August 8-10, 2012
Aug 08 06:25 Republicans call for Ritchie's impeachment Aug 08 12:11 Will President Clinton hurt President Obama Aug 08 17:07 Is education reform gaining steam? Aug 09 05:05 Klobuchar fights for higher gas prices at FarmFest Aug 09 10:14 Dirtbag-in-chief runs filthy, disgusting campaign Aug 09 12:39 Welcome to the (Bare Knuckles) fight, Michelle Aug 10 06:14 DFL primary gets nasty Aug 10 07:24 Democrat failures top to bottom Aug 10 09:37 DFL to Minnesota: Protecting PEUs is Job One
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Republicans call for Ritchie's impeachment
Tuesday night, the Executive Committee of the CD-8 Republicans unanimously passed a resolution calling for Speaker Zellers to start impeachment proceedings against Secretary of State Mark Ritchie. First, here's what the Minnesota Constitution says about impeachment:
ARTICLE VIII
IMPEACHMENT AND REMOVAL FROM OFFICE
Section 1. Impeachment powers. The house of representatives has the sole
power of impeachment through a concurrence of a majority of all its members. All impeachments shall be tried by the senate. When sitting for that purpose, senators shall be upon oath or affirmation to do justice according to law and evidence. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the senators present.
Sec. 2. Officers subject to impeachment; grounds; judgment. The governor,
secretary of state, auditor, attorney general and the judges of the supreme court, court of appeals and district courts may be impeached for corrupt conduct in office or for crimes and misdemeanors; but judgment shall not extend further than to removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit in this state. The party convicted shall also be subject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment according to law. [Amended, November 2, 1982; November 3, 1998]
Sec. 3. Suspension. No officer shall exercise the duties of his office after he has been impeached and before his acquittal.
Sec. 4. Service of impeachment papers. No person shall be tried on impeachment before he has been served with a copy thereof at least 20 days previous to the day set for trial.
Here's the text of the resolution:
Speaker Zellers:
Pursuant to the provisions of Article VIII of the Minnesota Constitution (reproduced below), the 8th Congressional District GOP Executive Committee urges the Minnesota House to initiate impeachment proceedings against Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie.
Of the two causes of impeachment action identified in Section 2, Mark Ritchie seems clearly to have been, and continues to be, participating in corrupt conduct in office.
Mr. Ritchie exceeded his traditional, legal and constitutional authority by manipulating the title of the two legislatively placed ballot initiatives scheduled for the November 2012 election. When the title of amendments is determined by legislative action, the wording of such amendments remains within the solid purview of the Legislative Branch. We view Secretary Ritchie to be politically motivated. We view these actions to be against the best interest of the people of Minnesota. We view these actions to clearly constitute corrupt conduct in office.
Secretary Ritchie has campaigned aggressively with numerous public appearances against the content of the voter ID amendment. We view these actions as corrupt conduct in office.
With a Republican majority in the Minnesota Senate for the first time in 38 years, the corrupt conduct of the Minnesota Secretary of State regarding amendments becomes an issue for the first time. Previously, the Senate was able to block all conservative amendments regardless of which party held the majority in the House. Suddenly the idea of an activist Secretary of State with an agenda becomes a problematic and immediate problem.
Note that between the House impeachment and the Senate trial, the constitution forbids Mr. Ritchie to serve as Secretary of State. Keeping Mr. Ritchie from further mischief and corrupt conduct in office would be of value to the people of Minnesota regardless or the ultimate outcome of the Senate trial.
I attended a meeting of the Stearns County county commissioners about a month ago. Secretary of State Mark Ritchie was an invited guest. Randy Schreifels, Stearns County's Auditor/Treasurer, introduced Ritchie as "Secretary of State Mark Ritchie."
After the introduction, Secretary Ritchie quickly turned the event into a campaign event, telling the commissioners and guests that the Photo ID amendment was complicated and expensive to the counties.
Most of Ritchie's statements were opinions. Mr. Ritchie's intent was clear. He sought to influence the opinions of the commissioners. Secretary Ritchie didn't attempt to highlight anything positive about Photo ID.
It's improper for a constitutional officer to use their office to campaign. This isn't different in principle from Mike Hatch using official OAG stationery to talk about his runningmate in 2006 :
'There are a lot of subtleties about the line separating official function from campaigns,' Nobles said on Monday. 'But this one was not subtle. It was an official document, and a reference to a running mate has no place in it.'
