June 4-5, 2018
Jun 04 08:13 Erin Squared: the gun-hating ticket? Jun 04 12:39 Dr. Palmer announces Jun 04 13:21 Swanson announces primary run Jun 04 23:09 Paul Brandmire for City Council Jun 05 09:14 First Amendment under attack Jun 05 15:04 Ellison's radicalism Jun 05 16:29 Elizabeth Baklaich announces for City Council Jun 05 21:19 August Recess: vaporized
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Erin Squared: the gun-hating ticket?
I don't know why I used the question mark in the title but it's there and I'm too lazy to change it this morning. But I digress. The point of this post is to highlight the DFL's gubernatorial ticket's utter hostility towards legal gun owners. This morning, the Gun Owners Caucus issued a fact sheet on the 'Erin Squared' ticket vis a vis gun control.
It started by saying "The battle lines couldn't be more clear. This weekend, at their convention in Rochester, the DFL endorsed the most extreme anti-gun ticket we've seen in Minnesota. DFL-endorsed Governor candidate Erin Murphy, an anti-gun State Representative who is proud of her "F" rating from the NRA and the Caucus. She's been hostile to gun owners from her very first term."
It went downhill from there, which might lead people to wonder how it can go downhill from an F rating. Here's how:
DFL-endorsed Lt. Governor candidate Erin Maye Quade, also an anti-gun State Representative who signed onto Linda Slocum's egregious HF 3022 gun ban bill earlier this year only to later withdrawal calling it a clerical mistake. Her spouse is a former full-time employee at Michael Bloomberg's anti-gun Everytown activist organization.
Nothing says the DFL hates law-abiding gun owners better than an all-Metro, gun-hating ticket at the top of the ballot.
It still drops off from there :
DFL-endorsed Attorney General candidate Matt Peliken, an anti-gun attorney who has called for complete bans on many semi-automatic firearms under the guise of 'gun safety' legislation. He was introduced at the convention by the leader of the state-based anti-gun organization Protect Minnesota, Rev. Nancy Nord Bence.
How do you think these candidates make rural DFL voters feel on gun issues? With this much hostility towards law-abiding gun owners at the top of the DFL ticket, it's difficult to picture enthusiasm for the DFL ticket.
Finally, check this statement out.
Posted Monday, June 4, 2018 8:13 AM
No comments.
Dr. Palmer announces
Minutes ago, Dr. John Palmer announced his candidacy for the St. Cloud City Council's First Ward seat. Dr. Palmer issued this statement:
Following nearly a year's worth of attendance at St. Cloud City Council meetings John W. Palmer has decided to seek the Ward 1 City Council seat. John has watched with increasing disgust the behavior of the City Council in general and First Ward Councilman Masters in particular. It has become apparent to John that 'We the People' are not listened to and given the respect they deserve. 'We the People' created City Government to serve the people, but the Council in general and Councilman Masters in particular seem to have forgotten they are servants of the people.
In addition to fighting to insure the voice of the people is heard and reminding elected officials that they are to be servant leaders, John will bring to the council his considerable skills as a researcher, budget and public policy analyst, constitutionalist, parliamentarian and advocate for doing the right things for the right reasons. John will bring a reform agenda to the City and Council. John wants to make sure that 'We the People' have every opportunity to be heard before the Council decides. He also wants to create a path to prosperity for the residents and the city, recognizing that the best way grow things is to create an environment that rewards growth.
An old adage regarding the impact of taxes is: if you want less of something, tax it. Applying this adage to our city means we need to make sure we do not discourage desirable activities (e.g. retails sales, home ownership, business expansion) by taxing these things to the point where people choose to shop and do business elsewhere. John hopes these words taken from the Preamble of the US Constitution come to fulfillment in St. Cloud: : in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity:
Posted Monday, June 4, 2018 12:42 PM
Comment 1 by Mary at 04-Jun-18 07:33 PM
Maybe some sanity, honesty and integrity will come to the city council....and a healthy dose of actually representing the citizens of St. Cloud? It could happen! Thanks Dr. Palmer!
