least in my mind. Walz is one of the 60 percent in ways that transcend profession or income class. Walz will speak to the majority of Americans by walking the talk, showing what is possible.
A short list of what Walz has always lived by and will show as a VP candidate:
- You can be white and stand against the BS of white nationalism.
- You can be a man and stand with women defending their autonomy.
- You can have your faith and still respect others’ faith (Walz is ELCA).
- You can own a gun and hunt with it and understand the needs for sensible gun legislation and responsible gun ownership.
- You can be heterosexual and stand for LGBT rights.
- You can be against extremism on all sides without becoming an extremist.
And so on.
“Joy” is a word that Walz frequently uses. He’s not using it as a gimmick. It’s his philosophy of life. It is, I’m convinced, the big reason Harris thinks Walz has the right vibe with her and what she wants to do as president — get dren* done with joy and care for people.
Walz also uses the word “weird” to describe Trump and Vance. I have to admit, that’s an accurate description. But we can, as Walz does, acknowledge the whole MAGA movement as weird without hatred. I wrote in my book that we can consider the people who are against us to be adversaries without denigrating them as enemies.
In a political culture dominated by competing narratives of hate and fear, a big dose of joy will be a message much welcomed by most of the 60 percent of Americans. Most people want a better life for everyone more than they want to destroy a perceived enemy. We may finally see a presidential campaign that understands that.
Hey, have some tater tots, and it’s fine by me if you eat them with ketchup or mayo.
* “dren” — a nicer word for excrement. See Farscape.