Antone Melton-Meaux says he voted for Ilhan Omar in the 2018 general election.
But now, in 2020, Melton-Meaux, a relatively unknown name in DFL politics, is challenging Omar in the DFL primary on August 11 for her Fifth Congressional District seat.
“I was hopeful that she would use her platform to do great work for the district,” Melton-Meaux said of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s first term in Congress. “But what I’ve seen since then is someone that doesn’t show up for votes and someone that doesn’t show up for voters. She has one of the worst voter attendance in the United States House of Representatives missing, in 2019 alone, 40 votes.” (Omar missed 5.7% of votes in 2019, putting her in a tie with five other members for 55th most-absent member of Congress. Omar’s campaign says she missed votes due to personal reasons, including the death of a family member, and that the votes were all procedural, rather than substantive. In 2020 so far, she has missed two votes, according to ProPublica.)
While the two candidates agree on many issues, they have important policy differences, including health care and the environment. But their biggest policy difference is related to an issue outside of the district: Israel.
A national profile
Omar is a formidable candidate. She is a progressive icon nationally and one of the most well known Muslim politicians in the United States.
In 2018, state Rep. Omar was one of three Democrats considered serious contenders to replace now-Attorney General Keith Ellison after he retired from Congress to run for his current job.
[image_caption]Antone Melton-Meaux[/image_caption]
Ultimately, Omar earned 48 percent of the votes, compared to 30 percent for Anderson Kelliher and 13 percent for Torres Ray.
In Congress, Omar serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and as whip of the Progressive Caucus, where she is seen as a potential future chair of the caucus. As Rep. Barbara Lee, the former chair of the Progressive Caucus, said last year: “All the big issues that our Democratic Caucus has embraced, that really speak to our work for the people, she’s helped pull together the votes for that.”
Omar is often portrayed by her opponents, including Melton-Meaux, as divisive, but her tenure is more complicated than that: She has frequently been photographed by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s side and has co-sponsored a number of bills with other members of the House and Senate, including the Student Debt Cancellation Act of 2019 with Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, which would cancel student debt; the CIVIL Act with Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, which would amend the Insurrection Act to curtail violations against the civil liberties; and the MEALS Act, a bill to provide school lunches during the coronavirus pandemic that was included in House Democrats’ Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
Melton-Meaux, the runner
Before he was a candidate, and before Melton-Meaux moved to Minnesota, he was a college student at Washington University in St. Louis, where he ran track and met his wife, Genevieve.
Melton-Meaux attended the University of Virginia School of Law, where he went on to receive the Congressional Black Caucus Fellowship, working under Donna Brazile, former chair of the DNC, and Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton of Washington, D.C. There, much of his work there focused on affordable housing and D.C. statehood.
Melton-Meaux went on to work as an attorney for Skadden, Arps, one of the largest law firms in the world, during a time when he says he also volunteered to provide free legal services to federal inmates denied the right to continue their gender transition.
In 2008, when his wife got a job at the University of Minnesota as a professor and practicing surgeon, Melton-Meaux moved to Minnesota. He went on to lead global employment practice at St. Jude Medical, which is where he met a now-member of Congress, Rep. Angie Craig, who was then the senior vice president of global human resources for the company.
“Angie and I are friends,” Melton-Meaux said. “We’ve worked together for several years and I have a lot of respect for the work that she’s doing in the Second Congressional District.” While Craig has not endorsed in the race, some ties between the two campaigns exist: Aidan Johnson, the former deputy finance director for Craig’s re-election campaign, now works for Melton-Meaux.
[image_credit]Courtesy of Nekima Levy Armstrong[/image_credit][image_caption]Nekima Levy Armstrong[/image_caption]
In an opinion piece for the Star Tribune, Armstrong said Melton-Meaux was too humble about his qualifications. “It’s evident that Melton-Meaux has always been deeply invested in the success of the Fifth District and will continue to invest the time, energy and effort that it takes to get things done,” she wrote. “Melton-Meaux’s humility should not get in the way of his stellar qualifications to serve as our representative.”
Andy Luger, the former U.S. attorney for Minnesota and another of Melton-Meaux’s endorsers, said he’s known Melton-Meaux since he first moved to Minnesota.
“I’ve known him and his wife since then and worked closely with him when we practiced law together, and I’ve been a strong admirer of his,” said Luger. “And I believe in his integrity and his ability to unite people, which is very important to me in a candidate.”
Luger said Melton-Meaux’s candidacy is not about any particular label. “Moderate, progressive, conservative: I don’t think that’s it. I think with Antone, it’s thoughtful, it’s listening, it’s looking for ways to bring people together. And you can do that as a progressive, you can do that as a moderate.”
Major supporters
When it comes to endorsements, Omar has the more prominent support, both locally and nationally. She has the endorsement of the Fifth District DFL, the endorsement of her predecessor, Ellison; both the in-state and national teachers unions; major environmental groups like MN350; major immigration advocacy organizations like United We Dream; progressive groups like Justice Democrats; as well as Reps. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
“Ilhan is one of the best organizers we have,” DFL Chair Ken Martin said in an email to supporters early this month. “Last cycle, her team knocked on hundreds of thousands of doors and earned more votes than any new Member of Congress, and all but seven incumbents. This not only put her in office, but also helped get us a Minnesota House Majority.”
[image_caption]Ken Martin[/image_caption]
Melton-Meaux and Omar have also drawn support from very different donor pools of campaign donors.
With the advantages of being an incumbent with national name recognition, Omar had raised a sizable chunk of change by the end of March, about $3.4 million. She ranks 29th among candidates running for House in the U.S., according to Open Secrets.
Melton-Meaux raised $395,000 through the first quarter of 2020.
His donor list includes 2019 Minneapolis mayoral candidate Tom Hoch, former University of Minnesota presidents Bob Bruininks and Eric Kaler, former U.S. attorney in Minnesota Andrew Luger, Metropolitan Council Chair Charlie Zelle, as well as former ambassador to Morocco Sam Kaplan and his wife, Sylvia, who often donate to DFL candidates in Minnesota.
Melton-Meaux’s supporters also include prominent Minnesota business people, among them James Hereford, the CEO of Fairview Health Services, and Marilyn Carlson Nelson, the co-CEO of Carlson Holdings.
Melton-Meaux also has the backing of prominent wealthy donors from around the country, including John Gray, a billionaire and the president and COO of the private equity firm Blackstone, and Seth Klarman, a billionaire hedge fund owner who has given millions to the Republican Party.
Ninety-two percent of the roughly $390,000 Melton-Meaux raised from individuals through the first quarter came from donors giving $200 or more, compared to 8 percent from smaller-dollar donors.
Omar’s campaign raised about a third of $3.3 million in donations from individuals who gave $200 or more, while the reminder came from smaller-dollar donors. Her donor list is more national in profile, with money coming in from every state and large hauls from California, New York and other states.
Omar’s list notably includes actors Susan Sarandon, Ben Affleck and Bradley Whitford, and musician Bob Weir, a founding member of the Grateful Dead.
Israel policy
Melton-Meaux has also received financial support from a group not commonly connected with DFL candidates in the reliably liberal Fifth District: At least twice over the last few months, a bipartisan group that includes a number of Trump supporters has come together over Zoom to talk about why Melton-Meaux is their preferred candidate.
The fundraisers have been put on by NORPAC, a nonpartisan group that supports hard-line conservative policies in Israel. The group supported President Trump’s move to remove the United States from the Iran Nuclear Deal and his action to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Melton-Meaux’s supporters include Iris and Shalom Maidenbaum, two prominent Trump supporters from Long Island; and Howard Jonas, a telecommunications executive who has maxed out a contribution to Trump. A number of other Melton-Meaux supporters have been avid financial supporters of Republican Senate candidates like Ted Cruz and major Republican committees like the National Republican Congressional Committee. As of the second fundraising quarter of 2020, NORPAC has bundled $150,000 for Melton-Meaux’s campaign, according to a report from HuffPost.
One of NORPAC’s invitations for a virtual fundraiser reads: “Together, we have the privilege of accomplishing a dual objective. Supporting a deserving candidate, Antone Melton-Meaux, who has communicated a genuine desire to strengthen the US-Israel relationship and bring honor to his country and party while at the same time replacing Rep Ilhan Omar, a highly divisive member of Congress who has proven to be unfairly and repeatedly critical of Israel.”
Omar has said repeatedly that Israel’s current government oppresses Palestinians, posting on Twitter last year that the government violates their “dignity & rights.” In a letter to Sec. of State Mike Pompeo, 12 members of Congress, including Fourth District Rep. Betty McCollum and Omar, said that Israel’s continued annexation of the West Bank “would lay the groundwork for Israel becoming an apartheid state.”
[cms_ad:x104]Melton-Meaux would not go that far. Instead, he said that unilateral annexation is inappropriate. “The Palestinians have been searching for a Homeland permanently for a long time. And I have been very clear when I’ve been asked this question that we have to do things the United States and Israel included to not exacerbate difficult circumstances. Like moving ahead with annexation unilaterally, which harms peaceful prospects,” Melton-Meaux said. “It puts stress on the Palestinians. I don’t think that’s a good thing to do, and it minimizes the potential for Palestinians to come back to the negotiating table for a really positive, constructive long term solution.”
In 2012, Omar said, “Israel has hypnotized the world,” which draws on tropes about Jews as hypnotic conspirators. And in 2018, Omar said Israel’s influence is “all about the Benjamins,” a reference to a Puff Daddy song, to communicate Israel’s lobbying power. A large number of Jewish groups condemned Omar’s words for relying on antisemitic tropes. Omar subsequently apologized for both remarks.
Melton-Meaux has criticized Omar several times for not establishing a relationship with the Jewish community in Minnesota. “There needs to be a constructive ongoing dialogue with their member of Congress,” Melton-Meaux said of the Jewish community. “And that simply does not exist right now.”
[image_caption]State Sen. Sandy Pappas[/image_caption]
Pappas, who has family in Israel, added: “I think she could be a little more cautious in her statements, but that’s not her. She speaks truth to power.”
Jeremy Slevin, Omar’s communications director, criticized Melton-Meaux for accepting the donations from people who also support Trump: “It is shameful that any Democratic candidate for the 5th District would accept funding from Trump [donors] or Republican donors. But it is even more shameful that they would take their policy cues from these donors.”
When asked about the donations, Melton-Meaux responded, “NORPAC is a bipartisan organization, they support Democrats and Republicans. And the reality is on issues of Middle East peace it will take bipartisan efforts. I really believe that the Israelis and the Palestinians want the same thing.”
Policy differences
Besides differing on Israel, Omar and Melton-Meaux take different approaches to a few important Democratic policy priorities.
Omar is a supporter of the Green New Deal, a major proposed package of climate change response legislation, while Melton-Meaux prefers to say the Green New Deal is aspirational. Omar is a proponent of Medicare for All, a proposed single-payer health care system; Melton-Meaux prefers his plan, Primary-Care-for-All, a plan that would increase access to primary care services, to Medicare-for-All, which would institute a more comprehensive change to the U.S. health care system.
Omar is a supporter of the Minneapolis City Council’s efforts to dismantle the police in favor of a new public safety department; Melton-Meaux is close to that position, but instead takes a more reform-based approach: “We’re not going to eliminate the police. They have to exist; certain things that they can do, citizens can’t and shouldn’t do. But we also have to think about how to reimagine this in a way that’s consistent with our values and reflects our constitutional rights.”
In a similar vein, the Intercept reported that in 2015, Melton-Meaux wrote an op-ed for the Star Tribune arguing Black Lives Matter had gone too far when some protesters chanted “Pigs in a blanket/fry ‘em like bacon.” And in 2018, in the midst of the #MeToo movement, Melton-Meaux penned a letter to the Minnesota Bar Association, suggesting corporate confidentiality agreements were important to prevent brand damage that companies would receive from being accused of fostering sexual harassment in the workplace.
Melton-Meaux wrote that the conversation about systemic mistreatment of women in the workplace was “overdue,” but that if employers decide to settle a sexual harassment claim, it may “expose their organization to the likelihood that it will be branded by the public and media as a harasser, the stain of which will be hard to remove.”
Melton-Meaux stands by his criticism of the Black Lives Matter movement, telling City Pages Wednesday “I’m an African American man, and I’ve had encounters with the police myself over the years,” but that the movement needs to “build coalitions to be successful” and that “you don’t do that by making violent chants toward police officers.”
As for the workplace sexual harassment piece, Melton-Meaux says the position he took in it was due to the needs of his business as a mediator, and that now he does support the banning of nondisclosure agreements in sexual harassment settlements, unless they are requested by the complainant.
Melton-Meaux’s campaign has its own critiques of how Omar has operated in Congress. Several times, he has criticized Omar’s “present” vote on an a resolution condemning the Armenian Genocide, saying that such a vote is an insult to the Armenian community in Minnesota. (Omar explained her vote by saying she does not object to condemning the Armenian Genocide but instead took issue with the use of the resolution as a punishment for the Turkish government, which had recently launched a military incursion into northern Syria.)
Melton-Meaux has also criticized Omar for lying about her relationship with Tim Mynett, one of her campaign consultants whom she married during the president’s State of the Union speech, writing in a Star Tribune op-ed: “That doesn’t work for us.” Omar’s campaign denied any legal impropriety in her relationship with Mynett. A conservative legal organization, the National Legal and Policy Center, filed a complaint to the FEC over the matter but the FEC has not taken any action.
Choice in August
Ellison, Omar’s predecessor in Congress, said no one else living knows the job of representing the Fifth District better than he does. And it’s that experience he uses to argue that Omar needs to be sent back to Congress.
