Editor’s Note: The Plaid Line publishes editorials that contain opinions that are those of the student authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the the Plaid Line, HPSH, or its staff.
By: Irene Cohen
For those who weren’t aware, Scott Jensen and Matt Birk are running for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively. As a brief overview of both candidates, Scott Jensen is an unvaccinated family physician whose license to practice has been under investigation multiple times, which we will get into later. Matt Birk is an ex-NFL player for the Minnesota Vikings. A charming pair to become administrative leaders in Minnesota.
To delve a bit deeper into Scott Jensen’s policies and ideas, let’s look at his 5th medical board investigation. Already showing a propensity towards abuse of power before he even becomes governor, Jensen says in a social media post that the medical board “will be dealt with” if he becomes governor. He is already showing he can’t take criticism and will exert political power over those who publicly go against him.
Jensen and Birk both have a nasty habit of drawing false equivalences on serious and tragic matters. Jensen compared public COVID-19 health measures to Nazi Germany in a video from an April Mask Off MN event, a sentiment that minimizes the genocide of millions of Jews.
Birk continued this theme of almost trivializing the biggest genocides in history by comparing abortion to slavery when he spoke at a National Right to Life conference. He also said the following at that very same conference “Women used to not be able to vote, now we let them drive”. I encourage you to read a transcript, or watch this video of him speaking, because it is full of similar sentiments and it would take too long to go through them all.
Scott and Matt have no issue taking issues that they don’t care about and using them to their own advantage to try and make the causes they believe in seem more tragic than they are.
Matt Birk truly has a way with words, saying at the same Right to Life event, that women play the “rape card” in order to excuse their abortion. He compares the act of having an abortion to rape. He also insinuated that American culture encourages and brainwashes women into having abortions, and careers. He thinks that motherhood isn’t celebrated enough and that instead women are being told to get careers. I find this disturbing because he is a father, but he has a career. Does he not believe that fathers should care for their children just as much as a mother would?
Jensen proves that he will continue his self serving policies should he become governor. Jensen says he plans to pull funds from public schools in an interview with MPR, while his running-mate Matt Birk is a co-owner/founder of a private school in Burnsville. These two claim they understand the education system, but both have enough money to send all of their children to private schools.
The United States is already a pay to win society, and by pulling even more money from the public education system, they want to exacerbate that. By taking away resources from those of us who can’t afford to send our children to private institutions, they ensure that the poor stay poor and the rich stay rich.
Overall, the views that Jensen and Birk share are extremely reactionary and conservative. Their primary platforms are posed as moral issues, often rooted in their religious beliefs. They are self interested and only care about the “issues” of the rich, white, conservative, people of Minnesota. The don’t seem to understand, or care, about the struggles of the average Minnesotan citizen, whose quality of life will surely be affected negatively should Jensen and Birk win the ballot in November.
If you are 18 years or older, register to vote and protect your rights.
For more information, please visit:
Plaid Line 