July 29-30, 2018
Jul 29 01:34 Questioning the anti-mining wing of the DFL Jul 29 07:57 The Obama deceleration Jul 29 15:41 Let's clobber Democrat spinmeisters Jul 30 06:42 Identifying Gov. Dayton's signature legislative accomplishment Jul 30 10:38 Kavanaugh vs. the Democrats' base Jul 30 11:18 Highlighting the latest episode of the Democrats' depravity Jul 30 17:30 The Trump, McConnell trap?
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Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Questioning the anti-mining wing of the DFL
This pdf article should cause the DFL tons of heartburn. It isn't a secret that a high percentage of DFL activists are anti-mining. That's been documented repeatedly on LFR throughout the years. This article, though, is different in that it highlights what's getting lost in the discussion.
Early in the article, it's reported that "the state's mineral resources are largely untouched: the Duluth Complex, a massive rock formation in northeast Minnesota stretching from Duluth to Pigeon Point, holds some of the
world's largest undeveloped deposits of copper, nickel, platinum group elements (PGE), and ilmenite (the most important ore for titanium). It also contains elements such as cobalt, gold, and silver. If Minnesota had been able to mine these resources in 2017, it would have regained its position as America's third largest producer of minerals by dollar amount - a position it has not held since 2012. On top of that, these numbers could increase significantly if gold and silver are discovered in mineable quantities in the areas currently being explored in northern Minnesota."
That's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, though. The important information is found a few paragraphs later:
Here's the graph:
The chart below shows the average annual wage for jobs in Hennepin, Itasca, and St. Louis counties, along with the average of all Minnesota counties. The average annual wage in Hennepin County is approximately $66,600, far larger than the average income for non-mining jobs in northern Minnesota, where wages are $12,000 lower than the state average. Residents of the Twin Cities metropolitan area often take their relatively high wages for granted, but jobs paying more than $66,000 per year are difficult to come by in northern counties. The average income in St. Louis County, for example, is approximately $42,000 - and average mining jobs pay $83,235 , nearly twice that amount.
The anti-mining wing of the DFL is standing in the way of mining families making a more-than-middle class wage of $80,000+. That's immoral. That's before taking into consideration how much these communities need those incomes to rebuild those communities, those neighborhoods, those families, those lives.
Instead of living in poverty, these communities could live in prosperity. Think of the economic growth that'd happen if PolyMet and Twin Metals opened. Then think of how much better off we'd be if we built pipelines and other types of energy infrastructure. Instead of balancing budgets by raising taxes, Minnesota could do something that's entirely foreign to the DFL. Minnesota could balance budgets through robust economic growth. That's what it did during the Perpich years. Now, the DFL, the party that gave us Gov. Perpich, hates the people that Gov. Perpich loved.
Richard Painter's views on copper-nickel mining are pretty typical of the anti-mining wing of the DFL:
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The Flambeau Mine, a 35-acre surface mine located just south of Ladysmith in northern Wisconsin, illustrates how the environment and groundwater quality can be protected at an acid-generating mine. Over four years (1993-1997), the Flambeau Mine produced 181,000 tons of copper, 334 ounces of gold, and 3.3 million ounces of silver. At its peak, the mine provided nearly 100 family supporting jobs and paid more than $27.7 million in taxes into a state fund that was returned to the community to promote long-term business development.
Today the closed and restored mine site is an interpretive nature center, a recreation area, and a business park. Reclamation took about two years to complete and cost $20 million, and produced a 150-acre site that includes four miles of nature trails and five miles of equestrian paths that wind their way through a beautifully restored open space.
The anti-mining wing of the DFL says this mining can't be done safely. Mr. Painter said that in the video. They're either both wrong or they're both intentionally lying. Both things seem possible.
Posted Sunday, July 29, 2018 7:14 PM
Comment 1 by Chad Q at 29-Jul-18 07:19 AM
If the mine(s) are opened and the local people prosper and land prices rise as a result, how on earth are the metro liberals going to afford to buy up properties in that area?
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 29-Jul-18 12:19 PM
That's their problem. Frankly, my friend, I don't give a damn if the socialists can't afford to buy another property.
