MN-08: Is Rep. Stauber right in his head?
I reside in MN-08, and I’ve repeatedly voted against Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN), who first won the seat in 2018. This time, with the way this election is shaping up overall, there’s a pretty good chance that my vote will be in a winning cause.
Some things about his behavior lately have garnered notice. For an appearance at Farmfest he made a sartorial choice that I would characterize, in context, as distinctly odd. Even downright bizarre.
(I got the image from the Metro CD8 Indivisible group on Facebook. Also, for the heck of it I’m throwing in a link to my second-favorite AC/DC song. It’s less well-known than my favorite, “Whole Lotta Rosie.”)
The shirt is understandable in a way. Remember how the 2022 election was supposed to be a mega-triumph for Republicans, given then-President Biden’s approval numbers? But while it wasn’t the only factor, Trump’s hidden voters (so-called because they don’t participate when someone tries to poll them) didn’t show up, and the result was in some ways the best midterm performance for a president’s party since 1934. Many Republicans in Congress, obviously including Stauber, know that they have to get those hidden voters out this time to avoid being crushed. Plenty of them are twenty-something incel misogynists who aren’t having an easy time in life when it comes to realizing whatever goals they may have. Trying to appeal to them by dressing like they supposedly do is an obvious ploy. Though I don’t know that many listen to AC/DC, who while they remain a major live draw during their occasional tours peaked commercially in the early 1980s.
Then there was this, also at Farmfest, which all in all he probably should have skipped:
“You have no idea what Congressman Emmer is dealing with right now,” Stauber said in a serious tone. “If you did you would have never made that comment. He is fighting for his damn life today.”
Stauber left the event without taking questions…
Stauber’s office issued a statement later that contradicted the congressman’s earlier statement. According to the Star Tribune, the written Stauber statement put out after the initial comment had spread said, “Rep. Emmer is not fighting for his life. He had a series of foot surgeries.”
(MPR)
Stauber has acknowledged having had long COVID. He says he’s over it, but given the above you have to wonder if there’s still some brain fog. And whether anyone on his staff tried to talk him out of that shirt.
Stauber’s claim to accomplishment in Congress is the crap the US Senate pulled on Twin Metals and the BWCA. That actually happened primarily because of Trump’s corrupt relationship with Antofagasta’s boss. Note that Minnesota’s near-certain next governor, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) – and by “near-certain” I mean the only thing that will have a chance of preventing it will be something like an asteroid strike – opposes Twin Metals despite being wishy-washy on sulfide mining overall. She wouldn’t be doing that if it wasn’t the politically safe place to be.
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