Rep. Tim Walz (D., MN) is one of the House Democrats blocking legislation that would preserve essential intelligence collection authority. About two weeks ago, House Democrats opted to go on vacation rather than permit a vote on a compromise bill that passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the Senate.
An organization with which I’m associated, Defense of Democracies, has run an ad urging legislators to pass the Senate legislation that protects American lives. Rep. Walz responded by issuing a press release. It’s one of the least persuasive you’ll ever read, basically an ad hominem attack on Defense of Democracies that avoids engaging on the specific substantive issues. Walz argues that because he was in the Coast National Guard, he knows more than you do and, trust him, everything is just fine — even though, notwithstanding that everything is just fine, he (unsuccessfully) urged his colleagues not to go on vacation so they could enact curative legislation to cure the problem that he assures you is not really a problem.
I thought Walz’s press release was specious, so I’ve responded to it. Those interested can find the response at the Defense of Democracies website, here.
UPDATE: I misremembered Rep. Walz’s press release, in which he noted that he had spent 24 years in the National Guard not, as I said, in the Coast Guard. I regret the error, which I thank an NRO reader for bringing to our attention. I also honor Rep. Walz’s service to our country.