April 10-13, 2016
Apr 10 02:27 Progressives hating Scott Walker Apr 10 03:11 T'Wolves are for real Apr 10 04:32 Exposing Jane Conrad's dishonesty Apr 10 23:56 Rick Nolan, sellout edition Apr 11 09:48 Dayton dodges RAMS Apr 11 11:11 Diskant v. SCOTUS precedent Apr 11 11:31 Praising small business Apr 12 09:03 Paul Thissen, unrepentant spinner Apr 13 07:53 Trump's ignorance shining through
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Progressives hating Scott Walker
It isn't a secret that hardline progressives hate Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. It isn't surprising to find out that they aren't the brightest bulbs in the political chandelier, either. This post is a perfect example of hardline progressives hating Scott Walker without a legitimate reason. According to this post, Scott Walker is to blame for Wisconsin's economic woes for time when he wasn't governor.
The post cites "state-by-state analysis from the Pew Charitable Trusts" to blame Gov. Walker for Wisconsin's economic problems, saying "Wisconsin experienced the biggest decline in middle-class households in the country between the years 2000 and 2013." That's interesting because Jim Doyle, a Democrat, was Wisconsin's governor for 8 of those years. What's annoying is that that isn't the first time Democrats have blamed Gov. Walker for Gov. Doyle's decisions. Originally, Gail Collins' column blamed Gov. Walker's budget cuts for teacher layoffs that happened before he took office.
Collins column originally said "All of that came as a distinct surprise to Claudia Felske, a member of the faculty at East Troy High School who actually was named a Wisconsin Teacher of the Year in 2010. In a phone interview, Felske said she still remembers when she got the news at a 'surprise pep assembly at my school.' As well as the fact that those layoffs happened because Walker cut state aid to education. "
The budget cuts that supposedly led to those teacher layoffs happened in 2010, the year before Scott Walker took office. As for Gov. Walker's accomplishments, this information is definitely positive:
Proponents of the measure, including Chris Rochester, MacIver Institute spokesperson, said Act 10 has saved taxpayers $5.24 billion . These taxpayer savings come from government employees putting more money into their own retirement and health benefits, of which taxpayers previously pay a significant portion, Rochester added.
Saving taxpayers $1,000,000,000+ a year is an impressive amount of savings. At that point, taxpayers have the option of approving the hiring of more teachers and staff, giving teachers raises or keeping property taxes inexpensive or a combination of those options. That sounds like a positive outcome.
Posted Sunday, April 10, 2016 2:27 AM
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T'Wolves are for real
I've been an off-and-on fan of the Minnesota Timberwolves since the initial Kevin Garnett era ended. I'm not on the fence anymore. This year's team will miss the playoffs again but there's no mistaking the direction they're heading in.
After the 2014-2015 season ended, the T'Wolves traded All Star power forward to Cleveland in exchange for Andrew Wiggins, the first overall draft pick in that summer's draft. It isn't often that a team trades away an All Star player in the prime of his career and gets the better of the trade but that's exactly what happened. Prior to that trade, the T'Wolves picked UCLA's Zach Levine with their own draft pick. Levine is still a bit inconsistent but he's shown flashes of brilliance, especially offensively.
In last summer's draft, the T'Wolves finally won the lottery, the first time they've picked first in the draft since their inception. They made the most of that opportunity, both in terms of picking the right player but also picking first in the right year. They picked Kentucky's Karl Anthony Towns with the first overall pick, picking him over Duke's Jahlil Okafor, then trading for hometown hero Tyus Jones. Jones started slowly but he's played with lots more confidence the last month.
The result has been the T'Wolves gelling as a team. Mix in the T'Wolves big three of Towns, Wiggins and Levine with Ricky Rubio and Gorgui Dieng and you've got a talented starting lineup. Throw in Jones, Shabazz Muhammad and Nemanja Bjelica and you've got a talented bench.
This video shows just how talented KAT is:
Next year's T'Wolves team will make the playoffs barring them getting hit with a ton of injuries. They're that good.
