Tag: Rep. Paulsen

Phillips has more integrity for refusing PAC money

To the editor:

I remember watching Erik Paulsen’s campaign ads in the 2010 election cycle, in which he lectured his daughters from a whiteboard, called himself “a numbers guy,” and promised to “protect our wallets from politicians.” These promises seem preposterous in 2018, after Paulsen voted for a bill that will increase the national debt to $11.7 trillion by 2027. As a mom of three kids, I’m not comfortable with shifting our nation’s burden from corporations to our families now and in the future. Paulsen was a powerful advocate for this bill, and now we all pay the price.

Paulsen had gone more than six years without holding a town hall. In May, he acquiesced and held three small, ticketed town halls. I did not win the lottery to attend these meetings, and suspect I’ll never have the opportunity to tell him face-to-face what I think of his cavalier attitude toward the national debt. Continue reading “Phillips has more integrity for refusing PAC money”

Feisty debate kicks off Paulsen-Phillips race for Congress

The following article by Mark Zdechlik was posted on the MPRNews.org website August 21, 2018:

Rep. Paulsen responds to a question during a debate with DFL congressional candidate Dean Phillips at the DoubleTree Park Place in Minneapolis, Minn. on Aug. 21, 2018. Credit: Lacey Young, MPR News

Republican U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen and his DFL challenger Dean Phillips tangled over taxes, health care and campaign finance reform in their first debate Tuesday.

Paulsen said Phillips would derail economic growth by voting to repeal the Republican tax cut law. Paulsen argued the tax cut was needed and that it’s helping ordinary Minnesotans.

“Weak growth, which was what we were seeing under the last eight years, was not acceptable,” he said. “Sure, people like Dean Phillips and those who are well off will do fine under those circumstances. But the rest of us, we won’t do well in an economic depression, and that was only just around the corner.”

View the complete article here.

Rep. Erik Paulsen and Dean Phillips face off in first debate for Third District seat

The following article by Jessie Van Berkel was posted on the Star Tribune website August 21, 2018:

The debate at a St. Louis Park hotel quickly grew testy, with both candidates attacking the other almost immediately.

DFL challenger Dean Phillips and Rep. Erik Paulsen greeted each other at the end of Tuesday’s 3rd Congressional District debate in St. Louis Park. Credit: Glen Stubbe, Star Tribune

U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen and DFL challenger Dean Phillips clashed over health care, tax reform, immigration and other issues, trading barbs Tuesday in the first debate of their increasingly heated fight for a Minnesota House seat.

The debate at a St. Louis Park hotel quickly grew testy, with both candidates attacking the other almost immediately. Paulsen, a Republican, referenced Phillips’ personal wealth when he said that people who are not millionaires should be able to run for Congress, while Phillips pressed Paulsen to reject campaign donations from interest groups and hit him for voting for most of President Donald Trump’s agenda.

“I’ll stand up to my own party,” Paulsen said, whether that’s protecting the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, opposing “misguided tariffs” or pushing for a vote on immigration legislation.

View the complete article here.

Paulsen should not accept donations from opioid manufacturer

To the Editor:

I wholeheartedly agree with Erik Paulsen’s stance against opioids that he took in his recent Medium article. His facts and efforts in Congress are much appreciated. It is unfortunate however that he may be beholden to many of those same pharmaceutical special interests and PACs being sued that inadvertently assist in distributing some of these harmful opioids to Minnesotans.

This makes me more than uneasy. How can you claim to be fighting for the opioid crisis while simultaneously being propped up by their donations? Until Paulsen distances himself from the pharmaceutical companies that are being sued by the state of Minnesota, I’ll be taking everything he says with a grain of salt. He should show that he’s serious about fixing the opioid crisis at all levels, and that includes rejecting money from the purveyors of the problem. I would urge him to go still further. I like the idea of a separate corporate tax on opioids for the pharmaceutical companies. This would dissuade them from condoning overprescribing as they have in the past.

