Bluestem Prairie

Tim Miller gracious in minority leader bid defeat; vows to work toward reopening private prison

While Minnesota's media reports on Kurt Daudt's descent from Speaker to Minority Leader, conservative sources note that state representative Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg, also sought the Republican House leadership position. On his campaign Facebook page, Miller posted on Saturday morning:

Following a difficult defeat this week in the general election and falling into the minority, I offered a new direction by running for Minority Leader that would unify the MNGOP base for the hard work ahead. Unfortunately I fell short, but I am looking forward to working with Minority Leader (elect) Kurt Daudt toward this goal. Congratulations to Kurt. Congratulations to the Democrats in taking the House. However, I cannot accept any extreme liberal measures. All conservatives will need to work together to challenge that.

At Alpha News, Action 4 Liberty president Jake Duesenberg was not as kind as Miller in Why Republicans Lost Control Of The Minnesota House:

On Friday, the remaining survivors of the massive blue wave in the Minnesota House pulled a Nancy Pelosi maneuver and elected Daudt as the Minority Leader despite him losing the Majority under his watch. There was a two-way race between him and Rep Tim Miller, but the vast majority of Republican legislators showed in their voting that they’ve learned very little from Tuesday’s election, and opted to keep the toxic leadership of Daudt in firm control of the Minnesota House Republican Caucus.

The conservative group was critical of Daudt'd leadership prior to the debacle.

What will Miller's agenda be?

In the comments on Miller's Facebook page, followers mostly remain skeptical about bipartisanship, though a few get specific about policy areas.

One comment objects to Walz's proposed gas tax increase, while another raises the reopening of the CoreCivic (formerly Corrections Corporation of America) Prairie Correctional Facility, a private prison in Appleton:

Rick Hansen [editor's note: not the DFL legislator] Tim Miller where does the new governor stand on the Appleton Prison?

 

Tim Miller I don’t know, but I will be reaching out to his office in the beginning of session.

 

Rick Hansen Tim Miller thanks

Dan Henry Tim Miller Yes,please do, the surrounding communities are very much for reopening... thank you

During the DFL gubernatorial primary, Walz was clear about where he stood on private prisons. In DFL governor candidates not 3 peas in a pod, Forum Communications' Don Davis reported:

"I am strongly opposed to private prisons," Walz said, referring to a proposal from the Appleton area to reopen a private prison there to help ease overcrowding in state prisons.

Now in the minority in Minnesota's House, with the Republicans enjoying a one-vote majority in the state senate, Miller will have his work cut on for him on this one.

Photo: Not the new Minnesota House Minority Leader, Tim Miller was surrounded by opponents of his plan to reopen the private prison during an earlier session.

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Nice MNGOP CD3 officer to spend time in Florida

Late last month, Bluestem introduced our rustic readership to Sheri Auclair (above) in Jungian collective unconscious of MNGOP shared cray Stanek Halloween fundraiser video.

Now the PAC leader, Minnesota Third Congressional Vice-Chair and Republican fundraiser is thinking of taking her maga magic to Florida. The Minneapolis Star Tribune's Stephen Montemayor reported in Minnesota Republicans puzzle over how to break statewide losing streak:

Sheri Auclair, a Republican activist from Wayzata and vice chairwoman of the Third Congressional District’s Republican Party, was a big Trump booster in 2016. She is hopeful about Trump’s chances in the state but less so about the suburbs swinging back to Republicans.

“We’re a blue state, period. Done. We’re California,” said Auclair, who added she now plans to split her time between Minnesota and Florida once her son goes off to college.

There's certainly material enough for the melodramatic in Florida these days, as CNBC reported Sunday in Florida election recount underway, tensions rise.

Photo: MN03 Republican activist and party officer Sheri Auclair models her costume for Rich Stanek's Halloween-themed fundraiser. That worked out well.

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Captive Crow Wing County CWD: deer farm infected in 2016 identifies additional cases

A press release issued by the Minnesota Board of Animal Health on Friday has Bluestem hoping that elections have consequences.

With control of the Minnesota House flipping to the Democrats, it's likely minority lead Rick Hansen, DFL-S. St. Paul takes the gavel of the Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee--and bills by CWD warrior Jamie Becker-Finn, DFL-Roseville, might be heard.