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 04-Jun-18 09:10 PM
Mary, check back with LFR in a couple of days. Tonight's council meeting exposed like never before the lily-livered wimps on the Council. Trust me when I tell you that.
Comment 2 by Crimson Trace at 04-Jun-18 11:14 PM
John is a true man of integrity and would make a rock solid council member. He is thoughtful and clearly does his homework. It's time for Dave Masters to retire.
Comment 3 by Darlene Thompson at 05-Jun-18 12:10 PM
I have as much respect for John Palmer as anybody I have ever met. He is brilliant. He is a man of integrity and I hope that he will become a member of the St Cloud City Council. I can think of no one better than John for that position.
Response 3.1 by Gary Gross at 05-Jun-18 02:05 PM
Darlene, I agree with everything you just said. I'd add that you're a lady of impeccable integrity yourself. I won't speak for John. He does that well without my help. I can't imagine him not being thankful for your compliment, however.
Comment 4 by Brian r at 05-Jun-18 12:40 PM
I've been a resident for 41 years and for the last 2 decades no one has represented my voice... thank god for John my parents and friends are already getting him votes!
Response 4.1 by Gary Gross at 05-Jun-18 02:07 PM
Thanks Brian. Across this city, if we're going to clean up this Council, we'll need lots of Brians in each ward. It's long past time to get rid of all that dead weight.
Swanson announces primary run
Lori Swanson's run as Minnesota's attorney general is all but officially over. According to this article , she's about to announce that she's running for governor. According to the article, "Attorney General Lori Swanson, who was rebuffed by party delegates in her bid for reelection at last weekend's nominating convention, will instead run for governor, Minnesota Lawyer has learned. U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan, the 8th District congressman who announced in February that he will retire from that seat, will be Swanson's running mate, according to sources. Swanson will officially make the announcement Monday afternoon. Minnesota Lawyer will attend the announcement and update this report later."
If you're in the Twin Cities and you hear 2 women crying uncontrollably, it's likely Erin-Squared crying because their chances of winning the primary just got vaporized. If you hear shouts of joy, it's likely Ken Martin rejoicing after begging and pleading all night with them to come to his rescue. I wonder how big the bribe was to pull this ticket together.
Posted Monday, June 4, 2018 1:21 PM
Comment 1 by eric z at 04-Jun-18 05:39 PM
You seem more impressed with the pairing than I am.
This will split the Walz faction more than the Murphy faction, among likely DFL primary voters.
Separate questions - have you any reason to deny that crossover monkeying in the other party's primary will be at an all time low?
But for Pawlenty, would there even be a GOP primary?
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 04-Jun-18 09:08 PM
First, I said on Dan Ochsner's show today that Walz went from frontrunner to "Who?" in 72 hours. This primary will be about the Range vs. the Twin Cities. Next, there won't be much in the way of inter-party hijinks this season. Finally, I'm thankful that there's going to be a single GOP primary. Having 4-5 of them, though, like the DFL has, that'll be difficult.
Comment 2 by eric z at 05-Jun-18 02:30 PM
Hatch running statewide. Pawlenty running statewide. It seems like the old days.
Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 05-Jun-18 04:02 PM
How does the DFL unite after this? I can't see it but I'm not tied into the DFL like you are, Eric. Hatch vs. Ellison is explosive enough. Swanson vs. Murphy is like throwing white gas on a fire. Bernie's Brigades vs. Clinton Lite doesn't sound like a recipe for unity.
Paul Brandmire for City Council
Just before leaving for tonight's St. Cloud City Council meeting, I received a notice that Paul Brandmire has filed to run for the St. Cloud City Council for Ward 3. Ward 3 is currently represented by John Libert. Here is Mr. Brandmire's official statement:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEPaul, welcome to the Uppity Peasants Brigade. It's time to clean City Hall out properly.
