Senator Al Franken has been strangely quiet in the health care debate taking place in public forums around the nation.

 

Today, Franken held two “roundtable” meetings on health care reform. But neither was open to the public. They were exclusive "by invitation only" discussions conducted behind closed doors. Instead of everyday constituents, Franken encircled his roundtable with representatives from like-minded special interest groups.

 

During his morning meeting, Franken invited media to witness his gathering of hand-picked groups that were all in agreement with his position on health care reform. Attendees included union and welfare organization leaders. His afternoon meeting gathered together various like-minded women’s groups, like the League of Women Voters.

 

“Al Franken clearly isn’t seeking any diversity of opinion and doesn’t appear to want to hear from citizens at large. Surrounding himself only with people who agree with him and then inviting the media to come witness all of them slapping each other on the back is a farce,” said Minnesota Majority president Jeff Davis.

 

Representative Oberstar of Minnesota’s 8th congressional district has been similarly reclusive, eschewing calls for a public forum on health care. 

“It’s apparent,” said Davis, “that some of our representatives don’t care what their constituents think. Instead of getting public input, they think they’re going to tell us how it’s going to be. I don’t think Minnesotans will stand for this kind of elitist attitude. The 2010 elections are going to be a rude awakening for officials that govern like arrogant rulers instead of carrying-out the will of the people.”

Take Action: Contact Senator Franken and your other elected representatives today. Ask them if they intend to serve their constituents, or special interest groups.

Representative Tim Walz (D – MN – 1^st District) initially wasn’t going to brave the sometimes turbulent waters of a town hall meeting on congressional plans for health care reform. Pressure from his local editorial pages and constituents led him to reconsider and on Thursday, he hosted a town hall meeting at the Mankato East High School Auditorium.

 

The capacity of the auditorium was just 743 and over 1,000 people showed up to voice their opinions and ask questions of their congressman. Consequently, the fire marshal was forced to turn away around 300 people. Naturally all were disappointed and some were angry. Minnesota Majority received reports that union “thugs” were barring entrance but those reports seem to have stemmed from a misunderstanding about the auditorium’s legal capacity.

 

Although supporters of the bill organized the labor unions and bussed over 100 union workers in to the meeting, the crowd was decidedly opposed to proposals now being debated in congress to change America’s health care system. Most attendees were local constituents who arrived alone, of their own initiative.

 

The Teamsters union had a tractor trailer rig lit up in the parking lot and their members formed a line outside the building bearing signs in support of Obama’s health care plans. At least one attendee carrying a sign opposed to the plans was surrounded and berated by the union members on his way into the auditorium.

 

Union organizers had a table set up in the entrance distributing pro-Obamacare literature, lapel stickers and T-Shirts.

 

Bussed-in SEIU workers, the Teamsters and a union nurses in red t-shirts were early arrivers and were mostly distributed among the front rows of the auditorium during the meeting.

 

For his part, Walz, a supporter of health care reform tried to find the middle road, saying the specifics of the health care bill aren’t finalized yet and he’ll decide on the bill once he sees the final product. He claimed the proposal as it now stands is “revenue neutral” and said he wouldn’t vote for any plan that would increase the federal deficit. Of course, according to the Congressional Budget Offices’ own figures, the current House bill, HR 3200 does increase the federal deficit, significantly.

 

Mayo clinic physician Dr. Phil Araoz said Medicare currently has problems with reimbursement, explaining that high-cost states like California and New York are unfairly rewarded with higher reimbursement rates than other states including Minnesota. Without Medicare reform, Dr. Araoz advised against supporting the health care bill, asking “If doing something makes it worse, isn’t it better to do nothing?”

 

There were cheers and jeers from both sides of the debate, but the meeting was civil and most importantly, Representative Walz heard from his constituents.

 

 

 

How is Minnesota's Delegation Getting Input on Health Care?

During the summer break, members of Congress returning to their home districts have been getting swamped with visits, letters, calls and emails from constituents concerned about the health care reform bill advanced by President Obama and congressional Democrats. Those who’ve braved town hall meetings have often encountered large crowds of angry constituents. As a result, many members of congress are reticent about conducting public forums with their constituents.

A few members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation have braved the unwashed masses, hosting poorly publicized town hall meetings on very short notice. Regardless of the apparent attempt to keep constituents away, large crowds found their way to the forums.