Comment 2 by Nancy Mc at 30-Jul-18 07:06 AM
The DFL evidently prefers to keeps people in poverty & dependent on assistance. The anti-mining extreme preservationists really don't care about the environment. They prefer the U.S. get the minerals it needs from countries that have no pollution regulation, no safety precautions & use child laborers.
Comment 3 by Robert Thomas Colombo at 30-Jul-18 07:27 AM
Painter comes on the scene with a stellar resume in politics and public service. But when he steps into the mining arena, he proves without a doubt that he is a mining dunce, a charlatan who needs to do a better job of camouflaging the puppeteers' strings. He exposes himself as someone who can be led by the nose and that's sad since many had hoped he'd be his own man. There's no mention of modern mining techniques including the ground-breaking methods of tailings storage and neutralization being tested at various sites. It will be ten years before some of these mines go into full 24/7/365 operation and in that time, bothersome tailings issues will become passe. Mr. Painter needs to stop singing the old songs and write us a new song, one that is believable and fits what we know is possible.
The Obama deceleration
Frequently, Democrats have tried giving President Obama credit for the Trump economic growth. I won't mince words -- they're lying through their teeth. The policies that President Obama put in place at the start of his administration produced pathetic economic growth. Stephen Moore highlights that economic growth during President Obama's final year was 1.6%. During the campaign, economists ridiculed then-Candidate Trump when he said that his goal was 3-4% economic growth. They've already been proven wrong.
Let's review President Obama's policies, starting with high regulations that stifled economic growth. Big businesses weren't bothered. Small businesses were hit hard. Incentives to invest in their businesses were essentially eliminated.
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The Obama administration's policies that were hostile against fossil fuels, pipelines and small businesses have been eliminated, which has led to improved economic growth and a huge increase in energy exports to other nations. The framework for a new trade deal with the EU includes a massive increase in sales of liquefied natural gas and other fossil fuels. The Obama administration was opposed to fossil fuels. The increase in fossil fuel production during the Obama administration happened because they fossil fuels on lands where federal permits weren't required.
Obama shouldn't get credit for opposing those policies. President Trump and the Republican Congress get the credit those policies because they're the ones who implemented them.
The Obama administration raised taxes on small businesses and corporations. That resulted in companies hiding their money in other countries to the tune of $4,000,000,000,000. Now that that tax has been cut, the money is flooding back in and creating jobs here in the US. The Obama administration certainly shouldn't get credit for opposing policies that increased economic growth.
Very few of President Obama's economic policies are still intact. The turnaround in economic activity has been dramatic. In short, the Trump economy is growing fast. The Obama economy barely grew.
President Obama shouldn't get credit for anything except that he showed us what not to do.
Posted Sunday, July 29, 2018 7:57 AM
No comments.
Let's clobber Democrat spinmeisters
One thing that's apparent from this past week is that the Democrats' plan to counter the good economic news is to insist that President Obama deserves great credit for the strong economy. During the first roundtable discussion on Fox News Sunday, Democrat spinmeister Mo Elleithee went right to work on that storyline .
First, Chris Wallace asked "Mo, there has been a lot of talk about a blue wave this November, a big Democratic pickup, may be control of the House, maybe even control of the Senate. But I think you would agree in the absence of where the economy is always the top issue and when you got strong economic growth, when you got historically low unemployment number, isn't that a pretty strong record for Republicans to run on?" Elleithee replied by saying "Look, first of all, we should all be celebrating 4.1 economic growth. That's a good number, a strong number. It also would have been the fifth strongest number of the Obama administration, right? The Obama administration -- this is the continuation of economic recovery that began in 2009 and 2010. That strong economy wasn't enough to save Democrats last time. It's not enough to say it will be enough to say it would save Republicans this time."
Republicans on the panel should've jumped on that immediately. Unfortunately, notorious Trump-hater Jonah Goldberg sat silent. Ditto with Jillian Turner. Since they sat silent, I'll say what I would've said had I been on that panel. First, I would've highlighted the fact that President Trump and the GOP Congress scrapped the Obama-era tax system. They essentially threw it out and started from scratch. Thanks to the Trump/GOP tax cuts, business investment is accelerating, capital from overseas investments are flooding into the United States where manufacturing plants are being built or re-opened.
