Archive for July, 2011
AFSCME MEMBER SPEAKS OUT: SHUTDOWN WAS PLANNED WELL IN ADVANCE
Friday, July 29th, 2011New communications obtained by Minnesota Democrats Exposed today offer further proof the longest and largest state government shutdown in history was plotted out between Gov. Dayton and union leaders well in advance. The decision to shutdown was very much a political calculation made by the Administration at the hands of AFSCME. A local president sent [...]
SEN BERGLIN TAKES HER TOYS AND GOES HOME
Monday, July 25th, 2011Gary Gross at Let Freedom Ring reported today that State Senator Linda Berglin will resign from the Minnesota Senate effective next month. Governor Mark Dayton will now have to call a special election to fill her seat. Here’s the story via Look True North: Linda Berglin Resigns Written by Gary Gross Monday, 25 July 2011 [...]
KLOBUCHAR AND FRANKEN BACK AN OVER-BUDGET, GOVERNMENT-RUN INTERNET PROJECT THAT BYPASSED MN TAXPAYERS
Sunday, July 24th, 2011Officials gathered in Lakefield, MN on Friday to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for another government-run broadband project that is already costing local taxpayers more than they bargained for. You may remember previous coverage of the northwoods broadband project cloaked in controversy that is now on hold. The group organizing the Southwest Minnesota Broadband Services (SWMBS) [...]
PROGRESS: HENNEPIN COUNTY ACTUALLY SEES A TAX INCREASE THEY DON’T SUPPORT
Friday, July 22nd, 2011The Star Tribune reported last week that the Hennepin County Board would consider a wheelage tax on vehicle owners in Hennepin county, something that hasn’t been used in the county to pay for projects since 1975. On a 5-2 vote, the Board met Thursday and voted down the proposal that would bring in approximately $4 [...]
YEARS IN THE MAKING, WELFARE REFORM TO BECOME LAW IN HHS BUDGET COMPROMISE
Tuesday, July 19th, 2011Years after Republican leaders in Minnesota began a push to bring necessary and common-sense requirements to Minnesota’s bloated, Cadillac welfare system, new reform is now part of the 2011 budget compromise between Gov. Dayton and the GOP majorities. The Special Session Health and Human Services bill will head to the House and Senate floors either [...]
SPECIAL SESSION CONVENES TO OPEN STATE OF MINNESOTA BACK UP FOR BUSINESS
Tuesday, July 19th, 2011This morning Gov. Dayton issued an official proclamation that called House and Senate members back for a special session starting at 3pm today. Shortly after calling the sessions to order, House and Senate leaders broke to caucus, and are now working throughout the night to pass 12 bills necessary to open the state back up [...]
8TH CD CANDIDATE NOLAN HAS HISTORY OF FLIP-FLOPPING ON TAXPAYER FUNDED ABORTIONS
Saturday, July 16th, 2011Minnesota’s Eighth congressional district race is quickly becoming a spectacle for DFL’ers as more challengers file to take on incumbent Rep. Chip Cravaack in the redrawn district in 2012. Former Representative for northern Minnesota, Rick Nolan, recently officially announced his campaign as well. We brought you attention several months ago to the fact that his [...]
THE END: DAYTON CAVES LIKE A CHEAP SUITCASE ON TAX INCREASE
Thursday, July 14th, 2011It appears the longest state government shutdown in Minnesota’s history is about to come to an end. Governor Dayton today released his offer to GOP leaders which doesn’t include his hallmark tax increase and nearly matches the offer made by Republicans to Dayton on June 30th, the last day before the shutdown began. Here’s Tom [...]
WHAT ARE THEY HIDING? DAYTON ADMIN HIDES PUBLIC SHUTDOWN PLANNING DOCUMENTS
Monday, July 11th, 2011Before initiating the largest state government shutdown in recent U.S. history, Governor Mark Dayton classified hundreds of state operations as “essential” in a document that has been public for weeks. These include many functioning pieces of government, such as correctional facility security, the State Patrol, emergency management, most K-12 education, drinking water inspection, sex offender [...]
PIONEER PRESS: FAR FROM ALL-CUTS, GOP BUDGET BRINGS IN ‘A LOT’ OF REVENUE
Sunday, July 10th, 2011Be sure to check out this Pioneer Press editorial from this weekend on how the proposed GOP budget brings in substantial new revenues, and is not simply “all cuts” as the DFL would have you believe. Here’s part of the piece: Actually there is quite a lot of new revenue in the Republican proposal. Their [...]
NATIONAL AFL-CIO DUMPS THOUSANDS OF ROBO-CALLS INTO MN LEG DISTRICTS TO PUSH TAX INCREASES
Friday, July 8th, 2011Dedicated readers of Minnesota Democrats Exposed began notifying us of robo-calls being sent out of a Washington, D.C. call center into the districts of GOP lawmakers over the last several weeks. The calls, paid for by the AFL-CIO union organizing machine, ask union members to stay on the line while they directly connect the caller [...]
DAYTON LAYS OFF 20,000+ BUT KEEPS SERVANT AND PERSONAL CHEF
Thursday, July 7th, 2011While thousands of laid off Minnesota state workers worry about whether or not they’ll be able to feed their families, Governor Mark Dayton is eating good tonight. GOP legislative staff members uncovered 2 of Dayton’s personal staff that he chose to keep employed during the shutdown among 20 total that work for him. Micah Pace [...]
FROM CAMPAIGN TRAIL TO REALITY, DAYTON PULLS 180 ON RAISING CIGARETTE FEES
Wednesday, July 6th, 2011Gov. Dayton today released his latest idea to bridge the budget divide on Day 5 of the largest government shutdown in state history by raising the price of a pack of cigarettes by an addition $1.00. Here he is speaking to the press about it (thanks to MPR’s Tom Sheck): Dayton presents revised budget offer [...]
NEGOTIATION DOCUMENTS PROVE DAYTON WAS FIRST TO THROW EDUCATION FUNDING UNDER THE BUS
Tuesday, July 5th, 2011Many Minnesotans do not understand what GOP lawmakers have tried to do to protect K-12 Education during this budget crisis, and in the last several years. In fact, many are also unaware that Gov. Mark Dayton was the first party in this year’s negotiations to propose a major delay in hundreds of millions in payments [...]
DFL LAWMAKERS CONTINUE USE OF OUTDATED AND FALSE TALKING POINTS TO WIN SHUTDOWN PR WAR
Monday, July 4th, 2011MN DFL Legislators have been busy contacting their constituents to make sure they know House and Senate Republicans are to blame for the largest government shutdown in state history. Their talking points and reasoning, however, vary greatly. Take Rep. Joe Mullery, for example, who sent this note to one of his constituents regarding the Dayton [...]
Happy Independence Day from MDE
Monday, July 4th, 2011MDE wishes all of you a happy and safe fourth from the northwoods.
UNCOVERED: HIGH LEVEL D.E.E.D. DIRECTOR POSTS GEORGE BUSH RANT SINGALONG
Friday, July 1st, 2011The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development‘s Director of Business and Community Development has some choice words for former President Bush and top aide, Karl Rove. Mark Lofthus filmed himself playing his very own compilation of Bush and his administration with some questionable lyrics. Thank you to dedicated readers of Minnesota Democrats Exposed for [...]