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"The future does not belong to those who sit on the sidelines." — Senator Paul Wellstone
* SD48 GOP *
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Doug Loon non-partisan? Nope, not so much.
Posted by SD48 DFL Communications Team in Jenifer Loon
The spouse of HD48B representative, Jenifer Loon, has a new position per Adam Belz in the June 30, 2015, StarTribune. Please take the time to read the full article. See if your head spins, too.
We’ve included some numbers to link you to those “what the what” statements that jumped out at us.
- The Chamber cites the issues of importance that are strong Democratic issues: transportation and immigration
- Loon gives no credit to what the DFL legislature and Gov. Dayton have done to strengthen the economy, gives lip service to “improvement” with no details (improvement like in Wisconsin?)
- The Chamber and Loon worked to move the House to GOP controlled and he says the next step is changing the Minnesota Senate to GOP control
- Before working for the U.S. Chamber, he was a GOP Congressional staffer
- He calls the Chamber non-partisan.
“The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce announced Monday that its new president will be Douglas Loon, a longtime Midwest regional executive for the U.S. Chamber.
He will fill the vacancy left by the death last July of David Olson, who led the state’s largest business lobby for nearly a quarter century.
“A perfect choice. He’s smart. He has a good reputation with both sides of the aisle. He knows Minnesota well,” said Charlie Weaver, executive director of the Minnesota Business Partnership. “He’ll be well received at the Capitol.”
Loon, 50, grew up in South Dakota, worked in Washington for a Pennsylvania senator and has been based in Minnesota since 1998. His wife, Jenifer Loon, is a Republican state representative from Eden Prairie.
Douglas Loon will take the post in September and spend the fall months touring the state and preparing for next year’s legislative session.
The Chamber and its mostly Republican allies are coming off a strong year in which the GOP took the Minnesota House and logged a solid performance in the 2015 legislative session.
(1) Taxes and transportation were left unresolved and will be a battleground in 2016. The chamber also lists immigration reform and education as key issues, as the state struggles to deal with an aging workforce and the shifting demographics of its younger population.
Chamber members and leaders seethed over a 2013 tax hike on the wealthiest Minnesotans and a rise in the minimum wage. But the state’s economy has remained among the nation’s healthiest and unemployment has fallen to its lowest level since 2006.
“We know that Minnesota is a great place to start, build and grow a business,” Loon said. “It is not strictly the government that has built that. That is built by the private marketplace and their resiliency and ability to compete.”
Last week, the annual ranking by CNBC of the business environment in states — which named Minnesota the best state for business — provided a new moment for Democrats and Republicans to square off over what they believe is driving the state’s success.
(2) In an interview, Loon said CNBC’s accolade doesn’t mean the state can’t improve and pointed to the TV network’s finding of high taxes as a disadvantage for Minnesota businesses.
(3) The Minnesota Chamber, which represents more than 2,300 companies across the state, helped Republicans take control of the Minnesota House in 2014, and Loon said the next step is to win the Senate.
‘If you look at just the political landscape, that’s going to be a place where everybody’s going to put focus,’ he said. ‘I would describe it as protect and advance, protect the working pro-business majority that they enjoy and continue to expand it. We’re going to be looking for friends where we can find them, and on each issue you build coalitions of the willing.’
(5) But he also called the chamber a “nonpartisan organization” and said “pro-business” is not code for Republican. He rejected the notion that his appointment gives fuel to critics who say the chamber is just a fundraising and lobbying arm of the state GOP.
‘They may try to paint me with that broad brush, but the reality is I work for a nonpartisan organization now, and I expect to operate in a nonpartisan way at the chamber,” Loon said.
(4) After serving as legislative director for Sen. Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, early in his career, Loon has been at the U.S. Chamber since 1995 and based in – Minnesota since 1998.
He manages the national chamber’s seven regional offices that handle political and grass roots outreach. He also manages the U.S. Chamber’s Midwest region, which includes Minnesota.
One of Loon’s strengths is his experience working with local chambers and trade groups and the businesses that make up their backbone.
“I think he can relate well to small businesses that are the chamber’s bread-and-butter,” Weaver said.
