August 15-18, 2019

Aug 15 11:07 Bibi rejects the Squad
Aug 15 15:44 #OneMinnesota coverup?

Aug 16 06:39 Omar's, Tlaib's Israel itinerary
Aug 16 07:46 The imminent recession?
Aug 16 10:50 The games the Squad plays

Aug 17 07:05 Walz appoints Harpstead to HHS
Aug 17 13:45 Examining the US-Israel relationship

Aug 18 04:59 Rewriting history
Aug 18 10:02 HHS history lesson

Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul

Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Bibi rejects the Squad

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blocked anti-Semitic Democrats Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar from visiting Israel.

President Trump tweeted his support for rejecting the Democrats' grandstanding gambit:


Tlaib and Omar are some of the worst anti-Semites in Congress. Further, as Kevin McCarthy pointed out last week, Omar and Tlaib had the opportunity to visit Israel last week as part of a bipartisan CODEL. Their decision not to participate in that visit is open to speculation but I can't picture these Democrats' reasons are legitimate.

Under Israeli law, entry into the country can be denied if the applicants support boycotts against Israel. Omar and Tlaib support the BDS (Boycott, Divestment & Sanction) Movement. That's the opening Netanyahu needed so he took advantage of the opportunity.

I won't have any sympathy for Omar and Tlaib. If their intentions were legitimate, that's one thing. It's impossible to believe that these Democrats' intentions were legitimate so it's time to end Omar's and Tlaib's charade.

Posted Thursday, August 15, 2019 11:07 AM

No comments.

#OneMinnesota coverup?

Tim Walz's campaign slogan of #OneMinnesota turned into a lie. It didn't take long for Transparency Tim to turn into Cover-up Tim. It took less than 9 months.

When Tony Lourey resigned in disgrace, he left without an explanation. Earlier, when Lourey's deputy commissioners left, they left without explanation. When the Department of Human Services improperly sent $25,000,000 to the White Earth and Leech Lake Indian reservations, the Walz administration was as silent as a mime.

Instead, the DFL is attempting to spin its way out of difficulty this way:


This spin just says that there are some important programs within Human Services. It doesn't prove that those programs/departments are well-run or transparent. Why should I trust people that haven't given me a reason to trust them? In fact, I'd argue that the DFL and the Walz administration hasn't just not given me a reason not to trust them but it's also true that the DFL and the Walz administration have given me tons of reasons not to trust them.

In my estimation, Democrats are both corrupt and inept. Jim Nobles, Minnesota's Legislative Auditor, stated in a post-investigation report that corruption was "rampant." Also, Gov. Dayton was easily the most inept governor in Minnesota history. By comparison, Jesse Ventura looked positively Reaganesque. Between Gov. Dayton and Gov. Walz, we've received the worst of both worlds.

Why hasn't Gov. Walz investigated Carolyn Ham? What's happening there is unacceptable. If that happened in the private sector, Ham would've been fired months ago. Ham has collected more than $42,000 since being put on paid leave pending an investigation. It's noteworthy that the investigation was supposed to start more than 4 months ago. It still hasn't started.

It sounds to me like Gov. Walz doesn't want this investigation to happen. If he wanted it to happen, they likely could've gotten most of it done by now. It's apparent that Gov. Walz's rhetoric about transparency was just talk. His talk hasn't translated into action. Without the investigation, the problem just persists.

I'm pretty confident that taxpayers want solutions, not excuses. To use a Texas saying, thus far, Gov. Walz has been all hat and no cattle. To steal a cliche from an ancient Wendy's commercial:
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Posted Thursday, August 15, 2019 3:44 PM

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Omar's, Tlaib's Israel itinerary

Democrats have criticized Israel for rejecting Rep. Ilhan Omar's and Rep. Rashida Tlaib's planned visit to Israel. That criticism falls into the category of faux outrage. Part of the key to understanding why the Democrats' outrage is artificial is because of information on the Omar-Tlaib itinerary. Another key to understanding the Democrats' faux outrage is because of what isn't in that itinerary. Here's that information :

Congresswomen Tlaib and Omar are leading activists in promoting the legislation of boycotts against Israel in the American Congress. Only a few days ago, we received their itinerary for their visit in Israel, which revealed that they planned a visit whose sole objective is to strengthen the boycott against us and deny Israel's legitimacy. For instance: they listed the destination of their trip as Palestine and not Israel , and unlike all Democratic and Republican members of Congress who have visited Israel, they did not request to meet any Israeli officials , either from the government or the opposition.

