Once upon a time in 2002, I door knocked pastoral New Auburn, Minnesota, in Sibley County, for a couple of DFL candidates. One citizen was out tending his garden, and we began with a pleasant chat that early fall afternoon about the usual suspects. Soon, though, the tiller of the soil launched into a spiel about how God had only recently stopped a comet from hitting Earth, as a warning.
Should Americans not leave off teaching evolution in schools, and having abortions, the diligent gardener told me, there'd be no divine intervention with the next comet. I thanked him for his views, promised to pass the information along to the candidates, and backed away very slowly.
Today, that man has a candidate to support.
In a news brief, the Mankato Free Press reports this morning Gruenhagen wins bid to run for House seat; Republican to run against Montgomery mayor in District:
Glen[n] Gruenhagen won the vote Tuesday night in New Prague to run against Democrat Mick McGuire to be the successor to retiring Rep. Laura Brod, R-New Prague. . .
. . .Gruenhagen received 47 votes on the second ballot, said Janet Morris, the Le Sueur County Republican Party chairwoman. (To win, one candidate has to receive 60 percent of the vote or they ballot again.)
That's not much to go on, especially given the strong headline at the top of the post. For illustrations of Gruenhagen's fringe views, one has to head to Mr. Google.
Since the Twin Cities' digimodernist political press is no doubt exhausted from examining the smallest nuance of fake Robyne Robinson tweets in the latest Entenza social media panic, and will likely take a month to recover (if ever), I'll dive in.
Gruenhagen is a culture warrior, fighting the scary forces of evolution, diversity, multicultural education and political correctness. His endorsement marks a distinct swerve right from Laura Brod's brand of conservative Republicanism in HD25A.
One wonders where to begin with Glenn.
For example, Gruenhagen believes that state-sponsored "welfare" is a john for single mothers. In Health Care in Crisis: Is the Government the Problem or the Solution?", Gruenhagen writes:. . .Consider our government run welfare system. After spending approximately $6.5 trillion to eliminate poverty, the poverty rate in this country is the same or worse than when the government declared war on poverty over 40 years ago. Government run welfare programs are little more than a government subsidized prostitution program paying extra money to women who have children out of wedlock. This has contributed to over a 70% out of wedlock birth rate for Americans with an African heritage. Also, welfare provides financial support to able bodied men instead of incentives for an honest days work. . . .(page 6)
In addition to Gruenhagen's equation of sex out of wedlock with prostitution, there's a lot to work with there. The simplistic statement about poverty rates rising defies debunking in a short blog post. A good place to start reading about poverty rates--and their relationship to jobs, wages and living standards in America--is the EPI.
The rest of the pamphlet is a marvel as well; I'm curious how many seniors will agree with his assessment of Medicare. Go plumb the depths yourself. Gruenhagen's quite proud of the piece, having presented it at Congressman Peterson's health care town hall last summer in Wilmar:
Another questioner at the forum, Glencoe insurance agent Glenn Gruenhagen, shows up with a three-chapter booklet he had written specifically to combat liberal arguments for health care reform. After revving up the crowd—topping off his turn at the microphone with a cry of “Tell Obama to stop coddling terrorists!”—he approaches the panel and drops his pamphlet on the table.
Now in his fifteenth year on the Glencoe Silver Lake school board, Gruenhagen has become known as a controversy magnet for his radical ideas, including segregating classes by gender--and he's sought to spread those ideas through resolutions at Minnesota School board Association meetings. According to this letter to the local editor in Glencoe from a fellow board member, the ideas are no more popular statewide than in the GSL schools:
Resolutions:
Stop labeling and drugging students - 2 for; 103 against.
Emphasize rote learning - 2 for; 130 against.
Implement phonics reading - 8 for; 94 against.
Teach principles of patriotism - 13 for; 88 against.
Implement abstinence - 7 for; 95 against.
Separate classes by gender - 16 for; 86 against.
Teach fallacies of macro evolution - 7 for; 100 against.
All children are gifted - 12 for; 89 against.
Then there's the letter to the editor from the time of Michael Jackson's death. Now, not being particularly interested in pop songs or celebrity culture, I simply turned the news off or clicked over to something else during that blitz. Not Gruenhagen. He railed against it, suggesting at the end of the epistle that education unions and politicians--especially that Al Franken--were to blame:
Unfortunately the education bureaucracy such as the US Department of Education, the Minnesota Department of Education, the National Education Association and the Minnesota Education Association continue to support flushing educational sewage into our schools and colleges using your tax dollars. Almost all the Democratic politicians, and even some in the Republican Party, support this education nonsense and stupidity, including both Minnesota US senators. The most recent being Senator Al Franken.