Just like that instance, there wasn't any attempt on Ritchie's behalf to hide the fact that he was campaigning against the constitutional amendment.
Constitutional offices aren't political offices. They aren't given latitude to stray into politics and policies. It's clear that that's what Secretary Ritchie did in this instance.
That's why Secretary Ritchie should be impeached.
UPDATE : Follow this link for more on this breaking story.
Tags: Impeachment , Mark Ritchie , Secretary of State , Corruption in Office , DFL , Kurt Zellers , MNGOP
Originally posted Wednesday, August 8, 2012, revised 24-Sep 11:25 AM
Comment 1 by walter hanson at 08-Aug-12 04:29 PM
I could've thought of a few grounds before 2012 to impeach him, but go for it. Especially after voter ID is passed Ritchie and his replacement will try to do everything possible to stop it from being implemented.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Will President Clinton hurt President Obama
Newt Gingrich is one of the most astute political strategists in American history. I know that I'll catch flack over that statement but there's no denying his putting together a revolution that took back the House for the first time in 40 years.
That's why I'm paying attention to Newt's latest article :
The announcement that former President Bill Clinton had been personally asked by President Obama to place his name in nomination at the Democratic Convention struck me as potentially a major mistake.
Bill Clinton is one of the most effective and aggressive speakers in the Democratic Party.
His attacks on Republicans will be witty, memorable, and effective for the moment.
The problem for Democrats is that while those who listen to Clinton's speech and cheer him will be excited, those who think about Clinton and Obama in the same thought will begin to realize how bad Obama really has been as President.
Republicans should take every opportunity to drive home the amazing contrast between Clinton's bipartisan achievements working with a Republican Congress and Obama's absolute inability to work across the aisle.
I've thought the same thing since the announcement. I can't argue that Clinton won't electrify the people watching, whether they're in the convention hall or watching their TVs.
I don't doubt that he'll pull off convincing people, albeit momentarily, that there isn't a dime's worth of difference between himself and President Obama. That image won't last long. It might not make it through the weekend.
If I'm the Romney campaign, I'd have ads in the can with Clinton "ending welfare as we know it" vs. President Obama gutting welfare reform, then finishing with a picture of Bill Clinton with John Kasich with captioning reading "four straight surpluses, millions of new jobs created" just to remind people that creating a robust economy isn't impossible.
You wouldn't need to highlight that against a clip of President Obama. The message is already etched into people's minds. That's already 'baked into the cake.'
These statistics are a stunning indictment against this administration:
With Clinton and a Republican Congress unemployment fell from 7.3 percent to 4.2 percent. Under Obama unemployment has been stuck at 8.2 percent (now moving up to 8.3percent this month). Obama has the worst job collapse in 75 years. Obama has had over 8 percent unemployment for 41 straight months. In fact under Obama unemployment went up from 7.8 percent to today's 8.3 percent.
President Obama's $5.2 trillion in deficits is a sharp contrast to Clinton's balanced budgets.
During the bipartisan period from 1995 to 1999, debt held by the public as a percentage of GDP dropped 23 percent. Under Obama, it rose from 40.5 percent in 2008 to an estimated 74 percent in 2012 - an increase of more than 83 percent. And under President Obama, gross federal debt passed 100 percent of GDP for the first time since 1947.
When I was sworn in as speaker in January 1995, the Congressional Budget Office projected cumulative federal budget deficits of $2.7 trillion over the next decade. After four years of bipartisan rule, in 1999, the CBO projected a $2.3 trillion surplus, a turnaround of $5 trillion. Under Obama, the CBO this year estimated a ten-year cumulative deficit of $2.9 trillion.
The President's jobs failure has left 46 million Americans in poverty, the largest number in history.
If Mitt picks Paul Ryan or Bob McDonnell as his runningmate, they'll likely campaign on a theme of 'Reforms that work'. That's a powerful message this campaign season. I might even be tempted to appropriate Bill Clinton language.
I'm one of the people that remember Al Gore before he flipped out. Bill Clinton put him in charge of a project called "Re-inventing Government." There's no reason why a Mitt-Ryan ticket or a Mitt-McDonnell ticket couldn't run on the theme of "Re-inventing Government, Part II."
That theme would play well with independents who aren't that ideological. Independents want government to do its job right without intruding into their lives. Play on the themes of creating a robust domestic energy plan, getting rid of the corruption within the EPA and the crony capitalism of Solyndra.
