Category: Letters to the Editor

Minnesotans have been ill-served by their representatives.

I am disgusted that every single one of Minnesota’s Republican congressional representatives voted for the American Health Care Act, agreeing to strip away the protections provided by the Affordable Care Act. President Trump repeatedly promised during his campaign not to cut Medicaid; now he’s going to cut it by $800 billion in order to fund a tax cut for the wealthiest Americans.

More than a million Minnesotans have preexisting conditions. Even if you’re not among them, if you’ve ever found a suspicious lump or mole and felt the fear of possibility, you know how tenuous good health can be. And anyone who considers themselves prolife should be aghast at the idea that a family who “chooses life” for a child with health problems diagnosed in pregnancy will be faced with costs they can never even hope to pay in order to heal a child who will have a preexisting condition from the moment they take their first breath.

Trumpcare even removes preexisting condition protections for people with employer-provided health care! No one is safe from this atrocious bill’s consequences. Reps. Jason Lewis, Erik Paulsen and Tom Emmer should be ashamed of themselves, and I hope all three are voted out in 2018.

Naomi Kritzer, St. Paul
Star Tribune, May 5, 2017

Pay high taxes, get congested roads

Has your commute been a lot longer over the past two weeks? Mine, too.

I guess this is what our highway system can handle when few drivers are on vacation. For those of us in the southwest metro, the Crosstown Freeway and Interstate 494 are already beyond capacity during the four hours formerly known as rush hour.

It’s only going to get worse. The anticipated population growth is going to add many more cares in the next 20 years. And if the Republican-controlled Legislature has its way, there will be no fix for the congestion. There will only be more transit users getting on the road. Continue reading “Pay high taxes, get congested roads”

Why were people not paying attention?

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. Continue reading “Why were people not paying attention?”

Trump is reason for Paulsen bashing

To the writer of “Sure is a lot of Paulsen bashing,” you had some questions about letters criticizing Erik Paulsen, and as the author of one of those letters, I wanted to answer. Why are there so many people speaking out since the election?

Perhaps it’s because that event elevated to office a man who the majority of voters didn’t cast their ballot for, who makes claims that are demonstrably false false, whose stated policies are harmful to women, minorities, the poor and the sick, and who, as his administration crosses the 100-day threshold, polls show is historically unpopular, according to Gallup. Continue reading “Trump is reason for Paulsen bashing”

Paulsen Doesn’t Seem to Respect His Constituents

To the Editor:

Rep. Erik Paulsen does not seem to respect his constituents. Take the American Health Care Act. Asked the Congressman’s position, staff in DC and Eden Prairie don’t know or haven’t spoken with him.

But wait, according to The Hill Senior Staff Writer Scott Wong’s tweet of May 1, Mr. Paulsen whipped this bill. It’s unlikely he whipped votes without supporting the bill.

Pretending to be undecided is disrespectful. Third District voters were falsely led to believe Paulsen might care about their opinion. Continue reading “Paulsen Doesn’t Seem to Respect His Constituents”

Letter: Bravo to Melissa Hortman

To the Editor:

The Sun Post’s April 13 edition that described in detail Minnesota House Minority Leaders remarks to break up the 100 percent white male card game in the retiring room to attend an important debate as “controversial” deserves comment.

So as not to assume that this writer may be politically biased, for the record, let me state that I am not a Republican. Nor am I a Democrat. I am politically independent.

Bravo to Melissa Hortman! This young lady deserves praise, not retribution. She reminds me of the late popular television character Mary Tyler Moore. Her boss, ed Abner praised her for having “lots of spunk.”

The Republican majority House members who believed playing cards in the retiring room was more important than participating in a floor house debated termed Hortman’s actions as being inappropriate were not elected and paid to play games. Hortman had every right to call them to task and to engage them in an important House floor debate.

Instead of an apology request for Hortman, the 100 percent white male Republican house members’ actions could and should be termed to be disgraceful.

Stanley J. Kondziolka, Brooklyn Park
Brooklyn Park Sun-Post, May 2, 2017

Responding to “Sure is a lot of Paulsen Bashing” Letter to the Editor

The following letter to the editor was submitted to, but did not appear in, the Eden Prairie News on April 26, 2017:

Thank you for printing “Sure is a Lot of Paulsen Bashing” by R Wall in the April 271, 2017 Letters to the Editor. The writer adeptly illustrates several examples of America’s political engagement that can be improved: citizen participation in the electoral process and the quality of political discourse.

The writer is correct in questioning “where were all the concerned citizens” in previous elections. The Trump administration has rightly heightened citizen concern and has positioned Erik Paulsen, by association, under a policy microscope. My opinion of Paulsen had been he was a moderate just a bit right of center. After a thorough review of his voting record and campaign financing it is clear that he is not. His votes have all the appearances of being dictated by party leadership and allegiance to corporate donors and PACs. He has voted 100% for Trump’s agenda since inauguration, which is far from representative of our district. If more voters, regardless of party affiliation, had been observant of Paulsen’s allegiances in his first term, his tenure as a congressman would have been much shorter. Continue reading “Responding to “Sure is a lot of Paulsen Bashing” Letter to the Editor”

Paulsen lacks concern for privacy

Dear Eden Prairie News and to the person who kindly pointed out all the letters “bashing” U.S. Rep Erik Paulsen:

When Paulsen was elected, there was a Democrat in the White House, a Democratic majority in both U.S. House and Senate.

He was part of a vote for moderate and progressive values.. I think we all thought he was progressive.

Now that we have a Republican in the White House and a Republican majority, those of us who thought he was moderate are just so dismayed to see his voting record in this environment.  I really do worry about President Donald Trump’s finances and what he’s hiding, and Erik is on the committee that decides whether anyone sees them.  He personally has voted to help Trump maintain his privacy. Continue reading “Paulsen lacks concern for privacy”

Paulsen is not a moderate

To the Editor:

Reaons why Erik Paulsen does not reflect the values of the Minnesota Third Congressional District:

Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. See http://votesmart.org/candidate/evaluations/3833/erik-paulsen. Continue reading “Paulsen is not a moderate”

Paulsen’s votes have little to do with his Earth Day persona

To commemorate Earth Day, my congressman, Rep. Erik Paulsen, posted appealing photo ops on social media and bland positive statements about national parks on his website.

However, his actual voting record bears no resemblance to the persona he creates online and in my district. Few are aware of his terrible record on the environment, as documented by the League of Conservation voters (16% lifetime environmental voting record).

Just this year he has already voted to repeal a regulation that protected thousands of miles of streams from coal mining debris, and to devalue federal lands to make them easier to sell off for sale, mining or development.

His constituents deserve a representative who presents himself honestly. Something doesn’t match — either Paulsen needs to stop dissembling or change his votes to match his public persona.

Jena Martin, Minnetonka
MinnPost, April 24, 2017