Lunchtime reading
Good morning. Apologies for the tardiness.
The gamesmanship between U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen and challenger Dean Phillips continues to impress. Paulsen’s campaign manager John-Paul Yates asked Phillips if they could use his coffee shop to film an ad:
I am writing to request the use of the Linden Hills Penny’s Coffee shop to film a political commercial. Since Penny’s has previously allowed political commercials to be filmed at their shops, we believe that the facilities are equipped to handle such logistics. To the extent that the location requires any additional build out or resources to facilitate the filming we are able and willing to provide that at our own expense without impacting the shop. We are more than willing to pay whatever fee was charged of other political campaigns to shoot at Penny’s Coffee shop.
The subtext here is that Paulsen has continued to hit Phillips for not offering employee health insurance when the shop opened. Phillips called their bluff, responding:
Thank you for your inquiry about using Penny’s coffee shop…Coincidentally, I too am running for Congress, and I operate my campaign the same as Penny’s; by offering accessibility, radical hospitality, a fun environment to which everyone’s invited, livable wages, and a healthcare plan for all full-time employees. We would be happy to host you at Penny’s to film your commercial for Congressman Paulsen free of charge, provided it’s during normal business hours. Please advise me of the date and time you’d like to shoot, and we’ll confirm if it works for our team. I’ll also commit to being onsite to ensure the experience exceeds your expectations.