Hot Dish 3.8.24

By Rochelle Olson

I am always shocked that members of Congress arrive hours early to the State of the State so they can snag aisle seats so they can momentarily cozy up to the big shots as they arrive. President Joe Biden’s speech was widely praised as energetic and feisty. Opponents said it was too much, too loud, too much of a campaign speech.

Of course the t-shirts, the red cap and the trolling are a newer twist. Saw Biden hug Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and greet Chief Justice John Roberts. From my vantage point, he skipped right over Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Biden’s encounter with Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green was — I don’t know what, but hey we’re talking about it so mission accomplished. I love all those little encounters and trying to parse the personal interactions like the final shot of every Saturday Night Live episode when the guest host and musical act are on stage with the cast. You catch glimpses of their real personalities.

Sitting in the chamber, DFL U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar held a sign in front of her. It read: Stop Sending Bombs. I emailed her staff late last night, but have yet to receive a response. I can’t imagine bringing signs or wearing t-shirts and MAGA caps is proper SOTU protocol.

Find out who members of the Minnesota delegation brought to the speech in Eder Campuzano’s story. Why was Maria Shriver there? A visual counter of a Kennedy to RFK Jr.’s campaign? First Lady Jill Biden listed a Minnesotan as one of her guests: Keenan Jones, an educator from Minnesota who had student loans forgiven and now can help his daughter through college.

He didn’t say a word, but everyone was commenting on the reactions and non-reactions of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.. He stood to applaud the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. I can’t see Pete Buttigieg without thinking: Hey, why is the former mayor of South Bend there?

The rebuttal will be parodied. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Alabama, sitting in her kitchen, saying her most important job is wife and mother (in that order). That whispery emotional tone. One take I read is that she was submissive-signaling “fundie baby voice.” Her slam of Biden “Goodness y’all. Bless his heart. We. Know. Better,” she said. She had the requisite stories of her humble, working-class beginnings: She swept the floor at her dad’s hardware store. She cleaned the bathroom at her mom’s dance studio. Some anonymous prankster changed Britt’s Wikipedia page to say she’s “a member of the Handmaid’s Tale and not one of the good ones.” But hey the senior senator from Alabama couldn’t have pulled that off. Elie Mystal Tweeted: “Katie Britt is the kind of person who saw Goody Proctor sleeping with the Devil.” Yeouch.

SENATE SRO: The Senate will take up the school resource officer fix bill on Monday with a new assistant majority leader: Sen. Clare Oumou Verbeten, DFL-St. Paul. She was elected Wednesday night, taking the spot vacated by Sen. Erin Murphy’s ascension to majority leader. Oumou Verbeten’s a standout freshman in her second session. In a news release, she noted that she was one of the first Black women elected to the Senate and is now the first to serve as an assistant majority leader. “In this role, I will continue to fight to make Minnesota a more inclusive and equitable place for all,” she said.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that among our Capitol crew, we are smitten with her sense of style, always eager to see her look of the day. Speaking of which, the Style King himself, Sen. Eric Lucero, R-St. Michael, was at the peak of his sartorial powers Thursday in a metallic gold jacket and tie. Upon laying eyes on him on the Senate floor, President Bobby Joe Champion, DFL-Minneapolis, greeted him from the podium with an appreciative, “Whoa, whoa, whoa. whoa.”

OLD HABITS: Those of us of a certain age recall when flight attendants were stewardesses and men were in the cockpit and smoking cigarettes was allowed on airplanes. That was a generation ago, but old habits and assumptions can be hard to shed. Just ask Sen. Gene Dornink, R-Brownsdale. Laura Haynor was wearing her uniform, including her golden wings pin, and testifying in front of the Labor Committee on Tuesday morning about sick time. She stated that she is a Minnesota resident and Minneapolis-based pilot for Delta Airlines. She was there on behalf of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). Dornink, the panel’s minority lead, had some questions. “Miss Haynor,” he said. “Can you tell me what a typical week, a work week looks like for you as a stewardess?” She cut him off. “I’m a first officer for Delta.” Dornink said, “Pardon me?” Haynor said, “I’m a pilot.” A flustered Dornink apologized immediately. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that. I’m so sorry.” Don’t take my word for it, read what Louis Krauss wrote about it and you can watch it.

AT THE LEGISLATURE: It’s Special Olympics Minnesota Unified Capitol Hill Day, which provides an opportunity for about 100 youth to advocate to lawmakers.

WHERE’S WALZ:

11:00 a.m. Meeting with the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association.

12:30 p.m. Meet with leadership from the Minnesota AFL-CIO.

READING LIST

My thoughts exactly: I was driving home from the Capitol mid-afternoon on Thursday past the Xcel Energy Center when I saw a group of tweens with two mothers. The boys were pumping their first in the universal signal for “Honk your horn.” So I did. They went nuts, jumping up and down and clapping. I rolled down my window, “Who are you cheering for?” They responded, “Chan!” I said, “Best one.”

On that note, sports colleague David La Vaque embedded with the Chanhassen team long ago and now they’re two wins away from their first championship. Win or lose, it’s a great story and La Vaque has rare inside access. ICYMI: His story about Kam Hendrickson, Chan’s red-hot goalie, and his sister Gabriella is a MUST READ. So go get to it now and email me a thank you rochelle.olson@startribune.com for coaxing you into it.

With that, I’m off to the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board meeting. Cheers.

Keep us posted at hotdish@startribune.com.