Earlier that day, State Senator Dave Thompson posted on Twitter and Facebook that he intends to introduce “Right-to-Work” legislation as a constitutional amendment for voters decide on in November.

The letter that follows is the unedited version of the letter that was published January 26th in the Farmington Independent.  The MLK quote at the bottom was removed:

Letter: Legislation’s real goal is busting unions

State Senator Dave Thompson of Lakeville posted on Facebook and Twitter earlier this week that he intends to introduce what he is calling an “Employee Freedom Bill” as an amendment to Minnesota’s Constitution.  This type of legislation has been in the works across America for decades, and is more commonly referred to as “Right-to-Work” legislation.  But don’t let the phrases “Employee Freedom” and “Right-to-Work” fool you.  Those buzz phrases were carefully developed to mislead people.  “Employee Freedom” and “Right-to-Work” legislation is simply intended to bust unions.

With fewer and fewer of us as union members, unknowingly we accept the negative stereotype about unions and union members that has been constantly promoted by corporate interests and the politicians who tie themselves to those interests.  Together they have spent billions of dollars to promote an anti-union agenda.  State Senator Dave Thompson, is now tying himself to special interest groups like the MN Chamber of Commerce who spends more than twice as much to lobby our legislators as any union does.  (MSP Biz Journal, 2012)

If State Senator Dave Thompson gets his wish and puts this on the ballot for all of us to vote on in November, voters have an important decision to make.  We need to decide if we want to accelerate the downward plunge in the quality of life many middle-class Minnesotans are experiencing, the way other states that have these laws of de-unionization have reduced middle-class wages and working conditions.

Do we want more Minnesotans to be without the ability to bargain for decent medical benefits?  Do we want to risk a living wage and prevent employees from being able to bargain collectively for the pay they deserve?  Do we want corporations to decide what air is safe to breath and what equipment is safe to operate?  Do we want employees to be fired because they complain about unsafe work conditions?  Do we want the gap between rich and poor to increase even more and even faster?

Take a close look at the constitutional amendments that will or might be on the ballot in 2012.  State Senator Dave Thompson and the other politicians like him will use compelling words to use emotions to get you to support these amendments.  But, every potential constitutional amendment so far seems to be about taking rights away from people who don’t have the power to fight back. 

Vote no on any so called right-to-work amendments. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said it best: “We must guard against being fooled by false slogans, as ‘right-to-work.’ It provides no ‘rights’ and no ‘works.’ Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining… We demand this fraud be stopped.”

Steve Quist
Farmington, MN

Link to Letter on The Farmington Independent site: http://www.farmingtonindependent.com/event/article/id/19101/

SQ

Scheck and Richert document the unethical and nepotistic spending frenzy carried out by Tony Sutton and the GOP that helped lead to the Republican Party’s current $2,000,000 debt.  Yes, that is two million dollars in irresponsible debt owed by the party that claims the mantra of fiscally responsibility.  And do not get me started on what happened in 2001 when the Republicans rented out an amusement park for 500 people with a pyrotechnics show, paid $9K, and refused to pay $22K because the amount was not properly approved… Like I said do not get me started.

The entire story by Scheck and Richert is very interesting, but the section titled “PARTY INSIDERS AND CANDIDATES ON THE PAYROLL” was the most interesting to me.

First of all, my name is in that section of the article, so somebody brought it to my attention.  But my name is not what makes it interesting.  The interesting part is that the section discusses the unethical employment practice, unethical at least in the eyes of many, including the DFL which has a policy preventing it, of the Party hiring candidates running for office to fill party jobs, including candidate Dave Thompson.

State Senator Dave Thompson was paid $70,000 for “communications consulting.”  While we were running against each other, I knew he was working for Lee Byberg who was running for Congress up in the 7th district, but I knew nothing of his work for the Republican Party that he was being handsomely paid for.  No wonder he drives a Mercedes.

Obviously his work did not affect me, or my run, but how did it affect his run?  He defeated Farmington City Councilmember Christy Jo Fogerty, and Lakeville School Board Member Bob Erickson.  Did he get any extra Party help because he was being paid by the Republican Party?  Was there anything else unethical in how the voting was conducted?  Did Sutton and the Republican machine arrange his win?

Do I believe any of that?  No, but the most important thing when it comes to this sort of thing, outside of basic ethics and morals, is not to allow anything that could create a shadow of a doubt to outsiders.

