Hi Message Squaders –
There are several good opportunities this week to hold Republicans accountable for their pass-the-buck, special-interest politics. We encourage you to pick one of these issues to message on — whether by a letter to the editor, blogging, calling a radio show or just plain spreading the word.
What ties these three newsworthy issues — the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war and Norm Coleman's dismal record on veterans, Michele Bachmann and John Kline voting against ethics reform in the House of Representatives, and Tim Pawlenty once again making middle-class and working families pay for his deficits — all together?
The answer: Republicans once again putting the special interests of unaccountable corporations and the ultra-privileged ahead of regular people. Republicans protect their own by passing the buck to America's middle-class and working families, who are fighting harder and harder each day just to get ahead. But while Republicans keep foisting the same old, same old onto the American people that got us into recession, quagmire and nearly insurmountable debt, the American people are demanding change.
Thanks for everything you to do make the message clear, sharp and strong.
John and Kelly
Minnesota DFL Communications Department
- As we approach the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion on March 20, we need to be sure that we are treating our returning veterans with the utmost respect and providing the best care possible when they come home.
- But over his years in the Senate, Norm Coleman has consistently put the corporate special interests ahead of the best interest of average people, including our state's veterans.
- Minnesota's veterans don't need a champion for special interests in the U.S. Senate; they need someone who will fight for them first. Norm Coleman's long, same-old-same-old record of protecting corporate special interests at the expense of everyone else is the last thing that we need.
- Michele Bachmann and John Kline voted on March 11 against historic ethics reform in the United States House of Representatives.
- The House established a body outside the House that is empowered to begin investigations of members who have been accused of impropriety.
- But while such reform sounds like common sense to most people (including four DFLers and Republican Jim Ramstad), Bachmann and Kline voted against it, and Bachmann even spoke out on the House floor against the measure. (Rep. Jim Oberstar was absent and did not vote.)
- Minnesotans expect their elected officials to hold to high standards, but with vote after vote, Michele Bachmann and John Kline show Minnesotans that they don't take Minnesotans seriously, instead just voting to protect themselves. What is it exactly that they have to hide?
Pawlenty: Making Middle-Class and Working Families Pay for His Deficit
Governor Pawlenty unveiled a plan to close his $935 billion hole in the 2007-08 biennium with cuts to healthcare for children and single adults, decreases in funding for higher education (which may force tuition increases) and even cuts to a grant for fetal alcohol syndrome prevention.
Higher Education:
- The State Office of Higher Education found that the net cost (tuition and fees minus grants and aid) of a public college or university in Minnesota is twice the national average. [Pioneer Press, 3/11/08]
- Pawlenty has proposed a $27 million cut to the University of Minnesota and a $26 million cut to MnSCU, which may lead to tuition increases. [Governor's 2008 Supplemental Budget, 3/7/08, p. 4]
- "University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks said cutting that spending not only hurts his institution and MnSCU, but also private colleges and the state. 'To put higher education out at the front of the parade when it comes to budget reductions, it's just not a very smart strategy,' Bruininks told a House committee." [West Central Tribune, 3/13/08]
- And the result of years of underinvestment in higher education in Minnesota? "Fewer than 40 percent of students at Minnesota's colleges and universities graduate in four years, according to a report released this week by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. In addition, students of color have less than a 50-50 chance of graduating at all." [Star Tribune, 3/13/08]
Healthcare:
- Once again, Governor Pawlenty has proposed to balance his budget this year on the backs of Minnesota's working families with cuts to healthcare.
- The governor's 2008 proposals — among which are cutting access for nearly 20,000 children and eliminating a planned expansion of MinnesotaCare for 10,000 single adults — are strongly reminiscent of his proposals that cut off, or would have cut off, tens of thousands of working and lower-income Minnesotans from healthcare since he took office. [Governor's 2008 Supplemental Budget, 3/7/08, p. 14]
- Despite saying as a candidate in 2002 that he would use the governor's bully pulpit to promote government programs designed to help people through tough times, the governor has consistently proposed eliminating coverage for working Minnesotans. [Associated Press, 8/8/02]
- Don't forget that in 2003, Pawlenty proposed cutting 68,000 people off healthcare [St. Paul Pioneer Press, 6/9/03], and proposed cutting another 40,000 off healthcare in 2005 [Star Tribune, 1/31/05; Duluth News-Tribune, 7/14/05].
