May 27-29, 2018
May 27 02:25 Dem overreach in California? May 27 16:44 Will Republicans break through in Minnesota this year? May 28 01:09 A Democrat with brains? Perhaps May 28 13:10 Are government schools now requiring proselytization? May 28 14:08 Three cheers for Addison Barnes May 28 15:09 Here comes a special session May 29 07:07 Democrats keep losing ground May 29 13:39 Legal eagles opinions needed May 29 20:51 DFL choosing sides on Range
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Dem overreach in California?
A month ago, the biggest stories coming out of California were the stories of cities and counties opting out of California's 'California Value Act' restrictions. This month, it's another example of Democrats' overreach on tax increases .
The article opens by saying "As a new poll found a majority of California voters want to repeal increases to the state's gas tax and vehicle fees, Gov. Jerry Brown has begun campaigning to preserve them, arguing the sacrifice is needed to fix long-neglected roads and bridges and improve mass transit. Repeal of the higher taxes and fees was supported by 51% of registered voters in the state, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times statewide poll."
In a state that's supposedly stridently liberal, it's difficult to picture polling results that support repeal of tax increases. That sounds positively Republican. This says it all:
The results bode well for a measure that Republican members of Congress hope to place on the November statewide ballot that could boost turnout of GOP voters by offering the chance to repeal the gas tax increase, said Bob Shrum, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC. "If it qualifies for the ballot it will be, I suspect, very hard to sustain it," Shrum said of the tax. "It's almost dead."
The more liberal California gets, it seems, the bigger the eventual backlash will be. When this explodes, it won't be pretty. Having Jerry Brown flapping his gums like this won't help:
"The test of America's strength is whether we defeat this stupid repeal measure, which is nothing more than a Republican stunt to get a few of their losers returned to Congress, and we're not going to let that happen," Brown told the transportation officials at Union Station in Los Angeles.
It's obvious Gov. Brown hasn't figured it out that his popularity is shrinking. If he keeps yapping, he'll save several Republican seats by himself. This graphic speaks volumes:
Posted Sunday, May 27, 2018 2:25 AM
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Will Republicans break through in Minnesota this year?
Minnesota came close to having unified Republican government in 2010, when Republicans swept into control of the State House and Senate while losing the governor's race in a recount. With Republicans controlling the Senate and not up for election in 2018, Republicans can focus on strengthening their majority in the Minnesota House and electing a Republican governor. The DFL is in real trouble in the legislature . According to the article, "the Democratic National Committee announced in May it would give a $100,000 grant to the Minnesota Democratic Farmer Labor party for outreach to rural voters."
That's pretty laughable. The DFL has been well-funded for years, with DFL trust fund babies (Think Alita Messenger) writing big checks to the DFL. The DFL shouldn't need outside help to connect with rural voters. I can save the DNC that $100,000. The problem isn't that the DFL hasn't reached out to rural Minnesota. It's that those DFLers are attached to a cancer originating from Minneapolis and St. Paul. The DFL won't like hearing this but it's the truth: The Republican Party of Minnesota is the new home to farmers, miners and construction workers .
Skipping the convention is a sign Pawlenty has trouble with the modern GOP, said David Turner, spokesman for the Democratic Governors Association, who compared the Minnesota contest to the 2017 Virginia governor's race - which was expected to be close but turned into a big victory for centrist Democrat Ralph Northam over moderate Republican Ed Gillespie.
"What we've seen in 2017 and 2018 is a high level of enthusiasm among Democratic voters," Turner told Fox News. "Pawlenty is eerily similar to Ed Gillespie in Virginia. Both had harshly criticized President Trump in the past and lobbied for Wall Street. Now, Pawlenty is coming back to Minnesota and - like Gillespie - doesn't know how to deal with the current Trump Republican party."
The chance to elect, for the first time in Minnesota history, a unified Republican Party government is all the motivation Republicans will need this fall. The opportunity to fix the problems Dayton created but didn't fix is great motivation. The opportunity to trash Minnesota's socialist economic policies will be a great motivator, too.
I'd be in denial if I said that there aren't some people who question Pawlenty. They definitely exist. That being said, he's a reliable chief executive who is light years more trustworthy than Gov. Bobblehead, aka Gov. Dayton. A Pawlenty-Daudt-Gazelka trio of leaders would be able to get lots of good things done.
As for the DFL gubernatorial candidates, each have serious flaws. The first test for a candidate is picking a running mate. Rebecca Otto failed that test by making an identity politics choice. The first thing a running mate has to be is capable of running the state if, God forbid, something happens to the governor.