If this was a serious trip whose purpose was to gather information on what's happening in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, why would Omar and Tlaib only plan on visiting Palestine? If this was a fact-finding mission, why didn't Reps. Omar and Tlaib request meetings with Netanyahu's ministers?

Here's the truth that Reps. Omar and Tlaib don't want you know. This was a PR stunt from the beginning. Think of this timeline. First, Omar and Tlaib co-sponsor a bill that endorses the BDS movement. Shortly after that, Omar and Tlaib announce that they're planning a visit to Israel during Congress's August recess. Finally, Omar and Tlaib announce that they're heading to a conference where anti-Semitism likely will run high.

Of course, Rep. Omar and Rep. Tlaib are playing the victim card flawlessly:
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If Democrats send Rep. Omar back to DC as expected, it'll count as proof that the center of the Democratic Party is anti-Semitic. As for leadership Democrats, their statements are rather rich. Speaker Pelosi said this:


Isn't that rich? Democrats are silent when Antifa mobs stifle speakers with whom they disagree (think Ben Shapiro, Andy Ngo, Dennis Prager or Guy Benson.) but they're outraged when Israel rejects 2 American politicians who support Israel's destruction through boycotts and sanctions. That doesn't pass the 'shoe is on the other foot' test.

I'd love to say that I'm surprised but I'm not. Rep. Omar is just a nasty individual.

UPDATE: Israel has granted Rep. Rashida Tlaib permission to visit her family in the West Bank:

Israel's interior minister said Friday he has received and granted a request by Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib to enter the Israeli-occupied West Bank on humanitarian grounds. The decision marked the latest sharp reversal over what had been a planned visit by Tlaib and fellow Democrat, Rep. Ilhan Omar, to Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Posted Friday, August 16, 2019 6:53 AM

Comment 1 by eric z at 17-Aug-19 08:32 AM
Do you know if CD5 GOP has a favored challenger yet, and do you think Omar will be primaried? My understanding is that Al Franken is living in CD5 these days. That fact may be worth watching. He still has much support in Minnesota, many believing he resigned in too hasty a fashion with the Roy Moore situation then pending. A part of the DFL may see Franken as an Omar alternative (if he'd be interested). Have you heard any rumors that way? It is just speculation in my mind, with no evidence I can suggest to back it up. It might be entirely off base speculation, but at this time who knows what will happen. Omar did first unseat Phyllis Kahn, and then won a primary with many DFL regulars in the contest. Turnout will be as it will be this coming 2020 cycle.

Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 17-Aug-19 10:36 AM
I'm not sure what's going on within the CD-5 GOP so I'll refrain from saying anything more about that. I've heard, too, that Franken is living in CD-5. If that's the case, then Omar has a reason to be worried about getting primaried.

Comment 2 by eric z at 20-Aug-19 10:15 AM
Thank you, Gary. I think both of us - indeed, all your readers - need to keep an eye on the primary situation. The filing deadline is not yet near. CD8 will be interesting.

Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 20-Aug-19 12:25 PM
Who will Democrats put up to run against Pete Stauber? The races that I'll be watching here in Minnesota are the Angie Craig & Dean Phillips seats in CD-2 & CD-3 & the Minnesota House & Senate races. If I had to guess right now, Republicans will hold CD-8 & retake CD-2.

I almost forgot to include Tina Smith's race. I think that Jason Lewis will run in that race. If Trump makes Minnesota competitive, that'll make the Smith Senate race competitive, too.

