We've missed reporting on the soap opera that is the Hagedorn re-election campaign in Minnesota's First Congressional District, but a review of news assures us that Mr. Conservative /columnist did not disappoint.
There's a clear whiff of toxic privilege in the air--along with the nasty virus swaths of the Republican Party in these parts seem to have embraced.
Saturday in the Star Tribune, Patrick Condon reported in Minnesota GOP's power couple ride political waves:
The most powerful married couple in Minnesota Republican politics are having quite the election cycle.
U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn and his spouse of nearly two years, Minnesota Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan, both have much at stake this November. Hagedorn, a one-term congressman from southern Minnesota, is in a tough fight for re-election even as he’s treated for kidney cancer.
And Carnahan is the public face of the state GOP’s effort to regain political ground, most notably in President Donald Trump’s high-profile push to flip the state in his favor.
As Hagedorn faces a well-funded rematch with Democrat Dan Feehan, he’s had to respond to revelations about the use of taxpayer-funded mail by his congressional office that’s been criticized by his political rivals and government ethics experts.
Hagedorn even found himself subject to an unusually public pushback by his former congressional chief of staff, whom Hagedorn had publicly blamed for the mail snafu. . . .
Dear readers: you knew that. What's new is this:
The DFL, which has criticized Carnahan for not wearing a mask at party events, has kept up the drumbeat. Last week, the party disclosed a string of e-mails, obtained by an FOIA request, that show a staffer in Hagedorn’s D.C. office e-mailing a National Park Service official on short notice last Dec. 19 to request free entrance and private guided tours for Carnahan at several parks in Arizona.
“Mrs. Carnahan would love to have a private guided tour of the Grand Canyon (preferably within the next hour.) She was wondering if the same could be arranged for her as she visits Horseshoe Bend this afternoon, and Angels Landing tomorrow. Likewise, she hopes to get the entry fee waived, as she is a member’s spouse,” the e-mail from Hagedorn’s office reads.
After a park official e-mailed Carnahan to say it may be too late, Carnahan was polite in response: “Thanks. Understood either way,” she wrote.
Carnahan’s DFL counterpart, Ken Martin, said it’s an example of Hagedorn “unethically using government resources for his personal benefit. … Now he’s using his government position to get free things for his wife.”
Hagedorn’s campaign derided the e-mails as “personal attacks.” They responded that “Members of Congress and their spouses are encouraged to inform the National Park Service whenever they visit Park Service facilities. Jennifer is an avid hiker who sought whatever assistance was available and purchased her own park passes.”
But it may not be the attention Carnahan and Hagedorn, or the party, need.
And there's Hagedorn's own recent plane travel. At the Minnesota Reformer, Ricardo Lopez reported in Minn. GOP congressmen fly despite possible COVID-19 exposure, angering Delta passengers:
Minnesota’s three Republican congressmen who traveled with President Donald Trump on Air Force One recently are coming under fire for flying Friday after their recent exposure to COVID-19.
Reps. Tom Emmer, Jim Hagedorn and Pete Stauber attended Trump’s Duluth campaign rally on Wednesday, just two days before Trump announced he, along with his wife, Melania, and other top aides, had tested positive for COVID-19. . . .
The flight, which was supposed to take off around 5:30 p.m., was delayed by more than an hour after passengers who had recognized the congressmen complained that they were on the flight. The flight eventually departed with the three congressmen.
A Delta spokesman told the Star Tribune that “there was a conversation with passengers” about the men’s presence on the flight.
According to Delta policy, “We cannot allow anyone to fly who knows they have been exposed to COVID-19 in the past two weeks. To travel with us, you must agree that you are not aware that you and, to your knowledge, those in your itinerary have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 in the past 14 days.”
. . .Hagedorn on his Facebook campaign page hit back at criticism that he had endangered other passengers.
As for Delta, the airline and our flight’s captain were fully aware beforehand, because Tom, Pete and I informed them of the facts,” Hagedorn wrote. “You see, one or two Democrats on our plane complained and tried to get us kicked off, which delayed take off by over an hour as Delta’s management in Atlanta considered the Democrats’ complaint. Delta made the decision to fly based upon the facts.”
Bring Me The News' Declan Desmond reports in DFL scorches 3 GOP lawmakers for flying after COVID exposure:
Minnesota Democrats are pulling no punches in their response to the news that three GOP congressmen flew on an airplane shorty after exposure to COVID-19.
This weekend, the DFL Party issued a statement about the decision of reps. Pete Stauber, Tom Emmer and Jim Hagedorn to board a Delta flight two days after flying on Air Force One with President Donald Trump — who was likely infected with coronavirus at the time.
