Sago » Entries tagged with "MNGOP"
Liveblogging the RPM State Convention
9:13 — The convention is now open. 9:19 — Media present thus far are David Pundt of KLKS from Brainerd, Tom Scheck from MPR & Ed Morrissey of HotAir. 9:30 — St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis addressing the delegation. Prior, Rep. King Banaian of St. Cloud led the Pledge of Allegiance. 9:35 — Sarah Anderson, Kurt Daudt named temp chairs of the Convention. 9:59 — Kessler, Rachel Stassen-Berger is in the hall. 10:15 — Credentials report now in the books. 10:50 — Harry Niska now addressing the Convention about rules. 10:52 — Jerry Ewing from Platform Committee: the rules were followed from precinct caucuses to county/SD conventions to CD conventions. Oppose the amendment to allow new items to be added to the platform. 10:55 — Amendment is defeated. Authored By Gary Gross Let Freedom Ring Blog … Read entire article »
Filed under: Raw
MEDIA ALERT: Live coverage of the Republicans’ State Convention
Check back to this blog & Examiner.com this weekend to get updates from the Republican State Convention. Authored By Gary Gross Let Freedom Ring Blog … Read entire article »
Filed under: Raw
Gov. Dayton, what about the miners?
Earlier this week, Gov. Dayton joined DFL lawmakers in Duluth to pretend that building a new Vikings stadium was all that was needed for a great Minnesota economy: “Thousands of people are going to be working on that stadium, and on the transit center in Duluth. Those aren’t just words, those are real jobs,” Dayton said, referring to $6 million included in the state bonding construction bill for the $27 million downtown transit hub supporters say will link bus, taxi and train passengers with hikers and bikers. Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, said Republicans seemed content the past two years with passing little or no legislation to create jobs or move the state forward. “We saved the Republicans from what would have been the largest do-nothing session in state history,” Bakk said, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Raw
Which Minnesota do the people want?
One of the few things that I’ve ever agreed with Chris Matthews about was his questioning GOP presidential candidates in 2000 what type of America they wanted to live in. It’s a great question which is scalable to state and local levels, too. The DFL’s special interest allies started their barrage of lies against the GOP legislature by accusing the GOP legislature of being a do-nothing legislature. Those attacks took another hit thanks to Mark Sommerhauser’s article: Rep. King Banaian, R-St. Cloud, sponsored a provision included in a broader colleges and universities act, which he says should help students shop for textbooks. The provision requires the price of textbooks and other key information be posted online with a college or university course schedule, and requires that information be available to students longer … Read entire article »
Filed under: Raw
Gov. Dayton vetoes another jobs bill
Gov. Dayton is learning quick how to veto job-creating bills. MNGOP Chairman Pat Shortridge issued this statement after Gov. Dayton vetoed another job-creating bill: “Governor Dayton had a one track mind this legislative session, the Vikings Stadium, and in the process, he let several great opportunities slip by. The bipartisan tax bill that Governor Dayton vetoed today would have helped our state’s economy grow and put our people back to work. Unfortunately, it joined other common sense items, like the end of the Last In First Out policy that governs teacher employment decisions, paying back the school shift, tort reform legislation and several other key jobs bills, in the Governor’s veto pile. Governor Dayton should have been a little less obsessed with building the Vikings a stadium and a little more concerned with … Read entire article »
Filed under: Raw
A Better Legislature: Already misleading Minnesota
Minutes after the legislature recessed, a new progressive organization joined in misleading Minnesotans. The people writing ads for A Better Legislature made it clear that they share ABM’s disdain for telling the whole truth. If history was written based solely on their first video, you’d think that nothing positive got accomplished during the 2011-12 legislative sessions. ABL didn’t waste time before ignoring the GOP legislature’s positive pro-jobs and pro-taxpayer accomplishments. If we based our votes on who accomplished and/or proposed positive things this session, the decision would be over within minutes. The DFL refused to propose a budget. The DFL didn’t put a set of redistricting maps together. Sen. Bakk and Rep. Thissen wanted a government shutdown because they thaught they could force Republicans into a tax increase during a special session. Another … Read entire article »
Filed under: Raw
Session highs and lows
