Tag: CD3

Paulsen, super PAC teamed up to tear Phillips down with lies

To the Editor:

Here we are, about two months away from midterm election day and the voters of Minnesota’s Third District are on the edge of their seats. We are paying attention to our candidates and determining who will be the best representatives of our interests. But instead of seeing incumbent Erik Paulsen put his best foot forward, we see attack advertisements, special interest money and smear politics.

This has to end. The Congressional Leadership Fund Super PAC and Erik Paulsen have teamed up to try to tear down Dean Phillips’ reputation with lies. Is that how campaigns should run? It’s incredibly misleading and quite honestly annoying. I don’t want our candidates filling the voters’ minds with falsehoods. Let’s provide facts only, please.

Here are some facts: Dean Phillips is a business owner who is passionate about getting money out of politics, saving the environment, making health care accessible to all and much more. He is being attacked for not providing health care to his employees at Penny’s, but he does, in fact, provide for all full-time employees. Continue reading “Paulsen, super PAC teamed up to tear Phillips down with lies”

A vote against Trump is a vote for decency

To the Editor:

Donald Trump routinely criticizes the media, attacks long-standing American institutions, diverts attention from serious issues that affect all Americans, insults anyone who criticizes him or his ideas and lavishes praise on dictators. He contributes to and encourages divisiveness and animosity in our country.

What can we actually do to stop or curtail Trump’s regressive agenda, since he will likely be around for several years? The answer is quite simple. First, we need to think about and act on the following critical issues that impact all of us, which Trump and his avid supporters champion but are not supported by most Americans.

A vote against Trump is a vote for: Continue reading “A vote against Trump is a vote for decency”

If Paulsen has nothing to hide, why is he unwilling to debate?

To the Editor:

The Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) is out of control. The Super PAC recently launched a scathing ad in their next round of attacks on behalf of Rep. Erik Paulsen against challenger Dean Phillips. The advertisement is directed towards his health care past at Penny’s Coffee. The ad was littered with false statements, insinuating that Phillips did not provide health care to his employees at Penny’s.

This is unequivocally not true.

Phillips has always provided health care to all of his full-time employees along with a $15/hour living wage. Phillips explained his small business policies at the Aug. 21 debate in St. Louis Park. This was the only debate between the two candidates that Paulsen has agreed to thus far, and it came with a price tag of $60 per person. Continue reading “If Paulsen has nothing to hide, why is he unwilling to debate?”

Erik Paulsen continues to prioritize political lip service over military service

While the Trump administration works towards exposing veterans and families to predatory lenders, the silence from Paulsen is deafening

Mick Mulvaney, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), has made a series of troubling moves that will ultimately lead to countless military veterans and their families being taken advantage of by predatory lenders. Erik Paulsen, a prodigious fundraiser of campaign cash from these types of financial institutions,, has remained silent on this issue.

“It should come as no surprise that Donald Trump and his congressional cronies, like Erik Paulsen, are allowing predatory financial institutions to take advantage of America’s veterans, these companies pay good campaign money for that opportunity,” said DFL Chairman Ken Martin. “We know America’s veterans are among the most vulnerable groups to exploitation today, and the lack of leadership from a congressman who claims he’ll ‘stand up to his party or Trump’ is startling. It looks to me like Paulsen is only standing up for the unregulated financial sector who is bankrolling his campaign.”

Bigfoot Asks: Does Erik Paulsen Really Exist?

New digital ad features the search for Minnesota’s most hard-to-find elected official

Excelsior, MN – Phillips for Congress released a new digital ad today featuring an interview with Bigfoot, who has been inspired to find Minnesota’s most elusive figure: Congressman Erik Paulsen.

Congressman Paulsen did not hold a public town hall meeting for more than seven years.  He’s rarely caught on camera in Minnesota, and he’s almost never seen in public — and when he is it’s not for long. He’s so good at hiding that even Bigfoot is impressed.

In fact, the only way to guarantee an Erik Paulsen sighting is to contribute $2,700 to join his “Eagles Club” or write a $10,000 PAC check to help fund his negative TV ads. Continue reading “Bigfoot Asks: Does Erik Paulsen Really Exist?”

Dean Phillips Releases Open Letter to Congressman Erik Paulsen

Excelsior, MN – Dean Phillips offered the following open letter to Congressman Erik Paulsen today:

Congressman Paulsen:

In April of this year, I invited you to make a mutual pact to campaign the Minnesota Way, which – in addition to eliminating PAC money, self-funding and spending from outside groups – would have ensured at least two public voter forums per month.

Continue reading “Dean Phillips Releases Open Letter to Congressman Erik Paulsen”

In Third District, Dean Phillips bravely walks the talk

In her Sept. 9 column, “Phillips wages his own kind of challenge,” Lori Sturdevant essentially asks the rhetorical question, “Is Dean Phillips either naive or brave in his Third District congressional campaign strategy?”

The answer would seem to be: brave.

Bravery demonstrated by not accepting special-interest political action committee (PAC) donations and by challenging all candidates from both his own and his opponent’s parties to do the same.

Continue reading “In Third District, Dean Phillips bravely walks the talk”

Key Vote Alert: Rep. Paulsen Votes to Permanently Slash State and Local Tax Deductions, Put Social Security and Medicare on the Chopping Block

© Greg Nash

After voting to give massive handouts to the wealthy and corporations at the expense of the middle class with last year’s Tax Scam, Republicans are back for more. Rep. Paulsen, as a member of the Ways and Means Committee, voted yesterday topermanently cap the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction, costing Minnesota families thousands of dollars per year. Rep. Paulsen also put Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block by voting to increase the deficit by at least $631 billion, on top of the $1.9 trillion deficit increase that resulted from the GOP tax scam.

“Rep. Erik Paulsen voted to permanently slash the State and Local Tax deduction that hard working families in Minnesota rely on to save thousands of dollars a year and put Medicare and Social Security on the chopping block by adding another $631 billion to the deficits Republicans have already racked up thanks to their tax scam,” said DCCC spokesperson Rachel Irwin.“Voters know that as long as Paulsen is in office, their access to affordable healthcare and retirement security are at risk.”