Couple that with talking about building a 21st Century health care system and this could turn into a rout fairly quickly.
Doing those things would remind people of what it was like to have a functioning government that got things right without unduly burdening their families and their businesses.
Tags: President Obama , Democratic National Convention , Bill Clinton , The Era of Big Government is Over , Deficits , Democrats , Newt Gingrich , Welfare Reform , John Kasich , Jobs , Surpluses , Mitt Romney , Paul Ryan , Bob McDonnell , Re-inventing Government , GOP , Election 2012
Posted Wednesday, August 8, 2012 12:11 PM
Comment 1 by Crimson Tide at 08-Aug-12 02:01 PM
Bill Clinton will be very good telling the story about HIS achievements in the White House. Do you really think he will spend much time trying to convince people about the so called "effectiveness" of Obama's presidency?
Comment 2 by Gary Gross at 08-Aug-12 02:44 PM
CT, I think he'll take this seriously because he wants to be seen as a good team player so Hillary has a shot in the future.
Comment 3 by walter hanson at 08-Aug-12 04:38 PM
Gary:
You don't have to like somebody to admire their skills. Napeloen was a great general just as Newt was a brilliant stratetgist. Until 2012 I thought Obama was brilliant, but he has the problem he has spotted just one strategy to win (personal attacks on Romney and not running on issues) so I don't know if I can call him brilliant anymore.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Is education reform gaining steam?
Naomi Schaefer-Riley caught people's attention with her book The Faculty Lounges: And other reasons why you won't get the college education you paid for . This time, she caught my attention with this NY Post article :
In fact, a whole lot of 20- and 30-somethings across the political spectrum now believe something's seriously flawed in our public-education system. (You can bet Gyllenhaal wouldn't have taken the role otherwise.) But why the sea change?
Start by 'blaming' Teach For America, which for decades now has placed recent graduates from top colleges as teachers in some of America's worst public schools.
This year, TFA has 10,000 corps members working in 36 states and the District of Columbia. It has 28,000 'alumni,' more than two-thirds still in education-related fields. But even those who've left for other lines of work have had a glimpse of how bad our inner-city schools have become. The incompetence and corruption are hard to forget.
I think of this movement (make no mistake; it's a motivated movement) as the TEA Party meets Bill Clinton's soccer moms. This isn't a movement based on political ideology. It's based on people getting fed up with unions, underachieving schools and the status quo:
In New Orleans for a few days this spring, I kept tripping over TFA alums and charter-school organizers. They're marrying each other, having kids and staying in the city. The heroes of this burgeoning education-reform community are people like Michele Rhee and her husband (Sacramento Mayor and former NBA star) Kevin Johnson; their efforts are funded by upstart Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.
The teachers unions, meanwhile, are looking like dinosaurs. Hip urbanites don't need to read Cato Institute white papers to find out how bad unions have made things. They can tuck into stories like Steven Brill's now-infamous New Yorker piece on the the city's 'rubber rooms' to see just how the unions are preventing kids from getting a decent education.
If the unions aren't careful, they'll drive people away in droves from supporting conventional government schools. These "hip urbanites" know they aren't getting their money's worth from government schools. They're noticing that things dramatically improve when they take a bigger participatory role in shaping school policies.
Based on the conversations I've listened to, parental participation from a union standpoint has meant accepting their policies. These "hip urbanites" think parental participation means setting high standards for teachers, curriculum and, to a lesser extent, facilities.
Meanwhile, union leaders like AFT's Randi Weingarten continue losing touch with parental demands:
Last week, American Federation of Teachers boss Randi Weingarten actually resorted to a sexist canard to 'rebut' a Wall Street Journal oped.
Campbell Brown had written a Journal piece charging the union with protecting teachers accused of having sexual relationships with students, something it clearly does, as part of fighting any attempt to get rid of any teacher, no matter how bad or perverse.
Since there is no defense for such reprehensible actions, Weingarten complained on Twitter that Brown is biased because she's married to Dan Senor, who serves on the board of StudentsFirst, a Michele Rhee-headed reform group.
It's clear that unions are wedded to a) LIFO and b) protecting teachers regardless of their behavior. Those policy positions will ultimately destroy unions or they'll cause genuine reforms. Right now, the unions are dangling by a thread:
A survey released last week by the Fordham Foundation shows that public opinion is firmly against 'Last In, First Out,' the signature union policy that rewards seniority over teaching ability.
