Category: The Real Erik Paulsen
In Coordinated Attack, Erik Paulsen and His Special Interest Friends Go Negative
“These absurd attacks represent exactly what’s wrong with Washington – and Erik Paulsen”
Excelsior, MN – In a seemingly coordinated effort, Erik Paulsen and the Congressional Leadership Fund, Paul Ryan’s special interest-funded Super PAC, today launched misleading attacks on small-business owner Dean Phillips over healthcare and taxes – proving they’ll say, spend and do anything to re-elect Erik Paulsen.
Zach Rodvold, campaign manager for Dean Phillips for Congress, released the following statement in response:
“These absurd attacks represent exactly what’s wrong with Washington – and with Erik Paulsen.
Continue reading “In Coordinated Attack, Erik Paulsen and His Special Interest Friends Go Negative”
Accountants warn tax reform could add up to April shock
The following article by Jim Spencer was posted on the Star Tribune website September 1, 2018:
Those who rely heavily on deductions could see a bill.
Every summer, Mike McClure looks at his income tax withholding. The Apple Valley man doesn’t want to give the government what he calls a “free loan” by having too much money withheld from his paycheck. He also doesn’t want to end up owing a bunch to the IRS when he files his taxes in April.
In the past, McClure’s system has led to little more than minor tweaks. This year, under the new federal tax law, he will owe the federal government $6,800 in April if he doesn’t radically alter his withholding for the remainder of the 2018 tax year.
“This whole tax-cut thing was sold to middle-class Americans as ‘we’re all going to get a tax cut,’ ” McClure said. “This wasn’t what I expected.”
REMINDER: Rep. Erik Paulsen voted FOR this bill, which provides a large, permanent tax cut for corporation and a moderate one that expires for his constituents. Most of that cut will be impacted by the other changes in the bill including a decrease in the allowed amount of property tax that can be deducted from personal taxes.
Koch-backed political group unveils House endorsements
The following article by from CBS and the Associated Press was posted on the CBS News website August 30, 2018:
The political network created by the billionaire Koch brothers announced plans to support eight House Republicans on Thursday, pledging financial resources and activists to help re-elect several vulnerable congressmen deemed “principled” conservatives.
The first wave of endorsements includes a handful of sometime-critics of President Trump, particularly on immigration and spending.
The announcement comes a month after Mr. Trump assailed the Koch brothers as “a total joke in real Republican circles.” Days earlier, network patriarch Charles Koch had condemned the increased government spending under the Republican president’s leadership and Mr. Trump’s push for import tariffs. The Koch brothers have also been critical of Mr. Trump’s protectionist trade measures. In July, Tim Phillips, president of the Koch-backed group Americans for Prosperity, told CBSN that the aluminum and steel tariffs implemented by the Trump administration were “misguided.”
Debate crowd laughs after GOP lawmaker says he’s been ‘accessible’
The following article by Justin Wise was posted on the Hill website August 29, 2018:
The audience at a debate in Minnesota erupted in laughter earlier this week after Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.) said he tried to be accessible to his constituents.
“Truth is, I get a lot of ideas from listening to people like you,” Paulsen said. “Being accessible, being a good listener, those are where the ideas come from.”
The statements immediately sparked laughter from the crowd. The moderator abruptly chimed in to ask the audience to “be respectful.”
Watch a Crowd Burst Out Laughing at a GOP Congressman for Saying He Makes Himself ‘Accessible’ to Them
The following article by Matthew Chapman was posted on the AlterNet.org website August 28, 2018:
Rep. Erik Paulsen tried to play the people’s candidate at a debate. His constituents found it so absurd they started laughing.
Minnesota Congressman Erik Paulsen hasn’t held a town hall in 7 years.
In a debate with candidate @deanbphillips, Paulsen says he gets his good ideas by “being accessible” to constituents.
