ICYMI: Scott Jensen Signs Petition That Compares Vaccination Effort To Nazi Medical Experimentation, Claims He Never Read It

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Jensen claims he never read the petition despite being the first-named plaintiff 

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Yesterday it was reported that gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen joined a group of right-wing physicians, COVID-19 conspiracy theorists, and Capitol insurrectionists to try and block the use of the COVID-19 vaccine in kids, despite claiming he only read 10 of the 80 pages. 

“The petition, which includes several passages written in all-caps with exclamation points, alleges a widespread collusion of national media outlets to suppress information, challenges both the official COVID-19 death and case counts as “false,” and compares the nationwide vaccination effort to Nazi doctors convicted at Nuremberg for experimenting on imprisoned Jews, Poles and Russians without their consent. But Jensen said he didn’t read all that.”

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“When I submitted the affidavit, the petition wasn’t done,” he said. “I never saw the full petition until a week ago. I have not read the entire 80 pages. I read the first 10 pages, I think.”

And despite befriending the group’s leader Simone Gold “about a year ago,” Jensen also claims he did not know that Gold was among those who stormed the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection and faces charges for her involvement. 

“Not only has Scott Jensen joined a fringe group of doctors and insurrectionists to spread dangerous misinformation, but after being called out he claims he never even read the petition he signed onto – which would not be an acceptable excuse for a middle school student’s missing book report,” said DFL Party Chairman, Ken Martin. “It’s laughable that Scott Jensen thinks that excuses his spreading of dangerous misinformation about the vaccine. Real leaders take responsibility for their actions, but Scott Jensen is clearly incapable of that. Once again, Jensen is demonstrating why the people of Minnesota cannot trust him to lead our state.

“If I were a patient of Scott Jensen’s, I would find a new doctor immediately,” added Martin. “No one wants a physician who reads part of their lab work before making a diagnosis.”

BACKGROUND 

The 80-page petition also falsely claims that the vaccine is an “experimental biological agent,” that it’s more dangerous than COVID-19 itself, that hydroxychloroquine is a miracle treatment for COVID-19, and that vaccinated children are at risk of spreading the vaccine to unvaccinated children. 

Scott Jensen has made a name for himself as a COVID-19 conspiracy theorist, has spread misinformation about COVID-19, posted anti-vaccine videos on social media, and was kicked off TikTok for spreading COVID-19 misinformation. 

Gosar is the Republican that Democrats want to avoid

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Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) is finding that Democrats who once worked with him on bipartisan bills no longer want to touch them with a 10-foot pole if he’s involved. 

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) last week removed himself as a co-sponsor from a bill authored by Gosar that would crack down on illegal foreign donations to political campaigns.

A California Democrat, Rep. Mike Levin, said he informed Gosar that it would be “detrimental” to the chances of a public lands bill becoming law if his name were on it, even though they introduced it together in the last session of Congress.  Continue reading.

Michigan’s top election official and Dominion warn counties about the risks of vote audits by outside groups

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Michigan’s top election official and the company whose voting equipment has been the subject of baseless claims of fraud are cautioning local governments in the state that outside audits of the 2020 election results like the one underway in Maricopa County, Ariz., would be illegal and would void the machines’ security warranties.

The warnings come amid a growing campaign by former president Donald Trump and his supporters to pressure county governments to launch audits reviewing ballots cast in the last presidential election, which they claim without evidence was tainted by large-scale fraud and votes manipulated on equipment purchased from Dominion Voting Systems.

The Arizona recount, which has been denounced by election experts as unprofessional and insecure, is being touted as an inspiration by small cohorts of angry residents across the country. State leaders, Dominion officials and local residents are now trying to block such examinations sought by activists in several Michigan counties. Continue reading.

Democrats start putting GOP on notice as patience runs thin

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Democrats are warning Republicans that they won’t keep waiting around for potential bipartisan deals, as congressional leaders face growing pressure to go-it-alone on their agenda.

More than four months since President Biden took office, most of the party’s biggest priorities have been stuck in limbo in the Senate, forcing Democrats to focus instead on nominations and smaller bills that can garner enough support from both sides of the aisle.

But Democrats, assessing their strategy as they head toward Memorial Day and the summer, are vowing to move forward after weeks of behind-the-scenes talks aimed at trying to find common ground with Republicans have led to mixed results. Continue reading.

Nevada GOP thrown into turmoil after avowed Proud Boys member said he participated in censure vote of state official

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The leaders of the Nevada Republican Party are facing an internal revolt after an avowed Proud Boys member said he was invited with friends to attend a state party meeting last month and cast the deciding votes in the censure of a state official who concluded that the 2020 election in the state was not tainted by fraud.

