In dig at Gruenwalder, former gov Bartholomew says he's not a 'North Face environmentalist'

BROOKINGS -- Women in politics are used to having their fashion styles and clothing wardrobes criticized.

It's less common for male candidates to face such scrutiny, but Tuesday afternoon, men's jackets and sweater vests were the center of controversy in the Biereland governor's race.

NAT gubernatorial candidate Joel Gruenwalder is known for being an avid outdoorsman. 

His Instagram account is chock full of pictures of he and his family hiking, kayaking, biking and skiing in Biereland's vast wilderness. 

Gruenwalder frequently shows up to campaign events wearing expensive outdoor brands like The North Face, Columbia, Eddie Bauer, and Patagonia.

And those brands say a lot, according to Gruenwalder's rival, former Gov. San Bartholomew.

"There are some people who are only environmentalists on social media. They post pictures of their luxury ski trips in $800 per night AirBnB's, they post pictures of their brand new Subaru or their Land Rover, they walk around wearing expensive L.L. Bean and Columbia jackets...they look like an environmentalist and sound like one, but what have they really done to protect the planet?" Bartholomew told reporters at a Tuesday afternoon press event in Brookings.

Bartholomew didn't specifically refer to Joel Gruenwalder in his comments, but Gruenwalder was criticized earlier this year when he posted pictures of a family ski trip at an expensive ski chalet that AirBnB's website listed for $829 per night.

In one picture, he is seen driving a large SUV, which climate activists noted was counter to his campaign pledge to champion electric vehicles. 

Critics said Gruenwalder's lavish family vacation was evidence that he is out-of-touch with working-class Bierelanders.

"People like that are what I call North Face environmentalists. They're affluent and they live in their cozy upscale suburban neighborhoods. But they're not true activists, they're not out in the trenches every day fighting big oil or big mining, they're just in it for likes on Instagram," said Bartholomew, who again, avoided directly calling out Gruenwalder by name.

Bartholomew's comments come as the race for governor heats up.

Gruenwalder, the CEO of EverTree, a forest advocacy organization, is tied in recent polls with Bartholomew, the former governor who made protecting the environment a hallmark of his administration.

Bartholomew is seeking a rematch with Conservative incumbent Gov. Ben Jordan, who defeated Bartholomew back in 2014.

The former NAT governor is the more left-wing candidate in the race, while Gruenwalder has framed himself as a centrist.

Both men are hoping to replace Jordan, who is running for an historic third consecutive term.

In response to Bartholomew's dig, Gruenwalder took to social media to defend his environmental credentials.

"I work for a non-profit organization that literally protects forests. Nature has always been a part of my life and my family's lives. For someone to insinuate that I'm not a 'real environmentalist' because I wear a Columbia jacket or because I drive a certain kind of car is just laughable," said Gruenwalder in a video posted on his campaign's social media accounts.

Whichever candidate wins on the NAT side, it will likely be an uphill climb. Biereland is a conservative state and polls show Conservatives are favored to win the December 2022 elections later this year.

In Biereland's gubernatorial race, polls have shown Jordan comfortably ahead of Bartholomew but only slightly leading Gruenwalder. 

Joseph Milhaughly: 'Russia's standing in the world will diminish exponentially' if it invades Ukraine

 MAVOCKE -- If Russia invades Ukraine, as is widely expected by military analysts, it will be "extraordinarily bad PR" for Russia, Grassadellia's top diplomat said Monday in a speech.

Secretary of State Joseph Milhaughly was speaking at the World Forum conference in Mavocke, Monday afternoon. The conference was attended by about 4,000 people from all over the world, most from journalistic, academic, or business backgrounds.

The secretary was asked what he expected would happen if Russia invades Ukraine.

"If Russia invades Ukraine, there is no doubt in my mind that Russia's standing in the world will diminish exponentially," said Milhaughly.

"Right now, Russia is an adversarial country, they often engage in provocation and menacing other countries, but Russia is still respected by the international community. There is a quiet respect for Russia."

"If Russia were to invade Ukraine, however, the international community will lose what little respect they have for Russia." 

"Russia will no longer be a major world power, it will be seen by other countries as simply a vast imperialist actor whose imperialism cannot be sustained in the long-term," said Milhaughly.

Immediately upon news of Milhaughly's comments, Russian ambassador to Grassadellia Alexander Khoroskovsky filed an official complaint with the Grassadellian State Department and with Collester.

"Russia's legitimate concerns in Ukraine and elsewhere in the world are not 'imperialism,' but part of broader security risks to the Russian federation," Khoroskovsky said in a written statement.

"For Joseph Milhaughly to suggest Russia is engaging in imperialism, and for him to make such offensive comments about the Russian motherland is inaccurate, insulting, and beneath the dignity of his office," the statement said.

Collester Press Secretary Jayna Elatekin responded late Monday afternoon on her official Twitter account, posting that President Jim McCaren views Russia's potential invasion of Ukraine as an act of imperialism.

"Invading another country to expand your country's influence and control is, in fact, an act of imperialism."

Elatekin's Twitter post seemed to back up Milaughly's comments at the World Forum conference earlier in the day.

Milhaughly's comments come on the heels of President Jim McCaren's criticism of Russia last week.

On Friday, upon his presidential plane landing in Grassadellia City, McCaren briefly chatted with reporters on the tarmac. 