The imminent recession?

People need to reject the MSM's attempt to talk the US economy into a recession . The Democrats' media wing is doing its level best to convince people that their rising wages haven't happened. The Democrats' media wing is also trying to families' strong confidence isn't warranted.

Democrats are doing this in their attempt to win an election. They aren't talking about the strong fundamentals. Democrats won't admit that the Trump/GOP tax cuts work. Democrats won't admit that the Trump/GOP regulation reductions have turned the US energy industry into one of the strongest growth industries in the world. Admitting that would be disastrous for Democrats.

It'd be disastrous for Democrats because it would tell people that voting for President Trump's re-election would keep the US economy strong and growing. As Liz Peek writes "it's hard to call for a revolution if the people are happy." That's exactly right, Liz. And right now, people are happy:

That's why Democrats and their media enablers were beyond giddy to see markets nosedive. This was it, pundits proclaimed: Trump's trade war has brought us to the brink of a downturn. Maybe. But maybe not. The very next day, the Commerce Department reported that U.S. retail sales surged 0.7 percent in July, up from a 0.3 percent gain in June, beating expectations.

The U.S. consumer continues to defy prognosticators; despite Democrats campaigning on the miseries of the middle class, by gosh the middle class insists on streaming into Walmart and pumping up the economy. Walmart just reported that its 'U.S. comp sales increased on a two-year stacked basis by 7.3%, which is the strongest growth in more than 10 years.'

Also, the Labor Department reported that productivity rose 2.3 percent in the second quarter, down from 3.5 percent in the first quarter, but a solid gain nonetheless, and one that bodes well for future wage hikes.

Those damned uppity peasants just won't listen to their Democrat betters. Those uppity peasants have maintained a strong confidence in the US economy's trajectory. That might be irrational but it's nonetheless real. Consumer confidence is currently at 135.7, which is exceptionally high.

Again, it's impossible to get the peasants to grab their pitchforks and run the President out of office when they'd rather thank him for starting the rebuilding of their communities, the tax cuts and the pay raises. Speaker Pelosi hasn't admitted that the economy is humming, especially in this statement :

'The July jobs report shows some encouraging news, but for the families across the nation working multiple jobs and struggling to make ends meet, the cost of living has surged, wages have stagnated and the GOP's disastrous special interest agenda has left them behind.

'Republicans continue to push a radical agenda that enriches the wealthy and well-connected while failing hard-working Americans. Farmers are struggling, economic uncertainty is growing, and the Trump Administration is making it harder for hungry families to make ends meet. But while Republicans explore handing even bigger tax breaks to billionaires, the Democratic Majority has taken bold action to deliver bigger paychecks for up to 33 million hard-working Americans, passing the Raise the Wage Act to gradually increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.

I'd love watching Speaker Pelosi, or any Democrat for that matter, debate Eric Trump. Eric's appearance here was impressive:
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Eventually, there will be a recession. Will that happen soon? I'm betting it's a ways off.

Posted Friday, August 16, 2019 7:46 AM

No comments.

The games the Squad plays

It's now apparent that Rashida Tlaib wasn't serious about going to Israel. The first indicator should've been the fact that MIFTAH was funding their trip . MIFTAH stands for "Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy." They are described as "an avid supporter of BDS, and among whose members are those who have expressed support for terrorism against Israel."

The next indicator that their trip wasn't serious was that their destination was Palestine, not Israel. Another indicator was that they didn't request meetings with the Israeli government. Today is a different story. After complaining that she wouldn't get to visit her sity, Israel granted Tlaib permission to visit her relatives living in the West Bank. Today, Rep. Tlaib announced via Twitter that "she will not travel to the West Bank to visit family, despite getting permission hours before from Israel's interior minister."

Tlaib's statement reads like this:

Silencing me & treating me like a criminal is not what she wants for me. It would kill a piece of me. I have decided that visiting my grandmother under these oppressive conditions stands against everything I believe in--fighting against racism, oppression & injustice.

