In a March 4 interview with Betsy Singer of Hubbard Broadcasting's KAAL-TV (Rochester MN), VIDEO: Rep. Hagedorn and GOP Chairwoman Carnahan talk Coronavirus and 2020 race, the first-term Republican congressman from Blue Earth mentioned that he's thinking of holding a town hall about the public health threat.
We're hoping he'll think this one through just wee bit more after learning that Hagedorn attended two national political conferences within the last week and a half whose guest lists also included people who've tested positive for COVID 19, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
As the embedded video shows beginning around the 3:00 mark, Hagedorn says:
As far as talking with the people in our fine rural hospitals and our medical providers, we'll get at that. We're thinking of maybe holding a town hall on this issue--doing something of that nature so we can bring in the team of experts and can address the people of Southern Minnesota directly.
Perhaps Hagedorn should include some social distance from the people of Southern Minnesota, given his recent public mingling.
CPAC took place from February 26 through February 29, while AIPAC ran from March 1 through 3.
The CPAC Situation
The New York Times reported Sunday in CPAC Attendee Has the Coronavirus, Officials Say:
An attendee of a conservative conference where President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence spoke last week has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the event’s organizer.
The organizer, the American Conservative Union, which hosts the annual Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington, D.C., said the attendee was exposed to the virus before the four-day event and tested positive for it on Saturday. . . .
Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland said in a statement that state health officials were informed by the New Jersey Department of Health that the person who tested positive for the virus was in Maryland from Feb. 27 to March 1, attending the conference in National Harbor.
The statement said those who attended or worked at the conference “may be at some risk” for contracting the virus.
“Due to the scale of this conference, we are urging attendees who are experiencing flulike symptoms to immediately reach out to their health care provider,” Mr. Hogan said.
Hagedorn was on his way to CPAC, according to a February 26 Facebook post:
Once there, he was interviewed by Townhall's Julio Rosas for a YouTube described by Townhall Media:
Julio Rosas of Townhall interviews Minnesota Rep. Jim Hagedorn at the 2020 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) why a socialized health care system would be detrimental to his district and the entire country. Rep. Hagedorn also talks about his cancer diagnosis and how Medicare for All would affect the care that patients receive.
Aside: For those readers who might snark to themselves about US Representatives getting "free health care," that's not true. Here's one explainer:
Since all provisions of the Affordable Care Act or “Obamacare” took effect in 2014, members of Congress have been required to purchase health insurance plans offered through one of the Affordable Care Act-approved exchanges in order to receive a government contribution toward their health coverage.
Prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act, insurance for members of Congress was provided through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB); the government’s employer-subsidized private insurance system. However, not even under the FEHB plan was the insurance “free.” On average, the government pays about 72% of the premiums for its workers.
The AIPAC Situation
On Friday, Raw Story's Bob Brigham reported in Concern grows over which political leaders may have contracted coronavirus at AIPAC conference:
Vice President Mike Pence and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) were among the political leaders who attended the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference.
On Friday, AIPAC announced that two attendees had tested positive for COVID-19 coronavirus. . . .
On Sunday, Haaretz's Amir Tibon reported a Third AIPAC Conference Attendee Tests Positive for Coronavirus. Some details:
A third AIPAC Policy Conference attendee has been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, a Los Angeles County Department of Public Health statement said Saturday.
The patient is a Los Angeles resident who recently returned from the pro-Israel lobby's conference in Washington, the statement said. The department did not mention whether this person contracted Covid-19 at AIPAC, or if they had already caught it before the conference, which took place from last Saturday until Tuesday and drew about 18,000 participants.
On Friday, AIPAC sent out an email to its mailing list saying that two New York residents who attended the conference have tested positive for the coronavirus. A day earlier, the pro-Israeli lobby emailed event participants, saying that a delegation from a New York synagogue had been in contact with a person who had the virus before the event. The announcements stirred confusion and concern among other conference attendees both in the United States and in Israel.
Several Israelis who attended the conference and returned to Israel before AIPAC’s announcement gave different accounts on how Israeli authorities handled their arrival from Washington.
“I have not been instructed to go into quarantine since returning,” said one Israeli who had spoken at the conference. “I also called the government hotline and was told there are no special instructions regarding the conference. I canceled some plans I had for this week, but am not fully in quarantine.”
Another participant who attended two days of the conference and is now in Israel also expressed confusion: “I read in the news that people who attended international gatherings are instructed to be quarantined at home, but I’m not sure if that applies to AIPAC. I haven’t received any direct instructions.”
The official Israeli government directives for those returning from abroad do indeed contain a clause about people returning from international conferences – they are asked to quarantine themselves at home for 14 days. But although the Israeli authorities were aware of the possible presence of the coronavirus at the AIPAC conference as early as Wednesday, there have not been specific guidelines issued to the hundreds of Israelis who attended.
The Raw Story article included this tweet by Representative Hagedorn:
Enjoyed discussing policy issues with this bright young group of students at @AIPAC! pic.twitter.com/42Ovo492Xi
— Congressman Jim Hagedorn (@RepHagedorn) March 3, 2020
We're not suggesting that Representative Hagedorn follow the guidelines set by the government of Israel after attending these conferences.
Perhaps, though, he might not want to host a big public meeting. Common sense would suggest that he avail his constituents of some social distance and modern technology. Surely, an interactive video interface can be set up for this; if New Republican Tim Miller can do it, surely Hagedorn can rise to the occasion.
We do give Hagedorn points for being more classy in handling this public health issue better than he did with concerns about Ebola in his 2014 campaign against then-congressman Tim Walz. To see how much Hagedorn has grown--or the president is now a member of his own party--we recommend readers check out Heather Carlson's Political Notebook: Ebola becomes campaign issue in the Rochester Post Bulletin.
Related posts:
- Republican Party of MN reports self-employed James, Hagedorn lives in St. Louis Park
- MN01: the hostile world of Hagedorn town halls, updated with videos of Mankato area meetings
- RPM, Friends of Hagedorn confuse state & federal campaign finance reports in answering PB question about Hagedorn's residence
- CD1 Republican hopeful Jim Hagedorn trolls media with anti-equality, anti-immigrant schtick (The Column)
- Rightwing values and performance art in MN-01: Mr. Quist and "Mr. Conservative."
Screengrab: from KAAL-TV.
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