We've spent the years of GOP leadership of the committee watching any real movement on CWD thwarted. One example? That awkward moment when the MNHouse enviro chair deals with CWD meeting partisan mischief.

From the Board of Animal Health:

 

Chronic wasting disease was detected in four harvested samples from farmed deer at a quarantined farm in Crow Wing County. The farm has been under movement restrictions and monitored by the Board since December 2016 when two white-tailed deer tested positive for the disease. The Minnesota Board of Animal Health confirms recent samples were CWD positive in four deer.

• 9-year-old female mule deer.
• 1.5-year-old female white-tailed deer.
• 2-year-old male white-tailed deer.
• 2-year-old female mule deer.

“We’ve been working with the herd owner for the past two years to monitor the deer and look for any new detections of the disease,” said Assistant Director Dr. Linda Glaser. “The biggest change following this new detection will be to extend our deadline to monitor the herd.”

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is currently in the second year of sampling wild deer for CWD in Crow Wing County as a result of the farm’s earlier infection.

This past Saturday and Sunday, the opening weekend of the firearms deer-hunting season, the DNR sampled hunter-killed deer in Crow Wing County and results are not yet available. No CWD has been found in wild deer since the DNR began its surveillance in Crow Wing County in 2017.

The DNR typically conducts three years of surveillance of wild deer in a specific area where CWD is found in a farmed deer. This newest discovery in farmed deer didn’t change how DNR conducted its recent sampling during opening weekend in Crow Wing County, said Lou Cornicelli, the DNR’s wildlife research manager.

However, DNR staff will meet with Board of Animal Health staff to assess the risk factors associated with this latest discovery at the farm and determine whether a fourth year of surveillance of wild deer is necessary, Cornicelli said.

“We appreciate all the cooperation hunters provided us during this past opening weekend with surveillance in Crow Wing County,” Cornicelli said.

CWD is a disease affecting members of the deer and elk family caused by an abnormally shaped protein, a prion, which can cause damage to brain and nerve tissue. There is no danger to other animal species. The disease is most likely transmitted when infected deer and elk shed prions in saliva, feces, urine and other fluids or tissues. The disease is always fatal, and there are no known treatments or vaccines. The Board advises testing all Cervidae for the disease. Consuming infected meat is not advised.

 Earlier this year, the BAH's response to CWD episodes was soundly criticized by the Office of the Legislative Auditor, as we reported in Legislative Auditor's report on Board of Animal Health oversight of deer farms isn't pretty.

Photo: A whitetail deer suffering from Chronic Wasting Disease.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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Fellow who wanted to save Morrison County from Agenda 21 falls short in bid for dirt board

The entire Republican ticket may have captured the hearts of voters in Morrison County on Tuesday night, but John Ulrick, a candidate for Soil and Water Supervisor District 4, lost his bid to protect the central Minnesota county's soil and water from Agenda 21.

The loss came despite the recommendation of the Central Minnesota Tea Party, which posted in Support John Ulrick For Local Water Board:

As you know, John Ulrick is currently running for local Water Board.

This position will allow him to keep track of many Agenda 21 issues plus Property Rights. He is very knowledgeable and outspoken in these area.

His other goal is Chairman of local Republican Party. As you know, we have had many issues with this group from non support of Jeff Johnson to refusal to stand up for MOST conservative issues even those written in the MN Rebublican Platform, such as Agenda 21. State GOP leaders are asking John to run for this as well.

John would also like to run for future positions. He is a great asset to Conservative Politics in Morrison County and is quickly becoming a good friend to all. Make sure you support Ulrick during the upcoming election.

Ulrick was one of five candidates who had vied for the endorsement for the open seat in Minnesota House District 15B, the St. Cloud Times reported in Background check: Every GOP House hopeful in 15B has a misdemeanor. Ulrick lost the endorsement to Shane Mekeland, who handily won the seat on Tuesday in the deep red district. Mekeland gained national attention when a bar patron slugged him in the face during a seemingly cordial political discussion; the Foley Man Was Charged With Assaulting Legislative Candidate, WJON reported. Rightly so.

Ulrick's Facebook page, John Ulrick for a Better Minnesota reveals a dedicated team player promoting statewide Republican candidates but not much about soil and water board issues. But when faced with the choice, voters picked 71-year old farmer and truck driver Dale Scholl who touted his ability to work well with others, gained from serving on the Buckman Township Board for 37 years as chairman and supervisor.

