DNC takeaways: Walz, Emhoff, Buttigieg ... and maggots at buffet

A man in a suit at a lectern puts his hands together as if in prayer.

Aug. 22, 2024 3 AM PT

Hello, and happy Thursday. There are 74 days until the election and today we’re talking about maggots and men.

First, maggots! I did not have them on my Democratic convention bingo card, but they are apparently on the menu. The FBI is investigating how “multiple women” sneaked into the Chicago Fairmont and put the squiggly larvae onto a breakfast buffet associated with the convention.

Not long ago, pro-Palestinian activists sprinkled maggots at the D.C. hotel of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

There is no word yet on what, if anything, the maggot smugglers were protesting (and no arrests) but it’s starting to look like fly-baby seasoning is the new sit-in for activists.

Better than roaches, I guess? Definitely an argument for watching what you eat — just in case it’s moving.

Now, on to men — specifically Tim Walz and Doug Emhoff. We’ve talked before about how Republicans have based almost all of their MAGA madness around gender, what it means to be a woman and what it means to be a red-blooded American man.

“American politics has long been a contest over who is the real man,” C.J. Pascoe, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Oregon, told me not long ago.

Of course, that was pre-Harris, who has turned that truism on its head. But it’s not just her. It’s also the men in her orbit. Emhoff and Walz are offering up an alternate vision to the pouty-shouty Trump-Vance bro down.

Their convention speeches made it clear that this ticket is about running with a woman, not over her.

How refreshing.

Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz at a rally in Milwaukee.

C-Walz

Coach Walz. How do you not love this guy. His enthusiasm is more infectious than COVID.

Walz came onstage to John Mellencamp’s “Small Town” (which he’s used before) and chants of “Coach” from the crowd.

He spoke to a “mind your own business” middle ground.

“I believe in the 2nd Amendment, but I also believe our first responsibility is to keep our kids safe,” he said.

“Here’s the thing,” he said of Project 2025, the ultra-conservative platform that Trump has tried to distance himself from.

“It’s an agenda nobody asked for. It’s an agenda that serves nobody except the richest and most extreme among us. Is it weird? Absolutely. But it’s also wrong and it’s dangerous.”

That “weird” line doesn’t seem to be losing its varnish and has hit Trump-Vance so hard they’ve started trying to hit back by labeling Walz as “freakish,” which just doesn’t work.

But it’s not just the words Coach spoke. It’s the delivery. This guy is homey and comforting, but smart and real.

I couldn’t help but compare him to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, another VP contender who spoke earlier. Shapiro is smart and polished. But it’s too much polish for the moment.

Walz is the guy you can count on to bring your garbage cans in when you’re out of town, even when you forget to ask. He’s just nice, and we all need a little nice right now.

And Gus, his son — he’s going to own our hearts. When his dad called out his family from stage, Gus stood up, clearly moved, yelling, “That’s my dad.”

The Emhoff factor

On Tuesday night, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff made his speech, and it was charming, too.

He came across like a smart teddy bear (which MAGA jumped on immediately as weak), the absolute best of an average Joe.

Emhoff introduced his parents, Mike and Barb. He told us about his fantasy football team, named after Nirvana, the band, not the state of being.

He repeatedly told us how much he loves his wife’s much-derided laugh.

But most of all, he humanized Harris. Powerful women, especially in politics, cannot afford the luxury of vulnerability, a reality that often leaves them with images described as hard or cold. Harris has been no exception — think of how MAGA tried to demean her because she has not given birth.

But Emhoff crushed that stereotype by being an ordinary guy who spent his teenage years in the “Beverly Hills” of the Conejo Valley, Westlake Village. A guy who goes to Zankou Chicken and the Hollywood Bowl.

A guy who knows his wife’s place is in the kitchen. And the Oval Office.

Living the life

I also have to throw Pete Buttigieg in here. That man can speechify.

You don’t often see the secretary of Transportation making a national splash, but Buttigieg has been a staple on Fox News lately, “going anywhere and everywhere in service of a good cause,” as he put it.

He and his husband adopted two children a few years ago. He gave accolades for Harris, but mostly he talked about his own life and how his personal, improbable journey exemplifies the best of what American democracy means.

“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 the world,” he 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.”

We can talk about freedom and rights all we want, but Buttigieg is living our progress. His investment in the outcome of this election, like so many Americans, isn’t just about politics.

It’s about life.

What else you should be reading

The must-read: Pelosi makes no apologies at DNC for her role in Biden’s exit
The money trail: Trump has far less campaign money and infrastructure than Harris
The L.A. Times Special: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reportedly on verge of dropping presidential bid

Stay Golden,
Anita Chabria

P.S. Will RFK Jr. call it quits?

The black sheep of the Kennedy clan is holding a news conference Friday. Earlier this week, his running mate, Silicon Valley millionaire-dilettante Nicole Shanahan, she of the raw milk fetish, said the campaign was considering dropping out and endorsing Trump.