[image_credit]MinnPost photo by Peter Callaghan[/image_credit][image_caption]Attorney General Keith Ellison[/image_caption]
“There’s no perfect people in Congress,” Ellison said. “By definition of you being human, there are legitimate reasons to say: ‘You ought to do this. You ought to do that. You shouldn’t do this, you shouldn’t do that.’ But I see no reason why she should not be returned right back to Congress where she is now.”
Melton-Meaux, who has spent most of his campaign trying to contrast himself with Omar, said people are ready for someone else. And he said the dysfunction in Congress doesn’t get fixed overnight. “It happens over time through partnerships, coalitions, and pulling in the same direction for the greater good of the people of this district. And that’s what the people are hungry for: They’re tired of the politics of division and distraction, they’re tired of ideological purity tests. They want someone willing to go there, work within the party, create space for collaborations and partnerships, even across the aisle.”
By mid-August, it’ll be clear which one of the two candidates made the better case.
MinnPost data reporter Greta Kaul contributed to this report.
“Luger said Melton-Meaux’s candidacy is not about any particular label. “Moderate, progressive, conservative.'”
You know, I kinda like labels. Imagine going to the supermarket, and all the labels were removed from the cans. How would you know what you’re getting?
I feel the same way about political candidates. I like to know what I’m getting before cast a vote.
Yes, but humans and life are complicated. I want someone who can see that and vote and work with people accordingly. Making statements only goes so far; he sees that compromise is sometimes needed to advance the ball. Otherwise you get caught in a web of conflict and arguments. I want bills passed.
“Passing bills” doesn’t do anything. Passing Bill’s that do something that is desirable is what matters. Compromise for the sake of decorum is just defeat by another label.
Melton Meaux is a champion of change as is evidenced by his work as an attorney. He will continue to fight for social change that benefits underrepresented citizens of Minnesota. He will represent those that work hard.
Can you say more? When I review Mr. Melton Meaux’s campaign website, I see very little of a commitment to the underrepresented. It appears that early in his career at Skadden Arp, he took on a pro bono assignment involving transgender rights in prison. It is standard for large corporate firms to give their young associates a pro bono opportunity, for the associate’s experience and to fulfill the firm’s duties to the legal profession. There is reference to some work involving fair housing during his nine years at the firm, but that’s all I see. Otherwise I see someone who may be smart and humane, but who elected an exclusive private school for his children and whose civic engagements carefully tread the path of establishment virtue.
A simple question: why do the wealthy like him more than Omar?
Melton Meaux is getting my vote. Omar claims to represent the poor and marginalized, yet she is paying her husband a handsome sum of $878,000 to be her campaign manager. That is a sign of corruption. She is operating in her own interest.
Thanks, Gabe, for an informative article! With absentee voting for the primary already going on, it’s important for us to understand these candidates and the differences between them.
MinnPost readers: VOTE on or before AUGUST 11!
Excellent article-very helpful. I’m all for him but it’s up to my CD 5 friends. Omar’s inexperience has shown through again and again. You don’t learn anything about governing as a one termer in the minority as Omar was. If you can’t be honest about your personal life and if it is a mess so will be your public life and it is. She approaches the congressional position as an activist not as a governor. Mpls can do better.
I rather like her as an activist. We have plenty of people who will say the right platitudes at just the right time and look where that has got us in the last forty years. Ilhan’s words aren’t always spot on, but she’s out there speaking truth to power rather than giving us some milque toast pile of damp sawdust response about how they’re making incremental changes because they don’t want to charge ahead too fast or too hard.
And then they end up doing nothing.
Decades later, we’re materially worse off than we were in the ’70s.
So a few eggs get broken and a few feelings get hurt. That beats the alternative that Antone promises: more failed policies that got the train wrecked in the first place.
Well said.
Hi, I choose to log in and join in and reply much due to your replies. I am very impressed with the literacy of and analysis in many of the comments and discussions here in general. Too much Facebook has dulled my mind.
Melton Meaux to me is someone, if I were a Minnesotan, I could vote for – but not in these times. Too often has the party of the elite and entitled, when in power, worked hard to disenfranchise the working class, only to turn to calls for healing and compromise, once their fortunes and tide turns. This only ensures that their gains, won by beating down the very same process of negotiating and diplomacy while they were in power, are solidified. This slow crawl over the years is what has eroded social welfare and health care and exacerbated inequality to where 1920’s US might seem an economic equality utopia.
Melton Meaux strikes me as similar to Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, whose born again Democratic leanings from a previously vociferous right Conservative position were more obviously challenged as just an attempt to unseat Alexandra Ocasio-Cortes. Cabrera-Caruso lost and I am glad she did. I am sometimes distressed by some of what AOC and Ilhan might say and how they say it, but I recognize now that this is absolutely a necessity. The “Squad” is pushing back hard, and Democratic challengers with Republican funding, no matter how good they look on paper, are most dubious at best. It is clear that the right wants to hit the Squad and eliminate what is the Left’s delayed but necessary response to Tea Party and more radically right policies and practices.
When issues like climate warning, environmental protection, economic and social inequality, and health care are actually being addressed and successes gained, until the actions of this administration in rolling back laws and policies for the same, have been as well reversed and social regulation re-established, until we have a CDC and a WHO that once again has a voice in recommending and establishing health policy, this nation needs voices like Ilhan and AOC.
Welcome to the (reasonably well-behaved) fray. Also very well said.
Agree.
I’ve received a number of very pricey campaign literature items from Melton-Mieux in recent weeks and that alone gives me pause. Such direct mail costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and I am still recovering from the flood of dollar-pushes from a New York billionaire who thought he could buy his election. Then I notice that the challenger’s supporters seem heavily weighted by corporate and even Republican sponsors. And I don’t see any sign of the DFL incumbents who normally would be keenly interested in the CD 5 contest.
A close read of the Melton-Mieux materials, when contrasted to the warm remarks from Omar’s immediate predecessor who is now the Attorney General of the State of Minnesota, leaves me with the impression that what we voters are confronted with is no more than a career move by an ambitious attorney who has very little significant to say and no really helpful connections to the national democratic leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives. Simply put, too many billionaires involved who know very little and care less about the issues that confront the voters in Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District. I have already voted for Omar and I urge my friends and neighbors to do likewise.
Agreed. I’m not interested in voting for someone picked by wealthy Trump supporters.
I’m also not interested in ineffective half-measures on healthcare and the environmental crisis, nor the sanctimonious tone-policing of the BLM movement.
Elsa,
Antone Melton-Meaux was not “picked by wealthy Trump supports”, and wealth is beside the point. The candidate sees an opportunity to make himself available to serve as a progressive Democratic U.S. Represntative. He brings with him a very abundant skill set which would make him useful in Congress.
NORPAC is a non-partisan affiliation of people who are supportive of Israel. Israel has been threatened with annihilation by Iran. NORPAC supports both Democratic and Republican politicians who care to support Israel. Further, based on my reading of Melton-Meaux literature, and seeing what has been written about him in the press, he appears to be a man of good conscience who wants to see peace between the Jews and Palestinians in that region.
While Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell are supported by NORPAC, that does not equate Antone Melton-Meaux as being someone who favors Donald Trump or Mitch McConnell. Antone is a trained and nationally known mediator who has a history of bringing people together to resolve conflicts. He is an attorney and understands the language of law, as well as the Constitution of the United States, which our triumphant president appears to be a gifted scholar and well-known saint for knowing the intricate in’s and out’s of the Constitution.
There is no comparison between Antone Melton-Meaux and Donald Trump.
I suggest that you put your classism and indignation aside and develop a full view of this candidate. People are more than who they are seemingly associated with on paper and in the press. The U.S. Bill of Rights makes this clear and says that people, in courts, cannot be convicted on the basis of association. Here, there is a very loose association. In fact, from where I stand, it is non-existent.
I voted for the candidate. I am confident that he will bring intelligence, stability, and honor to our state and to our nation.
Well Said, Barry!
Antone may have not been picked by the Republicans, but he was certainly picked up by them. They wouldn’t be spending a dime on this race if they didn’t see something in Antone that sends them dancing down the road with flowers and glitter in their hair.
Case in point: where so you ever see the GOP contributing to a Democrat candidate?
Another issue to consider is they’re supporting Antone because they’re running scared of Ilhan and want her out of the picture. Now I don’t know where you stand on the political spectrum, but from where I sit anything that makes the GOP nervous is a good turn of events. For far too long they’ve run unchecked through society and all the Democrats have done is veer right in order to cash in on some of that delicious fundraising.
And now, for the first time in decades, we’ve got a chance to check them even a little bit with a few progressives in Congress and your first thought is “we need to stop those meddling kids and work with the crooks”?
How is that a wise strategy?
Today a piece of cardboard campaign literature showed up in my mailbox. It consisted entirely of bullet points about how awful Ilhan Omar supposedly is.
That smacks of desperation.
And nowadays, I’m very wary of anyone who has wealthy donors challenging an “upstart” left-leaning candidate. I’m sick to death of namby-pamby “moderates” who act as if their purpose in life is “to work together with the Republicans,” or even anyone who is naive or corrupt enough to believe that today’s Republican Party is anything more than a gang of bullies who play to the mean and/or selfish and/or ignorant segments of the population.
Anton is a first rate candidate. I am so glad to hear he is running. Omar was bold in her attempts to change the system but has overpaid her husband and campaign manager. That money would be better spent on the helping those citizens she purports to represent. If you look at her voting record and accomplishments she has little to show for her time in congress. (except for her many tweets)
Very well said, Karen. All these folks promoting Antone because he’ll work with the Republicans is like electing a sheriff who promises to work with crooks to reduce crime.
Nice idea, but even a 3rd grader could poke holes in that argument.
Really?!! Most of Omar’s contributions came from out of state. You think they care about what’s happening in MN?
Yes, they do indeed care about Minnesota. And the nation. And the world.
Look at the campaign contribution distributions: the vast majority are small donations from people who can’t afford much, but are willing to chip in a couple of bucks to make the world a better place.
We would do well to elect more people like Ilhan, not kick them out of office.
I too have received about a zillion mailings from Melton-Meaux very critical of Omar, yet his zillions of TV commercials say how he’ll end the divisiveness of her tenure. 🤔
Rep. Omar was not my first choice for Representative (I voted for Torres-Ray in the primary), and I have been intrigued by by Mr. Melton-Meaux’s candidacy. This article (which by the way, is an excellent piece of journalism) has done little to convince me that I should support him. All he seems to be offering is a slick rhetorical style, some lighter versions of Rep. Omar’s policies, and support for Israel. That’s not enough to convince me we need to change.
Railing against the politics of division is pretty much a standard trope for candidates these days, and it can be dismissed as just another overused expression that has come to be devoid of meaning.
I see no reason not to re-elect Omar. As a resident of the 5th District, I have been impressed with her focus on local issues, even as she has become a lightning rod for national attention and abuse.
I find it curious that none of his many TV ads mention the job he is running for. Since I had never heard of him, I assumed he was running for a seat representing WI until I Googled him. Clearly it’s a deliberate omission, but I find it odd.
Thank you for the in-depth article. It filled in a lot of blanks for me.
I am voting for Antone. Omar has done nothing that is tangible that I can see to benefit the MN CD5. She has not once held a town hall meeting in Golden Valley, the community in which I live and she represents.
I’m all for Mr. Melton-Meaux and this article has only reinforced my good opinion of him.
I wanted with all my heart to like Omar, voted for her, and supported her in the beginning. She has not represented her district well, is too often absent from Congress, and has proven to be an ideologue with limited effectiveness. This is about doing her job and attending to the needs of her district. There have been fair questions raised about her integrity with regard to taxes and the mixing of campaign and professional aspects of her life. She herself has made conflicting statements about these issues publicly, muddying her own waters. While I agree politically with many aspects of her approach to Israel, I am bothered by persistent anti-Semitic tropes, inconsistent with progressive and liberal values. Personally, I oppose AIPAC’s position on Israel and support the positions of IfNotNow, which offer a far more progressive Jewish viewpoint. In contrast to AOC — who is substantive, creative, energetic, and shows capacity for growth without sacrificing ideals or principles — Omar is a hollow shell. I’m less concerned with supporters of her or Melton Meaux than about substance of the candidates.
I know my life would be easier if Ilhan Omar weren’t in it. She creates a lot of unnecessary problems.
I was thinking just the opposite. We need more strong advocates like Ilhan who are willing to fight for the little guy.
I go back and forth on Omar. The anti-Semitism was bad, but she seemed contrite and it hasn’t happened in awhile. And I’ll wait for an actual finding of wrongdoing re: paying the guy with whom she had an affair and married. Its been a rough first term, but not everyone hits the ground running.
I’m also not very excited about this guy running against her.
There is plenty of useful information in this article, but I find it a glaring omission that there is no mention at all of Ilhan Omar’s apologies vis-a-vis her admittedly regrettable use of what are indeed, “antisemitic tropes,” in terms of her specific, detailed statements addressing the controversy.
The impression left is only the almost globally vague, factual truth: that she “apologized,” while several examples of the very dubious and historically biased language is cited in the article’s text.
I urge anyone still concerned that Rep. Ilhan Omar is some kind of “anti-Semite” explore he response in depth, as there is no sign of that in anything I have seen.
To the contrary, when I investigated the apologies, and how she handled the controversy, I was very favorably impressed by her acknowledgement that some of the language was poorly chosen. I think her support of Palestinian rights is congruent with her wider commitment to universal human rights, and by no means represents any kind of knee jerk bigotry or unexamined prejudices, whether against the existence of the State of Israel, or against Jews.
She has my support and I consider her a solid representative for our district.
Eloquently stated, Mr. Turnbull. Thank you.
I see your point. She may not be prejudice like the media makes her out to be. However, I see that she has taken on donations from large corporations that don’t support the poor and minorities. I prefer Antone because he has a history of representing those without a voice in his legal profession. He supports diversity without being divisive.