Date: June 4, 2018
Contact: Paul Brandmire (paulbrandmire@msn.com)
Paul Brandmire has announced that he has filed to run for St. Cloud City Council, Ward 3, the seat currently held by John Libert. "The City Council is in desperate need of an overhaul and it's time to restore representative government back to the people," according to Brandmire. 'A council member reports to the citizens, which I take very seriously."
Brandmire has been active in local politics for about a decade. He is a former co-chair of the Senate District 14 BPOU and has served on the BPOU board for most of the last ten years. In 2014, he ran for the MN House 14B endorsement. Brandmire has served as president of the Central Minnesota Tea Party, as president of the Central Minnesota chapter of Lutherans for Life, and as a commissioner of the Central Minnesota Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
Brandmire is a retired US Air Force Officer with 21 years of active duty military service. Brandmire is married with seven children and four grandchildren (and one on the way). He has an AA in Criminal Justice and served in law enforcement for eight years. He has a BS in Business Administration and an MS in Administration.
According to Brandmire, he wants to run for city council for one main reason. "Recent observations of council meetings have caused me to feel the city council has ceased to be responsive to the voices of ALL of the residents of St. Cloud. As citizens, all have a right to be heard and their opinions respected." Brandmire describes himself as a constitutional conservative, believing strongly in the rights and responsibilities of the individual, with only small and limited interference of government, and maintaining whatever necessary governmental control at the local level to the greatest extent possible.
Posted Monday, June 4, 2018 11:09 PM
Comment 1 by Crimson Trace at 04-Jun-18 11:21 PM
It's time for John Libert to retire. Paul will make a good replacement. He is actually respectful and cares for people.
Comment 2 by Ron Reigstad at 09-Jun-18 02:44 PM
I support Paul for city concil
Ron Reigstad
Comment 3 by alvin weber at 04-Oct-18 03:41 PM
We moved to St Cloud 2 years ago I now feel it was a mistake. I will vote for Paul because new blood is always better. The people running the city now are a detriment to the tax paying citizens.
First Amendment under attack
If anyone thinks that the St. Cloud City Council isn't hostile to the First Amendment, they need only view the video for the June 4th City Council meeting starting approximately 65 minutes into the meeting. During a discussion of City Council Rule No. 16, George Hontos defended the rule, saying that "Without objection, any council member could object to it. I mean, I object all the time but the point is that said recognition shall terminate upon motion passed by majority vote of the Council. So, in other words, one person can object but it takes a majority vote..."
With this Council, that's meaningless. Laraway, Lewis, Libert, Masters and Goerger vote in lockstep. It isn't that they're incapable of independent thought. It's that they frequently choose not to think independently. Further, the First Amendment didn't appoint someone to be the arbiter of who gets to speak. The government doesn't have the right to silence citizens during a public meeting.
Later in the same explanation, Councilman Hontos tried selling the virtue of having a recognized speaker being rejected by a majority of the Council instead of a single councilmember shooting down the previously recognized speaker. That's a flawed argument. First, most of the people that objected to recognizing Dr. Palmer have a personal animus against Dr. Palmer because -- gasp! -- he's held them accountable multiple times. He's highlighted their mistakes. FYI- Being rejected by a majority doesn't mean that the majority is right. It simply means that 4 or more people agree.
In essence, Dr. Palmer was rejected for less than honorable reasons. I'm not ok with that.
Later in the discussion, Dr. Palmer stepped to the microphone to defend himself and debate the rule. Council President Lewis told him he had to sit down, that he hadn't been recognized to speak. Dr. Palmer refused, thanks in large part to something I wrote about in this post :
'I feel like justice was finally served,' said Robin Hensel, whose refusal to move her chair at a 2013 Little Falls City Council meeting was at the heart of the court's decision. Hensel, a grandmother and peace activist who frequently protests at Camp Ripley, said she never thought she would actually get charged when she moved a folding chair to the open space between the public galley and the City Council's dais.
