Welcome back in for Al’s Afternoon Tea, our chance to sit and sample some of the latest news and headlines.

Going to the Dance with Walz

Kamala Harris announced this morning that she has selected Minnesota’s progressive governor Tim Walz to be her running mate. Walz calls it “the honor of a lifetime.”

It is the honor of a lifetime to join @kamalaharris in this campaign.

I’m all in.

Vice President Harris is showing us the politics of what’s possible. It reminds me a bit of the first day of school.

So, let’s get this done, folks! Join us. https://t.co/tqOVsw2OLM

— Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) August 6, 2024

The 60-year-old Walz was elected governor in 2018 after six terms in Congress. According to CNN, Harris became drawn toward Walz in recent days in part because of his “happy-go-lucky” attitude and joyful presence. The campaign hopes Walz will help Harris in the Midwest.

Walz’s stock began rising in recent weeks after his vehement defense of Joe Biden after the disastrous June 27 debate with former President Donald Trump and his recent dubbing of Republicans as “weird.”

Although Walz started out as a moderate and will sell himself that way on the trail, he’s been governing Minnesota as a full-blown radical since residing in the mansion. His first act in office was launching a DEI initiative. He’s all in on the trans ideology cult, including stripping parents of custody if they don’t approve of getting “gender-affirming care” for their kids. He supported an abortion bill that allows the killing of the unborn in Minnesota up until birth. He also signed a bill giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.

Walz may look like a kindly old social studies teacher, but he is a hard-core leftist. He’s also on the side of criminals. 

In 2020, Walz went AWOL for a time during the George Floyd riots which ravaged Minneapolis, allowing rioters to burn the city unencumbered for over three days before finally acquiescing to pleas to call in the National Guard.

Even when the rioters came to his own front door — the grounds of the state Capitol itself — Walz stayed silent and still. 

https://twitter.com/TheEliKlein/status/1819736088128208915

Walz will come across as likable — a quality Harris needs in her campaign — and lacks the star power or political heft to overshadow her (another quality she needs in a running mate, lest her own weaknesses be made clear by comparison).

A debate with Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance should prove interesting. Vance will be able to directly smack down Walz’s characterization of him as “weird.”

The Harris-Walz ticket will make its debut tonight in Philadelphia.

Beating Out Shapiro

Walz was chosen over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is considered more moderate, more popular, and a better bet to help keep the Keystone State in the Democratic column. However, he also brought more personal baggage and controversy, along with the ambition and wattage to outshine Harris.

Then there’s the elephant in the room. Historically, Shapiro has been a strong supporter of Israel, though he’s been backing away from that recently in order to increase his chances of getting onto the ticket. As we mentioned on The Brew, don’t discount Shapiro’s Jewishness playing a role in Harris’s decision to go with Walz. Ticking off the anti-Israel street mobs and Muslim voters in swing states was not a chance the risk-adverse Harris would be willing to take.

Vance went so far as to say Harris “listened to the Hamas wing” of her party in picking Walz over Shapiro. 

Kamala Contradicts Herself as Her Hubby Pitches Coffee

The contradictions of Kamala. She’s selling herself through her TV campaign ads as a tough prosecutor. Yet her first order of business as a presidential candidate has been to pick a running mate who is notorious for letting criminals set his biggest city ablaze.

She’s trying to rebrand herself as a moderate, while picking a proud progressive running mate who says “one man’s socialism is another person’s neighborliness.”

As Florida Gov. Ron Desantis was quick to state, this is the most left-wing ticket in history.

Harris-Walz: most left-wing ticket in American history.

Minnesota was ground zero for the BLM riots of 2020. Harris egged it on and Walz sat by and let Minneapolis burn.

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) August 6, 2024

Meanwhile, in one of those oddities that occurs in any campaign, Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, is pitching a new “First Gentleman” coffee blend, an “aspirational” brew concocted in his honor.  The blend comes from the Portland-based Coffee by Design, which gushes, “In addition to being a supportive spouse and active campaigner, Doug is an outstanding activist in his own right; supporting gender equity, equal access to justice, and combatting antisemitism. Enjoy this bold, strong dark roast made in his honor. Tastes like hope!”

