Tag: Tina Smith

AUDIO: Lewis Team Launches Senate Bid With Sexist Rant On Smith: ‘An Empty-Headed Pile of Nothing’

Jason Lewis has long history of sexist comments, including lamenting he can no longer call women “sluts”

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, DFL Chairman Ken Martin is calling on Trump’s hand-picked U.S. Senate candidate Jason Lewis to condemn the unhinged, sexist rant his campaign advisor went on moments before Lewis launched his campaign.

Yesterday, State Sen. Dave Osmek – a Lewis campaign advisor and self-described “kitchen cabinet” member – launched a barrage of sexist attacks against U.S. Senator Tina Smith, calling her “an empty-headed pile of nothing.” The comments took place on Thursday morning’s Up and at ‘Em podcast. He also disparaged Sen. Smith as “oily” and “scummy.”

Click here to listen to the Jason Lewis’ team’s sexist rant (beginning at 10:37).

“It’s no surprise that Jason Lewis’ team is beginning their campaign with sexist attacks on women given his own lengthy history of misogynistic comments,” said DFL Chair Ken Martin. “I’m calling on Jason Lewis to condemn these remarks, but I’m not holding my breath given that he once referred to women who care about contraceptive coverage as ‘without a brain.’  Jason Lewis should show women the respect they deserve.”The comments from Jason Lewis’ team come as no surprise. Lewis himself has long history of misogynistic and sexist comments. He has lamented that he can no longer call women “sluts” anymore, he has mocked victims of sexual misconduct, and he has referred to “young single women” who care about contraceptive coverage as “without a brain.”

Transcript Fact Check: In the 2018 special election, Sen. Smith and her opponent debated over and over and over again.

Transcript – Up and at ‘Em podcast, 8/22/19

OSMEK [00:10:37]: [Jason Lewis is] going to be making an announcement. It’s probably the worst kept secret in the world. I’ve been meeting with him a few times. I’m on his kitchen cabinet, you may say. He’s going to announce that he’s going to be running on the ballot in 2020.

…
OSMEK [00:14:15]: Now, Tina Smith is as oily and scummy as you can possibly get. She wouldn’t have, if I remember correctly, it wasn’t too long ago, she wouldn’t get into debates with Karin Housley. Of all people, Karin Housley. God love her, she’s one of my colleagues in the senate. But Tina Smith wouldn’t debate. Why? She can’t debate. She’s an empty-headed pile of nothing and Jason’s going to chop her to little pieces.

HOST: Here’s the thing with Karin Housley, her forecheck isn’t quite as good as her husband’s.

OSMEK: You are correct. [laughter] If there’s one thing her husband has is that she’s –  he’s better in the corners. She might be better with a slap-shot but he’s –

HOST 2: I don’t know. She’s pretty good neutral zone, trap, you know, turnover, speed.

OSMEK: I’m really looking forward to it. He’s going to go around all of Minnesota. I’m going to be helping along the way.

Rating changes: Texas and Minnesota Senate races shift the Democrats’ way

Cornyn remains the favorite, but defending his seat could cost the GOP resources

The fight for Senate control is still taking shape and, less than 16 months before Election Day, two states appear to moving in the Democrats’ direction on the battlefield.

Donald Trump came within about a point and a half of winning Minnesota in the 2016 presidential election. But that might be the new high-water mark for Republicans, and the GOP will have a hard time unseating Democratic Sen. Tina Smith in 2020.

Democrats have a 52-43 percent advantage statewide, according to the Inside Elections Baseline, which includes all statewide and House results over the most recent four election cycles. Republicans took a half-hearted shot at Smith last cycle, when she was on the ballot for the first time as a senator, but state Sen. Karin Housley lost by more than 10 points.

View the complete July 9 article by Nathan L. Gonzales on The Roll Call website here.

Republican Karin Housley won’t run for U.S. Senate in 2020

Republican state Sen. Karin Housley announced Tuesday that she won’t seek a rematch against Democrat Tina Smith for U.S. Senate in 2020.

Housley, who lost to Smith by double digits in 2018, has been publicly mulling another U.S. Senate bid for months. But on Tuesday, the St. Marys Point Republican said that she ultimately decided to run for re-election in the state Senate instead.

“I love our communities and I love Minnesota — and I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished in the past seven years,” Housley tweeted. “I’m excited to continue that work.”

View the complete July 2 article by Torey Van Oot on The Star Tribune website here.

Minnesota Congressional delegation pens letter supporting homeless vet registry

The Minnesota Congressional delegation sent a letter Thursday, May 23, to Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie highlighting Minnesota’s efforts to address veteran homelessness and urging him to examine if the VA could benefit from implementing similar programs at the federal level.

The delegation includes Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Tina Smith, D-Minn., and Reps. Jim Hagedorn, R-Minn., Angie Craig, D-Minn., Dean Phillips, D-Minn., Betty McCollum, D-Minn., Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Tom Emmer, R-Minn., Collin Peterson, D-Minn., and Pete Stauber, R-Minn.

