Friends started sending cryptic messages about Jeff Backer this morning while we were enjoying the splendor of the Coteau in early May.
As it turned out, MPR's Tim Pugmire reports in Giuliani Stephens picks rural lawmaker as running mate, the Browns Valley Republican was selected by the Mayor of Woodbury and GOP gubernatorial candidate as her lieutenant governor running mate:
Giuliani Stephens introduced Rep. Jeff Backer, R-Browns Valley, Wednesday during a state Capitol news conference. She said Backer brings strong leadership skills to the ticket.
“Jeff has led with common sense, conservative solutions in every position he has held,” Giuliani Stephens said.
Let's review that target-rich "common sense" of Backer:
#1: As City Pages' Susan Du reported in Rep. Jeff Backer tries to blame Minnesota's ag pollution on... goose shit:
Rep. Jeff Backer (R-Browns Valley) introduced a bill that would take away the Department of Agriculture's authority to enforce the rule short of it being ratified into law by the legislature. He argued that farmers would have better rights to due process if their fertilizer battles ended up in front of district court juries instead of administrative law judges.
He also tried to blame the state's water pollution problems on... goose shit.
"All the geese and waterfowl that migrate, rest, nest in Minnesota, poop in the lakes and in the surrounding fields," Backer said during the agriculture committee hearing. . . .
The Department of Agriculture has referenced extensive research by the University of Minnesota on nitrogen fertilizer's role in groundwater contamination, and in 2013 the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency published a detailed study, "Nitrogen in Minnesota Surface Waters," which included a shoutout to bird shit.
According to that study, geese are an example of a "very low [nitrogen] contributor," responsible for "approximately 0.1 percent of the statewide nitrogen load to waters."
How well will that logic play in the suburbs? Six suburban Republicans voted against Backer's anti-drinking water, pro-nitrogen fertilizer bill.
#2 Backer hates Minnesota's buffer laws, the consequence of bills which he's voted for, as Bluestem noted in Republican guy who voted for Minnesota's buffer bill continues to grandstand against it:
Bluestem Prairie found ourselves laughing at this passage in Gov. Dayton stands firm on water quality law, Stribber J. Patrick Coolican's coverage of Governor Mark Dayton's Town Hall Water Summit at the University of Minnesota--Morris:
In response to Dayton’s remarks Friday, Rep. Jeff Backer, R-Browns Valley, said: “It’s easy to grandstand.”
Backer, who represents the Morris area and attended the water summit, said he expects ongoing negotiations to improve a law he called flawed: “On this issue we have to look at the people on the ground — the landowners, the farmers — because they are good stewards of their land. This is their production, and they want to protect their investment,” said Backer, a cosponsor of the repeal measure in the House.
It's Backer's own nature to grandstand. Having voted not once, but twice for buffers in 2015 and 2016--while crediting Minneapolis Democrat Jean Wagenius with the legislation she not only didn't author but voted against--he's signed on to a repeal of his own votes.
We're not sure how adept Backer will be. Already, he sent out a legislative update on January 20 that included this statement:
Water Summit:
I attended the Governor’s Water Summit today at the University of Minnesota, Morris. I enjoyed hearing from experts regarding Minnesota’s water quality and quantity. I will continue to be an advocate for clean and plentiful water, as well as be a voice for our farmers and local agricultural economy. I have no doubt that farmers are excellent stewards of the land.
Later, he blamed the help for that one:
From: <rep.jeff.backer@house.leg.state.mn.us>
Date: Mon, Jan 23, 2017 at 11:02 AM
Subject: Governor's Water Summit
To: Announcements From Representative Jeff Backer
Friends,
In my last email update there was some confusion on when the Governor’s Water Summit will be taking place. I am sorry for the miscommunication between my media writer and me. The Summit will be THIS Friday, January 27th from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM at the University of Minnesota, Morris (600 E. 4th St., Student Center-Edson Auditorium).
Click here for more details.
I hope to see you there!
We saw Rep. Backer standing in the lobby and flouncing down the aisle to take a seat as the morning program began but didn't get a chance to speak to him.
