To the editor:
It should come as no surprise to anyone with an open mind, and an eye on politics, that Representative Franson panders to the hyperpartisan fear mongering. Her social media accounts often draw conspiracy-laden vitriol, littered with debunked theories and links to propaganda, devoid of much factual substance.
For the last year and a half, Franson has made every effort to downplay COVID-19 and its impact on our nation. She's expressed no sympathy for the 600,000 preventable deaths, she’s challenged scientifically backed studies to mitigate, and she’s favored businesses over whom they employ in the name of "freedom." She didn't even know the vaccine was free of charge as recently as the end of May, as she stated in a since-deleted tweet.
The same employees, once touted by conservatives as "essential" and even "heroes", are now being demonized as “grifters” for not rushing back to a job paying poverty wages. As a woman who rose to national notoriety for comparing people on assistance to “animals at the zoo we shouldn't feed”, this shows a complete disregard for low- to middle-income working class residents that comprise the majority of her district.
This isn't about right vs. left, it's about taking care of your most vulnerable in the wake of a worldwide and ongoing pandemic. It's unappealing enough to have representatives that believe public health experts are manipulative political operatives, but to regard those most disenfranchised by the pandemic as just “taking advantage” is nothing short of heartless.
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8B deserves better than Mary Franson.
Jeremy Vinar
Alexandria, MN
