Just before Vice President Mike Pence gave a speech in Duluth on Friday, the Trump campaign released a letter from six mayors in northeast Minnesota endorsing the president for re-election. It was meant to illustrate the Iron Range’s rightward shift from a Democratic stronghold to a source of votes Republicans hope will help them flip Minnesota red in the November election.
The mayors — from Virginia, Chisholm, Ely, Two Harbors, Eveleth and Babbitt — together accused Joe Biden of doing “nothing to help the working class,” in part by supporting “bad trade deals.” (For instance: Many on the Iron Range strongly opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership under President Barack Obama. President Donald Trump scrapped the proposed deal.)
In an interview Monday, Larry Cuffe, the mayor of Virginia, described himself as a “lifelong Democrat.” Cuffe was first elected mayor in 2014 after a stint on the city council. He spent 30 years as a police officer, retiring in 2010 as an investigator for the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Department. He said his first vote for any Republican was Trump, whom he endorsed in 2016 along with several of the other mayors who signed the letter Friday.
Since then, Cuffe has broadly supported the GOP. He twice endorsed Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber for the 8th Congressional District seat, and is now backing GOP Senate candidate Jason Lewis over incumbent DFLer Tina Smith.
What changed? Cuffe said Republicans are stronger supporters of iron mining and two proposed copper-nickel mines, issues that have at times split Democrats. The mayor said Virginia’s economy is heavily dependent on mining and health care. But Cuffe also said the GOP aligns with his anti-abortion views and pro-gun ownership views.
The mining industry has not always thrived under Trump. As demand for steel dropped while governors across the country shuttered businesses to curb the spread of COVID-19, four of the region’s six taconite mines laid off more than 1,800 workers. About 4,000 people work at the mines. The industry has since bounced back, though U.S. Steel’s Keetac mine remains idled.
MinnPost talked with Cuffe to learn more about his continued support for Trump and his criticisms of Biden. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
MinnPost: A lot of people credit the Obama administration for 2016 tariffs that were aimed at stopping steel dumping for sparking revival on the Iron Range. Given your Trump endorsement, how would you respond to that?
Larry Cuffe: I know that President Obama, at the request of (former) Congressman (Rick) Nolan, they brought up his chief of staff, (Denis) McDonough, who was from this area, to hear out all the mining executives and of course some of the elected officials. I was fortunately one who was invited to listen to what they had to say and talk about mining and how that works. And they had the tariffs that were put on. I think tariffs are important from a temporary perspective. I don’t think broad tariffs on a permanent basis could be helpful long term for the economy, at least that’s what economists say. They’re put in place to correct a specific issue. So tariffs across the board probably aren’t good but tariffs for some individual specific things, for sure, for a time, are. And so tariffs brought forth in a variety of areas can be helpful.
MP: So you think that was a positive development?
LC: I think so, yes.
MP: I ask because in your endorsement letter, it says Joe Biden did nothing to help the working class. And Democrats have used the Obama administration’s tariffs to critique that. Do you give any credit to Biden or do you not trust that he would continue to do things like that if he was elected?
LC: Well, my opinion is that the working class right now was suffering as a result of when President Obama and Vice President Biden were in. Part of the working class up here suffered significantly. I mean, it was only in the last part of his term that the tariffs took hold. And during the whole time … our iron industry was suffering. We weren’t running on full tilt. Our economic engine wasn’t running. The mining companies, they don’t pay property taxes here. They pay a production tax to the state and we get money from the state for the production tax. So the less production, the less tax revenue we get and therefore the less, the rest of the economy suffers. And when they’re in the ancillary employment that supports mining, there were a lot of people laid off as a result of that.
There is the ups and downs in mining. I don’t begrudge, I don’t say President Obama, Vice President Biden, that it was their fault. I just said it was a product of not having those tariffs in place or addressing those in 2008, 2009, 2010 and in 2011.
MP: I know at one point during the pandemic, there were more than a thousand people out of work at the taconite mines because of the economic slowdown during the pandemic. The U.S. in many measures is doing poorly handling the disease. Do you fault the federal government and President Trump at all for the mining slowdown?
LC: My view is the pandemic caused that. I mean, when people get sick, rules are put in place trying to protect the general population from a pandemic, which is a rare occurrence. Whether it’s President Trump and Vice President Pence, or whether it was President Obama or Vice President Biden, this is a pandemic that had to be handled and I don’t think it was mishandled.
I mean, you have to react based upon what you have, and you look at what your reserves are. And when you look at the reserves being depleted with the [N95 respirator masks] back when we had that big H1N1 flu epidemic, when President Obama was in place, there were [respirators] that did not get replaced. Well, you can’t blame President Obama for that either.
So I don’t blame President Trump. I think they did the best they can to try to handle this pandemic and then accelerated and brought to bear all the doctors and the researchers and the scientists in order to fight this thing to try to find a way in which to move forward. And when you lay out some rules and regulations, stipulations regarding the pandemic, it’s up to the citizenry, it’s up to the people in the communities to abide by those things. …
And now the mines have made an adjustment, they’re up and running almost full bore right now. And so our sales tax revenue is where it’s supposed to be now, which was newly established to put a new convention center in. And so we’re moving forward with that.
