Reading coverage of the Todd-Wadena Electric Cooperative candidate debate on Thursday, Sept. 8, we were surprised to see state representative Mary Franson's answer about abortion.
In an article posted online on September 20 at the Wadena Pioneer Journal, Candidates speak about renewables, budgets and abortion at TWEC forum, Michael Johnson reports:
The candidate forum is an election year standard hosted by the Todd-Wadena Electric Cooperative in order to allow voters to meet and ask questions of those hoping to be elected. . . .
Here is a look at some of the questions and answers that touched a chord with the group.
When asked, all the candidates took turns sharing that they were pro-life in one way or another.
Where do you stand on the issue of life from conception to natural death? . . .
Franson: Her response was to focus on fraud in the state. She explained that $400 million went missing from a fund that was supposed to go towards feeding children. She went on to explain that no Republican is going to be able to take away the right to an abortion in Minnesota because it’s in the constitution.
That's certainly a step up from the time Franson compared feeding food stamp recipients to feeding wild animals.
The theft of the federal money for feeding children in the pandemic is indeed awful. We certainly hope that Franson can get back on topic now that the Star Tribune's reported on Tuesday Feeding Our Future founder among 48 people charged in $250 million federal food aid fraud scheme:
The director of the Feeding Our Future nonprofit and 47 other people were charged Tuesday in what federal prosecutors say was a "massive scheme" to defraud the government of more than $250 million meant to feed needy children during the pandemic.
In a news conference, U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger described the scheme as the largest pandemic fraud in the country and said the charges amount to one of the largest federal fraud cases ever brought in Minnesota.
"These 47 defendants engaged in a brazen scheme of staggering proportions," Luger said, hours before charges against another defendant were unsealed. "Their goal was to make as much money for themselves as they could while falsely claiming to feed children during the pandemic."
The defendants were charged with crimes including wire fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and bribery. The indictments allege that conspirators shelled out tens of thousands of dollars to join the criminal enterprise, and later tried to cover their tracks by submitting fake invoices and enrollment forms with fictitious names pulled from such places as listofrandomnames.com.
Luger described the wave of indictments unsealed Tuesday as "the first set of charges" in the continuing investigation. Several defendants were arrested Tuesday, but Luger said some have left the country. . . .
Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) officials began questioning Bock about the sudden boom in sites that her organization sponsored in 2020. Feeding Our Future sued the state and claimed the education department was discriminating against a nonprofit that worked with racial minorities after the department halted payments to the nonprofit by early 2021. The FBI's investigation into Feeding Our Future began in May 2021, after state education officials brought information to the bureau.
Though some state legislators have faulted MDE for not acting more aggressively on its fraud suspicions, Luger declined to assess the department's oversight.
"That is not for me to say," Luger said. "We are pleased by the thorough cooperation we got from MDE throughout this investigation."
That should provide some answers for Franson and get her back on topic, as she has been earlier this summer.
In the past, she's always been a staunch pro-life legislator. Indeed, on June 24, through her official communications capacity as a lawmaker, she sent out the following: RELEASE: Franson Statement on Historic Roe v. Wade Decision:
Rep. Mary Franson, R-Alexandria, released the following statement after today’s Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade:
“Today is a historic and memorable day for all of those who have devoted their lives fighting for the sanctity of life and the rights of the unborn. The Supreme Court has rightfully returned the power to regulate abortion back to the states. I will continue to fight for the rights of our precious unborn to make sure all lives are protected. As we remember this day, let us not forget to pray for the millions of innocent lives lost since Roe. The work begins now to ensure we foster a culture that values and respects life.”
That was followed by the July 11 RELEASE: Franson Statement on District Court Ruling Striking Down Pro-Life Laws:
Rep. Mary Franson (R-Alexandria) issued the following statement regarding today's district court decision striking down several longstanding and bipartisan pro-life laws.
“Today’s ruling shows the extreme lengths far left activists will go to make sure Minnesota does not value and protect life. Removing our bipartisan pro-life laws that protect women, such as requiring abortions to be performed by physicians, is a threat to the health and safety of mothers. I will work to defend our pro-life laws and I will fight to make sure this decision is overturned.”
The court decision struck down several provisions aimed at protecting the health and safety of mothers, including:
- A law requiring abortions to be performed by physicians.
- A law requiring second and third-term abortion to be performed in hospital settings.
- A law imposing felonies for performing abortions outside of rules established by the Department of Health.
- A law requiring parental notification for minors obtaining an abortion
Did a memo go out to Minnesota Republican candidates to not talk about abortion, but crime? Bluestem earlier republished the Minnesota Reformer timeline of Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen’s shifting abortion stance, adding a bit of content on gun legislation and anti-vaxx views. Then there's our September 8 article: MN01: Finstad "sidesteps" abortion issue.
Franson also gave a curious answer to another question. Johnson reports:
What is renewable energy’s role in the entire energy portfolio?
Franson: “Renewable energy isn’t the panacea that people wanted to believe it is.” She said solar is not a renewable energy and that child labor is used to mine the minerals to make solar panels. “It is not the government’s job to tell you to save energy,” she added.
We'll leave that for readers to unpack that one for themselves.
Related posts:
- Couldn't get to DC: Akland, Drazkowski, Franson, Gruenhagen, Lucero & Munson storm MN state capitol
- From the Journal of the House: Eight members protest & dissent those who signed Paxton letter
- Heartless in the heartland: Representative Mary Franson compares feeding food stamp recipients to feeding wild animals
- Mary Franson to bring top conservative plagiarist to state office building free lunch for legislators
- Feeding the meme: Mary Franson, "Box Turtle Ben" and the politics of post-moronic mean
Photo: State representative Mary Franson speaking on the floor of the Minnesota House.
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