If any of that was reflected in her voting record or vigorously stated ideological policy recommendations I would be concerned. They aren’t, and I’m not.
Political campaigns are expensive, so large donations from the less-than-completely-virtuous are to be expected.
Look at her voting record. That is what is important.
Omar has faced intense and unfair scrutiny of her personal life, but has failed to respond in an honest manner, with non-response being an honorable manner.
Instead she denies any relationship with the guy she pays for marketing communications and marries him a few months later.
Her notoriety, thanks to Trump, has landed her a fundraising windfall and now we see hundreds of thousands of dollars going to her new husband’s firm.
We need to send folks to DC like Al Franken and now Dean Phillips and Angie Craig: keep your head down, work the job, pursue a reputation for honesty and integrity. Melton Meaux deserves the chance to show us that he can do that.
I think a lot of the scrutiny comes from her lies and prevarications about her actions, not the acts. She seems to think her actions are above reproach and cannot be questioned. That is one of my concerns. This is very Trumpy behavior.
Come on, are you claiming any and all refusals to supply explicit personal details of what may be a developing personal relationship in response to mass media inquiries are ipso facto “dishonest”?
That makes it too easy to smear any political figure who simply finds some personal questions intrusive and irrelevant. “Ms. Representative, are you romantically involved with anyone in your campaign?” is the kind of question that should garner scorn for the questioner, unless there is additional information showing there is actual incompetence on the part of the campaign staff person, whoever he or she may be, and that is cited as part of the questioning process.
The fact is I vote for candidates based on the public role they play in the life of the community, not their private life, and I recommend you do the same — in any event, it’s an illusion to believe the public at large knows the private side of public figures, whether they are actors or politicians.
Follow the money, I was wondering about all the junk mail and all the online ads I was seeing for this dude and it seems that some very large and powerful PACs are backing him, 75% of his donations are larger than $2000, 1% of Omar’s are. Not surprisingly many of them are also militant supporters of Israel, but one of the most prominent is NORPAC is a PAC that spends most of its money supporting Republicans. A quick look at their website shows who they really are, Mitch McConnel, John Cornyn, Bill Cassidy are featured prominently on their homepage. That is all I need to know about Antone Melton-Meaux. Any person associated with Mitch McConnell in any way shape or form does not deserve to call themselves a Democrat. His running is nothing more that a hit job on Ilhan Omar. I for one refuse to let someone else tell me who I need representing me, this is one primary I will not miss.
Henk, thanks for your research and comment. While I have already voted for Antone, your words are interesting and useful.
I have been browsing OpenSecrets.org to learn more about campaign contributions. The succinct summary is that Omar’s fundraising profile looks a LOT more like the leading candidate in the Republican primary (Lacy Johnson) than does the profile for Melton-Meaux. She has raised $3.3m, 92% of which came from outside MN. Johnson has raised $1.1m, 90% of which came from outside MN. By contrast, Melton-Meaux has raised only $469k, and only 14% of that came from outside MN. The funds known to be coming from inside and outside the District are similar (Omar raised 83% of her funds from outside the District, similar to the 80% for Johnson, whereas Melton-Meaux raised only 17% of his funds from outside the District).
So If there is a national Blue vs. Red contest going on in our District (and yes, I live here), then it’s between Omar and Johnson, not between Omar and Melton-Meaux.
Details:
1. So far, Omar has raised more than 10x the $$ that Melton-Meaux has ($3.3m vs. $469k). She has spent more than $2m on this race; he has spent slightly more than $270k. She has twice as much cash on hand (more than $1m) than he has raised. If spending $$ on the campaign is an indicator of desperation, then she’s much more desperate than he is.
2. Unless someone drops out between now and Aug 11, there will be 15 candidates on the ballot in the primary. In the DFL primary, there are 5 candidates: Omar is the Incumbent, and she has 4 challengers, but only Melton-Meaux is considered to be a true threat, despite the fact that (as noted above) she has already spent more than 5x the amount of $$ than he has raised. The Republican primary has 7 candidates. The leader in terms of $$ raised is Lacy Johnson, at $1.1m, about 3x the amount that Melton-Meaux has raised. It seems reasonable to believe that Republican donors are supporting Republican candidates, like Johnson.
3. Omar’s top contributors are funds established by Apple, Google, Intel, UMN, United Airlines, and several other tech firms. She received more $$ from Facebook than from Jordan Real Estate Investments (local). Melton-Meaux’s top contributors are funds established by UMN, Dorsey & Whitney Law Firm, Nassfotremele, Jones Day. He gets a lot of support from funds established by healthcare-related orgs, not surprising, since his wife is a physician.
4. The vast majority (92%) of Omar’s contributions come from outside Minnesota, similar to the sources of Lacy Johnson contributions (91% from outside MN). By contrast, only 14% of Melton-Meaux’s contributions are from out-of-state; he has received 86% of his support from Minnesota. In terms of dollars raised from inside the state, Omar and Melton-Meaux have raised about the same ($287k for Omar, $249k for Melton-Meaux). So she is getting vastly more outside support than he is.
5. Drilling down a little deeper, into contributions known to be from inside the District, Melton-Meaux has raised more $$ from inside the District than she has ($203k in-district for M-M, vs. $162k in-district for Omar). In terms of percentages, 83% of Omar’s contributions come from outside the District, very similar to the percentage of Lacy Johnson’s contributions (80% from out of the District). For Melton-Meaux, only 17% of his contributions came from out of the District.
6. In terms of small ($200 or less) vs. large (more than $200) donors, Omar received $1.4m from large donors, while Melton-Meaux received $360k. So she’s received 4x as much $$ as he has from large donors. And if percentage of the dollars raised coming from small donors is an indicator of who is supported by “real people”, Lacy Johnson, the leading candidate in the Republican primary, gets more support from “real people” than does Ilhan Omar (77.7% for Johnson, vs. 56.7% for Omar).
So, in summary, Omar has amassed vastly more $$ than has Melton-Meaux, and has amassed vastly more $$ from large donors than he has. The vast majority of her donors don’t live in the District she claims to represent, much less the state, while the vast majority of his donors do live in the District. And while it would be tempting to suggest that this is the power of incumbency, that doesn’t explain why the leading candidate for the Republican primary has a fundraising profile more similar to Omar than to Melton-Meaux.
I got all of these figures from https://www.opensecrets.org/races/candidates?cycle=2020&id=MN05&spec=N.
Omar has been in office for two years, and raising money since she got elected. Make up your mind, Omar’s fund raising is either a sign of success, and support, or a sign of corruption and elitism, but it can’t both. And it’s not just the amount, or wealth of donors that makes a difference, it’s also the nature of those donors… how many of Omar’s donors are Republican organizations?
Whatever has been raised, and remember, you don’t get those figures in real time, Antone is clearly outspending Omar in THIS campaign so far. He’s run far more TV ads, mailed ten times as many flyers, his internet presence is much larger and more sophisticated.
I live in Ilhan Omar’s old neighborhood, Cedar Riverside. I have spoken to many Somalis who share their anger over Omar’s involvement with her campaign manager and current husband when both were married. The feeling that I get for so many of these constituents is that they will not vote for Ms. Omar again for this and other reasons.
Ilhan’s use of campaign finances, which went to her current husband’s business, distresses me.
However, Ilhan Omar brings fresh air to the foreign policy community in her support of the Palestinian community. Under the Likud Party, which former and now deceased Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon left to form a party which would allow friendship with Palestine, we often read of hospital and neighborhoods beset with Israeli missiles exploding and killing children, women, and disabled people — only to have the Palestinian military arm retort with similar measures.
Ilhan Omar’s steadfast and strong support of peace in the region is refreshing. Her enemies lie within the U.S. military-industrial complex which past U.S. President Dwight D. “Ike” Eisenhower, a Republican, warned against.
Omar’s failure to attend 5.7% of the votes is distressing, regardless of how she couches the reality. Her butting heads with the president on Twitter shows a lack of maturity and common sense which leads me to believe that despite many considerate reasons to vote for her, her mind is made in such a way to create more dust than bars of gold.
I have met with Ilhan’s team in her Minneapolis office for assistance with an issue which was never met with success. This could be because the party we were dealing with was recalcitrant or because the staff did not have effective methods of negotiating.
Despite my fondness for Ilhan Omar, who I have worked with in the DFL, I have voted for Antone Melton-Meaux. Anton is far more educated than Ilhan Omar, is a mediator, attorney and pastor. Like Ilhan Omar, he has his own backstory of having been treated with prejudice as a child and during his time in college or graduate school.
Despite what one writer said at the top of this column, Melton-Meaux has, in fact, labelled himself as a Progressive. His expensive literature may be a poor reflection on his strategy for getting people to vote for him, but I have read his literature and find that they provide a lot of information about Candidate Melton-Meaux.
This has allowed me to say, “I like this man. He is intelligent. He is stable in a marital relationship with a highly educated University of Minnesota surgeon. He is a mediator and attorney — someone with a history of bringing people together and ironing out disagreements; and, as a pastor, he can relate with the spiritual needs of his constituents…many of whom are Muslim, but capable of bridging the divide as a Lutheran.”
One writer said that he believed that this was just another career move on the part of an attorney. Such thinking provides questionable maturity. Every move into politics is a career move for someone who has not been active in the past. Berating a man who sees a need to bring stability to the Congressional community, and because he is an attorney, is sadly cynical and not to my liking.
With regard to the DFL’s endorsement of Ilhan Omar, Ken Martin’s comments are understood: she is a highly effective organizer of campaigns. Ken Martin’s role in the DFL has been as an outstanding fundraiser. The chairman of the Fifth District is a young man who has made mistakes of his own, and should be understood to be a relative newcomer and age peer of Ms. Omar.
This said, I am going with Melton-Meaux’s education and highly crafted skills as a negotiator and attorney who has devoted himself to non-profit work with children and the arts community. He understands the language of law, which is the primary concern of members of Congress. I believe he would make a fine addition to Congress representing the district which I have called home for over forty adult years and as a long-time DFL and DNC volunteer.
After reading and responding to Henk Tobias’ 1:57 p.m. 07/10/2020 reply, I contacted Hennepin County Public Library to get a telephone number for Melton-Meaux’s campaign. I called the number and found that the number did not have a voicemail set-up. I now know that I should be doing more research than depending on campaign literature. Perhaps Ilhan Omar’s youthful transgressions are not so bad, and if Melton-Meaux is propped up by Republicans, this would, if it can be verified, be a great abuse of our citizenry.
Please wait to vote until more information about this candidate comes out. His credentials from the face of it, look great. However, more information is needed to make a good vote. I have learned my lesson.
I have since read about NORPAC, which is a non-partisan organization. While many Trump supporters are endorsed by, and receive money from NORPAC, this does not equate with Melton-Meaux being in bed with far-right-wing actors.
The more I read about the candidate, the more I believe that he has the mindset and intelligence to bring to Congress. I believe that he would serve to bring peace to Congress and serve as a bi-partisan element which listens to all sides.
This said, Ilhan Omar has both strengths and weaknesses which have been discovered over the past years. Yet, she, too, is an intelligent and strong voice for freedom and justice.
I spoke with a long time leader of former MN Senate District 60 (which has been current MN Senate District 60) DFL Board of Directors about voting for Antone Melton Meaux over Ilhan Omar. Both of us voted for Antone.
My friend indicated that he doesn’t believe that Melton-Meaux will win, despite, in his view, being the best candidate. He said that Ilhan Omar has been attacked so vociferously by Donald Trump that she has been gaining a lot of support from voters. He also indicated that many of his Republican friends will not vote for Trump given Trump’s oafish and unintelligent conduct over the past three and a half years.
Time will tell. Antone Melton-Meaux and Ilhan Omar have different qualities which they bring to the table. Melton-Meaux has far more education and experience than Omar, but Omar is a fighter and has much support from around the state and nation from both influential groups as well as citizens.
Correction (as I am known for typos): I meant former MN Senate District 59/Current Senate District 60 (DFL).
I voted for Ilhan Omar because I felt that her voice needed to be heard at this time. I still think that, so I’m voting for her again.
What I found disturbing about Antone was that he received $5k from To Protect Our Heritage PAC which is about protecting Israel. I’d rather not commit to protecting Israel, so definitely going with Ilhan again.
I am surprised people complain they don’t see much of Ilhan Omar. Somehow I haven’t been looking for her and she’s turned up a couple of times. She seems like a very busy lady.
“The fundraisers have been put on by NORPAC, a nonpartisan group that supports hard-line conservative policies in Israel. The group supported President Trump’s move to remove the United States from the Iran Nuclear Deal and his action to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.”
This right here is what makes Antone a rock-hard “no” in my book.
I visited http://www.NORPAC.net, the website for the PAC. I had no preconceived notions as to what would be on the site, and remained objective despite the negative comment (above).
The site shows an interest in assisting both Democratic and Republican candidates, including Tina Smith of Minnesota (a senator), and several other Democratic senators, both women and men.
They appear to be protective of Israel due to the stated desire of Iran under its current government to destroy Israel. I see nothing wrong with this.
For Democrats who may be wary of any organization which supports Mitch McConnell, I believe it is wise to understand that Mr. McConnell holds a view of Israel which is important for a home nation for Jewish people. While I don’t agree with everything which the Likud Party of Israel stands for, a Jewish homeland is important to millions of Jews.
Moreover, there are Israeli-Palestinian friendship organizations in that region which support the call to peace. While McConnell seems to be a toady of Donald Trump, we cannot place that ball on NORPAC for the good it intends to do. I do not, however, agree with their support of ending the former agreement which the U.S. had with Iran regarding is nuclear enrichment.