Thursday night, the Minnesota legislature adjourned sine die. Now that the 87th Session of the Minnesota Legislature is history, it’s time to take a look back at the highs and lows of this legislative session. King Banaian’s HF2 legislation will have a substantial impact on the structure of state government. That’s long forgotten because it was passed during the special session that ended the state government shutdown. Dan Fabian’s HF1 legislation was one of the first bills signed into law in 2011. Its impact will be felt for years to come. In fact, the impact is already being felt. It’s a shame that this legislative session’s highlights are the historic state government shutdown and passing the Vikings stadium bill. The bill that Gov. Dayton signed into law in mid-July, 2011 was the bill … Read entire article »
Filed under: Page Two
Paul Thissen, House Minority Spin Leader
When Gov. Dayton vetoed the GOP tax reform bill, he vetoed a bill that would’ve created lots of jobs. He then had another hissy fit about the rich not paying their fair share and how the middle class is getting shafted, blah, blah, blah. House Minority Leader Paul Thissen quickly issued this statement: In this tax bill[,] Republicans made it crystal clear that corporations and big businesses are their top priority. But cutting taxes for corporations and big businesses while ignoring homeowners, seniors and farmers is the wrong priority. Governor Dayton made the right choice for Minnesota’s future by vetoing it. Republicans are simply out of touch with middle class Minnesotans, seniors and farmers. Last year they squeezed Minnesotans with higher property taxes when they eliminated the Homestead Credit while protecting corporate special … Read entire article »
Filed under: Page Two
Spoken like a true socialist, Part II
Saturday, I wrote this post to highlight Sen. Anderson’s statements about how tax cuts don’t create jobs. Here’s what Sen. Anderson said early in the roundtable: The Governor was clear from the beginning that he wasn’t going to support this proposal. He wasn’t going to support something that was all about corporate tax cuts and very little, tiny bit of help for average people in the form of property taxes but most of it in the form of tax breaks for corporations. Never, ever work to create jobs and adding to the budget deficit. As foolish as that statement is, Sen. Anderson wasn’t finished. Later, she got into this fight with Andy Brehm: BREHM: The biggest problem we have in Minnesota right now is jobs and I wish this was as obvious as … Read entire article »
Filed under: Page Two
Gov. Dayton sides with unions…again
It isn’t surprising that Gov. Dayton has sided with the PEUs each time he’s had the chance to side with working class people. That’s why it’s disappointing, not surprising to read about this: St. Paul – Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman Pat Shortridge issued the following statement regarding Governor Dayton’s veto of the Last In, First Out (LIFO) legislation that would have allowed schools to make teacher employment decisions based on more than just seniority, including teacher effectiveness. If we thought it was all about our children and providing them with the best possible education, we were wrong. Governor Dayton has once again sided with the teacher unions over our children. Minnesota children deserve the best possible education, and eliminating the Last In, First Out policy is an important reform that would … Read entire article »
Filed under: Page Two
Tarryl’s spin, Chip’s solutions
If ever there was a video that was nothing but spin, Tarryl’s introduction into Eighth District politics fits that bill: Tarryl’s video starts with scenes from the Duluth Harbor and the start of the St. Louis River. Tarryl then says that she’s from Central Minnesota before saying “I’m running for office but I think of myself as a public servant.” According to the Secretary of State’s website, Public Servant Tarryl Clark has been running for office since 2000. While Tarryl might think of herself as a public servant, people who’ve seen her in action think of her as a career politician. Public servant is just a euphemism. What’s laughable is the last line of the video. That’s where she says “If you elect me, I will go and fight for you.” What makes it … Read entire article »
Filed under: Page Two
Chip Cravaack by the numbers
The DFL approach to defeating Chip Cravaack is apparent. The DFL will apparently attempt to paint Chip as someone who doesn’t care about the district and as a capetbagger. The Duluth News Tribune’s op-ed in Sunday’s paper won’t end the DFL’s spin. The DFL’s spin machine is truth resistant. Nonetheless, it’s worth noting their statistics: No matter what anyone may have predicted, Cravaack has been spending far more than a day a week back home in Minnesota, working with constituents and staying in touch with their needs and challenges. In 2011, he spent 164 days in Minnesota’s 8th District, or more than three days a week, according to the pages of the congressman’s official calendar and schedule, access to which was granted exclusively to the News Tribune Opinion page. Cravaack spent … Read entire article »
Filed under: Raw
Did Senate kill Vikings’ stadium bill?
