The Minnesota Young DFL group has endorsed two state House candidates in highly contested races.
They’re supporting Mohamud Noor in his challenge of state Rep. Phyllis Kahn in District 60B in Minneapolis, and Matt Freeman in the crowded race to get party endorsement in the St. Paul District 64B seat, which is open because of the retirement of state Rep. Michael Paymar.
The group says “Mohamud Noor and Matt Freeman are both young candidates within the age range of the Minnesota Young DFL.”
Said the group’s statement:
“Mohamud Noor is committed to including young people and new Americans in the electoral process,” said Quentin Wathum-Ocama, MYDFL Vice-President. “It is important for the district and its many U of M students to have a strong youth voice at the state capitol. Noor will be that voice. He will work hard to create opportunities for all, fight for high-quality education programs, and address poverty. MYDFL is proud to support him.”
And:
“Rep. Paymar’s retirement is a loss for 64B, but Matt Freeman has the experience to be just as strong of a representative for this district,” said Andie Whitaker, MYDFL President. “Freeman has encouraged young people across our state to become more engaged in civic life. With a record that includes extensive volunteer, campaign, and government work, Matt Freeman is the most qualified first-time candidate running for State House this cycle.”
MYDFL is the official youth caucus of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
How sad, that our young DFL contingent can’t get beyond a simplistic identity politics, which is also a major failing of the identity-based representation the candidate these kids endorsed for Dist. 60 espouses.
No Real Options in 60b
As for MYDFL endorsing Noor, they did so because Kahn has been notoriously absent concerning numerous issues confronting the student population in and around the U campus. Noor is untested in this area, so the endorsement has its risks, but Kahn wasn’t representing them well so the risk is worth a shot. Judge if you will, but I don’t blame them for the endorsement one bit.
Identity politics
This is why the democrats have so many fundamental philosophical disagreements amongst themselves.
The people aren’t members of the party because of what they believe in as much as who they are. They have no principles other than to support the candidate who represents the right “group.”
Obama was elected because he’s black. Hilary will be supported because she’s a woman. Noor is a twofer, says the “Young DFL” because he’s a member of two favored groups.
No wonder they don’t understand conservatism and have to resort to phony caricatures to describe their opponents. They don’t understand the concept of governing principles – principles that have nothing to do with which ethnic group or demographic you happen to belong to.