Category: The Real Erik Paulsen

Paulsen vote deplorable

To the Editor:

Rep. Erik Paulsen voted fro the TrumpCare bill last week. It appears that Paulsen is a man without a conscience. How else do you explain his vote to rip away health insurance from 24 million Americans? How else do you explain his vote that may stop covering pre-existing conditions? How else do you explain his vote taking away a phenomenal amount of money to help the poorest of the poor and the sickest of the sick so he can additionally line the pockets of the wealthiest people in America, people that do no need the additional tax cuts? Does Paulsen have a conscience, a heart, a soul, and a mind of his own?

The day after this disgraceful and deplorable vote, I heard on Minnesota Public Radio that Paulsen had declined their requested interview. It is said that a picture speaks a thousand words. Paulsen’s one word — NO — also speaks a thousand words. That one word paints a picture of a man so embarrassed by his disgusting vote that he could not even face this constituents in the form a brief radio interview. What a shame! What a shameful act! Continue reading “Paulsen vote deplorable”

A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week

The following article by Susan Milligan was posted on the US News and World Report website May 12, 2017:

Brett Ziegler for USN&WR

If it was the setting for a reality TV show instead of the center of government of the world’s leading democracy, the White House might be criticized for displaying too much drama. But even by the high-bar standards of an administration that has had a very difficult start, President Donald Trump and his administration have had an unusually bad week.

On Monday, fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates delivered devastating public testimony to a Senate committee, telling lawmakers she had warned the White House that then-national security adviser Michael Flynn was vulnerable to blackmail by the Russians because of lies he had told about his connections to the foreign nation. As she spoke, skeptical federal judges peppered Trump administration lawyers with questions about the president’s imperiled travel ban on entrants from majority-Muslim nations.

Continue reading “A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week”

What France and the UK can teach Trump about reviving America’s middle class

The following article by Steven Pressman was posted on the Conversaion website May 11, 2017:

America’s middle class is in deep trouble.

Signs of its decline are everywhere, from stagnant incomes and falling wealth to soaring household debt and the rise of populist politicians promising a return to the “glory days.”

While there is near universal agreement that a thriving middle class is essential to long-term economic prosperity, we’re deeply divided about what builds it. Conservatives, such as those in the White House and in control of Congress, contend that lower taxes are a key ingredient. Liberals argue it comes down to government policies that give low earners a leg up and support those already in the middle. Continue reading “What France and the UK can teach Trump about reviving America’s middle class”

Yes, Americans Die Earlier Without Health Insurance

The following article by Lesley Clark with the McClatchy Washington Bureau was posted on the National Memo website May 11, 2017:

Photo: Reuters

WASHINGTON — Do people die because they lack health insurance?

Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, found himself in a pickle (and in a cameo in a Jimmy Kimmel monologue) when he suggested they don’t. He later elaborated that he was making the point that no one would “die in the streets” under the Republican health care plan, because hospitals are required by law to treat any patient in need of emergency care.

But health care advocates say his explanation falls short of reality, pointing to a host of studies that show access to health care does prevent premature death, in the case of Americans with conditions such as cancer, diabetes, coronary heart disease, respiratory failure and asthma. Continue reading “Yes, Americans Die Earlier Without Health Insurance”

States In Shock As Republicans Unleash Health Care Chaos

The following article by Froma Harrop was posted on the National Memo website May 10, 2017:

The final total on the vote on the Republicans health care bill was displayed at the Capitol in Washington on Thursday, May 4, 2017. Relieved Republicans muscled their health care bill through the House, taking their biggest step toward dismantling the Obama health care overhaul since Donald Trump took office. HOUSE TELEVISION VIA AP

Social desperation tends to land on the doorsteps of the governments closest to the people. Happily for states and cities, the Affordable Care Act turned their challenging populations of sick, low-income residents into customers for local health care businesses. Unhappily, President Trump and congressional Republicans are in full sabotage mode and threatening to bus these unfortunates back to their doorsteps.

Obamacare has created an estimated 240,000 jobs in health services. These are high-paying jobs and a godsend for cities reeling from factory layoffs. Continue reading “States In Shock As Republicans Unleash Health Care Chaos”

Fake

To the Editor:

My congressman, Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Eden Prairie) has convinced me. He is a fake.