Barry, if NORPAC is a “non-profit” they have to declare themselves to be non-partisan, that doesn’t mean they’re actually are. You can’t trust an organizations own website. Furthermore, even IF they’ve given money to some Democrats, don’t make the mistake of assuming that ALL Democrats are liberal. Any organization that’s given ANY money Trump supporters is supporting Fascism, whether they toss a buck or two at a the occasional Democrat or not.
Paul, NORPAC has given money to U.S. Senator Tina Smith (MN). Is she conservative? No. The organization seeks to protect Israel from attack by Iran, who has a blood-thirst toward harming the Jewish state. One needn’t like the Likud Party of Israel to care about the rest of Israel.
That Melton-Meaux is receiving money from organizations that support Israel is not a reason to discount the candidate. I am not in favor of their militant excursions into the area of Palestine, which only provokes the Palestinians. However, I am in favor of caring about the Jewish residents of that nation — as well as the Palestinians who live in the area. There can be harmony in this question. Antone is aware of this and is making the right decision by accepting money from pro-Israeli organizations. Your cynicism is showing far too glaringly.
The Israel issue isn’t a partisan one. Tina Smith is endorsed by the To Protect Our Heritage PAC, and it’s true she’s a Democrat, but I didn’t vote for her in the primary for reasons other than the donation she received from TPOH PAC. I wasn’t sure I liked the hybrid public/private ventures for which she is so well known.
I don’t think the US/Israel relationship is in danger (TPOH has Mitch McConnell & Jim Hagedorn) and I have to wonder, why we hear so much about the US/Israel PAC, but nothing about a US/Saudi Arabia PAC or US/UK PAC? Do they support political candidates too? Even if they do, they don’t have the influence of the Pro-Israel lobby.
I’m certainly not anti-Israel, but not sure why I should be any more pro-Israel than I am pro-Mexico or pro-Canada.
Im with ya, especially considering the fact that the ending of the Iran deal has prompted Iran to regenerate its building of nuclear arsenal rather then having the reverse effect.
going soft on Israel’s occupation of the West Bank is no way to get elected as a Democrat in Minnesota. Omar’s made some mistakes, but I think she’s on the path to becoming a leader of the party.
Not a member of any cabal or secret agenda group but a downtown resident in Ilhan’s district, I rarely hear from her or have any impression of what she cares about in Minneapolis. That is, I didn’t until she addressed a Defund MPD march in early June. She said, and it is forever on YouTube, “We need to completely dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department. The Minneapolis Police Department is rotten to the root.”
We are in the First Precinct, which Arradondo (now our chief) headed. He was great. Now we have Bill Peterson, another fine officer. Our Community Affairs Specialist, Renee Allen, is great. Our safety liaison with the downtown small and large business community, Shane Zahn, is great. Who wants to eliminate them – not me.
Ilhan Omar has a website that you can go to and sign up for periodic statements.
Very good article. I am curious, though, why it does not also mention that the Huffpost article claims that Antone received over $300,000 from Pro-Israel America, a group founded and run by former AIPAC employees; and that NORPAC also gave $150,000 to Mitch McConnell. Given all the funding from Trump supporters, it makes you wonder why they are so anxious to get rid of Ilhan if she is so ineffective at her job.
Follow the money! Omar gets hers from the people she represents! Small donations from a LOT of people while Melton-Meaux has big money behind him! I wonder why? Republicans backing him? Another BIG RED FLAG! His position on Israel is the same as Trumps! Omar has been telling the truth about Israel’s genocide and land grabbing techniques targeting the Palestinians since 1947! It is well documented if people would just educate themselves instead of believing pro Israel propaganda. Omar’s position on Healthcare is closer to what the people need (especially during a Pandemic!) than what her opponent offers. Melton-Meaux sound’s like just another polished Republican Lite offering that will not be a voice for the poor and working people of Minnesota. There is only ONE clear choice for the 5th District and it is Omar!
Mr. Kraemer, please cite your evidence that Antone Melton-Meaux’s stance on Israel is the same as Donald Trump’s stance. This statement, coming from a rationale person, would be hyperbole. Melton-Meaux’s stance may be limited to wanting to protect Israel from Iran and nothing more. He is a mediator with years of experience in diplomatic appeals to parties in conflict.
To be equating Melton-Meaux with Donald Trump is an overstatement made almost to the degree of crying “FIRE” in a movie theater. It is my contention that you were wrong to do so and to characterize the candidates as one dimensional figures. There is more going on in the background. I hope you will see this truth and re-imagine your understanding of the truth.
I received a piece of mail today and in the past by this opponent. At first he put on a positive message to people, but today he is critical of Ilhan Omar. She has passed a number of significant bills. I am more concerned when a person does not produce good bills for passage than if they are there all the time. She has children to take care of and that is something some men do not get. It is not easy to find child care at times. She has had numerous town hall meetings. I am happy with that. As far her voting on one piece of legislation on Turkey, I am more concerned with her overall voting record. You could not vote for any one if you just focused on one bills you did not like. One Republican complained about her finances. She paid the fine and she was new and was not so informed at the time. She relied on her accounting people on this one. Overall I am happy with her. She put out a positive piece in the mail and did not criticize her opponents at all. I like that.She just put her record and what she has done. That is what is a candidate should do.
Completely agree with this statement and wil also be voting for Ilhan in the primary in August and her and Biden in November
I think we got the same piece of mail. I was on my way out to dump some papers in the recycling bin when I received that ad, and the ad was an easy add to the recycling.
Omar is nothing but a sound bite. She has given up on our district, and focused on being on the national stage. We need someone who cares about their district, and it’s pretty obvious she does not
Im happy with what Ilhan has done representing mpls and will vote for her in August and Biden in November
Since you’ve publicly expressed your disgust with the state of Minnesota, and the city of Minneapolis, and have repeatedly expressed your intention to move to Florida, why do you care?
We need to be careful about condemning any candidate taking money from NORPAC. 81% of their donations go to Democrats, and among those who have received funds is Tina Smith. Other critical Senate races are getting money from NORPAC. (opensecrets.org) A number of Omar supporters signed on without knowing about Melton-Meaux’s candidacy or who he is. I believe his views represent more Democrats in our district than Omar’s, including mine on the whole, and he has my vote.
Susan, the 81% statistic is this reporting season. Its still early, but I think its important to point out who the Republicans are that are receiving that 19% of NORPAC’s resources. Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham top the list. Also if we look back at 2018, the last full reporting period, according to Open Secrets NORPAC donated 100% of their money to Republicans, 100% in a year where Democrats fought hard and won back control of the House. We look back to 2016 we see that NORPAC sat the national races out, I guess even they couldn’t stomach Trump. It looks like Mitt Romney was their guy. We have to go back to 2012,. There they were more balanced. 54% Democrat. It matters where Politician get their money and someone is pumping a lot of cash into Antone’s campaign coffers and I for one don’t like outside money trying to tell me who my Representative should be. Be it Republicans or Democrats, I can make my own decisions thank you very much.
Henk, you don’t have to believe that anyone is telling you who your candidate should be. Just look into the candidate’s profile to imagine what they will bring to the table. While Ilhan has a lot of spirit, a review of her legislative achievements, as seen in the link that I provided elsewhere on this page, shows that she has very little support from Members of Congress, even in her own party. She is spinning her wheels in Congress.
If Ilhan wants to be a political activist, I’m all for that: she makes points which are not typically seen among Americans, and many Americans are listening. However, her track record shows for itself. Very little of what she has attempted to accomplish make it beyond the U.S. House of Representatives. Her manner, as a member of Congress, is ineffective. Only two, maybe three, laws she has authored has made it to the President and has been signed. She is an alienating voice in Congress and quite divisive.
This link goes to her record in Congress:
https://www.congress.gov/member/ilhan-omar/O000173?searchResultViewType=expanded&pageSize=250&page=3
Given the “dead on arrival” attitude of the Senate and White House to nearly all legislation passed by the House, it is not surprising that any Democrat with a progressive agenda would have had little success in passing anything that could get through the Senate and be signed by Trump. If that makes her “divisive”, then more power to her.
I’ve lived in S. Minneapolis for the past 9 years and will EASILY without question or hesitation, be voting for Ilhan Omar and Joe Biden in November. Anybody who trump hates as much as he hates Ilhan is obviously doing a great job in drafting bills that help common folks and effectively organizing voters. Republicon dirty tricks don’t work in the 5th ward and won’t ever work in Minneapolis, no matter how much money Republicons give her opponent
If this is how you feel, then be sure to vote for her in the August 11th PRIMARY, which is the race this article is about, so that you have the option of voting for her in November.
You can request a primary mail-in ballot through the secretary of state’s website.
This is a lengthy and well researched article that put in a lot of effort to avoid telling us what the fifth district election is all about.
Melton-Meaux certainly has the best name recognition money can buy.
This article is a shining example of the very real value MinnPost brings to Minnesota journalism. Thanks a Ton.
This reporting was so good that even this large heap of very good and varied responses were great to read!
I join in thanks for a thorough and informational article.
I didn’t support Ms. Omar in the 2018 DFL primary, as I thought she had not yet gathered sufficient political judgment for the national stage. I believe the past two years bear this out somewhat. But I will be voting for her without question.
There are many facets to this discussion, but I will just speak to one that, to my readin, the preceding comments don’t cover.
If not in her policy stances, then in the outward indicia of her identity (female, person of color, Muslim, immigrant), Ms. Omar stands perhaps furthest to the “left” of all 435 members of the House. For this reason, the GOP and mainstream media undertook from the start to form her into a fictive symbol of the terrifying left. By doing so, they have made her election a larger, national referendum of a choice between order and radical chaos. By voting Ms. Omar out of office, our district would be handing to the national discourse a testimonial that, as Ms. Omar’s constituents, we choose GOP “order.”
Mr. Melton-Meaux appears to be smart and humane (setting aside that the origin of his candidacy is highly suspect). If the Congress were a functional body in which all members worked for the good of the nation, it might be fine to send a smart and humane “centrist” to represent us. However, nearly half of the Congress is dedicated to replacing our aspirational democracy with a corrupt authoritarianism in which our ability to work for the common good thru the collective mechanisms of government has been dismantled. Our district doesn’t need to send another Democrat to walk half the distance between aspirational democracy and authoritarianism and plant his flag there. I’m proud to live in the district whose representative most symbolizes the potential insurgency of the ordinary citizen and most discomforts the authoritarians.
Good points!
I’m not sure exactly what Ilhan Omar’s detractors expected of her. Do things for the city? How much clout does any first-term House member have when it comes to bringing goodies to their district?
No one in Congress has been more misinterpreted and quoted out of context.
The leftist voice is needed to balance out the more fascist (and I don’t use this term lightly) members of Congress.
The comfortable and the timid like to talk about “moving toward the middle” and “working across party lines.” However, it’s always the Democrats who are expected to approach toward the Republican goalposts as they move farther in the direction of angry authoritarianism and heartless economic libertarian.
You cannot compromise with bullies. I thought everyone learned that in their K-12 school years.
Ilhan Omar supporters made a big mistake in supporting her last time; her inexperience and focus on activism rather than governing gave you the rocky results we’ve seen in two years. It’s really not her fault except that she should have stayed in the legislature to gain some experience and then she should have run for congress-say in 2028. Voters should have known better. You gave up Phyllis and Margaret for what? Those of you worried about NORPAC should be more concerned about how Ilhan’s clumsy rhetoric is now being used to fund-raise on the right and paint all Democrats as radical, destructive, anti-semetic and untrustworthy. If she loses the primary this characterization will be taken away and Trump will lose. It’s time for good strategy not purity. Whoever wins CD 5 will have to learn to compromise with the rest of the country and not just grandstand and seek attention.
Yes, she is a convenient target. Already today I have seen a post claiming that the reason efforts to defund the Minneapolis Police are being undertaken “is Ilhan Omar wants it.” The Saracen has spoken, and the lefties must obey her.
Republicans are going to say unfair, bigoted things no matter what happens. Democrats need to stop reacting to what the Republicans are going to do anyway. It’s been over forty years since Senator McGovern lost, and mainstream Democrats are just starting to feel comfortable again with a progressive agenda. It’s time to move on, and stand for something again.
Democratic timidity puts me in mind of something Ulysees Grant said to one of his generals at the Wilderness: “Oh, I am heartily tired of hearing about what Lee is going to do. Some of you always seem to think he is suddenly going to turn a double somersault, and land in our rear and on both of our flanks at the same time. Go back to your command, and try to think what we are going to do ourselves, instead of what Lee is going to do.”
Regardless of what one thinks of Ilhan Omar, she’s not afraid to criticize the Israeli lobby’s influence over Congress. I suspect that Antone Melton-Meaux is bought-and-paid-for by AIPAC. . . .
If so, he is very much the Manchurian Candidate, groomed for years and waiting for the moment of activation:
“After graduating from college with high honors, I (Melton Meaux) went to the University of Virginia School of Law, where I was chosen for the prestigious Congressional Black Caucus Fellowship. During my time on Capitol Hill, I had the privilege of working for Donna Brazile, former chair of the DNC, and Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.). While there, I worked on housing and early childhood education policy”
Omar has funneled $878,000 to her new husband. That’s a problem!
No, Omar hired a firm her husband runs, she didn’t dump $900k into her husbands (or her own) pockets. Her husband gets paid his salary regardless and most of Omar’s campaign money passed through to 3rd party vendors.
This is perfectly legal for any other House member. Again, you guys are jumping on a Republican attack wagon while pretending to be Democratic “uniters”.
“bought-and-paid-for”
Honestly? This is the kind of dog whistle that reinforces people’s resistance to her.
Regardless, her job is to represent the interests of my neighbors, community and me. Her job is not to represent the interests of the Palestinians. Sometimes it feels like she spends more time advocating for their interests than the interests of her constituents.
What percent of Rep Omar’s time has she spent on advocacy for Palestinian rights?
Why hasn’t every US House Rep from Minnesota support stronger rights for Palestinians, second-class citizens in their native homeland?
