Tag: Paulsen lies

No, Dean Phillips was not involved in a sexual harassment case at one of his companies

A television ad in Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District attempts to tie Democratic candidate Dean Phillips to a congressman accused of domestic abuse.

Phillips’ opponent, Republican congressman Erik Paulsen, aired the ad that starts off by saying “sleazy Keith Ellison and shady Dean Phillips, both caught up in another sexual harassment scandal,” making it appear as if the two men are involved in the same scandal.

Ellison is accused of domestic abuse by his former girlfriend. The congressman is currently running for Minnesota attorney general and has denied the allegations.

But the focus here is the claim that Phillps is “charged with ignoring sexual harassment and discrimination at his companies,” as the ad’s narrator goes on to say.

View the complete October 29 article by Samantha Putterman on the Politifact.com website here.

Washington Post Asks Media to Shine a Light on One of Paulsen’s Favorite Lies

Erik Paulsen again caught lying, this time on pre-existing conditions; refuses to redact false statement

EXCELSIOR, MN – Today, The Washington Post took issue with how Erik Paulsen and six other Republican politicians that are mis-portraying their fact checks, and asked local media to shine a light on Paulsen’s refusal to withdraw his misleading statement.

Erik Paulsen has repeatedly – and falsely – claimed that the Washington Post had given “four Pinocchios” to anyone saying that he and other Republicans voted to gut protections for pre-existing conditions, including in a recent debate on KSTP. As the article makes clear, that was not the focus of the fact check in question, and Paulsen’s claim is not accurate.

“Facing the most competitive race of his career, Congressman Paulsen has shown his true colors,” said Zach Rodvold, campaign manager for Phillips for Congress. “His blatant disregard for the truth is beneath what we expect from a sitting member of Congress. In lying to try and save his job, he is showing Minnesotans exactly why he should be voted out. It may be the preferred approach for DC consultants and the special interest groups bankrolling his campaign, but voters have had enough.”

The Washington Post calls Paulsen’s behavior “dismaying,” asking local media to shine a light on this “brazen misappropriation” of facts while awarding Congressman Paulsen himself with “four Pinocchios” for his claim.

They Write:

Continue reading “Washington Post Asks Media to Shine a Light on One of Paulsen’s Favorite Lies”

These Republicans are misleading voters about our Obamacare fact checks

SPOILER ALERT:  Guess who else is on the list?  Our own Erik Paulsen.

Somewhere, somehow, a memo must have gone out to Republican lawmakers who voted for the American Health Care Act (AHCA), the Republican bill to repeal and replace Obamacare: If you are attacked for undermining protections for people with existing health problems, jab back by saying the claim got Four Pinocchios from The Washington Post.

That’s not true. Republicans are twisting an unrelated fact check and are misleading voters. We have found at least seven politicians who have done this.

Rep. Peter J. Roskam (Illinois’s 6th District): In a debate on Oct. 22, he said: “Sean [Casten] has falsely accused me of being against protecting people with preexisting conditions and that was fact-checked by The Washington Post, who gave that four Pinocchios.”

View the complete October 29 article by Glenn Kessler on the Washington Post website here.

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

Frustrated with Rep. Paulsen’s false claims

Dear Editor:

As a citizen frustrated with the current political climate, I am eagerly anticipating the upcoming elections. I find myself discouraged and depressed however, at the ridiculous barrage of false advertising – particularly from our current representative, Erik Paulsen.

As someone who has voted for many Republicans and Democrats, I always look at candidates with skepticism. However, the easily disproven, fraudulent attacks by the Paulsen campaign against Dean Phillips are particularly unsettling. Of the numerous negative attacks, one stands out above the rest: the accusation that Phillips covered up harassment at Allina’s Health System Clinics. This is blatantly false, and disputed by both the business and the women themselves. Paulsen has yet to stop running the ad or apologize for the debunked claim, cynically hoping that voters simply swallow it. This new, corrosive trend of creating your own truth and lying to the public is destructive. Fabricating a story involving harassment because it is currently such an emotional issue is repulsive.

We’ve also been told that Dean Phillips avoids paying his taxes (he doesn’t) and doesn’t provide healthcare to employees (he does), and as more of these dishonest attacks are unveiled, we learn just how far Erik Paulsen is willing to go to keep his job. Continue reading “Frustrated with Rep. Paulsen’s false claims”

Truth is Truth: New Phillips Ad Fact Checks Paulsen’s Lies

New Phillips for Congress TV ad amplifies growing backlash against Erik Paulsen’s unprecedented negative campaign

Excelsior, MN — Today, Dean Phillips’s campaign for Congress released a new ad – entitled “False” – which showcases the multitude of independent fact checks calling Congressman Erik Paulsen out for repeatedly lying in his campaign. The ad comes the same day that President Donald Trump, who is also notorious for lying to voters, issued a “strong endorsement” of Congressman Paulsen via Twitter.