When I won, it gave the Palestinian people hope that someone will finally speak the truth about the inhumane conditions. I can't allow the State of Israel to take away that light by humiliating me & use my love for my sity to bow down to their oppressive & racist policies.

My sity wanted to pick figs w/ me. I broke down reading this & worry every single day after I won for my family's safety. My cousin was texting me which photo of
@IlhanMN & I they should put on a welcoming poster when I heard the news. I couldn't tell her.

Democrats should be ashamed of themselves for criticizing Israel and President Trump. Speaker Pelosi tweeted this statement:


Now that Rep. Tlaib has been exposed as wanting to go to Israel for the purposes of protesting Israel, promoting the BDS movement and visiting her sity, it's time for these Democrats to apologize for criticizing Israel. Rep. Tlaib's visit to Israel was a sham. She wanted to promote BDS (Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions) from Israeli soil. That would've been a huge PR victory for Hamas.

It's becoming increasingly apparent that the AOC + 3 Squad are hostile towards Israel. As Justice Democrats primary and eliminate older generations of Democrats, that hostility towards Israel will grow.

Posted Friday, August 16, 2019 10:50 AM

Comment 1 by eric z at 17-Aug-19 08:05 AM
Israel has no business being disrespectful to our Congress, at least not while taking annual billions from our taxpayers. It is an insult. BDS exists for a reason, one we all know but too many want swept under the rug.

Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 17-Aug-19 10:47 AM
Actually, Israel is perfectly justified in slapping down Tlaib & Omar. They support BDS, which is an existential threat to Israel. Israel is right in fighting against it. If Tlaib & Omar want to ignore official US policy, then they deserved to get bitch-slapped by Israel.

Walz appoints Harpstead to HHS

Just when you thought it couldn't get worse within Minnesota's Department of Health and Human Services, Gov. Tim Walz makes it much worse . Gov. Walz made the situation much worse by picking Jodi Harpstead to take over as commissioner of HHS in September.

Commissioner Harpstead is currently employed as the CEO of Lutheran Social Services, aka LSS. For the past 5+ years, LSS has specialized in the Refugee Resettlement program. That means that they've specialized in hiding important details about who was coming into Minnesota's communities. This isn't speculation. It's well-documented fact.

When former City Councilman Jeff Johnson participated in a discussion on the refugee resettlement program, he expressed frustration with LSS:

To summarize that meeting, what I saw, four things were occurring. One, we have a nonprofit religious organization, OK, taking federal dollars, and they were pocketing approximately $1,000 per refugee. The allocation's about 3,300 (dollars), but they got to keep about $1,000 per refugee, OK? They were not being transparent with the public, and it got to the point where they actually had a deputy at the door monitoring who was coming into the meetings . And I said you need to open up these meetings because you're using federal dollars, you're a nonprofit organization, and to me it was becoming apparent that they were acting like a for-profit corporation.

LSS was the volag running the meetings. Now, Gov. Walz has tapped the CEO of LSS to be the commissioner of HHS. Saying that HHS is embroiled in a crisis is understatement. Part of the crisis is rampant fraud within HHS.

When HHS Commissioner Tony Lourey abruptly resigned last month, he didn't say why he was leaving, other than saying that the Department needed new leadership that he wasn't capable of providing. The week prior to Lourey's resignation, his 2 deputies resigned without an explanation. They've since returned to their positions.


If ever there was a department that needed a massive infusion of transparency, HHS is it. Hiring a woman whose current organization specializes in hiding things from government officials isn't a first step towards building confidence with the public.

This hiring smacks of arrogance in the worst way. This is Gov. Walz's attempt to stiff-arm the legislature, at least the part that gives a damn about providing oversight. (At this point, the DFL House isn't interested in providing oversight.)

This week, Senate Republicans held a 3.5 hour-long oversight hearing into why "the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and the White Earth Nation received $25.3 million in excess payments for medically assisted treatments covered through Medicaid over several years." At the hearing, Committee Chair Michelle Benson said "The taxpayers didn't make this mistake. They're not the ones who used the judgment to cause the overpayments, why should they be held responsible?" She also said that "lawmakers shouldn't have to allocate $25 million in additional funds to cover overpayments to two tribes."