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Prevention:
- Pawlenty proposed a 30% cut (or $500,000) to a fetal alcohol syndrome prevention program spearheaded by the wife of former Governor Arne Carlson. [Governor's 2008 Supplemental Budget, 3/7/08, p. 8]
- Carlson quote: "The former governor, who said he was appearing today as his wife's surrogate, said government was ultimately spending more money by cutting prevention programs and then being forced to build more jails. 'All we keep doing is shouting for more and more people to go into the system,' he said." [Star Tribune, 3/13/08]
- Additional Carlson quote: 'This nonsense of bandaids and bandaids and prayer does not work,' said Carlson, who also was critical of what some characterize as short-term budget fixes. 'Far too much is focused on, "Oh Lord, how do I get through the next election?", as opposed to doing that which is right.'" [Star Tribune, 3/13/08]
Background:
Representatives Bachmann, Kline Vote Against Ethics Reform. DFL Representatives Keith Ellison, Betty McCollum, Collin Peterson and Tim Walz voted for the measure, as did retiring Republican Representative Jim Ramstad. DFL Representative James Oberstar did not vote. [Vote #122, 3/11/08] House of Representatives Takes Historic Step Forward in Ethics Reform. "The House last night approved one of the most significant changes to its ethics rules in decades, creating for the first time an independent panel empowered to initiate investigations of alleged misconduct by members of the chamber. The six members of the new Office of Congressional Ethics would have the authority to initiate preliminary reviews of allegations against House members, conduct investigations and refer their findings to the House ethics committee along with a public report." [Washington Post, 3/12/08] Legislation Praised by Ethics Watchdogs. "'For the first time in history, you have nonmembers able to initiate investigations,' said Sarah Dufendach, chief lobbyist for the watchdog group Common Cause. … 'The bottom line is, it is a major improvement in the system,' said Fred Wertheimer, president of the watchdog group Democracy 21." [Washington Post, 3/12/08]
2006: Coleman Voted Against Making Veterans' Healthcare Benefits Mandatory by Closing Loopholes, Rolling Back Millionaires' Tax Cuts. During debate on the Fiscal Year 2007 budget resolution, Coleman voted to kill an amendment that would have made veterans' health benefits a mandatory program, to be offset by closing corporate tax loopholes and rolling back tax cuts for millionaires. [Vote #63, 3/16/06]
2006: Coleman Voted Against $1.5 Billion for Veterans' Health Care, Protecting Corporate Tax Loopholes. During debate on the Fiscal Year 2007 budget resolution, Coleman voted to kill an amendment that would have closed corporate tax loopholes in order to increase veterans' health care funding by $1.5 billion. [Vote #41, 3/14/06; Spokesman-Review, 3/15/06]
2006: Coleman Voted Against Prioritizing Vets' Health Care over Tax Cuts for Millionaires. In February 2006, Coleman voted to kill a motion to instruct conferees on the 2006 tax cut package to insist that the conference report include funding to support health needs of veterans and military personnel in lieu of an extension of tax breaks for millionaires. The motion's sponsor explained that the money saved by rolling back tax cuts for just 0.2% of all taxpayers could be used to pay for veterans' health care and disability payments for veterans. [Vote #15, 2/13/06; Dodd Floor Speech, 2/13/06]
2005: Coleman Voted Tax Breaks and VA Budget Cuts. The Senate Republicans' initial FY06 budget resolution slashed domestic discretionary programs by $204 billion over five years, including significant cuts to veterans' benefits. Arguing against the budget, the leader of the American Legion said, "No veteran should be shortchanged by those in Congress with higher national priorities than the ongoing cost of war." The final version of the budget included $212 billion in cuts to domestic discretionary programs, including veterans' health care, and included tax cuts totaling $106 billion over five years … "These tax cuts are widely expected to include extension of the capital gains and dividend tax cuts, which primarily benefit people at high income levels." Coleman supported both versions. [Vote #81, 3/17/05; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 4/1/05; American Legion Press Release, 3/18/05; Vote #114, 4/28/05; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 5/6/05]
2004: Coleman Protected Loopholes, Voted Against Reserve Fund for Vets' Healthcare. During debate on the Fiscal Year 2005 budget resolution, Coleman voted to kill an amendment that would have created a reserve fund of up to $1.8 billion for veterans' health programs by eliminating abusive tax loopholes. [Vote #40, 3/10/04; Tulsa World, 3/14/04]
2003: Coleman Voted Against Increasing Veterans' Funding by Rolling Back Tax Cuts. During debate on the Fiscal Year 2004 budget resolution, Coleman opposed an amendment that would have increased veterans' funding by $1 billion, to be offset by rolling back tax cuts. [Vote #74, 3/21/03]
John Stiles
Associate Communications Director
Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party
(651) 251-6315 office
(612) 581-1788 mobile
Everything is politics. Politics is not a dirty word by itself.
Politics builds bridges and schools and hospitals.
And politics can make them fall down. Bad politics.
— Nick Coleman, 8/4/07