Now is the time for good men to redouble their efforts to prevent more damage and restore positive role models to our nation’s children.
I suppose that women aren't role models for children--or maybe being a fecund vessel is all that's required, provided we're not whoring on welfare. Perhaps Gruenhagen will tell us.
Need more? Here's a past speaker from the Twin Cities Creation Science Association, presented by Gruenhagen in Glencoe
Presented the first in a series on corrupted education (which includes censorship of creation)"Revisionist History: How And Why Historical Documents Are Being Changed"
Mr. Michael Chapman
Dubbs Club & Restaurant
702 - 10th Street
Glencoe, MN 55336Series will include: Worldviews, Revisionist History, School-To-Work system, School Curriculums, Health, Government, Violence Prevention, and more. Series will be video taped for cable and broadcast.
For additional information contact:
Citizens For Academic Excellence 1825 - 16th St., Glencoe, MN 55336
Mr. Glenn Gruenhagen [redacted]
Mr. Robert C. Frey [redacted]
I'll have to ask my former colleagues at The Library Company of Philadelphia (used as by the Continental Congresses and Constitutional Convention) if they've been changing the texts. Betting not.
Other gems about education can be found on his Facebook page:
EDUCATIONSince diversity is a bad thing in his eyes, Gruenhagen believes that "educational philosophies" lead to a "boiling pot." From his Facebook page:
While serving on the GSL school board I have promoted the teaching of U.S. History and patriotism, including the use of original founding documents. I*ve opposed the politically correct educational philosophy of multiculturalism and diversity. In subjects involving drug and sex education I have advocated for curriculum that directly instructs students in moral absolutes, including abstinence until marriage and the traditional family. I have supported the use of intensive systematic phonics for reading instruction. I have advocated a balanced approach to teaching origins which would include all scientific facts including those facts that might question the validity of Darwinian Evolution. I purchased, at my own expense, a science textbook supplement to provide a balanced, comprehensive approach for science teachers. I support choice in education. I support public, charter, parochial, private and home schools. I believe that parents are the primary educators of their children and that all children are gifted and talented and capable of success.
IMMIGRATION
Legal immigrants have contributed major benefits to our society. Historically, the U.S. has always been a *melting pot*, assimilating legal immigrants into our culture. Today, unfortunately some of our laws and educational philosophies are instead creating a *boiling pot*.
I have to wonder what the LeSueur County Czech-Americans I know would think of that. One of my fondest memories of the 2002 campaigns was overhearing two musicians discuss polka music after a parade-at a certain point, they slipped into the local variation of Czech to talk about the finer points of the music they loved. Both men were American-born, but their parents hadn't abandoned their culture to assimilate.
On energy:
ENERGY
All forms of alternative energy must prove to be economically viable before widespread implementation across this state. We must build new nuclear power plants and utilize clean coal technology, along with expanded use of natural gas. Our country has the resources to become energy independent.
This is another fascinating statement. Gruenhagen would apply one standard to "alternative energy"--presumably non-carbon based technologies--while promoting "clean coal technology." Unfortunately, for these technologies, Cost Is Chief Barrier to ‘Clean Coal’.
This is just the beginning. Perhaps that liberal media might even delve more.
As for Mick McGuire, the Democrat endorsed for the seat who is serving his fifth term as mayor of Montgomery, he's actually proving to be a visionary of sorts.
In November, 2009, the Mankato Free Press reported in Montgomery mayor to run for District 25A House seat:
The first candidate to announce for the seat, McGuire isn’t convinced he’ll be running against Brod — a four-term incumbent who has risen to leadership positions in the House Republican caucus and is rumored to be interested in running for governor. . . .
. . .McGuire, who was a city councilman before his repeated mayoral elections, has never lost a general election. He did finish as runner-up in a race for the DFL endorsement in a special election for the District 25 Senate seat in December 2007, losing to Northfield school teacher Kevin Dahle — who went on to win the special election the following month.
Do you know what science textbook supplement Glenn Gruenhagen purchased? I would love to get my hands on a copy.
Posted by: Joe Stevens | Jun 04, 2010 at 02:50 PM