Here's the opening sentence in the article:
DFL gubernatorial candidate Rebecca Otto has chosen Zarina Baber as her running mate, creating the possibility that if elected, Baber would be the first Muslim woman to hold statewide office in the United States .
Picking a nobody with no government experience is foolish. It's impossible to take this pick as serious. This is purely an identity politics pick.
As for Tim Walz, his biggest flaws are that he's got the worst of both worlds. He really isn't a Twin Cities kind of guy but he doesn't fit well with rural Minnesota, either. He once represented rural Minnesota but he lost that by playing politics with the NRA. When he pandered after Parkland, people saw that his values are 'flexible'. That won't fly during the age of Trump.
Erin Murphy's biggest flaw is her being a true believer. She's a single-payer advocate :
I am a supporter of single-payer and a co-author on John Marty's Minnesota Health Plan. A full single-payer solution isn't possible without federal participation, but we can build the infrastructure here in Minnesota and lead the nation.
Single-payer health care will never be the law of the land. This is totally foolish. If she wants to play to her base to win the endorsement, that's fine. She'd better know, though, that it'll cost her bigtime in the general election.
As for the Republicans' majority in the House, the DFL can forget about flipping it. They voted for creating the hated buffer strips that are costing farmers tons of money. The DFL sat silent about the rebuild of the Line 3 Pipeline, which would've helped stabilize, if not decrease farmers' property taxes. The DFL voted against the Republicans' tax cuts in 2017, which has limited farmers' property taxes.
It isn't a matter of outreach. It's a matter of voting for terrible policies. No amount of outreach will make amends for terrible policies.
Posted Sunday, May 27, 2018 4:44 PM
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A Democrat with brains? Perhaps
Way at the bottom of this article is a quote from a Democrat who appears to have a clue. I didn't know they existed but former State Sen. Dwight Bullard might just have a clue. I say that because he said "If you're assuming this election cycle (that) everyone who's anti-Trump is just rolling out voraciously and voting for anyone with a 'D' next to their name, that may not be the case. What we're finding is people are more apt to vote for something than against something."
Though Democrats keep pushing their resistance movement that's against Trump all the time, voters are looking for politicians who will improve their lives. That isn't the product that Democrats are pushing. The good news for Florida Republicans is that consultants like Matt Isbell "echoes most pundits in touting the inherent advantage of Democratic candidates running for Congress in a year when public support of Trump remains underwater in Florida and nationally. 'So even if you think that Nelson is weaker than Scott on the campaign front, unless it's complete incompetence versus a master stroke campaign, Scott's at a disadvantage because of the national mood,' he said."
First, assuming that 2018 will be a tough year for Republicans is foolish. There was proof of that. To steal a joke from Greg Gutfeld's show last night, "Like a 5-gallon tub of ice cream in Michael Moore's bed, the Democrats' midterm lead is disappearing fast." As the economy strengthens and President Trump looks more like the skilled negotiator that he is, the more optimistic the nation is. It's virtually impossible to have a wave election when everyone's happy. The only time it's happened is 1984, when President Reagan won 49 states and 525 electoral votes.
Further, this article highlights the potential for trouble that's facing Democrats:
Millennials are bailing on Democrats. According to an April 30 Reuters/Ipsos study, just 46 percent of registered voters aged 18 to 34 support the Democrats, down 9 points since the 2016 election. "Millennials have always been a core constituency for the [Democratic] party, and slipping numbers could spell disaster to their 2018 hopes, especially in the tight races they need to flip the House," Reuters's Chris Khan wrote. "And they increasingly say the Republican Party is a better steward of the economy."
If millennials are bailing on Democrats, while it isn't catastrophic in Florida, that's terrible news for Democrats. Another thing that's true is that people love voting for winner. If Republicans are leading in a bunch of important Senate races, that might start a mini-avalanche of additional wins for the GOP.
Let's hope that Bill Nelson assumes that this is a tough year for Republicans. It'll just be that much sweeter when DC pundits sit there on election night wondering what the hell happened.
Posted Monday, May 28, 2018 1:09 AM
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Are government schools now requiring proselytization?
Written by Rambling Rose
A religion of peace? That is often the claim from the Left. They add that God and Allah are the same person and the religions are compatible: the same. Not at all! Attentive parents are finding out that such claims are taught in their school's curriculum. Occasionally, media reports acknowledge schools where young people are forced to participate in Muslim practices as a means of promoting acceptance and understanding while banning the Bible from those same schools. Indoctrination and proselytizing in public, taxpayer-funded schools. It must stop!
