John Kline’s support of Obama and the raising the debt ceiling leaves him with only Obamacare as an issue he can run on.

On Facebook, John Kline, well, let me check that, John Kline’s staff keeps posting about Obamacare. It is tiring, mainly because it is an issue that cannot be at all resolved by Republicans for at least two years, if not four probably. And yet, Republicans are hoping for another 2010 to save their sinking party, and the only issues they have are the debt ceiling and Obamacare.

Funny that Michael is more contitutionally knowledgeable than John Roberts apparently/

As I mentioned before, the debt ceiling is their own problem for not getting work done to improve the economy, while still spending tons of money on war. Congressman Kline voted to support President Obama a few weeks ago when the President basically said about raising the debt ceiling “Congress created this debt mess, Congress ran up the national credit card debt, so it is Congress’s responsibility to pay for what they agreed to spend.” And now that John Kline agrees with that by supporting President Obama with his vote to raise the debt ceiling, he knows he can no longer run on debt issues without looking like a giant hypocrite. On a side note, he never should have been able to run on that anyway, he has been in congress since 2002, when he supported every Bush budget, every Bush budget voodoo reporting gimmick, and Republican establishment spending. If you recall, he didn’t become against earmarks until it was obvious that Democrats were going to take control of the House in 2006.

Without that golden election ticket, he and other Republicans can only deride a program that will quickly become entrenched in society, and will quickly become a safety blanket for people who want to start small businesses, but who have preexisting conditions. Or middle-aged Americans who have health issues that prevent them from continuing to work, that before would have bankrupt them. And when we realize how many people truly just need a little consistent mental health help to become productive members of society, then what are the Republicans going to argue with when a majority of the country likes it?

Of course there will always be people who hate it, doctors who hate it, and politicians who hate it, but this is a democratic (small “d”) country, not a consensus country. Remember for years Republicans wanted to dismantle Social Security and Medicare, now many of them are “defenders” (and I use that word sarcastically even if they do not) of those programs. Since Republicans can’t do anything about Obamacare, it is about time they buckle down and get some real work done that truly improves the country, instead of complaining about something that you have no ability to change in the near future.

The “Red Shirts” send an intern to crash the DFL58 Picnic In the Park Fundraiser

In my last post I wrote about a young man creeping around the DFL58 Picnic in the Park Fundraiser.  I assumed he was a tracker for Klobuchar or Obermueller, but I was upset when he walked around videotaping each person in attendance at the event.

I became even more disturbed when I wondered if he videotaped the kids at the event. I think that could actually be illegal, but either way, whether kids or adults, people should be free to enjoy a picnic without their privacy being intruded on by Republicans who express a desire for more freedom.

I guess freedom is limited to Republican events, opinions and ideals, because the mystery is solved.  Drew Christensen was an intern for John Kline.  He wasn’t wearing his red shirt at our picnic, but that’s him on the far right in the picture. No, that “far right” comment was not intended to be a pun.  The Drew identified in the picture popped up on my screen when I opened Facebook a few minutes ago.

Drew must have been sent by the other red shirts to videotape Mike Obermueller. Maybe John Kline should show a little courage and show up himself for an impromptu debate with Mike at events like this, instead of hoping for a racist comment to post on Youtube – oh wait! It is always Republicans that say that stuff isn’t it?

A tale of two emails part 2: Kline has no record to run on against Obermueller

Last week I wrote a piece about the difference between Mike Obermueller’s email and John Kline’s email to supporters, A tale of two emails: Kline vs. Obermueller.  I wrote about how John Kline is running against and raising money based on fear of an imaginary liberal boogeyman, while Mike Obermueller is running against John Kline and John Kline’s lack of leadership.

I got to thinking, why isn’t John Kline running on his record?

John Kline has been in Congress for a decade.  Apparently the only accomplishment he can run on is his opposition to Barack Obama, ObamaCare and The Stimulus?  What about the 6 years his President was in charge?  What about the years his party controlled the House, Senate and the Presidency?