“Erik Paulsen is running one of the most negative campaigns – filled with objectively false claims – that Minnesota has ever seen from a sitting incumbent,” said Zach Rodvold, campaign manager for Philips for Congress. “Congressman Paulsen’s record of voting with President Trump 98% of the time earned him the President’s ‘strong endorsement’, and now Paulsen has adopted President Trump’s complete disregard for truth on the campaign trail, too. Voters are finally getting to know the real Erik Paulsen, and they don’t like what they see.”

Congressman Paulsen’s unprecedented negative campaign 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 their attorney, and Democrats, independents, and Republicans alike. Continue reading “Truth is Truth: New Phillips Ad Fact Checks Paulsen’s Lies”

Watch: New DCCC Ad Warns Minnesotans About the “Paulsen Way”

Today, the DCCC launched a new ad in Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District, warning voters that Rep. Erik Paulsen is a bought-and-sold politician who has lost touch with Minnesotans. Paulsen, who ranks 5th in the country for the most special interest money taken, has banked more than $2 million dollars from special interests while voting their way in D.C.

Since Paulsen can’t defend his own record, he’s using that special interest cash to launch false attacks on his opponent Dean Phillips. Paulsen and his allies have come under fire for launching a series of attack ads that have been condemned by business leaders, fellow Republicans and the media: Continue reading “Watch: New DCCC Ad Warns Minnesotans About the “Paulsen Way””

Dean Phillips: In U.S. House race, Paulsen’s negative campaign puts party over voters’ interests

A return to decency is possible, but it will take a new generation of independent-minded leaders in Congress — from both parties.

When I entered the race for Congress 18 months ago, I was fulfilling a promise I made to my teenage daughters after the 2016 election to do something to help repair our politics — and our government.

I believe our Constitution anticipated a president like Donald Trump, but it surely did not anticipate a Congress filled with so many career politicians who lack courage, who place party before principle, and who favor special interests that finance their campaigns over the common interests they’re elected to serve.

Unfortunately, among the worst practitioners of such misrepresentation is Erik Paulsen, the current congressman from Minnesota’s Third District.

Despite representing a district in which only 41 percent voted for Donald Trump, Paulsen votes with the president’s agenda 98 percent of the time. Despite taking an oath to represent his constituents, he went almost seven years before holding an in-person town hall meeting. And despite once sponsoring a bill to ban special-interest PAC money from elections, he is now the fourth biggest taker of special interest money in the entire 435-member House of Representatives. Continue reading “Dean Phillips: In U.S. House race, Paulsen’s negative campaign puts party over voters’ interests”

Paulsen takes campaign to a new low

I was sitting in the waiting room at the Allina Radiology and Oncology center when I first saw Erik Paulsen’s ad demonizing Dean Phillips and the Allina Health Care system. The feeling of gratitude that had filled my heart as I was waiting for my last visit with my radiologist for my breast cancer treatment was replaced with disgust and anger as I watched this dark and vulgar video. I looked around the room at the others waiting for care and I wondered how they would feel if they happened upon the ad as I just did. When you are being treated for a life threatening condition and you have hope you have won the battle with the excellent care of the hospital and their staff, your gratitude makes you want to fight for their honor and reputation.

I am appalled that Erik Paulsen trashes Dean Phillips in one ad after another, but now Paulsen is trashing a place where thousands have found cures and help at the most difficult times of their lives. Erik Paulsen has taken the dark ads to a new low. It is simply disgusting.

Erik Paulsen will be leaving Congress with a disgraced reputation rather than one that honors him for serving. He must be desperate to be willing to tarnish his service in this way. The only ads I see from Paulsen’s team are ones trashing Dean Phillips. Has Paulsen nothing positive to say about himself? Continue reading “Paulsen takes campaign to a new low”

Paulsen’s Dishonest Campaign Barrels on with No Regard for Truth in Final MN03 Debate

When asked, Erik Paulsen has a misleading or flat out false answer for everything

Excelsior, MN — At the final debate between Erik Paulsen and Dean Phillips today, Congressman Paulsen doubled down on the lies and distortions that have come to be a hallmark of his campaign. Erik Paulsen deceived at every turn, wrapping up a negative campaign the likes of which is unprecedented in Minnesota political history.

“Congressman Paulsen’s dishonest tactics were on display again today,” said Zach Rodvold, campaign manager for Phillips for Congress. “Not only is Congressman Paulsen voting with Trump 98% of the time, he’s beginning to behave like him too, using personal insults and slander and telling lie after lie in his ads and in public appearances. That’s why more and more former Erik Paulsen supporters are joining the Dean Team every day.”

“I’ve simply had it,” said one of Paulsen’s former supporters, David Hawes from Minnetonka, who has voted for Paulsen four times. “Erik Paulsen is running the worst smear campaign Minnesota has ever seen – and this year I am switching my vote to Dean Phillips.”

Here are a few of Congressman Paulsen’s deviations from the truth from today’s KSTP debate: Continue reading “Paulsen’s Dishonest Campaign Barrels on with No Regard for Truth in Final MN03 Debate”