Rep. Pete Stauber’s response to the assault on the Capitol was too little too late. He may have been a passable hockey player and a decent law enforcement officer, but he clearly is in over his depth as a political “leader,” both ethically and intellectually.
Stauber’s endorsement of the frivolous lawsuit filed in Texas to challenge the election results required some amazing philosophical contortions via Republican-Party talking points. That attempt to disenfranchise millions of voters was, Stauber and others claimed, to ensure the integrity of our elections This argument was truly laughable given the Republicans’ decades-long playbook of voter suppression and its disenfranchisement of opposition voters.
In a recent radio interview, Stauber was queried about his support for reopening our economy in spite of surging COVID-19 numbers. He devolved into blaming Gov. Tim Walz for the pandemic fallout, in spite of his own complicity in President Donald Trump repeatedly visiting Minnesota to hold rallies that were superspreader events.
Stauber continued to spout Republican talking points regarding impeachment, even pleading for the country to tone down the rhetoric and do nothing.
So where does this leave us when a former law-enforcement officer says basically that we should just let it go when felonies are alleged and lives are lost and our democratic institutions are attacked? There is no integrity in any of these positions that the 8th District Congressman and the ethically challenged Republicans have put forth.
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They are now calling for unity and healing. The hypocrisy is stunning and undeserving of support. Trump is culpable, and Republicans, including Stauber, have aided and abetted him and are similarly responsible.
Ken Borchert
Duluth
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