A couple of news items suggest that Brad Finstad's swearing in as Minnesota's First Congressional District Representative was an exercise in framing for November's general election, when he will face DFLer and retired Hormel CEO Jeff Ettinger and a couple of cannabis candidates.
Finstad took the oath of office on the floor of the House, administered by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. That official act was followed by a ceremonial swearing in by the Speaker.
Then another photo op with the House Minority Leader "swearing in" the newly-elected New Ulm Republican.
Here's the ceremonial swearing in photo sent out by the Finstad campaign. Here it is in a tweet by KARE 11 Political Reporter John Croman:
New Ulm farmer Brad Finstad joined Congress today. The Republican defeated former Hormel CEO Jeff Ettinger 51% to 47% in special election Tuesday to finish the late Rep Jim Hagedorn’s term. He’ll face Democrat Ettinger again in November in race for a 2-year term in CD1 pic.twitter.com/T3lqHLUKfF
— John Croman (@JohnCroman) August 12, 2022
The photo was also used by the Rochester Post Bulletin, prompting a question to the paper's Answer Man. Here's the copy from Was the photo showing Finstad and McCarthy staged? And why?
Only the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives can swear in a new member.
Dear Answer Man: Can we get the real story behind the photo showing Congressman Brad Finstad being sworn in by Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy since it was probably staged?
T.J. Jefferson [ that name seems familiar--BSP editor]
Let’s just call it a sign of the times.
Yes, it was staged. There was nothing official about it. As to the "real story," it's not hard to imagine. If you are a conservative being sworn into Congress for the first time, you are not going to mark the occasion publicly with you in a photo with Nancy Pelosi, even if she did administer the oath. Finstad, after all, ran on "firing" the speaker.
Instead, the Finstad campaign suggested through its photo an alternative reality.
Last week, fresh off his special election victory over Democrat Jeff Ettinger in Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District race, Finstad was sworn in as the newest member of the U.S. House.
The Finstad campaign later released a photo of Finstad, GOP House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Finstad’s wife, Jackie. It showed Finstad’s right hand raised, left hand on the Bible as if taking the oath. McCarthy’s hand, too, is raised. Jackie, in the middle, is holding the Bible.
If you knew little to nothing how new members of Congress are sworn, you would have sworn that McCarthy was giving the oath. He wasn't.
The Rochester Post Bulletin used the photo Monday with an online political story about the upcoming race between Finstad and Ettinger, but to further avoid giving the impression that the photo represented an official swearing-in, took it down.
Oaths of office are officially and currently administered on the House floor by Speaker Pelosi, the two decade-long nemesis of the GOP.
When it’s the first day of a new Congress, the oath is given en mass. All members rise, raise their hands and recite the oath, said Ilona Nickels, a congressional and public policy expert.
For special elections, like in the Finstad case, the speaker gives the official oath on the House floor with the individual House member.
“It’s a longstanding tradition for all members to then go get their beauty shot for their vanity walls in the Speaker’s ceremonial office just off the floor,” Nickels said. “This isn’t anything particular to Finstad. Everyone does it and has done it for decades. It’s a photo op.”
But no new Member on the Republican side is going to send out that photo.
Thus a relatively newer tradition in which new members have ceremonial photos taken with their party leader (if they are not the party in power) has sprung up. Nickels said the practice has become common “since our political environment has gotten so divisive.”
“Given the toxicity surrounding partisan politics these days, it is totally understandable that Finstad would want a photo with his own party leader, rather than one touting the closeness to Pelosi,” she said.
An email seeking comment from the Finstad campaign was not returned.
Still, it’s one thing to have a picture taken with your party leader. It’s another to send out a photo that gives the impression of a swearing-in conducted by the minority leader.
McCarthy would like nothing better than to be speaker. And many are predicting he will be if Republicans take the House in the midterm elections this November. It’s a campaign photo.
Finstad, a former state representative from New Ulm, is running for a two-year term against Ettinger this fall. As part of his campaign, Finstad has made it his goal to fire Pelosi as part of a House Republican majority in 2023. . . .
He seems nice. Other media in the area were more straight forward about the ceremony. ABC affiliate KAAL reported Brad Finstad sworn into Congress by Speaker Pelosi.
