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MN GOP PRESS RELEASE: “CHAIRMAN RON CAREY ISSUES OPEN LETTER TO DFL CHAIRMAN BRIAN MELENDEZ”
By Michael B. Brodkorb | February 27, 2008
St. Paul- Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman Ron Carey today issued an open letter to DFL Chair Brian Melendez regarding Minnesota’s economy and the Democrats’ $6.6 billion dollar tax increase. Chairman Carey also extended an invitation to Chair Melendez to debate the Democrat transportation bill and the state budget deficit in a series of eight debates to be held in each congressional district in the state.
February 27, 2008
Chair Brian Melendez
Minnesota DFL Party Headquarters
255 East Plato Blvd
St. Paul, MN 55107-1623
Dear Chair Melendez:
I am writing to share with you new job numbers released this morning by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).
According to DEED, employers in our state added 8,500 jobs last month. Our unemployment rate dipped to 4.5 percent, 0.4 percent below the national rate of 4.9 percent.
“Over the past 12 months, the state has gained 15,323 jobs – an over-the-year growth rate of 0.6 percent. The state now outpaces the nation in over-the-year growth in six of 11 major industrial sectors. The U.S. over-the-year growth rate is 0.7 percent,” DEED further reported.
On February 8, you issued a blistering personal attack against Governor Pawlenty accusing him of “more job losses and a dimming economic future.” In light of today's news, it is my hope that you will now update your talking points regarding Minnesota's employment picture.
To strengthen our economy, Republicans believe we must take measures that reward hard work and investment. Now is not the time to be punishing Minnesotans with gas tax increases, sales tax increases, license tab fee increases, and other fee increases. While Democrats passed nearly $6.6 billion in tax increases on hard-working Minnesotans this week, Governor Pawlenty and Republicans from all over our state remain united against these onerous tax hikes.
As chairman of the Republican Party of Minnesota, I propose that you and I hold a series of eight debates (one per congressional district) to discuss the Democrats' transportation bill and how to deal with the budget deficit in a fiscally responsible manner. I believe that it is important that Minnesotans have a clear understanding of where the two major political parties stand on these crucial issues. It is my goal that we can hold this series of debates during the month of March.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Ron Carey
Chairman of the Republican Party of Minnesota
Tags: Brian Melendez, Ron Carey
Topics: Brian Melendez, Ron Carey | 17 Comments »
17 Responses to “MN GOP PRESS RELEASE: “CHAIRMAN RON CAREY ISSUES OPEN LETTER TO DFL CHAIRMAN BRIAN MELENDEZ””
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February 27th, 2008 at 9:25 PM
Carey, and to some extent Melendez as well, have an exaggerated sense of their own importance. The leaders of the Minnesota GOP are Tim Pawlenty and Norm Coleman. Serifert and others are second rung.
Ron Carey is the Chair of the procedural, parliamentary wing of the party. His office has no influence in terms of policy and legislation.
True party disciples, in both parties, have a delusional concept of their own consequence.
The debate on transportation is over. The DFL won that battle. Further debates, on the struggling state of the economy, health care, and other issues, should be left to elected leaders like Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Larry Pogemiller, Marty Seifert and governor Pawlenty.
Carey is inconsequential. Perhaps he’ll get a job in President Romney’s administration.
February 28th, 2008 at 12:47 AM
Rachel – Great comments. Its time Carey learned his place. Go lay by your dish Ron.
February 28th, 2008 at 1:27 AM
Carey’s actions would not necessarily have to be inconsequential. For instance, he could add further emphasize Coleman’s apology for the common Letters to the Editor that were sent in by two different college students, and were published by two different Minnesota newspapers but, looked very similar.
February 28th, 2008 at 2:49 AM
Onerous tax increases? I would say that the lives that were lost, destroyed or even just touched by the horrific failure of the 35W bridge are ‘taxes’ of inexplicable and irreplaceable cost to all of us. I, personally, wish we had all paid a little more tax in dollars to maintain the bridge and nothing in lives.
February 28th, 2008 at 6:06 AM
No one has ever stopped you from paying more taxes on your own.
February 28th, 2008 at 7:44 AM
minnetonkacounterpoint
-And I wish the DFL would lets us enforce immigration laws, so criminal aliens would not be killing school children.
February 28th, 2008 at 8:12 AM
What’s onerous, I suppose, is that bridges and roads have to be paid for, particularly in a part of the country where the weather puts them under severe stress.
Governor Pawlenty’s plan, which I supported, was that construction companies should perform this work for free out of a sense public spirit. Unfortunately, this proved impractical when the construction companies pointed out that they had families to feed and shareholders to remunerate.
Now the governor wants to use the state credit card, shifting the burden of paying for these necessities to some future governor, whou would happily not be him. For myself, I would once again favor the governor’s plan except for the fact that while this governor might not be the governor, when the credit card bills start coming in, I hope to still be a taxpayer by tnen. I don’t like paying bills. But I dislike paying credit bills with accrued interest even less.
February 28th, 2008 at 8:14 AM
sorry, the last sentence should have read:
“But I dislike paying credit bills with accrued interest even more.”
February 28th, 2008 at 8:27 AM
Carey’s a hack.
why would melendez agree to it? it’s already been passed so it’d be crying over spilt milk. the time to debate it is BEFORE it goes for a vote, Carey you dope.
February 28th, 2008 at 8:30 AM
minnetonkacounterpoint –
do you understand (unlike our legislature) what the word, “PRIORITIZE” means?
It means you put your money towards the most IMPORTANT things first (like bridges) and the LEAST important things (like art) have to wait until next time.
Don’t blame it on me for not handing my money over, at gunpoint mind you, to the government for them to squander on their pet projects, and then blame me for not giving enough when something bad happens.
February 28th, 2008 at 8:32 AM
Ron Carey does more to get Democrats elected. The last 2 election cycles proved that.
I wouldn’t say dope, that is being too kind. Copulating mannequin is more like it.
February 28th, 2008 at 9:19 AM
Kathy, copulating mannequin. Thats great! Don’t women have a way of cutting a person down to the dub.
February 28th, 2008 at 9:37 AM
With the DFL’s Tax&Spend attack on Minnesota and new taxes and spending yet to come is proof that the war on drugs was lost.
February 28th, 2008 at 9:55 AM
“Now the governor wants to use the state credit card, ”
What complete bullshit. The state borrows money at about a 3% interest rate. This is just about the rate of inflation, so basically were borrowing the money for nothing. Furthermore, bonding for a replacement bridge or even replacement roads that have a life span longer than the bonding period is fair, and spreads the cost of those items over their life span. Plus it allows us to get more done right now rather than waiting for the revenue from these new taxes.
Now that the DFL has removed roads and bridges from the list of bonding requests, there will be more room for crap like visitor centers and wildlife encounters because you know the bonding amount is going to remain the same.
February 28th, 2008 at 9:58 AM
“I, personally, wish we had all paid a little more tax in dollars to maintain the bridge and nothing in lives.”
Do you not keep up with the news. The NTSB has found no evidence that maintenance or inspection issues had anything to do with the 35W bridge collapse. It was designed wrong in 1967. In fact, it was additional spending that added extra weight to the bridge in the form of side rails and mediums that may have contributed to its fall.
If we had been taxed less and didn’t have money for those weight adding projects that bridge would still be standing.
February 28th, 2008 at 7:59 PM
Carey is a joke. I am taking my cues from TPaw. The Gov doesn’t seem to care that this thing passed. So why should I?
March 3rd, 2008 at 10:08 AM
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