I’m sure you have seen this being repeated the last week: Bachmann in trouble, Franken Way ahead of unknown challengers……

The poll done by the Democrat polling firm PPP is worth about as much as a DFL campaign pledge.

First off, it was an automated poll, meaning: press 1 if you agree, press 2 if you disagree….. so short fused people hung up so its not a great sample base. Secondly, as is usually done in Minnesota, Republicans are extremely undersampled.

You have to dig deep into the crosstabs, but you can see why the poll shows things so poorly for Republicans.

If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican, press 2. If you are an independent or identify with another party, press 3.

Democrat ……………………………………………….. 38%

Republican ……………………………………………… 27%

Independent/Other …………………………………… 35%

The media is doing its best to help Governor Dayton and the DFL Majorities in the Legislature dramatically increase spending and taxes with out the public realizing. I think its critical to remind people of what happened under Republicans since they DFL slimed them to win the 2012 Elections and majorities.

The Republican led Legislature passed a budget of $35 Billion dollars.

According to media reports the DFL has somehow managed to compromise on all their spending desires and only end up at $38 Billion.

That’s a $3 Billion increase in spending and taxes, or 9.2%.

Nearly a 10% increase in spending under the DFL’s single party rule. Oddly, they are complaining how the GOP Minorities are making it hard for them to accomplish anything. I guess the real question should be, just how much bigger should the state budget be if the DFL didn’t have to deal with that pesky MN Constitution that allows for all Minnesotans to select their representation at the Capital (Read: elect non-socialist redistributionists)?

The Twin City’s North Chamber is hosting its monthly Legislative Breakfast tomorrow. Topic: Transportation. We will have someone there who believes this kind of poppycock.

What is the future of transit in MN?

Panelists
Annette Meeks, Freedom Foundation
Dave Van Hattum, Transit for Livable Communities

I encourage everyone to engage in their local chambers even if they aren’t owners as the lobbyists leeches from the Capital have begun infesting local Chambers as low hanging fruit. Its also the farm team for Capital leeches who invite their left wing nanny state friends to come shill for Socialism. After all anyone who can honestly defend the nanny state one size fits all Government that Dayton & Obama are pushing while repeating the talking points that with Government so big there is no way to keep track of every little detail….

You get the idea. Lunacrats are on the march!

FInd your local chamber and make sure you don’t let the left wing and advocates for hire high jack your community!

(Yes a leech is what you call someone who wants to do something really expensive and force people who will never use their thing to pay for it)

UPDATE:

To clarify, Twin Cities North is not one of the one’s being entirely overrun by lobbyists and left wing non-profit types. Twin West, Metro North and other PAC Chambers have a tendency to resemble the MN Chamber who will…. meddle for their own special pet projects.

That being said, we have a few people and groups from outside our geographic area who have pushed very controversial or selfish agendas at teh Capital who show their faces….

Flood your Chambers with limited Government conservatives and prevent bleeding hearts from highjacking a business group to push their non-profit feel good stuff…..

Well the House DFL is leaving little to the imagination of what it looks like inside the mind of a utopian. That is, what does the agenda look like from someone who has no basis of using practical real world cause and effect and instead relies entirely on feelings to govern.

Its always a good indicator that a policy is flawed when, in order to get enough support to pass legislation, you have to insert exclusions for special interests who would be harmed upon implementation…. (emphasis mine)

The Minnesota House and Senate have agreed to an energy bill that includes a 1.5 percent solar energy standard for investor-owned utilities.

[...]

The conference committee working out differences between the two bills decided on a 1.5 percent solar energy standard that will take effect sooner. Investor-owned utilities, such as Xcel Energy, must meet the standard by the end of 2020. Iron mining facilities and paper mills are exempt, as are electricity co-ops and municipal utilities.

Here’s a response from House Republicans on the issue.

St. Paul- Reps. Tim O’Driscoll (R-Sartell) and Pat Garofalo (R-Farmington) issued the following statements upon passage of the conference committee report for the Jobs, Commerce, Housing, and Energy Omnibus bill. HF 729 passed by a vote of 73-59 and the conference committee report now heads to the Senate for final passage.

