Stop Crucifying Gov. Walz

Enough already! Yes, the bogus organization Feeding Our Future did defraud the State of Minnesota during the COVID epidemic. Shame on them! Their egregious fraud, however, was discovered and reported. Then the guilty ones were arrested and punished by our legal system. That’s what happened.

Now here’s what didn’t happen:

Millions of dollars stolen from Minnesota taxpayers
DID NOT FUND Islamic terrorist group Al-Shabab.

ALL the Daycare centers operated by Somalis in Minneapolis
DID NOT MISAPPROPRIATE over $100 million in public funding.

And, NO, Governor Tim Walz is NOT the bad guy who allowed this fraud to happen — or who refused to stop it from happening, either.

Apparently, the current Republican cult so desperately wants a Republican to get elected governor of Minnesota that they’re willing to do and say anything to make it happen. That means employing propaganda to slander, libel, or otherwise debase, Tim Walz.

Oddly enough, Walz got on Trump’s enemy list by merely running as the candidate for U.S. Vice-President on the Harris/Walz Democratic ticket in 2024. Yet even before Governor Tim Walz announced he’d seek a third term to be governor of Minnesota, Trump began personally attacking him. In keeping with his unconstitutional and unethical vendetta to go after his “political enemies,” Trump even called Walz “retarded.” Then he expected Republicans to follow his lead and support his dirty tactics.

So GOP knives were out and ready in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. After all, any enemy of Trump is also the enemy of all Republicans. Let the smearing begin!

Nevertheless, like most personal attacks in politics, there was a grain of truth in these smears. Fraud did occur. Millions of Minnesota’s tax dollars that were designated to feed hungry children were used instead to enrich the personal fortunes of greedy grifters who operated Feeding Our Future. Unfortunately, this fraud wasn’t immediately discovered. The shock and all-consuming stress that COVID inflicted made it difficult for state regulators to easily detect such an unthinkable, large-scale scam.

Their slowed response time, however, had nothing to do with Governor Walz’s vigilance.

In fact, during the past six years, Walz has initiated various anti-fraud protections and preventative measures designed to both stop and apprehend different kinds of fraudulent activity. Don’t take my word for it, dear readers. Go to your computer and google “What did Governor Walz do in 2019 to stop fraud?” Then you’ll get a comprehensive list of so many key actions and initiatives, you’ll need to print out 2 typewritten pages in order to view all the things this governor has done.

Clearly, this record of prolonged interest and activity does not indicate a careless or uncaring public servant. It shows, instead, a refined diligence. Furthermore, it reveals a shocking misperception from his Republican critics about the nature of fraud itself.

By its very definition, fraud denotes “deception deliberately practiced in order to secure unfair or unlawful gain.” Fraud can also mean “a piece of trickery, a swindle.”

So fraud is specifically designed and carefully contrived to make you believe that things truly are fair AND lawful when they are not. That’s why the only people who can successfully and repeatedly detect fraud are paranoid. Keep distrusting everyone and everything all the time and sooner or later you will find fraud. Needless to say, that kind of paranoia will not get you very far in the kind of public service that most political occupations require…especially if you want to be the governor of Minnesota.

Tim Walz comes across as an honest, decent, down-to-earth guy because that’s who he really is. That’s why he, along with most Minnesotans, wanted to make sure no children would be hungry during the COVID epidemic. At that time, he — and everyone else in this state — simply could not conceive that participants running an altruistic organization to feed starving children would use the money given for food to buy themselves luxury vacations, new condos, sporty cars. That oversight, though, only makes Walz a normal human being — like 99% of most Minnesotans.

In fact, the only real thing Trump and his GOP horde have on Walz is that he served as Minnesota’s governor when this fraud took place. That’s Walz’s only “crime:" guilt by public service. Might as well blame Lincoln for that attack on Fort Sumter or FDR for World War II.

Walz was elected to be governor, not state psychic. The only way he could have known about this fraud would have been if he had been working with and cooperating directly with Feeding Our Future. He wasn’t.

As for this accusation of “not doing enough” to prevent such fraud, Trump and his minions are only doing more shadow boxing in the dark. As early as 2019, Governor Walz was introducing safeguards and legislation to address fraud. He was not only conscientious about protection, he was creating dedicated resources. His record of service clearly shows his interest in prevention of fraud and apprehension of fraudsters.

So why are Republicans in this state so eager to politically crucify such a hardworking, dedicated public servant?

Because Trump told them to do it, that’s why.

But why such eagerness to blindly obey the commands of a President who has been convicted of both felony AND fraud? Why the die-hard allegiance to a sociopath who ignores both the U.S. Constitution and the welfare of his constituency? Why keep honoring his bitter vindictiveness?

Why, indeed.

To Trump’s cult-like followers, I can only say this much: If you cannot see the serious flaws in your fearless leader, you are the ones who should be leaving politics to “spend more time with your families” — not Tim Walz. Before you start accusing Walz of fraud, you’d better start doing something about the fraudster in The Oval Office who keeps leading you into his mindless retaliation.