In Finstad sworn in on another contentious day in Congress, MinnPost's Ada Radelat reports in Finstad sworn in on another contentious day in Congress:
With his wife, Jackie, in the U.S. House gallery and his seven children seated before him, Finstad took the pledge to serve the residents of the 1st Congressional District right after the House was gaveled in to begin another day of partisan bickering. . . .
But Finstad’s swearing in by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had a bipartisan, celebratory feel. Rep. Betty McCollum, D-4th, the dean of Minnesota’s congressional delegation introduced Finstad and praised his “life of public service” and experience in agricultural issues – something the new freshman lawmaker likes to stress. . . .
At a ceremonial photo-op with Finstad after the official swearing in, Pelosi told the new lawmaker he is the 431st member of the House and repeatedly complimented him on his “beautiful children,” which include twin eight-year-old sons.
“This is just a photo-op, but this is a special day for us,” Pelosi said. . . .
But there was one other bit of mythology Finstad promoted last week. That he's farmer, plain and simple.
How serious in Brad Finstad as a farmer?
We had more questions about the framing of Finstad identity in his swearing in.
Something Finstad said on the floor of the House after being sworn in has put us in a pensive mood. Via Twitter:
What an odd thing to say. Farmers & guys who got their hands dirty when I grew up in Southern MN always cleaned their hands & trimmed their nails before bedtime. My dad learned this from his fieldtiler dad. 🤷♀️ https://t.co/k74x56tCJd
— Sally Jo Sorensen (@sallyjos) August 12, 2022
We weren't the only one to notice the remark. In the Daily Reformer newsletter, Minnesota Reformer Deputy Editor Max Nesterak observed:
Rep. Brad Finstad was sworn in this morning as Minnesota’s newest congressman. He’ll serve out the remaining months of the late Rep. Jim Hagedorn’s term and then must win re-election this November. His first vote will likely be against the Inflation Reduction Act, which the House is expected to pass today. Gonna need a fact check on the claim he wakes up with dirty fingernails.
Whoever suggested the stereotype of the dirty hands and fingernails seems to have grown up somewhere else, or missed Chasing Dirt: The American Pursuit of Cleanliness, as one scholar of American public health history put the transformation of Americans into a clean hand culture.
But the remark also sent us in another direction. In saying such a culturally insensitive remark about farmer masculinity, Finstad got us wondering about his career as a farmer.
At Brad Finstad profile at the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library's Minnesota Legislators Past and Present database, we learned that Finstad worked as an "Agricultural Consultant."
Does that mean farmer?
At the bottom of the profile, we read in a January 24 2003 Session Weekly profile, "Youth and Understanding: Finstad Brings Range of Experience with Agricultural Issues, Seeks to be a Vocal Ally for State Farmers" :
. . . The son of a farmer, Finstad understood the message he heard repeatedly from farmers while campaigning: "Bring back our kids." Finstad was one of 76 in his high school graduating class. Today, only 10 classmates live within 25 miles of their hometown. The others left for better job opportunities, lamenting the loss of an excellent quality of life, said Finstad.
Finstad himself originally wanted to farm with his father, Howard, on the family's 300-acre operation. But his father laughed when he heard that, said Finstad.
"He always would tell me, 'There's a better life than farming for you,'" said Finstad, who graduated from the University of Minnesota with an agricultural education degree. "He wouldn't be saying that if we got better prices for crops." . . .
Finstad said he was proud to have his parents at his swearing-in ceremony Jan. 7. It was an opportunity for him to demonstrate to his parents that their hard work in raising him had paid off. The best part about the ceremony, said Finstad, was seeing his dad "trying out" his son's desk in the House chamber . . .
Howard Finstad appears to farm to this day, according to the EWG Farm Subsidy Database.
The father-pleasing career path appears to have been followed, for a while at least.
A November 29, 2017 press release, Trump Administration Appoints Brad Finstad to Serve as State Director for USDA Rural Development in Minnesota, summed up his career to date:
The Trump Administration recently appointed Brad Finstad as the new State Director for USDA Rural Development in Minnesota. Finstad began his new role on Monday, Nov. 27.
