Last session, Minnesota state representative Rod Hamilton (R-Mountain Lake) spent a lot of time place-baiting, whining in particular about state representative Jean Wagenius (DFL-Minneapolis) chairing the House Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Finance committee.
He's back again with the vinegar about rural Minnesotans not being understood, this time in an Associated Press article, Rural lawmakers struggle to make themselves heard:
In Minnesota, Rep. Rod Hamilton has long argued that rural concerns get neglected in St. Paul, where the number of farmers in the House stands at six - down from 14 as recently as 1995.
Hamilton, a Republican and pork producer, said he plans to work with other rural lawmakers from both parties in both chambers this session to protect shared interests against a leadership that's mostly from the Twin Cities area.
"You don't need that many votes to make an impact," he said.
Enough. As we noted in Representation Rod Hamilton to defend rural Minnesota against his own worst fears in December 2012, Hamilton works for Christensen Farms, which employs over 1000 employees in six states, generating revenues of about $500 million annually. He's not out in the barns, either, or involved in production. He works in the human resources department.
The chair he complains about? As AgriNews reported last February, Jean Wagenius owns land in Douglas County where the U conducts research. If he's a pork producer, then she's a rural landholder. She owns 50 acres near Kensington, and that's 50 more acres than Hamilton owns.
The vice chair of the committee? Bluestem's state representative, Andrew Falk (DFL-Murdock), who farms with his parents, who also own a seed company.
Frankly, Bluestem's tired of the notion of "us" versus "them" and offers of help from Hamilton. We don't need to be protection "against" the Twin Cities, but rather, we need leadership that moves the whole of the state together.
The place-baiting, divisive rhetoric doesn't help--and doesn't lead. Give it a rest.
Image: Rod Hamilton, place-baiting pseudo-pork producer.
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