Posted Sunday, April 10, 2016 3:11 AM
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Exposing Jane Conrad's dishonesty
Jane Conrad's LTE is an exercise in partisan dishonesty. In Ms. Conrad's opening paragraph, she said "In 2014, state politicians like Reps. Jim Knoblach, Tama Theis, Jeff Howe and Tim O'Driscoll ran and were elected on a promise to improve the quality of lives for citizens in Greater Minnesota. We were promised that our roads and bridges would be repaired and broadband technology would be expanded."
What's happening is unfortunate. This isn't part of the DFL's campaign. This is the DFL's campaign. They've been whining about Republicans not spending as much on broadband as they are since the 2014 election. The truth is that Republicans are willing to expand broadband in Minnesota. They just aren't willing to spend as much on it as the DFL.
Second, I'm tired of hearing that Republicans haven't delivered on fixing Minnesota's roads and bridges. The DFL, starting with Gov. Dayton and including Transportation Forward, is insisting on a major middle class tax increase to pay for roads and bridges. Additionally, they're insisting that Republicans raise fees to pay for transit projects. In short, the DFL is insisting on listening to their lobbyist allies rather than to the people. I wrote this post in April, 2015 about a KSTP/SurveyUSA poll on transportation. Here is the poll question and the result:
House Republicans propose spending $750-million on highways and bridges over four years by using some of the state's budget surplus and other existing funds without raising taxes. Do you approve or disapprove? Asked of 525 registered voters. Margin of sampling error for this question: 3.8%
75% Approve, 17% Disapprove, 8% Not Sure
It's pretty clear that Minnesotans don't approve of a major middle class tax increase, especially when there's a less expensive way of solving the problem.
This year's legislative session has been shortened due to construction at the Capitol, so one would assume our representatives would try to make the most of what little time they have, and get done what is most important. Instead, they waste time and taxpayer money trying to pass laws that will not pass in the Senate, would be vetoed by Gov. Mark Dayton and would do nothing to help their constituents in Greater Minnesota.
Shame on Ms. Conrad. She's forgotten that last year's session went rather well. She's forgotten, perhaps intentionally, that Speaker Kurt Daudt and Sen. Tom Bakk worked out a bipartisan budget agreement that Gov. Dayton eventually signed right before a partial government shutdown would've happened.
To hear Ms. Conrad tell it, Republicans don't get anything done because they hate central Minnesota and other parts of the state, too. Ms. Conrad is a DFL operative who supports labor unions' goals. It isn't a stretch to say that she's critical of anything Republicans do. That's who she is.
Posted Sunday, April 10, 2016 4:32 AM
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Rick Nolan, sellout edition
There wasn't much doubt about whether Rick Nolan would sell out the Eighth District on environmental issues. If there was any doubt about whether Rick Nolan was a sellout to the Eighth District, that doubt disappeared when he announced he's supporting Bernie Sanders for president . There's a Bible verse that's forever true. It says that people can't serve 2 masters.
Rick Nolan isn't serving 2 masters. He's just trying to pretend like he's doing a balancing act. It'll be difficult for him to pull that off the minute people read Bernie Sanders' issue page on the environment . Simply put, Sanders' views of the environment is the opposite of what the Eighth District believes.
For instance, Sanders said that he wants to "protect important watersheds and wildlife areas." It's impossible to imagine Bernie not including Superior National Forest, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Voyageur's National Park in his list of "important watersheds and wildlife areas" he'd want to protect. That certainly means a Sanders administration would prohibit mining.
Nolan issued this statement on his decision:
The Democratic Party is fortunate to have two qualified presidential candidates, both of whom offer substantive solutions to the problems facing Americans. I've considered a number of factors in making this decision , including the will of Minnesota caucus attendees, specifically those in the 8th Congressional District. Bernie's message and his authenticity appeals to voters here, and it appeals to me. I'll be proud to cast my vote for him in Philadelphia this summer.
Apparently, one of the things Nolan didn't consider was whether his constituents agreed with Sanders. That wasn't a high priority for him.
Posted Sunday, April 10, 2016 11:56 PM
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Dayton dodges RAMS
Suffice it to say that Gov. Dayton's trip to Ely last week was controversial. While visiting the Range, Gov. Dayton met with RAMS , aka the Range Association of Municipalities and Schools. RAMS peppered Gov. Dayton with questions and opinions. Steve Giorgi, RAMS executive director, asked the most pointed, pertinent, question, asking "Why would a company want to come to Minnesota and invest hundreds of millions of dollars?"
