It sounds like he was one of these Lutherans whose changes sneaked up on him and he never bothered to get out.
Hanson is disgusting and probably a hypocrite for praising Rehnquist out of one side of his mouth and preaching contrary to Rehnquist's beliefs out the other side of his mouth.
Hanson is the worst of a bunch of bad ELCA leaders.
I thought one comment by Hanson was more of an insult, about Rehnquist presiding over the trial which decided the 2000 election. Although the statement is not malicious on the surface, the rage within seems to come through (reading between the lines).
It would be more fair to say that Gore failed to steal the 2000 election since he lost all the Florida vote counts, and that the US Supreme Court put an end to his demented nonsense. Thank you, Rehnquist for serving justice rather than Hanson's agenda.
ELCA's decline accelerates daily, like a falling object.