December 1-2, 2016
Dec 01 02:56 Stein mouthpiece vs. Carlson Dec 01 08:15 Democrats re-elect a loser Dec 01 09:20 Liberal stupidity hurts Dec 02 02:07 Democrats' divide showing Dec 02 03:56 Obamacare will transition Dec 02 10:05 Examining Trump's Carrier deal Dec 02 14:29 DFL entitlement reform?
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Stein mouthpiece vs. Carlson
When Tucker Carlson interviewed David Cobb, Jill Stein's campaign manager, about the Wisconsin recount, it quickly turned into a bad joke. Early in the interview, Cobb said that "most importantly, Tucker, what we're seeing is voting systems that can't be trusted. What we see is the use of technology that is highly problematic that have been proven to be hacked by security experts so all we're asking for is a recount in order to confidence in the integrity of the election results."
Later in the interview, Carlson asked "what is the core justification for putting the country through this"? Cobb replied "Well, what I'm telling you is that there is a legal right to secure confidence in the integrity of the election results. Recounts a very good way to do that."
Some important points need to be highlighted at this point. First, other than a handful of nutjobs in the Green Party, nobody thinks that the voting systems employed in Wisconsin aren't trustworthy. That's verified by the fact that the other political parties didn't mention election malfeasance or outright hacking. Next, the Wisconsin recount law should require eyewitness testimony that they saw election irregularities. During the interview, Cobb made clear that their complaint was based on professorial testimony saying that malfeasance was "possible."
Third, recounts shouldn't be granted if they're the political equivalent of a fishing expedition. If the police asked a judge for a search warrant of a person of interest's apartment based on a hunch, which is what Dr. Stein is doing, the judge would tell the detectives to return when they had more than a hunch.
Cobb's pretending to be worried about election integrity. That's dishonest. What thoughtful person thinks that possible misfeasance is justification for a recount. It's my recommendation that states tighten up their recount statutes ASAP.
Posted Thursday, December 1, 2016 2:56 AM
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Democrats re-elect a loser
If I got paid $10 for each article I've read throughout the years that talked about Nancy Pelosi's fundraising abilities, I'd be rich. This article mentions it again by saying "Few can match Pelosi as a fundraiser. She is herself the ninth wealthiest member of Congress , a resident of 'billionaires' row,' and is tapped into the party's most well-heeled donor networks and constituencies on the West Coast."
Fundraising isn't what's holding the Democrats back. President Obama got it right in his final interview with Rolling Stone when he said "there is a cohort of working-class white voters that voted for me in sizable numbers, but that we've had trouble getting to vote for Democrats in midterm elections. In this election, [they] turned out in huge numbers for Trump. And I think that part of it has to do with our inability, our failure, to reach those voters effectively."
There's a pretty detectable pattern with elections. When President Obama's name has been on the ballot, he's won. When President Obama's agenda is what people have voted on, he's gotten a shellacking. This ties into Ms. Pelosi because she's been a loyal foot-soldier for President Obama's agenda. They've been connected at the hip policywise.
Ms. Pelosi and President Obama complained that they just didn't get their message out. That's either outright denial or it's spin. The thing that's holding the Democrats back is their message. The Democrats' message sounds elitist. With Obamacare, Democrats said that they knew what's best for families. Then-Speaker Pelosi infamously said this:
TRANSLATION: You don't need to know what's in it. We know what's best for you.
The Democrats' losing streak in the House will continue, at minimum, for several more cycles. That's partly due to their policies and partly due to their messenger. The history is clear. Nancy Pelosi is a control freak who doesn't connect with white working class voters. She's a San Francisco liberal elitist. That won't work when populism is what the people are insisting on.
Posted Thursday, December 1, 2016 8:15 AM
Comment 1 by JerryE9 at 01-Dec-16 09:10 AM
I'm not exactly sure what "populism" means. It seems to me it is an emotion word, something easily swayed by demagoguery, of which Democrats are the master. I think in the Trump context it is more of a rational (though fervent) objection to the clear failure of liberal policies. I've said before that if this were a rational election, Hillary would have lost by 50 points.
Liberal stupidity hurts
This LTE , written in the form of a resolution, is one of the most idiotic LTEs that the St. Cloud Times has ever published:
This is the only proper response to such stupidity:
Posted Thursday, December 1, 2016 9:20 AM
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Democrats' divide showing
This article highlights the ever-growing fight for the Democratic Party's soul. Throughout the article, the feuding factions are noticeable. It isn't until the end that the disagreements boil over.
That's when Nancy Larson, a member of the Minnesota DFL, is quoted as saying the "brilliant ones at top know better. And they come down and say, 'This is what you do, this is what you say, this is what you have your candidates do, and don't stray from this.'"