The Senate Finance Committee unexpectedly voted to include Racino in the Vikings stadium bill. Julie Rosen’s expression says it all: But adding racino gambling would cost needed political support, said Sen. Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont, sponsor of the stadium bill in the Senate. She called its addition “a serious blow to the bill.” “It will have to be taken out,” Rosen said. A spokeswoman for Dayton said she couldn’t say whether the DFL governor would sign a stadium bill that included racino gambling. Earlier Wednesday, Dayton said he didn’t think racino should be in the stadium plan. If it’s challenged in court, he said, the sale of construction bonds would have to be postponed until the legal process had concluded. Rep. Morrie Lanning, R-Moorhead, sponsor of the bill in the House, said … Read entire article »
Filed under: Raw
Gov. Dayton sides with unions…again
It’s almost like this isn’t news. Gov. Dayton sided with his union thug allies rather than with parents: St. Paul- Governor Mark Dayton announced Friday his rejection of efforts by the legislature to ensure child care assistance dollars are not diverted to unions. Senate Assistant Majority Leader Ted Lillie (R-Lake Elmo), chief author of House File 1766 (SF 1630), gave the following statement after the Governor’s veto. “I am surprised and disappointed by the Governor’s decision to leave dollars meant for the care of our children unprotected from union hands. Our priority is to act as faithful stewards of taxpayer dollars and also to protect private businesses from government overreach. With his veto today, the Governor does nothing to prevent unions from capturing tax payer dollars intended for the care of our children,” … Read entire article »
Filed under: Page Two
ABM’s spin machine fully operational
If ever there was an organization that’s built to spin political yarns, it’s the Alliance for a Better Minnesota, aka ABM, aka Dayton Family Politics, Inc. Recently, ABM posted this drivel: “Today Cravaack voted to put trillions of dollars in the pockets of big corporations by ripping it out of the hands of Minnesota families,” Carrie Lucking, Executive Director of the Alliance for a Better Minnesota, said. “This is a question of priorities. Cravaack repeatedly puts the interests of big corporations with their lobbyists and limousines over the needs of middle class families in Northeast Minnesota. Instead of toeing the extreme, special interest party line, Cravaack should be representing the interests of Northeastern Minnesotans.” Carrie Lucking is full of it. It’s time to tell her and her herd of professional propagandists that enough’s … Read entire article »
Filed under: Page Two
DFL storylines crystallizing
If anything is becoming clear, it’s the messaging from DFL operatives. This am on @Issue, Ember Reichgott-Junge said that “there’s very little that the President can do to lower gas prices. Later, during the Face-Off segment, ABM executive director Denise Cardinal admitted that the sole criteria for a jobs bill was one that first stole money from the private sector, then redirected by government into government-approved jobs. First, Reichgott-Junge saying that “there’s very little that” President Obama could do about gas prices is partially true. It’s impossible for him in the sense that militant environmentalists, along with his own ideological beliefs, prevent him from setting sensible, time-tested energy policies. It’s more true, though, that presidents, acting in the best interest of the American people while ignoring the extremists, can do plenty to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Sago
DFL allies repeat anti-Cravaack chanting points
Give the DFL an A+ for persistence in sticking with their discredited anti-Chip Cravaack chanting points. Yesterday, Minnesota Progressive Project kept the drumbeat going with this post. Here’s the heart of their chanting points: Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN/NH) has a problem. It all began when he campaigned against Jim Oberstar as out of touch with his district. He claimed that Oberstar actually lived in the Maryland suburbs of DC. He further claimed that Oberstar rarely visited Minnesota. Candidates who make those sort of claims better make themselves very available to their constituents and get lots of face time in their districts. As everyone knows, Cravaack moved his family to New Hampshire after he beat Oberstar. Actually, Chip moved his family to New Hampshire as a result of a medical emergency. The ‘convenient … Read entire article »
Filed under: Page Two
Carlson-appointed judge throws out Dayton executive order
Ramsey County Judge Dale Lindman ruled today that Gov. Dayton’s Executive Order calling for the Bureau of Mediation Services (BMS) to oversee the unionization of child care providers is unconstitutional. Judge Lindman, an appointee of Gov. Arne Carlson, said that Gov. Dayton’s EO is “an unconstitutional usurpation of the Legislature’s right to create or amend laws”, which “is a violation of the Separation of Powers principle.” This is a stinging defeat for Gov. Dayton, AFSCME and the SEIU. Judge Lindman said that the BMS doesn’t have statutory authority through Chapter 179 to get involved in this dispute, adding that they only have the authority to mediate in employer-employee disputes. Judge Lindman said that there isn’t an employer-employee relationship between the state government and the child care providers, most likely because of Minnesota’s definition … Read entire article »
Filed under: Raw
Are Ron Paul delegates committed to the GOP? Or just Ron Paul?
The title isn’t a trick question. It’s been a point of curiosity since the 2008 election cycle. In 2008, alot of Ron Paul supporters showed up at the precinct caucuses with the hope of becoming state convention delegates. To a small extent, they were successful. In 2010, many of Rep. Paul’s supporters disappeared into the woodwork. A tiny percentage of them worked hard at getting legislative candidates elected. This afternoon, I was told by a loyal reader of this blog that precincts that were dominated by Ron Paul supporters didn’t have good turnout for the HD-15B endorsing convention. One precinct that was allocated 11 delegates had 3 delegates show up. This precinct was filled with Paul supporters. Other precincts with high volumes of Ron Paul supporters had low turnout rates, too. The activists I’ve … Read entire article »
Filed under: Raw
Jim Neuberger wins GOP 15B endorsement
This afternoon, I got a call from a loyal reader of this blog who was just heading home from the HD-15B endorsing convention. This loyal reader said that Jim Neuberger had won the endorsement to be the GOP candidate in this fall’s general election. The report I received was that Jim had a substantial lead after the first ballot. At that point, Joan Parsakalla made a quite magnanimous gesture, dropping out and making a motion that a unanimous ballot be cast for Jim Neuberger. I’ve had the chance to meet Joan. She’s a tireless worker for the party. I have nothing but positives to say about Joan. Still, I’m happy for Jim because I’ve known Jim since 2008. He’s a great guy with a strong grasp of the issues. That’s why Jim will … Read entire article »
Filed under: Raw
Wasn’t it ‘for the children’?