In its ruling Wednesday, the Supreme Court sided with Hensel, saying: 'The statute is broad and ambiguous, prohibiting any conduct or speech that 'disturbs an assembly or meeting,' whether expressive or not. An individual could violate the statute by, for example, wearing an offensive t-shirt, using harsh words in addressing another person, or even raising one's voice in a speech.'
The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that Ms. Hensel had the right to be disruptive during a meeting. Repeatedly telling Dr. Palmer to sit down is a violation of that Minnesota Supreme Court ruling.
This Council don't want public input. The exception seems to be when a businessman is asked to explain why he's asking for a variance or applying for some sort of license or whatever. I don't have a problem with those people getting recognized. I'm just establishing the council's inconsistency.
Later in the discussion on Rule 16, Councilman Masters said "Personally, I take offense with Dr. Palmer not following the rules and standing before the Council after being asked numerous times to sit down please. You have your time when you can speak during the Open Forum."
According to the Minnesota Supreme Court, asking Dr. Palmer to sit down is against their ruling. Further, one of the rules of Open Forum is that speakers can't speak about agenda items. This discussion was an agenda item. In other words, Councilman Masters was incorrect in saying that Dr. Palmer could address the Council on this later.
What's delicious about that confrontation is that Dr. Palmer filed to run against Councilman Masters earlier in the day. Further, who is Councilman Masters to complain about following the rules when he's violating a Minnesota Supreme Court ruling? That's doing more than violating a Council rule. That's violating a Supreme Court ruling.
Finally, Elizabeth Baklaich, Dr. Palmer and I spoke during the final part of the meeting. It's known as Open Forum. Each of us spoke to what we see as the Council's unwillingness to listen to We The People. Our speeches start at 1:20:00.
Originally posted Tuesday, June 5, 2018, revised 08-Jun 3:28 AM
Comment 1 by Mary Dombrovski at 05-Jun-18 09:46 AM
Here is the link to the June 4th meeting video. Hope it works....
June 4th video: http://stcloudmn.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=1408
Link to City page with all videos:
http://www.ci.stcloud.mn.us/759/Meeting-Videos
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 05-Jun-18 10:58 AM
Thanks Mary.
Comment 2 by eric z at 05-Jun-18 02:19 PM
Are you wondering if that bloc - a majority of the members are meeting separately before the public televised meeting? If that is an issue the Minnesota Open Meeting Law would apply - as to lawful or unlawful intervening "sub-caucusing" outside of being open. The League of Minnesota Cities Handbook opines that if a majority via seriatim consultations "meets" (even if never having a majority together at any single time in a room), it is problematic and to be avoided absent strong cause. You can google that too, e.g., search = league of minnesota cities open meeting law -- and there are published Minnesota Appellate cases on the Open Meeting Law.
Ellison's radicalism
As rumors swirl that Keith Ellison will run for Attorney General of Minnesota , the question must be asked what he'd contribute if he ran. Before we get to that, though, it's important to know that the "decision has not been finalized, but Ellison huddled with his top advisers on Monday night to discuss the move, which comes amid the congressman's frustrations with Congress as well as being DNC Chair Tom Perez's understudy, sources say. Ellison declined to confirm that he was considering a run for attorney general on Tuesday morning. Politico first reported the news on Monday night. 'I am not ready to make any comments,' he told CNN. 'It will all be clear as crystal, and it won't be too long from now.'"
I don't think it's a stretch to think that, as Minnesota's Attorney General, Ellison would spend most of his time suing President Trump for ideological reasons. It isn't a stretch to think that he'd become Minnesota's Xavier Becerra or Eric Holder. Further, it isn't a stretch to think that Ellison pictures himself as the Minnesota face of the #Resist movement. Further, it isn't difficult to picture Ellison suing Minnesota police departments anytime that a black mad is shot by police.