Given that the county voted for disgraced state Supreme Court justice Michelle MacDonald, Bluestem is sees a glimmer of hope for Morrison County in Scholl's victory. Competence simply can't be overrated when it comes to soil and water commissioners, as our friends on dirt boards have patiently explained to us over the years.

Image: Ulrick's campaign logo, via Facebook.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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Politico Morning Agriculture: Collin Peterson is Ag's Safe Haven" in a Democratic House

Submitted without comment from Politico's Morning Agriculture newsletter:

AG'S SAFE HAVEN IN A DEMOCRATIC HOUSE: If the chamber flips today, Collin Peterson is likely to be agriculture's shelter from the effects of the "blue wave." The Minnesota Democrat is widely expected to return as chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, a post he previously held from 2007 until 2011.

If the blue wave is real: Polls suggest Democrats are likely to take the House (if one trusts polls these days). If that happens, portions of the agriculture industry could end up at odds with the new majority on a range of issues, from the Waters of the U.S. rule to taxes. But under a centrist like Peterson, House Ag would be seen as a safe haven amid a more liberal caucus, reports our Helena Bottemiller Evich this morning.

"Most of agriculture views Collin Peterson as a friend," said Andrew Walmsley, the American Farm Bureau Federation's director of congressional relations. "If you have to work with anyone in Congress, he's one of the better ones."

Peterson has proven to be a centrist in nearly three decades on Capitol Hill. He's the most conservative Democrat in the House. He's voted more often with Trump than he ever did with former President Barack Obama. And agriculture interests are familiar with him — he's a known commodity, unlike so many suburban and urban Democrats.

A closer fight than expected? For most of this year, Peterson's rematch against Air Force veteran and drone pilot Dave Hughes hasn't gotten much national attention, under the assumption that Peterson will win another term representing Minnesota's 7th District.

Over the weekend some local reports indicated the race has tightened, but it appears Peterson still enjoys a substantial lead. Polling site FiveThirtyEight gives him a 93 percent chance of winning.

Should Peterson be re-elected, we'll post about how his chairing the House Ag committee might unfold.

Photo: Collin Peterson, picking and grinning.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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In the ultimate dumpster fire, Jim Newberger campaign torches own yard sign to own the libs

Early Saturday evening, Minnesota Republican US Senate candidate Jim Newberger tweeted a campaign ad in which one of his own yard signs is set on fire with a sound track of sound bites from liberal figures playing in the background:

Amy Klobuchar sides with the extreme. This November 6th, don't let the mobs win. Vote for Jobs not Mobs! pic.twitter.com/OUSZHx3iN3

— Jim Newberger (@NewbergerJim) November 4, 2018

Nothing owns the other side--or supports suspicion of violence by your opponents--than torching your own sign in a campaign ad.

Perhaps the self-immolation is visually signaling something else. On Halloween, Mike Brest at the conservative Daily Caller reported in Minnesota Senate Dems Raise Significantly More Money Than Republican Challengers:

. . . Klobuchar, who is running against Jim Newberger, has raised $7,412,107 for her reelection campaign, according to the Star Tribune. Conversely, Newberger has only raised $210,846, which is only 2.8 percent of Klobuchar’s war chest. . . .

According to a Star Tribune/MPR News Minnesota Poll released last week, Klobuchar leads Newberger 56 percent to 33 percent. The poll, which was conducted in the middle of the month of October, also revealed 60 percent of those surveyed did not even recognize Newberger by name.

With that sort of money to burn on Klobuchar's part, we'd have to wonder why anyone other than Newberger would burn one of his signs.

Sadly, yard sign stealing, defacing and destruction by others is a constant problem for all campaigns we've observed since we returned to the upper Midwest in 1996. It's just wrong--and we don't think pouring gasoline on your own sign and lighting a match is a helpful action to stop the destruction of property. Just say no, Jim.

Twitterverse responds

As one might expect, the Twitterverse has offered constructive advice to Jim Newberger, who is in his last months of serving as a state representative for the area around Becker.

Here’s a thought, how about wages, not cages? How about that?