By a 74 percent to 18 percent margin, respondents believe that teachers with poor performance should be 'laid off first and those with excellent performance protected' rather than have 'newcomers laid off first and veteran teachers protected.'
The unions have every right to push their LIFO agenda. It's just that parents will have the final say because they aren't satisfied with their children's educational outcomes. If AFT and the NEA want to stand with the 18%, that's their right. It just isn't that bright.
Tags: Randi Weingarten , AFT , NEA , Corruption , Cronyism , Charter Schools , Unions , Maggie Gyllenhaal , Reforms , We The People , K-12 Education
Posted Wednesday, August 8, 2012 5:07 PM
No comments.
Klobuchar fights for higher gas prices at FarmFest
Sen. Klobuchar insisted that the federal government needed to subsidize renewable energy during her debate with Kurt Bills at this year's FarmFest:
Bills and Klobuchar did manage to agree on the need to end public subsidies for oil companies, but they again diverged on the necessity of federal renewable energy standards.
Klobuchar argued that the standards have aided the country's shift away from dependence on foreign oil.
Sen. Klobuchar is wrong. Subsidizing renewable energy hasn't cut our dependence on foreign oil. The terrible economy has temporarily cut dependence on foreign oil. Mandating renewable energy only drives gas prices up. It doesn't reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
Renewable energy isn't the solution. Kurt Bills has the right approach:
Bills contended that a free market approach, moving away from mandates and subsidies, would ultimately lead to a more vibrant economy.
'D.C. is booming because of borrowed and printed money,' he said, citing instead the deregulation of agriculture in New Zealand. 'We want our economy to boom because of agriculture.'
Sen. Klobuchar's approach to most problems is straightforward enough. If someone complains about something, shovel China's money towards the complainer.
Sen. Klobuchar needs to start dealing with reality. We can't keep spending because it'll drive the US off the debt. Thus far, Sen. Klobuchar's governing philosophy has been to throw money at everything in sight. Bills has shown he understands the connection between free markets and booming economies. That's a stark contrast with Sen. Klobuchar's 'government has to regulate everything' attitude.
We need a booming economy. We don't need Sen. Klobuchar's regulations.
Tags: Amy Klobuchar , Renewable Energy , Farm Bill , Mandates , DFL , Kurt Bills , Free Markets , GOP , Election 2012
Posted Thursday, August 9, 2012 5:05 AM
Comment 1 by Chad Q at 09-Aug-12 09:28 PM
What subsidies do the oil companies get? Do the oil companies actually receive a check from the government for producing or not producing something? Are they actual subsidies or is it just that the liberals have called them subsidies instead of legal tax deductions that both R's and D's have passed so now that is the term?
Senator K is a worthless bag of gas that needs to be replaced so we have someone who isn't in a constant reactionary mode of legislation.
Dirtbag-in-chief runs filthy, disgusting campaign
There's no question that President Obama appreciates this disgusting ad:
That's because this president, and the staff he surrounds himself with, love playing dirty politics. President Obama picked Bill Burton to be his deputy press secretary. President Obama knew that Bill Burton wasn't a man of great character. That's why it can't be a surprise to the Obama campaign that Burton put this disgusting, almost defamatory, ad together.
It's the Chicago way.
About the ad itself, others have given Mr. Soptic a pass :
It is my sincerest hope that when you made your anti-Romney ad mentioning your wife, your thinking was still too muddled by grief to make reasonable judgments. If so, shame on those who encouraged you and on those who exploited your rash words in this ad.
I won't give Mr. Soptic a pass. I won't hesitate in saying that it's tragic when a woman that young dies of cancer. That's as far as I'll go, though.
It's important to remember that it's been 6 years since his wife passed away. That's plenty of time to properly grieve his wife's death. It's equally important to remember that the insinuations didn't come from a man who'd lost his wife weeks ago. They came from a man who'd had 6 years to collect himself.
He knew that Mitt Romney didn't have anything to do with his wife's death. Let's be clear about this. If Bain hadn't closed GST Steel, would his wife still be alive? No rational person would argue that.
President Obama hired David Axelrod, too. Axelrod plays dirty like other Chicago politicians and operatives. He doesn't play hardball. He's an outright liar who, when he's caught, tries to deflect,change the subject and obfuscate. He's a despicable person.
