UPDATE January 31, 2020: The Fergus Falls Journal reports Rasmusson to run for state representative. Some updates from the original copy in this post:
. . . After graduating from Fergus Falls High School and Harvard College, Rasmusson has spent his career helping businesses grow and create good jobs. Rasmusson worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Co. and an investment professional at Bain Capital. Today, Rasmusson is the founder of The Rasmusson Group, which advises businesses and investors on strategic decisions. . . .
Rasmusson lists his legislative priorities as efficient government that keeps taxes under control, affordable health care, a reduced regulatory burden for small businesses and farmers, schools of excellence, and support for pro-life and Second Amendment initiatives.
Rasmusson is engaged to Fergus Falls native Emma DeMartelaere. . . .
For more information, see www.jordanrasmusson.com, and follow the campaign on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. [End Update]
Will a young Harvard grad who's has worked for both McKinsey and Bain--and who gave 2018 Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson $2000--run for the Minnesota House in 2020?
Via a tweet Minnesota Public Radio's Brian Bakst, we learned that Fergus Falls Republican Bud Nornes, he of the golden radio voice, will be retiring:
Another #mnleg long-timer hanging it up: Rep. Bud Nornes will not seek re-election | Perham Focus https://t.co/7wULU2iWRa
— Brian Bakst (@Stowydad) January 28, 2020
Following that link to the Perham Focus article, we were introduced to Jordan Rasmusson:
He’s not sure who will step up to run in his place this November, but he’s already spoken to one promising candidate. “Jordan Rasmusson is his name. He’s a life-long resident of Fergus Falls, has gone away to Harvard and now is back making Fergus Falls his home. I think he’s a candidate that people need to look hard at, because, again, he’s in the age group that brings a lot of new energy,” Nornes said.
Now a private equity associate for Bain Capital, Rasmusson's already a public figure, at least as far as coverage in the Fergus Falls Journal, the local newspaper, goes. From his high school extracurricular activities to his recent column, How I became a conservative, Rasmusson is catnip for the local media. In the column, he writes:
. . .Yes, Cuba doesn’t have the same economic or political rights as the United States, but we Cubans have a universal right to free health care and education – as an American, you do not” replied my Cuban professor as we debated human rights. My professor was not factually wrong: Through a combination of scholarships, loans, summer jobs and generous parents, I was financing my college education at Harvard and my semester abroad at the University of Havana in Cuba. I was paying for my health insurance, too.
My Cuban professor’s argument wasn’t new to me – I had heard versions of this rhetoric from my time as a national leader in the High School Democrats of America. As a Fergus Falls High School student, I was an energetic Democrat. I campaigned for Democrats and worked in Washington, D.C., as Democrats pursued their ambitious agenda after the 2008 elections. As a young leader, I was given talking points stating “health care is a right,” trying to counter criticisms of Obamacare’s impact on economic and religious liberties.
By the time I came back from my semester in Cuba, I was a conservative. Today, I work in business as an unapologetic capitalist and give my time and resources to conservative causes.
What explains this conversion? Through my time in Cuba, I learned to appreciate what makes America great and fear the consequences of moving toward socialism.
Self-proclaimed “progressives” push an agenda that can seem attractive. Who doesn’t want free health care or college? It sounded attractive in Cuba, too. The error my high school self and progressives make is that we dramatically underestimate the costs of placing our faith in an ever more powerful government. By doing so, we stunt human flourishing and undermine our God-given rights and obligations. . . .
Read the whole thing at the Journal. The chair of the Republican Party of Otter Tail County did, and sent in a letter to the editors, Column gives hope for the future:
Jordan Rasmusson’s column titled “How I Became a Conservative” gives me and the Republican Party of Otter Tail County hope for the future. Since Jordan’s time in Cuba, he has fought for conservative values and has become a nationally recognized leader within the conservative movement. I thank Rasmusson for sharing his story and hope it will inspire others to join the conservative cause and get involved in our local party. As Democrat politicians veer toward socialism, we need leaders like Rasmusson who can shine light on the false promises and failures of socialism and make the case for conservative principles.
Tami Boyer
Further reading, however, makes Bluestem wonder just how much of a socialist DFLer Rasmusson ever was. For instance, there's this copy in the 2008 article, Political passion fuels Fergus teen:
Rasmusson spent a week in Washington, D.C., in July after meeting a former political consultant while on a June missions trip in South Carolina. The consultant encouraged Rasmusson to take part in a trip sponsored by the Young Republican National Federation, and Rasmusson, a moderate to conservative Democrat, decided to go.
During his week in the nation’s capitol, Rasmusson met Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), staff with Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and staff with Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.). He was also inspired to join Young Democrats of America (YDA), and now serves as Midwest Regional Director for the organization’s High School Caucus.
Young people care about a host of issues, Rasmusson said. Polling by YDA suggests the economy, the war in Iraq, rising national debt and the future of social security are at the forefront, he said. . . .
There's nothing there to suggest a budding Elmer Benson. Two years later, the Journal only mentioned the Democratic part of his career in FF student spends summer in D.C., where he paged for congressman Collin Peterson. We're uncertain this made Rasmusson a socialist, though the copy does mention Speaker Pelosi signing off on the lad's appointment.
The adaptable Mr. Rasmusson's political giving
Moreover, Rasmusson's political giving to federal level candidates reveals that he gave Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson $2000, after first contributing $300 to the presidential campaign of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Here's a screenshot of Rasmusson's contributions on file at the FEC:
For those who might not remember Johnson, here's a link to the Gary Johnson 2016 presidential campaign entry at Wikipedia, where we are reminded:
In response to Johnson's growing poll numbers, the Hillary Clinton campaign and Democratic allies increased their criticism against Johnson in September 2016, warning that "a vote for a third party is a vote for Donald Trump" and deploying Senator Bernie Sanders (Clinton's former primary rival and now-supporter) to win over voters who might be considering voting for Johnson or for Green Party candidate Jill Stein.[51] Democrats circulated "embarrassing videos of Johnson" and directed more resources toward winning "young voters and left-leaning independents" - a key Johnson demographic. . . .[51]
Following Ted Cruz's withdrawal from the Republican primary elections and Trump becoming the Republican Party's presumptive nominee, it was widely reported that online searches for "Gary Johnson" and "Libertarian Party" spiked sharply on Google.[25][26][27]
In early May, some commentators opined that Johnson was moderate enough to pull votes away from both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump who are very disliked and polarizing.[28] Both conservative and liberal media noted that Johnson could get votes from "Never Trump" Republicans and disaffected Bernie Sanders supporters.[29] Johnson also began to get time on national television, being invited on ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, Bloomberg, and many other networks. . . .[30]
On the other hand, by 2017, the Club For Growth more or less reconciled with the president, except for that GOP class warfare against the wealthy, so we just can't read the tea leaves on Rasmusson's $5000 to the group's Super PAC two years ago.
We found no record of contributions by Rasmusson on the state level in the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board's database, though something might turn up in a few weeks when 2019 reports are due.
We're going to assume that the adaptable Mr. Rasmusson will have no issue as a candidate with Trump making major push to turn Minnesota red in 2020. After all, Rasmusson is against socialism, which has been a problem in Fergus Falls since Eugene Debs spoke on Capitalism and Socialism at the town's Lyceum Theatre in 1912.
Photo: Jordan Rasmusson as a high school page for MN07 congressman Collin Peterson, via the Fergus Falls Journal. We can't always write just about turtles.
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