Bill Blazar, who served as interim president and did not apply for the chamber’s president position, will guide Loon through the transition while returning to his previous role as senior vice president of public affairs and business development.”
You can read the full post here.
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Adult Depression Linked to Childhood Bullying
Posted by SD48 DFL Communications Team in Issues, Jenifer Loon, News, SD48 GOP
Karen Kaplan with the Los Angeles Times, reprinted in the June 4, 2015, Minneapolis Star Tribune reports on a recent study that “nearly 30 percent of cases of depression among adults” can be traced by to bullying during childhood.
So, thanks again to the House and Senate DFL Caucuses for their work to pass the Safe and Supportive Schools act.
And, when it comes to the 2016 election, remember that our House District 48B Representative, Jenifer Loon, and Senate District 48 Senator David Hann both voted against this bill.
Here’s a link to the above article.
anti-bullying bill · bullying · depression · House DFL Caucus · safe and supportive schools · Senate DFL Caucus
14
Senate Republicans preparing for shutdown
Posted by SD48 DFL Communications Team in Issues, News, Rightwing Watch
By Ken Martin, DFL Chairman
“The same Republican Party that brought Minnesota into a government shutdown in 2011 is already preparing itself for another destructive shutdown.
“On Wednesday afternoon, with several weeks left before a shutdown would be triggered, state Sen. Sean Nienow (R- Cambridge) attempted to advance a bill he calls ‘Plan B,’ even while negotiations between legislative leaders and Gov. Mark Dayton are still in progress. Every single Senate Republican voted for Nienow’s motion.
“Make no mistake: this Plan B is just a desperate attempt to deflect accountability from their Party, which has refused to move from their negotiating position for weeks. Minnesotans don’t want to eliminate MinnesotaCare for 100,000 of our neighbors. We don’t want an education budget that would force cuts in our school districts. We don’t want to end up with a budget that sacrifices long-term fiscal stability for a temporary tax cut. Minnesotans will see through their cynical politics if Tea Party Republicans continue to propose such destructive policies and try to dodge responsibility for the results.
“While Republicans are busy preparing Plan B, Senate DFLers are still working hard on Plan A: negotiating a compromise with the House, passing a responsible budget and keeping the government from shutting down in the first place. If Senate Republicans are truly concerned about Minnesota’s future, they should work to avoid a shutdown instead of spending the last days of session avoiding the blame.”
government shutdown · Minnesota Senate Republicans · Tea Party
15
Video – Economist Explains How Taxes Affect US Income Distribution
Posted by SD48 DFL Communications Team in Issues, News, SD48 GOP
A lot of Republican elected officials are quick to cite percentages rather than dollars when talking about taxes and how those rich people are so put upon by the government. Our own Sen. David Hann is one of those who’s fast to toss out percentages, hoping people won’t have the background to respond.
Well, we found a great video that debunks the above. We posted a link on social media yesterday, but felt on this Tax Day, it was important to get the truth out there. Please take the 3 minutes to watch this:
David Hann · income inequality · regressive taxes · sd48 · Sen. Hann · Senate District 48
At the Saturday, April 11, 2015 Minnesota Republican convention, SD48’s own Sen. David Hann spoke to the group. In his speech, he said the Senate DFL was levied the largest campaign finance fine in history. Rachel Stassen-Berger, the Capitol Bureau Chief and Reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer Press immediate responded with this:
Last month, it was reported that his party is in major arrears to vendors for the 2014 campaign. Here’s a post from the StarTribune detailing that situation.
Today (April 14, 2015), the StarTribune details the $26,000 fine the Minnesota GOP was given by the FEC for not disclosing receipts, payments and debts in 2009 and 2011. The FEC also fined the Minnesota GOP $170,000 for misrepresenting debts.
The StarTribune reports that the FEC has warned the party again that it must straighten out its paperwork for 2014 by May 15, 2015. The article also details the $1.40 million the party is still in debt.
Again, which organization is the party of fiscal responsibility and able to manage money better? It might have been the GOP at one time. Folks, it isn’t now. And, when push comes to shove, there is prevarication at best.
David Hann · debt · FEC fines · sd48 · Sen. Hann · Senate District 48