Which leaves the Dirtbag-in-chief. He's loving this. If he has to have his henchmen use a dishonest, albeit sympathetic, man insinuate that Mitt Romney killed his cancer-riddled wife, he won't hesitate in pulling that trigger.
By Bill Burton's standards, President Obama and disgraced AG Eric Holder have blood on their hands because Operation Fast and Furious led directly to Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry's death.
If President Obama had character, he would've fired Holder and Secretary Napolitano immediately for their incompetence and their covering Operation Fast and Furious up. Instead, he hid the documents that Chairman Darrell Issa's committee had subpeonaed with a flimsy assertion of Executive Privilege.
That's before talking about the lies that Stephanie Cutter has told. She said she didn't know anything about Mr. Soptic's story so she wouldn't comment on Burton's video. Then it's exposed that she participated in the campaign's conference call with Mr. Soptic.
Don't any of these people tell the truth?
President Obama's administration and campaign are as disgusting as anything Richard Nixon ever put together. That's what's earned him the title of Dirtbag-in-Chief.
Tags: President Obama , Operation Fast and Furious , David Axelrod , Chicago Way , Bill Burton , Eric Holder , Joe Soptic , Stephanie Cutter , Janet Napolitano , Corruption , Richard Nixon , Democrats , Election 2012
Posted Thursday, August 9, 2012 10:14 AM
Comment 1 by InOhio at 10-Aug-12 12:36 PM
I guarantee that Septic, excuse me, Soptic, was paid well for using his deceased wife as fodder for Obama's campaign.
I'm sure she is proud of him, wherever she is.
Comment 2 by walter hanson at 10-Aug-12 04:34 PM
In:
I hope she is in heaven though I might not expect a reunion in heaven since it look likes this man is heading to the other place.
* He Blames Romney when he's not there.
* He doesn't say his wife in 2001 had a job with health insurance.
* He blames Romney even though cancer takes several months and it could've easily been caught before that.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Welcome to the (Bare Knuckles) fight, Michelle
I started writing this post last night because I was utterly disgusted with a) Bill Burton, b) Stephanie Cutter, c) Joe Soptic, d) David Axelrod and e) President Obama.
This morning, Michelle Malkin gave a devastatingly powerful interview to the hosts of Fox & Friends:
While Michelle was getting increasingly agitated, a thought popped into my mind. I've advocated Mitt putting on brass knuckles and beating President Obama, Bill Burton and Stephanie Cutter to a figurative pulp.
This isn't a policy difference that surrogates are best used for. It's a time when Mitt needs to take this personally. It's a time he shows us that he'll 'get bloody' when Team O resorts to personal attacks filled with outright lies and insinuations.
The reality is that fighting President Obama and his Nixonesque henchmen in the trenches will fire up conservatives while telling independents that the President and his team are the most despicable people in presidential history.
Showing people that President Obama's trained henchmen tried tugging on America's heartstrings will move voters. Most importantly, it'll tell Team Obama that they'll pay a price for playing dirty politics.
Michelle's got a point, too, that this is illegal coordination between the Obama campaign and Priorities USA. The Obama campaign can't host a conference call in May with Joe Soptic telling essentially the same story then as he told in the Priorities USA ad, then disavow any knowledge of Mr. Soptic's story.
Mitt, this isn't the time to 'let surrogates handle it'. This isn't the time to simply criticize the Obama campaign of lying.
It's time to accuse the Obama campaign arsenal of being Nixonesque. It's time to tell the nation that the 'Chicago Way' isn't the American Way and that the nation rejects President Obama's gutter politics and the politics of personal destruction.
It's time to verbally punch President Obama's windpipe. He's a disgusting excuse for a human being. It's time he got called for being that.
Tags: President Obama , Priorities USA , Bill Burton , Stephanie Cutter , Joe Soptic , David Axelrod , Chicago Way , Politics of Personal Destruction , Democrats , Mitt Romney , Lawsuits , Michelle Malkin , GOP , Election 2012
Posted Thursday, August 9, 2012 12:39 PM
Comment 1 by eric z at 11-Aug-12 08:01 AM
MM preaching to the choir.