Israel has shifted hard-right under Netanyahu. Peace is less possible as a result.
Rep Omar has co-sponsored significant legislation to help Americans, including recent emergency rescue aid. Check out the details, you may be pleasantly surprised how 5th District-focused her legislative work has been
It is not anti-Semitic to criticize Israel or its government’s policies. However, it is anti-Semitic to criticize Israel and its policies without serious and repeated examination of one’s own internalized anti-Semitism. This is true for both non-Jews and Jews alike. Jews can and do internalize anti-Semitic ideas and attitudes from the wider society and culture in which Jews are a small, historically despised minority.
Rep. Omar’s positions regarding Israel and her criticisms are a legitimate part of a national and local discussion needed to arrive at a position that represents the 5th district. What is not legitimate and not brought forward in the article is that she misrepresented her position on BDS during the 2018 primary. Despite promising during a debate appearance at Beth El Synagogue in St. Louis Park in 2018 to oppose the boycott, disinvestment and sanctions policy, shortly after the election, Rep. Omar was one of just 17 members of Congress to vote not to condemn BDS. It’s unclear whether she would have won the primary if she had stated her position such that it could be understood before was she was in Congress.
The fact that Rep. Omar misrepresented, in carefully chosen language, her position on BDS, before an audience who specifically wanted to know, ought not to be omitted when describing or attempting to understand her position on Israel or assess potential anti-Semitism, and should be major issue in her bid for re-election.
Concerning Omar’s anti Semitism, I have no use for dense language or word games. I don’t think I should need a gibberish-English dictionary to translate the language of my Congress people.
I support the State of Israel. I certainly don’t support everything it does. I reserve the same right to criticize it’s policies as I do those of Canada. I support Canada too.
I contacted Representative Omar’s office for help with communicating with Social Security over information needed to complete my tax filing. A staff person was assigned and I never heard from him as promised. Senator Smith’s staff person helped resolve the issue with a few emails and phone calls. Helping citizens with government issues is a standard practice for members of Congress. 2. Rep. Omar is more about showboating than representing all of her constituents, including my community, that largely supported her campaign. Omar’s lack of thoughtful language and inability to learn the complexity of some issues are concerning even as I agree with justice and dignity for Palistinians and criticize Netanyahu, settlers, and annexation. Voted for ANTONE.
I would like to hear from more constituents who have contacted her office to see if they have been effective at resolving issues pertaining to federal issues. Also, if anyone would please let me know if my long posts are irritating or useful, I would appreciate that, too. I love to write, but believe I get too carried away to the point of being ineffective.
Constituent services is one of the core functions of her office. If she had spent the last two years making connections within the DC bureaucracy, building a reputation to be taken seriously, and focused on figuring out how to effectively serve her constituents, she would not be in the position she is in now with a relatively strong primary opponent. Instead she chose grandstanding and celebrity. That’s all on her.
U.S Representative Omar is going to be victorious in November 2020..She hasn’t been bought off by the greedy corporate and religious lobbyists in Washington,D.C.and Minnesota.
By funneling $878,000 of campaign funds to her new hubby she has certainly been bought and paid for by somebody.
The single biggest issue in the time of Trump is basic truth and honesty from our elected officials.
Condemning Trump for his faults and looking the other way on Omar is blatant hypocrisy that needs to be called out with consequences.
Vote for Antone.
Was the “funneling” of money to her “hubby” illegal? My understanding is taht it was payment for services rendered by his firm to her campaign.
Perfectly legal, but another convenient excuse.
I’ve lived in Minnesota’s 5th for 30 years. Yesterday, (Saturday) I received the nastiest Campaign flyer that I have ever seen in this district. It was attacking Ilhan Omar, I tossed it along with the umpteenth Antone flyer into the trash. I could have sworn it was straight from the Republican Party, but due to its similarity to the Antone flyer I thought twice and retrieved it from the trash. Sure enough right there on the bottom: Prepared and Paid for by Antone for Congress. I’ve never seen one “Democrat” go after another like this, not in this district anyway. It reeks of desperation and a nasty take no prisoners approach that in my view has no place in this race. I’ll be calling Antone for Congress bright and early Monday morning to register my disgust, displeasure with their tactics and show my support for Omar. With any luck I can get my name off his ridiculous mailing list. He’s a one man environmental disaster.
Also, let’s not forget, religious bias and anti-muslim sentiment is not just a Republican affliction.
Melton Meauxs’s “challenge” is about elite Democrats seeking their own comfort levels, period. This is a dangerous impulse that has invited fascism into our politics.
Anyone who promises to “work” with, or “heal” divisions with Republican Fascists is dangerously ignorant and/or complicit in their own oppression and demise. We are way way way past any kind of “mediation” and a candidate that promises to beg scraps from Republican’s rather than battle and defeat them will only prolong the pain and suffering being visited upon us and our fellow citizens.
We need warriors not mediators, and that’s the difference between Omar and Meauxs.
I have only seen Omar speak truths that needed to spoken, and fight wrongs that need to fought. She is no less focused on her constituents than any other House member, and her agenda and leadership has been an asset to her district. This is after all the US House, not the MN House.
Antone is promising to restore a comfort level that has delivered crisis, poverty, and inequality to the 5th district for decades. Omar’s stand against inequality, poverty, racism, and fascism, can only be seen as “divisive” from the perspective privilege and entitlement that has been contributing to multiple crises for decades. Rolling back to a failed comfort zone is recipe for disaster on both local and national levels.
I’m sure Antone is a decent guy, but I don’t want a “mediator” representing me in Congress, I want a warrior who fight for the 5th district.
Mr. Udstrand,
I believe you may have been referring to me when you wrote this post. You have a knack for bringing out the “privilege” card when speaking about people who are known to have a history like mine, with families which are wealthier than most. However, your “privilege card”, if I am correct about your comment nuancing my comments, couldn’t be father than the truth. Please forgive me is I am over-sensitive and drawing conclusions about you that are incorrect.
I have not been “privileged.” I have experienced a lifetime of severe abuse from classmates and my mom (when she was being beaten by her second husband”) and my stepdad. I made it into Macalester College by pulling my grades up to A’s and B’s, but was beaten at Macalester College and University of Minnesota due to boorish students who caught on that I had anxiety disorder. My GPA was less than 3.0 as a result, and I never made it into graduate school. The ravages of depression and anxiety made it impossible for me to remain employed at a fulltime level, and I now work from home coaching foreign-born professionals in medicine and engineering on how to speak English with greater proficiency.
We have gone around for well over a year, you and I. Some of your comments here have been prescient. Others have been not to my liking because they lacked common sense and insight.
Anton Melton-Meaux is not an elitist. He worked hard in school and in his professional career bringing people together. It is never a sin to attempt to bring people together, and your comments obliquely suggesting that Republicans cannot be moved from their “fascist” slant is highly cynical and not in keeping with intelligent dialogue. Diplomacy works with continued effort.
My effort to support Melton-Meaux is because despite the obvious truths of your comments about Ilhan Omar, who I respect, she has made a life of attempting to make changes that would obviously never happen under the current leadership in the Republican environment that we now see ourselves. She has been divisive with her rhetoric and tone, probably without understanding that another manner would be more effective.
I may be wrong about your possibly having nuanced my arguments. If so, I note that I may be clumsy. But given our history of “going around” with one another over the past years, I believe I am accurate. In any case, I am asserting, once again, that you are cynical and bitter, and that your comments are not telling of an attorney who has worked on behalf of children, the medical community, the arts, and has meditated difficult relationships and has developed a reasonably honorable honorable character worthy of inclusion into our congressional community.
Barry, I’ve not read any of your comments on this thread and was not responding to you. I would note that one characteristic of entitlement and privilege is the assumption that one is at the center of all discussions.
I would also note that those with highly developed senses of entitlement and privilege tend to consider any challenge to their perspective as an unreasonable attack. Whatever.
Paul, thanks for your comment. I appreciate that you read my comment.
I believe few people are reading my comments as they are longer than most people like to read. The style that I present goes against the grain of the people who I have been learning from in the DFL who have had long years of service to the DFL community, as well as from my dad who made a life of writing legal briefs for governments and private citizens.
I am no longer a part of the DFL, having had a fallout with small and bigoted minds when I brought up word of having been sexually molested in my childhood and early adulthood.
That said, I am now a volunteer for the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) Disability Council, keeping myself active online and by telephone to advance the well-being of our community. I try to consume information and opinions from people of all political persuasions, but do not approve of, or continue, comments which are hateful and entirely small-minded.
Paul, please let me know if your use of the term “fascist” is based on the actual definition of fascism, or if it has been used as a pejorative and hateful epithet of people who may use military forces to engage others in activities intended to break them in an effort to both gain access to resources as well as to set up “region-new” institutions to improve peaceful economic, educational, and health-community institutions.
Please know that I greatly gain from your comments, as they put me on a footing of having to further meditate on what I believe to be important in our community — as well as to recognize that I may be wrong about certain beliefs.
I will say here, though, that your inferences about “white privilege” and “elitism” are so exaggerated as to be seen as simplistic and over-rated. For the past fifty years, I have gone to school with, befriended, and taken in people from all racial and ethnic backgrounds who have come before me in the U.S., Europe, and Central America.
I have made friends with extremely low educated people with hardly any money, as well as with people aristocratic and corporate families in Europe, the U.S. South America, Asia, and Africa, and from medical, legal, cleric, arts, and business backgrounds. I have known people in Africa who nearly entirely depend on the few thousands of dollars I use to assist them in their daily lives, through many years, to people who have hundreds of millions, and billions, of dollars in personal and family assets. I depend entirely on my own personal resourcefulness to live in a small apartment in south Minneapolis among African, Middle Eastern, Asian, and Latin American immigrants.
I consider others as the center of my attention, and relate my experiences in an effort to share what I have learned and what I have learned to believe in. In this regard, one may interpret me as being self-centered. However, I consider myself to be fond of learning and arguing intelligent arguments…as well as being humble enough to admit when I have been mistaken.
At this time, at the age of 58-years, I am in financial poverty due mostly to my earlier idiocy of not saving money and then using credit cards to promote my personal economy and worldly happiness, as well as my inability to feel comfortable working among others; I have been severely mistreated in my youth and have not known how to garner support necessary to bring that sort of stuff to an end, so I stay to myself albeit having several great friends around the world. I do not have the financial support of my family, who were professionals and low-level real estate entrepreneurs.
I am a constant reader, and love putting things into a perspective based on universal, not parochial, truths. Once debt is paid down, I will start my financial life again and re-imagine myself based on models of economic and philosophical conduct of which I have become aware through my relationships and my reading and viewing.
One is never too old to start and gain; and one is never too young to learn from winners and find discipline to overcome social, economic or intellectual disparity.
I apologize for my typos and other problems with writing.
Ilhan Omar’s Congressional efforts and achievements:
https://www.congress.gov/member/ilhan-omar/O000173?searchResultViewType=expanded&pageSize=250&page=3
Very troubling that Antone is getting financial support from Republican sources. Sounds like their motive is simply to get Omar out since she is being effective and a detriment to their goals. All the more power to her. Does not appear that some of his supporters are really interested in what Antone has to offer.
An excellent point. Ilhan offers our nation a counterpoint to what has been seen in foreign affairs. One of the concerns or curiosities I have had about members of Congress, both in the House and the Senate, is how invested they are in the military-industrial complex., which, if they are, would support Paul Udstrand’s notion that Republicans in that vein are, using the Italian term, “fascist.” If this is the case, and if forces which the Republicans view as unfriendly and as enemies, then plying them away from huge buy-ins to the weapons industry will be difficult.
My desire to support Melton-Meaux is because he has the proven skills to negotiate with people who may have been recalcitrant in their effort to block initiatives such as those that Omar has been trying to make. Having grown up as the son of an attorney, I have an idea of how attorneys can use words to change attitudes and behaviors. My chastising Paul Udstrand is not meant to nullifying all of his reasoning, as he has made really interesting points in the past. However, his comments suggesting “white privilege,” and “fascism,” as I read his comments, may be epithets more than rationale comments suggesting more than an honest and insightful appraisal of warring with forces in other nations against the better interests of growth and high health in those nations.
I admit that I am not certain about this as I do not have a network into the Republican community in Congress. My view of Antone Melton-Meaux, however, is based on his skills and higher education than Ilhan Omar, not based on a repulsion of Ilhan, who has given me a hug and greeted me as a friend. Fondness aside, I have voted for a man who I believe will be more successful in Congress. Ilhan has made around 613 bills and resolutions, and very few, relative to her efforts, have been accepted by even her colleagues. This does not, however, diminish her worthiness. She is creating an environment where people are being pressed to think about U.S. actions, both domestically and internationally, as few people have ever done.
Please review the link I added to this conversation, above, detailing Ilhan Omar’s actions and efforts in Congress.
By invested, I mean most Republicans heavily financially invested in the weapons industry and do they actually have a desire to kill and maim other people as amoral citizens with power in our nation. My thought is that they are not immoral in their efforts, but guided toward enhancing U.S. and other interests’ ability to profit from the natural resources from other nations — predominately in the Middle East and Central Asia.
I have a sense that many of the Republicans have an interesting way of showing their concern for people who may be convinced to live in a modern context, as seen not only in the West, but even in the more modern and economically sound and strong areas of China, where there is a mixed economy of capitalism and communism, with the Communist Party controlling the economic gains in that nation. A friend of mine in China, who lives in Beijing and is a policewoman who interrogates and interprets Mongolian-speaking suspects, and also owns several homes for rental property and a factory for sewing dresses (in Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region of China northwest of Beijing), is an example of a small entrepreneur who has gained from the inroads that China has made over the past forty years in allowing market economies into their once entirely communistically controlled nation after Mao took over.