Why is it that when the Democrats controlled all three chambers for a fraction of the time the Republicans did, they were able to pass a major social reform bill in the healthcare bill that had been a goal since Harry Truman was president, but nothing was done on the supposedly most important social issues to Republicans when they controlled all three.  Today they continue to take symbolic votes to oppose Democrats, but Kline couldn’t provide the leadership to take an actual vote.

It’s no wonder John Kline is terrified of Mike Obermueller.  Mike is raising money that nobody in recent elections has been able to raise, and that money will be used to attack John Kline’s record, or the lack-there-of.

A tale of two emails: Kline vs. Obermueller

I am going to compare two actual emails here.  The first is from Congressman John Kline emailed on Thursday to his supporters.  The second is from Mike Obermueller emailed to his supporters on Tuesday.  These are the most recent emails I know of.

The first is about fear.  The second is about leadership.

Here is John Kline’s email:

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, The Democratic House Majority Fund and the Service Employees International Union are joining force to defeat me in their quest to retake majority control of Congress.

The radical special interests’ war chest of cash combined with the quarter-of-a-million dollars DFL Mike Obermueller raised last quarter will make this a tough race.

Very soon, we’re going to be hit hard by our opponents’ media, mailers and mud and their message is that my staunch opposition to ObamaCare, the Stimulus Plan and Tax Hikes mean that I’m out of touch with our Second District.  I disagree!   I’ve stayed in close touch with Minnesotans and the government takeover of health care, the failed stimulus package and tax increases are three things we don’t want.

I’m a target of the DCCC, George Soros, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Service Employees International Union and the Liberal Super PACs who have threatened to spend millions to defeat me.  But when you help me, I know I’ll win!

PLEASE MAKE YOUR SAFE AND SECURE ONLINE CONTRIBUTION TO KLINE FOR CONGRESS FOR $15, $35, $20 OR $45  for our signs, ads, letters, parade pieces and everything we need to win.

I need you now and thank you for your continued support,

John Kline

Paid for by Kline for Congress

Here is Mike Obermuller’s email:

Dear Stephen,

Just a few days ago Congresswoman Michele Bachmann made an unfounded and personal attack when she questioned the loyalty of a dedicated public servant, Huma Abedin. These sorts of McCarthy-like attacks should have no place in our political discourse and are the reason why a record number of Americans disapprove of the current Congress. I was heartened in this instance to see the condemnation of Bachmann’s comments came from both sides of the aisle. Speaker John Boehner, Sen. John McCain, Rep. Erik Paulsen, and even Bachmann’s former campaign manager Ed Rollins all said that she was out of line.

There was an exception, however: my opponent, Congressman John Kline.

Read: “John Kline Mum on Bachmann Remarks.” – Star Tribune

The 2nd Congressional District deserves better. Minnesota deserves better. But we won’t be able to retire Congressman Kline without your support.

Our pre-primary reporting deadline is midnight, July 25th. Help us show our grassroots strength by making a contribution today.

Thank you in advance for your support. Together, we will defeat John Kline and return responsible leadership to Washington.

Sincerely, Mike Obermueller

Paid for by Mike Obermueller for Congress, P.O. Box 211682, Eagan MN, 55121

Did you see the difference?  John Kline is running against that evil George Soros, the more evil Nancy Pelosi, Liberal Super PACs and the SEIU.  He is running against Mike Obermueller’s “radical special interests’ war chest of cash.”  Kline is scaring his supporters.  He isn’t running against Mike, he is running against an evil boogeyman.

Mike Obermueller on the other hand is running against John Kline.  Mike is running against a person who lacks the ability to be an honest leader.  He’s running against a “Representative” who can’t even stand up to his own colleague who is lying and putting an innocent person in danger.  What sort of leadership is that?  Yes, Mike mentions Bachmann, but he isn’t running against Michele Bachmann, he running against John Kline’s lack of response to her irresponsible lies.

