My letter is in response to Rick Wall’s letter questioning why people are now challenging Rep. Erik Paulsen. You asked by we were all “crawling out of the woodwork” and where we have been for the last eight years. I am ashamed to admit that I wasn’t paying attention. I thought our country was doing OK.
It wasn’t perfect, and I didn’t agree with everything, but I thought in general the democratic process was working and the people in public office were mostly concerned with the good of the country. And then Donald Trump was elected, and I woke up to find we are living in a political nightmare that could have a far-reaching, chilling effect on everything we hold dear.
My excuse for why I wasn’t paying attention is that I am a stay-at-home mother with a first- and second-grader. But now I am paying close attention for the sake of my children, for our community and for our state and country. I voted for Rep. Paulsen in2 016 because I thought even if the worst happened and Trump someone got elected, at least our representative would stand with us and our fellow citizens against a demagogue.
Why did I believe this? Because Paulsen said he did not support Trump. I think Paulsen felt safe saying so because no one thought Trump would win. But Trump did win.
And Paulsen is not protection us from the extremism coming out of Washington, D.C. I want Paulsen to hold a real, old-fashioned, in-public town hall meeting so that we, his constituents, can ask him why he has voted the way that he has. I want it to be a public venue to allow more people to come and so that we can meet not only with him, but with our neighbors. We need to come together and find our commonalities and resolutions that work for us all. We also need to question, and witness, the questioning of his voting record. If you look at his votes, he is following the instruction of Trump and Rep. Paul Ryan. The welfare of his constituents does not enter into it!
Don’t you want to know why our representative is voting against our common values and best interest?
Gretchen Hayes, Eden Prairie
Eden Prairie News, May 4, 2017