Pointedly, I am interested in having members in Congress be able to negotiate and use effective reasoning and relationships to slowly evolve our leaders into an understanding that people in our nation, and around the world, require medical programs such as Bernie Sanders wants to prevail.
However, understanding the current state of how people think about wealth, I know that a sudden change toward socialism will never occur without huge backlashes and even more violence than what we’ve seen in recent months regarding how non-European Americans are treated by a significant and evermore seen bigots in our nation.
With this in mind, and an understanding of what Antone Melton-Meaux has to offer over a long career in Congress, I support him. My insights and inklings may not be immediately apparent and understood by others who like to use the word “elite” to denote people who have languished in graduate studies to promote their economic and professional well-being, as well as those who they directly and indirectly affect, but I am eager to see Antone serve. As a mediator, he has the skills to effect changes in a more solid and long-term manner than Ilhan — who has high intelligence and drive, but who cannot convince even her Democratic colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to accept more than thirty and a few more of her hundreds of bills and resolutions.
Hence, it is not how people on the right-wing of the spectrum may view Antone, but what he has to offer as an attorney, mediator, and man who has gone to divinity school to understand his religion and likely the religions of other people. I could care less about how other people may view him. I view him as a man with huge potential and a likely long-term career if people do vote for him and we find him as a Member of Congress.
Depending on who is looking (Yes I am in the district) anything right of Omar (depending on who is commenting) would be considered far right wing! From this perspective she is so far left that we need a new word for it. She had her chance and screwed it up, married, not married, not divorced, divorced, re married. We get it but some integrity would have been helpful!
Could be an important distinction to be made between staunch pro-Bibi types and Republican establishment. The former want to defeat Rep. Omar for one issue only. The latter is heavily invested in propping up Rep. Omar as the villain who looks like the people Republicans are encouraged to hate and perceived as dividing Democrats. No way do Republicans want her to disappear before they’ve fully exploited her poster-girl usefulness. Not to mention their own mostly unknown candidate gets a shot at the limelight in coming weeks.
A greater threat to Republicans would be the emergence of a DFL alternative who is perceived as more effective and a better fit for the district.
Melton Meauxs’s “challenge” is about elite Democrats seeking their own comfort levels, period.
And of course not so elite Democrats seeking a comfort level. I am about un elite as Democrats get, and Omar makes me uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. Given that indisputable fact, why shouldn’t I vote for someone else? Isn’t it her job to make me happy?
Mr. Tobias writes:
“I’ve lived in Minnesota’s 5th for 30 years. Yesterday, (Saturday) I received the nastiest Campaign flyer that I have ever seen in this district. It was attacking Ilhan Omar, …”j
See, this is the thing, we saw it in 2016 and ever since- these establishment/centrist/moderate Democrats are the first to launch vicious attacks on their fellow liberals. They can’t get along with, Omar, or AOC, or Sanders’s and hist supporters… but they promise to “unite” the country and bring us together, blah blah blah. It’s garbage. These people are just as divisive in many ways as the Republican they want to reconcile with.
These Democrats aren’t trying to reconcile or unite, they’re simply trying to reassert their control and power. Sure, Omar makes them “uncomfortable”, because she’s serving a broader constituency beyond their demographic and comfort zone. They want to return the Party to one that serves the elite status quo rather than a broader majority.
Well, we’ll see. That old status quo was a failure, and clearly American’s are not satisfied with perpetual crisis and failure.
Indeed, and I’m pretty sure that there are Republicans behind the scenes who know that a Republican can’t get elected in the 5th District and that any Republican candidate would be a guaranteed loser. Instead they are pouring their funding into a “moderate” Democrat who will be polite to all the right people and not rock the yachts.
There are really three political parties in this country, even though they do not have formal designations.
There is the Trump cult, anti-science, authoritarian, jingoistic, bigoted, and full of moneygrubbers and anger junkies.
There is the left, marginalized and disparaged as “wild-eyed radicals” by the mainstream pols and the TV talking heads, but actually center-left by global standards, and proponents of positions, such as universal health care and guaranteed jobs, that have broad popular support.
Then there is the informal coalition of former Rockefeller Republicans and Clinton Democrats. They reject both the left (too threatening to their wealth and status) and the Trump cult (too embarrassing), but they don’t really stand for anything except mouthing platitudes that sound vaguely concerned and maintaining the status quo. Like Obama with the ACA, they pretend to fix problems but are AWOL when they could be of real use, as when they could have voted unanimously against the Iraq War Resolution.
I’ve come to the point where I agree with Martin Luther King that the “moderates” (not just white moderates in this case) are the greatest enemies of progress.
Bingo to you and Paul. Today another 4-page color flyer from Antone for Congress: Antone the uniter on the front – “running for Congress because he believes the political culture in Washington is toxic, and that we need to bring people together.” Standard-playbook sensationalist distortions of Ms. Omar’s record on the inside.
With each brochure, it seems more certain that when Mr. Melton-Meaux speaks of “uniting,” he means uniting the power structure against the incipient insurgency of the people that Ms. Omar represents.
I assume he was picked by the Obama/Clinton alumni association otherwise known as the Biden campaign and the DNC.
A lot of people wish Minneapolis had a different congress person. Ilhan is high maintenance. She is not comfortable. I, for one, have so many better things to do than clean up her messes.
Hiram, this is the second time you’ve referred to your own comfort level. Thank you for substantiating my claim that Antone is simply and effort to recover the Democratic elite’s comfort level. However, I must repeat the other part of my claim and remind everyone that elite comfort level was and is a failed political regime that left a majority of fellow constituents trapped in a myriad of crises indefinitely.
Liberals don’t support Omar because we’re more comfortable with her, we support liberal agendas that resolve rather than perpetuate crises.
Paul, you so often refer to the “Democratic elite.” What exactly are you trying to say? In which way do you consider these people “elite”? Is it because they are moer qualified through education and track record? I am often lost on whether you are trying to be sarcastic or making a point which we can understand without further guidance.
Please have your statements speak for themselves. I believe you are an intelligent man and mean well. However, your use of the words” entitlement,” “white privilege,” and “elite” are lost on us because there is no context given in which they are provided.
Your comment about my suspected “sense of entitlement” was so far off the mark of who I really am that I must say that I am concerned you are from a woefully deprived background and do not have the objectivity to see that people from professional families are not necessarily from “the elite” of our society. There was a movie that came out many years ago called “Ordinary People” which portrayed a professional family. Peolpe with graduate degrees and salaries higher than most are not necessarily “elite.” Most people think that a salary of $150,000 is a lot of money with a lot of power.
Given what I have been exposed to over the past forty years, I can say that this is absolutely not true — more over, it is possible to “rise” from great depths and from the middle class to become very powerful and financially well-endowed. One of my favorite examples is Jack Ma, of http://www.alibaba.com who started his life as a teacher, became interested in business, and worked himself up from there. He used a hybrid of economic philosophies from communistic to capitalistic to develop the entirety of his business and is one of the wealthiest men in China and the world, now. Michael Bloomberg was from a family whose wealth was not much more than my parents’ wealth, and he is now one of the top ten wealthiest men in the U.S.
Please define your meaning.
One of the pathologies of America is Liberals and conservatives genuflecting before the Masters of Capitalism…while turning a blind eye to the bottom 50% of society, or casting aspersions upon them because they are not “successful”, while ignoring the fact that most if the great wealth for forty years has been kept from them.
Ilhan has not resolved problems. She spins her wheels churning out bill after bill and resolution after resolution. There are over six-hundred bills and resolutions that have come from her offices in the past two years. Most of those were not favorably viewed by the U.S. House of Representatives. only two or three of her bills were signed into law by the president, who hates black people and women — noting that she made quite a few good achievements, but not many compared to her efforts.
She is not composed and people who are hopelessly poor grasp on to her as she provides a MESSAGE of good hope without providing activity which translates into success.
In my conversation with Ilhan Omar’s campaign manager on Tuesday, July 14, 2020, I learned that the number of bills that Ilhan Omar wrote and were passed through the House, although not making it through the Senate, was more than most freshman members of Congress.
You guys have had decades to defeat Republicans, roll back Fascism and extremism, defend women’s rights, address racism and inequality, and build a solid economy for everyone, and you failed. You didn’t just fail in 2016, you failed spectacularly and left s with Trump in the White House. And now you expect Omar and 95 other Progressives in congress (out of 535) to clean up your mess in two years? We have multiple crises decades in the making here, and you want dig out the same way you dug in?
By the way Hiram, the rest of us have been cleaning up your (i.e. Democrats) messes for decades. We’ve been dealing with the mess you created by putting HRC on the ballot to defeat Trump for almost 4 years now. We’ve been dealing the mess Clinton created with his militarization of law enforcement as of late. The mess left behind by Obama and his health care initiatives not mention ALL of his reversed executive orders. The mess left behind by decades of increasing wealth disparity, poverty, stagnant wages, and homelessness. Affordable housing, endangered species, pipelines, etc. etc. etc. I don’t know what messes you think you guys are cleaning up but you got a lot of catching up do compared to the messes Omar and the rest of us are trying to clean up.
I respectfully offer that critiquing Ms. Omar on the basis of her legislative productivity, or the nature of her relationships with other members of Congress, is very misaimed.
First, she has completed her first two-year term. Incumbency as a lifetime sinecure is not sound, but very clearly knowledge, judgment and effectiveness in Congress build over time. I would be interested to know how many congresspersons have achieved high “productivity” in their first term.
More importantly, the coterie of legislators to which Ms. Omar belongs is one that presents the most radical effort in my six decades to undermine the status quo of the House and Senate as bodies that, across party lines, serve power and privilege. Of course they will be furiously resisted by the opposing party, by their own establishment, and across the mainstream media and punditry that above all serve that status quo with a false veneer of democratic discourse. It will be a long and difficult process to start to move the Overton window that has been so tightly wedged, for so long, even a little bit toward government by the people and for the people.
If we’re going to try, then we’re going to need legislators who bring a critical and courageous democratic perspective, and we’re going to need to support them for the long term, in the face of the attacks that power will mount unrelentingly, toward the goal of a critical mass that can begin to have a decisive effect on policy. Giving up on Ms. Omar after two years because of an incautious phrase, a $500 campaign board fine, or some complication in her personal life, to replace her with another safe corporate centrist with a supposed talent to “reach across the aisle,” is to surrender hope for something better for the nation.
Accomplishments… quick, and without looking it up, name Omar’s predecessor and five of his or her big legislative accomplishments?
If you’re not comfortable with Omar, it’s probably because you were too comfortable with the failed status quo that preceded her.
$878,000 Of campaign funds funneled to her new husband.
What a stunning lack of judgement!
How can it happen? Pure greed. This kind of Trumpian behavior from either side of the aisle needs to end.
Forget get about “WHATABOUTISM” just set an example.
If her career continues in the House, we will see this lack of judgement occur time and again. And the same folks will make excuses for her until she finally makes such a mess that there will be no rationalizing it away.
I prefer to fix the problem sooner rather than later.
Vote for Antone.
Edward:
Your reference to campaign funds & Mr. Mynett’s firm appears to be a very recent story (i.e., today) & my google doesn’t return any reputable news sources, only the usual scurrilous ones. I will monitor for reputable reporting & examine the matter.
That said, it would be absolutely unacceptable for our district to elect a representative who would simply guard the status quo in a protected incumbency until he or she decides to take the next step up the establishment ladder. From the evidence, there is a very good chance that is Melton Meaux, in which case I can wait another two years to replace Omar with someone else who has the necessary commitments.
The WAPO story on Omar and campaign expenditures:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/omars-marriage-to-political-consultant-draws-renewed-criticism-of-campaign-spending/2020/03/13/a4311ea4-6543-11ea-acca-80c22bbee96f_story.html
Here is one story on Mynett and Omar regarding the campaign funding. While it is currently legal to manage finances and relationships in the way that Omar and Mynett have done, many believe that it is highly unethical. The story and their words speak for themselves:
https://nypost.com/2020/07/07/ilhan-omar-has-paid-new-husbands-consulting-firm-878000-filings-show/
The newspaper run by Rupert Murdoch quotes a Republican law professor as saying that the practice of hiring relatives to work on a campaign should be illegal. Got it.
Did “hubby’s” firm not provide the services for which he was paid?
I had a conversation with Ilhan’s campaign manager this afternoon regarding her campaign and the $828,000 that went to her husband’s firm. Apparently, the firm is a go between for paying organizations like Facebook and Star Tribune for their services. It is yet unclear how much of that amount was actually used to pay for her husband’s salary or any commissions which he might have received.
As I earlier wrote, in trying to understand the various elements of Omar’s campaign, involving one’s spouse in a campaign is not illegal, although some people believe that it is unethical. However, the jury is still out, and improprieties on this count can’t be said to be actual.
The law professor renounced his membership in the Republican Party and is now a Democrat. He is a member of the political organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). I had a lengthy conversation with the University of Minnesota law professor several months ago about his past involvement with the George W. Bush White House and his transition into becoming a Democrat.
I stand corrected on the professor’s partisan affiliation. However, my question remains: did her husband actually provide the services for which he was paid? What is the going rate for what he did?
“did her husband actually provide the services for which he was paid? What is the going rate for what he did?”
I believe financial disclosure requirements are not going to get us to these answers.
It is a question of passing the ethical smell test. As a person who leans left I believe Trump’s pardon of Roger Stone, while apparently legal, fails the ethical smell test and I am offended. Omar used campaign funds to be the single biggest customer of her new husband’s new business.
And if he uses the unknown profit portion of this newly gained business to purchase a new house with his new wife, while perfectly legal, he has transformed Omar campaign contributions into a new house for he and Omar. And they too jointly fail the ethical smell test as I see it.
As the late Elijah Cummings would bellow at the top of his voice:
“We’re better than this!”
