Tag: 3rd Congressional District
Constituents in Trucks Getting Coffee: Andrew Zimmern and Dean Phillips
Conversations in the Cottage: Dean Phillips and Rep. Cheri Bustos (IL17)
Phillips has more integrity for refusing PAC money
To the editor:
I remember watching Erik Paulsen’s campaign ads in the 2010 election cycle, in which he lectured his daughters from a whiteboard, called himself “a numbers guy,” and promised to “protect our wallets from politicians.” These promises seem preposterous in 2018, after Paulsen voted for a bill that will increase the national debt to $11.7 trillion by 2027. As a mom of three kids, I’m not comfortable with shifting our nation’s burden from corporations to our families now and in the future. Paulsen was a powerful advocate for this bill, and now we all pay the price.
Paulsen had gone more than six years without holding a town hall. In May, he acquiesced and held three small, ticketed town halls. I did not win the lottery to attend these meetings, and suspect I’ll never have the opportunity to tell him face-to-face what I think of his cavalier attitude toward the national debt. Continue reading “Phillips has more integrity for refusing PAC money”
Feisty debate kicks off Paulsen-Phillips race for Congress
The following article by Mark Zdechlik was posted on the MPRNews.org website August 21, 2018:
Republican U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen and his DFL challenger Dean Phillips tangled over taxes, health care and campaign finance reform in their first debate Tuesday.
Paulsen said Phillips would derail economic growth by voting to repeal the Republican tax cut law. Paulsen argued the tax cut was needed and that it’s helping ordinary Minnesotans.
“Weak growth, which was what we were seeing under the last eight years, was not acceptable,” he said. “Sure, people like Dean Phillips and those who are well off will do fine under those circumstances. But the rest of us, we won’t do well in an economic depression, and that was only just around the corner.”
Rep. Erik Paulsen and Dean Phillips face off in first debate for Third District seat
The following article by Jessie Van Berkel was posted on the Star Tribune website August 21, 2018:
The debate at a St. Louis Park hotel quickly grew testy, with both candidates attacking the other almost immediately.
U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen and DFL challenger Dean Phillips clashed over health care, tax reform, immigration and other issues, trading barbs Tuesday in the first debate of their increasingly heated fight for a Minnesota House seat.
The debate at a St. Louis Park hotel quickly grew testy, with both candidates attacking the other almost immediately. Paulsen, a Republican, referenced Phillips’ personal wealth when he said that people who are not millionaires should be able to run for Congress, while Phillips pressed Paulsen to reject campaign donations from interest groups and hit him for voting for most of President Donald Trump’s agenda.
“I’ll stand up to my own party,” Paulsen said, whether that’s protecting the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, opposing “misguided tariffs” or pushing for a vote on immigration legislation.
See What Happened at Our Music for Change Event
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Our thanks to Sunshine Joy Hedlund for the photography.
Paulsen should not accept donations from opioid manufacturer
To the Editor:
I wholeheartedly agree with Erik Paulsen’s stance against opioids that he took in his recent Medium article. His facts and efforts in Congress are much appreciated. It is unfortunate however that he may be beholden to many of those same pharmaceutical special interests and PACs being sued that inadvertently assist in distributing some of these harmful opioids to Minnesotans.
This makes me more than uneasy. How can you claim to be fighting for the opioid crisis while simultaneously being propped up by their donations? Until Paulsen distances himself from the pharmaceutical companies that are being sued by the state of Minnesota, I’ll be taking everything he says with a grain of salt. He should show that he’s serious about fixing the opioid crisis at all levels, and that includes rejecting money from the purveyors of the problem. I would urge him to go still further. I like the idea of a separate corporate tax on opioids for the pharmaceutical companies. This would dissuade them from condoning overprescribing as they have in the past.
John Hetterick, Plymouth
Plymouth Sun-Current, August 21, 2018
Paulsen owes constituents access to a debate
To the editor:
I’ve been looking forward to seeing Congressman Erik Paulsen and challenger Dean Phillips on the debate stage for months now.
To my disappointment, I found out that it costs $60 for non-members to attend the Aug. 21 TwinWest Chamber of Commerce debate. How is this fair? People need to make an informed decision about who to vote for, but how can they do that if they can’t afford to go to the event.
Dean Phillips has agreed to multiple free debates around the district sponsored by bipartisan organizations such as the League of Women Voters and other local chambers. Despite this, Paulsen has only agreed to the paid debate so far. Continue reading “Paulsen owes constituents access to a debate”
Dean Phillips Releases First TV Ad: “Coffee and Conversation”
Ad highlights Phillips’s experience as a business owner, and his mission to get people talking again
Excelsior, MN – Today Dean Phillips’s campaign for Congress released its first TV ad, titled “Coffee and Conversation.” The ad highlights Dean’s background as a business owner who takes care of his employees, including at Penny’s Coffee where they voluntarily pay a $15 per hour minimum wage. It also features Dean’s Government Repair Truck, a 1960 International Harvester milk truck that he drives around Minnesota’s Third District in an effort to get people talking again.
“I approach public policy the same way I’ve helped build businesses – by soliciting ideas from everybody, by being innovative, collaborative and always finding ways to do more with less,” said Dean.
“And since representation begins with listening, I’ve spent the past year and a half traveling the district in my Government Repair Truck, having thousands of conversations with people of all perspectives and backgrounds. From those conversations, I know there is so much more that unites us than divides us. We must listen to people again — not the special interests that have corrupted Congress.”
Transcript of “Coffee and Conversation”:
“I love coffee and conversation. I’m Dean Phillips, and I started Penny’s Coffee to build a better business. Where we pay a livable wage, and where people have a place to just talk. I think we need more of that in Congress, so this is my Government Repair Truck. I’m running for Congress because if we are ever going to address things like the cost of college and healthcare in this country, we’ve got to start listening to people, and not the special interests. I approve this message because change starts with coffee and conversation. And everyone’s invited.”
The ad can be seen here.