Ilhan Omar’s Hometown Endorses Her Opponent in paper

Here's the story from theWashington Free Beacon:

The Star Tribune, Minnesota's largest newspaper, endorsed Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D., Minn.) primary opponent, citing the challenger’s "integrity and progress" as the primary reason to vote the incumbent out of office.

Omar’s hometown paper said in a Wednesday editorial that Democratic primary challenger Antone Melton-Meaux would be better suited to represent the district in Congress. Omar, the paper argued, is overly focused on picking fights with Republicans and pushing fringe causes.

Omar’s anti-Semitic rhetoric and penchant for backing far-left causes has isolated her in Congress and undermined her ability to represent her district. Omar has repeatedly picked fights with Israel and its Jewish-American supporters. Democratic leaders in Congress have distanced themselves from Omar's anti-Semitic rhetoric, and her alliance with fellow "Squad" members, Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.), has been met with antipathy by many in her party. Melton-Meaux, on the other hand, seeks to forge alliances, the Star Tribune said.

It's due time these continuous accusations against Omar lead to some real investigations.

Here is more directly from the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

There are many ways to fight for change, few of them easy when tackling entrenched systems and interests. Omar says she will “fight hard for big ideas.” But the point of the fight, after all, is the change. And that often requires the ability to forge alliances and persuade.

As a mediator, Melton-Meaux said he has learned how to talk to different sides “in a language that’s familiar to them,” offering “a value proposition they can buy into.” His experience on Capitol Hill, as a fellow with the Congressional Black Caucus, has gained him a valuable window into how skilled leaders work against the odds to bring change.

Omar’s 2018 victory launched her into the national spotlight as the first Muslim woman and first refugee elected to Congress. But her time has been marred by missteps, including remarks on Israel widely regarded as anti-Semitic, an outsized number of missed votes, and campaign-finance issues. Interestingly, the DFL Party has chosen to make an issue of Melton-Meaux’s finances, filing a late complaint that his campaign used “shadow” companies for his bid, a step the campaign told supporters was necessary because the Democratic Party blacklists companies that work for the challenger to an incumbent.

That gave Lee Hayes, a spokesman for Melton-Meaux’s campaign, a chance to note that Omar has sent more than $1.6 million to her husband’s D.C. political consulting firm, E Street Group, and is herself the target of a Federal Election Commission complaint regarding travel expenses.

It is just these kinds of ethical distractions that the Fifth District could do without. In the Editorial Board interview, Omar took little responsibility for her rocky start, instead largely blaming her critics and saying her failing was perhaps in not realizing what a “special unicorn” she would be in Congress.

Local civil-rights icon Josie Johnson, in endorsing Melton-Meaux recently, said that at such a critical time in history, “We need to be deliberate about who we ask to represent us.” Johnson said she could not support “anyone who creates more division among us.”

Of course, this isn't even the first time her hometown paper has brought up these criticisms.

They ran a story a year ago which was very similar.

here's more of that story from Fox News:

Rep. Omar, D-Minn., was the subject of a stinging editorial in Minnesota's Star Tribune on Wednesday in the wake of her recent campaign finance violations -- with the paper suggesting that it was just the latest "misstep by the first-term congresswoman."

"U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar is back in the news again, and not in a good way," the editorial began. "The former state representative who won a seat in Congress last fall continues to be dogged by past missteps, this time eight violations of Minnesota campaign-finance law that will cost her nearly $3,500 in reimbursements and civil penalties."

Minnesota campaign finance officials ruled last week that Omar owed her campaign committee nearly $3,500, as well as a $500 civil penalty to the state, after using committee funds for personal travel and help on her tax returns.

As the Star Tribune noted, the state's Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board reported that Omar and her husband filed joint tax returns while she was married to another man. Minnesota law only allows spouses to file jointly in civil marriages whereas Omar filed with a man with whom she was only married in "faith tradition."

"It is even more disturbing, therefore, to learn that among the board’s latest findings ... Omar, for two years running, filed joint tax returns with a man she was living with but not legally married to. Complicating matters further, she was legally married to another man at the time," the editorial read.

The paper also called on Omar to disclose whether she benefited materially from the filings. "That is something that voters, who are obliged to follow tax laws no matter how painful, are entitled to know," it read.

The incident was just one of many issues -- including collecting allegedly illegal speaking fees -- that could prompt an investigation, the paper said.

When you're own town calls you out consistantly, that's a red flag.

Omar may have her work cut out for her this election cycle.