Tag: Paul Gazelka

DFL Party Responds to GOP Contract on Minnesota

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA  – On Monday, the Minnesota DFL Party slammed the plan released by Minnesota Republicans to disregard the COVID-19 pandemic and allow for a total reopening of the state of Minnesota. 

In releasing their “Contract to Open Minnesota”, Republicans doubled down on their reckless disregard for the pandemic that has killed over 223,000 Americans and 2,200 Minnesotans by proposing to permit restaurants, bars, and other venues to completely reopen with no capacity, social distancing, or masking requirements.

DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin released the following statement:

“Make no mistake, the Minnesota Republican Party’s plan to entirely ignore COVID-19 is going to get people killed. Republican leaders like Donald Trump, Paul Gazelka, Kurt Daudt, and Jennifer Carnahan have already exposed Minnesotans to COVID-19 through their reckless campaigning and this plan will only make things worse.

Continue reading “DFL Party Responds to GOP Contract on Minnesota”

Statements from Speaker Hortman and Majority Leader Winkler on Republican Senate removing Commerce Commissioner Steve Kelley

House DFL logo

SAIN PAUL, MINNESOTA — Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler released the following statements on the Republican Senate removing Commerce Commissioner Steve Kelley.

“Governor Walz and his administration are trying to combat a global pandemic and instead of working with him, Senate Republicans are actively making it harder to fight this virus,” said Speaker Hortman. “It’s irresponsible for Republicans to continue to target individuals over a political disagreement with the Governor.”

“Sabotaging government agencies during a pandemic is as dangerous as it is shameless,” said House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler. “The GOP should be using this special session to work on bipartisan COVID relief for Minnesota families and businesses – not to brag about executing hostages and undermining public health. This reckless vote is proof that the Republican majority is unfit to lead the Senate during the greatest crisis of our lifetimes.”

Minnesota legislators Paul Gazelka, Kurt Daudt join Republican push to reverse Big Ten decision

Two from Minnesota join 8 others in GOP effort to open fall sports season. 

Two Minnesota legislators have joined other lawmakers from states with Big Ten universities, asking the conference to overturn its decision to cancel fall sports.

Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-Nisswa, and House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, were two of 10 legislators signing a letter written by Michigan House of Representatives speaker Lee Chatfield. All are Republicans from six states — including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Iowa and Wisconsin.

The letter went to Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren as well as all of the institutions’ presidents and chancellors. Continue reading.

Republicans could oust more of Gov. Tim Walz’s agency heads

Senators see leverage over what they call overreach. 

Several state agency leaders’ jobs — and the fraying relationship between GOP lawmakers and Gov. Tim Walz — could hang in the balance of an upcoming special session of the Legislature.

The DFL governor is expected to call the fourth session of the summer on Friday, despite the possibility that Senate Republicans could use the occasion to vote out more members of his administration.

Republican opposition to the governor’s use of emergency powers for the pandemic came to a head in August when they rejected Nancy Leppink as the leader of the Department of Labor and Industry. Continue reading.

Minnesota House POCI Caucus responds to Sen. Gazelka’s announcement of “oversight hearings” about recent unrest

House DFL logoSAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Members of the People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus in the Minnesota Legislature issued the following statement in response to Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka’s Thursday morning press conference:

“If oversight of law enforcement is the goal, Senate Republicans must quickly join the POCI Caucus to advance real criminal justice reforms. Why – five days after Senate Republicans walked away from this serious work – hasn’t Senator Gazelka yet responded to the House’s counteroffer during the special session to meet demands of the people for police accountability?

“There will be time to address the civil unrest that occurred in the days following George Floyd’s senseless killing, but the work to enact transformative, systemic changes within law enforcement is urgent, and Black, Indigenous, and communities of color can’t wait any longer for change. Senate Republicans have a duty to resume these critical discussions right now, or status quo systems that have failed Minnesotans for generations will continue to prevail.”

Today marks the one month anniversary of the murder of George Floyd.

The People of Color & Indigenous (POCI) Caucus includes Reps. Jamie Becker-Finn (42B), Aisha Gomez (62B), Hodan Hassan (62A), Kaohly Her (64A), Mary Kunesh-Podein (41B), Fue Lee (59A), Alice Mann (56B), Carlos Mariani (65B), Rena Moran (65A), Mohamud Noor (60B), Ruth Richardson (52B), Samantha Vang (40B), Jay Xiong (67B), Tou Xiong (53B), and Sens. Melisa Franzen (49), Foung Hawj (67), Jeff Hayden (62), Bobby Joe Champion (59), and Patricia Torres Ray (63).