“I was disappointed to find excessive wasteful spending for inefficient government programs in this bill which is inaccurately titled a ‘jobs’ bill. HF 729 is a hodgepodge of state programs and initiatives that will spend millions in taxpayer dollars and only kill jobs or drive them elsewhere through higher taxes, fees and energy rates. The special interests that benefit from this bill will result in others losing out, including a special group of employees that will receive much higher unemployment benefits than the average Minnesotan,” said Rep. O’Driscoll.

“Democrats passed energy mandates tonight that will result in higher energy costs for hardworking Minnesotans. Democrats are forcing consumers to use energy that nobody wants, everyone will pay for, and no one can afford,” added Rep. Garofalo.

Meanwhile, on the real energy crisis that affects Minnesotans TODAY….

Prices around the metro and across Minnesota jumped well above $4 a gallon Wednesday. Prices at some stations around the metro were listed at $4.19 a gallon, while other stations were reported to be slightly higher.

According to AAA, the highest average price on record for the state is $3.98, that was in 2008. Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Michigan, Illinois and the West Coast are holding the highest gas prices in the country right now.

AAA says higher crude oil prices are partly to blame for the price hike, but refinery maintenance both planned and unplanned in the Midwest and West Coast caused those prices to go up.

AAA says we might not get relief at the pump until July 4.

This is not on the list of things the DFL is worried about. In fact, they are proposing a gas tax increase as well as driving related fee increases to pad their special interest slush funds and bailout packages.

Is this what you voted for Minnesota?

My state Rep recorded a video update about what is (or rather isn’t) happening at the State Capital under the DFL’s leadership.

From Governor Dayton’s press conference yesterday. He was asked if he raises taxes on businesses, won’t middle class Minnesotans (and lower btw) be forced to pay more for goods and services.

There is no free lunch folks. The taxes, fees, and regulatory burdens the DFL are going to pass will end up being paid by every single Minnesotan.

Tick Tock…..

And let’s not forget how the DFL sounded 2 years ago when the shoe was on the other foot.

From May 22, 2011 REUTERS by: David Bailey

Protesters supporting and opposing the amendment could be heard demonstrating outside the House chambers for days and anti-amendment chants were audible after the vote.

The amendment is “a real ill-advised attempt to use our constitution to place an important question out of reach of the elected officials and to impose our will in the year 2011 on future generations 100, 200, 300 or more years from now,” Democratic Representative Steve Simon said.

Democrats questioned the drive for the constitutional amendment with the state budget still unresolved. They also said they were concerned it would lead to a divisive political campaign over the next 18 months to the election.

“Millions and millions of dollars will be poured into this state on both sides and the pain and agony that I have witnessed in this chamber this evening will be all over Minnesota,” Democratic Representative Kerry Gauthier said.

Meanwhile, the private behind closed doors negotiating meetings between DFL Governor Dayton & the DFL Majority Leadership teams has been unable to produce a budget.

Following the 90 minute meeting, Bakk told reporters that they’re still trying to agree on a global number on new tax revenue. He said that number is needed to set the spending targets for each piece of the budget.

Tax first, figure out if the spending even makes sense never….

Bakk said they’re also still discussing the Senate’s sales tax expansion, which neither the House nor the governor supported.

There’s a clear sense of ‘urgency’ in the DFL Senate  membership to sock it to lower and middle class Minnesotans to expand State Government. They are holding the budget hostage for one of there pet projects.

Heck with under 2 weeks to go, there is not even agreement amongst DFLers about even the budget targets.

House Speaker Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis, said they’ve been talking about the budget in very broad terms. Thissen said he’s hoping for an agreement on budget targets as soon as possible.

Maybe if they weren’t so distracted with their own divisive agenda Minnesotans wouldn’t be facing yet another Dayton shutdown.

Clearly Mark Dayton is incapable of leading.

Has he given the order for his Cabinet to begin preparing for a shutdown since the DFL uni-partisan Governing team seems to be at an impasse?

