Tag Archives: Scott Jensen

Is the Jensen-Birk Campaign Minnesota’s WOAT?

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RELEASE: Birk to Join Dr. Scott Jensen's Gubernatorial Team

Despite cruising at freeway speeds, I had the camera ready to snap a shot of the giant billboard hanging over the I-35W/I-35E interchange up by Forest Lake. I had blown by it a couple times before without getting a shot and was determined not to screw up again.

But it was gone. Replaced. And it wasn’t even Labor Day.

What was it? What did it say? It was a Jensen-Birk campaign ad, in Golden Gopher colors, with their two smiling faces and a tag line that read, “For lower gas prices.”

That’s right, folks. Vote for those two and they’ll bring down the price of gas. Because? Well, maybe because they’re on a first name basis with the Saudis and can convince them to pump more oil to Minnesota. Or maybe it’s just another thing they (very) clumsily hope/assume their voters are dumb enough to believe.

My blogging compadre, Joe Loveland, aka El Jefe, covered the miserable-to-dire state of the Jensen-Birk campaign in his last post, so I won’t retrace his steps. Other than to add this … even by the deeply debased standards of our Peak Polarization era, these two, a (presumably) licensed physician and a Harvard graduate are engaged in one of, if not the most, inept political campaign our fine state has seen since Harold Stassen’s 13th or 14th gubernatorial runs.

Like many of you, I often ask myself, and hear the question asked by others, “Do you think they really believe any of this [bleep]?” The “they” usually being Trump-era Republicans defending the indefensible or blithering about the tinfoil hat conspiracy theory du jour. (You’re following the latest? How the real issue with Trump stealing and hiding Top Secret nuclear documents is … the FBI and DOJ leaks about it?)

To many, politics is all about winning, so it hardly matters what you believe. That is not a news flash. Politics is a sales game. You say whatever you think you need to close the deal. We all get that.

But as with so many other examples, the equivalency factor — where “they all do it” — things are gravely, absurdly, farcically distorted in our current era. True, every year Democrats will warn voters that Republicans are coming to take away their Medicare and Social Security. But when you’ve got characters like U.S. Senators Ron Johnson and Rick Scott saying essentially that, the worst you can give Democrats is One Pinocchio. Because it’s, y’know … kinda … not-so-remotely … possible.

But Jensen and Birk. OMG.

I’ve met Birk — the Harvard grad and ex-football player. Casual event. Cordial conversation. He presents well. He’s upright, groomed, doesn’t drool and speaks in complete sentences. But, good lord, what is he possibly thinking when he spins out medieval, fundamentalist Mormon idiocy like how liberal culture promoting abortion rights encourages women “to have careers?”

You could have flunked out of North Pokegama Community Tech and known that “the gals” — 51.7% of the state’s workforce — would hear a line like that and think, “What a [bleeping] idiot.”

Then just recently Birk, who may have impulse control issues, took the bait in a Twitter war with the well-known, and very publicly reformed-Republican insider, Michael Brodkorb. Responding to Brodkorb’s entirely fair observation that current polling looks bad for Jensen-Birk, the Harvard grad blasted back, “Michael – never heard of you so I looked you up. Google says your expertise is in adulterous affairs and driving while drunk – nothing about politics. Might want to sit this one out bud.”

Again … OMG.

And have I mentioned Jensen comparing to the Walz administered COVID lockdown to … the Holocaust?

Much like bringing down the price of gas — (the cheaper for Birk to commute back to his gated, $4 million Naples, Florida home) — Jensen and Birk, chastened by the national blowback to the repeal of Roe v Wade, are now all over crime, and how “Walz failed.”

Crime of course is a campaign standard, like cutting taxes (and Jensen has … wait for it … vowed to eliminate Minnesota income taxes). But what sort of potential voter actually believes they could do anything to stop (gang banging) gun violence? I mean without serious gun reform?

More to my point here, what level of cognition are educated guys like Jensen and Birk projecting on their ideal persuadable voter?

Answer: Only angry fools would actually buy what they’re selling. Which is why they’re exuding a palpable scent of contempt for the voters they’re appealing to.

The Jensen-Birk miasma is of course a new standard in Republican campaigns. And it flows downhill from the master.

As a recent Politico piece, titled, “How Trump Taught Everybody to Be Obnoxious and Cruel” said, “… [it] might be that Trump is not the cause of the new crudeness and rudeness of contemporary politics — just an especially florid manifestation of much deeper trends. The paradox of modern technology, especially as harnessed by social media, is that it is especially proficient in unleashing primitive dimensions of human character. That suggests a renaissance of insult, indignation and conspiracy theory — the signatures of the politics of contempt — is going to be with us for a long time to come no matter what happens to Trump.”

A lot of campaigns are not ready for prime time. But Jensen-Birk are sliding into a rarefied zone, especially since they can’t explain away their astonishing blundering and crudeness to a lack of quality formal education.

Which leaves me only to mention … Judy Dutcher. The DFL’s 2006 lieutenant governor candidate is credited for sinking Mike Hatch’s race against Tim Pawlenty with one … one … screw up. Not a half dozen every day.