According to a news release, the Minnesota Homeless Veteran Registry was created in 2014 to identify all known homeless veterans in an effort to ensure they have access to appropriate housing and social services. The registry helps to recognize the underlying factors contributing to veteran homelessness, including mental health issues, substance abuse and economic hardship. In the letter, the members asked Wilkie about the VA’s efforts to address veteran homelessness and urged him to consider implementing Minnesota’s registry program.

View the complete May 24 article from The Brainerd Dispatch on their website here.

U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips Introduce Legislation to Support Family Mental Health Services

Minnesota Lawmakers Want to Ensure Updates to Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act Better Address Mental Health Needs of Children and Families

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and U.S. Representative Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) teamed up to introduce companion bills that would update landmark legislation to prioritize making sure the child welfare system supports and connects families to needed mental health services.

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) was enacted 45 years ago and governs important child protection programs and services to prevent, assess, and identify child abuse and neglect—and it is the only federal program exclusively dedicated to these aims.  Sen. Smith and Rep. Phillips’s bill—the Supporting Family Mental Health in CAPTA Act—would update CAPTA to improve the delivery of mental health services for children and families, improve access to important developmental screenings and early intervention services, and support research on effective practices to prevent child abuse and neglect.  CAPTA is due to be reauthorized this year.

You can access text of the bill here and a summary of the legislation here. Continue reading “U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips Introduce Legislation to Support Family Mental Health Services”

Federal workers in Minnesota describe pain from missed paychecks


Sen. Tina Smith, left, listened to TSA employee Celia Hahn, now working without pay. Credit: Leila Navidi, Star Tribune

A handful of federal employees joined Sen. Tina Smith at a news conference at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith sought to put a human face Friday on the effects of the partial shutdown of the federal government.

Flanked by a handful of federal employees, Smith held a news conference at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to denounce the political stalemate in Washington that has prevented passage of a federal budget for 21 days, causing many workers to miss their first paycheck this week.

“This shutdown is wasteful, it is unnecessary, and it is increasingly harmful to so many people,” said Smith, a Democrat. She said she’s heard from “dozens and dozens” of people whose lives have been disrupted by the shutdown.

View the complete January 11 article by Dan Browning on The Star Tribune website here.

U.S. Senator Tina Smith: We Must Ensure Veterans Receive Full Housing Benefits You are here Home

Senator Presses Department of Veterans Affairs to Launch Investigation, Provide Clear Answers To Guarantee Veterans are Paid in Full

U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) is helping to lead a bipartisan push to get the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to quickly clarify how it intends to “make whole” the more than 360,000 veterans in Minnesota and across the country who are at risk of being denied the full housing benefits they’ve earned.

In response to recent reports that the VA plans to withhold retroactive payments for missed or underpaid monthly housing benefits from some veterans because it would create a backlog, Sen. Smith joined 12 of her Congressional colleagues in asking the VA’s Inspector General to investigate and clarify how it will ensure full benefits are paid.

Last week, a top VA benefits official told the House Veterans Affairs Committee that veterans still awaiting payments would be made whole, but he was unclear on whether the VA would pay the higher rates that went into effect in August, or the lower benefits provided previously.  Continue reading “U.S. Senator Tina Smith: We Must Ensure Veterans Receive Full Housing Benefits You are here Home”

Klobuchar, Smith Announce More Than $46 Million for Minnesota’s Basic Health Program, MinnesotaCare

The Basic Health Program (BHP), known as MinnesotaCare in Minnesota, is a health benefits program for low-income citizens who would otherwise be ineligible to purchase coverage through the health insurance marketplace

WASHINGTON– U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN) announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has awarded $46,276,090 in additional payments to Minnesota for their Basic Health Program (BHP). Established by the Affordable Care Act, states have the option to create a BHP for low-income citizens, providing healthcare coverage to those who do not qualify for programs like Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). CMS estimates that qualified health plan premiums in Minnesota would have been 18.8 percent higher if it was not operating their BHP, MinnesotaCare.

“Minnesota has a long, bipartisan history of innovation and efficiency in health care. MinnesotaCare has helped to bring down healthcare costs for the most vulnerable in our state who need affordable, comprehensive coverage,” Klobuchar said. “This funding helps in that effort and I will continue to fight for lower healthcare costs.”

“MinnesotaCare is a critical program that furthers our goal of making sure everyone has access to affordable, high-quality health care,” Smith said. “By investing in MinnesotaCare, we’re investing in people across the state and in the shared belief that we can all work collectively to lower the cost of health care.”

Continue reading “Klobuchar, Smith Announce More Than $46 Million for Minnesota’s Basic Health Program, MinnesotaCare”

Sen. Tina Smith Victory Speech