“As a person who leans left I believe Trump’s pardon of Roger Stone, while apparently legal, fails the ethical smell test and I am offended.”
You’re comparing apples to oranges. There is a big difference between commuting the sentence of a political crony (not a pardon, by the way) and engaging in a commercial transaction with a soon-to-be-future family member. It is relevant to ask whether the services paid or were performed, and if her husband was paid a standard rate for them. If not, that poses a different issue. I think it is a fair question to ask, and one the campaign should answer.
“Omar used campaign funds to be the single biggest customer of her new husband’s new business.”
Something that may happen anytime a political officeholder has a working spouse.
“And if he uses the unknown profit portion of this newly gained business to purchase a new house with his new wife, while perfectly legal, he has transformed Omar campaign contributions into a new house for he and Omar. ”
No, he has turned the lawfully gained profits from his business into a new house that he shares with his wife. I know there is a common theme amongst those on the right that liberals don’t understand economics, but I think most of us are aware that a person who earns money lawfully is entitled to make whatever lawful use of that money they please.
I am comparing Haralsons to Honey Crisps.
Both acts are perfectly legal under the laws of our country. You are offended by one and not the other. And that is the fine and fun part of our DEBATE (see my later post to Mr. Urdstand).
I choose to be offended by both questionable, but legal acts, but that’s just me trying to practice empathy, something in extremely short supply these days:
em·pa·thy
/ˈempəTHē/
noun
the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
If Omar had a better supply of empathy she would have asked her self:
“How will this look to others if my single biggest campaign expenditure is run through my new husband’s new business as his single biggest customer ever?”
And she would have decided:
” Hmm.. there are several campaign marketing communication firms. It would be best if I work with another so I do not give folks the ability to question my ethical judgement.”
One of Trump’s biggest flaws is a breathtaking inability to comprehend empathy much less practice it. I won’t give Omar a pass even if it is a on a much smaller scale.
Just because he’s become a Democrat doesn’t mean he’s now a moral genius or worthy ethicist. There are many other ethical advisors that never belonged to a criminal regime we can turn to for analysis, I’ll wait and see. And as we’ve seen, the distinction between some Democrats and Republicans isn’t all that clear. Most Democrats voted for Bush’s war you may recall.
Despite my view that she is spinning her wheels, I do agree with you that she is making interesting and important statements which few have had the courage to embody as Ilhan has. This is why I respect her. However, she is divisive. A mediator like Antone Melton Meaux stands a greater chance, even as a young member of Congress, of being productive. Ilhan’s strength is that she is inherently an activist. Perhaps her place is in Congress, but her spinning wheels and lack of productivity as a law-maker disrupts my fond view of her role as a member of Congress.
Whew! All these lines of commentary and you seem to think that freshmen House members should be judged by “productivity”, of all things If Omar got a single amendment onto a single bill it would have been an achievement for a freshman rep.
Yet she is also criticized for “wheel spinning”, which is (apparently) offering too much proposed legislation. What is the ratio of “wheel spinning” to “enacting” which would constitute acceptable “productivity” for a freshman rep? (rhetorical question!)
No, it’s not Omar who’s being divisive, it’s Antone and his supporters. Omar is the DFL endorsed candidate, and the sitting congressional Democrat. Instead of supporting her re-election Antone has launched an attack, sponsored by establishment donors from both Parties. The fact that Antone and his fellow Democrats consistently strive for reconciliation and unity with Republicans while attacking members of their own party or even just liberals, betrays toxic and divisive nature. You cannot promise to reach out to Fascist while attacking Omar and claim that “unity” is your specialty. If you’re promising to reconcile with Emmer and banish Omar, you’re not the “unity” guys.
If you think the “divisions” and conflicts we’re facing today didn’t emerge until Omar got elected, you were simply to enamored in your own comfort zone to recognize the crises we’ve falling into for several decades. And I would point out, after decades of centrist promises to “unite” and reconcile, we just had nationwide riots, and we have a Fascist in the White House. Clearly the “centrist” promise has failed. Whatever polarization you want to complain about today, the fact is that folks like Antone and his supporters have presided over that polarization for decades now. Why THESE people think they’re the “unity” experts in the room after decades of failure simply boggles the mind.
“Instead of supporting her re-election Antone has launched an attack”
Paul, as a relentless advocate for change, I am surprised that you now see incumbency as a cherished right not to be challenged. Melton Meaux believes he offers a better path forward, why should he be criticized for simply daring to run?
AOC won her seat by challenging a many term incumbent. The movement she is leading prominently features challenging incumbents as the tool for advancing the cause.
Are you for it or agin it?
Clever Edward, but this isn’t a debate game.
I could counter with the phrase- what is again? “don’t the perfect become the enemy of the good”? You expect Omar to perfect?
There’s a difference between attacking and challenging, progressive like Omar challenge without attacking.
I’m looking Antone and Ilhan’s campaign literature right now, 50% of Antone’s flyer is attacking Omar while Omar doesn’t mention Antone once, she spends 0% of her literature attacking Antone.
We’ve this pattern for decades, but it was specially obvious when HRC and her followers when full on attack mode on Sanders’s and his followers in 2016, and continued that hostility until this day. We saw it again during the Democratic debates when “moderates” stood around attacking everyone around them. And we’re seeing it again now.
Yeah, attacks are more divisive than simply promoting your own position and qualifications. And if your trying to sell yourself as a “uniter” instead of divider, launching attacks like the ones on display here and elsewhere simply don’t bode well for reconciliation. Just look at THIS comment thread and almost any other comment thread about Omar… you see a clear difference in tone and content between Antone supporters and Omar supporters. Even my post aren’t “attacks” on Antone, I’m commenting on the comfort zones, and sense of entitlement behind the support for Antone. I’ve spent more time talking about Trump’s Fascism that I have Antone.
“Clever Edward, but this isn’t a debate game.”
de·bate
/dəˈbāt/
noun
a formal discussion on a particular topic in a public meeting or legislative assembly, in which opposing arguments are put forward.
This is absolutely a debate game. If not, what is it?
You have your points of view and I have mine, Sometimes we agree sometimes not. Sometimes you make a point, sometimes me.
OK?
Again, here is mine: AOC, Pressley and Talib seem to forward their agenda without all of the drama of Omar. And while I may not agree with their positions 100%, I think it is great that they are there to push the agenda in a progressive direction. It is an important mission and I promise you that given the unending questionable behavior of Omar the agenda will be better off without her as she will only be a distraction and excuse used by the right why they have no credibility.
Let the debate continue….
Much has been said about the personalities and histories of the two candidates.
Much of the opinion we have read detracts from the qualities which make candidates worthy of further reviewing.
The term “Democratic elitist” has been bandied on Melton-Meaux, while “divisive lightening rod” has been used in opinions to slam Omar.
All said, what exactly have these two people been trying to represent, relative to the Party platform; and who is really best suited to offer themselves as professionals who can do the job of representing MN Congressional District 5?
Here is the last platform that the DNC had; the DNC convention will go, this year, from August 17-August 20, when a new platform will be determined.
Here is what Democrats at the national level stand for:
https://democrats.org/where-we-stand/party-platform/
Here is the most recent platform of the MN Democratic-Famer-Labor Party (DFL):
https://www.dfl.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/DFL-Ongoing-Platform.pdf
Ilhan is an unforced error. We can elect people who won’t embarrass us. That being the case, what can be the justification for reelecting Omar who has embarrassed us in the past and most surely, will embarrass us in the future?
Exactly!
Progressives here like to tell us any opposition to Omar is just a reflection of our hostility to progressive change.
Watch AOC’s performance during televised committee meetings: prepared, on point, working the questions towards answers not questions that highlight TV face time.
I would vote for AOC as my Representative without hesitation.
I oppose Omar because if you want to support her you better be ready to accept behavior you would find objectionable from someone across the aisle. There are plenty of qualified progressive candidates in the 5th district without Omar’s ever growing baggage. Is that Melton Meaux? I do not know, but willing to find out.
Mr. Peterson has asked me to “define” Fascism. I did that in a response that moderators rejected for some reason, so I’ll give it another try.
The concept of Fascism and the application of that description for Trump and his supporters is non-controversial and obvious to most observers, so I’m not offering a “definition” per se, and I’m not going to argue about it.
Anyone who has difficulty understand the Fascist nature of Trump and his supporters in the Republican party is making the same mistake that historians made prior to Trump’s election in 2016, basically they expect an American Fascist to look like Hitler or Mussolini. This is historical documentation pretending to taxonomy.
Trump’s and Republican fascists are characterized by their clear belief that Trump himself embodies the state, he’s not just the current White House occupant. As the embodiment of the state Trump is flawless and his actions are beyond question, hence the Senate failure to conduct an impeachment trail with any integrity. No other authority other than Trump exists. Any challenge to his perspective or authority is attacked or dismissed.
Trump refuses to acknowledge any authority other than his own; he and his followers are openly hostile to checks and balances, and even the concept of independent branches of government beyond his authority. Be it the judiciary, or individual State governments, all are expected to submit to Trump’s will.
Trump and his supporters are openly hostile to the Constitutional limits that have kept them from establishing an outright dictatorship. These white supremicists, misogynists, and Christian fundamentalists would tear up the Constitution in a minute if they could.
While Trump hasn’t pursued territorial expansion (one difference between a US Fascist and European Fascists) his preference for force and violence in service of his domestic agenda’s is clear and obvious. Whether he’s encouraging violent assaults at his rallies or threatening to deploy the military on American streets, he and his followers have a clear tendency and desire to sweep away civil rights and subject the country to rule by force. Trumps preference and consistent attempt to rule by dictate rather than legislation are Fascist impulses.
Another difference between Trump and European Fascism is the actual appearance. Unlike Hitler and Mussolini Trump doesn’t prance around in a uniform or quasi uniform. This is a superficial distinction however, unlike European Fascists who took control of their governments, American Fascists inherit an office that’s never been cloaked in uniform. American presidents have always been civilian commander and chiefs, and our military has a centuries long tradition of recognizing that authority, and pledging allegiance to the Constitution rather than the president. Trump likewise has to contend with long established independent government institutions whereas Hitler and Mussolini swept away fledgling democracies.
Finally, while religion didn’t play a central role in European Fascism, we’ve always known that American Fascism would arrive wrapped in a flag and waving a bible. Evangelical and Fundamentalist Christians weren’t a feature of German or Italian Fascism, but they’re obviously a feature of American Fascism.
I guess another difference worth noting is American fascists relationship with science. While the Nazis relied on pseudo science, American Fascist are just anti-science.
Thus far we have been lucky. If our first (and hopefully last) Fascist president weren’t such a complete buffoon who is literally incapable of organizing a one man parade, American fascist might well have been able to organize and mount an attempted coup d’etat. We know they’ve been attacking and diminishing our democratic institutions for years with voter suppression strategies and other electoral (or rather anti-electoral) maneuvers. It’s clear that they’ve trying to establish a narrative wherein they can denounce the next election outcomes if they lose.
The biggest problem American Fascists have is actually our nation and the American people. Unlike Germany or Italy in the 1920’s the united has a much larger and more diverse population that is not accustomed to living under military rule, or submitting to a singular authority like a King or Queen. Both German and Italy had militaristic societies, that’s a heritage Fascists there were able exploit. Anyone who wants to get a sense of the predisposition and homogeneous nature of German Culture and society when Hitler rose to power should read Eric Larson’s: “In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin”. It’s an account from the US Ambassador prior to WWII.
We don’t have a Fascist government, but we do have a Fascist President. I’m not worried about waking up in a Fascist country some day, but I worry about having to fight Fascists in order to preserve our democracy, and I worry about the death, chaos, violence, and destruction, and attempted Fascist coup would inflict on our nation.
These are not people you reconcile or mediate with. These are not people you share power with, or reach for across the “isle”. That fantasy of unity with Fascists is not only flat out immoral, it’s self destructive. You dance with Fascists at your own peril.
Paul,
Thank you for your exhaustive reply to my question. I studied modern European history in college, as a major, and had a different understanding of “fascism” than your definition, although your definition touches on a basic understanding of the concept as found in at least one dictionary.
For a simple view of the definition, please refer to:
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/fascism
Mr. Trump has, in fact, acted as a fascist in his attempt to frighten people and control people with the National Guard near the White House and church where he used tear gas to get rid of protesters. His threats to use violence to quell the tide of protesters in other scenes is equally telling of a man who has acted in a “fascist” manner.
Yes Barry, As you’ve noticed, if we step back from Fascism as an historical artifact of pre-WWII Europe and look at it as a contemporary American phenomena we can classify Trump as a Fascist. Much the same American white supremacists and Nazis are not identical to WWII era German Nazis, they are Nazis nevertheless. And you don’t have to march with Nazis to be a Fascist.
Our problem in 2015 was we let historians define Fascism, and they promised us that Trump wasn’t a Fascist because he didn’t look like Hitler. History is the study of the past, not the present.
Paul, I appreciate your conversation, but you are blurring too many lines. Nazis were National Socialist. Trump is not a socialist and his own economic policy runs counter to what the U.S. Chamber of Commerce approves of in terms of strategy. He is a blind racist, xenophobe and egoist. His time on the golf course, which he recently referred to as his “exercise” is nothing more than a duff who is grossly overweight who does not take his health seriously.
Mr. Trump is a man who is hard-pressed to speak in complete and intelligent statements. His political strategies, are not, however, akin to Nazi strategies of Hitler’s time. While some of your statements make sense, I argue, again, that you are using terms very loosely. Moreover, seventy or eighty years ago is not that long of a time period from today…although, granted, Mr. Trump has enjoyed reading Mein Kampf and other translated works by Adolf Hitler and Niccolo Machiavelli.