While that was the most pointed question of Gov. Dayton's trip, it wasn't the only uncomfortable moment for him. Another uncomfortable moment happened when Giorgi "presented Dayton with 17 resolutions passed by area governments, all seeking that Dayton reverse course, [which] argued that the decision could also have a chilling effect on other mining operations in the region, even taconite mining."
Predictably, Gov. Dayton fought back, saying "I've told both of my commissioners to proceed as expeditiously as you can (on PolyMet). I view that project very differently, because of its location, than Twin Metals."
TRANSLATION: The environmental activists that fund the DFL's campaigns weren't happy with Gov. Dayton when he waited until he couldn't wait any longer to take a position on PolyMet. When he finally made the right decision, Gov. Dayton knew that he had to oppose Twin Metals because he couldn't risk alienating the environmental activists that dominate the DFL.
This is heartbreaking:
"These kinds of opportunities are few and far between," said Chisholm Mayor Michael Jugovich, touting a Twin Metals project that promises several hundred jobs. "This is the mecca for mining. We do it better and safer." Jugovich said too many Iron Rangers , including his own children, have to leave the area to find sustainable employment .
That shouldn't happen. The people of the Range are industrious and hard-working. Not maximizing that talent is virtually criminal. The DFL, especially the IRRRB, has squandered that talent.
That's the definition of foolish.
Posted Monday, April 11, 2016 9:48 AM
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Diskant v. SCOTUS precedent
Gregory Diskant's op-ed is a display of some of the most warped thinking (if it rises to that level) I've seen. Diskant argues that it "is altogether proper to view a decision by the Senate not to act as a waiver of its right to provide advice and consent. A waiver is an intentional relinquishment or abandonment of a known right or privilege."
First, the principle of advise and consent is a responsibility, not a right or privilege. Second, it's altogether improper to think that the executive branch has the authority to determine when the legislative branch has waived its responsibility of advise and consent. The Supreme Court's 2014 ruling in NLRB v. Noel Canning is instructive on this separation of powers issue, saying "The Clause should be interpreted as granting the President the power to make appointments during a recess but not offering the President the authority routinely to avoid the need for Senate confirmation."
Further, it states "For purposes of the Recess Appointments Clause, the Senate is in session when it says that it is, provided that, under its own rules, it retains the capacity to transact Senate business." In other words, the Senate's rules, which are voted on at the start of each new Congress, determine when it's in recess or when it chooses to waive its advise and consent responsibilities. It isn't within the Executive Branch's authority to make official determinations on how the Legislative Branch must do its job.
If the Supreme Court ruled that the Executive Branch could tell the Legislative Branch how to do its jobs, that would eliminate the system's necessary checks and balances. Further, such a ruling would eliminate the concept of co-equal branches of government.
This sentence is particularly disturbing:
The president should advise the Senate that he will deem its failure to act by a specified reasonable date in the future to constitute a deliberate waiver of its right to give advice and consent.
Again, the Supreme Court ruled in NLRB v. Noel Canning that the Executive Branch doesn't have the authority to tell the Senate how to do its business. That ruling wasn't a 5-4 ruling, either. It was a 9-0 decision, meaning it was such an easy ruling that all 9 justices voted against President Obama's executive overreach.
Mr. Diskant's op-ed isn't a serious piece of work. It's virtually worthless from an academic or legal standpoint.
Posted Monday, April 11, 2016 11:11 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 13-Apr-16 01:24 PM
You're beating up a straw man. Nobody can take that argument you start out against seriously.
It's all politics, and after saying that, it's all been said. What will happen is Bernie/Clinton wins in November and then the lame duck situation cuts in and the Republicans approve the guy. And Hillary would appoint a worse business-owned geek, so that's the best scenario. Bernie would follow Roosevelt and seek to have the Supremes upped to 15, during his term(s). If not getting that, Roberts would get a message, and become less a mess.
