It Shaped What I Seek from My Representatives
Summer of 2021. Joe Biden was riding on positive approval ratings (before the problematic exit from Afghanistan). Congress was debating the Build Back Better Bill (BBB-21). The Squad was opposing ANY negotiations or compromises.
My representative, Ilhan Omar, said on national TV, “Well, I will never talk to Republicans,” in response to a question about how she would advance her policies through Congress. I thought, “Well, how is she going to get anything done?”
I also felt betrayed, thinking, “I door-knocked for her. I didn’t expect her to be an uncompromising oppositional voice.” So, I decided to attend her virtual townhall. I did my homework and studied the details in the Congressional debates. I understood what passing a budget through Continuing Resolution (CR) entailed. This civic research informed the perspective I wanted to share with Ilhan, hoping to temper her posture. I rehearsed. I honed my comments to <1 min. I queued up in line.
My viewpoint: BBB-21 included a plethora of wonderful liberal ideas—all worthy of pursuit. But creating lasting change requires another step: sorting and sifting through a wish-list to identify strategic priorities to advance.
I advocated that:
- Dems should identifyThree Quick Wins that are 1) are wildly popular, 2) solve real problems voters experience, 3) can be executed in 1 year and show tangible results.
- Come back a year later and say, “You liked those three things we did? Well, we have three more ideas …”
- Through strategic focus, broad appeal, and clear communication, Dems could build a bigger coalition that’s cushioned from backsliding.
Ten seconds into my remarks, Ilhan interrupted me, “Well, you don’t understand how the sausage is made. We have to put all our goals into one big bill and pass it through CR.” Her handlers cut my mic. My perspective was unwelcome.
My Congressional representative—whom I’d helped to elect—publicly shunned me. Ilhan Omar lost my support that day.
She voted against the revised version of BBB-21, the Affordable Care Act (ACA). But all her communications since then brag about the funding the ACA brought to our district. (Of course they don’t include that she voted against Biden’s signature bill.) After eight years in the House, none of the bills she’s introduced have become law. It turns out that SHE doesn’t know how the sausage is made!
What I Seek in My Representatives
My experience with Ilhan in that town hall meeting is consistent with her approach to governing as reported in the recent Minneapolis Times article, “Standing Alone, or Standing Against Her Constituents.” Her public put-down of my perspective incentivized me to participate in the last three election cycles, where I opposed Ilhan and supported her primary opponents. I also look at candidates she endorses and those who endorse her with caution.
I support candidates who:
- Listen to constituents.
- Work across the aisle to solve problems.
- Think and act strategically to create lasting change.
In this primary, I will not vote for Ilhan. While she doesn’t have a viable opponent, I can’t capitulate to the DFL endorsement of her.
I will vote for Julie Le, who took a principled stance during Metro Surge, when she was serving as Assistant Chief Counsel at the Department of Homeland Security. She told a judge that she was overwhelmed and described in stark terms how overstretched the legal system had become during the administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota. Then she resigned from the DOJ. Now, she hopes to fix the “system’s failures” by running for Congress. We need principled leaders to get us out of this crisis, not self-promoting provocateurs.
Unless she leaves office by herself, Omar will be 5th CD representative forever. Martin Olav Sabo was representative for 26 years because he actually helped Minnesotans and they kept him in office. Instead, Omar has used identity politics to create this adoring fan base which always needs to signal their virtue, thus 100% loyalty. Omar faced a primary challenge in 2022 and 2024 by Don Samuels. In my opinion, he was a very credible candidate but he lost in a landslide in 2024. If Don Samuels couldn’t unseat Omar, probably no one can.
Sadly, I think you are right. I worked on both of Don Samuels’s campaigns. Door knocking for him, I talked to many voters in the suburban parts of the district who are very unhappy with Ilhan. Another factor that gives her a stranglehold on CD5 is the DFL endorsement process and how all elected representatives and senators are coerced to support each other rather than their constituents. I’ve had some tough conversations with my house representative and senator. All of this emboldens her to operate without considering input from all her constituents.
I can’t believe someone so anti American can be elected to congress. Wake up people, especially our Jewish community which comprises a large portion of the district.
She has an adoring fan base. Many are like her—uncompromising and not interested in alternative points of view. I agree she criticizes many aspects of American government, but I wouldn’t call her anti-American. We need a charismatic, electable candidate to unseat her. There are many voters in the district who are unhappy with Ilhan.