June 9-11, 2016
Jun 09 01:25 Vicki Jensen torpedoes Gov. Dayton Jun 09 15:08 Media Alert Jun 09 17:40 ABM's dishonesty continues Jun 10 01:26 Dayton's history of ultimatums Jun 10 08:11 Miners vs. environmental activists Jun 10 10:32 DFL accusations vs. reality Jun 10 13:55 DFL dog whistle foolishness Jun 11 05:26 Special interests own the DFL
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Vicki Jensen torpedoes Gov. Dayton
Wednesday afternoon, I got into a discussion on Twitter with Rep. Kim Norton. Rep. Norton brought up the fact that there's a language error in the tax bill that needs to be corrected. The bill's language will cause a $100,000,000 in revenues. That point isn't in dispute. In fact, Speaker Daudt has said that fixing the drafting mistake will be the first order of business the minute a special session is called.
What's interesting is that William Morris' article highlights how DFL legislators aren't on board with Gov. Dayton's agenda. Sen. Vicki Jensen said "It's very unreasonable, that whole list of demands he has. I'm hoping they don't add a bunch in, and we don't have to have a huge conversation."
It's time to fix the tax bill so that people like Ryan Visher can get the property tax relief he needs to get his business back up and running. The only thing standing in the way of a short special session is Gov. Dayton's insistence on funding for the SWLRT and his insistence on $423,000,000 of additional new spending.
Last year, Gov. Dayton torpedoed the bipartisan budget agreement. Last year, he insisted on funding universal pre-K. After a long standoff, Gov. Dayton caved and called a special session. It took a full day but business got done.
It's important to remember that Gov. Dayton shut down the government in 2011 and tried shutting it down in 2015. Now, Gov. Dayton is standing in the way of property tax relief for small businesses and farmers. He's standing in the way of fixing dangerous roads like Highway 12, the deadliest stretch of highway in Minnesota.
It's time for Minnesotans to write or call Gov. Dayton and tell him to stop acting like a little child throwing a temper tantrum and put Minnesotans like Ryan Visher first for a change.
Posted Thursday, June 9, 2016 1:25 AM
Comment 1 by Bob J. at 09-Jun-16 01:18 PM
Tell Dayton to stop acting like a child? Why should he start now?
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 09-Jun-16 02:52 PM
Because he should've started years ago.
Comment 2 by Bob J. at 10-Jun-16 12:40 PM
Well, Gary, I was speaking rhetorically. I'm with you.
Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 10-Jun-16 02:01 PM
I know. I couldn't resist. Thanks for stating your opinion clearly.
Media Alert
I'll be appearing on Ox in the Afternoon at 3:10 this afternoon. Sorry for the short notice. We'll be talking all things Thissen . Read all my articles by clicking this link . Follow this link to listen to all of Ox's podcasts. My interview will be posted there Thursday night after the show. PS- This is the article that got everything started.
Posted Thursday, June 9, 2016 3:30 PM
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ABM's dishonesty continues
ABM's latest dishonest statement is really a beauty. Notice the slipperiness in the wording. ABM's statement starts by saying "This morning, Speaker Daudt (R-Crown/Stanford Township/Zimmerman), the highest ranking Republican in the state, said that Donald Trump is great for the Minnesota Republican Party." That isn't what Speaker Daudt said. What Speaker Daudt did say is "With the seats that we're defending, we think Donald Trump actually helps us on the ballot to retain our majority." (Notice, too, that ABM didn't quote Daudt. They put their own spin on things.)
Predictably, DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin threw a hissy fit upon hearing that, saying "It's time for Speaker Daudt and Minnesota's Republicans to stop blindly following Donald Trump's divisive lead and prioritize the needs of Minnesotans they are running to represent." Chairman Martin, are you saying that political parties should call out politicians that behave dishonorably? If that's the standard, why haven't you openly criticized House DFL Leader Paul Thissen's disgusting behavior ?
Rep. Thissen's pattern of verbal abuse of defenseless GOP staffers is plenty disgusting. Admittedly, it isn't getting the attention that Trump's bigotry is getting. Still, Thissen's behavior is disgusting. Chairman Martin should stop with the gamesmanship. If he won't hold his legislators to a high standard of integrity, then he should shut up. Nobody likes double standards. Nobody, apparently, other than DFL Chairman Martin and Rep. Thissen.
