Tag: CD3

Paulsen’s Lies Not Limited to TV: Debunked Claims Hit Mailboxes Too

A dark secret: Paulsen and his special interest patrons are waging a disinformation campaign in MN03 mailboxes

EXCELSIOR, MN – Congressman Erik Paulsen’s coordinated negative television campaign has earned him unprecedented scrutiny from local fact checkers, but another tactic has earned him less scrutiny, with dozens of special interest-funded mailers containing the same objectively false claims landing in mailboxes across the Third District.

“Voters in Minnesota’s Third District have been subjected to a barrage of objectively false claims on TV and in their mailboxes thanks to Erik Paulsen and his special interest funders,” said Zach Rodvold, campaign manager for Phillips for Congress. “The pieces are too numerous to track, and have no regard for fact or truth — oftentimes coming from dark money groups who operate with no transparency. Congressman Paulsen and his special interest patrons have shown an unrelenting commitment to buying this election, and embracing Donald Trump’s propensity for lies and personal slander on the campaign trail as much as they have his policies in Washington.”

Congressman Paulsen has raised over $2.7 million from PACs – the fourth most of anyone in Congress – and used the money to run an unprecedentedly negative campaign that has been called inappropriate, reckless, false, distorted, not even in the same time zone as truth, extremely misleading, just plain false, and wildly out of context by independent journalists, community leaders, sexual harassment survivors, and Democrats, independents, and Republicans alike. While the TV ads have been the subject of scrutiny by independent fact checkers, hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of deceptive direct mail has gone unnoticed.

Here are just some of the outrageous claims being delivered to mailboxes across the district:

Continue reading “Paulsen’s Lies Not Limited to TV: Debunked Claims Hit Mailboxes Too”

Dean Phillips is a fresh voice for the Third District

He would help move Congress back toward more civil, fact-based representation.

Dean Phillips is a fresh, positive voice on Minnesota’s political scene who could be part of a new generation in Congress that moves this country back to a more civil, fact-based, grass-roots representation. Despite the Editorial Board’s past support for Republican Rep. Erik Paulsen — and respect for his bipartisan accomplishments in Congress — Phillips earned our endorsement in the Third Congressional District.

Phillips, 49, has described himself as fiscally responsible, socially inclusive and independent-minded. That’s a plus in a Congress filled with those taking marching orders from their caucus. A driving motivation behind Phillips’ campaign has been, as he calls it, “reducing the influence of affluence” in politics. He takes no corporate or PAC money, relying instead on individual contributions. That stance goes a long way to ensuring a level of independence for a new legislator.

In contrast to Paulsen, 53, who has stubbornly stuck mostly to screened telephone forums and other controlled settings, Phillips has been more than willing to engage with voters, stopping his campaign truck for spontaneous interactions. He’s held educational forums on issues — a practice he says he would maintain if elected. Continue reading “Dean Phillips is a fresh voice for the Third District”

Phillips stands out in congressional race

In the race to Election Day, one congressional candidate has chosen to flood the airwaves with negative, divisive, and knowingly inaccurate ads. In contrast, Dean Phillips has offered a fresh, positive, and inclusive vision for our district.

In the upcoming election we have the choice to reject the culture of division and fear that the current administration has presented, and that Congressman Erik Paulsen has adopted, and come together to find positive solutions to the significant problems that we face.

Dean Phillips is already serving our community by providing positive and principled leadership. “Everyone’s Invited” is not only the slogan but the guiding principle of a campaign that has been built around listening to all the voices within our community. He’s present and available to the constituents that he seeks to represent. He has clear plans to move us forward and through the challenges ahead of us, leading to a brighter version of who we can be.

Dean has stepped forward into a vacuum of leadership and is showing us a better way, even before being elected. He deserves our vote and our support.

Rob Wilcox, Eden Prairie
Eden Prairie News, October 26, 2018

Paulsen’s commercials are deceptive

Congressman Erik Paulsen has a problem, and it’s not just ads rated false by fact checkers or condemned by prominent community members. Paulsen needs to appear accessible despite years of avoiding voters. Consider his methods.

Paulsen slips clever deceptions into statements. Example: “open office hours.” That’s something Paulsen says. But, if you wish a meeting with Paulsen in Eden Prairie, you’ll need to provide the names of attendees then await approval. This procedure negates his claim that he meets with “anyone” or that his office hours are “open.”

When pressed on town halls, Paulsen and staff repeatedly said he’d held “hundreds of town hall events.” They never defined what counted. When asked about future events, Mr. Paulsen’s public schedule was said to be private. How about time frame? Hundreds sounds like a busy public schedule. But spread over eight or nine years, it’s anemic. Continue reading “Paulsen’s commercials are deceptive”

Health scare 2018: How Minnesota campaigns are exploiting voters’ anxiety over health care

Credit: Getty/Sebastian Rose

The battle over health care — something that has become a defining feature of the 2018 midterm elections — has, in the final stretch of the campaign, come down to Republicans and Democrats making two different but equally emphatic assurances to voters.

Democrats are running on the argument that Republicans, if they retain majorities in Congress, would take another stab at repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, and would aim to kill some of the law’s most popular planks — including its protections for individuals with pre-existing health conditions.