It is no surprise though.  John Kline’s voting record is nearly identical to Michele Bachmann.  He probably agrees with her, he just doesn’t have the nerve to say it out loud.  It would be no surprise at all to me if John Kline agreed wholeheartedly with her.  I can still see his smirking face when a woman called Barack Obama “an Arab” at John McCain’s local town hall meeting.  Kline obviously enjoyed that, he likes that stuff.  That must be the best way for him to raise money, lies.

Choosing a candidate to endorse in MN-02 @Obermueller2012 or @Ganey4Congress #MN02

Tomorrow, in Rosemount, I will be one of the delegates selecting John Kline’s challenger.  At Rosemount High School, we will learn who the next Representative from the Second Congressional District will be, and for the first time in a decade, I think we will have a person representing us who is truly a Representative of the Second, not just a Congressman from the Second.

As a delegate to the DFL Second Congressional Convention, I have to make a choice between Patrick Ganey, Mike Obermueller, and Kathleen Gaylord.  I have yet to officially make my endorsement selection though.  I am leaning toward one candidate, but I am waiting to see them on stage at the convention.  Maybe I would have made my decision if I hadn’t been out of town last weekend when all three candidates debated in South St Paul.  And I might have been able to make my decision based on the MPR online forum Wednesday, if the questions asked hadn’t been so typical that I probably could have answered the questions for the candidates.

AS it is now, I’m up in the air.  I have already eliminated one candidate.  I will not be voting for Kathleen Gaylord.  I was disappointed that she never responded to my invitation to attend the last DFL58 meeting in Farmington.  Granted, it was short notice, but I think she should have responded anyway.  She didn’t participate in the MPR online forum.  It was a waste of time, but is she going to skip campaign opportunities if she gets the endorsement?  Her use of social media, at least Facebook and Twitter is practically nonexistent, and I think social media is extremely important.  Finally, I haven’t actually talked to her.  I’ve conversed with Patrick Ganey and Mike Obermueller on the phone, in person, via email, and even online in chat when one of my questions was posed to the candidates on the MPR online forum.  The extent of my interactions with Kathleen Gaylord was a message she left me that I didn’t even hear, it was told to me by a family member that she called.

Picking between Patrick Ganey and Mike Obermueller is difficult.  I was very impressed by Mike Obermueller from 2006-2010 as a candidate.  In addition, I learned things from him that would have been very useful in my own campaign, unfortunately it was too late.  I think he presents himself well, is well spoken, and I could see myself wearing an “I like Mike” pin or sticker on my jacket all summer and fall.  On the other hand, Patrick has really impressed me too for many of the same reasons.  He may not have the same experience, but his ability to learn and respond quickly has amazed me.  He comes across as a natural in front of people, and a very viable candidate.

So you ask, what are my concerns and why can’t I make a decision?  Honestly, I think either candidate can give John Kline a run for his money.  And although I am hopeful for a John Kline defeat in 2012, I wouldn’t wager any money on it.  I’m looking at how each of them respond based on the pressures of the endorsement race, because whether they are running for re-election, or more likely challenging John Kline again, the 2012 candidate needs to run again in 2014.

Do I have fears about either of them?  Absolutely.  I’m concerned that John Kline could use the fact that Patrick Ganey has only been a city councilor, never mind that John Kline had no political experience before running for Congress.  Mike Obermueller lost two of his three campaigns, even if it was a conservative district, and again, never mind that John Kline lost his first three elections.  Either of those could be used in a negative way by Kline, of course they could both be used in a positive way too.  Ganey isn’t a politician, and Obermueller has won in a conservative district — Tim Pawlenty’s district.