— Deborah F. Donovan (@iratewoman) November 4, 2018

Pretty much sums up your campaign.

At the KSTP debate, you came across as a "nice guy", but unprepared. Now, it's hard for people to take you seriously with this attempt to create drama.

I'm sticking with @amyklobuchar because, instead of creating drama, she gets things done.

— Paul Peltier (@PaulPeltier) November 4, 2018

pic.twitter.com/I08DaAbjxx

— Chris (@murphtoned) November 4, 2018

pic.twitter.com/WmelP7n7HJ

— ArtBob (@BobPollard16) November 4, 2018

Uff dah, that’s really stupid. Last time I looked Sen. Klobuchar’s approval rating was way higher than your name recognition. Try a slogan with full couplet. Here’s some help: snobs, slobs, doorknobs, Lou Dobbs.

— Brian Rusche (@brianrusche) November 4, 2018

I see why your former House GOP colleagues laughed at you behind your back, one saying you were the dumbest legislator in St. Paul.

— Tim O'Brien (@TWOBrien) November 4, 2018

Wait, did you set your own sign on fire because you're conceding?

Is that like tipping over your king in chess?

— Andy (@trtx84) November 4, 2018

Someone is running against Amy? And it’s someone dumb enough to light a lawn sign on fire on a lawn covered in dry leaves? Is that a supporter? Not a bright one! This is not a good look....

— exstpaul (@lisapr66) November 4, 2018

Who are you and why are you vandalizing signs?

— Essential(ly Illegal) Consulting, LLC (@PrincessSoupCan) November 4, 2018

This may not be the WORST tweet by a senatorial candidate ever, but it’s GOTTA be in the bottom 500, right? pic.twitter.com/dsEC9aBs3d

— Barbara Reed (@CrabbyPatty1117) November 4, 2018

You okay there, buddy? Why are you burning down your own sign? You got some feelings you need to be talking about? You need a hug?

— T. S. Pumpkins 👻🎃👻 (@only_living_grl) November 4, 2018

Those are in the reply threads. Other observers retweeted the ad under their own comments. From a couple of people our editor follows:

Republican Jim Newberger lights his own campaign sign on fire in a last-minute appeal to fellow arsonists. https://t.co/nZez2YYa7J

— Tony Webster (@webster) November 4, 2018

LMAO. This is right up there with standing in front of a literal dumpster fire. No, this is better. Burning your own lawn sign is certainly a memorable image to put out there. https://t.co/43CZfVOFSw

— Javier Morillo 🇵🇷 (@javimorillo) November 4, 2018

The visual image in the unusual ad reminds us of a 2012 post that condemned repugnant graffiti on signs for Alexandria-area Republican Mary Franson, Signs don't vote--and vandalism wins no votes. The visuals in Newberger's new ad are a slap in the face of all candidates who, like Franson, faced genuine vandalism.

Newberger's own extreme past

As far as the underlying message goes, this is entertaining stuff from a guy who came to the GOP via the Tea Party and anti-Agenda 21 fearmongering as we reported in 2012's  Scary MN: Representative-elect Jim Newberger totally freaks about EQB & Citizens Forums. 

There's also Mention St. Cloud & visions of prison & North Minneapolis pop into Jim Newberger's head from 2015.

In 2017, we reviewed the Newberger Legacy in In a perfect world, state rep Jim Newberger's challenge to Klobuchar would be a sure thing. See also Mike Mullen's consideration in the City Pages, Are Rep. Jim Newberger's ideas bad enough for the United States Senate?

Photo: A dumpster fire.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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Whitetails, chronic wasting disease & federal policy: Dan Feehan gets it in MN's Fighting First

Bluestem wishes all deer hunters in Minnesota good luck on this the firearms opener in the North Star State.

On Friday, Minnesota Public Radio's John Enger reported Experts worry fatal brain disease could threaten Minnesota's $1B deer-hunting industry. Two side bar audio reports explored the implications on CWD in Minnesota: Chronic wasting disease hit Wis. hard. Can Minn. avoid the same? and How is Minnesota affected by CWD today?

