DAVID MARCUS: Peggy Flanagan's DEI record and fraud scandal put Minnesota Senate race in the spotlight

"The lieutenant governor [Peggy Flanagan], even as we sit here today, continues to take absolutely no accountability for any of the fraud issues, and she continues to blame the governor. And I'm going to be honest: It's p---ing me off."

The above quote is not from a Republican, but from Democratic Rep. Angie Craig in July when she was running in the Minnesota Senate primary against Peggy Flanagan. While harsh words are often lightly thrown in primary battles, in this case, one must ask: Where is the lie?

While Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Colorado’s House candidate Milot Kiros have snagged headlines for their far-left views, Flanagan has been able to hide a bit.

However, the tightening race in Minnesota, as shown both through on-the-ground reporting and in polling, is putting Democrats everywhere in an awkward position because they had thought Flanagan’s leftist lunacy would float under the radar this cycle.

Well, not anymore.

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Now that the Gopher State is firmly in the political spotlight, voters will be reminded, for example, of Flanagan wearing a T-shirt that says "Protect Trans Kids" on it, with a picture of a large Bowie knife — which can only be rationally read as a threat of physical violence.

We know what the shirt means because not just threats, but also acts of physical violence by, or in defense of, members of the trans community have become commonplace in our society. Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is threatened constantly for simply believing that men cannot become women.

Trans-related mass shootings have become a norm.

Progressive protests and internet forums echo with terms like "Kill All TERFS (Trans Excluding Radical Feminists)," and instead of trying to calm tensions, Flanagan’s answer is to pour gasoline on the rhetorical fire with death threats while insisting that men belong in women’s sports.

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On the economy, Flanagan also flails to the far left, favoring a $17 national minimum wage that would crush many small businesses, not just in Minnesota, but across America, and "Medicare-for-all" that would take away the private insurance of every citizen.

When it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion, Flanagan is exactly where you would expect her to be, just to the left of Chairman Mao, saying in 2023, "We remain committed to centering the people most impacted by disparities based on race, geography, and economic status… We will continue working to engage and empower those who have been historically left out of government."

Among the farcical programs created by this unhinged rubric was Minnesota’s marijuana legalization efforts that gave loans, often forgivable, to people based on "special equity status," to open dispensaries — many of which have now failed and closed.

Truly, only government leftists could foul up selling weed, something mastered by the stoners we all knew in high school.

Of course, this emphasis on "special equity" and DEI also lies at the root of Flanagan’s massive Somali fraud scandal, where whistleblowers were ignored as hundreds of millions, at least, were pilfered because Peggy was uncomfortable criticizing Somalis.

To make matters worse, some of the alleged fraudsters appear to be inside Flanagan’s inner circle, including Nimco Ahmed, with whom Flanagan recently appeared in full hijab, no less, whose autism center is now under investigation.

For her part, Flanagan’s opponent, Republican Michele Tafoya, is offering Minnesotans a centrist and moderate version of the GOP with stances such as supporting abortion rights, even angering more traditional conservatives.

Tafoya has taken her middle-of-the-road message on a media blitz in recent weeks. One half expects her to be interviewed on Prairie Home Companion, while Flanagan has all but been in hiding, entertaining only the most comfortable and coddling interviews possible.

Notwithstanding the fact that early voting has already begun in Minnesota, a month is too long for Flanagan to pull a Biden-esque hide-in-the-basement strategy, especially as Tafoya’s national profile is only growing stronger.

To date, Flanagan has not agreed to debate the eager Tafoya, presumably for all the reasons, reflecting her failed record. But at this point, refusing to take on her opponent face-to-face might play worse than any embarrassment the event itself might cause.

The Democrats have a Peggy Flanagan problem. They really, really, really don’t want her and her bizarre brand of progressivism on the Sunday shows, but at this point, they may have no choice.

Meanwhile, for Michele Tafoya and Minnesotans, what once looked like a long shot is now very close to even money.