Gov. Dayton’s statements on LIFO indicate that the DFL version of education reform isn’t about the children. Here’s what he said that enunciates the DFL’s priorities on education reform: Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton today (March 30) indicated he would not sign a Republican marque education initiative, Last In, First Out (LIFO). Indeed, Dayton styled LIFO, a push for allowing school boards to determine the order of teacher layoffs based on teacher effectiveness rather than seniority, as part of a Republican “onslaught” against teachers and public employees. Teachers feel “demoralized,” said Dayton. Rather than celebrating recent accomplishments in education in Minnesota, Republicans focus on “negative stuff,” the wrongheaded premise that the state’s education system is a wreck, Dayton explained. I don’t give a damn if teachers feel demoralized. My first priority in this is giving school … Read entire article »
Filed under: Raw
Should voting laws be easy or straightforward?
One of the DFL’s chanting points on Photo ID is that Minnesota has a great election system because voter participation is traditionally among the highest in the nation. They then, incorrectly, attribute that to Minnesota’s voting laws. I’d argue Minnesota’s voter participation rates are high because Minnesotans are that interested in politics, not because of the laws. That’s a fight that won’t get settled today. There is something that should be settled ASAP. Should election laws make it easy as defined by the DFL’s rules? I’d argue that they shouldn’t be. For example, the DFL insists on same day registration and vouching be part of Minnesota’s election laws. There’s proof that both practices make it easy for people to commit voter fraud. I’ve written repeatedly about the voter fraud plan that ACT put together … Read entire article »
Filed under: Raw
What TakeAction Minnesota isn’t telling Minnesotans
TakeAction Minnesota is one of the corrupt organizations that’s afraid of Photo ID. As a result, they’re lashing out in increasingly erratic ways: St. Paul, MN – Following the party-line passage of the controversial photo ID constitutional amendment, H.F. 2738, by Minnesota’s House Republicans, TakeAction Minnesota’s Dan McGrath issued the following statement: “The people of Minnesota were handed a first punch in the gut by Republican legislators seeking to curb the voting rights of the 99% in order to further the power and wealth of their big corporate financial backers. “Under the leadership of Representative Mary Kiffmeyer, ALEC’s state chair, the wealthiest 1% are certainly getting their money’s worth as they work to reduce the voting rolls for partisan gain by rewriting the rules of democracy for electoral advantage. “This is a grave day … Read entire article »
Filed under: Raw
Rules Committee debate on Photo ID gets contentious
During yesterday’s Rules Committee hearing on HF2738, DFL Rep. Norton asked some questions that HF2738 Chief Auther Rep. Kiffmeyer answered. Here’s a partial transcript of their exchange: REP. NORTON: As I looked at the bill, it seems to me that, if you show up same day voting, you’re going to have to be verified if you don’t have photo ID. How will that happen? REP. KIFFMEYER: In regards to same day voting, first of all, there will be a very strong voter education effort, mailings, hotlines, working with Catholic Charities, Lutheran Social Services. I’m confident that if this passes the voters, that we will enact it in a bipartisan fashion to make sure that we are inclusive to get every single voter to get them the ID. I’m confident, Rep. Norton, that … Read entire article »
Filed under: Raw
Photo ID doesn’t have bipartisan support?
DFL politicians consistently say Photo ID doesn’t have bipartisan support. It’s true that Photo ID doesn’t have bipartisan legislative support. That doesn’t mean rank-and-file Democrats don’t support Photo ID. It just means DFL politicians aren’t listening to their constituents. Rep. John Benson is the latest DFL politician making the claim: Democrats argued against inserting political policy in the constitution. “Constitutional amendments ought to be bipartisan. This one is very partisan,” said Rep. John Benson, DFL-Minnetonka. I wrote here that Photo ID has bipartisan support: Party affiliation – Yes, 92% of Republicans support voter ID. So do 76% of independents…and 59% of those wingnutty Democrats in Minnesota, too. With near-unanimous support amongst Republicans and three-fourths of independents, it’s impossible to claim this constitutional amendment doesn’t have bipartisan support. Even 60% of DFL voters support Photo ID. If … Read entire article »
Filed under: Raw