DFL primary gets nasty
This ad proves that Tarryl Clark is definitely taking off the gloves in going after Rick Nolan:
This means that the gloves aren't just officially off. It's proof that Tarryl Clark and Rick Nolan threw the gloves into the corner of the ring before putting on brass knuckles. This article tells 'the other side' of the story:
Nolan says former Gov. Rudy Perpich appointed him to establish the center, which he says he did on a volunteer basis for four years before accepting a paid position in 1986. Clark claims that as head of the center Nolan fought for a $200,000 bonus and one of the highest taxpayer salaries. Nolan says the ad is "dishonest."
"It's disappointing you now to have someone who moves into the district, comes in with outside money and start denigrating the accomplishments of our governor, Rudy Perpich, and all those who served him, myself included," Nolan said in an interview. "We're very proud of what we were able to accomplish at the World Trade Center and make no apologies for it."
If that's Rick Nolan's best response, he's sunk. Tarryl won't hesitate in going for the jugular, then ripping it out. If he thinks the DFL machine in the Eighth will save him, I hope he's prepared for retirement.
If Tarryl's known for anything, it's that she's relentless. I don't know if Nolan is prepared for that.
We'll find that out Tuesday.
Tags: Primary , Tarryl Clark , Rick Nolan , DFL , Election 2012
Posted Friday, August 10, 2012 6:16 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 11-Aug-12 07:15 AM
Your MPR link gives "fight" info, but what in the world is the Minneapolis World Trade Center? Nolan sucking on the taconite teat? Something for Cargill? What is the basis and genesis? All I found on Wikipedia for a history is a skeleton:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wells_Fargo_Place
Do you have handy a background link or two on what the thing is; and then, Nolan's history with it.
Bashing Clark, Gary I know some things are close to your heart, but facts man, what are the facts?
"Tarryl won't hesitate in going for the jugular, then ripping it out." Gary, did you come up with that while looking in a mirror. All passion. No facts.
Democrat failures top to bottom
It's difficult to think of any successes that the Democratic Party has had the past 4 years. The annual deficits have been the biggest deficits in US history. That's because President Obama's policies have failed. The stimulus, the ACA, Cap and Trade and the green energy transformation have failed miserably.
Add into that the EPA's heavyhanded regulations that are shutting down coal-fired power plants while waging war against the coal industry. Add to that the corruption being uncovered when people look into the loan guarantees given to Solyndra and other likeminded companies headed for disaster.
Harry Reid's Senate hasn't produced a budget in years. Nancy Pelosi is the picture of ideology-driven stupidity. They've essentially been rubberstamps for the policies that've led to the worst economic 'recovery' in US history.
That makes them the worst leadership team in US history. Their record of exploding deficits, increasing unemployment, chronic unemployment and a government so big that it's strangling the most prolific economic system in the history of the world testifies against their proclaimed competence.
When was the last time anyone trusted this administration's predictions? Has anyone trusted Harry Reid or Nancy Pelosi beyond their caucuses? I don't think so.
Here in Minnesota, Gov. Dayton and the DFL have done nothing except protect the public employee unions while refusing to tell the militant environmentalists to take a hike. As a result, Iron Rangers suffer with a median household income $12,300 less than the state average.
Rep. Thissen and Sen. Bakk could spend $188,000 on redistricting personnel and equipment but they couldn't be bothered to put a set of redistricting maps. Rep. Thissen and Sen. Bakk insisted on a $1,400,000,000 tax increase that led to the longest state government shutdown in US history.
Who'd trust that type of stewardship to improve Minnesota's economy?
Back at the federal level, this administration predictably sided with the militant environmentalists when they refused to build the Keystone XL Pipeline project.
Thanks to that decision, China will have a stable supply of oil to fuel their economic growth.
Giving carte blanche run of the government to the Democrats and the DFL is a scary thought. Higher taxes, higher regulations, bigger deficits and more unemployment is their agenda.
That's a recipe for historic disaster.
Tags: President Obama , Nancy Pelosi , Harry Reid , Keystone XL Pipeline , Militant Environmentalists , EPA , Coal-Fired Power Plants , Unemployment , Deficits , Affordable Care Act , Crony Capitalism , Corruption , Mark Dayton , Paul Thissen , Tom Bakk , Government Shutdown , Redistricting , Tax Increases , Democrats , DFL , Election 2012
Posted Friday, August 10, 2012 7:24 AM
Comment 1 by Harry A. Christensen at 07-Dec-12 09:34 AM
As a member of Hibbings graduating class and Bemidji State, now living in Music City,, (#46 in tax burden in the nation), I can only point you toward a little mini-civil war we had with our own RINO governor sundquist (ptooey) back in 98. The guv and a friend of mine named Bob Rochelle (leader of the dem senste) tried to foist a state income tax upon us,,, we shouted and marched them down. (see: tntaxrevolt.org).
