Early Friday morning, I posted Town hall with "garbage" constituents? Heavens no. But Center of American Experiment will interview Fischbach March 20 in Ottertail about protests spawned by Minnesota Seventh District US Representative Michelle Fischbach's inability to hold a town hall open to the public.
And her response to the protests: calling the people in the street "garbage," not district residents, while claiming "outsiders" are organizing the protests.
At the most recent protest in Willmar, those standing up to her indifference held signs noting where they lived in the district.
But she is appearing at a private event at a private location in the district on March 20 sponsored by the metro-based Center of the American Experiment, admission $10.
Since posting the article, friends have shared more responses to her absence and reaction.
West Central Tribune Opinion: Rep. Fischbach should listen to, not trash-talk her constituents
The editorial board held no punches in Friday's editorial, Rep. Fischbach should listen to, not trash-talk her constituents:
It has been made explicitly clear U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn., does not want to hear from all her constituents.
In fact, after recent protests outside the representative’s 7th District field offices in Willmar and Moorhead, the representative called the protests “garbage” and claimed the protesters were “paid” and were “not from the Seventh District.”
To quote the representative, as reported by a Fargo-Moorhead radio station on Feb. 27: “I got protesters at my offices now in the district (7), and I’m sure someone is financing that garbage. When the paper reports on it, I want them to ask them where they are from, because I’m betting money they’re not from the Seventh District.”
. . . Fischbach wrote in her recent newsletter: “The radical Left is unhinged, and they’re coming after me and my staff. Indivisible and MoveOn, Soros-funded Democrat attack groups, have organized protests outside my office offices in Willmar and Moorhead. They’re the same activists who claim to ‘defend democracy,’ but what they really want is to silence conservatives and bully anyone who stands with President Trump. With these recent demonstrations, it seems they’ve dusted off their 2017 protest handbook and are back in action, staging mob-style tantrums because they can’t stand that we’re taking real action to clean up the mess in Washington. Their attacks against me are misinformed, sneering, and vicious.”
Her criticism of constituents who do not agree with her is not new. She seldom talks to 7th District constituents who criticize her and favors those who support her and pat her on the back. That was one of the many reasons she did not earn a 2024 re-election endorsement from our company’s FCC Editorial Advisory Board. . . .
There doesn't seem to be a paywall up on the editorial, so go read the entire editorial at the West Central Tribune. The Tribune is part of the Forum Communications network of newspapers, headquartered in Fargo, though this editorial was the product of the local editors.
On Saturday morning, the Minnesota Star Tribune's Sydney Kashiwagi reported in Calls for GOP to hold town halls grow as Trump reshapes Washington:
In Moorhead and Willmar, hundreds have been protesting outside Rep. Michelle Fischbach’s district offices and in the street calling on her to talk to them about what’s happening to the federal government under Trump.
Similar protests have drawn dozens in New Ulm and Rochester in front of Rep. Brad Finstad’s district offices and more outside of Rep. Pete Stauber’s office in Hermantown. . . .
A sidenote: Bluestem is told that this poster is showing up on doors in the St. Peter/North Mankato area, though my source didn't know who was putting them up:
...Calls for Minnesota’s four Republicans to hold town halls come as GOP leadership has been advising lawmakers against holding them in person amid recent hostile receptions for some party members. . . .
Fischbach declined to comment about the protests in her district when approached on Capitol Hill. But she, too, questioned whether the protesters were from her district during a radio interview. “I’m betting money they’re not from the 7th District,” Fischbach said.
Rita Buntje said that’s not true.
“We are not paid activists. We are not from outside her district. We want to talk to her, and we want to have a town hall,” said Buntje, a Spicer resident and organizer at Indivisible Kandiyohi County, which was behind the recent Willmar protest.
Holding a sign at the Willmar protest critical of Trump, Fischbach and tech billionaire Elon Musk, who’s been leading the efforts to dramatically cut the federal government, Jane Emberland of Willmar said: “Trump is controlling Fischbach, who is not serving us.”
State Sen. Robert J. Kupec, a Democrat from Moorhead, said he recognized almost every person he saw in the photo of the protest at Fischbach’s district office in Moorhead.
Kupec held two town halls of his own this year, which he said were widely attended and dominated by questions about Trump and Washington’s impact on Minnesota.
I recommend reading the comments on the article at the Strib. Folks aren't happy with their representatives.
The article isn't the first time that the Strib noticed the Republicans' vanishing act. On Thursday, one of the paper's Greater Minnesota columnists noted in Keith Ellison met with constituents in Trump-voting farm country. It was civil.:
DONNELLY, MINN. – Keith Ellison did Tuesday what fewer and fewer politicians seem to want to do nowadays.
The Minnesota attorney general met with his constituents.
And not just any constituents. These constituents included calloused, weather-beaten farmers in deep-red western Minnesota, more accustomed to harvesting corn than mingling with Twin Cities liberals.
Ellison did not shy away from the obvious political differences between him and many of those who gathered in a chilly farm shed in Stevens County on Tuesday. His mission was to talk about how industry consolidation is hurting farmers. . . .
These are the kind of quick give-and-take conversations that connect the public to the people who represent them.
During the health-care debate in the late 2000s, then-U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson held town meetings on the topic throughout his district. The one I went to in Bemidji was packed, and everybody got a chance to speak. Passions ran high, and the line to comment snaked out the door, but Peterson stayed through the entire thing. You felt heard. Like your opinion mattered.
On the other hand, Rep. Michelle Fischbach, who replaced him, rarely — if ever — holds town hall meetings. Last week, she dismissed constituent protests outside her offices in Moorhead and Willmar as “garbage.”
People in her district have been agitating for her to hold town hall meetings. . . .
Why they don’t seem to want to hear from constituents is a mystery, given that they are Republicans in very conservative districts. It’s almost like they’re afraid to face the public about their vote to cut Medicaid.
Jeepers.
Finally, the image at the top of this post is drawn from a DFL Party Facebook post:
It's worth clicking through and reading the comments on the partisan social media.
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.
Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email [email protected] as recipient.
I'm on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6
Comments