Minnesotans never thought they’d see their own officials exploit a public health challenge to suppress political speech or deny their right to peaceably assemble. Then again, we never thought we’d see our schools and businesses locked down or rioters given free rein to destroy our cities.
The outrageous cancellation of a Trump rally in greater Rochester by Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison should be seen for what it is — a frontal assault on our civil liberties and it is why removing Minnesota’s elitist and tyrannical left is the only way to restore our rights.
This is unparalleled censorship and why the unlimited power to lock down human beings is so very dangerous. Worse yet, my opponent Tina Smith along with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris want to give the federal government power to do to America what Walz and Ellison are doing to our beloved state.
This is an outrage beyond historical comparison and lays bare what these unscrupulous politicians will do for absolute power. It is now abundantly clear that your bill of rights — from freedom of speech to the right to keep and bear arms — are under assault by radical Democrats.
Minnesota’s ruling class has had a free hand to tax, spend and invade our rights for far too long — and now we’re seeing the inevitable result. It’s abundantly clear that if we continue to elect Democrats who are more interested in protecting criminals than taxpayers, our state will soon be just “a cold California.”
This is Minnesota’s last chance.
Freedom in our state is slipping away. It’s bad enough that Minnesota still ranks 5th highest in tax burden as measured by the proportion of total personal income that residents pay toward state and local taxes. But now we get lockdowns and riots from spineless politicians and corporate executives who seek to “reimagine” the police.
The anti-American left has moved from “social justice” to an unprecedented attack on civil society at warp speed. From attacking Mount Rushmore to packing the Supreme Court, they plan on turning our constitutional republic into a banana republic.
Let me be clear, if nothing is done on Nov. 3rd., everyday Minnesotans will have to endure an endless army of virtue-signaling activists ready to turn in their fellow Minnesotans for not comporting their everyday lives according to the bureaucratic dictates of a power-hungry elite.
Small family resorts and mom and pop shops will helplessly watch as their customers “shelter in place.” Attorney General Ellison will shut down more gatherings, when he’s not dishing out punishing fines and penalties to Minnesota bar owners and rodeos deemed enemies of the state.
How many more children must have their educational futures sacrificed and their mental health threatened through forced social isolation? How many more young adults will have their futures taken away by closing down their economic prospects?
Perhaps worst of all, how many more of our elderly loved ones will be treated like guinea pigs under a policy of placing COVID-positive patients in nursing homes like the current governor has done?
Again, let me be clear, this blatant exploitation of a public health challenge for partisan political purposes is not just the greatest public policy blunder in a generation — it is a scandal.
It matters little that even the World Health Organization now admits lockdowns have less to do with public health than politics. They do not work. As everyone knows, this has been my position for months because I saw what was coming from people who were eager to use the coronavirus for political cover.
The right to assemble, worship or even just dine out is infringed while violent protestors get a free pass from public health authorities whose own models on the virus have been off by orders of magnitude. An onslaught of COVID-related gaslighting by a partisan press has now put radicals animated by the destruction of freedom and public order on the verge of obtaining even more power.
Democrats in the Senate — from Tina Smith to Kamala Harris — have already promised to “cancel” anyone who disagrees with them by ending the filibuster and packing the Supreme Court.
Minnesotans who are still interested in preserving their way of life must elect leaders who are willing to stand up for freedom. As Benjamin Franklin warned, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
So as bad as things seem, what we face is nothing new. In fact, it’s a decision that all people in all times must eventually make — to endure oppression or resist. If we make the wrong choice, we will soon awake to a state and country our parents wouldn’t recognize.
On Nov. 3 vote to save your family, save your state and save your country.
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Jason Lewis is the former representative of Minnesota’s Second Congressional District and is the Republican-endorsed candidate for the U.S. Senate.
Jason Lewis
Jason Lewis is a former Minnesota congressman and broadcast veteran. Prior to serving in the 115th Congress, Lewis hosted a talk radio program for over 25 years and has authored two books, Power Divided is Power Checked (2010) and Party Animal (2022).