Being an aspirational coffee blend was not on my 2024 bingo card. pic.twitter.com/4D3XIHGBmH

— Doug Emhoff (@DouglasEmhoff) August 5, 2024

 

Harris Officially Secured the Democratic Nomination in the Dead of Night

Perhaps it’s just me, but there’s something very Third Worldly about this. Harris was officially selected as the Democratic nominee overnight, with a virtual roll-call of delegates. The Democratic National Committee released a statement announcing her coronation around midnight. Sure, there will be a showy ceremonial roll-call at the party’s upcoming convention, but the deed was actually done behind closed doors in the wee hours, without Kamala Harris receiving a single vote from a real voter.

Originally the virtual roll-call was planned because of a glitch in the election calendar which required the Democrats to officially name a candidate before their convention if they wanted Joe Biden on the ballot in Ohio. The Buckeye State actually agreed to a workaround, making the virtual roll-call unnecessary.

Influential Congressman: Congressional Democrats Will Overturn Trump Victory in 2024, Even If It Means Civil War

If Donald Trump wins in November, you can forget about the Democrats accepting the results, regardless of how clean or large the margin of victory is. Cable news favorite Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) is guaranteeing there will be an effort in the House to reject certifying the election on January 6, 2025 because of what happened on January 6, 2021. And if that means civil war, so be it.

Jamie Raskin is saying that congress will STOP Trump from taking office even if he’s chosen by the voters.

This is extremely dangerous. Every Democrat needs to be on the record about this immediately. pic.twitter.com/9IwRoGrrQu

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) August 5, 2024

Raskin says Democrats will use the Fourteenth Amendment — the same one the Supreme Court already ruled does not apply to Trump’s actions on January 6 — to disqualify the former president.

“It’s going to be up to us on January 6, 2025 to tell the rampaging Trump mobs that he’s disqualified,” Raskin said. “And then we need bodyguards for everybody and civil war conditions.”

This makes a lot of sense: We’re going to overturn the 2024 election because Trump questioned the 2020 election. Trump was an insurrectionist, so we’re going to lead an insurrection to keep him out of office.

Notice the common denomination in these past two stories: The will of the American voter does not matter. Harris is the nominee by decree, and if she is beaten fair and square, we will overturn the result.

Welcome to Venezuela.

The Woke Tried to Get Him Fired. The Chiefs Just Gave Him a Raise

Here’s a good-news story that splits the uprights. Remember what happened to Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker a few months back? Butker gave a powerful commencement speech at a Catholic university where he passionately celebrated and defended motherhood and family.

And oh, did the Left go mad, demanding that the Chiefs release Butker as a result.

Not only did the Chiefs not release Butker, yesterday they made him the highest-paid kicker in NFL history.

Butker signed a four-year deal for $25.6 million, with $17.75 million of that guaranteed. According to NFL insider Adam Schefter, Butker negotiated the deal himself.

Smells like justice to us.

A new deal in KC: Chiefs are signing standout kicker Harrison Butker to a four-year, $25.6 million extension that includes $17.75 million guaranteed, per sources. The deal ties Butker to KC through the 2028 season. Butker represented and negotiated the deal himself. pic.twitter.com/LOTPxqqJIa

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 5, 2024

On the Stream Menu

John Zmirak has a hot one for you: “‘Progressive’ Christianity Is a Suicide Cult.” 

Stream contributor Raymond Ibrahim offers “Muslim or Not? British Government Respects Privacy of Man Who Murdered Three Children.” 

 

Al Perrotta is The Stream’s Washington bureau chief, coauthor with John Zmirak of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration, and coauthor of the counterterrorism memoir Hostile Intent: Protecting Yourself Against Terrorism.