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Stauber’s disqualifying act
Stauber’s attempt to overturn a free and fair election negates his right to hold public office.
Rep. Pete Stauber does not deserve re-election to Congress for many reasons, several of which we have touched on in previous editorials here. As the Duluth News-Tribune wrote in endorsing his DFL opponent Jen Schultz, “Stauber’s votes increasingly have become partisan rather than what’s in the best interest of Minnesota and his constituents. He voted against lowering pharmaceutical and insulin costs, against an independent investigation of Jan. 6, against equal pay, and against grants to make needed repairs to regional airports, as just a few examples.”
For us, Stauber disqualified himself from representing our region the moment he made the decision to sign on to a fraudulent effort by the state of Texas to overturn a legitimate election and allow Donald Trump to remain in the White House despite the vote of the American people— including the vote of more than three million Minnesotans, who backed Biden by more than 230,000 votes.
That lawsuit, which was dismissed out of hand by the U.S. Supreme Court for its obvious lack of standing, would have never survived a moment’s scrutiny, even by an ultra-conservative Supreme Court that has shown an alarming partisan bias. The central theme of the lawsuit was that voting rules differed by jurisdiction and that this created an equal protection concern that somehow robbed Texas voters of their right to be governed by a president who we now know had been plotting for months to hold onto the White House regardless of what the voters had to say.
The lawsuit was nonsense from the start because election rules have varied by jurisdiction for centuries in this country. States all have different rules on voter qualification, registration requirements and deadlines, and absentee and early voting rules and dates. And, of course, urban voters in America are routinely treated differently due to a limited number of voting locations, which often force them to wait for hours to cast a ballot, while their rural or suburban counterparts typically have little or no wait at all.
Unfortunately, the dishonorable members of Congress who signed onto this farce clearly paid little attention to the details. They were out to please a defeated president and the radical Republican base that, to this day, still hangs on Trump’s every lie.
Stauber has clearly demonstrated that he cares little about his oath of office. He has become part of a radical right-wing clique of Republican members of Congress, much in the mold of Paul Gosar, Jim Jordan, and Marjorie Taylor Greene. As an ultra-partisan, it appears he doesn’t even bother to read much of the legislation he votes against in Congress these days, even measures like the Inflation Reduction Act, which provided multiple benefits to citizens of the Eighth District. And, yet, he still has the audacity to send out press releases claiming credit whenever one of those bills brings benefits to our region.
Rep. Stauber’s decision to back the Texas lawsuit shows an appalling lack of judgment and reflects a member of Congress who has clearly lost touch with the people he was elected to serve. While it’s true that a majority of Eighth District voters backed Trump over Biden in 2020, Eighth District voters haven’t always gotten their way in presidential elections, yet never, EVER, has our congressional representative sought to overturn the results of a free and fair election as Stauber did in 2020. His decision to do so was disqualifying.
Unfortunately, Stauber wasn’t alone in promoting lies about the 2020 election, and some of his fellow Republicans, including local legislative candidates, have been too willing to promote false claims as well. District 3A candidate Roger Skraba should be embarrassed over his promotion of 2000 Mules, a slick piece of propaganda produced by serial dissembler Dinesh D’Souza, which aired in Ely this summer. We noticed that District 3 Senate candidate Andrea Zupancich also had her literature available at the showing of the film.
Republican politicians need to recognize that politics isn’t supposed to be about power at any cost. Undermining public confidence in our electoral process by spreading falsehoods and conspiracy theories may rev up the base, but it comes with great risks, as the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol should have made obvious. It was a conservative federal judge, appointed by President H.W. Bush, who noted earlier this year that Donald Trump remains a “clear and present danger to democracy” because the former president and his allies are continuing to lie about the 2020 election and are taking steps to undermine future elections. Those allies include Pete Stauber and other GOP candidates who refuse to speak out against those lies, simply to hold onto or gain power.