Let's visit such a school in West Virginia. After reading what is happening there, check with your own children's/grandchildren's/neighborhood children's schools. It is certainly more widespread than just one school. There are instances of similar reports coming from other schools - just not being reported by the PC media.
Rich Penkoski, the father of a middle schooler at the Mountain Ridge Middle School in West Virginia, exposed a sinister indoctrination program of conversion to Islam. His daughter shared with him an assignment from her teacher to write the shahada, a faith declaration, declaring "there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger." This assignment invoked fear in the father who knew that a shahada makes one a Muslim and any attempt to later contradict this claim is punishable by death as an apostate.
The teacher alleged that it was a calligraphy task, claiming that calligraphy was the script of the Muslims. The father knew that calligraphy was invented by the Chinese some 3000 years prior to the 'existence' of Mohammed.
When confronted by Mr. Penkoski, the teacher, Miss Hinson, and the principal, Dr. Branch, claimed that the assignment was optional. That contradicts the understanding by his daughter of the assignment who heard the teacher instruct the class that the work had to be completed or face disciplinary consequences.
Even worse were the reactions from his daughter's classmates who threatened to send 'friends' his house to kill him, rip out his organs, and mutilate his body. Other classmates threatened to kill his wife and to hang his younger children and to kidnap his middle school daughter. Apparently, some of the students had already reached the decision to practice the "religion of peace." Contrary to the claims from the Left, the Quran is explicit in its punishment against anyone who speaks negatively against its beliefs albeit in this country or in Sharia regimes. Mr. Penkoski and his family became their targets.
The packet for the middle school social studies class contained a detailed history of Islam, the prophet Muhammad and the five pillars of the religion, as well as the 'calligraphy' assignment. In the same class, the students also completed a packet on Christianity but that was not detailed. There was nothing in Hebrew in the assignments on Judaism. Hinduism and Buddhism were also a part of the unit. The teacher claimed that unit was a study of world religions but was not promoting any specific religion.
The principal asserted that ": each religion has received 'equitable treatment' throughout the world religions unit." That was not the observation made by Mr. Penkoski's daughter, who was in the class. She recalled that in the lessons on Christianity and Judaism, they had seen the start of two videos, learned a bit about Moses and the Ten Commandments, that the Israelites were persecuted by the Romans, and were told about the Jews and a little bit about Jesus.
Mr. Penkoski found the full version of the packets online (prepared by Teacher Created Resources Inc.) and contends that sections related to the Bible and the faith aspects of Christianity had been removed from the packet given to his daughter . "They cross the line with Islam because they went from the secular aspect of it to the faith aspect of it," he continued. "Let's be honest, if they had come home with the Lord's Prayer, we would have atheists suing all over the place."
It's quite clear that public schools are including proselytizing for Islam in their curriculum. Is that a strategy to convert our children in the quest for worldwide domination?
It's important that parents engage their students in conversations about their classes and examine the content of their homework assignments. This is not the first time that this father has confronted this school about their PC curriculum. Ms. Coffin showed a video about suicide prevention in her music class . That alone is a juxtaposed logic in curriculum: the theme would seem more appropriate in a health education class. It was a musical video about two male students, one an African-American gay, in bed together. A sex toy was shown in another scene. The teacher instructed the class NOT to share this "class activity' with their parents. In response to queries from the parent and the principal, the teacher claimed that the students wanted her to show the video and that she had NEVER instructed them to keep the information from the parents.
Society bemoans the loss of teachers from education, but this behavior, if mandated or even tolerated by administrators, will drive real experts of academic programs from the classroom. They cannot condone such practices in good conscience. This is not the reason that teachers become teachers. This is an example of community activists invading the schools and corrupting the innocent minds of the next generation.
God helps us all!!
Posted Monday, May 28, 2018 1:10 PM
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Three cheers for Addison Barnes
Written by Rambling Rose
The Left calls foul and proves how intolerant they are when the person they attack is not silenced and does not cower in their presence. Last January, senior Addison Barnes at Liberty High School in Hillsboro, OR, entered his first-period "People and Politics" class wearing a T-shirt. The only problem was that his T-shirt was not PC. He displayed a statement from President Trump's campaign. He knew that he was "making a statement" but assumed that it was covered by the school's policies on the right of students' free speech and the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
"Specifically, the words on the shirt read: 'Donald J. Trump Border Wall Construction Co.,' with 'The Wall Just Got 10 Feet Taller' in quotes."
