Tag: CD3

To the Editor:

At his town hall on May 30th, Congressman Erik Paulsen kept trying to portray himself as a bipartisan moderate.

Erik Paulsen has still voted with President Trump on 97.4 percent of his votes. He is not a moderate, he is not bipartisan, and he does not represent the people of our district who have overwhelmingly showed we do not support the President. Continue reading “Maple Grove needs new representative”

To the Editor:

At Erik Paulsen’s recent town halls on May 30, he was asked many questions related to the health care, an issue about which I have a good deal of interest. Naturally, I was interested to hear Congressman Paulsen’s responses to these question. I was sadly disappointed. The Congressman was asked about the possibility of Medicare negotiating directly with the drug companies, something that over 90 percent of the country supports. The Congressman claimed the Congressional Budget Office had determined there would be no effect on drug prices. Actually, Congress has the authority to amend the Medicare Act requiring negotiated drug prices, which would result in significant discounts as seen elsewhere, as in Canada, for example.

Coincidently, at the Brooklyn Park Town Hall, there was a question related to the significantly lower drug prices in Canada. Congressman Paulsen’s response implied that Canada was stealing intellectual property from the USA in this regard. This bold claim was not supported with any facts or clarification. Unfortunately, the town hall format precluded a dialog, nor has a written inquiry to his office resulted in a response. We in CD3 deserve much more from our congressman. My intention here is to neither demonize Congressman Paulsen nor to confer sainthood on Dean Phillips, but I sure hope that, between now and Nov. 6, there will be open debates between Paulsen and challenger Phillips on heath care and many more issues. Airing out these issues in public will provide an opportunity to the well-educated constituents of CD3 to help separate rumor and innuendo from facts.

Derek Roek, Plymouth
Plymouth Sun-Sailor, June 13, 2018

To the Editor:

I’m proud to be a Minnesotan. We value truth, honesty, integrity, and kindness. I sure wish my Congressional representative would stand up and “represent” those values, too.

When I asked Rep. Erik Paulsen (CD-3) at the May 30 town hall in Brooklyn Park what he’ll do in the next six months to stand up to the bully in the White House, he dove into the virtues of bipartisan legislation. Oh boy. This isn’t about legislation, it’s about principled leadership.

Minnesota’s Third Congressional District needs a bold advocate willing to stand up to the chief bully and his posse of lap dogs. Instead, we have Erik Paulsen, for now. Continue reading “Paulsen offers no solutions at town hall meetings”

To the Editor:

In a recent campaign mailing I received from my Congressman Erik Paulsen, titled “Getting Results for Minnesota Seniors,” the congressman is pictured discussing issues “including health care and the national debt” with seniors. I wonder if he told the seniors that he co-sponsored the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that added $1.5 trillion to the national debt and voted three times to repeal the Affordable Care Act that would have left 32 million Americans without health care coverage.

He touts his efforts to repeal a cap on physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech language pathology services under Medicare and quotes AARP’s positive statement on repeal of the cap, but fails to mention that his tax bill will need to take millions of dollars from programs like Medicare to fund the tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. According to a letter sent to Congressional leadership, AARP CEO Jo Ann C. Jenkins condemned the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act because of the likelihood that it would lead to “dramatic cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and other important programs that serve older Americans.”

Congressman Paulsen can’t be counted on to tell the whole story. His campaign strategy appears to hinge on his constituents never checking his voting record.

Cindy Mundahl, Minnetonka
Minnetonka Sun-Sailor, June 5, 2018

Finally, he takes questions* from constituents* in a public forum*

Regarding the May 31 article “Going face-to-face,” about U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen’s three “town hall” meetings on Wednesday, I wish the reporter had looked at and reported on the context. After not holding any public meetings for six years, Paulsen chose to schedule these meetings on a workday, on short notice, and he required constituents to enter a “lottery” — his word — in order to attend.

When I attempted to sign up, I was told I was being put on a waiting list. I arrived at the Chanhassen venue and was told that because a full house was anticipated, no one from the waiting list would be admitted. About 15 of us who were on the waiting list waited outside the venue. After the meeting began, people inside the hall informed us that there were 13 empty seats, but Paulsen’s staff did not admit any of us. And, if you were to look at the photos of the meeting that took place later in the day in Brooklyn Park, there was clearly ample capacity to accommodate more constituents, but the congressman chose not to do so. Many people were also wait-listed for that meeting.

So, we can but conclude that this is not a town-hall meeting but a tightly scripted political stunt. Paulsen does not really want to hear the concerns of his constituents; he just wants to appear to be doing so.

Mary Yee, Edina
StarTribune, June 1, 2018