When asked about Russia's possible impending invasion of Ukraine, McCaren warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that "the world is watching Russia," and that "serious, severe consequences" would be imposed on Russia "by a united front of Western nations" if Ukraine's sovereignty is violated.

Said McCaren: "This isn't a game. This is the real world. And the whole world is watching Russia. The world will not stand by and let Ukraine's sovereignty be violated. There will be serious, severe consequences for an invasion."

Pressed for specific consequences by reporters, McCaren responded that "all options are on the table," but most likely Russian banks, companies, and citizens would have their assets in Grassadellia -- which total billions of dollars -- frozen.

"I don't know yet exactly what will happen if Russia goes through with an invasion, but I can tell you it will make life a whole lot harder for Vladimir Putin, the Russian government, Russian companies, Russian oligarchs. It won't be pleasant," said McCaren.

Centrist NAT governors ask McCaren to lift COVID-19 restrictions and 'return to normal'

CHRISTEN--KERR, EDS -- Two NAT governors have sent a letter to President Jim McCaren, asking him to end COVID-19 restrictions and expedite a "return to normal."

Val Hennemott and Brett Ratenzy, governors of East Deschire and South Ceona, respectively, not only sent a formal letter to McCaren asking for an end to mask mandates and shut-downs, they have also publicly called on the president to do so.

"We are respectfully asking President McCaren to end the shut-downs, end the mask mandates, re-open schools and public domains, allow concerts and sporting events, and return to normal," Ratenzy said Saturday in a speech at the South Ceona Primrose Society's annual ball.

In a radio interview with K-LIVE, a Hansboro radio station, Hennemott had similar comments.

"We are asking the McCaren Administration to please focus on getting our country back to normal," Hennemott said.

When pressed by radio host George Coleman what exactly 'back to normal' means, Hennemott gave specifics.

"It means ending mask mandates for schools, ending mandates for government workers, it means re-opening our public parks, allowing football games and concerts again, it means improving the supply chain and getting manufacturing back to normal levels. It's all of those things," said Hennemott.

The governors' stance is a sharp turnaround from earlier in the pandemic.

When COVID-19 first struck, Hennemott and Ratenzy both issued widespread shut-downs, limited large gatherings, forced schools to go remote in urban areas, and mandated the use of masks in public places, as well as mask mandates for government employees.

Both governors imposed vaccine mandates on state employees too.

The two leaders, who are both moderates and have a history of working together, faced fierce opposition from Conservatives in both states.

The appeals to President McCaren come as both incumbents are seeking to shore up their political standing amid difficult re-election prospects. Polls have shown Hennemott and Ratenzy both either tied with leading Conservative candidates or trailing them.

And Conservative critics seized on Hennemott and Ratenzy's sudden change of heart on pandemic politics.

"It's funny how Val Hennemott was all about masks and mandates early on in the pandemic, and even as recently as a few months ago," said Curtis Bartlett, a Conservative state representative from southwestern Lewaina County.

"All of a sudden, when the polls show her tanking and likely to lose re-election, she changes her tune. Now masks are bad. Now mandates are bad. Now she wants large gatherings again and school kids to go mask-less."

"It's funny how poll numbers drastically change her stance on the pandemic issues," said Bartlett.

Ratenzy faced similar criticism in neighboring South Ceona.

Conservative Senator and gubernatorial candidate Mike Lembcke's campaign released a stinging written statement hitting Ratenzy for flip-flopping.

"Liberal Nationalist governors like Brett Ratenzy didn't have a problem imposing draconian mask mandates, vaccine requirements, and outlandish shut-downs on the South Ceona economy when COVID-19 started. But now that his poll numbers have taken a nose-dive, Brett Ratenzy and other NAT politicians like him have suddenly changed course and are now calling for a return to normal. Is it follow the science? Or follow the poll numbers?" the statement said.

Ratenzy and Hennemott hit back at their Conservative critics, though.

The pandemic has "evolved," Ratenzy said.

"What worked at the start of the pandemic doesn't necessarily work now. What was needed at the beginning of the pandemic isn't necessarily helping now. This pandemic has changed, the situation has changed, and therefore our approach has to change. That's not flip-flopping, that's just being a good leader who changes course with the changing conditions," Ratenzy said in a press conference Monday morning.

Hennemott also responded to her critics with her well-known pragmatism.

"There's a time for masks and going virtual with schools and canceling events. That time was earlier in the pandemic. Now it's time to gradually, incrementally return to normal. We need a plan, we need a strategy to offer the Grassadellian people, and we need to chart a path forward, that's what we're asking President McCaren and his team to do," said Hennemott.

In response to Hennemott's calls for a return to normal, her top CNS opponents for governor weighed in.

Phil Qwenberry, former mayor of Christen-Kerr, said it was "past time for Governor Hennemott to end her restrictions."

Attorney General Mark Ellsworth called Hennemott's latest comments "weak," while Hansboro Mayor Bill Engstrom lamented the "serious damage that has already been done to East Deschire's economy because of these unhelpful and unconstitutional COVID restrictions."

University of East Deschire head men's basketball coach Duke Edwards said Hennemott's pandemic politics "ruined our state's economy and took away our freedoms."

Assemblyman Dane Gutmeier (C-Clawfield) said he was "glad the governor is turning course" and easing restrictions. 

Iraq War veteran and far-right, white-nationalist activist Tim Hutsell called Hennemott a "dictator who needs to be taken down."