Remember when the Obama administration told us that those jobs were gone forever? I certainly remember. Apparently, all that was required were the right policies. Manufacturing is back in a big way. President Obama doesn't get credit for the manufacturing rebound.
President Trump unleashed the energy sector by eliminating President Obama's regulations that were intended to strangle the fossil fuel industry. Now we're a net exporter of fossil fuels. Another thing is that the manufacturing sector is getting stronger quickly. That's what I'd expect. President Obama worked tirelessly to put the fossil fuel industry out of business. He can't take credit for that resurgent industry, the jobs it's creating or the communities it's rebuilding. Remember this statement from the campaign trail?
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This month's job report showed that people are returning to the workforce because they know there's finally good-paying jobs available. In fact, for the first time in history, there are more job openings than there are workers to fill those positions. A frequent highlight of the Obama-era jobs reports was the part where they'd say how many people dropped out of the workforce or how the workforce participation rate had dropped. President Obama can't take credit for that.
President Obama can't take credit for surging consumer confidence or business confidence, either. Neither sector was particularly confident during the Obama administration. In truth, there's nothing from the Obama administration's policies that are contributing to the strengthening Trump economy. Period.
Posted Sunday, July 29, 2018 3:41 PM
Comment 1 by Chad Q at 29-Jul-18 09:00 PM
Again, there was no Obama recovery of any kind, only government intervention and spending that made things worse. Obama said that high unemployment was going to be the new normal. Crazy Nancy said it was good for people to be unemployed because they could spend more time with their families, go on staycations and that unemployment benefits were good for creating jobs.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 30-Jul-18 06:25 AM
I remember each of those things. The Trump/GOP economy isn't just better. It's based on entirely different policies.
Identifying Gov. Dayton's signature legislative accomplishment
As we look back at Gov. Dayton's time in office, it's difficult to identify his signature legislative accomplishment. His first year in office, he shut down state government. It was the longest shutdown of state government in US history. When it ended, Gov. Dayton signed the budget deal he could've signed without the shutdown.
In 2013, with DFL majorities in the House and Senate, Gov. Dayton finally passed his massive tax increases. In addition to those tax increases, Gov. Dayton promised that he'd stop property tax increases as a result of the increased LGA payments and "historic investments in education." I wrote this post in December, 2014 to highlight the major property tax increase that Princeton levied on taxpayers. They originally sought a 33.87% tax increase but 'settled' for a 25.16% increase.
In this post , I quoted then-Speaker Paul Thissen. Here's what he said in a statement:
The House DFL Education Budget invests in what works: fully funding all-day, every day kindergarten and investing $50 million in early learning childhood scholarships. All-day K and early childhood education are proven tools to improve test scores, close the achievement gap, and prepare students for future academic success. The House DFL Education Budget also increases the basic funding formula for K-12 schools by four percent over the biennium, an increase of over $315 million, or $209 per pupil. The school shift payback will be included in the House Taxes bill.
In other words, the Dayton tax increase to buy down property taxes failed terribly.
What's worse is that, in 2014, the DFL legislature repealed several of the tax increases it passed the final weekend of the session the year before. That led to the Republicans retaking the House majority in the 2014 election. Apparently, Minnesotans didn't think much of Gov. Dayton's tax increases.
In 2015, Gov. Dayton met with Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL- Cook, and Speaker of the House Kurt Daudt every day of the final week of session to negotiate a budget. On the Friday of the session, they were no closer to an agreement than they were when they started. Sen. Bakk and Speaker Daudt sat down and promptly negotiated a bipartisan budget deal in less than an hour. When they made the announcement, Gov. Dayton criticized the budget and vetoed the bill.
That led to another cave-in by Gov. Dayton during yet another special session. BTW, special sessions might be Gov. Dayton's legacy, though I can't call them an accomplishment.
Aside from these negative legislative 'accomplishments', Gov. Dayton ignored the Somali day care fraud scandal and the elder care abuse scandal . That's the one where people actually died and nobody from the Dayton administration bothered to investigate.