Praising small business
This weekend was a bit uncomfortable at the Gross household. Saturday afternoon, the water heater stopped producing hot water. At first, I thought it was just that the pilot light had gone out. My amateur diagnosis turned out to be wrong so I called St. Augusta Plumbing to set up an appointment for this morning. They got here at 9:15. It took them just 15 minutes to diagnose and fix the problem.
The serviceman was professional. The price was relatively cheap. The water heater is heating water again as I'm typing this. Life is good at the Gross home once again. The point is that there are other more high profile plumbers in St. Cloud. They're also more expensive. Thanks to the small businessman who runs St. Augusta Plumbing, my water heater is working again and I got it fixed for a price that I wouldn't have gotten it at had I went with a higher profile big company.
Originally posted Monday, April 11, 2016, revised 27-Apr 12:05 PM
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Paul Thissen, unrepentant spinner
I used to think that the Alliance for a Better Minnesota, aka ABM, was the most dishonest collection of progressives in Minnesota. I'm rethinking that, not because I think ABM suddenly became an integrity-filled organization but because Rep. Paul Thissen is a disgustingly dishonest person. I'm writing this because Rep. Thissen is dishonest and deceptive. When he issued this statement , Rep. Thissen put words in Speaker Daudt's mouth, words that Speaker Daudt didn't say.
The thing that Rep. Thissen twisted is the sentence that Speaker Daudt said. It reads "Number one, it would fund our roads and bridges, but number two, it would start to starve out the general fund, so it would remove money currently going in to the general fund, which is a really good thing."
Rep. Thissen twisted that into this sentence, which says "Speaker Daudt's admission that the purpose of the House Republican transportation plan is to "starve out" the money we use to fund our schools, police officers, and other basic services is the most damning argument against their so-called plan to date. He is openly admitting not only that they do not have a real plan to fund our roads and bridges but that the real purpose is to send us into deficit so they can cut our schools and other basic services in perpetuity."
Rep. Thissen's insistence that Speaker Daudt secretly wants to starve K-12 Education and police officer funding is insane. Last year, Speaker Daudt and Senate Majority Leader worked out a bipartisan budget plan a week before the end of session. If Rep. Thissen wants to argue that Speaker Daudt wants to starve education, transportation and public safety, then he'd better argue that about Sen. Bakk, too.
This statement is exceptionally dishonest:
Speaker Daudt and Republicans should bring forward a real transportation plan that will adequately fund our roads and bridges without depriving our general fund of resources that educate our kids from kindergarten to college and fund basic government services that are important to the lives of Minnesota families.
That's rich. Tim Kelly criticized (exposed?) Rep. Thissen in this op-ed :
Do you recall Thissen's "comprehensive transportation solution that truly fixes the problem long-term" from two years ago? Me either, because it didn't exist.
Rep. Thissen is a natural-born obstructionist. His first action is to criticize, not solve problems.
It's truly a sad day in Minnesota. The DFL leader in the House isn't interested in solving problems. He isn't even interested in telling the truth. Paul Thissen is a cookie-cutter DFL weasel whose only objectives are to maintain power and to pass the DFL's ideological agenda.
Posted Tuesday, April 12, 2016 9:03 AM
Comment 1 by JerryE9 at 12-Apr-16 10:13 AM
I might argue that the sole purpose of the DFL is to so demonize Republicans that they can cling to power and let the State collapse of its own nanny-state excesses.
Comment 2 by Chad Q at 12-Apr-16 02:24 PM
What would be so wrong if the state GOP wanted to starve K-12 education? I mean they are 1/2 the budget and we are not getting the results we expect for the money. But I digress. Sure Thissen is a liar and a fraud but unless the GOP figures out a way to get the word out that they are doing no such thing as what Thissen or the democrats are saying, the LIV will believe whatever the MSM puts out there.
Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 13-Apr-16 05:42 AM
Chad, thanks for that cheerful note. I don't suppose you could help me with that?
Comment 3 by Chad Q at 13-Apr-16 08:29 AM
Gary, it shouldn't be up to just you or a few other bloggers to get the word out that the democrats are liars and frauds. The MSM should be interested that they are disseminating bad information but we also know that most of them side with the liars and frauds. So until an honest MSM source comes around, I guess you'll have to be the voice and I will continue to point friends and family to your blog and other conservative blog/sites that give people the opposing view of the MSM.