Minnesota First Congressional District Democratic candidate Dan Feehan tweeted:

Ahead of tomorrow's deer opener, I want to thank my friend @reprickhansen for shining a light on Chronic Wasting Disease, which poses a significant & immediate threat. In Congress, I will support @RepRonKind's efforts to fund research legislation to research. https://t.co/BTDLJgtw5D

— Dan Feehan (@danielfeehan) November 3, 2018

The Kind bill--H.R.4454 - Chronic Wasting Disease Management Act--enjoys bipartisan sponsorship in the U.S. House. It would support state and tribal efforts "to develop and implement management strategies to address chronic wasting disease," as well as fund applied research on CWD.

That's a step forward in ensuring that Minnesota's wild deer herd--a public treasure--and the cultural heritage of the deer hunt continue. It's no different for hunters across the country.

Just a couple of hours ago, MN02 Democratic candidate Angie Craig also thanked Hansen's state-level leadership on this issue:

With deer season opening today, it’s a good time to recognize the work that @reprickhansen has done to bring attention to chronic wasting disease and look for bipartisan solutions to the problem.

— Angie Craig (@AngieCraigMN) November 3, 2018

Two of Craig's four sons are avid deer hunters; as with thousands of Minnesota families, this crisis isn't abstract for the Craig family.

While Hansen, the DFL lead of the Minnesota House Environment and Natural Resource Finance and Policy Committee, represents a suburban district in Dakota County--in the Second--he grew up in Fillmore County in Southeastern Minnesota--in the First--where CWD has jumped from captive deer to the wild herd. Hansen frequently returns to the Fillmore County farm where he hunts deer and wild turkeys. Feehan and Craig are wise to listen to him about this issue.

What does Minnesota's herd face if CWD cannot be contained? Enger reports

"We now have evidence that when CWD is there long enough, it impacts at the population level," said Bryan Richards, the emerging disease coordinator for the wildlife division of the U.S. Geological Survey in Madison.

Deer infected with CWD die young. Sick does will have fewer fawns over their lifetimes than healthy ones. Richards said it's probably happening already.

"We know this occurs," he said. "We know what the likely outcome of disease is."

This is what Minnesota can expect, he said, if something dramatic isn't done.

Elections have consequences. Ask state and federal candidates what they'll do to protect the state's whitetail heritage from the threat of CWD.

Photo: A whitetail buck. Creative Commons/Flickr/Gerry via MinnPost. Bluestem's editor bow hunted as a wee teenage girl in the bluffs of the Minnesota River across from St. Peter, imagining she was she was the Gopher State Artemis,  even though she had to leave her beloved bird dog Mike at home. But that, as Mr. Kipling would say, is another story.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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Venison sausage also accepted.

Hagedorn campaign changes tune on control of NRCC anti-Semitic ad, but still a-ok with content

In less than one day, the Hagedorn campaign in Minnesota's First Congressional District has gone from claiming reviewed ads paid the NRCC to telling the press they have no control over the independent expenditure commercials. The candidate himself engages in classic whataboutism aimed at local clergy.

One constant remains: the campaign agrees with the anti-Soros message that's been condemned by local clergy, as well as state-wide and national Jewish groups.

On Thursday, we noted in Hagedorn campaign embraces NRCC's anti-semitic anti-Soros ad condemned by Jewish Community Relations Council:

Now the campaign of his Republican opponent, Jim Hagedorn, defends the ads that leaders in Minnesota's Jewish communities are condemning, John Molseed reports in Hagedorn campaign defends anti-Soros ad at the Rochester Post Bulletin:

In portraying Soros as a controlling hand, the ad plays into far-right conspiracy theories that spring from anti-Semitic prejudices, according to national spokespeople for groups including the Anti-Defamation League.

“This ad and all of our ads are made irrespective of religion, [Gregg Peppin, spokesman for 1st District Republican candidate Jim Hagedorn] said. “Our ads are policy-based.” . . .

It's also interesting that the Post Bulletin reports that the Hagedorn campaign has control over the ad, which is paid for by the NRCC:

Peppin didn’t say whether Hagedorn and his campaign have specifically considered stopping the ad but said the campaign’s ads and its message are continuously reviewed. [emphasis added]

The time-stamp on the article at the Post Bulletin is "updated 22 hours ago" as we compose this post (see screengrab at the top of this page.

The Post Bulletin is an afternoon paper, but online copy often appears before the print edition hits the street. The copy we quote above remains the same online.