Such people aren’t fit to serve. Think about that before you head to the polls.
Comments
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Sniper1980
There is a mountain of evidence supporting a stolen election. Wake up people
Wednesday, October 26, 2022 Report this
DanKearney
No evidence has been supported in any court case at this time---and the number of thrown out cases is nearing 70. These cases have been kicked out by Trump appointed judges, Republican appointed judges, and Democratic appointed judges. The case should be closed but uneducated morons continue to believe Fake Fox entertainment and Don the Con himself.
Thursday, October 27, 2022 Report this
brianlafrenier
Those same Judges that threw out those baseless lawsuits about a stolen election were appointed by Trump and said there wasn't any evidence of fraud. You can't make a video claiming fraud and use that as evidence. 2 Supreme Court rulings said the same thing. Mike Lindell's appeal was thrown out for lack of evidence by the Supreme Court and now Dominion can go ahead and sue him. Most of the Justices are Republican Appointed! Rudy Giuliani said they didn't have evidence of voter fraud, they just had theories. That from a former Prosecutor who successfully Prosecuted Mobsters! The whole 2000 mules thing is just another in a series of bizarre deflections of the truth and through all of this, people are sending Trump money. That money he's putting in his pockets is because he doesn't pay his legal fees. I think it's time people wake up and realize they are in a cult and there's a treatment for that. As to the mountain of evidence yes. There is. Whether it's credible is suspect even to people who aren't lawyers. What it all boils down to is that a man who has gotten his way his entire life has thrown a fit over losing. Trump is a narcissist and a grifter and a liar.
Thursday, October 27, 2022 Report this
brianlafrenier
Now to the subject of this article. Pete Stauber was asked at both debates Yes or No if Joe Biden won the election. In both of those debates, he wouldn't answer Yes or No. Instead, he held the Republican line with his response. He talks about being a strong supporter of jobs but he voted against an infrastructure bill that would create jobs for this area. He voted against the Right to Organize even though he was a President of the Union when he was a Police Officer. When pressed with that, he quoted the Davis Bacon Act taking care of the prevailing wage. Pete. That Act is for jobs covered under Federal Funding. Steelworkers bargain not only for wages but also bargain for benefits. The same goes for Nurses and other workers who organize. Pete is out of touch when it comes to most things including mining. Republicans want to gut environmental laws so permitting can go through without public input including the right that Native Americans have to weigh in on the quality of our lakes and streams for the purpose of gathering wild rice. Something they have had the right to do since the Treaty of 1847! Trump has said he wanted to get rid of the EPA so the industries could go ahead and create jobs. Stauber walks lock step with this. He's voted no on every bill that would have been good for the public including lowering costs for prescriptions for everyone. He does not deserve another term in office. Jen Schultz is more experienced than Pete as a politician who gets things done. Pete just carries water for the Republican Power Base.
Thursday, October 27, 2022 Report this
snowshoe2
Stauber only believes in elections like Russia where somehow Putin gets 98.5% of the vote and Putin says it must be rigged, I should have got 100%>
Stauber stands for the end of Democracy and only representing himself and the trumpy bear cult.
Thursday, October 27, 2022 Report this
Sniper1980
Kanye West is right . . .
Friday, October 28, 2022 Report this
brianlafrenier
Kanye West is right about what Sniper1980?
Friday, October 28, 2022 Report this
snowshoe2
It's sad Stauber backs Trump and trump has repeatedly told his followers-Go Get Nancy-beat the hell out of her. Yet Stauber once a policeman does not condone trumpy bears actions. very sad all the hate by the right.
Stauber does not represent the people of the Northeast-were better than that.
Saturday, October 29, 2022 Report this
brianlafrenier
I take it Sniper1980, since you aren't responding to my question that you are referring to Kanye West's comments about the Jews. Are you just a troll hoping for a confrontation so you can get your jollies?
Wednesday, November 2, 2022 Report this