The libertarian Cato Institute released the report, which graded states by spending, revenue and taxes. The top ten states in the rankings starting at the top are Iowa, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, South Dakota, Montana, Hawaii, Georgia, Idaho, and Vermont.
The bottom ten states, according to the analysis, are New Mexico, Missouri, Oregon, Michigan, Wisconsin, Delaware, Washington, Maine, New York and lastly, Minnesota.
The bottom six states received a grade of “F.”
Walz’ poor rating comes just weeks before the presidential election where he and his running mate Vice President Kamala Harris are in a nearly tied race with former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio.
The report explains the reasoning for Walz’ low score, pointing to a series of tax hikes under his leadership as well as spending increasing by 36% since 2022, from from about $52 billion to nearly $71 billion.
From the report:
]]>In 2019, Walz’s budget would have added ‘$2 billion more in new spending and taxes would increase by $1.3 billion to pay for it, with the rest of the money coming from an existing surplus.’ But he compromised with the legislature, and the final tax increase was about $330 million annually. Walz also pushed for higher gas taxes and higher vehicle fees to raise about $1 billion annually for transportation, but those increases were rejected.
Walz pushed for more tax hikes in 2021. He proposed adding a new individual income tax rate of 10.85 percent above the current top rate of 9.85 percent, a surtax on capital gains and dividends, and a hike to the corporate tax rate from 9.8 percent to 11.25 percent. The proposals—which would have raised about $1.6 billion annually—were rejected by the legislature…
Walz hit the middle class with HF 2887, which raised taxes and fees on vehicles and transportation. The increases included indexing the gas tax for inflation, increasing vehicle registration taxes, raising fees on deliveries, and raising sales taxes in the Twin Cities area.
Second, party and candidate platforms are usually debated in more detail than during a presidential debate. They’re supposed to be more substantive with fewer fireworks and more specifics. This allows the VP candidates to attempt to serve their third purpose which is to attack the opponents’ presidential candidate while propping up their own presidential candidate.
Last night’s CBS News debate exemplified all three purposes. The lone deviation was the moderators who once again inserted themselves into the debate by carrying water for Democrat Tim Walz while trying to discredit Republican J.D. Vance. At times, moderators Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan were insufferable.
Here are six key takeaways for those who didn’t watch as well as for those who did watch and might have missed a few details.
Vance’s Debate Skills in 43-Seconds
The “Whac-a-Mole” moment during the debate checked all the boxed. In 43-seconds, Vance attacked his opponent, attacked Kamala Harris, promoted Donald Trump, and added a personal anecdote on top.
This is the best 43-second answer in a debate that I have listened to in my lifetime.
J.D. Vance was a brilliant choice.#VPDebate2024 pic.twitter.com/6dHEkEjNjZ— Vince Langman (@LangmanVince) October 2, 2024
This will be a moment that future debaters analyze while preparing their own candidates.
Vance Dominated the Optics Battle
To fulfill the first goal of the debate, Vance presented himself to the American people as intelligent, confident, and well prepared. He handled the “gotcha” attacks from both Walz and the moderators with the precision of a highly skilled debater with only a few missteps on messaging.
In contrast, Walz came across as a buffoon. His first answer started off very rocky as he was conspicuously nervous, tripping over words and bouncing around different talking points. At one point he even noted that he can be a “knucklehead” sometimes.
Words aside, Vance looked great and Walz did not. As Jack Posobiec noted on X:
The entire debate summed up: pic.twitter.com/IZR9UCy4mg
— Jack Poso
(@JackPosobiec) October 2, 2024
Scarlett Johnson reiterated the point:
My daughters think Vance is “hot.”
My husband says he's never heard conservatism explained in such a relatable and common-sense way.
I think Vance SLAYED. pic.twitter.com/dpSTNkjPQE
— Scarlett Johnson (@scarlett4kids) October 2, 2024
Throughout the debate, Vance presented himself as presidential and a man Americans could follow while Walz came across as the bumbling uncle families don’t look forward to hearing from on Thanksgiving.
