Republican Sen. David Osmek recently called out Rep. Erik Mortensen for being a “village idiot,” supposedly because of his investment in removing the governor’s emergency powers.
Mortensen published an email from Osmek that says, “Erik Mortensen is a village idiot. And the Senate has voted, time and time again, to remove those emergency powers.”
Osmek, who wrote a bill that “would have changed the way the powers worked,” in his own words, said in the email that he will be presenting another similar bill in next week’s special session.
Osmek’s “pathetically weak bill,” according to Mortensen, does not do anything to stop the emergency powers.
SF 4, Osmek’s bill, would require a majority vote from both the House and Senate to extend the governor’s powers after the initial five days. The bill does not alter the scope of the emergency powers once they are approved.
Mortensen is the author of the Never Again bill, a bill that would strip the governor of peacetime emergency powers, prevent his orders from being treated as law, and fine or imprison the governor for violating the law.
It’s unclear who Osmek was writing to in his email, but he accused the recipient of being “part of the Mortensen Ignorance Brigade, who believes that only Saint Erik is doing something in St. Paul.”
Mortensen compared this statement to Hillary Clinton’s declaration that Trump supporters are a “Basket of Deplorables.”
“Osmek seems to be the Hillary Clinton of Minnesota!” Mortensen wrote, encouraging his supporters to call or email Osmek with their thoughts on his statement.
Osmek seems to believe that anyone who supports Mortensen is ignorant.
“Do yourself a favor and stop displaying your own ignorance,” Osmek wrote in the email.
As of last month, Mortensen is no longer part of the New House GOP. He was kicked out because of his criticism of the “RINOs in St. Paul,” he told Alpha News.
Rep. Jeremy Munson, R-Lake Crystal, later said Mortensen was not kicked out, but rather left of his own accord because of differences in his approach to lawmaking.
“He could choose to associate with us, or he could continue to attack us. He chose the latter,” Munson told Alpha News.
Mortensen has also criticized the legislative process for being “just like a play” and having predetermined outcomes.
Rose Williams
Rose Williams is an assistant editor for Alpha News.
