In 2010, Republicans took control of the Legislature. They:

• shut down state government,
• borrowed $2.8 billion from our schools and
• balanced the state budget on the backs of lower- and middle-income workers while protecting millionaires and billionaires.

That’s their record.

The DFL has a far better record of making the progress needed to move Minnesota forward.

After the 2012 election, Gov.  Dayton and DFLers:

• turned a budget deficit into a surplus, created jobs (Minnesota has the lowest unemployment rate in eight years, 2.8 million jobs – the most in state history) and
• invested in education (which provide free all-day kindergarten and two year college tuition freeze).

The past two years have been about building a Better Minnesota for all, not a select few:

• the Women’s Economic Security Act levels the workforce playing field for women;
• an increase in the minimum wage helps our lowest paid workers, many of them head of households; and
• marriage equality provides rights that have been denied to thousands of loving couples.

All of those actions have a direct impact on families.

budget deficit to surplus · investment in education · job creation · marriage equality · minimum wage increase · progress · WESA · women's economic security act

Thanks to Gov. Dayton and DFL leaders, we’ve got a stronger environment of equality for all of us, not just those who can buy it:

• Marriage equality
• The Women’s Economic Security Act
• A $9.50 minimum wage, indexed to inflation
• Strong anti-bullying legislation

In our eyes, that’s truly doing unto others as you’d like done unto you.

DFL leaders · gender inequality · Gov. Dayton · income inequality · Mark Dayton · minimum wage increase · safe and supportive schools · WESA · women's economic security act

Photo: Peter Bartz-Gallagher, Politics in Minnesota

Tomorrow morning embattled Republican Senate candidate, investment banker Mike McFadden, will serve as a spokesperson for the Washington GOP establishment as he delivers the response to President Obama’s weekly address.

McFadden is the Beltway candidate. He was handpicked by Washington lobbyist Norm Coleman and has the support of Karl Rove, Mitch McConnell and even Michele Bachmann.

You’re probably going to hear a lot of the same poll-tested NRSC talking points and tired rhetoric that you’ve heard from every other Republican running for office this cycle. Here’s what you won’t here:

McFadden Supports Chinese Steel Over American Jobs

Investment banker Mike McFadden is currently under fire for his support of Chinese steel over American jobs. In one of the most telling moments of his entire campaign this week, McFadden declared that he would prefer to build the entire Keystone XL pipeline out of Chinese steel — not American-made steel — if it were cheaper, placing a higher value on being “cost competitive” to bolster big corporations’ profits than creating American jobs.

During a tense back and forth with reporters, McFadden was asked if he would prefer using Chinese steel if it were cheaper for the corporations building the pipeline . McFadden said “yes” and later even had the nerve to minimize the importance of the issue, telling reporters “I think we’re going off on a tangent right now.” Watch the video here:

Craig Olson, President of the Duluth Building and Construction Trades Council, put it best when he said, “Investment banker Mike McFadden would take one of the largest energy projects since the Hoover Dam and stamp ‘Made in China’ on it. McFadden should be creating jobs in Minnesota and the U.S., not in China.”

McFadden Wants To Put Bosses In Charge of Women’s Health Care

Investment banker Mike McFadden refused to comment on the Supreme Court Hobby Lobby ruling for days, claiming contraception was neither a health care nor economic issue for women and therefore did not merit a response. Only after being pressed by reporters did McFadden finally say he was in favor of letting bosses deny their female employees access to contraception.

McFadden Opposes Equal Pay Law For Women

Investment banker Mike McFadden opposed a new law that would ensure women get equal pay for equal work. When asked whether he would have voted to block debate in the Senate over the Paycheck Fairness Act, McFadden called it “an election year trick.”

McFadden Would Eliminate The Federal Minimum Wage

Investment banker Mike McFadden not only opposes increasing the federal minimum wage but he would do away with it altogether. McFadden has repeatedly told Minnesotans he would eliminate the federal minimum wage, saying “there shouldn’t be a single federal wage” and that it “doesn’t make sense,” even though it would bring 4.6 million people out of poverty, and almost half a million Minnesotans would get a raise.

anti choice · anti federal minimum wage · anti women's equality · Chinese Steel · Mike McFadden · Minnesota jobs · U.S. Senate · WESA · women's health care

This past legislative session has been one of the most productive in the history of Minnesota. Crucial bills have been passed, from the bonding bill that invest in Minnesota’s valuable infrastructure, to a minimum wage increase that will stimulate our economy, to the Safe and Supportive Schools Act that keeps kids safe in their classrooms.

One of the many DFL leaders to thank for contributing to this progress is Rep. Yvonne Selcer. She was the chief author of a bill that fully funds school lunches for low income students, ensuring that no student goes so hungry they cannot learn. Rep. Selcer also authored a provision in the Women’s Economic Security Act that gives millions in grants to women entrepreneurs looking to expand their businesses, I encourage you to join me in re-electing Rep. Yvonne Selcer so that she can continue to be a progressive leader in our Legislature.

Norbert J. Gernes
Eden Prairie
Eden Prairie News, June 26, 2014

fully funded school lunches · HD48A · House District 48A · Rep. Selcer · safe and supportive schools act · WESA · women's economic security act · Yvonne Selcer

I thought Erik Paulsen was about as low as the GOP could reach when he began his horrible representation of women in his district by voting against the Lilly Ledbetter bill which would have remedied a common situation and attempted to make up for a longstanding discrimination. Now Jenifer Loon is following suit.

The Women’s Economic Security Act (WESA), recently signed into law by Gov. [Mark] Dayton, makes huge steps towards erasing the barriers that keep Minnesotan women from achieving economic success, so it’s shocking Rep. Jenifer Loon voted against this landmark set of measures.

HD48B · House District 48B · Jenifer Loon · Rep. Loon · WESA · women's economic security act