Dave Thompson who was being paid by the Republican Party told the MPR reports: “I guess I never saw that as being any kind of conflict, and still don’t to this day.”  Not a conflict?  Hello… 

It is entirely a conflict.  State law forbids a candidate from paying himself for work for a reason.  Just because state law does not prohibit political parties from hiring candidates doesn’t mean it is ethical.  And it does not mean it shouldn’t be against the law.  The MPR story quoted Mike Dean of Common Cause Minnesota who said:

“…he believes the Republican Party of Minnesota is circumventing that law. ‘This practice doesn’t meet a smell test in terms of what is ethical,’ Dean said. ‘There should be a clear bright line that says candidates for office should not be paid by other candidates for office or political parties.’”

The big concern is that the party, or other candidates in conjunction with the party, could work to provide the candidate a means of livelihood while they campaign.  When I ran against Sen. Thompson, I worked until 5, drove home to Farmington in traffic, got home around 6, ate dinner with my family, then went out and door knocked for a couple hours, maybe visiting 10-20 houses before it got too late or too dark.  If I could have door knocked areas during the day because I was being paid by Lee Byberg, the Republican Party, or even another candidate with a surplus of funds for “contracted services,” maybe a few more votes could be had.

If the DFL thinks it is unethical, and if other groups think it is unethical, but the Republican Party doesn’t think it is unethical, or Dave Thompson doesn’t think it is a conflict, what is wrong with them?

The party of fiscal responsibility?  What a hypocritical group of jokers.  If anything has come out of recent elections, The Republican Party is the party of special interests and conflicts of interests.  The next thing you know they will try nominating for President a former Speaker of the House who wanted to prosecute a President for having an affair, while that Speaker of the House was having an affair…

I wrote the following guide to what happens at the DFL caucuses after writing a post about people being scared away from the caucuses because of their 2008 experience. Plus, I think a lot of people are more comfortable if they know what is going to happen at an event, I know it makes me more comfortable. But I also think the year we had the most attendees at the DFL caucuses in 2008, is not representative of how caucuses usually run, so people should not think they will be as hectic, or as unorganized as 2008.  Here is a little how to caucus guide. If you are like me and need a little reassurance to be comfortable, maybe you will show up this year…

Caucus 101 – A how to guide to participate in the 2012 DFL caucus

The 2012 DFL precinct caucuses are meetings organized by the DFL to begin the process of selecting candidates for the 2012 elections. In 2012, elections will be held for President, U.S. Senate, U.S. Congress, State Senator, State House of Representative and other local officials. The DFL caucuses are also the first step in shaping the DFL platform and policy positions that the DFL will push for the next two years.

Step 1: Find out what house district and precinct you are in.
Caucuses are usually organized by precinct within senate or county districts. The names of those districts will be changing to “organizing units” this year, so keep that in mind.  The Minnesota Secretary of State website has a polling place finder, which should provide you with information about the political districts you reside in. Follow the steps by entering your zip code, followed by your address, to find out your district information. Besides telling you where you vote, it also tells you your congressional district, Minnesota senate district, house district and precinct, along with a few other districts. Your precinct is often a combination of your town with the letter “P” and a number or for smaller towns, the name of the town. Example: Farmington P-4 is precinct 4 in Farmington.

Step 2: Find your caucus location.
After you know your house district and precinct, you can find out where your precinct caucus is. Since caucuses are organized by local DFL parties, the Secretary of State is dependent on receiving the location information from local party officials. Secretary of State Mark Ritchie’s office just launched an online caucus finder, but if it is not available, you can find your caucus location by contacting your local DFL Senate District official. For instance Senate District 36 (SD36) is planning the caucuses in the SD36 area. The local leaders or the website in SD36 will provide you the information for your meeting location.

Step 3: Show up.
Once you know where to go, it is as simple as showing up. Arrive a little early to sign in. Registration begins at 6:30 p.m., and the caucus is convened at 7:00. At many caucuses, multiple precincts meet in one location. Generally, you go directly to your precinct to sign in, but people or signs should direct you. There is generally a fair amount of literature to review. There is always DFL party literature, and often candidate literature. It is not uncommon for local officials or candidates to make an appearance too.

Step 4: Engage with others in your precinct as you wait to begin.
The caucus is a great place to meet neighbors who share your political view. But caucuses also are the first step in developing resolutions to be included in the DFL platform. Talk about ideas and engage others. The caucus is the first step to offer a resolution on an issue important to you. Before the close of the caucus, attendees in your precinct will vote on the issue, and if the resolution is passed, will forward the resolution on to the next level of discussion. The Resolution Form is on page 34 of the “2012-2013 Offical Call,” the DFL’s booklet that includes, among other things, rules for DFL meetings, including the caucuses. Click here and go to page 34 to open the resolution form.

