America is in danger of collapse and I don’t say this lightly.
I have believed in the exceptionalism of America for as long as I could understand what that meant. Five years ago, I would have told you that our economy will recover, that times will get better, and that freedom will prevail, but now I am doubting that optimism.
Freedom is like a tender flower. It is beautiful beyond description. Freedom is something that is wonderful, life changing, but all together fragile. Freedom trampled upon will wither quickly. Just like the flower, trampled freedom will take a lot more work to revive it than it does to destroy.
Our congress has forsaken their sacred duties. They have rejected the idea that they are for the people, by the people, and of the people. This is not something that is easily remedied.
At this point, we have the choice between two major candidates (John McCain and Barack Obama) who’s political ideals line up closer to that of a socialist/nationalist agenda than to the principles that kept us free for so many years.
Last year, we stood on the edge of a great divide. As our nations toes inched closer to a cliff that would spell disaster if we should we ever pass the tipping point, and fall face first to peril, our leaders laughed, played their fiddles, and said that all is well. Instead of heeding the warning signs, our leaders offered populist fixes. They guaranteed a short term happiness, but willingly neglected our future. The US congress has sold our futures for the price of an election.
The McCain-Feingold bill solidified the place of career politicians while making it very difficult for your average citizen to represent his neighbors. The Lieberman-Warner act will chase away our jobs, create faux energy shortages, and artificially inflate prices on necessities such as gasoline, clothing, and food.
Lieberman-Warner will institute a new tax called the “cap and trade” tax. This will give quotas for every company. If their level of Carbon Dioxide (remember that CO2 is the harmless stuff that plants use) increases beyond a certain level, they will be punished. This will often involve a forced payment to their competition.
You have to remember that Carbon Dioxide is not a gas that is poisonous. It is a safe gas that makes up a very small proportion of our atmosphere. Yet, we are willing to over-regulate our workplaces to the point that they will be forced to move to another nation? This is foolishness at it’s worst!
There has seldom been a tax that has ever been repealed. We normally see “reductions” but we never see a complete repeal. If this bill gets through, and it will, it could be the large straw that breaks the camel’s back. Our nation cannot handle any more stress on our economy, our personal lives, and our freedoms.
Right now, we stand with our toes over the cliff of no return, and I have no faith in our politicians to make the right decision. Get your parachutes out, this could be a bumpy ride.
One of the “Republican Six” defectors decided to back down in their opposition to Republican voters. Kathy Tingelstad of Andover is calling it quits and will not seek another term.
The Admiral, at Lake Minnetonka Liberty, had the following to say about Tingelstad’s decision to end her campaign.
Stripped of her leadership role, excoriated at her endorsing convention and ostracized within her caucus, Rep. Kathy Tingelstad, R-Andover, signaled an end to a 12-year legislative career on Monday, declaring that she would not seek reelection.
Since Tinglestad forgot where she came from, and who worked long hours to put her in office, it is better that she leave the public sector. Now we just need to get rid of the other Republican traitor’s including:
Anti-Strib is reporting that Mike Cerisi announced in an email today that he is out of the Minnesota Senate Race.
It’s now a race between Al Franken and Norm Coleman.
Now since Al Franken is the presumptive nominee, lets go over his key issues. These are his stances listed on his website (The spin has been removed to protect the ignorant).
Pull the troops out of Iraq Immediately
Immediate and completely universal, government run health care.
Universal government run health care for all veterans. This is kind of redundant and un-special since he said he would do this for everyone else as well.
Federal funding and control of the public education system.
Increased redistribution of the wealth for public education (see his education page for more details).
Forcing companies to fund pension liabilities. I actually agree that companies should do this. It’s kind of funny that his version of socialized government does not have to do the same with social security.
Amnesty for illegal aliens
Government run wind turbine factories. This was by far the strangest of the proposals of his site. He said that we should take over the Ford plant and turn it into a wind turbine producing factory. Then Franken went on to say that we [the government?] should be putting these up all over Minnesota.