The other thing that Gov. Dayton was famous for was temper tantrums:
[Video no longer available]
Finally, there's the MNLARS fiasco, which Gov. Dayton created but didn't fix and the child care unionization legislation. The unionization legislation went nowhere because child care providers defeated the measure 1,014-392. That's what happens when you're stubborn and you don't listen to people. Gov. Dayton earned those epic slap downs.
Posted Monday, July 30, 2018 6:42 AM
Comment 1 by Rex newman at 31-Jul-18 08:06 PM
Call me old fashioned but I submit that really good Governors don't have significant Legislative accomplishments. They facilitate the sessions, not control or micro-manage them. As your Walter Mitty Minnesota Governor, I would submit a budget proposal based on current law, adjusted per my Commissioners' input. I would insist that any tax increases flow into the General Fund, and that they be on my desk by April 15. That way I can tally the spending bills as they come along - single subject per my oath to the State Constitution. Given so much, I'll sign almost anything. Clean tax increases (no embedded social engineering, to the General Fund) submitted by 4/15 are signed, the rest vetoed. Clearly deceptive spending bills like the Vikings stadium paid for by electronic pull tabs - gone. Light Rail same reason. But otherwise I'll let the 201 do the job they were elected to do.
Dayton imagines his 1 brain superior to the collective wisdom and powers derived from the governed of the 201. We Republicans might think this is Ok when it's our Governor, like Pawlenty vetoing the wild DFL spending. Think about it. What if he had signed them and let the voters react accordingly?
Kavanaugh vs. the Democrats' base
This Politico article contains some of the best news I've seen all day. When I read "the party's base is demanding Schumer and his colleagues wage a knock-down, drag-out fight", I couldn't help but smile from ear-to-ear.
Let's be upfront about this. I don't expect this to happen. Still, if the Democrats want to imperil their most vulnerable senators, I'll be happy to see that happen. I'd love to see Republicans pick up 6-7 seats instead of 2-3 seats in the Senate.
Still, if the Democrats' base insists on a knock-down-drag-out fight, Republicans should smile, then hit these red-state Democrats hard until they're too toxic to win. In some cases, that shouldn't be that difficult. It's important that we remember that this vote isn't the only thing that senators like Manchin, Donnelly, Tester, Heitkamp and Nelson will be judged on. Tester and Nelson voted against Gorsuch. All of them voted against the Trump/GOP tax cuts. Don't think that those votes won't be included in the GOP's closing arguments in late October and early November.
Still, how long at-risk Democrats can or should hold out is a complicated political equation that could affect their survival in November. As long as they remain undecided, deep-pocketed conservative groups like the Judicial Crisis Network and Americans for Prosperity will continue pounding them with pro-Kavanaugh ads and activism in their states.
A spokeswoman for JCN said it would pull ads when and if Democratic senators come out in support of Kavanaugh and shift to thanking the nominee's supporters. Meanwhile, GOP opponents, who expect some of these Democrats to ultimately support Kavanaugh, are hitting them for their supposed indecision.
Organizations like the Judicial Crisis Network are already running ads like this against Democrats:
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This is another hard-hitting ad from JCN:
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Good luck dealing with that pressure.
UPDATE: Rand Paul has announced that he's supporting Kavanaugh's confirmation. The pressure just got a lot more intense for Manchin, Donnelly, Heitkamp, Tester, etc.
Posted Monday, July 30, 2018 10:45 AM
No comments.
Highlighting the latest episode of the Democrats' depravity
This article highlights the depths of depravity that Democrats have sunk to. Remember Michelle Obama saying "When they go low, we go high"? What BS. The truth is that Democrats frequently go as low as it gets. This article is proof of it.
It opens by saying "Republican Rep. Jason Lewis told Fox News he has contacted the police over threats to him and even his daughters in the wake of reports about controversial statements he made as a radio show host. 'It was serious enough for my office to alert the Capitol Police,' Lewis told Fox News. The Minnesota congressman said his daughters were threatened in sick messages received by his office. It marks the latest in a wave of threats against not just Republican lawmakers themselves but their families."