HHS needs a serious culture change. It's questionable that Ms. Harpstead will provide that type of leadership. The organization she's currently running specializes in secrecy and stiff-arming local politicians. That isn't the reputation of a reformer. Make no mistake, either. HHS needs a reformation:

Other DHS employees or former employees shared with the committee their concerns about what they'd faced at the department. The former Medicaid program director told the panel bureaucrats in the department rejected advice from medical professionals and abruptly dismissed him in July.

And Faye Bernstein , a DHS compliance officer, said she was put on temporary leave when she raised concerns about compliance in state contracts. She was later allowed to return to her post and appeared Tuesday on a vacation day. She said she'd received notice ahead of the hearing that she could be terminated for her comments to lawmakers.

Think about that a minute. Bernstein was "put on temporary leave" because "she raised concerns about compliance" issues. If that isn't proof that HHS needs a total reformation, then it's hopeless.

The Senate has the constitutional responsibility of confirming commissioners. Unless Sen. Benson's committee gets proof that Harpstead is serious about changing the culture at HHS, the Senate should reject her, then tell Gov. Walz that he needs to appoint someone who is committed to transparency and reformation.

Gov. Walz took time to visit the Vikings' training facility. Apparently, he thinks that being the CEO of the state is a part-time responsibility. Thus far, he's been a huge disappointment.

Posted Saturday, August 17, 2019 7:05 AM

No comments.

Examining the US-Israel relationship

Apparently, Speaker Pelosi thinks that she's suddenly a foreign policy expert. In actuality, she's nothing except a loudmouth with weird foreign policy principles. During Ms. Pelosi's interview with the AP , Pelosi said "We have a deep relationship and long-standing relationship with Israel that can withstand Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. We cannot let their weaknesses stand in the way of our ongoing relationship." That's beyond stunning.

Pelosi just took a shot at Israel's duly elected Prime Minister. That's foolishness on steroids. She did this while insisting that Israel had violated some norm when they rejected the visa applications of Rep. Rashida Tlaib and Rep. Ilhan Omar. Ms. Pelosi didn't mind that Rep. Tlaib and Rep. Omar listed "Palestine" as their destination. This was an intentional snub on these freshmen Democrats' behalf since they were travelling to a conference in Israel.

That's the ultimate anti-Semitic snub, especially in light of the fact that Rep. Tlaib has stated her support for a one state solution in terms of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute:

Before her victory in last week's Michigan Democratic primary , Tlaib's campaign represented her as supporting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and endorsing continuing U.S. aid to Israel . Since the primary win, Tlaib has staked out far different positions in media interviews, explicitly endorsing a one-state solution and opposing aid, a change celebrated by far-left Palestinian activists, who sharply criticized her for seeking out and receiving the J Street endorsement.

Ms. Pelosi, please explain how Bibi Netanyahu's decision to not let a pair of terrorist-sympathizers into his country is a sign of weakness. Further, Ms. Pelosi, are you in the habit of unconditionally supporting candidates that promise one thing but then change once they've won the primary? That's exactly what Rashida Tlaib did:

On Tlaib's candidate page on the J Street PAC website, on which supporters can donate to her directly, the description states that Tlaib "believes that the U.S. should be directly involved with negotiations to reach a two-state solution. Additionally, she supports all current aid to Israel and the Palestinian Authority, particularly to fund initiatives that 'foster peace, as well as economic and humanitarian services.' Tlaib does not support the expansion of settlements and believes that they make it difficult to reach a sustainable two-state solution."

Unlike Pelosi's Democrats, Israel takes national security threats seriously. That's why they took the extraordinary step of rejecting Tlaib's and Omar's visa applications.