One of the largest local newspaper chains in the Twin Cities seems to be engaged in a little bit of biased censorship. Many times newspaper outfits think of themselves as gatekeepers to all the important information within a specific community.
The bias of editors sometimes gets in the way of free and open thought. These editors will hand pick letters that portray their specific political views more prominently than others.
Terry Pearson has a good post on his site about the tax increases. He sent a letter to the editor, but they refused to publish it. He is trying to get his letter out anyway, through the alternative media. He has given permission for anyone to copy his post and use it however they feel appropriate.
The text of his post is below:
I sent the following letter to the editor of my local newspaper (MN Sun Newspaper - South St. Paul, West St. Paul, Inver Grove Heights, and Mendota Heights). Unfortunately, they chose not to publish it. They never actually gave a reason why they refused to publish it, but it was interesting that the only opinion on the Minnesota Tax Increases was published by a Democrat from the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Fortunately, I can go around MNSun’s censorship and publish this on my blog. Feel free to copy any or all of this letter and get the word out on this.
Dear Editor,
I do not think that I have ever been as disappointed in our state government as I am today. Today, our representative, Joe Atkins, along with many others in the Minnesota House and Senate voted to impose one of the largest tax increases in Minnesota history.
While nobody likes to have their money taken from them, it especially hurts when you know that just one year ago the state of Minnesota had a multi billion dollar surplus. Instead of being frugal in the good years, our state representatives squandered that surplus on various pork projects throughout the state in order to give favors to supporters.
Due to the tremendous growth in spending last year, along with a stuttering economy, we find ourselves in a major deficit. This is a problem that could have been avoided if our leadership had planned for the long run. Even the week before the vote on the tax increase, Democrats were not trying to find ways responsibly cut spending. Instead, they were giving away money to every earmark project they could think of. I suppose this was to ensure the need for a tax increase.
Today, we are faced with higher fuel prices, increased unemployment, and a weak dollar. With our economy running on fumes, the DFL proposed the worst solution to the problem. They thought that the best course of action would be to take more money from the working middle class families of Minnesota.
The tax increases that were passed by the Senate and House include a gas tax, a sales tax, and a vehicle registration fee increase. It’s funny, because I thought that the DFL said that they were going to go after the rich. Instead, they proposed increasing taxes where it would hurt the middle class the most. Contractors, couriers, even commuters will be hurt by these increases.
I know that Representative Atkins followed the lead of his party when he voted for the tax increases, but it would have been nice if he chose to do what is best for his community instead. I think that it is time that we push for a change in leadership in the Minnesota House and Senate. It is time that we elect people who put our community, and its families, before the DFL party platform.
Jason Lewis of 100.3 KTLK has been an outspoken and justified critic agaist Kare11’s ruthless attack on capitalism and complete disregard for the facts on the 2008 Minnesota tax increases. Here is Jason Lewis’s latest post about Rick Cupchella.
(Note: all quotes are from news stories posted on KARE11 website or Mr. Kupchella’s postings and/or emails. Relevant links are displayed parenthetically next to appropriate passages.)
Well, good for Rick. He and the KARE 11 staff up against lowly me. At least that makes it fair.
While of course “taking no position on whether a gas tax is or is not a good idea,” Rick and the gang at we-KARE-oh-so-much-11 found it necessary to take a knee-jerk position questioning not the gas tax proponents facts and figures, but those of us who are critical of this latest Minnesota tax grab. That is an operating premise worth considering when you’re watching the 10PM news around here.
Unfortunately, Mr. Kupchella’s other premise, the main one
For the casual Minnesota politics observer, the Minnesota House of Representatives is a boring topic. Most people are too busy working, raising a family, or collecting welfare checks.
However, the issues developing internally inside the Minnesota House Republican Caucus should catch everyone’s attention. The leader of the House Republicans, Marty Seifert, has done a great job of holding their minority of Representatives together. Last year, they stopped a tax increase due to his leadership ability.
