It wasn’t just Kamala Harris and Tim Walz who lost something several weeks ago. It was Minnesota, too.

By facing the higher level of scrutiny in a national campaign, Tim Walz was revealed as a collectivist governor with a poor record of competency. Suddenly, the country and many Minnesotans discovered how and why our state is governed so differently from all Midwestern states.

First, the governor literally leaped on stage, presenting a strange clown-like persona with a Tibetan monk bow and a “joyful” leg kick. Being called weird by Tim Walz was like being called ugly by a frog. While he seldom appeared statesmanlike, his quirkiness wasn’t all that cost Minnesota a serious nick in its reputation.

Even on his return to the state after the election, Walz emphasized the issues he will protect at all political cost: Unbridled abortion, even in the seventh, eighth, and ninth months, are not just ignored, but invited and promoted, making our state the abortion capitol of the world. Continued special protection and procedures for transsexuals. Misdirecting attention from the $250 million “Food for Kids” COVID fraud which he ignored. More open doors and assistance to illegal aliens even as legal immigrants and refugees see themselves as suddenly less important to Minnesota’s future.

Add to this, the governor was revealed as the chief bystander during the Minneapolis riots. His stolen valor of an unfulfilled military promotion disturbed every veteran. His coaching and hunting skills were questioned. He never responded to the worldwide laughter at the “Tampon Tim” designation. His 40 percent increase in the state budget made every surrounding state look more attractive.

Finally, Walz and his equally strange running mate were liberal in the use of the terms freedom, joy, and democracy. Their freedom was evidently conditional on paying a significant share of your labor to government, dependent of following not just law, but a plethora of regulations which deny a range of choices. Their freedom was more like that protected in the governor’s favorite travel destination — China. Their joy is only realized in election victories for themselves and their political party. Maybe with this resounding loss by a majority vote, they’ll say less about democracy.

Minnesotans will wait this out for now. They will seek real, not freaky, liberty. They will pursue their own happiness, not wait for collective joy. They will see Tim Walz not as a protector of democracy, but an abuser of the office at the cost of our republic and our state.

— Cal Ludeman is a former state representative and Republican candidate for governor in 1986. He was a commissioner in the Tim Pawlenty administration, and served 8 years as the Secretary of the Minnesota Senate.