Finstad’s farming family upbringing and 4th generation New Ulm, MN area resident has provided the roots that have led him through a widespread multi-faceted career in support of rural prosperity. After graduating from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Agriculture Education with emphasis in Rural Leadership Development, Finstad began his career in the Human Resources department for Christansen [sic] Family Farms, introducing him to “real people, the real world and agricultural production.” From there, Finstad’s career took him on a whirlwind of rural government, policy, and legislative service spanning more than 20 years. From a brief role as Area Director with the Minnesota Farm Bureau, to agriculture staff for Congressman Mark Kennedy, to a three-term elected Representative for District 21B in the Minnesota House of Representatives, and most recently serving as Executive Director of the Center for Rural Policy Research, Finstad has indisputably served the interests of rural communities from the start. A family man to the core, Finstad shares his passions with wife, Jaclyn, and their seven children. . . .
Farming was added to his resume not long after that, though we don't know how much this disappointed his father.
In an October 12, 2021 press release, Minnesota Turkey Welcomes Interim Executive Director, Brad Finstad, the Minnesota Turkey Growers stated:
As a fourth-generation farmer, Finstad has been involved in the agricultural industry since childhood. He currently partners with extended relatives to run the family farm.
“Brad’s farming roots make him a natural fit for working with our growers. His experience will add great support to our industry, that is so important to Minnesota’s economy,” said MTRPC President, Pete Klaphake.
Finstad previously served as the Chief Executive Officer with the Center for Rural Policy and Development from 2008-2017 and was also the State Director for the USDA Rural Development from 2017-2021. Most recently, he served as the President for Frontier Labs MN. Finstad brings strong leadership experience to this role and has been highly involved in the agricultural industry for many years.
Finstad is so new to his congressional seat that his disclosure report to the Clerk of the House of Representatives is still found in searching the candidates' database.
Here it is:
Brad Finstad's financial disclosure report to Clerk uploaded by Sally Jo Sorensen on Scribd
The financial disclosure report to the Clerk mentions Frontier Labs; it is an active business filng at the Minnesota Secretary of State, with Nicholas Finstad as the registered agent.
Another business mentioned in the disclosure statement, Grounded Resources, LLC, has been on file at the Secretary of State's office since 2008. Brad Finstad is the registered agent. The filing faced Administrative Termination in 2015, but received an Annual Reinstatement in 2021.
As for the farm mentioned in the disclosure report? Finstad Farms LLC is an inactive business filing on file in the Minnesota Secretary of State's database. The business was registered on April 4, 2018. The registered agent is Nicholas J Finstad, who must be part of that extended family. Nicholas John Finstad received $4,718 through 2019-2020. We're not sure which other extended family members farm in Brown County--and there are payments going to other people named Finstad in the EWG database, though none named Brad to date.
We do know of a way that Representaive Finstad can demonstrate that he has been and is indeed a farmer. He can release his Schedule F (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Farming from his income taxes for the last 10 or 20 years. According to Navigating a Schedule F Farm Tax Return by Kristine Tidgren a Staff Attorney at the Center for Agriculture Law and Taxation, Iowa State University:
Farmers who operate their businesses as a sole proprietorship or through a trust or partnership must file a Schedule F to report their farming income and claim their expense deductions. Income from farming includes income earned from cultivating, operating, or managing a farm for gain or profit, either as an owner or a tenant. Farm income includes that derived from operating stock, dairy, poultry, fish, fruit, or truck farms. It also includes income earned from a plantation, ranch, range, orchard, grove, or nursery specializing in ornamental plants. Farmers who rent their crop ground to a tenant only report the rental income on Schedule F if they receive that income through the sale of crop shares and they materially participate in producing the crop. Cash rental income, on the other hand, is “rental income” reported on Schedule E.
It's not unusual for candidates for statewide and federal office to release tax returns. It's not rocket science; it's transparency.
When he was elected to the Minnesota House, Brad Finstad said he wasn't a farmer. Now he's bragging about being a pre-rural-electrification, pre-hot-water-heater era farmer who wakes with dirt on his fingernails. And he's not sworn in by the Speaker of the House.
Cornpone. Wash your hands, ladies and gents.
Photo: Brad Finstad and family shown in the ceremonial photo op following the administering of the oath of office from Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the U.S. House floor. MinnPost photo by Ana Radelat.
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