Finally, there's this:
The Party is so unified that the Minnesota co-chair for the Trump campaign said today that, "Speaker Daudt will be a tremendous champion for our shared message in Cleveland, and across Minnesota."
That's wishful thinking. Trump has a history of saying untruthful things. Think of the time he said that he'd spoken with Paul Ryan. Then Ryan told the press that, at that point, he hadn't spoken with Trump. The Trump campaign wants to present the image that the GOP is rallying to his cause. While it's true that some Republicans are willing to vote for him out of loyalty to the GOP, it's equally true that there's a significant number of Never Trump activists who are essentially saying 'Drop dead.'
ABM's dishonest statement is brought to you by Susie Merthan.
Posted Thursday, June 9, 2016 5:40 PM
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Dayton's history of ultimatums
Now that we're in the 6th painful year of Gov. Dayton's administration, we have a historical record to judge his administration on. It isn't a history of successful negotiating. In 2011, Gov. Dayton attempted to push the GOP legislature into accepting his tax increase proposal when Gov. Dayton shut down the government. Let there be no doubt about this. Gov. Dayton planned the government shutdown. Insiders at HHS saw a memo that outlined the strategy a week after the end of the regular session and a month before the official shutdown. The memo explained how Gov. Dayton and the DFL would exploit the media in their attempt to vilify the GOP.
After that fizzled, Gov. Dayton announced that he was going to tour the state to raise support for his budget. Originally, it was planned to hit Rochester, then St. Cloud, Moorhead, Duluth, Brainerd and Bemidji. The Rochester stop fizzled even though they planned on heavy union participation in Rochester.
That afternoon, St. Cloud got word that Rochester had fizzled. When Gov. Dayton appeared at Apollo High School, Steve Gottwalt stole the show, telling Gov. Dayton that they could resolve the budget impasse by getting Dayton's administration out of St. Paul and bringing Gov. Dayton's number crunchers to St. Cloud. After the Apollo meeting, it was announced that the rest of Gov. Dayton's trips were canceled. A week later, the special session was held. The shutdown ended.
Last year, Gov. Dayton tried the same gambit. He did his utmost to portray Republicans as heartless politicians who don't care about people. Gov. Dayton insisted on funding Universal Pre-K. Rather than caving, Speaker Daudt met with Dr. Art Rolnick. During the regular session, Dr. Rolnick said that universal Pre-K wasn't the way to go :
Also, interestingly enough, early education advocates throughout the state, including myself, a person like Art Rolnick, a person who has pushed early childhood learning to the head of our state, is saying that the Governor's plan to implement is wrong. We should be targeting resources to those kids most in need.
It wasn't until a month later that Gov. Dayton caved on universal Pre-K. Again, Gov. Dayton's top priority, the thing he wanted most of all, he didn't get it. Speaker Daudt made a fantastic policy statement, bringing in Dr. Rolnick and making the case against universal Pre-K.
This year, Gov. Dayton wants funding for SWLRT and a ton of additional spending. Gov. Dayton is again touring the state. Friday, he'll be at SCSU. I'll be there to cover the event. Thus far, the DFL playbook has been pretty much what it's always been, that Republicans don't care about the little guy, that they only look out for millionaires and billionaires and multi-national corporations. This week, the GOP turned the tables on Gov. Dayton. They had Ryan Visher, a store owner from Madelia, MN, explain how Gov. Dayton's veto of the Tax Bill will hurt him.
Predictably, the things that Gov. Dayton is pushing for aren't popular outside of the DFL. It's just a matter of time before everyone realizes that. Predictably, it'll take a little time before DFL legislators will tell him that his pressure ploy isn't working. Shortly after that, we'll get a special session largely on Speaker Daudt's terms.
Posted Friday, June 10, 2016 1:26 AM
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Miners vs. environmental activists
For years, Iron Range DFLers have fought the environmental activist wing of the DFL over mining. Simply put, the environmental activist wing has pretty much cleaned the Iron Range's clock on mining issues, at least at state conventions. This year wasn't any different in that the Iron Range is still treated like second-class citizens by the environmental activists. It's gotten so bad that defeating an anti-mining resolution is cause for celebration within the Iron Range community.