MP: In your letter, it says the Iron Range is “roaring back to life.” What did you mean by that?
LC: I believe it’s roaring back because now that the mining companies — and there are several mines around this area — … they’re all fully operational. They’re operating at full capacity and they’re driving the rest of the economy because mining of course is the economic driver for this area and all the ancillary services that go along with mining — the parts (industry), the services, the grocery stores, the retail spaces, all benefit as a result of the vibrancy of the mining industry, which increases our labor force here. And so I think that’s what we meant by roaring back from where it was before.
MP: What’s one example of a policy that President Trump supports that you believe would help the Iron Range should he be re-elected? Is there something he has specifically advocated for in his second term that you feel would be crucial for the Iron Range?
LC: Well I keep harping on the mining industry, but he’s a strong supporter of fossil fuels. And I believe that we have to rely on fossil fuels (to power mining), at least in the short term and in the near future, until we find a biomass or some other alternative system, that might be effective to the point where it can provide all those services. We’re not there yet.
He supports fossil fuels, he supports hard rock mining. He supports the precious metal (copper-nickel) mining. He supports the delivery of oil as part of an economic driver, the Line 3 pipeline, which is already in place, all they have to do is replace it. And so he supports all those issues and those help our economy. And so I think if I had to pick one thing — I can give you other issues about the platform itself — but that helps the Iron Range significantly.
MP: What else do you want people to know?
LC: I can just tell you that as a lifelong Democrat and most of us … it’s about the Democratic platform now as opposed to what the Democratic platform was 15 years ago. We have our elected officials here who basically have the same values that are currently displayed in the Republican platform. I can just give you the example that we support our police officers and our military veterans. In fact, all around the city of Virginia, there are signs that are in people’s yards that were purchased by a group of business owners that said support law enforcement and first responders. That’s a big deal for even our elected officials, our Democratic officials.
Then the support for mining is very strong within our Democratic electorate up here. And I’m going to give you one example: Tom Bakk, who was a carpenter’s union representative, was elected as a (state) senator. And he was the majority leader. And then when the Democrats lost the Senate, the minority leader. And he has been ousted as the (Senate) minority leader of the state of Minnesota. And he was … a very strong supporter for the Iron Range. And we supported him 100 percent and continue to do so. But he lost his chairmanship, purely because of mining.
And then there’s a strong belief in the Second Amendment, the right not only to bear arms, but to keep arms. And then the late-term abortion, right to life thing … So there’s a lot of things. … For the most part we kind of have the credo that we stand for our flag and we kneel to pray. You know, where there’s a really strong support for America, standing for the flag and what the flag represents. And not using the flag as a tool to dishonor our country.
MP: So you’re going to vote for Pete Stauber, and you’re going to vote for Trump. Are you going to vote for longtime incumbent Democrat David Tomassoni for state Senate?
LC: Yep.
MP: How come?
LC: Well because I’ve known him for a lot of years and he stands for those principles we just talked about. I’m not a full ticket Republican moving forward. If there was a Republican candidate that I thought was a better candidate, I would consider voting for him. But Sen. Tomassoni has been there for a long time, he’s supported the Iron Range, he stands for these principles that we all stand for up here.
A nice demonstration of two things: First, Intellectual incoherence; and second, “All politics is local.”
Funny, I’ve been saying folks who vote Democrat up here on the Range believe in 2nd amendment, are pro life, are pro police, pro mining, pro blue collar work ethic, believe in education and believe in hard work….. Why would they vote Democrat? I guess they have seen the light!
Except that this part of the state is heavily subsidized by the metro. They are just lying to themselves.
That’s a fascinating non sequitur.
Are you saying if they believe in 2nd amendment, are pro life, are pro police, pro mining, pro blue collar work ethic, believe in education and believe in hard work they should not share in any Minnesota tax money that comes from the metro area?
As a former SP resident, I disagree 1000%.
I don’t mind sharing. I just don’t like the outstate resentment of the metro, when its people here who have to work extra hard to subsidize people in places like Virginia. Spare us the hard work/work-ethic nonsense. And spare us the pro life, pro education nonsense too.
So, it’s “Keep your opinions to yourself, or no funding”?
The US Constitution called; it want’s it’s 1st Amendment back.
I’ll trade you the First Amendment for a couple of apostrophes.
You know that Pat’s opinion is just that, right? It’s the opinion of a private individual which does not implicate the First Amendment – you got that, right?
Frankly, I don’t see the problem with calling out the hypocrisy of Rangers who rail about the Cities of the Plain while accepting our tax money. It kind of makes them look less like paragons of virtue and self-reliance they may want to believe they are.
“Frankly, I don’t see the problem with calling out the hypocrisy of Rangers who rail about the Cities of the Plain while accepting our tax money.”
You realize that all state income tax receipts go into the state’s general fund, and are redistributed to pay for public infrastructure and services, right? And since no one has a personal say in how it’s redistributed, disapproving of the behavior and decisions of people in another area in no way invokes hypocrisy, right?
Maybe the best course would be to let Pat speak for himself, right?
“And since no one has a personal say in how it’s redistributed, disapproving of the behavior and decisions of people in another area in no way invokes hypocrisy, right?”