It will really come down to how they respond at the convention.  If I had to predict it right now, I think Mike Obermueller would win.  I have no idea what the delegate count is, but Patrick Ganey called me yesterday and asked me to support him again, but this time I got the feeling he was a little desperate.  My guess is that Mike is racking up the delegates and may win as early as the second ballot.  Of course keep in mind I thought Shelly Madore would eventually win the endorsement too, so my prediction means little.

Provided there is a wifi connection at Rosemount High School, I will tweet from the convention using #mn02 as the hashtag.  If there is no wifi, I’ll still tweet using my phone, but it won’t be as often, I’ll misspell words, be frustrated that the word complete deosn’t always work, and my battery will probably die early… (sigh) But follow me on twitter: @Quist_Galaxie

John Kline flip flops on student loan rates, but we know what he really thinks

Some Republicans can be so wimpy when it comes to their beliefs!  A couple weeks ago, Pat Garofalo and the Republicans in the Minnesota house tried to cover up their hatred for schools and education with a payback of the school funds they took to balance the last state budget.  In reality, the payback was a re-election scam to reduce the impact of negative ads this fall.  They don’t care about stealing money or paying back schools, they care about protecting their fragile majority.  The same thing happened yesterday with John Kline.

Yesterday John Kline flip flopped on his adamant belief that federal college loans should not be affordable.  He will now support a bill to extend the low loan rate that Democrats passed in 2006.  But we know the truth, we’ve always known the truth about John Kline.  Political success is more important than what he believes.  He has expressed the belief that the government has no right to keep loans low preventing banks from making the most money they can on the backs of students trying to better their lives.

If John Kline believes that, why isn’t he sticking to that belief?  He is supposed to have the courage of his convictions. He is supposed to be tough — he carried the nuclear football!  What’s wrong with John Kline, where is his political courage?

I don’t think John Kline really has any political courage.  He said you would be a budget hawk, but he went along with all of the deficit spending when the House and presidency were controlled by Republicans.  It wasn’t until the Democrats took over that he became that “hawk,” four years later and multiple votes to increase the deficit and pay for two wars that were not even being tracked in the budget.  John Kline doesn’t care about the budget or the deficit.  He doesn’t care about the district or the people in the district.  He doesn’t care about college students or k-12 students even though he heads the education committee in Congress.  He cares about himself, and he cares about re-election.

John Kline has shown us that a little sabre rattling about saving money is a bigger priority for him than building for the future, a bigger priority than allowing young men and women to go to college without a debt payment after graduation that exceeds a house payment.  This flip flop on loan rates is purely so that his opponent in 2012 can’t run a commercial expressing how little he cares about the future of our state and this country.

Follow CD2 DFL Candidates @Obermueller2012 and @Ganey4Congress. Kathleen Gaylord is not on Twitter yet.

Two of the three candidates asking for the DFL endorsement in the Second Congressional District are on Twitter.  Both have been on Twitter for less than a week, and both have less than 30 followers as I write this post.  I want to push more people to follow Mike Obermueller, Patrick Ganey and eventually Kathleen Gaylord.  I feel that Twitter is going to be a huge factor in 2012.

John Kline is on Twitter, and somebody regularly posts on his Twitter account.  I had to stop following him, or his aide, whoever it is, on Twitter because his posts were nothing more than political propaganda.  There was no real person or honesty, and he has just over 3000 propaganda readers.  Granted, many of his readers are right-wingers who need validation, and support him unconditionally, but I want the DFL candidates to have the same 3000 reader reach.

With just over 300 Twitter followers, I don’t have enough followers to make a real concerted Twitter push without retweets from major Twitter users.  However, I can circumvent the system a little because my posts are autotweeted by MN Progressive Project and Holly Cairns, who together have many more followers than I do.  My hope is to get that follower number quickly into the hundreds so that as we approach the April 28th endorsement, the feeds are all atwitter…

Follow Mike Obermueller on Twitter at @Obermueller2012
Follow Patrick Ganey on Twitter at @Ganey4Congress
Follow Kathleen Gaylord on Twitter at (Hopefully Coming Soon)
Follow me on Twitter at @Quist_Galaxie

The 2012 Race Is On! Three Candidates for DFL CD2 – Ganey, Obermueller and Gaylord

The race is on in the Second Congressional District.  With new boundaries that are rumored to give DFLers in the new district a little more hope, three viable candidates have emerged to challenge John Kline in 2012.