 

Rep. Tim Walz (D – MN – 1^st District) is holding a town hall meeting in Mankato on Thursday August 20^th from 6-8 PM at the Mankato East High School Auditorium (2600 Hoffman Road, Mankato, MN).

 

Rep. John Kline (R – MN – 2^nd District) participated in a recent “roundtable discussion” on health care in Burnsville, but has so far announced no plans to hold a town hall meeting during the August break. His website has a short health care survey.

 

Rep. Erik Paulsen (R – MN – 3^rd District) has avoided in-person town hall meetings, opting instead for an online survey and “tele-town hall.”

 

Rep. Betty McCollum (D – MN – 4^th District) held a town hall on health care in July and has thus far announced no plans for another.

 

Rep. Keith Ellison (D – MN – 5^th District) hosted a town hall meeting on a day’s notice in North Minneapolis, where a panel of supporters of the health care reform bill made their case. At the end of the meeting, constituents were offered the microphone for 40 seconds to make a comment, but Rep. Ellison refused to answer any questions about the bill.

 

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R – MN – 6^th District) is planning a health care forum in Woodbury on Thursday, August 27^th at Oak Land Jr. High School (820 Manning Ave N) from 1:45 PM to 4:00.  

 

Rep. Collin Peterson (D – MN – 7^th District) had previously said he doesn’t do town hall meetings, implying that his constituents are crazy as his excuse. After taking some well-deserved heat for his comments, Petersen reversed himself and hosted a town hall on health care in Willmar on August 14^th and held an additional one in Bemidji on the 17^th.

 

Rep. Jim Oberstar (D – MN – 8^th District) has no plans for any public forums on health care. He rarely engages his constituents in person. In fact, he seems so disengaged on this issue that he isn’t even soliciting direct contact from his constituents via his website, as most of his colleagues are doing. Instead, he invites constituents to comment on health care through the generic House of Representatives contact form.

 

Senators Franken (D – MN) and Klobuchar (D – MN) have thus-far announced no plans to conduct town hall meetings during the recess, however Sen. Klobuchar is planning a tele-town hall on Sunday, August 23^rd at 7:00 PM.

 

Constituents Take the Health Care Debate to their Representatives

On the morning of August 14^th, hundreds of constituents concerned about health care reform proposals that are rocketing through Congress simultaneously converged on the local offices of each member of Minnesota’s congressional delegation. They took their rallies and turned them into impromptu town hall meetings for those representatives that have been avoiding a public forum with their constituents on health care.

 

The loosely organized multi-site event was conceived by the Tea Party Patriots. Minnesota Majority pitched in by notifying our members of the events and by all reports, they were well attended.

 

70 or so people packed into Rep. Betty McCollum’s St. Paul district office (see video). She wasn’t there, but her spokesperson said Rep. McCollum is supporting HR3200, the health care reform bill that’s being referred to as Obamacare. Needless to say, the crowd wasn’t too pleased to hear that.  

Police were reportedly called to Ellison’s office while the rally there was taking place. Witnesses said a supporter of the health care bill got out of hand in confronting the citizens who showed up to express their concerns about the bill. He was intimidating the attendees and police reportedly ordered him to back off. No physical confrontations were reported.

Reports from the 7^th district, where Rep. Peterson maintains several local offices due to the geographic size of the district were good turn out at the offices as well as the town hall meeting that Peterson announced last-minute.

More public forums on health care reform are coming up soon in several districts.

• Pioneer Press: Health Care Bill Brings out First-Time Protestors to St. Paul Rally
• KEYC: Health Care Freedom Rally (Mankato)
• Lew Rockwell: The 2nd American Revolution

Which are you: A concerned citizen, expressing your opinion and participating in the political process, or a paid operative of a high-powered, big-buck lobbying group? Grassroots, or “Astroturf?”

 

We all know that Astroturf is the artificial grass-like carpet used in many professional sports stadiums. The new usage of the term is mostly coming from America’s left-wing thinkers and describes what they perceive as “phony” activism. Apparently unable to fathom that anyone could legitimately disagree with their ideas, they’ve entered a deep state of denial. Media pundits, President Obama and his allies are asserting that the people who’ve showed up to question the wisdom of the current health care reform bill at town hall meetings around the nation aren’t real. Their expressed apprehension or even outrage is a fabrication of the insurance industry, they say. Despite not being paid for it, my Dad (a self-employed remodeling contractor) went to one. He was angry. He’s real, believe me.