In online editions of the chain that posts at southernminn.com (subscription required for most articles), Philip Weyhe reported in Local clergy denounce 'anti-Semitic' messaging in Hagedorn ad; campaign pushes back, an article update nine hours before we started composing this post. The Hagedorn campaign has a much different story to share with the media:

Several local clergy signed a letter released Tuesday, calling for Republican 1st Congressional District candidate Jim Hagedorn to denounce what they’re labeling ‘anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant’ campaign ads running on his behalf.

Hagedorn and his team are pushing back, noting the ads were produced by an outside group and saying that they were not intended to attack any religion. . . . .

Hagedorn, in an interview with Northfield News, noted, “It’s not my ad.” He pointed out that his campaign did not fund the advertisement and said he doesn’t believe the point of the ad is to deliver anti-Semitic messaging.

“It’s pointing out that Dan Feehan, personally and through his campaign, is being supported by a very liberal person,” Hagedorn said. 

Hagedorn personally introduces a textbook "whataboutism" defense:

Hagedorn said his team doesn’t believe the NRCC ads are airing anymore but did not denounce them. He said that claims of anti-Semitism would be better focused against Democratic Attorney General candidate Keith Ellison, who he said has ties to other anti-Semitic figures.

Hagedorn’s campaign manager, Gregg Peppin, added “we condemn anti-Semitism in all forms” and reiterated the ads were aimed at the “financing” of Feehan’s campaign by George Soros.

Well, that's different. From just hours before--from carefully reviewing ads to disavowing ownership. Here's the screengrab of the time stamp on Wehye's post:

Weyhe reports extensively on the clergy members' views, and those who can access the article should read it. The reporter also provides the Feehan campaign's response:

Feehan’s team, meanwhile, has denied being funded by Soros and is critical of Hagedorn’s connection to the ad.

“Independent fact checkers have rated the claims in this ad false and faith leaders across southern Minnesota have stood up to this dangerous fear-mongering,” Feehan Campaign Manager Sean Oyaas said. “Southern Minnesotans deserve better than this false and hateful rhetoric and it’s disturbing that Jim Hagedorn refuses to condemn it.”

For those readers who don't know much about "whataboutism," we recommend Merriam Webster's read about the history of the term and its practice. Here's the definition:

Some of the terms we use to describe political rhetoric are as old as politics itself (see ad hominem attacks, or such devices as synecdoche, metonymy, or zeugma). Others are more recent additions, driven by the evolution of the news cycle (like fake news and dog whistles).

But hey, aren’t we ignoring a bigger subject here? How can we talk about rhetorical devices and not mention whataboutism?

Whataboutism gives a clue to its meaning in its name. It is not merely the changing of a subject ("What about the economy?") to deflect away from an earlier subject as a political strategy; it’s essentially a reversal of accusation, arguing that an opponent is guilty of an offense just as egregious or worse than what the original party was accused of doing, however unconnected the offenses may be.

The tactic behind whataboutism has been around for a long time. Rhetoricians generally consider it to be a form of tu quoque, which means "you too" in Latin and involves charging your accuser with whatever it is you've just been accused of rather than refuting the truth of the accusation made against you. Tu quoque is considered to be a logical fallacy, because whether or not the original accuser is likewise guilty of an offense has no bearing on the truth value of the original accusation.

Nice try, Mr. Hagedorn.

Screengrabs: Timestamps on the online versions of stories at the Post Bulletin and Southerminn.com websites, captured between 9:00 and 10:00 am Friday. December 2.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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Hagedorn campaign embraces NRCC's anti-semitic anti-Soros ad condemned by Jewish Community Relations Council

Bluestem has been following the coverage of the NRCC's ads linking George Soros to Minnesota First Congressional District Democratic candidate Dan Feehan in our posts Letter: So. MN clergy, 'In wake of shooting, Hagedorn must denounce anti-semitic campaign'; Strib: Hagedorn's fearmongering and bombast wrong for district; Feehan right choice for MN01 and MN01: NRCC head defends anti-Semitic ads demonizing Soros and Dan Feehan.