Sorry, Dave, it does. You may not have a say in how money is redistributed, but you can recognize where it’s coming from.
Not Minneapolis or St Paul.
I’m guessing the two cities have more people that don’t pay taxes or are on the lower end of the rate
Look at what the state gives each student in metro schools compared to outside the metro.
The only reason the pay more is the sheer number of people.
The poverty rate in rural counties is 10.9%, vs. 9.1% in urban areas. The per capita income in Minneapolis is $40,772, while the per capita income of Virginia, MN is $27,693.
Minneapolis will receive $192 per capita in LGA from the State of Minnesota in 2020, while Virginia is receiving $681.
Well said.
Agree 1000% and that needs to stop. Tired of the Iron Range Welfare State. They need to learn that elections have consequences.
Is that why cities on the Iron Range are losing people? The population of Virginia has shown a decline in every census since 1960.
Joe, the “light” that some gullible people are seeing is desperate cultism brought on by the propaganda, extremism, and continuous lying by an impostor who has divided the Country like never before, brought back the 1918 pandemic, the ’29 recession, and the ’60’s race riots.
I think you are mistaking the 2nd Amendment as a responsibility-free right to risk others’ lives for your hobby and paranoia, pro-birth for “pro-life,” pro-white-advantage for pro-police, environmental irresponsibility for “pro mining,” “don’t make me learn anything new” for “pro blue collar work ethic,” right wing indoctrination for “education,”, and a willingness to lean on a shovel all day and expect a union wage for “hard work.” The world you’re trying to cling to is gone. The all white power structure you imagined you were part of never existed. And the wild hope that there won’t be consequences that will decimate Minnesota’s one true resource, water, will turn this green state into the kind of sewer that the coal mining and fracking states have become.
I think we have to re-define “Labor” and “labor.”
The big labor unions of today including Trades and Industrials, represent people who are well-paid, have benefits and and are part of the system. This is a largely white, socially conservative slice of ‘Murica that is defending their turf. They are allies of the BigCorp$ who employ them; their interests no longer converge with the great unwashed, rather, their interests are the same as their employers.
Traditional Labor is becoming a smaller % of the population over time.
Small “L” labor, on the other hand is the vast army of low-wage service and retail workers who are not represented to any high degree. This is about 50% of all the workers in the country.
Labor does NOT want labor to make inroads into their sandbox.
Labor is shifting to the GOP because their economic interests align with BigCorp$ and their social interests align with keeping minorities and the vast army of low-wage workers in their place.
Larry Cuffe is a liar. So I can see the Trump appeal.
Pretty strong comment without facts. I knew him as a police officer and you wouldn’t hold a candle to his integrity
That assumes you’re a good judge of integrity. Supporting conservativism, and Trump, calls that into serious question.
Given recent events, I wouldn’t be so quick to link “integrity” and “police”. It just defeats your argument.
I think the flipping of life long Democrats like Mayor Cuffe is the harbinger of thing to come in Minnesota. The urban areas are certainly more densely populated, but their power is diminished when the totality of the suburban/rural voters show up to the polls.
The mayor didn’t reference it, but added to the anti-business agenda, the destruction in St. Paul and Mpls might well be the straw that creates an historic flip for Minnesota to Red.
How do you characters not see that all of this urban “destruction” you whine about occurred under Trump’s mismanagement? It’s not Democrats who are mismanaging the nation so poorly that the economy is collapsing, the rule of law has vanished, and the country is being torn apart by an administration that advocates violence, corruption, and division.
Since the story is quite clear that the mayor previously voted for Trump, this isn’t about “flipping” “life-long” Dems.
He’s simply re-affirming in 2020 his past support for Trump, like most of the voters who thought an unqualified conman for president was the answer in 2016. Persisting in failure, a common occurrence…
As the Governor and Mayor of Minneapolis let the rioters burn down the city, the State took notice. There are consequences for inaction taken. The full force of those poor decisions will be felt in the fall election.
It’s objectively false to assert that “the Governor and Mayor of Minneapolis let the rioters burn down the city, . . .” They each took responsible and decisive action while also expressing sympathy with the protests and compassion for George Floyd and other victims of racist oppression. They performed above and beyond their duties: managing information, meeting and communicating with community and other political leaders and authorizing support for the Minneapolis and St. Pail police departments from other police departments and the National Guard when it became clear that they needed such support to maintain public safety. Public peace and order were restored and have been largely maintained. Whatever influence false assertions have in the November election is going to depend on the number of voters who are willing to ignore facts and the truth.
I agree. We used to spend quite a bit of time in the City. Some on St Paul. And money at hotels, sporting events, concerts, restaurants. Not anymore. Plus a great number of my peers are under the same opinion. Question is why would we?
Apply the “Whys” technique that is commonly used in industrial root cause analysis:
1. Rioting and looting occurred in Minneapolis. Why?
Because:
2. Protests occurred and spiraled out of control when anarchists and opportunists joined the protesters. Why?
Because:
3. Protests intensified. Why?
Because:
4. The four police officers involved in the death of an in-custody man were not immediately taken into protective custody. Why?
Because:
5. The Hennepin County Attorney did not immediately charge the four officers for use of force resulting in homicide. Why?
