'Health Care And Housing Are Human Rights': Walz Speaks At DNC

CHICAGO, IL — Following a tribute to Minnesota native Prince by John Legend and an appearance by Mankato West High School football alums, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz accepted his nomination as the vice presidential candidate Wednesday night in Chicago.

Walking onto the convention stage to the John Mellencamp song "Small Town," Walz was greeted with cheers — and tears from his children, Gus and Hope — along with chants of "Coach, coach," a nod to his career as a high school teacher and football coach.

Walz, chosen by Vice President Kamala Harris as her running mate just weeks ago, gave his stump speech about his upbringing in a town of just 400 people in Nebraska.

"I’ll tell you what, growing up in a small town like that, you learn how to take care of each other," he said. "That family down the road, they may not think like you, pray like you or love like you, but they're your neighbors — and you look out for them, and they look out for you."

Walz talked about his 24 years of service with the Army National Guard and decision to become a teacher, like many in his family, going on to teach high school social studies and coach football.

"It was those players and my students who inspired me to run for Congress," Walz said. "They saw in me what I hoped to instill in them — a commitment to the common good … and the belief that a single person can make a real difference for their neighbors.

"So there I was, a forty-something high school teacher with little kids and zero experience and no money, running in a deep red district. But you know what? Never underestimate a public school teacher."

He touted a list of his own achievements as governor, citing tax cuts for the middle class, paid family and medical leave, and providing free breakfast and lunch for Minnesota students.

Walz's speech emphasized Wednesday night's "freedom" theme at the convention, stressing the need for reproductive freedom of choice — including the access to IVF and fertility treatments, which allowed Walz and wife Gwen to have their children.

"I’m letting you in on how we started a family because this is a big part of what this election is about, freedom," Walz said. "When Republicans use the word freedom, they mean that the government should be free to invade your doctor's office, corporations free to pollute your air and water, and banks free to take advantage of customers."

As a veteran and a hunter with experience using guns, Walz also called for gun control.

"We mean the freedoms to make a better life for yourself and the people that you love," he said. "And, yeah, our kids' freedom to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the hall."

Using Harris' refrain — "we're not going back" — Walz said, "We've got something better to offer the American people, and it starts with our candidate, Kamala Harris ... I think we owe it to the American people to tell them exactly what she'd do as president. This is the part, click and save it and send it to your undecided relatives."

For those who are middle class or striving to be middle class, "Kamala Harris is going to cut your taxes," Walz said, along with taking on "big pharma" to reduce prescription drug costs.

For those hoping to buy a home, "Kamala Haris is going to help make it more affordable," Walz proclaimed.

He ended his speech with a football metaphor.

"It's the fourth quarter, we're down a field goal, but we're on offense, and we've got the ball ... We've got 76 days, that's nothing, there'll be time to sleep when we're dead, we're gonna leave it on the field," he said. "That's how we'll keep moving forward, that's how we'll turn the page on Donald Trump.

"Health care and housing are human rights, and the government stays the hell out of your bedroom."

Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey Speak

Walz's keynote speech followed appearances by former President Bill Clinton, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and longtime Chicago talk show host, Oprah Winfrey.

Clinton — whose speech went well over its anticipated time — took a shot at Trump's age, after the Republican candidate spent months criticizing aging President Joe Biden before he dropped out of the race in July.

"Two days ago, I turned 78," Clinton said. "And the only personal vanity that I want to assert is that I’m still younger than Donald Trump."

Clinton lauded Harris and her choice of Walz as her VP pick.

As a prosecutor, "Kamala Harris has fought for kids her whole life who were left out and left behind," Clinton said. "She’s already said she’s gonna work really hard to make sure that no American working full-time lives in poverty or has to worry about their children living in poverty."

Pelosi, meanwhile, invoked the insurrection attempt of Jan. 6, 2021.

"January 6 was a perilous moment for our democracy," she said. "Let us not forget who assaulted democracy on Jan. 6 — he (Trump) did. But let us not forget who saved democracy that day — we did."

Pelosi urged voters to "reject autocracy" and choose democracy.

"The parable of Jan. 6 reminds us that our democracy is only as strong as the courage and commitment of those entrusted to its care," she said. The choice couldn’t be clearer - those leaders are Vice President Harris and Gov. Walz."

Coming back to her longtime home of Chicago, Winfrey, a registered Independent, urged others like herself to vote for Harris.

"I’m calling on all you Independents and all you undecideds," she said. "You know this is true, you know I’m telling you the truth, that values and character matter most of all, in leadership and in life."

Speaking of his life with his husband and their two young children, Buttigieg — the first openly LGBT person to lead a department and hold a Cabinet-level position — urged voters to "end Trump's politics of darkness for all."

"The existence of my family is just one example of something that was literally impossible as recently as 25 years ago, when an anxious teenager growing up in Indiana wondered if he would ever find belonging in this world," Buttigieg said. "This kind of life went from impossible to possible, from possible to real, from real to almost ordinary, in less than half a lifetime. That didn’t just happen, it was brought about. This November, we get to choose ... Most of all, we will choose a better politics. That is what Kamala Harris and Tim Walz represent."