On Election “Cheating” Charge, Scott Jensen Should Be forced To Put Up Or Shut Up

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It’s one thing to lie for political gain.  That happens all the time. But until Donald Trump became a political figure, it was almost unheard of for politicians to incite angry mobs with unsubstantiated calls to jail political opponents. 

But the disease of authoritarianism is contagious.

Recently, the Star Tribune obtained an audio recording documenting GOP gubernatorial nominee Scott Jensen sounding like a whole lot like a dictator.

Speaking April 23 at the Minnesota Third Congressional District Republican organizing convention in Plymouth, Jensen sparked loud cheers from the crowd when he warned that “the hammer’s coming down” on Simon, a DFLer.

“We are not voter suppressors. We have a simple attitude: Make sure that every ballot in the box belongs there. Make sure that it’s easy to vote, hard to cheat, and if you cheat, you’re going to jail,” Jensen said. “And Steve Simon, you maybe better check out to see if you look good in stripes, because you’ve gotten away with too much, too long under [Minnesota Attorney General Keith] Ellison, and the hammer’s coming down.”

Understandably, this Putin-esque moment in a state whose residents can’t stop telling the world how “nice” it is made national news. The audio shows that Jensen is stooping as low it takes to win authoritarian-loving Trump voters who get aroused bellowing “lock him up” about anyone with differing views.

Just because Jensen looks at first glance like a kindly made-for-TV doctor doesn’t mean this isn’t scary stuff. When a politician becomes willing to act like an authoritarian in order to appeal to voters with authoritarian instincts, that politician has become an authoritarian.

At the risk of becoming Secretary of State Simon’s cellmate, I must point out that Trump did lose. In fact, he lost “bigly,” by 7 million popular votes and 74 electoral votes, the largest popular vote loss by an incumbent president since Herbert Hoover. In 2020, Trump lost by the same margin that Trump in 2016 characterized as a “landslide.” Trump’s 2020 loss has been upheld by dozens of Republican election officials and Republican-appointed judges.

Given all of that, what exactly has Simon “gotten away with,” to use Jensen’s vague language? He is simply telling the truth about Trump’s substantial 2020 loss. There are no credible facts indicating any law-breaking by Simon. There is no evidence of mass voter fraud happening under Simon’s watch.

During the worst pandemic in a century, Simon oversaw a state electoral system that produced the best turnout of any state in the nation. The Minnesota Republican party’s standard bearer really thinks he should be jailed for that?

An accusation this baseless and irresponsible should not be shrugged off by political reporters, or treated as a “one and done” story. This is not some innocent gaffe about a harmless issue. Reporters should be following up to demand that Jensen either 1) produce evidence substantiating his allegations and file charges or 2) publicly correct the record and apologize for his outrageous recklessness.

I can already feel the whataboutism coming my way from conservative trolls, so let me add that this standard absolutely should also apply to any Democratic office holder who calls for jailing of opponents without supporting evidence.

While some Democrats have called for jailing Trump and Trump officials, they have done so pointing to a mountain of credible evidence (e.g. a Trump signed hush money check to Stormy, financial documents filed in court indicating manipulation of asset values to commit tax fraud, etc.) and, in many cases, formal investigations and court filings (e.g. the 19 legal actions pending against Trump). With the Simon allegations, nothing of the sort exists.

With an allegation and call to action this dangerous, the guardians of democracy in the fourth estate have an obligation to make Jensen “put up or shut up.”

Think about it this way: If a politician witnessed a rape, carjacking or murder, and could identify the wrongdoers but opted to not to file charges, their refusal would be, quite justifiably, huge news. That politician rightfully would be held accountable for not doing his or her civic duty in order to protect the public from further harm.

On the other hand, if follow-up reporting uncovered that this politician’s version of the alleged violent crime was bogus, that also would and should be banner headline news.

The same should hold true with these allegations of mass voter fraud. Jensen is accusing Simon of destroying the most important thing in our beloved representative democracy — free and fair elections. If someone elected to run elections really did somehow defile America’s democratic crown jewel, he should be punished to the full extent of the law.

But again, where is Jensen’s evidence of that crime? Where are Jensen’s formal charges that can be scrutinized in an independent judicial proceeding? If neither evidence nor charges are forthcoming, where is Jensen’s unambiguous correction and apology?

And finally, and importantly, where is the follow-up reporting that a democracy needs to survive this growing tide of demagoguery and authoritarianism?

Lt. Governor Matt Birk? We Need to Know a Lot More

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Former Minnesota State Senator Scott Jensen (R-Chaska) announced who he believes is the second most qualified Minnesotan, after him, to run Minnesota’s state government during very challenging times.  Jensen picked — fake gjallarhorn, please! — the Minnesota Vikings’ former Center Matt Birk. 

A celebrity! Intriguing! Fresh!

An all-white male ticket! That has got to be first for Republicans, right?

Predictably, the Birk announcement got a lot of uncritical news coverage in Minnesota, particularly from local TV and radio newsrooms.  These are some of the same jock sniffers who spend roughly one-third of most news broadcasts building up local athletes as heroes.