I’m afraid you’re just circling back to the artificial requirement that an American Fascist has to look to Hitler or Mussolini. That’s historical pedantics pretending to be political science.
No, one does not have to be fit and intelligent to be a Fascist by the way. Hitler ended up in a bunker with gun barrel in his mouth beneath his ruined Capitol. Let’s not pretend that Hitler WAS the stable genius Trump PRETENDS to be. Sure, Hitler and and Mussolini were more capable than Trump, but let’s not get carried away with our admiration.
Trump is using the exact same tactics that Hitler used, the difference is that Trump is still constrained by the rule of law and a democratic government and functioning US Constitution, as well as a “free” press. Hitler’s worse excesses didn’t materialize until after he’d consolidated power and obliterated Germany’s fledgling democracy. Hitler didn’t become “Hitler” until all of the impediments Trump is dealing with were demolished. Remember, European Fascists masqueraded as normal political parties in the beginning until they captured complete control.
Listen: This isn’t an academic exercise for history nerds, this is a contemporary existential crises. You can try to come up with some OTHER term for Trump and his supporters if you want, but Fascism works just fine. You deny that fact at your own peril.
Not this again! For years, the right-wing noise machine has been spreading a lot of false notions, such as “this is a republic, not a democracy,” “the Democrats are (still) the party of slavery,” and, of course, “the Nazis were leftists, because look, their name contains the word ‘socialist.'”
An entity can call itself anything it wants. That doesn’t mean that the name is a true description.
Cream of Wheat is not a dairy product. Nor is peanut butter.
The Wise Use Movement was an astroturf organization that promoted unregulated use of natural resources.
The People’s Democratic Republic of Korea is not run by the people, it is not democratic, and you can argue that it’s not even a republic, since the Kim family (three generations of absolute rulers so far) acts like a royal dynasty. “Korea” is the only true part of its name, since it’s on the Korean peninsula and populated by ethnic Koreans.
The National Socialists were originally an actually socialist party, but a small one, small enough that a bunch of far-right types could move in and take over.
Nobody who understands the history of the Nazis thinks of them as a left-wing party. Despite their very temporary alliance with Stalin, Hitler’s real allies were Mussolini and Franco. Hitler intervened in the Spanish Civil War on the side of Franco, not on the side of the Spanish left.
Once you step away from these attacks on Omar, you’re still left with the problem of Antone. His promise to “mediate” with Republicans rather progressives in his own party has already been discussed, and revealed for the divisive impulse that it is. But beyond that Antone is a step backwards for his constituents in the sense that he’s offering no platform beyond being his fatuous promise of “unity” over division. For instance Antone’s platform for “primary” care as a solution to the health care crises is incoherent, Antone didn’t invent the concept of primary care, it already exists. The problem is getting primary care to everyone in some kind of universal irrevocable way… he’s got nothing. Everyone that’s not endorsing MFA keeps talking about a public option, but there’s zero attempt to actually describe what that is or how it works, it’s just a phrase “centrists/moderate” keep tossing out, it’s not a plan or policy of any kind.
Likewise his economic initiative is simply the same labor union support that Democrats promising and failing to deliver for decades.
I’ll give Antone credit for his housing policy, he’s given it some thought, but his ideas aren’t that different or better than Omar’s on the issue, and the flaw with Antone’s approach it that it focuses on paying market rates rather than lowering housing costs or increasing wages.
There’s just a big nothingburger there when it comes to his visions, and this is at a time when even Biden is deciding the country is ready for some big changes.
Once you get past the fact that we don’t need Antone because have Omar, you have to ask what his agenda is beyond simply being less controversial?
Moreover, it is not “primary” care; it is “primary care” — the name of the type of medical care that most people get in preventative healthcare medicine.
As an adde note of reference to my earlier comment about Mr. Trump: I referred to him as a “duff”. The correct term is duffer, which is the type of golfer I was in my teens, as taught by my stepdad who became a golf-pro after the Korean War while stationed in Japan, and later as he played pro-am tours with Sam Snead and Jack Nicklaus. He was a wonderful golfer who taught me on a municipal course, a par 3 course, in Roseville, MN, where I learned how to line up my feet with the hole — presenting an achievement of three holes in one at the age of sixteen- and seventeen-years.
Please look up the term “duffer” as it applies to most of what Mr. Trump has done with opportunities for achievement over the course of his life — failing to pay employees, bankrupting his companies a half dozen times, going against the advice of the intelligence community and the medical intelligentsia, creating trade wars which have spiraled out of control for our nation and other nations, and other acts of foolishness.
In America politics is party based. It’s how the system works and it’s very important. Mr Melton-Meauxs’ campaign is being financed by Republican donors. Today I received yet another mailing from a group called ‘American’s for Tomorrow’s Future’ – which is a Republican SuperPac.
The Republican’s are pumping lots of outside money into this race. Why?
We know how politics work, and we know the influence that money plays. Mr Melton-Meaux will be behelden to the people that financed his campaign.
So why is he calling himself a Democrat? He’s not. He’s bought and paid for by the Republicans. He’s a wolf in sheep’s clothes.
For any candidate, the most important attribute is honesty. Mr Melton-Meauxs campaign lacks that very basic attribute of honesty.
Wilbur, you may be spot on, however from this perspective, that may very well still be considered far left!
Regarding the hiring of Omar’s husbands firm, this just looks yet another attempt to dig up complaints about Omar’s marriages again. Someone here posted an Wapo article that looked at this back in March and there’s no there-there to it.
The firm did legitimate campaign work at market value, and most of the money was passed to third party vendors, it didn’t go back to Omar via her husband. This is all perfectly legal.
Kinda funny side note- The FEC has been unable to examine a complaint about this because they keep losing their quorum. Why do they keep losing their quorum? Because Trump keeps dropping the ball on nominations.
Anyways, here’s that Wapo link again: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/omars-marriage-to-political-consultant-draws-renewed-criticism-of-campaign-spending/2020/03/13/a4311ea4-6543-11ea-acca-80c22bbee96f_story.html
Looking ahead to November, I would expect the absence of candidates with a strong progressive stance – at either the state or congressional level – to depress the voter turnout in the 5th congressional district. If Omar is not on the ballot it could negatively impact other Democratic/DFL candidates..
We have enough inexperienced, uneducated, reactive “progressives”, who are hot messes in their political and personal lives.
We don’t need to send another one back there. I voted for Omar before. No more experimenting with reactionaries and their personal agendas. We’ve got enough of those on the Mpls City Council . . . Bender, Jenkins, Fletcher, Gordon .. .
This is a solid young man. Educated, passionate, educational honors, work history, etc.
Moreover, I would be proud to have Him, his spouse, Dr. Genevieve, and his charming youngsters to be a fine family of Minnesota ambassadors to Washington DC.
Antone will be participating in a debate against Rep. Omar and other DFL candidates on Monday, July 20, at 8pm. The debate is hosted by the League of Women Voters on CCX Media. You’ll be able to watch the live-stream on CCXmedia.org or see the recording afterwards.
Voters are invited to submit questions in advance through Sunday, July 19, to vote@lwvmpls.org or lwvgv@lwvmn.org. We look forward to you tuning in!
Thanks for this information.
I’ve submitted the following question: “Mr. Melton-Meaux, why is the Israel Lobby laying so much cash on you? Have you promised to be an Israel-Firster?”
Each day, another full-color, 4-page brochure in the mailbox from Antone for Congress, advancing the same, thin “progressive” background on the front, attacking Ms. Omar in sensationalist font and factual distortion on the inside. In my prior posts, I haven’t questioned Mr. Melton-Meaux’s motive or decency. With each new brochure, I become less certain who he is, but more certain as to who is funding him, producing his material, and believing their interests will be served by his election.
Omar shouldn’t have put her husband on the payroll. Her husband shouldn’t have wanted to be on her payroll, particularly where such large sums of money are involved. That said, if it’s okay with the voters, I guess we just move on.
I would prefer some other Minneapolis Democrat to be in Congress. I don’t need the aggravation. But Ilhan is the choice so far, and I guess I have to live with it.
Once again: He is not on her payroll. His firm provided services to her campaign that were paid for at what appear to be reasonable fees for like services (and I don’t want to hear about anyone’s nephew who could have done the same thing cheaper. This is what political campaigns are charged for these services). If the form had done it for less than the market rate, that would have been an unlawful campaign contribution.
It looks bad to those who are determined to find some reason, any reason, to oppose her. It was an ordinary commercial transaction. It did not buy influence, it does not corrupt the system the way the commutation of Roger Stone’s sentence does. It is a convenient out for the “I’m really a liberal, but . . .” crowd.
“His firm provided services to her campaign that were paid for at what appear to be reasonable fees for like services (and I don’t want to hear about anyone’s nephew who could have done the same thing cheaper
That’s what means being on her payroll means. She benefited from the business she directed to her husband. Ilhan has a history of commingling personal and political expenses in ways that are inexplicable. I would never hire a relative to run my campaign. It boggles my mind that she would. It’s an amazingly easy mistake to avoid.
“I would never hire a relative to run my campaign.”
She did not. She hired his company to provide social media services.
It’s her campaign. She was spending campaign contributions, not tax dollars. The expenditures were not illegal, despite the huffing about how “bad” it looks.
What I’ve been seeing in this thread is a bunch of excuses by people who don’t like Omar, but who can’t find anything reason in her voting record to oppose her, so they are left with thrashing about looking for any reason/pretext.
Omar’s husband isn’t on the payroll, the company he works for is was hired to do campaign work for which they’re paid fair market rates. Scenarios like this are neither unique nor specific to Omar.
Hiram, you and your fellow Democrats have had decades to change this law and make it illegal, but NOW it’s a problem because it’s Omar? None else has ever had a spouse involved their campaign? Sure.
I agree it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Omar to switch out contractors, but let’s not expect her to follow unwritten laws that no one else is expected to follow.
You guys are jumping on a months old story that Republicans have been promoting (Sean Hannity “broke” this story last week) and wearing it like a cheap suit. Once again, your preferred affiliation with Republican’s rather than fellow Democrats or liberals is revealing, and unlikely to yield any kind of “unity” any time soon.
you and your fellow Democrats have had decades to change this law and make it illegal,
It’s not a question of what’s illegal, but what is appropritate. In this case, Omar should not benefit personally from campaign contributions. It’s such an easy problem to rectify.
let’s not expect her to follow unwritten laws that no one else is expected to follow.
We are the voters, the people whose support and votes Omar is asking for. We can expect anything from her we want. We certainly can expect her not to benefit personally from campaign contributions.
And as a minor detail, close observers of Ms. Omar’s personal life indicate that the marriage occurred this spring & the relationship began last autumn. The critique as to sums paid to his firm goes back at least to 2018. By all evidence, the personal relationship followed the consultant retention by some distance, as makes sense.
So the question is not “should she have hired her hubby [sic].” The question is “should she have terminated the contract between her campaign and his consultancy once they became romantically involved?” As belabored, from what we know there’s nothing there but an “appearance” of something, while presumably the firm’s work is sound and the campaign obviously benefits from continuity. Bottom line, if the firm is competent and the rates fit the market, it’s just another there that isn’t there.
Of course she should have terminated her business relationship with her employee once they became romantically involved. Failing that, she should have disclosed the relationship to her donors and to all others whose trust she sought.
“Of course” because Omar is subject to unwritten laws and regulations that no one else is expected to follow.
Again, this is just another contrived “controversy” full of double standards and condemnations in service of a status quo that literally set our streets on fire. Suddenly the idea of letting the “perfect” be the enemy of the “good” is a great idea. Whatever.
““Of course” because Omar is subject to unwritten laws and regulations that no one else is expected to follow”
I would hope that common sense and ethical practice is not some unattainable, lofty standard that we cannot reasonably expect our elected officials to follow.
If I were to use Omar’s own words to describe how I see this, I would just say:
“it’s all about the Benjamins”
Why? “I don’t like how it looks” is not a good enough reason.
I’m sure this thread is winding down but I just comment on these “complaints” about Omar not responding to constituents.
I’ve been writing my elected representatives on all levels for decades, and I’ve NEVER gotten a personal response from ANY legislator Senate or House member in DC. All I ever got from anyone in DC from Tim Penny to Al Franken or Keith Ellison was a standard form letter i.e. “Thanks for writing but because of the high volume” blah blah blah.
Omar has been available in multiple settings, and her communication with her constituents has been outstanding. Did any of you try to get a personal response from Ellison when he was co-chair of the DNC, and in charge of National Campaign strategies? One thing it is to expect our representative to be accountable and responsive to us as constituents, but expecting personal responses to everyone’s letters and e-mails is simply ridiculous.
One summer while I was in college, I interned in the office of a U.S. Senator. One of my duties was writing “personal” responses to constituents who wrote in to comment. The responses came out of a big book of responsive paragraphs.
Interesting, I can add:
I recently had the need to contact my Rep. (Dean Phillips) on a constituent service question. Contact 1: No response. Contact 2: Our office is closed, and no other response.
On the third contact I asked if Erik Paulsen’s constituent service staff had been retained by Phillips office. I then got a prompt phone call and good, extended conversation with a staffer and later a note from Phillips, which may have been somewhat from the can, but pretty much to the point. A little late, but a result as good as I could hope for.
Thanks for this thoughtful article contrasting the two. Omar has been excellent. I am proud to have her representing me. Let’s give her 2 more years.
Skadden Arps! OMG! What a shame Schneider does not explore this. Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom in the 1980s and 1990s was the KEY law firm that shaped the leverage buyout and corporate raider capitalism that ripped apart and looted the USA industrial base, stole billions in pensions, and impoverished millions of American workers. Skadden Arps should be obliterated, period. It is the legal headquarters for financial predators. Here is one case where you, dear people of Minnesota, can actually vote down the interests of Wall Street by voting against Melton-Meaux and for Rep. Omar to keep her in office.