He was wrong. During the class, Assistant Principal Amanda Ryan-Fear removed him from class and ordered him to cover his shirt. She stated that the teacher and at least one other student had been offended by his shirt during a discussion on immigration. He complied and returned to class. However, he realized that he had a right, protected by the First Amendment and his own school's policies, to state his own opinion so he uncovered his shirt.
Later that same hour, the assistant principal returned to his class and saw his shirt. She ordered a security guard to remove Barnes. She reminded him that his shirt offended others and gave him the choice to cover the shirt or to go home for the day. Barnes went home. [Editor's note: I would have said 'None of the above', then asked the assistant principal if she'd prefer I be allowed to wear the shirt or fight a civil rights lawsuit that she'd lose badly.]
The following Monday, Addison Barnes and his father met with Principal Greg Timmons. They learned that his absence had become a suspension and that the teacher and student had also changed their claim - they felt "threatened." The suspension was rescinded, but Barnes was told that he would be suspended again if he ever wore that shirt in the school.
He obeyed the directive until April when he was interviewed by another student for a documentary on the First Amendment. That student was ordered to obscure or blur the shirt before uploading the segment to the school's online learning platform.
Mr. Barnes sued the school, the district and Principal Timmons for denying him his First Amendment right. His actions were silent and passive, reflected the theme of the day's discussion in January and the topic of the interview in April. No violence or disturbance were caused by Barnes; only the teacher, a fellow student and the administrators were disruptive in protesting his rights. The charge also addresses the "selective" discrimination by allowing other offensive statements reflecting the favored stance of the welcoming Sanctuary City to be displaced in posters in classrooms for the entire school year. Mr. Barnes and others found those posters offensive but recognized that they were protected by the First Amendment and said nothing.
"The suit seeks a declaratory judgment stating that the school violated Barnes First Amendment rights and a permanent injunction against the school enforcing its guidelines in a similar manner, so the teen can again wear the shirt to school. Unspecified damages, court costs and attorney fees are also sought." It was filed on May 18, 2018.
In the words of one of his lawyers, "The high school, ironically named Liberty High School, had violated his free-speech rights. He was told he offended them but that's a far cry from being disruptive, and it is certainly a far cry from violating school policy, let alone what is clearly First Amendment free-speech law."
Even the ACLU had to defend Barnes' right to free speech, although they did so reluctantly. "It is disappointing that Liberty High School decided to censor the student instead of inviting the student body to discuss immigration, the freedom of speech, and the impacts of xenophobic rhetoric. Schools have a responsibility to teach our youth how to engage in thoughtful conversations about difficult and potentially offensive subject matters. Censorship doesn't work and often just elevates the subject the government is trying to silence."
While the Liberty High School's Parent-Student Handbook does not address political clothing directly, the Standards of Student Conduct do prohibit "illustration, words or phrases" that are or could be disruptive and/or that promote one group over another. There was no disruption in the class or the interview and the T-shirt reflected the topics under discussion - immigration and the First Amendment. It does not appear that Mr. Barnes committed any violation. [Editor's note, part II: If possible, the judge should prohibit Liberty HS from posting rules that infringe upon a person's right to speak their mind. Final note: The First Amendment guarantees the right of people to say offensive things. It doesn't, however, give people the right to say things that cause people to injure people.]
One can only hope that justice will be served, but that is not always the case when judges make law from the bench rather than interpret the laws of the land.
Thanks and stay strong, Addison Barnes.
Posted Monday, May 28, 2018 2:08 PM
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Here comes a special session
If Gov. Dayton is smart, something that's still open to debate, he'll quickly call a special session. Looking at these poll results might not convince Gov. Dayton but they're scaring the daylights out of DFL legislative candidates.
According to the article, "Out of 354 total respondents, 221, more than 62 percent, did not agree with the governor's decision to veto the tax bill last Wednesday. Another 133 voters supported Dayton's veto." If Gov. Dayton wants DFL candidates explaining why Gov. Dayton vetoed a pretty good bill the rest of the summer, Gov. Dayton doesn't have to do a thing. If he wants to give the DFL a slim chance of flipping the Minnesota House, though, he's got to agree to sign the Republicans' tax conformity bill.
At this point, though, the DFL is already fighting an uphill fight. In 2016, House Republicans won by pretty significant margins . That's during a cycle that typically favors the DFL. Good luck flipping the House during the midterms, when turnout typically favors Republicans.
