According to KSTP/SURVEYUSA: Feehan Holds Slight Lead Over Hagedorn. While the Star Tribune has just endorsed
In Southern Minnesota has the opportunity to send thoughtful, well-spoken leader to Congress: Dan Feehan, the editorial board of the Star Tribune writes:
Voters in southern Minnesota’s First Congressional District sent military veteran Rep. Tim Walz to Washington, D.C., in the last six House elections. By electing Dan Feehan, they can continue an honorable tradition of sending to Congress a military veteran and tireless advocate for those who have served.. . .
Hagedorn has cast himself as a protector of the Mayo Clinic. The reality: His immigration fearmongering, support for travel bans and hard line opposition to same-sex marriage is clearly at odds with Mayo’s vision for its future — enhancing Rochester’s global draw through its Destination Medical Center project. In addition to attracting more patients. Mayo must recruit highly specialized physicians and researchers — and their families. Hagedorn’s rhetorical baggage, not to mention new bombast, would send the wrong message to doctors and scientists considering a move.
On these issues and others, including climate change and sensible gun law reforms, southern Minnesota has an opportunity to send a forward-thinking representative with enormous potential to Congress — one who is not hindered by impolitic past statements or at risk of making new ones. Dan Feehan is the right choice for the First District.
Hagedorn not alone in fearmongering: anti-semitism seen in NRCC ad
Meanwhile, the NRCC continues to run independent, fear-mongering television ads that have been accused of being anti-semitic. In The Forward, Aiden Pink reports in GOP Ad Accuses Jewish Billionaire George Soros Of ‘Owning’ Democratic Candidate:
A Republican attack ad in a congressional race in Minnesota accused the Democratic candidate of being “owned” by Jewish billionaire financier George Soros, leading some to accuse the GOP of anti-Semitism.
The ad, titled “Owns,” states that Dan Feehan is “owned” by Soros, who was also accused of “funding left wing protests.”
“Just remember, the left owns Feehan,” the narrator concluded as Soros, an Antifa protester and NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick flanked the candidate.
Still, the juxtaposition of a Jewish financier “owning” a candidate led some to conclude that the ad was anti-Semitic.
“GOP Ad Channels Anti-Semitism to Portray George Soros as Puppetmaster,” The Daily Beast wrote in its headline covering the story.
“This new @NRCC ad touts one of the most disgusting anti-Semitic libels: Jews are the puppet-masters that convince people of color to rise up against their white superiors,” social justice organizer Max Berger wrote on Twitter.
The Republican Jewish Coalition did not respond to a request for comment; this story will be updated if they respond (full disclosure: I interned for the RJC for a college semester).
Soros has long been the target of right-wing conspiracy theories, many of which have relied on anti-Semitic tropes.
President Trump accused people protesting then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of being “paid for by Soros and others.” (One of the women who accosted Sen. Jeff Flake in an elevator about the nomination works for a not-for-profit supported by Soros’s son Alex.)
Trump notoriously used images of Soros and other Jewish financial figures in his final campaign ad during the 2016 election, which described a malevolent “global power structure” harming ordinary Americans.
“Whether intentional or not, the images and rhetoric in this ad touch on subjects that anti-Semites have used for ages,” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said at the time.
This is not the first time the race in the largely-rural 1st District of Minnesota has had to deal with anti-Semitism: Feehan’s opponent, Jim Hagedorn, once wrote on his blog that former Sen. Joe Lieberman supported the Iraq War because Lieberman is Jewish.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports in Republican Campaign Ad Claims Iraq War Veteran Is 'Owned' by Jewish Billionaire George Soros:
The new advertisement by the National Republican Congressional Committee shows Democratic candidate Dan Feehan next to stacks of dollars and an image of Jewish-Hungarian philanthropist George Soros. . . .
Salon reports in GOP accused of anti-Semitism after attack ad claims Democrat is “owned” by George Soros:
A Republican ad in a Minnesota U.S. House race has drawn allegations of anti-Semitism for suggesting that Jewish billionaire George Soros “owns” the Democratic candidate.
The ad, titled “Owns,” attempts to tie Dan Feehan, an Iraq War veteran running to represent Minnesota's 1st Congressional District, to Soros, who is depicted behind stacks of cash. . .
The ad claims Feehan worked for a “Soros-funded liberal outfit in D.C.” That appears to be a reference to the Center for a New American Security, which is run by a former aide to the late Republican Sen. John McCain and whose board director was the frontrunner to be deputy defense secretary under President Trump. Feehan is a combat veteran who earned a Bronze Star while in Iraq and later served as a senior Pentagon official in the Obama administration. . . .
The NRCC was immediately accused of anti-Semitism. Democratic organizer Max Berger wrote that the ad “touts one of the most disgusting anti-Semitic libels: Jews are the puppet-masters that convince people of color to rise up against their white superiors.”
The ad is paid for by the National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC) on behalf of Republican candidate Jim Hagedorn.
In broader looks at the Soros trope, the Times of Israel reports After bomb scares, George Soros’s son says Trump is fueling demonization, while The Jerusalem Posts reports House Majority Leader accuses Soros and others of 'buying' election.
That rhetoric is reflected in the ad reviewed in KSTP's TRUTH TEST: NRCC Misleads in Feehan Attack reports:
"Look at who finances Dan Feehan's employer. Radical George Soros. Wall Street's biggest banks. A crooked lobbyist tied to Pelosi that paid Feehan's bills and fund his campaign," the narrator says.
Feehan is an "adjunct senior fellow" at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), which touts itself as "an independent, bipartisan, non-profit organization that develops strong, pragmatic, and principled national security and defense policies." Feehan is also an Iraq War veteran.
It's true Soros, banks and a controversial Democratic lobbyist, Tony Podesta, have all contributed to CNAS. But as a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization, CNAS is barred from partisan political campaign activity.
These most recent ads aren't the first misleading attacks on Feehan. Kare 11 looked at an earlier NRCC effort in VERIFY: Ad attacks candidate Dan Feehan:
Dan Feehan served two tours of combat duty in Iraq, fighting insurgents who were funded in part by Iran.
So, the Democrat running for Congress in Minnesota's 1st District never expected to be accused of supporting Iranian terrorism. But that's exactly what an attack ad from the National Republican Campaign Committee does.
...the ad misleads the average viewer that Feehan supported giving Iran up to $150 billion, which would in turn be funneled to terrorists.
Iran clearly has funded terrorism in the Middle East and elsewhere. But it's quite a jump to equate the Obama administration's Iran nuclear deal with support of terrorism. . . .
The ad creates the false impression that Feehan rejected the needs of US soldiers, while at the same time supporting Iranian terrorism. On that count it's very misleading.
And at no point does the ad mention Feehan served in the military or fought on the ground in Iraq.
From our backpages:
Bluestem was among the first to examine Hagedorn's rhetoric in the "Mr. Conservative" blog; Mercury Rising posted an excellent recap in an early December 2009 post, Hagedorn: “The Only Good Indian Is A Dead Indian.”
The Strib editorial board is correct--and Hagedorn's rhetoric isn't a bug. It's a feature--and he seems to have plenty of company in the NRCC.
Photo: Dan Feehan (left) campaigning. Via Dan Feehan for Congress Facebook page.
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