Step 5: The caucus begins.
The caucus begins with a few introductions and a couple required announcements. To begin the process, the caucus attendees elect a caucus chair, a secretary to record notes and tellers to count ballots. These positions are occasionally opened up to volunteers, then consented to by the body with a vote. Caucuses are run using parliamentary procedures to nominate and elect officials. Do not be embarrassed to ask questions if you are unfamiliar with how to phrase something — others, including the conveners and even the chair are often in the same boat.

Step 6: Elect precinct officers.
Caucus attendees elect officers who will be responsible for organizing political activities within the precinct. Each precinct elects a precinct chair and two precinct associate chairs. Within the DFL, at least one male and one female must be elected. For example, if a woman is elected chair, at least one associate chair should be a man, and vice versa. Precinct chair responsibilities can be very different from district to district. A key responsibility is to attend local DFL committee meetings and to help organize and increase the presence of the party through voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts. Additionally, in some districts, the precinct chair is expected to raise a certain amount of money in a district. In others, it might be as simple as calling people in the precinct to remind them of a meeting or an election. Literature describing the duties will be at your precinct location.

Step 7: Elect senate district delegates.
Each precinct has a predetermined number of delegates to elect to the county or senate district convention. The caucus attendees will elect representatives to be delegates. In many districts, there are often more delegate and alternate openings than there are people willing or able to attend the convention. You don’t need to launch a massive campaign to be elected to the next level. It is important to make sure your precinct chair checks the “delegate” box on the attendance forms to ensure you are included in the rolls for the convention. Keep something in mind. After the caucuses a list of the convention attendees is often acquired by candidates. Expect calls from candidates.

Step 8: Vote in straw polls.
Depending on the elections, attendees of the caucus may be given a straw poll ballot to indicate their preference among various candidates. I’m not sure we will have any reason for a straw poll, but if there is one for President for example, cast your vote before 8:00.

Step 9: Finish up.
If there are pending resolutions, finish considering the resolutions. The chair will announce the results of straw polls and finish up with any closing announcements.

Step 10: Adjourn.
Finally, the caucus chair will ask for a motion to adjourn the caucus.
After the caucus there are tasks that need to be completed. Cleaning up the area is the simplest duty to help with. Reporting results and entering attendance data into the DFL database is also an important task.

Step 11: The Convention.
Usually about a month after the caucuses, each Organizing Unit holds a convention.  It is at that convention that we elect delegates to the state convention in Rochester, elect local DFL organizing unit leaders, and endorse local candidates.  If you are lucky enough to be elected to attend the Organizing Unit Convention, please make every effort to attend, get involved with committees, be active, and take charge.  It is very rewarding.

Note: While many of these steps fit caucuses statewide, I did write this specifically with experience in the south metro. Feel free to forward this or repost it. Please credit MNDem.com if you do.

Does that make me one of those Occupy protesters?  Maybe not, but my Representative Pat Garofalo made a Twitter joke that made me think about being one.
 
@PatGarofalo tweeted:  “So disappointed that #OccupyFarmington skipped out on my tax townhall with Commissioner Frans. Great meeting about vision of state.” (Tweeted around 8:30 pm, 1/11/12)

I responded with my own tweet:

@Quist_Galaxie tweeted: “@PatGarofalo, I am probably about it for #OccupyFarmington, but I had church last night.  Sorry to disappoint.” (Tweeted around 9:30 am 1/12/12)

I know Rep. Garofalo was making a joke, he makes a lot of jokes.  And it’s good to have a sense of humor about politics, so I applaud him for that.  But his joke got me wondering about my community of Farmington.  How many people would join an Occupy Farmington event?  I thought that maybe I would be it.  Just me. 

My tweet was also a bit of joking, but it had truth in it too.  My political district that includes Farmington and Lakeville, is among the strongest Republican districts in the state.  Strong Republican voters, but I don’t really think a lot of people pay very much attention to politics, and very few are involved.  Sen. Dave Thomspon held a town hall meeting last year that was attended by just a few people.  As a candidate myself, very little of my help came from people I didn’t already know in my district, little money, and fewer volunteers.  I’m guessing it is not much different for the Republicans, it is probably a lot of the same people doing everything.