Many commenters took issue with what they see as Dayton's inability to compromise this session, while others thought it was unfair of Republicans to pass major legislation in the last days of session and expect Dayton to accept everything.
It's impossible for Republicans to "strike a deal" when the governor doesn't even show up for work. This year, if I was running the GOP campaigns, I'd highlight the DFL's partisanship on big bills, then I'd highlight how Gov. Dayton wasn't willing to compromise. This is something I'd definitely highlight:
Two weeks ago, Dayton's office publicly released a list of 117 issues the governor didn't want in the budget and tax bills. Republican lawmakers eliminated more than half of those measures, but Dayton told the Legislature he would veto any bill that contained any of those issues.
Republicans eliminated almost 70% of those issues, including all of Gov. Dayton's most objectionable provisions. Gov. Dayton still vetoed it, saying he's demanding that all of those provisions eliminated. He's Minnesota's governor. He isn't Minnesota's emperor.
If Gov. Dayton thought that he'd set the DFL up for a big electoral victory by vetoing these bills, then he's foolish. This fired up the GOP base. It also pissed off a ton of entrepreneurs who are facing a tax increase and complicated tax forms. Those entrepreneurs aren't likely to vote DFL. They aren't likely to sit this election out, either.
That special session better happen fast and the DFL better pray that voters forget how Gov. Dayton and the DFL tried shafting them with higher taxes.
Posted Monday, May 28, 2018 3:09 PM
Comment 1 by Rex Newman at 28-May-18 08:15 PM
I was surprised to see Governor Dayton at annual Fort Snelling ceremony this morning. He wasn't listed in the program, maybe not sure how he would be received. Crowd gave him the same polite applause as Rep. Walz and acting Sen. Smith, all three reciting 'Readers Digest' quotes. Sen. Klobuchar attends every year, and takes the time to prepare, seldom any politics, which is why she again was the crowd favorite.
But let's see if he dares to appear at the DFL booth at the State Fair.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 28-May-18 09:10 PM
I'm betting that Ken Martin would tackle him before he'd let Gov. Dayton appear at the DFL booth. Something tells me that there'll be a message sent that he's spending time away from the booth so the DFL candidate will emerge from Gov. Dayton's shadow. LOL
Comment 2 by Chad Q at 29-May-18 05:18 PM
What's even more surprising is that there's only 62% of people who disagree with his veto. I knew we had some hardcore lefties in this state but when a tax bill that will affect everyone in the state is vetoed for no good reason other than a spoiled brat didn't get everything he wanted at the 11th hour, we have a problem.
Democrats keep losing ground
Doug Schoen's op-ed in the Hill explains why Democrats just can't win for losing. In his op-ed, Schoen wrote "Despite this, the Republicans steadily made ground in the six months leading up to the 1994 midterm elections, all the while promoting their set of alternative policies , famously titled the 'Contract with America,' and eventually winning the actual vote by 7 points nationally. Thus, while the minority party would suffer setbacks and trail in the generic ballot from time to time, a persuasive plan for governing, focused on detailed and moderate policy ideas, compelled voters to flip the House by a landslide."
After Trump's victory, the Democrats were so upset that they started "The Resistance." The end result of the Resistance is the Democrats' inability to agree with President Trump on anything . When President Trump says that the sun rises in the east, Democrats feel compelled to say something like 'Trump isn't an expert. He should consult with a scientist.' The point is that sometimes they'll just say he's wrong, sometimes they'll just question him.
At no time have they offered fresh ideas.
Next, Schoen highlighted the Republicans' strategy in 2010:
Once again, it is important to point out that the Republicans were only as successful as they were in 2010, flipping 63 seats, because they presented a compelling and effective alternative to Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic leadership at that time. The Republicans clearly articulated to voters what they intended to accomplish.
Instead of offering fresh ideas, Democrats are left to this pandering:
[Video no longer available]
Teacher pay might or might not be enough. What's certain is that the ratio of administrators to teachers keeps increasing. At the rate that ratio keeps increasing, administrators will outnumber faculty within the next few years. With so many federal regulations in place, the administrators are required to administer each program.
If Democrats wanted to raise teacher pay and provide better learning experiences, they'd offer reforms rather than pander to the special interests. If Democrats broke free of these special interests, they might actually offer a compelling solution, which would help them win voters' trust. Because they won't (and haven't) done that, everyone loses.
The reason why tax cuts are popular is because people are tired of feeling like ATMs. Each week, people feel like the Democrats' special interest groups have thought of another way to spend our money. The people have noticed that the Democrats' special interest groups haven't thought of ways to save money or make things better.