Now the campaign of his Republican opponent, Jim Hagedorn, defends the ads that leaders in Minnesota's Jewish communities are condemning, John Molseed reports in Hagedorn campaign defends anti-Soros ad at the Rochester Post Bulletin:

In portraying Soros as a controlling hand, the ad plays into far-right conspiracy theories that spring from anti-Semitic prejudices, according to national spokespeople for groups including the Anti-Defamation League.

“This ad and all of our ads are made irrespective of religion, [Gregg Peppin, spokesman for 1st District Republican candidate Jim Hagedorn] said. “Our ads are policy-based.”

Rabbi Michelle Werner, of B’Nai Israel Synagogue in Rochester, said the depiction in and of itself is reminiscent of historic anti-Semitic campaigns.

“The depiction of a rich Jew radicalizing the world, that in and of itself is unconscionable,” Werner said. “It harkens back to other times in history when similar imagery was used, leading to campaigns of violence against Jews.”

Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas responded that the ad mars a campaign between two honorable candidates.

“The 1st Congressional District race features two honorable and hardworking candidates. Marring this spirit is the arrival of a television ad from an outside source using George Soros to invoke anti-Semitic stereotypes,” said Steve Hunegs, executive director of JCRC. “This week and for all time, there is no place for this in Minnesota politics.”

Those who might wish to engage in sketchy conspiratorial thinking of their own about the JCRC as being partisan pawns of the left should bear in mind that the group is anything but; indeed prominent Republican attorney Andrew Parker is on the group's board.

It's also interesting that the Post Bulletin reports that the Hagedorn campaign has control over the ad, which is paid for by the NRCC:

Peppin didn’t say whether Hagedorn and his campaign have specifically considered stopping the ad but said the campaign’s ads and its message are continuously reviewed.

That's a bit peculiar, in that the ad states that the NRCC is responsible for the ad. This language is required by FEC rules for independent expenditures:

Specific requirements for radio and television communications

In addition, for a radio or television communication that is not authorized by a candidate or the candidate’s authorized committee, a representative of the individual or group paying for the communication must state that “XXX is responsible for this communication,” where “XXX” is the name of the political committee or other person who paid for the communication.

In the case of a televised ad not authorized by a candidate, the disclaimer must include a statement that is conveyed by a full screen view of a representative of the political committee or other person making the statement, or a voice-over by the representative.

Both authorized and unauthorized television communications must also contain a “clearly readable” written statement that appears at the end of the communication. The written statement must occupy at least four percent of the vertical picture height, and it must be shown for a period of at least four seconds, with a reasonable degree of color contrast between the statement and the background.

Are the Hagedorn campaign and the NRCC coordinating on an independent expenditure? That would be one heck of a contribution from the NRCC. MPR's database Who is spending in your district? includes NRCC's spending in the First, including

$358,838.34 | October 12, 2018 | Media

$4,800.00 | October 12, 2018 | Media

$25,262.39 | October 11, 2018 | Media

Since Peppin states that the Hagedorn campaign can review the ads, we're surprised the spending isn't showing up in the campaign's  campaign finance numbers at the Federal Election Commission.

This isn't the first time the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas reacted to anti-Soros attacks in Minnesota. In 2015, we reported  #MN07 GOP Party Facebook page deletes post calling George Soros a "Nazi National Socialist":

Tonight on Facebook, [Jeremy] Kalin posted the screenshot along with this headnote:

Earlier today, the Minnesota 7th Congressional District Republican Party posted the following link and commentary on their Facebook page, calling a holocaust survivor a "Nazi" simply because they disagree with his politics.

This is despicable. I say this not as a former Democratic elected official but as an American, and as a Jew.

Clearly someone realized their error because the post has been removed. But all Minnesotans - particularly Minnesota Jews - deserve an apology. Enough already.

Ht to Sally Jo Sorensen and thanks to the Jewish Community Relations Council for responding as well.

We trust the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas to know anti-Semitism when it rears its ugly face. It's un-American.

Peppin, meanwhile, should review federal campaign finance rules. The JCRC is condemning the ad, after all, not the candidates.  Sheesh.

Photo: screengrab of the offensive ad.

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GOP Rule of Law: Jeff Johnson won't say what he thinks of president trampling on Constitution

We grew up hearing one version of a president's reaction to a supreme court decision, but the New Georgia Encyclopedia sets the record straight in Worcester v. Georgia (1832):

(Although Jackson is widely quoted as saying, "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it," his actual words to Brigadier General John Coffee were: "The decision of the supreme court has fell still born, and they find that it cannot coerce Georgia to yield to its mandate.")