Walz Bombed the One Tough Question He Was Asked
The only thing the debate moderators did fairly the entire night was to ask Walz about his bald-faced lie on being there during the Tiananmen Square massacre. It didn’t go well.
Tim Walz just admitted he is a LIAR on national TV
It is the single most awkward moment in American debate history
Just watch… pic.twitter.com/HWTBhBv8Rq
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 2, 2024
As bad as Walz’ response was, it’s hard to imagine any way this guy could have answered the question without looking awful. He took a bad circumstance and sprinkled moronic all over it.
Trust the Experts?
There was a moment in the debate that may not get as much attention from pundits as other exchanges but the viewers noticed. Many were likely nodding their heads unconsciously as Vance gave a brief history lesson about “the experts.”
WATCH: J.D. Vance decimates Tim Walz with a series of brutal fact checks.
“Governor, you say trust the experts, but those same experts for 40 years said that if we shipped our manufacturing base off to China, we'd get cheaper goods. They lied about that.”
“They said if we… pic.twitter.com/cZ810urWYD
— The Vigilant Fox
(@VigilantFox) October 2, 2024
Of all the moments in the debate, this is the one that will stick in the back of people’s minds long after the election.
Tim Said What?
It was brief, but voters who noticed what Walz said about school shooters may have questions.
Yes, Walz said he had become friends with school shooters. He likely meant he had become friends with school shooting victims and their families, but unfortunately for him anyone who heard his actual words won’t forget them.
Even CNN Thinks Walz Stunk It Up
Unprepared? Overprepared? Outmatched? Whatever narrative corporate media tries to spin for Walz, the fact that they aren’t out there praising Walz the way they fawned over Kamala Harris after her debate is telling.
BREAKING: CNN admits Tim Walz lost the debate pic.twitter.com/VrHrNzrNKT
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 2, 2024
They might as well have just said he was a buffoon and moved on. They’re not going to dwell on this debate very long. They’ll move on as quickly as possible, sweeping it under the rug while drastically reducing coverage of Walz going forward.
The Verdict Is Obvious
This may have been the most lopsided VP debate in modern history. And to be clear, Walz did far better than many expected. But Vance was dominant even though he missed a handful of opportunities.
It’s conspicuous that he didn’t bring up the lawfare against his running mate, even when Walz gave him the perfect opening by highlighting how Trump talks about locking up both Hillary Clinton and Harris.
It was a no-good, awful night for Walz and very few expected otherwise.
]]>
(DCNF)—MSNBC host Symone Sanders-Townsend claimed Tuesday that Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota’s accomplishments included “providing tampons” to students while previewing the vice-presidential debate with Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio.
Walz signed legislation in 2023 that mandated schools have tampons available in both boys’ and girls’ restrooms, prompting former President Donald Trump and others to call him “Tampon Tim.” Sanders-Townsend claimed that Vance would have to resort to “stolen valor” allegations that have dogged Walz.
“I think that if they’re gonna attack Governor Walz, the Trump campaign and J.D. Vance on that stage, he might try to do so on his military record,” Sanders-Townsend claimed. “And I think he has to have a very strong answer, push and pivot back to the issues. I think that’s one of the biggest vulnerabilities.”
WATCH:
“I actually don’t think his record as governor is vulnerable at all because what he has done as governor, make sure children have food to eat at school so that they could learn, protect women’s autonomy that they can make their own decisions, provide tampons and sanitary products for young girls in schools so that you don’t have an embarrassing moment so they can focus on learning,” Sanders-Townsend added, before telling MSNBC host Ana Cabrera that Minnesota was one of the five best states for business.
Vance accused Walz of “stolen valor” at an Aug. 7 campaign event, citing comments Walz made in a video posted by the Harris campaign where he suggested he carried weapons “in war.”
A 2018 letter and Facebook post by retired Army Command Sergeant Major Thomas Behrends accusing Walz of avoiding a deployment to Iraq prior to his run for Congress resurfaced after he was chosen as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate in August.