Republicans, meanwhile, insist that they have never, and would not ever, attempt to undermine the Obamacare provision that helped people with pre-existing conditions access more affordable health coverage. They’re issuing a warning of their own: if Democrats take control on Capitol Hill, they will push plans that would dramatically expand government health care programs — paving the way to ruin them at the expense of the seniors and families who need them most.

View the complete October 19 article by Sam Brody on the MinnPost website here.

Outside groups flood Minnesota with $29M in political spending in four key House races

Rep. Erik Paulsen talks as DFL candidate Dean Phillips listens at their debate at the UBS Forum at Minnesota Public Radio.. Credit: Tony Saunders, MPR News

WASHINGTON – National political spending groups have deluged Minnesota with more than $29 million in four key U.S. House races, a potent symbol of the state’s importance to the battle for control the U.S. House in November.

In northeast Minnesota’s open Eighth District, one of the Republican Party’s best chances nationwide to pick up a seat now held by a Democrat, outside conservative groups have dramatically offset Democrat Joe Radinovich’s fundraising advantage. He’s raised $1.5 million, while Republican Pete Stauber has raised $1.4 million. But outside organizations have spent $7.3 million to target area voters, much of it on ads critical of Radinovich.

The largely rural district, which includes Duluth and the Iron Range, is currently represented by Democratic U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan, who is stepping down. President Donald Trump won it by nearly 16 percentage points in 2016.

View the complete October 20 article by May Rao on the StarTribune website here.

Phillips brings energy, openness, optimism

To the Editor:

Dean Phillips is a fresh new face on the political scene. From the first time we heard him speak here in Edina we were impressed by his energy, openness, optimism, and willingness to begin a grassroots campaign that has already proven to be very successful. His goal has not been to trash his opponent like so many do these days, but rather to tell us who and what he is and how he can make the lives of those he will represent better in Washington, D.C., with the current climate of political dishonesty, promises made, promises broken.

As a businessman and philanthropist Dean knows how to treat people fairly, with respect, and most of all he listens carefully to what the people in his congressional district are telling him. From day one, he said he would not take PAC money from anyone and would grow his campaign with individual contributions. His appearances on the road at gatherings large and small, debates with his opponent on public radio and at other events sponsored by local groups like, The League of Women Voters, has proven that he is more than qualified to lead us all in a positive direction. His commitment to work across the aisle in Washington, D.C., is but one thing that he feels is imperative if success can be achieved for all of us in the time of political divisiveness. We have no doubt that Dean can bring back a sense of civility to politics and our vote will be with him on Nov. 6.

Jack and Diane Lacy
Edina Sun-Current, October 25, 2018

Why I support Dean Phillips

To the editor:

The source of campaign contributions is a trustworthy indicator of who will truly represent residents of the third congressional district: incumbent Erik Paulsen or his challenger Dean Phillips.

Paulsen currently occupies the eye-popping rank of number FOUR among reps who have accepted the most PAC money. That’s right—of 435 U.S. House reps, only three take more outside money than Erik Paulsen. He’s raked in over $2.6 million from political action committees. PACs are funded primarily by corporations and billionaires outside our district, and exist for one reason only: to influence elections and legislation.

Dean Phillips? Zero PAC money. Sixty-seven thousand individual contributors, donating an average of $33 each, have provided 100% of his campaign funds. And that’s who Phillips will listen to before casting votes in Congress: his constituents. The lion’s share of Paulsen’s votes, on the other hand, reflect the interests of the outside parties that pour money into his campaign coffers.

Side note: Erik actually sits in FIRST place for taking money from politically conservative PACs. Combine that with his votes—98 percent of which support President Trump’s agenda—and it’s plain that Paulsen is a far cry from the moderate politician his commercials and campaign literature try to make him out to be.

On Nov. 6, my family and I will vote for Dean Phillips, who has proven by refusing to accept outside money that he’ll represent us and our neighbors.

Martha McNey, Excelsior
Minnetonka Sun-Sailor, October 25, 2018

Paulsen’s Final Refusal to Sign “Minnesota Way” Pledge Prompts a Loan from Dean Phillips to His Campaign

Phillips fulfills commitment made at the beginning of his campaign to compete against Paulsen’s special-interest millions

EXCELSIOR, MN – Today Dean Phillips announced that he has loaned his campaign $1,316,568.50 – exactly half the sum Erik Paulsen has taken from special interest PACs as of September 30th of this year. Paulsen has raised nearly $100,000 more since then, and is now the 4th biggest taker of special interest PAC dollars in the entire Congress.

Erik Paulsen and the outside special interest groups who support him are outspending Phillips by a 3:1 margin. Phillips, who refuses to accept money from special interest PACs, federal lobbyists or members of Congress, has raised over $4 million from more than 66,000 individuals at an average of just $36 per contribution. Phillips stated at the very beginning of his campaign that he would rather help resource his own campaign than be bought off by the special interest groups that bankroll representatives like Erik Paulsen.

“I offered Congressman Paulsen the opportunity to run this campaign the Minnesota Way – without special interest money and without self-funding – but he refused time and time again,” said Phillips. “Congressman Paulsen is benefitting from millions more being spent on his behalf on despicable ads filled with lies and objectively misleading claims. On behalf of a district that demands principled representation, I will not let Erik Paulsen and out-of-state special interests buy this election.” Continue reading “Paulsen’s Final Refusal to Sign “Minnesota Way” Pledge Prompts a Loan from Dean Phillips to His Campaign”