I love Minnesota (skol vikes) but could never live there again and stand the type of socialist/unionist bull that you have to put up with.
Godspeed
Harry
DFL to Minnesota: Protecting PEUs is Job One
It's painfully obvious that the DFL should be stripped of their acronym. It's painfully obvious that the DFL should be changed to the Progressive-PEU-Environmentalist Party.
When was the last time the DFL stood with the Iron Range mining unions? They haven't stood with them since the Perpich Administration. He won his last gubernatorial election in 1986.
When Gov. Dayton negotiated the contract with state employees, they hid the proceedings and the details of the contract's provisions. I've written these articles highlighting Gov. Dayton's and the PEUs' stealth in these proceedings.
It's against this backdrop that Sen. Parry held a hearing on the contract between the PEUs and the state. Predictably, the DFL stood with their PEU 'constituents' :
"It's probably a blessing you're down to your last three meetings," said Lillie, referring to Parry's expiring state Senate term. "I figure you'll milk this for three days of per diem, perhaps."
I wish I could say I'm surprised with Leon Lillie's statements but I'm not. It's the same BS that I'd expect to hear anytime that Rep. Thissen or Rep. Winker were talking.
Reps. Thissen and Winkler aren't legislators. They're the PEUs' puppets. They always have been. Yesterday, MNGOP Chairman Shortridge issued a statement highlighting the DFL's reliance on these PEUs. This part of Chairman Shortridge's statement says it all:
A list of public sector union contributions to the Minnesota DFL this year alone, are listed below:
AFSCME AFL CIO $200,000.00
AFSCME Council 5 $5,000.00
Education Minnesota $229,857.22
MAPE Educational and Political Fund $87,500.00
MAPE PAC $87,500.00
Minnesota AFL-CIO $26,250.00
Mpls Federation of Teachers Local 59 $1,250.00
TOTAL $637,357.22
That's just their contributions in 2012. They contributed a ton in 2011, too. Is it any wonder why the PEUs got such a sweetheart deal from Gov. Dayton? Here's a few of the details of the contract:
Today AFSCME and MAPE reached a tentative deal on a two-year collective bargaining agreement with the State of Minnesota. Highlights include a 2 percent pay raise beginning January 2013 , plus step increases both years, with modest cost increases to employees for health insurance effective January 2013.
Here's their stated goals for negotiations:
The union seeks a two-year deal that looks something like this:
No changes in health insurance plan design for levels 1 and 2
Increase the maximum dental benefit from $1,000 to $1,500
Maintain steps both years
2 percent wage increase effective July 1, 2012
$500 contribution to HRA on January 1, 2013
$500 lump sum
AFSCME, the SEIU and MAPE essentially got everything they were hoping to get. Fortunately, the executive branch and the PEUs don't have the final say in the matter. Fortunately, the legislative branch has oversight responsibility to protect the taxpayers.
That's what yesterday's hearing was about. It isn't surprising that the DFL attempted to disrupt Sen. Parry:
Democrats portrayed the pay increase as restrained after 19,000 state workers lost three weeks of pay during last year's government shutdown, caused by a political dispute over taxes and spending between Republican legislative majorities and Dayton.
"What are we doing here?" said Sen. Jim Metzen, DFL-South St. Paul.
AFSCME President Eliot Seide accused Parry of trying to boost his profile in the days leading up to the primary.
"What we saw today was a grand political stunt at the taxpayers' expense," Seide said.
First, there's documented proof that Gov. Dayton shut the government down, not the GOP legislature. Second, the DFL's dispute wasn't just with the GOP. The DFL's dispute was with most Minnesotans, too.
It's clear that the DFL thinks of PEUs and militant environmentalists as their constituents. There isn't much proof that they think of the people who vote for them as the people they're supposed to represent.
That's why it's likely that the GOP will keep control of the legislature this November.
Tags: PEUs , MAPE , AFSCME , SEIU , Mark Dayton , Paul Thissen , Ryan Winkler , Leon Lillie , Eliot Seide , Contracts , Negotiations , DFL , Mike Parry , Oversight , MNGOP
Posted Friday, August 10, 2012 9:37 AM
No comments.