 

Several members of congress are now reconsidering holding any more town hall meetings because of the “angry mobs” that “disrupt the proceedings.” Those supposedly fabricated groups of angry or concerned people are their constituents and some members of Congress don’t want to hear from them.

 

Representative Colin Peterson (D – MN – 7^th District) has evidently recently conceded that he will conduct a town hall meeting on health care reform, but his attitude about it is made clear by his previous statement, “Twenty-five percent of my people believe the Pentagon and Rumsfeld were responsible for taking the twin towers down. That’s why I don’t do town meetings.”

 

The contempt for his own constituents is breathtaking. Even if it were true that 25% of the 7^th congressional district is made up of so-called 9/11 truthers, Petersen has a responsibility to hear them out and represent his district’s populace. To date, Peterson hasn’t announced his town hall plans.

 

I can't speak to the organizational efforts surrounding all of the town hall meetings that have taken place across the country on health care reform, but I am familiar with the circumstances around Representative Keith Ellison's (D – MN – 5^th District) meeting on August 1^st. I’m one of Ellison’s constituents in the 5^th district. I’m on his email list, yet I received no notice of the town hall meeting. Just one day before the meeting, it was quietly announced on the congressman's website.

 

By happenstance, Minnesota Majority noticed the event being posted and quickly informed 5^th CD constituents via email of the event. It seems quite obvious that the congressman didn't want his actual constituents to show up and voice concerns. Rather, he would have had a staged event stacked with supporters who likely knew about the event well before it became (barely) public knowledge. What was that about “Astroturf,” again?

 

Word of Ellison’s unheralded town hall meeting spread fast via phone calls, emails, facebook and Twitter and people showed up because they care about the possible outcome of a massive health care reform package that's being positively rushed through congress, as if it has to be done before anyone notices what's happening.

 

It seems that at least in a small measure, all sides were heard in the 5^th CD and the civil exercise of democracy prevailed over what was obviously intended to be nothing but a staged, one-sided show. Representative Ellison refused to answer any of his constituents’ questions about the health care bill, though. Who does he work for, again?

 

Truly, for a US representative to question the sincerity of his or her constituents when they rearranged plans and took time out of their busy lives to ask questions or voice their opinions on a profoundly important issue is a hard slap in the face. It’s generally not considered a good strategy for a congressman seeking reelection to slap his voters around.

 

 

 

A plan for a government takeover of private health care institutions is making its way through congress at a rapid pace. President Obama is demanding a bill to sign before the August recess. Debating, crafting and analyzing a quality bill that Americans are aware of and comfortable with takes a back seat to getting it done before anyone has a chance to raise objections and threaten the proposal’s already fast-sinking popularity.

 

The House health care ‘reform’ bill (HR 3200) is over 1,000 pages long and makes profound changes to a myriad of existing laws and practices. Is one month enough time to analyze and understand the far-reaching impacts this proposal will bring to the entire health care infrastructure of the United States?

 

President Obama won’t commit to relying on the government-run health care he envisions, but contrary to his promise, “if you’ve got health insurance, you like your doctors, you like your plan, you can keep your doctor, you can keep your plan – nobody is talking about taking that away from you,” everyone will eventually be forced into the government plan – it’s set up as a gradual encroachment, so you won’t notice the full impact right away. This is an all too common legislative trick and President Obama will never have to rely on the proposed health plan for himself or his family. Nor will the senators and representatives who will vote it up or down. Our leaders have set aside special taxpayer-funded health care plans for themselves that are available to them for the rest of their lives.

 

The government takeover of health care in America is supposed to make insurance and treatment more affordable and provide coverage to the poor, but the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the House version of health care ‘reform’ will cost over $1.5 trillion over the next ten years and add $750 billion to the already record-high federal deficit. Long-range projections by congressional staff additionally show annual deficits of $50 billion to $250 billion into the 2020s.

 

Historically, government has greatly underestimated the actual expense of its programs. For example, when Medicaid was enacted in 1966, it cost $3 billion and was projected to cost $12 billion in 1990. The actual Medicaid expenditure in 1990 was $107 billion, nearly tenfold the estimated cost (and it’s quadrupled since then). 