The Mesabi Daily News editorial notes "Iron Range DFLers and some of their union allies fought a good and successful fight on Saturday to block Resolution 54 that was a flat-out repudiation of mining in Minnesota. We applaud the work of Range legislators, local government and mining industry officials, and building trades representatives statewide who always have our backs. They all did a great job to beat back this resolution - at least for now."
Preventing bad things from happening is sometimes a victory. Still, it isn't a victory that improves the Iron Range economy. The Mesabi Daily News gets that:
But to have to keep waging this battle against strident and narrow-minded opponents of mining is simply outrageous. These are the same people who love their cell phones, computers, so-called green energy windmills that kill more birds than do hunters, vehicles with catalytic converters and medical devices that may someday make their lives bearable or perhaps even keep them alive.
Yet when you point out to them that the reason they have these everyday conveniences, and, in some cases luxuries, is because of copper, nickel, and precious metals that will be mined on the Range, they pretend you're invisible. And then when you add that if mined in China or Russia or in some other countries so blessed to have these minerals, the work will be done by child labor or workers making dirt-poor wages, they get a glazed-over look.
The newspaper then notes something truly monumental:
This is what Range legislators are up against each and every day in St. Paul within their own political party. This is no longer the party of Hubert Humphrey - a giant of a man who fought for workers throughout the state, including on the Iron Range.
He was a man who understood the importance of mining and agriculture to the state and the DFL Party. And he applied common sense to mining and farm issues. Farmers and others who are in agriculture-related business are now also often under fire by DFL extreme environmental activists who lob salvo after political salvo at the Iron Range and its mining interests and workers.
At the 2014 DFL State Convention in Duluth, DFL Party Chair Ken Martin fought hard to prevent a resolution from being debated . That resolution would've said that "The DFL supports mining." It was considered too controversial.
Imagine how this would fly in today's DFL:
He'd be run out of today's DFL.
It's long past time for the Range to flip. The environmental activist wing of the DFL isn't changing anytime soon. They are who they are, which is a collection of ideologically blinded idiots who won't listen to logic. Expecting the environmental activist wing of the DFL to change is like hoping Donald Trump will suddenly not be the thin-skinned jerk that he is. The environmental activist wing of the DFL will change the day I see Lucifer handing out skates.
Posted Friday, June 10, 2016 8:11 AM
Comment 1 by Bob J. at 10-Jun-16 12:43 PM
I tell people that today Hubert Humphrey would be considered a moderate Republican and their blood pressure sprays out their ears.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 10-Jun-16 02:02 PM
The important thing that I took out of that editorial is that it isn't just conservative outsiders saying that the DFL is hurting the Iron Range. It's influential Iron Rangers saying that.
Comment 2 by Bob J. at 10-Jun-16 03:52 PM
It is, but I've spent a lot of time on the Range over the years. The fact of the matter, as you correctly point out, is that nothing ever changes there, and that's been the case since the place was first inhabited.
Someone like Carly Melin can get elected for no other reason than the "DFL" by her name and those people still have to claw and scratch for everything they get from their "party" (sort of like conservatives in the Republican Party). The Republicans can run a candidate who says he'll throw out the environmental lobby on its ear and the Rangers will STILL vote for the D.
DFL accusations vs. reality
The DFL, especially Rep. Thissen, has been whining about how dysfunctional the House GOP is. The DFL's criticism is based on a myth but that doesn't mean they won't keep lying to regain complete control of Minnesota state government. In fact, the only thing that the DFL cares about is raw political power. Another myth is that the DFL cares about 'the little guy.' That's BS. I'll let Harold Hamilton explain why it's BS.
This morning, Hamilton wrote "Tell your friends, neighbors, family and co-workers the truth about the tax bill that was vetoed. That bill was a conference report, jointly authored and unanimously passed by a House-Senate conference committee." Later, Hamilton noted that the conference committee was comprised of "Sen. Rod Skoe (DFL - Clearbrook) - Senate Tax Committee Chairman, Sen. Paul Gazelka (R - Nisswa),
Sen. Ann Rest (DFL - New Hope), Sen. Lyle Koenen (DFL - Clara City), Sen. Kari Dziedzic (DFL - Minneapolis), Rep. Greg Davids (R - Preston) - House Tax Committee Chairman, Rep. Steve Drazkowski (R - Mazeppa), Rep. Bob Barrett (R - Lindstrom), Rep. Chris Swedzinski (R - Ghent) and Rep. Gene Pelowski (DFL - Winona)."