A number of people around Trump last week have also tested positive for COVID-19, including First Lady Melania Trump, presidential aide Hope Hicks and a number of Republican senators.
Stauber, Emmer and Hagedorn tested negative for the virus, but violated Delta policy when they flew from Washington, D.C. to Minneapolis on Friday. The airline prohibits flying if a person has had a known exposure to COVID-19.
In its statement on the controversy, the DFL accused the three Republicans of having "deliberately put the health and safety of their fellow passengers at serious risk," and pointed out that "a negative test soon after exposure is nearly meaningless.”
The statement, attributed to DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin, continued:
“Millions of Americans have sacrificed so much to slow the spread of COVID-19, yet Congressmen Emmer, Stauber, and Hagedorn could not even wait a few days to board an airplane. These Congressmen’s stupidity and disregard for the well-being of their fellow passengers is staggering.”
The DFL also quoted infectious disease expert Dr. Michael Osterholm, who stated the following about testing for COVID-19 soon after exposure:
“There is no get out of jail card here with one test. If they were exposed in the last 2 to 3 days, they might not actually come down with this infection and be test positive for up to 14 days… we’ve had onsets late, after 7 or 8 days, and test positives after 7 or 8 days, so having a test in those first 3 days after you’ve been exposed is almost meaningless.”
Goodness gracious.
KARE-11 Boyd Huppert reports Delta Air Lines says it cleared Republican congressmen for flight who had met with Trump.
In a letter to the editors of the Mankato Free Press, Kathleen Keller of St. Peter writes:
Sunday night as I watched the 1st District congressional debate, Rep. James Hagedorn was asked the following question about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic: “Moving forward, how would you balance keeping Americans safe while keeping the country moving to the best of Congress’s ability?”
I was shocked to hear Hagedorn respond by saying the following: “We’ve done a pretty good job of keeping Americans safe.” In my opinion, Hagedorn is delusional about the true impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Two hundred thousand Americans have died, including 2,000 Minnesotans. Many people are still out of work. Our kids have lost so much time in school. We have to wear masks in public spaces. Our elderly and disabled family and neighbors often continue to be isolated. We can’t travel to visit family out of state.
Our lives have been turned upside down, and yet Hagedorn thinks “we’ve done a pretty good job.” This is a time to act decisively with a plan, not to rest on any laurels.
That's pre-Trump fundraiser, Duluth rally, and COVID-19 hospitalization. She may have a point.
Related posts:
- MNReformer update: After Hagedorn payment revelations, Al Travis off KTOE until after election
- MN01 race news digest: Feehan and Hagedorn spar; do Hagedorn's accusations hold water?
- This week in Jim Hagedorn: a MN01 news digest
- Jim Hagedorn news digest: Rochester Bulletin, Mankato Free Press, MN Reformer and more!
- More MN Reformer: Expect an ethics complaint against Jim Hagedorn, DFL Chair Martin says
- But his emails! Strib reports Hagedorn personally involved in decisions about publicly funded mail
- Hagedorn aide at center of sketchy spending posts conspiratorial, homophobic social media
- The plot thickens in the Fighting First: Jim Hagedorn hires legal help for spending scandal
- Minnesota Reformer: MN01's Hagedorn spent tax dollars on vendor owned by a member of his staff
- MN01 data points: Does Hagedorn's internal polling conducted in March still matter?
- Hyperbole, much? Hagedorn's revelation about November 2020 is galloping nincompoopery
- Coals of criticism heaping on Jim Hagedorn; UnitedHealth Group says no more cash for you
- Rightwing values and performance art in MN-01: Mr. Quist and "Mr. Conservative" (2009)
- Republican Party of MN reports self-employed James, Hagedorn lives in St. Louis Park
- RPM, Friends of Hagedorn confuse state & federal campaign finance reports in answering PB question about Hagedorn's residence
- MN01: Meet a Hagedorn Washington legislative assistant working on agriculture issues
- MN01: the hostile world of Hagedorn town halls, updated with videos of Mankato area meetings
- Nazi namecalling: two Southern MN Republicans lose their wits about Warren, insulin critics
- MN01: Hagedorn echoes colleague's remark about kids being free to leave detention centers
- Congressman Hagedorn's campaign emails share only the finest COVID-19 news sources
- MN Reformer: The Hagedorn rule: Watchdogs say congressional family deals need oversight
Photo: A credibility gap the size of the Grand Canyon in Minnesota's Fighting First? Photo via National Park Service.
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