John Hetterick, Plymouth
Plymouth Sun-Current, August 21, 2018

MN03 Paulsen-Phillips TwinWest Debate

If you weren’t able to attend the above debate August 21, the UpTake.org has posted a replay on their website.  Here’s a link:  http://theuptake.org/2018/08/21/mn-cd3-debate-erik-paulsen-and-dean-phillips/

 

Projections Show Most Minnesota Congressional Races Up For Grabs

The following article was posted on the KSTP website August 20, 2018:

The FiveThirtyEight, which partners with ABC News, recently released their Election 2018 forecast for the US House, which shows a majority of Minnesota’s Congressional Districts are competitive.

“Minnesota certainly for its size, has a ridiculously disproportionate number of competitive seats,” said Nathaniel Rakich, FiveThirtyEight Election Analyst. “I don’t know of any other state that has half of its districts, fully half of its districts competitive.”

KSTP 2018 Election Coverage

The FiveThirtyEight offers users three different options for viewing the projections from a lite version with only polling data, or options with fundraising, and a more in-depth model that includes projections from other non-partisan election analysts.

View the complete article here.

Erik Paulsen Accepts Dean Phillips’s Invitation To Participate in Open-to-the-Public Voter Forums

Demand for public appearances by both candidates grows as Phillips appears at well-attended forums

Excelsior, MN – On August 10th, and again on on August 16th, Dean Phillips invited Congressman Erik Paulsen to join him at free, open to the public, voter forums in Coon Rapids and Eden Prairie. After 11 days of silence, Congressman Paulsen finally accepted the invitation to three forums, but with severe restrictions on participation, and did not offer dates on which he’d make himself available.

“Representation begins with listening,” said Dean Phillips. “Congressman Paulsen’s commitment to join me in answering questions from the public three times before Election Day is encouraging. It is important that these events are open and accessible to all who wish to attend – no tickets, just conversation.” Continue reading “Erik Paulsen Accepts Dean Phillips’s Invitation To Participate in Open-to-the-Public Voter Forums”

In First Debate, Erik Paulsen Can’t Do the Math

“For a so-called ‘math guy,’ Rep. Erik Paulsen clearly doesn’t get that his votes add up in Washington. We’re happy to do the math for him: Paulsen votes with President Trump 98 percent of the time, while being the 6th highest recipient of special interest money in Congress. Those numbers won’t help his chances in November. ” – DCCC spokesperson Rachel Irwin 

Here’s a fact check of Paulsen’s claims:

Paulsen Claim: “I’m in the top ten percent of those who don’t vote with my party.”

Reality: In his career, Paulsen has voted with the Republican Party 93% of the time, and in the 115th Congress, Paulsen has voted 96% of the time with Paul Ryan. He votes with President Trump 98 percent of the time in D.C. Continue reading “In First Debate, Erik Paulsen Can’t Do the Math”

DFL Fact Check: Rep. Erik Paulsen misleads voters

During the Aug. 21 Twin West Chamber Debate between Congressman Erik Paulsen and Dean Phillips, Paulsen made questionable statements that will lead to fact checkers’ “pants-on-fire scores,” including:

Paulsen Claim: “Number six? I don’t know where you get that number from.”

Fact check: False. Paulsen is ranked number six <https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/top-recipients> from special interest raised from Super PACs.

Paulsen Claim: “The good news is you have young people graduating from college that don’t have as much of a challenge paying off student loans. There’s upward mobility.”

Fact check: False. “At nearly $1.4 trillion in loans outstanding, student debt is now the second-largest source of household debt and is the only form of consumer debt that continued to grow in the wake of the Great Recession.” -Brookings Institute<https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-looming-student-loan-default-crisis-is-worse-than-we-thought/> Continue reading “DFL Fact Check: Rep. Erik Paulsen misleads voters”

At Debate: Congressman Paulsen Misleads Voters

Dean Phillips Presses Congressman on Corruption in Congress

ST. LOUIS PARK, MN – Today in the first debate between candidates for Congress in Minnesota’s Third District, Congressman Erik Paulsen refused to be honest with voters when directly confronted about how much money he takes from special interests –despite clear evidence reported by several outlets including The New York Times.

“We have a Congress that is bought and sold by special interests and Congressman Paulsen ranks 6 out of 435 when it comes to those who take money from PACs, special interests, federal lobbyists and other Members of Congress,” said Dean Phillips. “I take none.” Continue reading “At Debate: Congressman Paulsen Misleads Voters”