Very interesting article, well written.
If Stauber beats Radinovich, it won't be because Stauber opposes abortion rights. It will be because of timber/steel jobs.
If the DEMs want to win this one they need to find a way to support people who are losing jobs in those kinds of industries. In some cases it comes down to local and national regulations. In other cases it's due to global business trends. DEMs need to be sharp at explaining the roots of the problem to citizens and helping citizens weather the economic changes. In some cases, that means promoting industry. In other cases, like coal, which is simply going away due to global trends, it means being very visible in smoothing the transition.
Play up the role of unions and workers rights. Show people how the owners very rarely suffer, and often gain, when they shut down their local businesses, by moving their capital to overseas locations where they can take advantage of cheaper labor.
That's what happened to the Pacific Northwest lumber industry.
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It took the author 18 paragraphs to even mention Joe Radinovich? I'm inspired to make another contribution to Joe Rad....this born and bred Iron Ranger hopes everyone remembers what the DFL has done for them over the years. There's a reason the district has not gone Republican for 75 years (with a two year exception....).
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The comments regarding this article surprised me (a bit); what ever happened to common-sense democrats? Trump has got his opponents/detractors on their heels and their response is to become unhinged. It's not an attractive strategy; it reeks of desperation and deranged emotion.
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A Republican always runs as a polo shirt wearing Everyman who shakes every hand. Then they get elected, and put on on suit and the standard issue rubber stamp appears in hand.
But hey, if Trump is working in this district, please proceed registered voters.
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Pete Stauber, as one of the local tea party founders, is on the extreme end of the Stauber family, which runs the political spectrum. The “smart enough to keep his mouth shut” comment in the article says it all. The only check on Trump’s corrupt administration that this guy would know how to do would be on a hockey rink.
As an aside, the article should be corrected to say that Radinovich opposes the Trump administration’s sledgehammer approach to steel tariffs, citing the Obama administration’s highly focused use of steel tariffs as far more effective.
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Radinovich got the nomination with the help of his political cronies from Minneapolis who were able to torpedo the Democrats strongest candidate Leah Phifer. She was the best hope for the Dems to hold the district but Radinovich played dirty by bringing in his friends from outside the district to bad mouth her. There is obviously more to this story and I would encourage the NYT to report on it.
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Republican’s have made an art form of convincing people to vote against their own best interests.
“Union Republican” is an oxymoron. The destruction of organized labour is a cornerstone of Republican political philosophy. But then, this isn’t really about that for these all white Americans, is it.
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I hope he wins so that Minnesota gets the representation it deserves in a New Democratic Congress. No seniority and out of power.
3
Why give so much attention to one supposed bright spot in a party that consistently - up and down the aisles of congress - supports an unhinged, crooked, fascist president?
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The story neglects to mention another reason why Trumpist Stauber is smirking in the first photo. He is benefiting from the presence of one of those Quixotic "purity" third party progressive candidates in the race who has absolutely no chance of receiving more than a few percentage points of the vote, but who will almost exclusively siphon votes from progressive Democrat Joe Radinovich. In a close race, that's enough to make a difference.
And speaking of the first photo, note the name on the poster below Stauber's: Doug Wardlow. Wardlow is running for Attorney General in Minnesota. Do a search on "Wardlow" and "second unwritten constitution", and prepare to be stunned. This is the Republican Party in a nutshell, with the emphasis on "nut".
Sorry, but Stauber cannot separate himself from what the Republican Party and Trump represent.
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@Larry M
Those "purity" third party progressive candidates are largely funded by Republican operatives. It's so transparent.
Who falls for those "candidates"?
3
"union Republican”? Does anyone really buy that? I will grant that Democrats have not covered themselves in glory protecting unions, but Republicans are not hiding their success at destroying unions (remember PATCO).
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These parts of the country used to be counted on for moderation, good of the country over party agendas, compromise, civility and extremism. I hope whom ever is elected supporters pragmatic solutions for border security, sound immigration policy, securing SS & Medicare, tax policy that supports a trajectory toward fiscal sustainability.
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Let’s get one thing straight. There isn’t a single Republicant with a “ram-road straight bearing” anymore. Not one. Bret Stephens. Nope.
You either think that cheating on your spouse and paying off people is good or you don’t. You either believe that all citizens should pay their fair share of taxes or you don’t. You either think that lying is right or it’s wrong. You either believe in accepting responsibility for your actions or you cast blame and dispersion. You either acknowledge the role that a free press has in our democracy or you attack them nonstop and hedge when one of your business partners murders a journalist in their embassy.
You can’t be a supporter of Trump and claim to have a “ram-road straight bearing”. It’s simply not possible.
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@T. Rivers You either acknowledge the crimes of socialism and communism or you don’t. You either believe in innocent until proven guilty or you don’t. You either stand with victims of radical Islam or you don’t. You either believe that free speech is free or you don’t. See? Two can play this game. I am neither a Republican nor a Trump supporter. But I am sick of Democrats’ claiming high moral ground when they are just as guilty of obfuscation and double-speak as the other side. Political issues are complex and never black and white. If you can’t see shades of gray, you are the problem.
7
How is promoting violence against reporters or violence of any kind presidential? This comes after a terrifying murder of a journalist at the Washington Post living in America? The jokey assertion not to mess with the government is dictatorship. How funny is that.
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How "nice" this guy is isn't really the issue; he's a Trump supporter, which means he is opposed to the US constitution and all that has made our country great. A vote for Stauber is a vote for divisiveness, corruption, and oligarchy.
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