Contrary to the popular belief that the government health plan equates to free health care for all, a government administered plan will cost individuals and families plenty. Everyone will still be billed for insurance just the same as now. The difference is that people who currently choose not to carry health insurance will be forced to. Failure to enroll in a government-approved health care plan will result in a fine and involuntary enrollment into a randomly selected plan. On top of the insurance premiums, a tax increase will necessarily follow, because the federal government literally has no money to cover the tremendous additional cost of government administration. Ultimately, government-mandated health insurance will cost Americans more money without a commensurate increase in quality or access. Currently proposed tax hikes may have a disproportionate effect on small businesses.

Representative Polis (D – Colorado) said “some successful family-owned businesses would be taxed at higher rates than multinational corporations.”

• Obamacare Called 'Euthanasia Bill'
• GovernmentCare’s Assault on Seniors
• Disinfecting Obama's Health Care Plan

Minnesota Supreme Court Passes the Buck

The release of a House oversight committee report alleging the systematic commission of numerous serious crimes by the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN) yesterday deepened Minnesota Majority’s concerns about the integrity of Minnesota’s elections. 

Meanwhile, the state’s Supreme Court issued a ruling asserting that it does not have original jurisdiction to Hear Minnesota Majority’s case that was focused on a discrepancy of vote totals. In April, it was found that at least 40,000 more ballots were counted than there were records of voters who cast them in the statewide voter registration system.

 

The facts aren’t in dispute. Secretary Ritchie admitted to the discrepancy and all of the factual evidence in the case was provided by the secretary of state’s office. The court’s order to dismiss the case was without prejudice, meaning the Supreme Court didn’t rule on the merits of the case, only jurisdiction. In fact, the order states Minnesota Majority’s intention is a “laudable goal,” and goes on to suggest submitting the petition to the office of Administrative Hearings, the venue the Supreme Court believes is the appropriate starting point for the complaint.

 

Attorney for the plaintiffs, Erick Kaardal believes that the court’s decision is in error. “The statewide voter registration system is the lynchpin to the integrity of Minnesota’s elections. By sending the plaintiffs to lower tribunals, the court has essentially excused Secretary of State Mark Ritchie from his duties to accurately update the SVRS in a timely manner after the 2008 election,” he said.

 

Election integrity is becoming a hot issue, not just in Minnesota, but around the nation. More and more Irregularities are being found in several states. Prosecutions for election fraud are underway around the country and ACORN is often found to be in the middle of the controversies.

 

ACORN has been deeply involved in Minnesota’s elections for years. They’ve had their hand in electing Minnesota’s chief elections official (Secretary Ritchie) through financial and worker support. They take credit for tens of thousands of voter registrations in the run up to the 2008 election and we’ve already uncovered a lot of serious problems with our election records. It’s at least a little ironic that on the day the US Congress released an 88-page document alleging racketeering and money laundering by ACORN, Minnesota’s Supreme Court declined to hear evidence of election irregularities in Minnesota, a state where ACORN has been extraordinarily involved in the election process.

 

In the court’s 6-page order to dismiss, the chief justice states, “the time for contesting any irregularity in the 2008 election is long since passed,” in reference to Minnesota Statute 209.03, which states, notice of an election contest shall be served and filed within 7 days after the canvass is completed.

 

The irony continues. No one could have even known about the vote total discrepancy until late April, because the county auditors and secretary of state failed to meet statutory deadlines – in part, the very reason Minnesota Majority filed suit in the first place. If you dwell on that concept for too long, the paradoxical logic loop that ensues may cause your entire field of vision to become obscured by an intractable expanse of bright blue, followed by an involuntary restart of your brain.

 

The Help America Vote Act requires voter histories to be updated, “immediately.” State statute allows 6 weeks. Whether these concepts are compatible is probably debatable, but the reasoning behind the federal language, “immediately” comes into sharp focus.

 

In this particular instance, the way state statutes are structured, the Supreme Court order renders them unenforceable and even meaningless. Citizen intervention to protect the integrity of Minnesota elections appears impotent.

 

In light of the new congressional report, and dismissal by the Supreme Court of its thus-far undisputed case, Minnesota Majority is reiterating its call for investigation into irregularities in Minnesota’s election records.

 

Over the past three months, Minnesota Majority has discovered records in the statewide voter registration system that indicate deceased people, convicted felons and non-citizens voted in the 2008 election. Evidence of double-voting and voter registrations with non-deliverable addresses was also found.