At one point a few months ago, it seemed all the Democrat’s hopes in the Second Congressional District (CD2) were pinned on the redistricting map being redrawn to include at least one of a couple of state Legislators who were ready to challenge John Kline if the lines were drawn to include them.  That didn’t happen. And when that didn’t happen, anxiety quickly grew in my mind about another inexperienced political novice challenging John Kline and his million dollar campaign cash balance.

But what ended up happening instead, was that a few people noticed the positive change in the District borders regarding favorability, and real known politician’s names were being mentioned.  Initially, Joe Atkins was in the news as a potential candidate.  I’m not sure how that rumor started, but about the time he announced he was not running I was contacted by a former legislator who asked if I would talk to a Northfield City Councilor about a potential run against Kline.

PATRICK GANEY

With Atkins decision, and with that conversation with a former legislator, it seemed my fears were being realized, John Kline’s political money-machine versus a first-term Northfield City Councilman, hopeless.  Then, I talked to Patrick Ganey on the phone and quickly realized he was leaps and bounds ahead of where 2010 DFL endorsed candidate Dan Powers was in his early days, and he wasn’t even sure he was running.  His communications skills were exceptional, and the fact that he raised money for a living didn’t hurt in my mind.  I invited him down to speak at our local DFL58 meeting a couple days later.

Patrick came to the meeting, had a message already, was able to respond to questions, and impressed the meeting attendees.  There was hope.  We invited him to our DFL58 convention, a couple days later, and did well there too.  He may be a political novice, but that certainly didn’t mean he didn’t have talent.  Since Patrick became a candidate, two others have announced. But, Patrick was the first to call me as a delegate to the CD2 convention and ask for my support.  He was the first to have a detailed website, and the first to have a Twitter feed @Ganey4Congress.  Being the first is a huge advantage.

So I am paying attention to Patrick.  The next Saturday after the DFL58 convention, I was sitting at Concordia University waiting for my son at a lacrosse goalie clinic.  While I waited I started scanning Twitter for a few updates on the Eagan endorsement races when I saw a tweet from The UpTake of a video of Patrick Ganey at that Eagan DFL convention.  I watched the video, and when the video was done, a video popped up from The UpTake titled “Obermueller considering a run for congress.”  I was shocked, and at the same time I made kind of a single chuckle as I smiled about the video.

See, I am a Mike Obermueller fan.  I have been impressed by Mike over the last few years, and was very disappointed when he lost his 2010 legislative race.  When I watched that UpTake video, I was really excited.  Just to be clear, I liked Dan Powers, and I thought Shelley Madore could have challenged John Kline with some money.  I volunteered for Theresa Daly, figured Colleen Rowley was a good choice, and thought maybe Steve Sarvi could pry away John Kline’s iron grip on military issues, but I was never excited about any of them.  That Saturday afternoon, I sat outside the Sea Foam Dome at Concordia College excited about a congressional candidate.

MIKE OBERMUELLER

One of my favorite parade signs is Mike’s sign with the word puzzle images for his name.  Obviously it isn’t a great sign for getting his name out there, but it is fun and different.  There is little doubt that John Kline will have more money, so being fun and different is important.  Rudy Boschwitz had more money, but a hard working politician who had fun and had clever marketing beat him.

I’m not saying that sign is on par with Paul Wellstone’s green bus or his great ads, but at least it is outside the normal political box.  Mike is young and can win a tough race.  If he works hard and things go his way, he can do the same thing Paul Wellstone did and surprise a seemingly safe incumbent.

