As I said in my previous blog, I think Rep. Liebling is power hungry, overrated and arrogant yet ignorant MN state legislator. Unfortunately, during this session – there are many like her. The difference is I have not had the un-pleasure of testifying in their committees this year as I had to in Rep. Liebling’s committee.
So, in our IACC meeting last week at NIH head-quarters in Bethesda, Maryland, we had as usual and by law time for public comments. First, I must say we rarely get comments that say – Yay, the federal government is doing an awesome job, good maybe but never awesome.
We usually get comments and questions from frustrated, tired and pissed off parents, advocates and researchers though they are a little more polite. We never take it personally and understand that as representatives of a federal committee – our job is not to like the person, become their friend, agree with their views, etc. It is rather to listen with an open mind, validate objectively and vote based on that and current facts.
Sometimes, some of the oral comments which are in person are against specific people even asking them to be fired or worse. However, I have never seen anyone in this committee say don’t talk to us like that, don’t send us your comments or you are not helping your cause by speaking your mind. I think what makes this country the envy and the hope of the world is the ability for its citizens to exercise ultimate political freedom without fear. It is why I endure all of its many other flaws especially when you are a minority. Because at least we are minorities with equal rights – even if there are sometimes subtle policies that discriminate against us on many levels.
OK, so what does this have to do with MN State Rep. Liebling? Everything.
Rep. Liebling (DFL from Rochester) decided to take it personally, use her committee membership power and maybe her color to try to belittle my message by being disrespectful and dismissive. She is not the chair and in my opinion, the chair could have apologized for her and could have told me even if they don’t like or agree with my message, it was my right to make it. Sadly, Rep. Huntley did not. He is usually low key and not flamboyant at all, but sometimes he lets undisciplined, power hungry, bias and cold members speak to us a little too foul.
While, I personally like Rep. Huntley – I think the theory of tell me about your friends and I will tell you about you still stands. He should have not tolerated such Mussolini like behavior from Rep. Liebling who often has toddler tantrums even if you don’t address her as Madam chair or the other representatives ask the witness questions and forget to go through her.
I really thank many of you who came to me afterwards and said she should have kept her mouth shut unless it was related to my testimony. I really appreciate that, but please don’t worry – elected officials like her are who we run from in our dictatorship countries.
I for one think Rep. Liebling is just confused, bias and prejudice at her core. Regardless of her NAACP membership which is really worthless, her policies have made no significant changes towards positive in any meaningful way that uplifted people of color in Minnesota. I think her lousy record speaks for itself and her words are useless to me, though I must say they have energized me to the unth level for the last couple of days to advocate even more. I will be on Somali TV next week to ask anyone from Somalia that lives in Rochester, MN who wants to run against her next year that I will help and campaign endlessly, because if we don’t have people that will care for our issues, then our concerns will never get solved. Elections in this state especially districts are won as little as few hundred votes, and some of those districts have thousands of Somalis.
I assure you our voices and our votes CAN make a difference. We just have to vote for the right person. The goal is to run against someone like her and not like Rep. Clark who is amazingly kind and inclusive. How can two people represent the same party, one Mussolini and the other Mother Teresa). On a related note, please support the two Somalis running for Mpls city council. We have the votes folks, we just need the will to believe.
God Bless!
Idil – Somali Autism Mom