The following letter to the editor was submitted to, but did not appear in, the Eden Prairie News on April 26, 2017:
Thank you for printing “Sure is a Lot of Paulsen Bashing” by R Wall in the April 271, 2017 Letters to the Editor. The writer adeptly illustrates several examples of America’s political engagement that can be improved: citizen participation in the electoral process and the quality of political discourse.
The writer is correct in questioning “where were all the concerned citizens” in previous elections. The Trump administration has rightly heightened citizen concern and has positioned Erik Paulsen, by association, under a policy microscope. My opinion of Paulsen had been he was a moderate just a bit right of center. After a thorough review of his voting record and campaign financing it is clear that he is not. His votes have all the appearances of being dictated by party leadership and allegiance to corporate donors and PACs. He has voted 100% for Trump’s agenda since inauguration, which is far from representative of our district. If more voters, regardless of party affiliation, had been observant of Paulsen’s allegiances in his first term, his tenure as a congressman would have been much shorter.
When the politics of representation is lost, politics of power emerges and thrives on a strategy of divide and conquer using us-against-them techniques; e.g. conservative vs. liberal, label A vs. label B, human vs. termite. At an event organized by StandUpMN Indivisible in January outside Paulsen’s office I met an 82 year old woman standing in the snow and cold demanding that her voice be heard. At this rally and others since I have met military veterans who disagree with Paulsen’s support of detrimental policies and are requesting he listen. I have met citizens from all parts of this district in the last four months who have risen off the couch and are protesting Paulsen’s failed representation. Without exception they are true patriots in the service of this republic and not termites as the writer suggests.
We have invested the time to become informed on the issues beyond Paulsen’s deceptive political propaganda and the profit driven distortions of cable news. We are responsible citizens coming “out of the woodwork” to passionately lobby for the values we hold dear and expect to have those values considered by Erik Paulsen. If he cannot support legislation reflecting our values, he is obligated to publicly explain his reasoning in a legitimate town hall. Not in private mini-meetings behind closed doors or through unscheduled robocalls. This isn’t Paulsen bashing, this is democracy.
J. Albers
Eden Prairie, MN