Rudely treated at Bush event, teacher becomes Kerry activist

Tim Walz has never been involved in grass-roots politics. In fact, donating money was the extent of his political involvement until President George Bush came to town.

Walz, a member of the Mankato (Minn.) Teachers Association and a global geography teacher at West Mankato High School, was looking forward this past summer to the first visit from a U.S. president since Harry Truman stopped by Mankato in 1948.

“It was a chance to see a sitting president, and I wanted to be part of the event,” recalls Walz, a Minnesota National Guardsman who recently returned from service overseas.

He almost missed out on the opportunity. On the day of the president’s visit, Walz, a Democrat who supports John Kerry for president, and the two teenage students who accompanied him were stopped when a security guard checking identification noticed a faded John Kerry sticker on the wallet of one the students.

Next, the students were told that it was a private event for supporters of the president and that they had been flagged by Secret Service as a threat to the president and were not welcome at the event. When Walz intervened, he too was turned away. The teenagers went on their way, but Walz was determined to stay, even though the guards warned he would be detained by the Secret Service.

“I told them I had a right to see the president,” says Walz, who was stunned by what was happening.

When the guards asked if he supported the president, Walz declined to answer. “I didn’t think it was anyone’s business.”

Although the teacher eventually was allowed to attend the event, he came away a changed man. As the president spoke to an audience of thousands about freedom and helping one another, Walz replayed the incident with the guards. “I wanted to see what George Bush had to say. I had no intentions of being disorderly or disrespectful. I have too much respect for the office to heckle the president,” says Walz. “But because I wouldn’t pledge allegiance to the president, I was labeled as a threat.”

The incident was “an epiphany moment” that prompted Walz to action.

In August, he signed on as the Blue Earth County manager of the Kerry campaign. “I’m going to put all of my energies into this. I know now that this is what the Kerry campaign is about—making America a better place. I have no doubt that this is the most important election we may ever see.”