Hamilton then noted that "the conferees assembled a bill that passed the full House by a vote of 123-10."
House Minority Leader Paul Thissen has been leading the chorus against the bill, now that it has been vetoed.
Let the record reflect that the following DFL members of the House voted for the conference report: Allen, Anzelc, Applebaum, Atkins, Bernardy, Bly, Carlson, Clark, Considine, Davnie, Dehn, Ecklund, Erhardt, Fischer, Flanagan, Halverson, Hausman, Hilstrom, Hortman, Isaacson, Johnson C., Kahn, Laine, Lein, Lillie, Loeffler, Mahoney, Mariani, Marquart, Masin, Melin, Metsa, Moran, Mullery, Murphy M., Nelson, Newton, Norton, Pelowski, Persell, Poppe, Rosenthal, Schoen, Schultz, Wagenius, Ward, Yarusso, Yuakim.
In fact, only 9 House Democrats voted "no."
Let's dispel this myth that Republicans are hard-headed ideologues. The Tax Bill passed 123-10 in the House and 55-12 in the Senate. That's 178 legislators voting for the supposedly deeply flawed bill vs. 22 legislators voting against the deeply flawed bill.
Gov. Dayton insists that the GOP must make more bipartisan gestures. With all due respect, Gov. Dayton, that's BS. Any bill that was put together by a conference committee composed of equal numbers of DFL legislators and GOP legislators is necessarily bipartisan. Additionally, any bill that passes with 89% of legislators is necessarily bipartisan.
Next, let's examine the Capital Improvement Bill that passed the House. It passed 91-39. It passed with 70% of the vote:
Democrats who voted in favor of the bill:
Anzelc, Bly, Carlson, Clark, Dehn, Ecklund, Erhardt, Fischer, Frieberg, Hausman, Isaacson, Johnson C., Johnson S., Kahn, Lien, Lillie, Mahoney, Mariani, Marquart, Masin, Melin, Metsa, Moran, Murphy M., Newton, Pelowski, Pinto, Poppe, Rosenthal, Sundin, Yarusso.
It's too much to think that the DFL will relent. That isn't happening. They'll continue their lies through Election Day. The next best remedy to the DFL's dishonesty is to continually call them out as dishonest power-mongers.
Posted Friday, June 10, 2016 10:32 AM
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DFL dog whistle foolishness
Predictably, the DFL is faking outrage over Chairman Cornish's op-ed . Rep. Cornish is the chairman of the House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee. Predictably, the NAACP heard a loud dog whistle when they read Chairman Cornish's op-ed.
There's nothing in Chairman Cornish's op-ed that's controversial to people with common sense. For instance, a bit of advice from is "Don't be a thug and lead a life of crime so that you come into frequent contact with police."
Nekima Levy-Pounds wasn't the only person who threw a hissy fit over the word thug. Rachel Wannarka and Jason Sole threw hissy fits, too, writing "On June 8, an offensive letter by state Rep. Tony Cornish, a former law enforcement officer, appeared in the Star Tribune. The letter, headlined 'Really, this isn't complicated,' purportedly aimed at helping 'reduce the use of force by police,' but in reality blaming the victims of police brutality using racially coded rhetoric such as 'Don't be a thug' and non sequiturs such as 'Don't hang out on the street after 2 a.m."
This isn't surprising. In fact, it's predictable considering the fact that "Rachel Wannarka is a member of the Minneapolis NAACP Criminal Justice Reform Task Force and a special education teacher at Boys Totem Town in St. Paul. Jason Sole teaches criminal justice at Hamline and Metropolitan State universities and is chair of the task force."
Here's the text of Chairman Cornish's letter:
For the record, here's what Ms. Levy-Pounds said in reacting to Chairman Cornish's op-ed:
As an elected official in this state, Tony Cornish had a prime opportunity to demonstrate positive leadership on matters of race and policing. Instead, his divisive rhetoric showed disdain for the African-American community and the serious concerns surrounding the inequitable treatment and racial profiling we often face at the hands of law enforcement. His comments are also a distraction from the real issues related to the need for an overhaul of our system of policing.
The rhetoric used by Levy-Pounds was almost as incendiary as the rhetoric used by Wannarka and Sole:
Cornish seeks to place the full blame for police brutality on those being victimized.