Because:
6. The Hennepin County Attorney has a history of not charging officers for misconduct. Why?
Because:
7. The Hennepin County Attorney defers misconduct oversight to the President of the Police Officers Federation. Why?
Because:
8. The President of the Police Officers Federation is immune from removal, except by vote of the Federation members. Why?
Because:
9. Minneapolis contract with MPD doesn’t allow removal of Federation President. Why?
Because:
10. ?
I like this… It would take pages and pages to answer them!
I was about to say that items 4 through 9 track Republican priorities pretty accurately, but it occurred to me that Republicans also appreciate items 1 through 3. Violent crimes and rioting – at least when done by the “near” people – are red meat for Trump and his base.
RB, the correct answer to the majority of the questions is the Mayor of Minneapolis and the City Council (Democrats for past 50 years) negotiated the police union contract allowing the behavior.
What would Republicans have done differently?
Bear in mind that law enforcement unions – outliers from mainstream organized labor – have long been supporters of Republicans.
How is this guy mayor of anything bigger than his back yard? Trump “did the best (he could) to handle this pandemic”? Really? Where did he collect that information? Cuffe conveniently ignores the fact that his buddy Trump tore up the plans for dealing with a pandemic that Biden and Obama created, then tried to ignore it because he didn’t want to deal with it. We are ALL living with the results of that incredibly irresponsible decision.
Cuffe says he supports the police. So do the great majority of people, but most of us recognize that people of color are treated fundamentally differently by the police and that needs to change.
Second amendment? No, the Democrats don’t want to take away your guns. We just want reasonable guidelines on purchasing them. We don’t see white militias as favorable neighbors in which to rise our families.
Cuffe needs to lift his eyes all the way to the horizon and smell the winds of change. Mining is finite, and damage to the Earth will outlast several generations of his neighbors.
We need to think as one Minnesota. We are not in competition with out state Minnesota. But this sort of drivel is very depressing for those of us who want to grow and move forward as a state. Cuffe and his ilk need to be put out to pasture.
Tom, what reasonable laws would you like on the books that is not already there?
I’ve asked the same question. Never have seen an answer that has any facts to support the lowering of gun violence. If there was, and didn’t violate my constitutional rights, I’d support it.
I’ll take a crack, tell me how a national registry of firearms, that does nothing but simply identify where, and under whose control a firearm SHOULD be, violates your constitutional rights. Responses without paranoid conspiracy theory only, please.
Right on Mr. Haas. The former second-in-command at the NRA has spoken out about the need for the NRA to go back to its gun safety origins and support gun registration and red flag laws.
WHY NOT?
Any objective observer has seen the NRA exploited for MONEY for the NRA and the lifestyles they enjoy off ordinary people’s dues. The same NRA exec says 1/3 of all dues collected today are being spent on legal fees.
I’d feel like a sucker if I thought my NRA dues gave ANY social benefit. They divide us the same way old men fight to force women to carry every fetus to term. It’s all to make them MONEY through wedge politics.
Yep – this One Minnesota thing is always, “Think how we think or shut the heck up.”
We’re seeing what Dem rule has brought, nothing but allowed destruction and chaos. And the funny part is that they point fingers at each other. Dems bring no ideas other than tax people and the ideas that they know more than anyone else.
This mayor – and many others like him – are telling you that the Dem Party is going so far left, their way of life is only supported by the man the left reviles to end. So instead of saying, “Hey, why is this mayor plus many others, going this path?” you demean him and insult his intelligence, just the same things many on this forum saying is wrong about conservatives. These people are showing what matters to them and not the usual identity and divisive politics that the Dem Party shows it is so very good at.
“We’re seeing what Dem rule has brought, nothing but allowed destruction and chaos.” No, what we’re seeing is that people like you have been programmed to blame “destruction and chaos” on the people who are not in power and when they were none of this happened. Your cult membership is showing and it should be embarrassing.
“Think how we think or shut the heck up.”
Said DJT as federal officers cleared peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square.
So, in other words,(well, the word that fits isn’t exactly suitable for a family publication) the honorable mayor is willing to “sell his services” to anyone willing to pay the toll for his limited range of priorities, regardless of any other consequences. Classy.
Blue Collar work ethic in Northern Minnesota? My cousin builds houses all throughout the north and would love to meet some of those folks, as it is he can’t seem to find anyone who lasts longer then the first pay check. I guess they work hard when you can get them to show up, or they have transportation, or as long as they keep their drivers license (lots of DWI’s), but as it is he can’t find people to work. Its not like he’s cheap, he pays well. In the spring they want to go fishing, fall all they want to do is hunt and in the winter a twelve pack and fuel for the fish house stove is all they really need. Yeah, there’s a great work ethic up there, it just comes with a lot of conditions and lasts for only a few months out of the year.
In mining accounting, the debit-credit is Extraction-Depletion.
Once resources are gone, a new plan is required.
The iron range needs a future separate from HARD ROCK mining.
Things will grow even worse for most workers when the mining companies complete their automation, as is their intent.
I have a friend who makes lists of businesses and services that can be done in small towns across America. Planners take inventory of what resources their town/region have, and build upon those assets.