Nonetheless, the sentiment is the same, as Sustain Atlanta noted in Remembering the Time Andrew Jackson Decided to Ignore the Supreme Court In the Name of Georgia’s Right to Cherokee Land.

The desire by a president to trample on the Constitution is nothing new, though like Jackson's response to Worcester, President Trump's desire to void the 14th Amendment is unsettling.

You'd think that Minnesota Republican gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson would either go big with Trump or get out, but instead Minnesotans get silence.

St. Paul Pioneer Press political reporter Dave Orrick reports in Minnesota governor candidates weigh in on 'birthright' issue:

Democrat Tim Walz said this in a statement to the St. Paul Pioneer Press: “The president does not have the right to change the constitution. As I travel across the state, I hear from Minnesotans who are fed up with the politics of fear and division. They are ready for a new approach — one where we put effectiveness over ideology, patriotism over partisanship, and hope over fear.”

Walz was referring to Trump’s notion that he could end “birthright citizenship” with the stroke of his pen, via an executive order. Most legal scholars, as well as Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, say the president doesn’t have such power.

Republican Jeff Johnson, whose candidacy has been endorsed by Trump, wouldn’t say Tuesday what he thinks.

“Jeff does not wish to comment on that issue at this time,” spokeswoman Christina Ridgeway said.

Such courage from a person from the party pushing the phrase "rule of law" in Minnesota's statewide races.

On the New York Times' opinion page, historian Eric Foner observes in Donald Trump’s Unconstitutional Dreams:

In an interview with the news program “Axios on HBO,” President Trump announced that he plans to issue an executive order ending birthright citizenship, the principle that everyone born in the United States, with a handful of exceptions, is automatically a citizen of the United States.

“It was always told to me,” the president declared, “that you needed a constitutional amendment. Guess what? You don’t.”

In fact, such an order would undoubtedly be unconstitutional. It would also violate a deeply rooted American idea — that anybody, regardless of race, religion, national origin, or the legal status of one’s parents, can be a loyal citizen of this country.

Birthright citizenship is established by the Civil Rights Act of 1866, still on the books today, and by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, ratified two years later. The only exceptions, in the words of the amendment, are persons not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States. Members of Congress at the time made clear that this wording applied only to Native Americans living on reservations — then considered members of their own tribal sovereignties, not the nation — and American-born children of foreign diplomats. (Congress made all Native Americans citizens in 1924.) ...

Foner and others have fact-checked Trump's statement that only the United States confers "birthright citizenship" status to all children born here. In fact, Canada, Mexico and other nations do. Via Minnesota Public Radio, here's the AP fact check: Trump off track on birthright citizenship:

President Donald Trump has astonished legal scholars with his claim that he can end birthright citizenship with a swipe of his pen. No, they say, he can't.

Trump also went far off track in asserting that the U.S. is the only country that automatically grants citizenship to anyone born in the country. Many do. . . .

Trump: "We're the only country in the world where a person comes in, has a baby and the baby is essentially a citizen of the United States for 85 years with all of those benefits. It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. And it has to end."

The facts: That's flat-out wrong.

The U.S. is among about 30 countries where birthright citizenship — the principle of jus soli or "right of the soil" — is applied, according to the World Atlas and other sources. Most are in the Americas. Canada and Mexico are among them. Most other countries confer citizenship based on that of at least one parent — jus sanguinis, or "right of blood" — or have a modified form of birthright citizenship that may restrict automatic citizenship to children of parents who are on their territory legally.

More broadly, Trump's view that U.S.-born children of foreigners live a lifetime of taking "all those benefits" ignores the taxes they pay, the work they do and their other contributions to society.

The AP Fact Check cites a Trump-appointed judge:

James Ho, a conservative Trump-appointed federal appeals court judge, wrote in the Green Bag legal journal in 2006 that birthright citizenship "is protected no less for children of undocumented persons than for descendants of Mayflower passengers."

Why is Johnson silent? Is he afraid to ruffle the feathers of extremists who carry on about "anchor babies"?

Photo: We're surprised too, baby.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email sally.jo.sorensen@gmail.com as recipient.