I'd love hearing Ms. Pelosi explain why Rep. Tlaib and Rep. Omar listed Palestine as their destination when they were flying into Israel. Pelosi's been around long enough to know that that's a major snub of Israel.



She said the U.S. commitment to Israel isn't dependent on either leader, a sign there may not be lasting fallout from this week's incident, particularly in terms of foreign aid, which must be approved by Congress.

Within Pelosi's Democrat conference, support for Israel is weakening virtually by the day. When Eliot Abrams, Chuck Schumer and Dianne Feinstein retire, Democrat support for Israel will crater. Anyone that thinks that AOC + 3 will support Israel is kidding themselves. That being said, Ms. Pelosi is delusional if she honestly thinks this:

"We have a strong relationship with Israel as well as a deep love and respect for the people of Israel. And, again, this is not going to undermine that, try as President Trump will to do that."

According to Ms. Pelosi, President Trump is trying to undermine the US-Israeli relationship. That's stunning. All that he's done for Israel is recognize the Golan Heights as Israeli territory and move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Other than those things, President Trump has been virtually disinterested in Israel. NOT!

Ms. Pelosi isn't an honest person. She's supporting a pair of terrorist-sympathizing Democrats while undermining the Israeli Prime Minister for purely partisan political gain. What a disgusting human being Pelosi is.

Posted Saturday, August 17, 2019 1:45 PM

No comments.

Rewriting history

Former Rep. Thaddeus McCotter's latest article will have you wondering if Democrats live in an alternate universe. At this point, I'm voting that Democrats live in that alternate universe unless a place further detached from reality is discovered.

The centerpiece of McCotter's article is something titled "the 1619 Project." The 1619 Project is about rewriting history:

The Fourth of July in 1776 is regarded by most Americans as the country's birthday. But what if we were to tell you that the country's true birth date, the moment that its defining contradictions first came into the world, was in late August 1619?

That was when a ship arrived at Point Comfort in the British colony of Virginia, bearing a cargo of 20 to 30 enslaved Africans. Their arrival inaugurated a barbaric system of chattel slavery that would last for the next 250 years and form the basis for almost every aspect of American life. The 1619 Project is a major initiative from the New York Times memorializing that event on its 400th anniversary. The goal of the project is to deepen understanding of American history (and the American present) by proposing a new point of origin for our national story. In the days and weeks to come, we will publish essays demonstrating that nearly everything that has made America exceptional grew out of slavery.

That isn't just rewriting history. It's a total whitewashing of US history. This isn't history. It's a publication of lies intended to create division amongst the citizenry.

The argument that this nation wouldn't have been great without the use of slaves is absurd. To the extent that we're exceptional, we're exceptional because we've pushed ourselves to solve seemingly impossible problems. We've utilized enlightened self-interest to create competition, which helps us push innovation, which makes us world leaders in industry after industry.

Anyone that doesn't understand that is a socialist, which explains everything. Those things didn't happen because of slavery. It happened because it's in the American DNA to be innovators. It's in our DNA to be competitive, too. That's what made America exceptional.

FYI-That's something that Obama, Biden and virtually all of the Democrat presidential candidates have never and will never understand. Does anyone seriously think that any of the Democrats' presidential candidates wouldn't fall all over themselves trying to sell the American people on paying reparations? All of the Democrats' presidential candidates certainly think that white privilege is real. HINT: It's fiction.

The Democrats' cheese has slid completely off the proverbial cracker with this foolishness.

Posted Sunday, August 18, 2019 4:59 AM

Comment 1 by Chad Q at 18-Aug-19 07:53 AM
The socialists have nothing to run on other than making everyone a victim and promising to make their lives better by making everything free. Slavery was horrible but the US would have become the great nation it is without slavery. It would have just meant more European immigrants. The socialists bitch about slavery yet all they are trying to do with their hollow promises is to enslave an entire nation.

HHS history lesson

The forever-indispensable Harold Hamilton, aka Minnesota Watchdog, provided a 'history lesson' of sorts on HHS's failings in his most recent commentary. In his commentary, Hamilton noted the following:

  1. October 2013: MNsure (Obamacare) web site launch failure. Ultimately, the web site would cost $190 million to get up and running.