Let’s start making those lists, Mr. Mayor. Let’s look ahead for the next generation. Minnesota’s North Country will have the future that is built by its residents and those who love the woods and water.
Ideological fighting, even figuratively, just divides the urban/rural citizens even more. We in the country need our urban neighbors more than we need to hate half the country for Donald Trump’s reelection.
To this Mayor. With all due respect sir, I was a lifelong Republican until I changed in the early 2000’s after having my daughter go through strokes and surgeries that has her permanently disabled. She can still work, but with only one arm. She has some cognitive issues also. My eyes opened to another world, one at looking at the less fortunate in this world. Many of her friends are in that camp. I own two businesses and pay a ton of taxes. Most people would say I was a republican, until they get to know me. I’m a moderate democrat, and will cross the line often. I read a lot on politics and I know many of the issues from both sides. There are a lot of great republicans – remember Arne Carlson? Probably one of best governors we have ever had in Minnesota. He voted for Hillary Clinton – listen to what he has to say these days. Trump, are you kidding me? He is the laughing stock of the Real World.
“They [Governor and Mayor of Minneapolis ] each took responsible and decisive action …”
Spoken like someone who didn’t lose a business they invested everything they had into.
No, spoken like someone who understands the difference between leaders who respect the justice and the law to maintain order and a leader who does not respect the law, holds himself above the law and justice, and wishes to create division and disorder to keep himself and his friends in power.
Mr. Slonina,
My family came from southeastern Europe and settled in the Iron Range. They eventually migrated south to the Twin Cities and to near Duluth.
I have a question for you: Have you had ultimate control over your kids when they did bad things (assuming that your kids were not saints)?
How can you realistically and logically put the blame on Mayor Frey and Governor Walz for the actions of people who they do not physically control every waking moment of their citizens’ lives? You make no sense and are grasping at straws to try to pump up your version of how politics in Minnesota should be defined. Thoughts from people like you — from either party — are an embarrassment to our nation. Politicians do not control other people. While they can influence people who are willing to listen, they are not gods.
How dare you place the blame for the destruction of property and business on the shoulders of our elected officials. They do not care to see destruction, as destruction sends a message to some that it is not safe to do business in our area.
Jacob Frey has made great inroads into bringing businesses to downtown Minneapolis and to developing both parkland, residential areas, and business zones. You are coming off as a fool with the sort of comments you have been making — and so has every “Republican” who is trying to get their toes into this tragedy. Can you personally do a better job than Jacob Frey or Tim Walz? If so, I would like to see your name on an upcoming ballot some year. You impress me as a complainer who has nothing better in life to do than to spout off hatred for people you do not know or understand.
The people who are creating the chaos, not protesters, but rioters, represent the most extreme poles of our community. Some do not even live in our community and are creating problems and causing the loss of hundreds or thousands to millions of dollars in assets and opportunities. The 17-year old with the attack rifle in Kenosha, who was not a resident of Kenosha, was inspired to act by the foul words of a dumbass of a man who ran for president after being a member of several different political parties in a thirty-three year period. He, Mr. Trump, has upended the value of that political party and has been responsible for hiring several men who have been convicted of felonies while serving the president. Get a life.
So rather than working toward a healthy and sustainable economy, Hizzoner favors accelerating climate change, subsidizing jobs from the ecological commons, and unleashing toxic disorder on the land for the benefit of a foreign elite investor class. He values fetal tissue above persons of color, and appraises highly Trump’s intentional obstruction of the nation’s COVID response for his perceived political advantage. He thinks Trump has ever given a thought to the welfare of veterans, or indeed the welfare of any person other than himself. Well, OK. Unless he just woke up from an auto accident with these views, it’s a mystery how he can, or ever could, identify as a Democrat.
Instead of asking folks why they support Trump and just getting the usual nonsense, journalists need to cut to the chase: ask them if they favor democracy or fascism. A vote for Trump – or for any Republican – is a vote to dispense – at this stage of things irrevocably – with the American dream, with every democratic value and aspiration for which America has ever stood, in favor of a land where the most corrupt stand above the law, take all for themselves, and use the police and private violence to destroy whoever stands in their way. It’s not arguable anymore. It is – as Trump says – what it is. So let’s just out with it – which side are you on?
To publicly state the Trump administration has done anything coherent or helpful to alleviate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic is tone deaf and probably an attempt to curry favor with Trump and GOP in general.
Not a life-long Democrat if he supported Trump in 2016 and voted for Stauber in 2018. At the minimum shading the truth. He has been a Trumplican for 4 years. That makes this story old news. And to correct a mistaken comment. The mayor cites the values expressed in the Republican platform. Actually, at its convention, the Republicans passed no platform. Rather than make promises they won’t keep, they are telling people that the Republican Party is for whatever Trump wants.
One thing Trump clearly wants is to increase air and water pollution to pass along the costs of environmental clean up from companies to the citizens and taxpayers. In other words, if the new international mining companies pollute the air and water, local people and tourists will breath and drink it, and the state taxpayers will pay for cleanup. Sacrificing the health of your communities to pay bigger dividends and bonuses to the wealthy is not in the overall best interest of your community. It will reduce tourism from the metro and also increase metro tax bills. A few benefit so many pay.