It is difficult to stay energized, and difficult to maintain interest.  The same people can’t keep doing things, burn out is inevitable.  I had big ideas, and got a lot of positive response from a lot of people, but it didn’t really amount to much.  So Occupy Farmington?  Yeah, maybe it is just me.

This is just another example of Cong. Kline fanning the flames of partisanship!  The GOP has held up hundreds (HUNDREDS!) of appointments, and Obama makes a couple of appointments, and I will add, far fewer recess appointments than any recent president, and he is all of the sudden some sort of reprobate.  That is an example of exactly what is wrong in Washington.  It isn’t a President or a Congressman alone, the problem is the utter lack of respect that politicians have for each other, the name calling, and the over the top party fanaticism!!!

And I am sorry to break all of the Republican’s hearts, but Obama is not a party fanatic.  Oh, and the Government isn’t bad.  The government is US.  You and me, and everybody else in America — we are the government!  It is not the all inclusive monstrous government, the problem lies in people like John Kline and people on both sides who act and talk like him. 

And to make it worse, he is upset at the appointment of a person to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  A bureau that is supposed to protect the 99% of us from all the stupid stuff that John Kline supports and that led us to this horrible economy that President Obama is slowly bringing us out of.  Can there be any stronger example of what percent of people in this county John Kline supports?

The truth is that John Kline and other Republicans are trying to skirt the Constitution and change agencies like the CFPB or the NLRB that they either don’t have the votes or the power to “reform” the way they would like to, or they don’t have the gumption to attempt to change them in an honest upfront way.  Our President is simply appointing people so that these agencies can operate as our nation’s laws dictate.  Isn’t that exactly what so many Republicans want, for the law to simply be followed (obviously with an exclusion for corporations.)

Hypocrite!

State Rep. Tina Liebling recently wrote a Letter to the Editor in Rochester that pointed out that almost all of the surplus is a result either the budget passed by the DFL controlled house and senate before the current crop of “no-it-alls” were elected, or by savings in Health and Human Service costs thanks to the federal health care reforms enacted by President Obama and Democrats, including Senators Klobuchar and Franken. 

Since Republicans are so quick to take credit for the short-term surplus, I assume they will gladly take credit when a big deficit looms again next year since the new crop of “no-it-all” Republicans wouldn’t compromise this year?  Let’s hold them to that when it happens.  They are taking undeserved credit for the surplus, let’s give them the credit they deserve for the deficit.

“Kline and Cravaack angry over dropped wolf provision”

The headline refers to a policy rider that was attached to a spending bill that would limit judicial review of US Fish and Wildlife decisions.  By the way, the gray wolf, or timber wolf, is still slated to be taken off the endangered species list in the next few weeks regardless of this rider to a spending bill.

I’m annoyed by two things here.  First, the real purpose of this policy is to make it more difficult for environmental groups to challenge decisions made by the US Fish and Wildlife Agency.  It’s funny that Kline and Cravaack want less government control, but here want the government to have all the control.  As I said, the gray wolf is still scheduled to come off the endangered species list by the end of the year, maybe they shouldn’t be upset, and tie their anger to wolves, maybe they should admit that they are upset that private citizens who value the environment and God’s creatures still have a say in what our government does.   By the way, I will also add that I read an article recently that reported that less than 1% of Wisconsin farms in gray wolf territory have had a wolf attack livestock.  I’m not saying’, I’m just sayin’.

The second thing I am annoyed by is that my congressman, John Kline, and the 8th district’s representative, Chip Cravaack, are angered by this.  I did a Google search of other things John Kline might be “angered” by, and nothing came up.  He is not angry about poverty levels rising in the US, or the terrible job market, or even the uber-partisanship that has developed in Congress.  I also looked at what he might be “disturbed” by, just to cover my bases.  He wasn’t disturbed by the fact that the Iraq war was not paid for, nor was it included in budget shortfalls.  He wasn’t disturbed that medical insurance rates are rising faster than even college tuitions, or that millions of people have lost billions of dollars thanks to greedy and unscrupulous bankers and investors.

You might think he just doesn’t get upset unless it means protecting farmers from the big bad wolf, but that isn’t true.  Recently, Congressman Kline was upset when for-profit colleges were being asked to prove that they were actually teaching students, not just taking their money.  He is disturbed that we are subsidizing wind energy, the problem is I’m not sure he is quite as disturbed about subsidizing the oil industry, or the corporate farm industry.  And he is upset that it is important to a majority us that we provide affordable healthcare for every American.  Most of all, I think Kline is upset that the president is Obama, and not an extremist TEA Party Republican who would return the country to a time like the Guilded Age when the rich were rich and the poor were really poor. When giant mansions held giant weekend long parties, and tenements in dirty cities held giant masses of sick and beaten down people.