As we approached our April meeting for DFL58, I realized I should invite the new candidates to address our group too.  On very short notice, I invited Mike, and he quickly accepted.  Mike came to the meeting, showed up early, ate some pizza with us, talked with members and then spoke, answered some really great questions, and I think won over some delegates.

Mike talked about his family and about growing up. He cracked a few jokes. Mike talked about the stark contrast between his pro-labor and pro-education stances, and John Kline’s anti-labor and anti-education stances.  Mike presented himself as a very friendly candidate.  He smiled a lot, was quick with responses and funny.  He will be a very formidable candidate.  He still does not have a Twitter feed, and his old 2010 website is still up.

I like Mike a lot — I might have to steal some of Mike Huckabee’s “I like Mike” buttons for Mike Obermueller’s campaign if he becomes the endorsed candidate and doesn’t do his own “I Like Mike” buttons.  As I was saying, I like Mike a lot, but I am maintaining an open mind until the convention.  Patrick has really impressed me, and even though he doesn’t have the political record Mike has, I think he would be a great candidate.

KATHLEEN GAYLORD

There is a third candidate too, Kathleen Gaylord.  I don’t know Kathleen.  I’ve never met her or talked to her.  In fact the first interaction I had with her was my email invite to our DFL meeting last Thursday.  I invited her three hours before the meeting, but I never received a response.

I knew it was short notice, so I didn’t expect her to come, but I thought it was a little odd that I didn’t receive a response at all to my invitation, even after the fact, saying something to the effect that she wished she could have come, and maybe we could set up another meeting to get to know some of the delegates.  For the record, 8 of DFL58’s 13 convention delegates and 9 of the 13 alternates were at that meeting.

Of course, if it were me, I wouldn’t waste my time with a hit and miss meeting as much as I would be contacting the delegates one-by-one personally, so I’m not offended she didn’t come at all, I just thought it was weird not to respond.

Today I sent her another email.  Partially out of curiosity if she would respond, partially because I have no idea who she is.  I sent her an email with four questions about her campaign.  She responded in about an hour, so things are looking up.

Kathleen was the first candidate with a website.  It has very little content on it, but she has an extensive and impressive resume, and most importantly a donation page. She does not have a Twitter account that I could find.  Mike and Kathleen need to get Twitter accounts going!

I am a huge proponent of women running, and will count the fact that a candidate is a woman as an advantage over a male candidate.  I think it is a clear advantage.  I think it is doubly advantageous in the anti-women political climate the Right-wing has been forging this past year.  I think a female candidate might draw women who might usually consider themselves independent Republicans.

I’m sure I will get the chance to meet Kathleen in the next couple weeks.  With her impressive political resume, and the other two candidates, how can it not be a good year to be a Democrat in the 2nd Congressional District?

I have asked each of the candidates if they plan to abide by the CD2 convention endorsement providing there is an endorsement.  All three plan to abide by the endorsement.

I also asked each candidate if they plan to run in 2014, should they lose in 2012.  Obviously a candidate thinks they are going to win, they have to, but the only candidate to run against John Kline more than once is Representative Bill Luther, whom Kline beat on his 3rd attempt in 2002.  John Kline proved that you might need to run a few times to win, I just want somebody to try twice.  Patrick Ganey and Mike Obermueller both said they will run a second time, Mike said he would, but plans that it will be as an incumbent.  Kathleen Gaylord did not answer other than to respond that she “is in the race to win this year.”

I’m hoping for a win this year, and to support an incumbent in 2014 whoever he or she may be.

Imperial Presidency or Fanatical Congressman Kline?

John Kline (and I am guessing many other Republicans) called the latest recess appointment by President Obama an example of Obama’s “imperial presidency.” 

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!

Congressman Kline gets angry for all the wrong reasons

I thought this MPR headline was kind of interesting when I read it:

“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.