Democrats are stubbornly defending rampant fraud in Minnesota. Why is Governor Tim Walz insisting on handling the “investigations” internally? The answer, as it usually is with Democrats, is simple: it has everything to do with political self-interest.

Across the country, Somali-run child care centers, adult care facilities, and social service organizations have received massive public funding through programs beleaguered by fraud. In a vast majority of the politicians who enabled these programs — and turned a blind eye to fraud warning signs — benefited enormously.

A prime example of this fraud was the Feeding Our Future scandal. The individuals who were convicted of stealing roughly $250 million from Minnesota’s welfare system were also generous donors to Democratic campaigns and contributed thousands of dollars statewide. In fact, Walz received nearly $10,000 from donors with ties to Somali-operated daycare and Medicaid-funded service providers during many campaign cycles. Therefore, it certainly stretches the boundaries of common sense that someone did not know there was something amiss.

This pattern is not confined to Minnesota. In Washington state, the vast majority of campaign donations from individuals listing “child care” as their occupation flowed to a single Democratic official. At the same time, reports show daycare centers receiving extraordinary sums of public money despite minimal enrollment.

Democrats’ resistance to federal oversight is not a coincidence. It clearly demonstrates the obvious: public funds being misappropriated and then funneled back into their political campaigns.

It will certainly be interesting to learn what other “businesses” will eventually be outed for participating in this scheme.

Bill Straesser

Altoona