Last August, I wrote this post to highlight the fact that TakeAction Minnesota, a far left/anarchist organization, sent protesters to Lewis' house last August. While they were there, TakeAction Minnesota took the time to intimidate some of Lewis' neighbors.
In other words, I wouldn't rule out TakeAction Minnesota as being involved in threatening Lewis' daughters. I won't say positively that TakeAction Minnesota is behind these threats. I just won't rule it out. They're that depraved. Just watch this video of TAM at Lewis' home:
I'll just be straightforward on this. This is proof that TAM is totally depraved. They should be investigated to within an inch of their existence. There's no question that TAM isn't afraid to use intimidation/anarchist tactics. They simply aren't.
This isn't the Party of Wellstone and Humphrey. The DFL has become the home for lunatics, mean-spirited anarchists and socialists.
Posted Monday, July 30, 2018 11:18 AM
Comment 1 by Rex Newman at 01-Aug-18 09:54 PM
Your bad: video auto-plays. While I'm on "web design" - I note an occasional LFR post takes a full minute to fully load, like there's an embedded script or huge ad download... I see this about 3-5 times a month. Might be your blog host behind the scenes.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 02-Aug-18 07:46 PM
Sorry Rex, but when I input the embed code, that's all I can do.
The Trump, McConnell trap?
After President Trump tweeted that he's willing to shut down the government over funding for his border wall, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that he's optimistic they "can avoid a government shutdown ." A senior Republican aide said "We've got the whole month of August dedicated to appropriations. This notion that we're going to shut down the government - everyone needs to dial down the panic button a couple notches."
That leads me to this question: will Republicans finish the major funding bills on time, then force Democrats to either vote for funding the wall or shutting the government down? The truth is that Republicans might paint the Democrats into a corner by passing the vast majority of appropriations bills on time. The NDAA is heading to President Trump's desk, which funds the military. Since Congress is passing individual appropriations bills rather than a CR that funds the entire government, the MSM and the Democrats (pardon the repetition) will find it virtually impossible to succeed in accusing Republicans of shutting down government.
Further, the part of the government that is actually shut down is the Department of Homeland Security. Do Democrats really want to tell swing-district voters that they don't want to build the wall? That might work in some of the most liberal districts but it can't help them in the Rust Belt, the Midwest or Great Lakes states where they're fighting to recapture governorships and/or hold onto precarious Senate seats. Further, if Democrats vote against funding the wall, won't that essentially kill their opportunity to flip the Arizona and Nevada Senate seats?
[Video no longer available]
"We'll finish up the set of appropriations measures we've been considering for several days and take four more big steps toward our goal of completing a regular appropriations process and funding the government in a timely and orderly manner," McConnell said on the Senate floor.
President Obama loved getting Republicans into an all-or-nothing position because he had the biggest megaphone. Republicans now have that super-sized megaphone. It's worth noting that President Trump is on the right side of the border wall issue. Whether Republicans realize it or not, most Rust Belt/Corn Belt states prefer keeping the gangs, drug cartels and human traffickers out of their states.
If Democrats want to bet that they're on the right side of that issue, let 'em try. Ultimately, I'm betting that there's more people who want to stop MS-13 and keep the economy running strong than there are people who prefer open borders, rampant crime and a return to the Obama economy.
If Republicans can campaign on getting their appropriations done on time, that will tell voters that, despite a bumpy start, Republicans are getting the nation's work done on time. That's a net positive for both the House and Senate. Couple that with the Senate confirming another Supreme Court justice and the House getting started on Tax Cuts 2.0 and you've got a pretty nice list of accomplishments to run on.
If funding the wall is the only thing left on the agenda, that'd put Democrats in a sticky position. That's a position red state Democrat senators don't want to find themselves in.
Posted Monday, July 30, 2018 5:30 PM
Comment 1 by J. Ewing at 31-Jul-18 08:41 AM
And yet I keep hearing that "the Democrats will take over the House" or even "WHEN the Democrats take over the House." How can that possibly be a reasonable outcome to this election? Here in MN the GOP may pick up three more GOP seats.