A couple paragraphs earlier, the article quotes Ted Sadler, a Democratic political operative from Georgia, as saying "People just love it when you show up. But for us, there was zero Democratic action in the 8th Congressional District."
This indicates why Democrats won't get out of their fight anytime soon:
In Georgia, Sadler said the party was instead obsessed with driving up turnout in Atlanta and its surrounding suburbs at the expense of Democratic-friendly areas in other parts of the state. It was a common refrain among the Democratic strategists interviewed for this story, all of whom said they saw a party that believed it no longer needed rural votes to win elections.
When Democratic officials did show up, Sadler and others said they were ill-equipped for the nuances of a campaign in rural America.
"When they do show up, it's 22-year-old kids from the Ivy League," Sadler said. "And they're telling you what do, as opposed to stopping and listening."
It isn't surprising that Democrats lost the Heartland, especially rural America, often by lopsided margins. Democrats kept Nancy Pelosi as their leader in the House. They picked Chuck Schumer as their leader in the Senate. They do whatever Tom Steyer and the Sierra Club order them to do. Democrats are loyal, too, to Silicon Valley and the East and Left coasts.
The thing that the media is missing is that the earth shifted with the last election. In the past, Democrats could get away with saying they're for high-tech jobs because Republicans didn't emphasize the importance of blue collar jobs like mining and factory work. The mining industry and manufacturing jobs are getting strangled with regulations. The Democrats don't know how to talk to those people because, to them, it's like speaking a foreign language that they'd have to learn against their will.
Finally, the environmental activists' agenda is the opposite of the mining industry's agenda. They fit together like oil and water.
Posted Friday, December 2, 2016 2:07 AM
Comment 1 by JerryE9 at 02-Dec-16 09:27 AM
Republicans, too, are going to have to quit learning to the "younger and smarter" consultant types and start paying attention to the common sense folks living, but not always voting, their conservative values. Trump has broken the dike, now we need to pour through and take the country back.
Comment 2 by Terry Stone at 02-Dec-16 10:13 AM
Republicans need to remember how irrelevant Vin Weber and his ilk are to the Party.
Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 02-Dec-16 01:54 PM
That's a great point. It's worth highlighting the fact that Weber signed a letter that said Trump posed an "unacceptable danger" & that Trump was "unqualified to be president."
Sorry, Vinnie, but the American people disagreed with you. Emphatically. It's time for you to ride off into the sunset. You're a multi-time loser. I'll word this more emphatically. Get lost. We don't need you.
Comment 3 by John Palmer at 02-Dec-16 07:45 PM
A pox on the professional political class be they R or D. People are fed up with being told what to think and what to do. A political novice just did what the pros said was not possible. Jwp
Obamacare will transition
Sen. John Barrasso is one of the experts on health care in the Senate. This past week, Sen. Barrasso delivered this speech on the Senate floor. The most important part of Sen. Barrasso's speech came when he said "First of all, nobody is talking about taking people off of insurance without a replacement plan in place. We all understand that there needs to be a transition over time. People have already been hurt too much when they lost their insurance and when their rates went up because of Obamacare and the mandates, and the government saying they know better than families across the country. So we'll be working to make the transition as smooth as possible for everyone. That's why we're including transition period in a repeal bill that Congress passed last year and sent to the president's desk. Our goal is to do no harm."
Shortly thereafter, Sen. Barrasso said "Now, we can increase the use of health savings accounts. This will give more people the chance to actually control how they spend their own money on their health care. We can support innovative insurance plans that pay for prescription drugs that work the best for patients - not just the ones preferred by insurance companies."
The Democrats, specifically Jonathan Gruber, have tried frightening people into thinking that Republicans want to throw 20,000,000 people off of health insurance. Sen. Barrasso's speech indicates that Democrats are engaged in outright fearmongering.
Sen. Barrasso is a man of integrity. He's also a health care expert. He'll be the Republicans' health care expert in the Senate. He already is.
Posted Friday, December 2, 2016 3:56 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 04-Dec-16 11:32 AM
Shell game time. Hands quicker than the eye. Let's "account" things Wall Street's way, regardless of it being the highway to failure, past and future to "privatize" more and more into the hands of fewer and fewer. But is that the actual Trump mandate? It's too early to tell, but the signs suggest so, and how people react four years later will prove interesting.
Trump's virtue, so far, he took the Bush family on early, and the Clinton family late, and if bad follows his election at least he has already done good.
Let's see how Trump/Pence turn out, with open minds, since how they turn out is Trump's to mess up, or succeed. Whatever mindsets we have in waiting and watching.
Examining Trump's Carrier deal
This article about President-Elect Trump's deal with Carrier includes the obligatory 'this sets a dangerous precedent' quote. In this article, Steve Weitzner of Silverlode Consulting is quoted as saying "It's a potentially dangerous policy where you reward a company that threatens to leave. It's a dangerous precedent. Why wouldn't every other company make the exact same pitch? In this case, you're rewarding a company that is actually cutting a lot of jobs in the state."