I live in the arrowhead and if these mayors believe that the region is “roaring back to life” then they suffer from the most severe cases of cognitave dissonance in the history of the state. Supporting a presisident who has such a well documented record of hostility towards organized labor should embarrass these morons.
Exactly. But it’s not just Trump who is hostile to unions, it’s the entire Repub party (for decades). That’s what this “Dem” mayor is voting for with Stauber and conservative entertainer Jason Lewis.
At some point, these mines will be all mined out, leaving exactly nothing for future generations – and then what will these mayors do? They share a trait present in much – if not all – of the Republican Party, and that is a greed for the present generation with little concern for the generations to come – which is also why they’re in denial about climate change. Greed and Republicanism are synonymous.
As for the “pro-life” stance of the mayor, a retired law enforcement officer, what does he say to a young girl who has been raped – that it’s God’s will and she must carry a baby resulting from that rape? That’s inhumane, cruel, and lacks the compassion one would hope for in law enforcement officers – present or retired (which I am one of).
The main thing here is that the media should not be allowing someone who seeks total control of the federal government by Repubs to describe himself as a “Dem”. At best, the mayor is an independent, but the voting history he reveals prevents even that description. He is a cultural reactionary, who literally doesn’t describe any policies of the Dem party he supports. (And any one that he might throw out is certain to be under attack by every federal candidate he’s voting for!)
Yet he is allowed to blather this phoniness to the media as “news”, when he is merely re-affirming his prior support for the ignoramus Trump. Basically he’s Mayor Mining, which is fine, but an actual Dem in his town needs to challenge him in the next primary to put a stop to this “Dem mayor” charade.
Anyway, this guy voted for Obama (twice); that’s his story. I’m suspicious, but whatever. It’s curious, however, that as soon as a woman is at the head of the ticket, then we hear “the Dem party left me” line. Ditto when the first Black woman is on the (Dem) presidential ticket. Ditto voting for conservative entertainer Jason Lewis for senate. Could this be one of the real “policy” problems the mayor is having with the Dem party?
“The Dem party left me” is just another way of saying “I got what I wanted, **** anyone else.”
Back to my original comment: The mayors, or at least Mr. Cuffe, is intellectually incoherent. Trump and Stauber pretty much display the antithesis of DFL values. The mayor is supporting people who are, as others have stated, anti-union, anti-environment, and very much in favor of authoritarian rule. That fits the Trumpian mode, but that last one makes it a viewpoint that doesn’t even fit the Republican Party, much less the Democrats. The Mayor should look up The Lincoln Project.
Second, those six towns, in the 2010 census, combined for a total of 26,056 people. While those people should not be ignored in either state or federal policy, they should also not be allowed to dominate policy response to, or the discussion of, what’s happening to the economy, or to an environment that affects something over 5 million people. They’re a very small portion of the state’s population, as well as its economy. The three closest communities I could find in terms of population, based on the 2010 census, and all of which have different social and economic priorities, I suspect, are: Owatonna, 25,557; Shoreview, 25,085; and Savage, 27,007. Using numbers from the World Population website, the same six towns now total 25,091, or about 100 fewer people than in 2010. Using the same World Population source, the three closest communities in terms of population in 2020 are Elk River, 25,287; Austin, 25,408; and Rosemount, 25,441.
Every city that depends to some significant degree on a particular industry will find itself in painful territory, socially and financially, if / when that industry fades or disappears, regardless of the reason for the industry’s hard times. It’s not an easy adjustment, and I won’t suggest that it is, but change is a given. Mr. Cuffe, I’d argue, instead of declaring his loyalty to someone promising (without delivering) help for a troubled industry that may ultimately die (see: Trumpian promises about coal; also see: similar promises about steel – they’re related) ought to be aggressively exploring economic alternatives for his and the allied communities. Hitching his allegiance to a neofascist leader whose concern for the working people in those six communities approaches zero – based on his performance over the past four years – seems to me an exercise in futility. I understand the frustration and fear of economic collapse that goes with allegiance to an industry that’s on its way out – I’ve lived in cities that have gone through very similar hard times, and promises to “bring back” those previous good jobs and relative prosperity are part of the “All politics is local” routine. Such promises will always have their appeal, but in the long run, automation and a changing world economy will dictate what happens, and harming / destroying the regional environment will affect many, many more people than just the 25,000+ living in those six communities. It can’t always be about only you, or about only me…
Ray hope you don’t mind if I tag onto you: What I haven’t read is, which of the 2 candidates would the Rangers want their children to emulate? The one that lies, promotes conspiracy theories, disparages anyone that disagrees with him, has over 4000 law suits and counting, failed to serve when he was called (patriotism is suppose to be big on the range), cheats on all of his what 3-4 wives, does not believe in going to church unless its a political stunt, came from an elite background not blue collar. Does everything in his power to divide people not unite them, has been president over the greatest governemnt deficit in non wartime America, uses his position to self enrich (swindle the American taxpayer) via his golf clubs/resorts (emoluments clause) etc. etc.
So what these mayors say about their personal ethical, and characteristic standards is volumes! They are voting for corruption, ethical degeneration, authoritarian leadership, foreign interference in our elections, and on and on and on, the message is clear, it seems that is what the range folks are really all about!