I wish they could get angry at things most of his constituents might get angered by, not topics that only the most extreme and partisan Republicans who support him get angered at.  Way to go Congressman Kline, keep fighting for everything but the people.

I learned how important higher education was with the story of how just the couple of classes my Grandpa had at Dunwoody helped to get him a better job in the plant.  I remember his cool 1970s Ford Thunderbird, the big blue LTD my grandma drove, and the luxurious gold Ford conversion van he bought to travel around the country in.  I remember the old baby-blue Ford pickup he drove around the farm with all of the grandkids in the back bouncing up and down on the uneven farm path that snaked between the pine trees to the corn fields, and how he accelerated as he approached bumps and dips.  I think entertaining us was the only purpose for the old rusty F-series pickup.  I remember that he always took pictures of his cars, and when he took pictures of us, we were often in front of Fords.

My dad and one of my uncles both spent time working in the plant.  I don’t know the details, but I’m guessing they worked during summers or after high school.  I have a simple spoon with “Ford” scripted on the handle, I have no idea where it came from, but I like to think it was stolen from the plant lunch room, and that I own a little piece of history from the plant, that I now use to eat ice cream with.

I drive by that plant and wish I could stop, go in, and see what it is like, how immense it is, and where my Grandpa used to work.  I want a frame of reference to imagine the Model Ts and the Model As, the airplane engines that were built there during World War II, the Ford Galaxies, the LTDs, and all of the trucks that were built there over the years.  If I could, I would like to take a piece of history from the plant, like the people who took grass, dirt, signs and seats from old Met Stadium.

Only about 800 workers are closing down the plant.  Tomorrow, the last St. Paul produced Ford Ranger is expected to rolls off the assembly line.  800 workers is about a third of the number of workers that worked there when my Grandpa worked there.  It is a landmark, both locally and nationally.  It survived through the late 70s, 80s and the 90s, when hundreds of other American auto plants closed.  Tomorrow, it will cease to be living history as the oldest Ford assembly plant still in operation, it will simply become history, but very important history to me.

That is no way to elect somebody to repair a system that you consider broken.  If we want things to work, we need to elect people who are thoughtful, creative, considerate, and who see the big picture.

In 2012, we need to begin electing politicians who are willing to look at evidence and statistics, and use that data to decide how to vote on an issue, not vote on an issue based on a pledge that was signed to get the endorsement of a special interest group, or vote based on how the politicians affiliated party feels in general about issues of that type. 

We need politicians who think for themselves and who think about Minnesota values and the future of Minnesota.  They need to consider how the decisions they make will affect the next few generations, if not every generation going forward.  They need to work together to be creative and considerate of everybody in their district, not just the people who support them or give them money.

We need politicians who are proud of working together and proud to get things done that make Minnesota better, not politicians who are proud that they created a chasm in public, insulted the other party in a clever way, or proud that their name is in the news.

I’m hoping for a movement of moderates to reengage with the parties that have pushed them out over the last 2 to 3 decades.  There is no place for ideological extremists in mainstream politics.

“We will not be able to put our conservative principles into action if we don’t win elections. Simple concept.”

My thought is that your principles should be what get you elected.  So run on those conservative principles, without deceptive buzz phrases and sound bites and let’s see if that wins elections.  I don’t think it will.

The DFL, as under-organized as it is, and with as much contention among its members as it has, continues to win and be competitive.  It is because of the principles the DFL stands for: People first, concern for the community, great public education and attainable advanced education make us stronger.  People agree with those.  They are “conservative principles” that get people elected.

To Ben Golnik, and all the people who retweeted that statement, maybe the principles put in action should be what the general population wants.  Get elected that way instead of trying to win anyway you can so a few aggressive conservatives who think they know better than everybody else, can accomplish what they want.

That’s what happened in Wisconsin.  That’s what you get when Republicans aren’t honest with the people about what they really want to do.  How much nicer would it be if all the recount money was being spent in schools, instead of trying to correct an error the people made because of dishonesty.  So Republican candidates in 2012, be honest and open about your conservative principles, and tell us what that means you will do if you get elected.