Mr. Paulsen didn’t earn my vote last November. But the Star Tribune had endorsed him as a reasonable, moderate Republican, so his re-election didn’t worry me then.

Now, I’m paying attention. Rep. Paulsen before Nov 9 was opposed to candidate Trump. After the election Paulsen proved too weak to stand up for Minnesotans against either President Trump or the Republican leadership. The fivethirtyeight.com website finds Mr. Paulsen’s votes are 100% supportive of President Trump. That makes him a fake moderate. Continue reading “Fake”

Retract Paulsen Endorsement

To the Editor:

The Star Tribune owes its readership an apology and must take some responsibility for the passage of the American Health Care Act (AHCA, aka Trumpcare) in the US House.

Rep. Erik Paulsen was endorsed for re-election in 2016 by this newspaper [1]. The editorial board told us “Paulsen has said he favors a nuanced, bipartisan fix on health care, which could make him a needed voice of reason in a Republican caucus that is fixated on just a wholesale repeal of the Affordable Care Act.” Continue reading “Retract Paulsen Endorsement”

They Voted to Repeal Obamacare. Now They Are a Target.

While the following article by Kate Zernike posted on the New York Times website May 8, 2017 doesn’t mention Rep. Erik Paulsen, it does speak to the upset many of his constituents feel after his vote FOR the unscored, unread AHCA bill:

Outside of U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen’s office, protesters carried signs and chanted, and then went into his office to demand he hold a town hall. Peter Cox | MPR News

For months, protesters have been rallying outside Senator Cory Gardner’s offices in Colorado, urging him not to join fellow Republicans in their push to repeal the Affordable Care Act. When he refused to hold town hall meetings, protesters staged them in his absence, asking questions to a cardboard cutout of him.

Now they are escalating their tactics.

With the controversial Republican health bill heading to the Senate, organizers of opposition groups say they plan to bird-dog Mr. Gardner’s whereabouts and show up at his events, buying seats at fund-raisers if necessary. They want to remind him that he promised to protect the expansion of Medicaid and guarantee coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, both provisions undone by the bill the House narrowly passed last week. Continue reading “They Voted to Repeal Obamacare. Now They Are a Target.”

Why the Focus on 5% of ACA?

I have to ask why Paulsen and the Republicans keep focusing on the 5 percent of the Affordable Care Act that has a problem, the individual market. What about the 95 percent that works? Millions of people who never had health care now get preventive care. Otherwise, they would present themselves in emergency rooms with acute illnesses, and many would die who didn’t need to.

The problem with the ACA is that not enough healthy people pay into it. Insurance works because everybody pays, even when you’re healthy, and then insurance pays when you get sick. This seems to be the thing that the Republicans hate. They don’t want people to be forced to pay for health insurance. Well, then, where is the money going to come from? It’s going to come from well people anyway through higher costs to hospitals for treating uninsured sick people, or to taxpayers. The bottom line is that under the American Health Care Act, fewer people will have health care, and we’ll still end up paying for them, only we’ll pay more. That’s not a good solution. Fix the ACA, don’t trash it. Also, look at all of the data, don’t just cherry-pick the data you like.

Martin Masters, Shoreview
Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 10, 2017

Erik Paulsen is a man of contradictions.

In his counterpoint, he states that the ACA is continuing to have negative impacts on families and “dramatically altered one-sixth of the nation’s economy.” He is correct that the ACA needs more work, and that health care is a large component of our economy. This makes me wonder why he then voted on the American Health Care Act before the Congressional Budget Office could issue a score to show the impact this new bill could have. A self-professed “math guy” should have waited to see how the new bill would affect his constituents, and all Americans, before voting.

Another contradiction comes from his stance on coverage for pre-existing conditions. He is on record as saying he wouldn’t support legislation that removes coverage for pre-existing conditions or causes higher premiums for those with pre-existing conditions. The AHCA says that people with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied, but there is language in the bill that allows insurers to drastically raise premiums based on pre-existing conditions and previous insurance. In essence, this would technically allow access to health care but would price people out of the market. His stance on this portion of the bill is particularly confusing given his work on human trafficking. Many victims of trafficking will have pre-existing conditions as defined by the AHCA, and will not have had consistent insurance, making them vulnerable to being priced out of the market at a time when they may need it most. Continue reading “Erik Paulsen is a man of contradictions.”