Who would you want teaching your kids?
Cultural conservatives supporting the un-virtuous, amoral Trumpolini are teaching the kids that their “family values” schtick is a meaningless charade, a pious facade papering over spite, intolerance and self-interest.
Who knows if the kids see through it. Some do, surely.
“Republicans love to tell others to ‘pull themselves up by the bootstraps,’ but balk when it comes to applying this advice to their own lives.”
You see, they deserve it. It’s not a handout, it’s their due.
Interestingly, the expression “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” originally meant to try to do something that was impossible, or a futile effort. That probably is a good way of looking at upward mobility under a Republican regime. Oh, you can try to move up in the world, bnut you might as well be pulling on your own bootstraps.
MLK made a comment similar too, how is a man to pull himself up by his boot straps, when he has no boots!
Thanks for this research and this very interesting and informative comment, which shows how much the Iron Range keeps punching above its weight, and calls into question exactly why the media allows it to continue. Of course it’s because it was a centerpiece of Pence’s braindead speech in Duluth and can be presented as another “Dems in Disarray” story, because the Iron Range once did vote solidly Democratic. But with the rise of environmental concerns and policy in the Dem party, most Rangers have apparently turned to the party of chaos and unregulated destruction as their savior, and hold on even more tightly to their particular “special interest”. We don’t see stories of first ring (and now even second ring) suburbs abandoning Repubs.
It’s sad to see these Northern folks so mired in the past and turning to backward cultural dinosaurs like this Cuffe character for 21st Century “leadership”. And to see communities made up largely of late-19th Century Slavic immigrants now supporting a hateful, nativist monster who opened his (dangerous and ridiculous) presidential campaign with a tirade of lies against Latino immigrants, and who harrasses refugees. Talk about things disappearing down the memory hole…
No BK, you are wrong. Democrats have been anti mining for quite some time now. During 4 nights of DNC convention, no one mentioned the cities burning down, even though everyone saw it with their own two eyes. Only when polling showed 70%+ of Americans want law and order and were leaving the Democratic Party by the tens of thousands did they decide to address it. That is why Democratic mayors are backing President Trump.
“Only when polling showed 70%+ of Americans want law and order and were leaving the Democratic Party by the tens of thousands did they decide to address it.”
Does anyone not want “law and order?” I want a President who obeys the law and who expects his subordinates to do the same. Isn’t that part of “law and order,” or does “law and order” mean only “cracking heads of city people who are getting out of line?”
I would be interested in seeing a non-Rasmussen/non-Trafalgar poll that shows “leaving the Democratic Party by the tens of thousands.”
If that was the case, why didn’t the riots and looting get mentioned at DNC convention? I will wait for your answer.
Because most people aren’t overly preoccupied with people they don’t know, in places they don’t live, when the problems don’t really affect them at all. (unlike mining and oil pipelines that ruin the environment for everyone).Conservatives DO love to moralize and pontificate,it’s TRUE, but to expect others to emulate your character flaws is a bit presumptuous, don’t you think?
Democrats have been condemning violence and violent protests all along. I know that the right-wing media has directed its consumers to harp on the few days that were convention, but it is an outright lie to say that Democrats have not condemned violence. Maybe the convention was supposed to be about unity, not demonizing people?
“Riots and looting” are not the only crimes in America, Mr. Smith. The Republicans harped on that theme at their convention incessantly while violating the Hatch Act at every possible opportunity. Crime in the suites is no less harmful than crime in the streets.
Now, how about those polls you cited?
Sorry Joe, Mayor Cuffe (by his own admission) was voting for Trumpolini and Repubs in 2016, long before Trump got his cherished “law and order” issue in May 2020. And I’ll wager every one of these DINO mayor characters voted the same way Cuffe did in 2016. So your cause and effect analysis is um, deeply flawed….
As for the idea of voters fleeing Biden over Law n’ Order, it’s so far not showing up in the endless march of polls. Although I do agree it’s a major issue that unfortunately was thrown out to the drowning and failed Repubs when they were basically defenseless. But the idea that some sort of increased federal sturmtruppen response will solve the problem is simply brainless. Although brainlessness is an acknowledged Trump specialty!
Joe,
I am a Democrat who is not “anti-Mining”, but “anti-mining without safe precautions”. My family settled in the Chisholm, MN, area and were miners and managers of the mining industry in the 1940’s and 50’s. Many of them died painful deaths from cancer, which I believe was due to the chemicals used in the processing of minerals, and which seeped into the ground and groundwaters. This is only a theory I have, and I have not looked into how likely true is my theory. I just know that so many members of my family from the Iron Range died of various cancers, or, like my mom, defeated cancer through an operation. Breast cancer. Pancreatic cancer. Liver cancer. Fallopian cancer…. And cancers which metastasized and caused my formerly overweight grandmother to lose her weight and die at 93 pounds.
The notion of mining copper-sulfide is an interesting one. So much of the mined minerals are not the desired minerals and the land will go to waste. Moreover, studies indicate that the land and water affected by the chemical process involved in copper-sulfide mining will create problems for the purity of water for 500 years if the process is not handled in a responsible and professional manner.
