Tag: U.S. House

Dean Phillips is a fresh voice for the Third District

He would help move Congress back toward more civil, fact-based representation.

Dean Phillips is a fresh, positive voice on Minnesota’s political scene who could be part of a new generation in Congress that moves this country back to a more civil, fact-based, grass-roots representation. Despite the Editorial Board’s past support for Republican Rep. Erik Paulsen — and respect for his bipartisan accomplishments in Congress — Phillips earned our endorsement in the Third Congressional District.

Phillips, 49, has described himself as fiscally responsible, socially inclusive and independent-minded. That’s a plus in a Congress filled with those taking marching orders from their caucus. A driving motivation behind Phillips’ campaign has been, as he calls it, “reducing the influence of affluence” in politics. He takes no corporate or PAC money, relying instead on individual contributions. That stance goes a long way to ensuring a level of independence for a new legislator.

In contrast to Paulsen, 53, who has stubbornly stuck mostly to screened telephone forums and other controlled settings, Phillips has been more than willing to engage with voters, stopping his campaign truck for spontaneous interactions. He’s held educational forums on issues — a practice he says he would maintain if elected. Continue reading “Dean Phillips is a fresh voice for the Third District”

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

The state of the battle for the House of Representatives, explained

Republicans are playing whack-a-mole in their struggle to keep the chamber.

Paul Ryan at the Capitol on September 13, 2018. Credit: Astrid Riecken, Getty Images

Three weeks before the 2018 midterms, more than a dozen Republican-held House seats appear to have tipped toward Democrats — and dozens more are in play too, according to polls and expert race ratings. Meanwhile, only a handful of Democrat-held seats appear to be in danger of flipping to the GOP.

The magic number for Democrats is 24: that is, they need to pick up, on net, 24 seats from Republicans to cement a House majority.

Currently, there are not yet that many individual contests in which Democrats are believed to have a solid advantage over GOP candidates. If we exclude toss-up contests and look only at how many races are at least leaning toward flipping, the Cook Political Report currently has Democrats favored to gain 15 seats on net. FiveThirtyEight has them clearly favored to net around 22, which would be agonizingly close.

Yet here’s the thing: There are many more remaining toss-up and other competitive contests — and they’re overwhelmingly in Republican-held districts.

View the complete October 16 article by Andrew Prokop on the Vox.com website here.

Time for a shake-up in 3rd Congressional District

Voters will have to weigh heavily Paulsen’s experience and seniority against Phillips’ fresh perspective in a race that is in the national spotlight.

Erik Paulsen is capable, affable and intelligent. If re-elected he will likely continue to represent the district exactly as he has over the last decade – as a moderate to conservative Republican. He has risen through the ranks to a position on the Ways and Means Committee, chairperson of the Joint Economic Committee and co-chair of the House Medical Technology Caucus.

By now voters in the 3rd District are very familiar with Paulsen, who spent 14 years in the Minnesota Legislature before he was first elected to Congress in 2009. But we believe there is appetite, and need, for change in the district held by Republicans since the 1960s.

View the complete editorial by the ECM Editorial Board on the Sun-Sailor-Post website here.

North Carolina Super PAC Supporting Erik Paulsen Tells People to Vote November 8th

As millions in out of state money pours in for Paulsen, conservative ClearPath Action Fund muddies the waters, confuses voters

Eden Prairie, MN – ClearPath Action Fund (CPA) is a super PAC based in Washington, D.C. and North Carolina currently running digital ads as part of a six-figure effort to support the reelection Congressman Erik Paulsen in MN03. CPA is financed with untraceable money from the ClearPath Foundation (CPF), a 501(c)(3).

Millions of dollars in outside spending by super PACs and untraceable dark money in support of Erik Paulsen will attempt to mislead, distract, and skew in his favor, but these digital ads on Facebook muddied the waters in a different way – by providing an incorrect date for Election Day.

This ad is just another example what can happen when outside spending by super PACs with no interest in what’s best for Minnesota are allowed to influence our elections. Continue reading “North Carolina Super PAC Supporting Erik Paulsen Tells People to Vote November 8th”

No self-respecting member of Congress should fear Democrats’ investigative requests

The following commentary by the Washington Post Editorial Board was posted on their website September 1, 2018:

President Trump meets with members of Congress and administration officials at the White House on Aug. 23. Credit: Win McNamee, Getty Images)

NEWS WEBSITE Axios reported Aug. 26 that Republicans are “getting ready for hell” in the form of wide-ranging congressional investigations of President Trump should the Democrats take the House in November. That is one way to describe the legislative branch finally taking its oversight responsibilities seriously.

According to the article, a senior House Republican’s office compiled a spreadsheet of more than 100 investigative requests Democrats have made, a document that has circulated on Capitol Hill and “churned Republican stomachs.” Highlights include Mr. Trump’s tax returns; his family’s businesses and whether foreign governments are doing them untoward favors; the president’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin; likely illegal hush money paid to an adult-film star and Playboy model alleging affairs with Mr. Trump; the sudden firing of then-FBI Director James B. Comey; the president’s transgender military ban; the purging of scientists from the Environmental Protection Agency; Cabinet secretary abuse of government perks; the lackadaisical (and deadly) response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico; Mr. Trump’s travel ban; election security; and the administration’s policy of ripping migrant children from their parents. The litany goes on. Continue reading “No self-respecting member of Congress should fear Democrats’ investigative requests”