While Seifert’s leadership has been stronger than ever, some Republicans in Name Only decided it was time to make their move. Fueled by special interest money and political self serving motives, Ron Erhardt and a handful of others who tainted the Republican name, decided to come out of the closet and begin their internal takeover of the Grand Old Party.
Fortunately, we have another option. Representative Ron Erhardt, can be fired by his constituents by him not getting the nomination at his local Republican Convention. Fortunately, there is already someone who is willing to take his place.
Keith Downey has announced that he will be taking on Ron Erhardt in the crucial battle for the Edina 41-A Republican nomination for the House of Representatives.
Blogger and Minnesota Senate candidate, Bill Jungbauer, has posted a brief writeup on Mr. Downey. He should be a good candidate according to Jungbauer.
Also included on Jungbauer’s post is a podcast link for the Chris Baker show. Baker had interviewed Ron Erhardt on Friday morning. Erhardt appeared to be unconvincing and awkward. You can also read the entire interview of Ron Erhardt here.
SAINT PAUL — (February 26, 2008) — State Representative Marty Seifert today announced the six Republicans who voted to override Governor Tim Pawlenty’s veto have been removed from their leadership positions.
I have spoken with all six members and received their resignations from their lead positions on House committees and in the Caucus,” said House Republican Leader Marty Seifert. “I respectfully ask the House Democrats to respect our decision on this internal caucus matter.”
Seifert announced the following members as the new Republican leads:
Representative Dean Urdahl - Agriculture, Rural Economies & Vets Affairs
Representative Larry Howes - Capital Investment
Representative Matt Dean - Health Care and Human Services
Democrats Pass Largest Tax Increase in State History
Six Republicans defect
St. Paul - DFLers are playing high-stakes poker at the Capitol these days, and the only thing certain is that taxpayers will be the losers.
The DFL leaders in both the House and the Senate have insisted that the transportation bill that was voted on and passed today would be the only opportunity legislators would have to pass funding for vital transportation projects.
That threat, along with cajoling by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and other lobbying groups, helped garner some Republican votes for the passage of the $6.6 billion tax increase. It is unclear, however, how many Republicans who voted for the bill will side with the Governor if he follows through on his threat to veto the bill.
“We always knew that a large tax increase would pass the legislature, just as one did last year,” said Phil Krinkie, President of the Taxpayers League. “We are counting on the legislators who voted to sustain the veto last year to do so again this year.”
“I’m shocked that the legislature is seriously considering a huge tax increase during these challenging economic times. This bill will cost the average Minnesota family of four over $500 a year in higher taxes,” Krinkie added.
“Poll after poll has shown that Minnesotans oppose gas and sales tax increases. It is the height of arrogance to simply ignore that fact,” Krinkie concluded.
In 2006, the Minnesota Democrats ran on fiscal responsibility, and even rejected the idea of raising taxes.
It’s funny how people change when they actually get to office. We now have almost every democrat, and some foolish Republicans, clamoring for more taxes. If there ever were a case that shows that “power corrupts” we have found it in Minnesota’s 2008 House of Representatives.
So called “good boys” like Joe Atkins (Democrat - Inver Grove Heights/South St. Paul) have gone on a spending spree like nothing ever seen in Minnesota. Then, they complain to the tax payers that money is running short.
The Minnesota House Republicans have been standing in the way of a flood of new taxes, and now barely have enough votes to sustain a veto by governor Pawlenty.
It should have never been this way, liars like Rod Hamilton(Republican - Cottonwood and Jackson Counties), stood on the Republican platform, telling his constituents that he would uphold the ideas that they wrote into their party platform. Instead, he has become a sellout for special interests.
To see all members of the Minnesota House of Representatives who voted for the largest tax increase in Minnesota History, see Bill Jungbauer’s post on the tax increase.
Loading ...