  2. January 2016: A failure to properly determine eligibility for various programs results in at least $271 million in improper benefits being paid.

  3. July 2017: $7.7 million in fraudulent Medicaid payments discovered.

  4. April 2018: DHS writes off over $30 million in Minnesota Care premiums because of software problems.

  5. May 2018: The OLA reports significant problems with oversight of the DHS Childcare Assistance Program (CCAP). OLA noted, "DHS did not implement sufficient program integrity controls for licensing childcare providers and lacked some key controls to identify errors and to inhibit, track, and recover improper payments."

  6. July 2018: Data breach at DHS exposes the personal data of 21,000 citizens.

  7. September 2018: Data breach at DHS exposes the personal data of 3,000 citizens.

  8. April 2019: Data breach at DHS exposes the personal data of 11,000 citizens.

  9. June 2019: Medical director at DHS demands more agency accountability measures - gets fired .

  10. July 2019: After placing the DHS Inspector General on investigatory leave, it's revealed that the investigation has yet to even begin.

  11. July 2019: Top deputies resign.

  12. July 2019: DHS commissioner resigns after only months on the job.

  13. August 2019: DHS overpays two Indian tribes over $25 million, OLA starts investigation.


Think about all those crises. Then think about who was the person in charge of either the oversight of HHS or in charge of running HHS itself. The man's name is Tony Lourey. First, he co-wrote the bill that created MNsure. Then he ignored the warning signs that the website wouldn't run properly when it went live. Then he ignored Michelle Benson's criticisms that MNsure needed legitimate oversight.

Meanwhile, the Dayton administration kept ignoring data breaches, most likely because they didn't have the expertise required to fix these problems. In light of the Democrats' failings, why should we have faith that the Department will suddenly get run smoothly? The truth is that the Party of Big Government, aka the DFL, aka Democrats, have a lengthy history of failing Minnesota's taxpayers in terms of running government properly.

To be blunt, Tim Walz and Mark Dayton have failed the people. The people shouldn't have trusted them whatsoever. Let's forget their public personas. Let's focus on their ineptitude instead. Let's look at their handling of budget negotiations, too.

Dayton either shut down the government or he required a special session in 3 of his 4 budget sessions. In one of his budget sessions, he negotiated an entire week with Speaker Kurt Daudt and Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk. They couldn't reach a deal. The final Friday of the session, they sat down and put together a bipartisan budget deal in less than an hour. Then Dayton rejected it, taking the legislature into special session.

This year, Gov. Tim Walz insisted on a $12,000,000,000 tax increase over 4 years despite the fact that his own MMB director said that the state had a massive balance in the state's Rainy Day Fund and that we were projected to run a surplus in excess of $1,000,000,000. Gov. Walz and the DFL House still insisted on the tax increase after it was announced that revenues were coming in faster than projected. Paul Gazelka ended the argument with this great chart:


Let's be blunt about this. The DFL has caused one budget disaster after another. Even when money is pouring in , the DFL has insisted on taking a higher percentage of your paycheck . Once the GOP has forced some sensibility into the budgeting process and the budget is signed into law, Gov. Walz and the DFL insist on running 1 fraud-riddled program after another.

To top this off, the DFL specializes in thwarting transparency. Gov. Walz even picked an anti-transparency expert to run the Minnesota Department of Health and Human Services, the most anti-transparency and fraud-riddled department in the state.

What part of this suggests competence? What part of this suggests that the DFL approves of transparency? Here's a hint: none of this suggests that the DFL is competent. None of this information suggests that the DFL approves of transparency.

Posted Sunday, August 18, 2019 10:02 AM

Comment 1 by Chad Q at 18-Aug-19 04:57 PM
And yet the DFL continues to win statewide offices by huge margins no matter how much money is pissed away. I guess the voters really don't care what happens to their tax money because if they did, things would change.

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