#3 Jeff Backer hates gay money. See DFL communications maven Wilhelm Davis's tweet:
Jeff Backer blast from the past via @sallyjos:
Jeff Backer hates liberal homosexual money, solicits socially conservative campaign cash https://t.co/QExYsv1XEb #mngov
— Wilhelm Davis (@WilhelmDavis) May 2, 2018
#4 We posted about how Jeff Backer gets a little factchecking after Coalition of Greater MN Cities sponsored forum:
In the Morris Sun Tribune story, Backer, McNamar tackle issues at forum, a newspaper actually did a bit of fact checking of claims made in a candidate debate. The results aren't pretty for Representative Jeff Backer:
A Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities official said in a political forum in Morris it was mainly a disappointing year in the Legislature in 2015-2016 in large part because no bonding bill or transportation bill or tax bill were passed.
During a Coalition-sponsored forum in Morris Oct. 20 between Minnesota House District 12A Rep. Jeff Backer and challenger Jay McNamar placed the blame for the disappointment at different feet.
Backer said Gov. Dayton prevented a tax bill that had bipartisan support from passing into legislation. Dayton cared more about the light rail in the Twin Cities area than a tax bill that would benefit rural Minnesota including District 12A, Becker said.
"The governor vetoed it. He put a train ahead of greater Minnesota," Backer said.
Not so, McNamar said. The Republican controlled House submitted a tax bill with a $100 million error, McNamar said.
Dayton did veto the tax bill because of a $100 million error, McNamar said. "He didn't do it because of a train (light rail)," McNamar said.
"I was there, he didn't do veto it because of a mistake," Backer said. "He vetoed it because of a train."
In published media reports from June, including WCCO and the StarTribune, Dayton said he'd veto the tax bill because of the $101 million error. Dayton used what is commonly referred to as a pocket veto in which he took no action to pass what was called a bipartisan tax bill.
Here's also this:
One thing the paper didn't fact check? This placebaiting claim by Representative Backer:
Backer said light rail is expensive, under used, not practical and takes needed money away from roads, bridges and other transportation needs. ...
. . . That seemed peculiar. Hadn't we read otherwise? Apparently so. In a January 22, 2016 press release, Metro Transit ridership tops 85.8 million in 2015, there's this:
The METRO Blue Line set a new annual ridership record and system ridership increased for the 11th time in 12 years as customers took more than 85.8 million rides on buses and trains operated by Metro Transit in 2015. . . .
Ridership on both the Blue and Green light-rail lines continued to grow as customers used the all-day, frequent service to travel to work, school, special events and other destinations. The ability to transfer between light-rail lines in downtown Minneapolis also boosted ridership.
In all, more than 10.6 million rides were taken on the Blue Line, the highest annual ridership since it opened in mid-2004. The previous record of nearly 10.5 million rides was set in 2010. Average weekday ridership topped 30,000 for eight consecutive months.
Nearly 12.4 million rides were taken on the Green Line during its first full year of operation. Average weekday ridership was 37,400 – just under the 2030 forecast of 41,000 rides. Ridership in the Central Corridor, including the Green Line and bus routes 16 and 94, increased by about 30 percent from 2014 to 2015 and has nearly doubled since 2013, when service was provided by buses alone.
#5 And then there's the dogwhistling contrast of Brown's Valley, where 17 homes were badly damaged in a spring flood, with Katrina devastated New Orleans, where 80% of the city flooded after levees failed and 70% of New Orleans' occupied housing, 134,000 units, was damaged in the storm. Backer contrasted the residents of both cities:
"In my opinion New Orleans would not be in the position that they are in if they had the same people that we have here in Browns Valley," he said, alluding to post-Katrina issues in the Crescent City.
What kind of people live in New Orleans vs. those Browns Valley?
#6 Finally there's Jeff Backer's blurb for a book. In it, Backer thought depression was created by Satan stealing pleasures, making us want stuff. That's all the common sense we can handle this afternoon, so follow the link to see what he said.
Photo: A Canada goose, which Lt. Gov candidate Jeff Backer wants you think is polluting Minnesota's drinking water.
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