Chairman Cornish wrote "Don't be a thug and lead a life of crime so that you come into frequent contact with police." Wannarka and Sole insist that that meant Chairman Cornish sought to "place the full blame for police brutality on those being victimized." To people with a grasp of reality, it sounds like common sense.
Next, Cornish said "Don't rob people, don't use or sell drugs, and don't beat up your significant other." Next, Cornish said "Don't hang out on the street after 2 a.m. Go home." After that, Cornish said "Don't make furtive movements or keep your hands in your pockets if told to take them out." Finally, there's this:
Don't flap your jaws when the police arrive. Don't disobey the requests of the police at the time. If you think you are wrongfully treated, make the complaint later.
That last bit of advice is important. "If you think you are wrongfully treated, make the complaint later" is great advice because it shows restraint. If there is wrongdoing on the police's behalf, the right time to deal with it is after the situation is defused.
We should start calling the NAACP 'Team Dog Whistle.' Let me hear your opinions.
Posted Friday, June 10, 2016 1:55 PM
Comment 1 by Bob J. at 10-Jun-16 03:55 PM
Tony Cornish is a hero for a lot of reasons. This just adds to the list.
For an attorney, Nekima Levy-Pounds understands neither the system nor police work. She does, however, understand the politics of racial division full well.
And it's funny ... Cornish wasn't the one who used "thug" in a racial context. It took Levy-Pounds to do that. Now you tell me, who's the racist?
Comment 2 by Chad Q at 10-Jun-16 06:27 PM
Sometimes the truth hurts. Ms. Pounds is an embarrassment to the black "community" and to Minnesota as a whole.
Also, funny how the rappers embraced the term thug, even to go as far as have Thug Life tattooed on them.
Comment 3 by eric z at 12-Jun-16 08:20 AM
Tony Cornish will be reelected in his district.
That proves zippo.
Were he running state-wide, I'd bet against his being elected. He plays to his audience.
In fact, do you suppose Cornish has state-wide ambition?
Cornish vs. Kiffmeyer in a GOP primary for a state-wide office, any state-wide office, would be a hoot.
Special interests own the DFL
There's an important question Minnesotans should ask themselves before they head to the polls this November. Should they vote for a political party that's owned by the special interests? If they don't want to vote for a political party that's owned by the special interests, then they can't vote for DFL candidates.
The child care unionization vote provides the perfect illustration of how much the DFL is owned by the special interests. On May 15, 2013, the Minnesota Senate debated the child care unionization bill for 17 hours . The bill passed 35-32, with 4 DFL senators joining all 28 Republicans in voting against the forced unionization legislation. Five days later, on May 20, 2013, the House passed the unionization bill 68-66 .
The DFL passed the bill despite a strong self-organized marathon lobbying effort by the in-home child care providers. When the DFL took up the debate in the House of Representatives, in-home child care providers were legion in the halls outside the House chamber. Repeatedly, these child care providers told the few DFL legislators who would listen that they'd reject unionization.
That didn't matter to the DFL. Mike Nelson, the DFL's point person on all things unions, argued for passage of the bill. The DFL passed the bill by the narrowest of margins, 68-66.
Rather than listen to the people, the DFL listened to the special interests. The bill passed. The DFL bragged about another legislative victory to go along with raising taxes and making historic investments in schools.
The DFL's victories were short-lived. Several of the taxes that they raised were repealed 9 months later. The "historic investments" in education were touted as a way to stop property tax increases. Less than a year later, school districts were raising property taxes to sustain their operating levies.
On March 1, 2016, in-home child care providers pounded the final nail in the DFL's forced unionization plans, defeating the organizing effort with 1,014 child care providers voting against unionization and 392 child care providers voting for unionization. In-home child care providers rejected unionization by a 72%-28% margin. That didn't surprise Jennifer Parrish:
We know that over the 10 years that we've been working on this that child-care providers are hands down overwhelmingly opposed to this. They were waiting by their mailboxes just so they could have an opportunity to vote no . Family child-care providers are small business owners. We set our own rates, we create our own working conditions, all the things that unions typically negotiate for, we determine for ourselves.
The DFL listened to the SEIU and AFSCME. Republicans listened to in-home child care providers. Remember that the next time you wonder which party to vote for.
Posted Saturday, June 11, 2016 5:41 AM
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