And who knows, the Birk stunt just might work, politically speaking.  After all, this is a state that “shocked the world” and elected an outlandish and churlish former fake wrestler, and then was shocked when he turned out to be an outlandish and churlish fake Governor.

To be fair, Birk is certainly no Ventura. The Saint Paul native is Harvard educated, and not clownish like Ventura . He’s also done a lot of admirable charitable work in the community. On many levels, I admire him.

But he’s applying to be Governor, and he is largely an unknown quantity on policy issues. So maybe the local media should pump the breaks just a bit on the Birk bandwagon. You know, like maybe ask him a few questions about his actual plans and positions? 

Reasons for Skepticism

Here’s a few reasons why skepticism is warranted:

He’s an Extremist Abortion Banner.  One of the few Birk policy positions we know about is that he supports overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy.  Birk feels so strongly about this that he refused to join his Baltimore Ravens teammates in being honored at the White House, because Birk would have had to stand in proximity with then-President Barack Obama, who opposes overturning Roe.  

Citizen Birk obviously had every right to express that opinion. But he is now applying to be Lieutenant Governor for all of Minnesota, and this position puts him at odds with the a huge majority of the people he seeks to represent. Surveys show that two-thirds (67%) of Minnesotans oppose overturning Roe. 

At a time when it looks likely that the court is about to overturn Roe and start allowing state governments to take away women’s abortion rights, Birk’s refusal to listen to two-thirds of his constituents on this timely issue is a particularly big deal.

He’s an Extremist Marriage Equality Banner.  Abortion isn’t the only issue where Birk is out of step with a majority of Minnesotans. In 2012, he very actively campaigned in favor of the Minnesota Marriage Amendment that would have changed the Minnesota constitution to specifically prohibit marriage equality for same-sex couples. 

Once again, Birk is on the right wing fringe, ignoring the opinions of two-thirds of his would-be constituents. A 2018 poll shows 67 percent of Minnesotans support same sex marriage. 

Birk’s positions on abortion rights and marriage equality would seem to portend how he would come down on other socially conservative changes being pushed by the far-right, such as book banning and “don’t say gay” laws.

He’s Unqualified for the Job. Then there’s the small matter of qualifications. Birk currently has as much directly relevant experience to be a heartbeat away from the top position in state government as current Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan has to be a professional football player.  

After electing a wealthy celebrity with no governing experience President blew up in the nation’s face, maybe we should be a little more cautious about hiring someone who has never done any actual state governance to lead a very complex $48.5 billion per biennium endeavor. How many times do we have to make this same mistake?

He’s Hitched His Wagon to a Extremist Quack.  Even if you like Birk as a player, philanthropist, and sports analyst, and I do, you should learn a little more about his running mate Scott Jensen before signing up to be a Jensen-Birk supporter.  

For instance, the non-partisan fact-checking organization Politifact cited Jensen as a major source of its 2020 “Lie of the Year 2020 about coronavirus downplaying and denial. This is arguably the most lethal political lie of our times, and Jensen played a very prominent and destructive role spreading it. 

Jensen also joined U.S. Capitol insurrectionist Simone Gold and others in suing the federal government to prevent children from receiving COVID-19 vaccines.

But apparently none of this bothered Birk.

COVID denial and anti-vax messaging earned Jensen a lot of love on Fox News and other far-right outlets, but now he is trying to win a plurality of votes in Minnesota, a state with the second highest rate or boosted residents, and where about three-fourths (74%) of voting age residents rejected Jensen’s ignorant, irresponsible medical quackery and got themselves vaccinated.

What We Don’t Know

Beyond the handful of issues cited here, Minnesotans have no idea where Birk stands on a whole host of other important issues. 

Paid family and medical leave?  Public funding for free birth control, which is proven to dramatically reduce unplanned pregnancies and abortions?  Giving Minnesotans the option to buy into MinnesotCare?  Prayer in public schools? Which religion’s prayer? Taxpayers subsidizing billionaire sports team owners’ stadiums?  Making the wealthiest 1% of Minnesotans, which includes Birk, pay higher taxes to fund education improvements?  Accepting Obamacare funding for Medicare expansion in Minnesota? Maintaining the MNsure Obamacare insurance exchange? “Don’t say gay” laws to punish teachers who mention gay people in school? Allowing parents to ban books from school libraries? 

In addition, the state where a majority (52.4%) of 2020 voters rejected Trump should know whether Birk voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020, and whether he plans to vote for the insurrection inciter in 2024.  We also must know whether Birk supports the Big Lie that Trump didn’t lose the 2020 election.

I’m very interested to know the answers to these questions. Is Birk Trumpy enough to win far-right primary votes, but too Trumpy to win swing voters in the general election? Or will Birk expose himself to be insufficiently Trumpy, and subsequently be a “kiss of death” for Jensen in the primaries, where Trump loyalists are dominant and demand total obedience.

To be clear, I deeply respect the man’s ability to calmly read a defense with another man’s hands nestled firmly in his buttocks. Skol!

But maybe Minnesotans deserve to know more about Matt Birk than that.