The mining company that wants to do the mining has a long history of abuse to the lands and people in regions where they engage in their business. While they are a multi-billion dollar business, this does not give them the right to put the lives of so many people, and the purity of the aquifers and land at risk. I don’t mind the idea of mining if precautions are taken from the period before mining begins to years after it ends. However, mining companies in the United States often do not maintain a responsible tack after they have laid waste to the land. This is tantamount to the analogy of a lover with a sexual disease intentionally having sex with someone they don’t really love, knowing that there will be consequences for their lover — which their victim may not realize — due to the glamor of their momentary relationship. It is unwise, unhealthy, and immoral.
If companies want to mine in the State of Minnesota, they should be honest and take responsibility for the potential ills they will bring to the community. If they do that, then I have no problem with a company mining in my state. This is the extent of my activism. I do not protest, and I do not engage in damage to property of even the companies who create problems for the people for whom I care. I have friends who owned and operated mines in the states of Missouri and Illinois, and I have a care for the lives and property of all people.
Ray: “That fits the Trumpian mode, but that last one makes it a viewpoint that doesn’t even fit the Republican Party, much less the Democrats. The Mayor should look up The Lincoln Project.”
Let’s be clear, the totalitarian model may not fit the Eisenhower Republican Party, but it fits the Nixon Republican Party perfectly. Let’s not pretend that we still have a Republican Party we can work with, we have a Fascist Party that we need to defeat. As for those who support the Fascism that Republicans have become, well if you can’t recognize the party for what it really is, and/or you choose to support that Party despite what it has become, it’s probably because your sympathetic to Fascism, whether you wrap yourself in the flag or not. Maybe the Lincoln Project will split off and form a different kind of conservative Party, but the odds of the Republican Party ever redeeming itself fade with every passing hour. This trend has been obvious since a storm trooper by the name of Oliver North lied to Congress in the 1980’s. Let’s not pretend that Trump has captured the Party and bent it to his will, that wouldn’t have been possible if Republicans were the patriots they always claim to be.
Perhaps a cautionary note from ancient history:
In 1972 AFL-CIO leader George Meany wanted to teach the (#@!%!) liberals a lesson. So he pulled his organization out of the presidential race, thinking it would show them how indispensable he was. Short term, it seemed he was right. Long term, private sector labor organizations are nearly extinct – and their former constituencies hurting badly – while those (#@!%!) liberals seem to be doing quite well.
The latest group of populistic breakaways need to pause, and take another good look at what they are walking away from and what they are walking into. From where I sit, it seems pound-foolish to tie one’s future to the Trump movement.
I would just add a couple observations. First, the intellectual gymnastics and factual ignorance behind any suggestion that Republicans are the pro-labor/pro-middle class working man party is in fact breathtaking. Anyone who looks at Trump and his party and sees a “working man’s” champion has simply lost touch with reality. And here we see, with every passing day the most dominant characteristic of Republican voters is ignorance. From tax revenue and policy to basic economics and health care these people embrace a nearly fanatic allergic reaction to facts and reality. Whatever, it’s their vote.
Second, this idea that people who sit around for decades waiting for someone to bring them jobs and economic prosperity while living on financial support of others are the rugged individuals in the room is beyond comical. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but these mayors and their constituents should have long ago recognized the fact that these jobs are gone and they’re not coming back no matter which party they vote for. It’s always sad and ironic when champions of capitalism fail to recognize the harsh realities of capitalist economies. When jobs dry up, you don’t sit around waiting for someone to bring those jobs back, you move to where the new jobs are being created.
As for guns and abortion etc. I think it’s just time to point out to some of these people that we live in a free country, and that means people get to have their own values, whether you agree with those values or not. If you want to elect a government that’s going shove YOUR values down anyone else’s throat you’re no patriot. You’re entitled to your values but a lot of other people think your values suck.
Finally, the political observation we really need to make here is that these erstwhile “Democrats” obviously stopped being real Democrats long ago. Here and there throughout Minnpost comment threads you will see “centrist/moderate” Democrats complain about their loss of out-state MN while they blame that loss on “progressive” candidates like Omar. This is nonsense. The truth is that these iron range “Democrats” began a race to the bottom in terms of liberal principles and policies decades ago and have failed and/refused to promote or pursue basic Democratic policies and projects. Democrats have been “losing” out-state MN for years DESPITE their desperate attempts to moderate their politics and adopt Republican mentalities. The last time Democrats ran the table in St. Paul they dialed-back ambitious budgets and programs that would provided more relief, infrastructure, and economic stimulus out of fear of “over-reaching”. Then they lost anyways and left Minnesotan’s facing dozens of crises that continue to harm Minnesotan’s. Everything from high speed internet to access to transportation infrastructure and health care is a fiasco because Republicans AND Democrats refuse to deal with them. If Iron Rangers have become confused in their Party loyalties that confusion has risen from continual Democratic attempts to blur the distinction between themselves and Republicans. In many the “defection” of these mayors and other iron range voters is simply the logical conclusion to decades of Democratic politics on the Range. You can try to blame Omar for this but “moderates” have no one but themselves to blame.
The REAL champions of labor and the middle class are liberals, but Democrats have spent decades distancing themselves from liberal politics. It’s no wonder the working class is turning to someone else out of desperation.