 

In Minnesota Majority’s view, there is only one sure way to prevent the kinds of errors and potential abuse that have led to so much doubt in the integrity of Minnesota’s elections: Require photo ID to vote.

 

If this issue is important to you, there are three ways to take direct and immediate action. Don’t delay. We can’t afford to hand another election over to errors and abuse. The stakes are too high.

 

We all desire and deserve fair, transparent elections.Recommend your friends to sign up for a free membership with Minnesota Majority so they can join the critical fight for election integrity in Minnesota. 

A US House Oversight Committee has released a report on their investigation into alleged wrongdoing by ACORN

A House oversight committee has released a report charging that ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) has engaged in widespread corruption including laundering federal grant money and funneling taxpayer dollars into partisan political campaigns.

ACORN has been under investigation in several states for alleged improprieties arising from their activities around the 2008 elections. The House oversight document purports to provide a comprehensive examination of the allegations against ACORN – and they are numerous.

ACORN played a large role in Minnesota’s 2008 elections as well. They endorsed and provided financial support to the campaigns of Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and Attorney General Lori Swanson. Perhaps not coincidentally, ACORN is not facing criminal charges or even investigation in Minnesota. Maybe this is the one state where they played by the rules.

ACORN took credit for registering at least 40,000 Minnesota voters in the run-up to the 2008 elections. Evidence of fraudulent voter registrations began to emerge almost immediately. Fictitious characters were registered, and at least one convicted felon who was incarcerated at the time managed to submit a new voter registration. It appears that the registration was fraudulently submitted by someone engaged in a voter registration drive.

 

Minnesota’s Secretary of State has remained adamant that Minnesota’s elections are pristine, a model for the nation, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary being brought to his attention.

 

Minnesota Majority’s independent investigation of the 2008 election has uncovered evidence of duplicate votes, deceased people, convicted felons and non-citizens voting, non-deliverable mailing addresses used in voter registrations and other anomalies like more ballots counted than voter histories in the statewide voter registration system would indicate were cast.

 

Minnesota Majority has repeatedly called for investigations into problems with Minnesota’s election records. In 2005, a joint law enforcement task force consisting of the FBI, the Justice Department, Milwaukee County, and Milwaukee city police conducted an investigation into the 2004 general election in Milwaukee. Their findings were strikingly similar to situations in Minnesota that have thus-far not been investigated by law enforcement. 

The evidence is mounting, suggesting that ACORN may have been deliberately structured as a criminal enterprise and this organization had its hands all over Minnesota’s elections. Simultaneously, evidence of election irregularities continues to come to light. Therefore, Minnesota Majority renews our call for investigation into election irregularities and improprieties in Minnesota.

Read the complete report.

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The National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) kicks off their annual conference in Minneapolis on Friday. Today, visiting secretaries from around the nation enjoyed social time at the Minneapolis Hilton, then prepared to board a bus for a golf outing at Keller Golf Course in St. Paul. Minnesota Majority and several citizens concerned about election integrity greeted them as they left the hotel this afternoon.

 

Over a dozen concerned citizens showed up with signs and posters in support of photo ID. One sign with a picture of a drivers’ license read, “The Election Integrity Card – Don’t vote without it.”

 

Talk radio host Sue Jeffers and gubernatorial candidate Representative Tom Emmer (R – Delano) joined the demonstrators.

 

As the golf bags were being loaded and visiting secretaries of state boarded the bus, they were offered a sleeve of complimentary golf balls imprinted with the words, “Election Integrity.” They were asked to “keep their eyes on the ball.”

 

Hotel security initially seemed apprehensive about the group of demonstrators gathering outside, but they quickly warmed to the group once they saw nobody was out to cause any trouble. “You guys are great – we're having a good time,” said one member of the security staff.

 

For the most part, the secretaries of state greeted the crowd warmly, graciously accepting the golf balls and exchanged friendly banter with demonstrators before boarding the bus to the golf course. 

With elections being decided by increasingly narrow margins, even a fractional level of errors or abuse can call the legitimacy of elections into question. The only definate way to ensure an accurate reflection of the will of the people in an election is by requiring photo ID to verify identity and eligibility before voting.

Take Action: Sign the Election Integrity Petition.

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