Dr. Neil Shah described his primary challengers as weak against the left and characterized Gov. Tim Walz as an amoeba that is beholden to radicals in an interview with Alpha News Thursday.
Walz “has no central, underlying ethical principles that guide his actions, so he’s like an amoeba … he responds to stimuli, particularly when he’s squeezed by the radical left,” Shah said, criticizing how the governor handled the coronavirus pandemic and last summer’s BLM riots. “[Walz] let neighborhoods I used to live in burn down, he’s letting kids get shot in north Minneapolis, he does not care [and] he refuses to stand up to the radical left.”
Shah is the owner of a metro-area dermatology practice who made his first public foray into politics in early August when he announced his candidacy for governor. Since then, he has sought to define himself against the backdrop of five other Republicans — the most well known of whom is Dr. Scott Jensen, another physician and former state senator.
However, despite their similarity as medical professionals, there seems to be little love lost between the two doctors. During the interview, Shah highlighted Jensen’s record of supporting gun-control bills — proposals Jensen says he no longer supports — and also accused Senate Republicans in general of offering weak resistance against the left.
“We’re not playing defense, we do own the Senate so you dig in your heels and you fight for something … you don’t have to play nice, the DFL is not our friends,” he said, airing his frustration with the performance of conservative state legislators.
Shah has never held elected office, something he doesn’t see as an impediment to his ability to lead. He said that unlike his opponents, his lack of time in office means he doesn’t have “experience capitulating to the radical left” and “making the sausage in St. Paul.”
Instead, he cited his experience serving in leadership roles in various medical societies and building his business and family.
“I have experience raising three kids,” he said. “I have experience understanding what it’s like to live in a highly-regulated economy and watching neighborhoods burn and watching our schools get progressively worse … that’s my experience.”
Shah also said he doesn’t desire the same brand of experience sported by his colleagues. “I hope to never become a politician, but I hope to serve then I hope to go back to my business,” he said.
He also explained several of his policy positions, stating that he’s opposed to abortion, concerned about potential stagflation, and supportive of efforts to increase the accessibility of the coronavirus vaccine but not vaccine mandates.
“I am absolutely against that mandate,” he said, speaking on President Joe Biden’s recent proclamation that all employers over a certain size must require their employees to get the shot. “I think we should nullify it [the mandate] in this state … you can nullify whatever you want, you just say ‘come and take it,'” he concluded, echoing a common phrase used in support of the Second Amendment.
Kyle Hooten
Kyle Hooten is Managing Editor of Alpha News. His coverage of Minneapolis has been featured on television shows like Tucker Carlson Tonight and in print media outlets like the Wall Street Journal.