The GOP has its faults but it'll never be accused of not coming up with fresh ideas. That's why Republicans are well-positioned to buck history this year.
UPDATE: Jeff at LidBlog has a great post on the disappearing blue wave that's today's must-read. Jeff's advice is the right advice at the moment:
While the political news is good for the GOP, now is the time for us to be increasing our efforts at turning out conservative voters and making sure our message of personal and economic freedom is getting out to the average, middle-of-the-road voter. Encourage your fellow conservatives to be more active in their work, and to be reminding their friends and families about the importance of staying involved and voting for suitable candidates. Let's not allow the Democrats to slow down our string of economic, political, and foreign policy victories: get out there and make sure that Republicans hold on to the House and maybe even grow their lead in the Senate!I have 1 slight quibble with Jeff. If GOP activists do their job, we'll definitely expand the GOP majority in the Senate. Finally, it's worth noting that the RNC has invested a ton of $$$ in GOTV infrastructure. It isn't the sexiest topic with journalists -- until it produces great results.
Posted Tuesday, May 29, 2018 8:00 AM
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Legal eagles opinions needed
After reading Scott Johnson's post , a contrarian thought popped into my head. In his post, Scott quoted Andrew McCarthy as saying that the "Obama administration decided to use its counterintelligence powers to spy on the Trump campaign, using at least one covert informant, electronic monitoring of communications, and other intelligence-gathering tactics." He then quoted McCarthy as saying "It ignored the norm against deploying such tactics against political opponents, not based on evidence of a Trump-Russia criminal conspiracy, but on speculation about the Trump campaign's Russia contacts and Russia sympathies. Speculation by a government, an administration, and a Democratic-party nominee with their own abysmal histories of Russia contacts and Russia sympathies."
Anyone that's paid a minute of attention to this case knows that the Clinton Slush Fund, aka the Clinton Foundation, had ties to some nasty Russian companies and oligarchs. My question for the legal eagles and people from the intelligence community is whether it's plausible to think that the Obama administration used its intelligence capabilities to find out if Trump had discovered a connection between the Clinton Foundation and the Russian government or Russian oligarchs close to the Kremlin.
Posted Tuesday, May 29, 2018 1:39 PM
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DFL choosing sides on Range
This LTE highlights what I think is a Range war. It starts by saying "I got a big chuckle out of comments by Governor Mark Dayton (MDN 5/13) 'Everyone on the Range should know: the state government is on your side.' In fact, I still can't stop laughing! His comments remind me of the old adage 'The Three Biggest Lies: the check is in the mail, of course I'll still respect you in the morning and I'm from the government...I'm here to help you.'"
One thing comes through clearly in that opening: Rangers don't trust Gov. Dayton. That should frighten whoever becomes the DFL gubernatorial candidate. Tim Walz's Lt. Gov. pick is a wild-eyed environmentalist. That's before considering the fact that Walz was a longtime NRA member who just threw that record overboard to win the endorsement. While she was part of the Executive Council, Rebecca Otto voted against approving a series of exploratory mining leases, then sent out a fundraising letter bragging that she'd stood up to big mining corporations. Finally, Erin Murphy is an unknown quantity in terms of mining policy but who is the most progressive of the 3 DFL finalists. Why would a Ranger trust her on mining issues?
Mark Dayton is a poor little rich kid from Minneapolis whose fortune is invested in trust in South Dakota to escape Minnesota taxes. He is personally and ideologically aligned with the environmental wacko movement and his heart and soul is not with us on the Range.
Dayton will do what he thinks the Range needs, not what the Range knows it needs.
The DFL has literally run the Range into the ground for decades. That isn't hyperbole. When confronted with the Range's high unemployment years ago, IRRRB Chairman Tony Sertich said (sorry, I'm paraphrasing here) that that's been that way for years. The statistics verify that.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: The Republican Party is the new home for construction workers, farmers and miners. The DFL doesn't understand blue collar workers any more. The DFL has fought and is fighting against new pipeline construction (Sandpiper) or old pipeline (Line 3) replacement.
The DFL has shut its doors to blue collar workers. Their policies haven't helped the Range in decades. Literally.
Posted Tuesday, May 29, 2018 8:51 PM
Comment 1 by Chad Q at 30-May-18 05:11 PM
I guess we'll see how sick of the DFL the Range really is this election cycle. We've heard for years the want change yet they keep voting in the same democrats who got them to where they are now.