During Lori Swanson's time in office as Minnesota's AG, it was common knowledge that she spent tons of time suing President Trump.
UPDATE: It's official :
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) is running for attorney general of Minnesota, setting off a potentially history-making battle that is sure to attract national attention. He officially filed the paperwork for his candidacy on Tuesday afternoon.
Ellison, one of the staunchest progressives in Congress and the current deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee, would be the first Muslim statewide elected official in the country's history. The six-term Minneapolis congressman would also be Minnesota's first black statewide official.
Let's not be timid in saying this. Ellison is famous for being a bombthrower and a terrorist sympathizer. It's impossible to see how he'd add anything productive to the state.
[Video no longer available]
UPDATE II: Mike Hatch has filed to run for Attorney General, too.
With regards to Mr. Ellison, "Ellison's decision to run is motivated as much by the availability of the post as by his desire to marshal the forces of the state to resist the agenda of President Donald Trump, according to a Democrat familiar with his thinking."
In other words, Ellison thinks that he can be a bigger pain in President Trump's side as Minnesota's Attorney General than he can be as a bomb-throwing back-bencher in the minority in the U.S. House of Representatives. This isn't about patriotism for Ellison. It's purely about being an obstructionist. Ellison doesn't care about what's best for Minnesota. He cares about the #Resist movement. His rhetoric in this video shows that he's a radical's radical:
[Video no longer available]
In his speech, which sounded semi-sincere, he talked about people in "Ely, Zumbrota, Minneapolis or St. Paul" not getting their fair pay. Later in his rant, he spoke about "consumer justice." Still later, he spoke about fighting for environmental standards, gun violence and the unions.
Ellison won't represent all Minnesotans. He'll represent progressive Minnesotans. It's impossible to think that he'd fight for gun rights, miners and small business owners. During his legislative career, both in the legislature and Congress, Ellison didn't waste a split-second of time fighting for the middle class, blue collar workers or conservatives. Ellison is a radical's radical. That's who he'll always be.
Posted Tuesday, June 5, 2018 3:04 PM
Comment 1 by Chad Q at 05-Jun-18 07:11 PM
I find it very hard to believe that this radicle could get elected as AG but then again, Dayton was elected twice. MN politics is getting as crazy as California and New York with the crack pots the DFL is rolling out.
Comment 2 by Rex Newman at 05-Jun-18 07:27 PM
All the more reason to make AG an appointed, confirmed position.
Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 05-Jun-18 08:27 PM
A to the Men, Brother Rex. Here's the question, though: can Ellison win a statewide race?
Elizabeth Baklaich announces for City Council
Late this afternoon, Elizabeth Baklaich announced that she's running to replace Steve Laraway representing St. Cloud's Second Ward. Baklaich introduced herself to Ward 2 voters with this statement:
My name is Elizabeth Baklaich. I am a concerned citizen who is stepping forward to run for office because our St Cloud City Council needs real change.Mr. Laraway is part of the old boys network. He's part of the problem. He isn't part of the solution. Ms. Baklaich wants to listen to her constituents rather than tell them what she'll do. Ms. Baklaich's words prove that she knows we have a Constitution limiting what government can do.
Our founding fathers knew what they were doing declaring our independence and establishing our Constitutional Republic. The St Cloud City Council seems to have forgotten that our human rights come from a power higher, not from government. We The People are the government. We have a right to be heard, to be safe and, when needed, to redress a government.
Our current government has ignored attempts to redress them from the outside. I have watched as laws have been ignored and Tax Payers rights have been violated. The change did not seem possible from the outside, so much to my chagrin, I am stepping up and taking the lead so that this power run amuck does not take the next step and turn into tyranny.