If this were done in a vacuum, Weitzner would've made a salient point. This isn't happening in a vacuum, though. This was a stop-gap measure aimed at preventing a single company from leaving. The biggest thing that will incentivize other companies into staying is passing the Trump-Ryan tax simplification legislation. The other biggest thing that will incentivize companies to stay is Trump's regulatory reforms.
What corporate CEO would have their job if they left a nation with low marginal corporate tax rates, a reasonable regulatory environment and a well-trained workforce? That's a three-legged stool to build a vibrant economy around. That's a foundation upon which a thriving economy is built.
Let's be clear. The questions Weitzner asked are legitimate questions. If the Trump administration wasn't intent on tax and regulatory reform, the Carrier deal wouldn't be getting positive reviews. That's why it's important to look at this deal in its totality. It's worth noting that companies will return to the US the minute it looks like President Trump's tax and regulatory plans are becoming reality.
Finally, imagine a company CEO getting a call from President Trump telling them that their company would get hit with expensive tariffs if they left the US. I can't imagine that being a pleasant conversation.
Posted Friday, December 2, 2016 10:05 AM
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DFL entitlement reform?
It isn't a secret that Democrats aren't fans of government reform. They've been the defenders of the status quo for years. Hillary Clinton was their presidential nominee. Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi are the faces of Senate and House Democrats. This trio of fossils aren't mistaken for having fresh ideas. If they don't want to be politically irrelevant, they need new management and fresh, appealing ideas.
In Minnesota, the DFL is slightly ahead of the game compared with the DNC. Still, they're too reliant on cronyism. That's what this article highlights.
Cronyism is the name of the game that Ted Mondale and Michelle Kelm-Helgen played with U.S. Bank Stadium suites. According to multiple reports , "Kelm-Helgen and Mondale, two government employees, control access to two lower-level luxury 'Norseman Suites' for all events at the stadium in downtown Minneapolis. The MSFA controls 36 tickets per game and the agency also got a nearly identical number of free parking spaces in the surface lot used by Vikings players." That's just the tip of the U.S. Bank Stadium iceberg. There's more:
Kelm-Helgen and Mondale said they and the four MSFA commissioners use the suites to host potential clients who are looking to rent all or portions of the stadium, which opened in August. But they also acknowledge they regularly invite friends and family to the suites.
The two say they can't reveal the identities of their guests because that would hinder their marketing efforts. However, they did release the identities of 12 current and former public officials who reimbursed the authority $200 for their tickets to the suite.
Here's the description of what's included in the Norseman Suites :
Norseman Lounge Suites
Highly exclusive 10 person Suites located between the 20 yard line and the end line just 36 rows from the field. Each Suite comes with access to the exclusive Lounge directly behind the Suite featuring a private bar and all-inclusive upscale food offerings, VIP parking, other event access, away game trips and much more. (NEWLY DESIGNED, ONLY 15 BUILT)
ABOUT THE NORSEMAN LOUNGE SUITES
• 36 Rows from the Field
• Side End zone - 20 yard line
• 6 fixed and 4 drink rail chairs with view to the field
• All-inclusive, unlimited beer, wine, high end food and non-alcoholic beverages
• Private/ Elite Lounge access
• 1 Annual Suite Holder Event on the field
• Super Bowl Access
• Away game road trips
• Access to other events
EXCLUSIVE SUITE BENEFITS
• VIP Parking Passes in a ramp in close proximity to the Stadium
• All-inclusive food and beverage package with a full-service concierge staff
• Participation in Team-arranged away road trips at points during the term of your Suite Agreement (limited to two (2) persons)
• The opportunity to purchase a to-be-determined number of Super Bowl tickets (not Suite tickets) in any year the Vikings participate in the Super Bowl or the Super Bowl is held at the new Stadium
Frankly, it's disgusting that Kelm-Helgen and Mondale insist that they "can't reveal the identities of their guests because that would hinder their marketing efforts." That's spin for saying 'giving out that list would be politically embarrassing.'
I'd say that some DFL (sense of) entitlement reform is required.
Posted Friday, December 2, 2016 2:29 PM
Comment 1 by Chad Q at 03-Dec-16 08:10 AM
Why would revealing the names of the people who are using the suites hinder marketing efforts unless of course, they aren't being used by people who might actually rent out the stadium and they are being used by friends, family, and political allies of the MSFA?
The whole "public financed" stadium issue frosts my ass to begin with and then we get these two jokers running things. Both Mondale and Kelm-Helgen (never trust a person with a hyphenated name)should be relieved of their duties and positions and the Dome should be managed by a company whose sole job is to attract actual paying renters.