Response 3.1 by Gary Gross at 13-Apr-16 10:55 AM
Chad, I appreciate you spreading the word. Without getting gushy, know that I appreciate it whenever people spread the word. Besides, from a practical perspective, putting out this content is meaningless if nobody's reading it.
Comment 4 by eric z at 13-Apr-16 01:20 PM
Gary you just want a Tom Bakk DFLer in each house, somebody who fits with Daudt like a hand in a glove.
And then, you would not be happy and would find a detail or two to criticize. I'm just waiting for Bakk to change parties like Norm did, to land where he really belongs.
Response 4.1 by Gary Gross at 14-Apr-16 01:18 AM
Bakk is really a politician without a party. He isn't liberal enough for the DFL and not nearly conservative enough to be a Republican. FWIW, Thissen is a despicable man who lies for a living.
Trump's ignorance shining through
Donald Trump isn't an idiot but he's definitely ignorant. Yesterday, Trump criticized RNC Chairman Reince Priebus and the RNC for Colorado's caucus system.
What's apparent is that Donald Trump doesn't pay attention to details. It's apparent because he said "It's a disgrace for the party. And Reince Priebus should be ashamed of himself. He should be ashamed of himself because he knows what's going on." That statement is exceptionally telling.
First, it's telling because it's clear that he doesn't understand the concept of federalism. Having attended Minnesota's precinct caucuses, their county conventions and other conventions, I've yet to hear of a time when the RNC dictated how we ran our conventions. It's blindingly apparent that Trump doesn't understand that each state has its own rules.
Perhaps more importantly, it's clear that Trump wouldn't know a strict constructionist judge if he met one. It's apparent that Trump thinks that the federal government should make most of the decisions. Limited government conservatives cringe when they hear a politician who thinks that Washington needs more authority. Trump also said this:
It should go to a vote in Colorado like other places. ... The best way to do it would be just a vote, should be a vote of the people. That's the way it should be done. The delegate situation is a very unjust way of doing things.
Spoken like a man who prefers mob rule. Truer words were never spoken than these:
Asked if he would call for Priebus to step down should he become the nominee, Trump responded, "I haven't given that any thought."
The notion that Mr. Trump gives anything a thought is laughable. He's the quintessential non-thinker. He's the poster child of what happens when people don't think things through.
Posted Wednesday, April 13, 2016 7:53 AM
Comment 1 by JerryE9 at 13-Apr-16 08:41 AM
Actually, Minnesota's caucus/"straw poll" was made binding on the National convention delegates because of RNC rules governing the primary schedule. We could have gone later and NOT had delegates bound, but chose the other path. Nonetheless, those were the State Party rules, everybody knew what they were, and everybody that turned out at caucus had a voice in who the delegates were and which candidate they were bound to on the first ballot. Rubio put in the effort and got the most delegates. Trump finished third. Think we could get him to complain about US? :-)
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 13-Apr-16 10:57 AM
That's true, Jerry, but, like you said, we had a choice. It's worth noting that our caucus system is part of Minnesota state statutes. How each party allocates delegates are a choice to a certain degree.
Comment 2 by eric z at 13-Apr-16 01:05 PM
So what did you expect? That Trump was going to say the Colorado caucus system is as faultless as a John Harrison timepiece for determining Longitude?
Of course it's a broken system; details aside; else Trump would have hammered the one Senator most hated by his colleagues in the Senate.
What was it Lindsey Graham said about if Cruz were assassinated on the floor of the Senate; getting a conviction among a jury of Cruz's peers?
Cruz is a joke.
One not funny, as when he tells one. He's just a brat who never grew up and Trump should be saying that.
Comment 3 by Gretchen Leisen at 13-Apr-16 04:59 PM
Trump and the majority of US citizens are apparently ignorant of the concept of a constitutional republic. Gary - you called it correctly. Trump does not understand representative concepts, and that each state determines their process. That is what a federal system does. Relying on a direct vote for everything is a sure road to mob rule.
Response 3.1 by Gary Gross at 14-Apr-16 01:20 AM
Gretchen, that's exactly right. Democracies are mob rule. Constitutional republics are the best form of government.