I am a wife, mother and survivor. I grew up in Pennsylvania as a Quaker and graduated from a small steel town in Chester County Pa. I have lived in many places in the US, and in 2001 chose to make Minnesota my home. I have a great respect for history and do not want us to repeat it. I am not politically correct. I own my mistakes, then do my best to learn from them and not to repeat them. My work history which began at 14 includes everything from legal research, to real estate, to insurance to scrubbing toilets. There is always work for those who are willing to roll up their sleeves and do it. Currently, I sit on 1 local board and teach Red Cross & American Heart Association CPR classes for 3 different employers. I like helping others and helping others become trained to help others.
We are going to create situations for the citizens to be heard, for their views to be respected. As a beginning, I am creating several listening sessions for the people of Ward 2 to clearly be able to share their concerns without interruptions, limitations or a 3-minute timer on them. I see several opportunities to increase community engagement while making the government more efficient. The government should work for us, not dictate to us.
I look forward to being the people's choice for Ward 2 in St Cloud.
Further, it's clear Ms. Baklaich knows that government is only possible with the consent of the governed.
Posted Tuesday, June 5, 2018 4:43 PM
Comment 1 by Mary at 05-Jun-18 07:00 PM
Go Elizabeth....you will be great for St. Cloud. I know you as a dedicated and hard-working individual that lives and acts with integrity. Not being a resident of St Cloud I cannot personally vote for you but can recommend you highly to those in your ward.
Blessings to you as you move selflessly forward to be a voice for "We the People"!
Mary
Comment 2 by Ed at 05-Jun-18 07:37 PM
Love it call me for support
Comment 3 by Steve at 06-Jun-18 04:05 PM
Liz, You're what the City needs right now. I support you, and so do many others. God speed.
Comment 4 by DAG at 27-Jun-18 09:22 PM
A vote for Elizabeth would be beneficial to St. Cloud. We need a breath of fresh air on the council and a candidate with her intelligence, integrity, kindness and willingness to do diligent research would be an asset to our community in many ways. She is truly a remarkable woman and easy to relate to since she is a good listener and advisor. People like Elizabeth are what we need in our elected officials. God blessed us when Elizabeth decided to run for council.
August Recess: vaporized
Senate Democrats insisting on obstructing President Trump's agenda got a shot across their bow this afternoon from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell:
"Due to the historic obstruction by Senate Democrats of the president's nominees, and the goal of passing appropriations bills prior to the end of the fiscal year, the August recess has been canceled. Senators should expect to remain in session in August to pass legislation, including appropriations bills, and to make additional progress on the president's nominees."
Democrats have insisted on using every trick in their book to obstruct President Trump's nominations to cabinet positions, Supreme Court justices and appellate court judges. They haven't stopped using those tactics because they've never paid a price for their obstruction.
This afternoon, that changed. This afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that he's cancelling the Senate's August recess. That means 10 vulnerable Democrats will lose time to campaign in their home states while their opponents campaign and fundraise.
[Video no longer available]
Sherrod Brown, are you feeling better today than a month ago? While Jim Renacci is campaigning throughout the state during August, you get to slog through appropriation bills and judicial confirmation votes. Trump won Ohio by 400,000+ votes in 2016. I'm pretty certain his voters will turn out, especially after you voted against the Trump/GOP tax cuts. Good luck this November.
Bob Casey, are you feeling better today than a month ago? You, too, voted against the Trump/GOP tax cuts. Now, you won't have as much time to campaign as you'd anticipated. Good luck in November.
Jon Tester, how's that long flight back to Montana? You thought you'd have the month of August to campaign. You really needed it after making those baseless accusations about Ronny Jackson . Instead of campaign in August, you'll be spending your time in DC wading through appropriations bills and confirming Trump's judicial nominees. Good luck in November.
Mitch is playing this properly. If Democrats want to play hardball, let them lose some Senate seats as a result.
Posted Tuesday, June 5, 2018 9:19 PM
No comments.