The crowd erupts in laughter.#ChangeIsComing. #EveryonesInvited. #MN03 pic.twitter.com/gecTtzLMKK
— Spencer Bounds (@Spencer4Texas) August 27, 2018
Congressman Erik Paulsen (R-MN) is a reliable vote for President Donald Trump’s agenda in a suburban Minneapolis district that voted for Hillary Clinton by nearly 10 points. He has backed Trump 98 percent of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight, including on the failed GOP plan to strip health insurance from sick people and on the disastrous package of tax cuts for corporations and billionaires. Continue reading “Watch a Crowd Burst Out Laughing at a GOP Congressman for Saying He Makes Himself ‘Accessible’ to Them”
Where is Erik Paulsen?
To the Editor:
Congressman Erik Paulsen thinks he can fool us by distancing himself from Donald Trump, but we know better. Paulsen may say he puts his constituents in front of his president; however, his actions say otherwise. I want to be able to trust my representative to make thoughtful and personal choices for the benefit of his district, but has Paulsen ever done that?
The answer lies in his voting record. I was extremely shocked to find out how loyal Paulsen is to the president: 98 percent. That’s the percentage of time Paulsen chooses to side with the president. But how well does that represent our interests? I want to feel like Minnesota’s third district representative cares about Minnesota’s Third Congressional District!
In addition to the president, Erik Paulsen’s voting record relies on the donations of PACs and special interest groups. I find it interesting that the donations from passionate supporters come second. Continue reading “Where is Erik Paulsen?”
Paulsen Campaign Manager’s PAC Money Hypocrisy
As we noted in a post earlier this month, Erik Paulsen’s campaign has benefitted from a large outside expenditure (that’s what this type of purchase is called in campaign lingo) by the conservative Congressional Leadership Fund. That early buy for television commercials was $2.3 million. Here’s the link to the Roll Call article citing the expenditure amount.
What happens after Dean Phillips holds a forum on campaign finance reform? We just found out.
In the August 28, 2018, morningtake email, we found the following:
CD3: via press release from Erik Paulsen’s campaign, VERBATIM: “Dean Phillips is hosting an issue forum tonight focused on getting money out of politics with a PAC that has over $500,000 of TV ads reserved for him. While Phillips has spoken out against PAC money, he’s silent on PAC money being spent on his behalf, and is now campaigning with PACs despite his opposition to them…While Dean Phillips claims not to take PAC money, he gladly allows PAC money to be spent on behalf, and he even campaigns with them. End Citizens United, whose President is attending Phillips’ event tonight, is just one PAC slated to spend big money for Phillips. Nancy Pelosi’s House Majority PAC, a SuperPAC, has millions reserved on TV to spend on Phillips’ behalf. YATES: “Dean Phillips is a campaign finance fraud who wants to put our economy as risk by raising taxes and implementing massive new spending schemes” said John-Paul Yates, Paulsen’s campaign manager”
GOP Legal Troubles Boost Democrats’ Anti-Corruption Message
The following article by Ally Mutnick and Zach C. Cohen was posted on the National Journal website August 22, 2018:
Dean Phillips, a Democrat running for Congress in a suburban Minneapolis battleground district, had just opened and closed a 75-minute debate by railing against the corrupting influence of money in politics, the hallmark issue of his campaign.
Shortly after he got off stage, he read the news that three Republicans close to President Trump were indicted on, convicted of, or pled guilty to charges of financial fraud or breaking campaign finance law.
“Making the argument through anecdotes or through my experience is one thing,” Phillips said in an interview Wednesday. “But when the news headlines bear the facts in a much more bold and public way, it absolutely supports the contention.”
Today’s GOP leaders have little in common with those who resisted Nixon
The following article by Michael Koncewicz, Assistant Research Scholar, New York University, was posted on the Conversation website August 23, 2018:
Republican leaders in 2018 are profoundly different than the ones who dealt with Watergate in the 1970s.
During Watergate, a significant number of GOP members of Congress and the Nixon administration publicly resisted President Richard Nixon’s efforts to undermine the rule of law.
Today’s GOP leaders, with few exceptions, meekly follow President Trump.