Governor Mark Dayton, the DFL Party, and their allies campaigned against Republicans in 2012 on the platform that they put divisive social issues ahead of the State Budget. They hammered that issue home in the hearts and minds of Minnesota voters (and I’m sure a few of them twice not to mention some ineligible voters – ). The message was based on poll testing not truth, but the voters still bought what the DFL was selling and they won both majorities giving them unchecked power and the inability to blame Republicans for any delay or impediment of their left wing agenda.

Was solving the state’s budget woes the first item on the DFL’s Legislative agenda? Nope? Second? Nope. Third, fourth, fifth, etc? Nope.

Here we are just 2 weeks from the end of the session:

In addition, the Legislature may not meet in regular session after the first Monday following the third Saturday in May of any year (Source)

Up to this point, the DFL majorities have introduced left wing agenda platform plank after plank to appease or or strengthen their allies and special interests to secure their support in the 2014 election and beyond. They ran against pushing divisive social issues, legislation crafted towards specific interests, and shirking the primary purpose for the odd year scission AKA passing a balanced budget to avoid a shut down.

A couple of great examples of the DFL’s campaign saying one thing, but win power and do the opposite are:

Voter ID: The DFL told voters to vote no and send the bill back to the Legislature to get it right. What have they done? They are pushing for early voting, less transparent election operations, and ignored actual examples of voter fraud. They’ve gone to the opposite “extreme” if you will.

Gay Marriage: The DFL railed against the Republicans for putting the Marriage Amendment on the ballot. They claimed it was dividing Minnesotans. The Amendment was narrowly defeated. So what does the DFL do? They make it a priority to Legalize Gay Marriage.

Guns: Urban DFLers have a long history of hating guns and wanting to ban the use and ownership of them. Over the years, the urban DFLers have been able to get their Caucuses to avoid the the issue to avoid losing seats in areas outside the 694/494 beltway where talk of gun restriction is political suicide for DFLers. Several radical knee jerk measures were brought forward, but for lack of support, they were all pulled from the light of day due to lack of DFL votes.

Sure the DFL has spent a lot of time and effort on increasing spending, regulation, and taxes, but with just 2 weeks left in the session they still have yet to release their actual budget. The price tag for unchecked left wing socialism has yet to be released. Considering the campaign DFLers used to win the majorities, its a shame that we still haven’t seen any example of what they would do differently than a Republican Majority?

They’ve wasted months of this session pushing divisive social issues, ramping up regulations, taxes, mandates, and catering to their special interests.

Its quite disappointing for those of us who volunteer for the conservative cause to see so many people undermine our values and all our hard work for what appears to be the big paycheck.

You have to wonder if this:

Minnesota GOP should back same-sex marriage

• Article by: BRIAN MCCLUNG

May have more to do with this:

American Unity Fund Pushes Republicans To Back Gay Marriage

Than some grand demographic shift.

Another well known name is also mentioned in this story who has a record of selling his or her principles.

Its important to remember that even in the Liberty Coalition dominated 2012 MNGOP convention that traditional marriage remained in the Party Platform.

Beware of the people who are deemed smart and thought leaders, they may be simply lobbying on behalf of a their paycheck, not their principles.

I’m a firm believe that the Minnesota Senate should change their terms to be more like the US Senate where half the members are up every 2 years. Why?

Senate DFLers propose income tax hikes on top 6 percent of filers

Senate Democrats released their tax bill this morning.

It would create a new third tier income tax rate of 9.4 percent on on joint filers with a taxable income $140,960 or more a year. Single filers would pay the new 9.4 percent rate starting at a taxable income of $79,730.

Because since the DFL controlled Senate isn’t up for 4 years, they can be as radical and socialist as they want because they trust the voters will forget they did nothing to help solve the state’s budget problems.

This is a tax increase on the middle class plain and simple. $79K ain’t rich. It ain’t top 1%.

If they were up for election in 2014, Senate Democrats would never have proposed such a preposterous tax bill. A 10% income tax on the middle class on top of the slew of other taxes being proposed… just what do the DFLers think people will do when their take home pay is reduced?