 

Statement from Speaker Hortman on presidential primary

House DFL logoSAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman released the following statement on Minnesota’s presidential primary:

“The Minnesota House DFL supports increased voter privacy in the presidential primary. However, any change will require agreement with Senate Republicans and Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer — something they have shown no interest in so far. I would encourage anyone concerned about this issue to contact Sen. Kiffmeyer, Majority Leader Gazelka, and Senate Republicans.”

 

Despite 2012 failure, MN Republicans to try again for Voter ID

Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka announced the push Friday.

Under Minnesota law, you don’t need to bring your ID with you when you vote, but state senate Republicans are hoping to change that.

On Friday, Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka (R-Nisswa) released a video statement declaring that a Voter ID law would be a “high priority for Republicans in the Senate”:

Senate Republicans Cite Fake News Outlet on Voter ID

Outlet cited by the GOP was behind efforts to discredit women who accused Roy Moore of sexual assault

SAINT PAUL, MIINNESOTA – Yesterday, Minnesota Senate Republicans attempted to make the case for Voter ID by posting an undercover video produced by Project Veritas, an organization which has been described as a “right-wing disinformation outfit” by media researchers at Harvard University and a “discredited rightwing attack organization” in the Guardian.

Project Veritas is known for producing undercover sting videos that are deceptively edited and highly misleading. Some of their exploits include:

Ken Martin, Chairman of the Minnesota DFL, released the following statement:

“Project Veritas would not be an acceptable source for a middle school civics essay, and Minnesota Senate Republicans should know better than to post content from such a deceptive and discredited outfit.

“It is deeply disturbing that Senate Republicans are using a right-wing disinformation outlet to push a law that would stop eligible voters from casting their ballots. The same organization that Senate Republicans are using to make the case for voter ID was recently caught trying to spread fake news to discredit sexual assault victims. If Paul Gazelka and his caucus cannot make a good faith case for voter ID, they should drop the proposal instead of looking to liars and propagandists for support.”

The facts are clearly not on the side of Senate Republicans when it comes to voter ID. Study after study has found that voter fraud is incredibly rare. As the Minnesota Reformer noted:

“A Brennan Center for Justice 2017 study examined the 42 jurisdictions with a high share of noncitizen residents in the states where Trump alleged voter fraud. Of 23.5 million votes in the 2016 general election in those jurisdictions, officials referred an estimated 30 incidents of suspected noncitizen voting for further investigation or prosecution, or 0.0001%.”

Paul Gazelka Claims Homosexuality Can Result from Sexual Assault

Gazelka also claims homosexuals have a “myriad of issues”

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, the Minnesota Reformer released a story highlighting an interview Republican Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka gave to Truth & Liberty in which Gazelka made numerous, highly bigoted statements. In listening to the interview, the DFL uncovered several additional and deeply bigoted remarks made by Gazelka.

Homosexuality & Sexual Assault

During a discussion on a California ban on conversion therapy, Paul Gazelka attributed identifying as a lesbian to prior sexual trauma, stating:

“…as an adolescent, that’s when you’re most often confused about your sexuality. I mean, it’s complicated. You know, and if you were – y’know I listened to one speaker and he was talking about a lady that was lesbian, and he said before you judge her let me just tell you her backstory. He was a counselor, and he said she was chained to a toilet as a like two, three, four, five year old girl and raped by her dad, for years and years. How do you think she’s gonna feel? In other words, he’s trying to get you to realize that there’s a deeper backstory, and if you understand that, you can love them while you’re – while you’re bringing truth and trying to help them.” Continue reading “Paul Gazelka Claims Homosexuality Can Result from Sexual Assault”

GOP leader: Minnesotans won’t complain if climate change causes state to get 2 degrees hotter

Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka thinks the climate emergency is panicking people.

Sen. Paul Gazelka, the Senate Majority Leader in the Minnesota Legislature, says he doesn’t think “anyone will complain” if climate change causes the state to warm by 2 degrees celsius.

The leading Republican in the Minnesota Senate made the statement on Twitter, in response to a tweet by WCCO reporting on Minneapolis’ decision to declare a “climate emergency.”

“Stop scaring Minnesotans! Clean energy yes, panic no,” he wrote. “The sky is not falling. We are taking better care of the environment. We can focus on clean energy that is reliable and affordable. If Minnesota is 2 degrees warmer in 100 years, I don’t think anyone will complain.”

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