Nancy Pelosi will go down in history as one of the savviest, smartest politicians ever to hold the position of speaker.
I know many on the left think she tanked single-payer option from Obamacare but that is just not true. It was never part of the more conservative bill being formulated in the Senate. The House, under Pelosi, had the public option in their bills. But once Kennedy died and Scott Walker (a Republican) won the special election to fill his seat, Pelosi did the practical thing and pushed the two bills to reconciliation to get a bill passed before the Senate fell to GOP control once Walker was sworn in. You can find this information in the book "America's Bitter Pill: Money, Politics, Backroom Deals, and the Fight to Fix Our Broken Healthcare System" By Steven Brill which goes into great detail on the compromises and fights which ultimately resulted in the PPACA (aka Obamacare).
I think she read the mood of the electorate. I would have voted for Biden's corpse if necessary knowing Harris would be elevated if something happened to him, but her maneuver likely gives Democrats a fighting chance in November- including downballot. He is a former teacher. He had training at the campaigns and elections course at Camp Wellstone, a program run by Wellstone Action, the nonprofit organization Mark and David Wellstone created to carry on the work of their parents, Paul Wellstone and Sheila Wellstone. The Wellstone's were prominent progressives.
Walz is a good choice for VP, I think. He has a history of defeating GOP incumbents and opponents, is from middle class rural area to appeal to those demographics since Harris will easily have the urban votes. Walz reportedly speaks some Mandarin from a stint teaching abroad. As a high school teacher he served as the faculty advisor to the first gay-straight alliance at Mankato West High School. He has a military backround which helps with that demographic.
Walz is technically a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party.
Key votes as a congressman:
>voted against the act to Prohibit Federally Funded Abortion Services
>voted to advance the Affordable Care Act out of the House.
>voted to continue funding for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan,
>voted against the 2008 TARP bill which purchased troubled assets from financial institutions
Walz received a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood in 2012, from the American Civil Liberties Union in 2011, from the American Immigration Lawyers Association in 2009–2010, from the AFL-CIO in 2010, from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in 2009–2010, and from the National Organization for Women in 2007.
He received low ratings from the National Taxpayers Union, Citizens Against Government Waste, Americans for Tax Reform, and FreedomWorks, so I would count that as HIGH score for Democrats!