In the past week, the Nevada Senate GOP caucus and the chairmen of the two largest Republican county organizations have called for an audit of an April state party vote to uncover who cast ballots as seated party members and proxies for a resolution against Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske (R).

The Republican state chairman, Michael McDonald, a close ally of former president Donald Trump, has so far declined to release those details, other Republican officials said. Continue reading.

In the Know: May 28, 2021

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Governor Tim Walz & Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announces COVID-19 vaccine incentives, CBS
Gov. Walz reveals list of 9 free rewards for those who get vaccinated, Bring Me The News 
Walz launches ‘Your Shot to Summer’ vaccine incentives, International Falls Journal 

Minnesota Legislature 
Renewed push at legislature for anti-gun-violence laws, KTOE 
Legislature debating decriminalizing fare evasion, allowing Metro Transit to focus on more serious crimes, Minnesota Reformer 
Minnesota lawmakers face another budget deadline Friday, MPR 

Minnesota News 
Minnesota sets fairs, fishing as lure for COVID-19 vaccinations, Star Tribune 
Nearly all statewide COVID restrictions lifted, KARE 11 
Minnesota hits 600,000 COVID-19 cases as viral activity drops off, Star Tribune

Continue reading “In the Know: May 28, 2021”

GOP leaders face new calls to boot Greene

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House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is facing calls to boot Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) out of the GOP conference for her remarks comparing COVID-19 mask and vaccine rules to the genocide of 6 million Jews during World War II.

“Just stop. This is demented and dangerous. There is no comparison,” Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) tweeted at Greene Tuesday after she doubled down on her Holocaust comparison.

“I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: while we cannot stop her from calling herself a Republican, we can and should refuse to let her caucus with the @HouseGOP.” Continue reading.

Rep. Steve Elkins (HD49B) Update: May 28, 2021

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Dear Neighbors,

About two weeks ago, the Star Tribune published an editorial entitled “Good government needed at capital”. It was a thought-provoking piece and I’ve been reflecting on it ever since. It’s worth going back and reading if you missed it. John Kaul, a longtime observer of the legislative process observed that “it used to be that almost every bill went through multiple hearings that looked into everything,” he said. “Every detail. Every group heard from.” “Policy deadlines were real, he said, so that bills could finish in time for conference committees to take the several weeks needed to negotiate differences in House and Senate bills.” Separately, House Speaker Melissa Hortman observed that, perhaps, the world has grown too complicated for the legislature to accomplish its work within the bounds of a constitutionally defined session which was established in a much simpler agrarian era when it was important that the legislature adjourned in time for farmers to attend to their fields over the summer. In the previous session, the legislature set two records. The first was for the most number of bills introduced in a session (over 6000). The second was for the least number of bills passed into law during a session in the modern era. The Covid 19 epidemic, which truncated the 2020 session, had a lot to do with that. Even so, there is no way that even a fraction of those bills was ever going to be put through the multi-stop committee process described by John Kaul.

Continue reading “Rep. Steve Elkins (HD49B) Update: May 28, 2021”

Video resurfaces showing Marjorie Taylor Greene saying she wouldn’t want a statue of Hitler taken down

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As Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene continues to take heat for her comments comparing mask mandates to Nazi policies against the Jews during the Holocaust, a video from last year showing Greene arguing against the removal of Confederate monuments, saying that given the choice, she’d advocate to allow a statue of Hitler or Satan.

The video, which was first resurfaced by Punchbowl News reporter Jake Sherman, shows then-candidate Greene speaking before a Dalton, Georgia, city council meeting on June 15. 

“We’re seeing situations where Christopher Columbus, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, all kinds of statues are being attacked, and it seems to be just an effort to take down history,” Greene says in the video. “And whether I see a statue that may be something that I would full disagree with, like Adolph Hitler — maybe a statue of Satan himself — I would not want to say take it down, but again, it’s so that I could tell my children and teach others about who these people are and what they did.” Continue reading.

Marjorie Taylor Greene quickly deletes obscene Twitter attack on ‘feckless’ Kevin McCarthy

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on Tuesday quickly deleted a tweet she promoted from one of her supporters that called Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) a “moron” and a “feckless c**t.”

As flagged by the Washington Post’s Aaron Blake, Greene promoted a tweet by right-wing Twitter account @ASimplePatriot on Tuesday that used obscene language to attack McCarthy over his criticism of Greene’s latest comparison of public health advocates to Nazis.

“Look you moron, nobody supported Israel in their recent conflict with Hamas more than MTG,” the Green supporter wrote. “Her analogy may not have been perfect but you seriously need to get a grip you feckless c**t. Pelosi is the villain here.” Continue reading.