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State Representative Ryan Winkler
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-7026
For more information contact: Matt Swenson 651-297-8406
Column/LTE
WANTED: CONSTRUCTIVE CONSERVATIVES
The Minnesota Republican Party has officially surrendered to the right-wing extremism of Tea Party activists. It’s true: Minnesota Republicans are walking hand-in-hand with people who believe the President isn’t an American citizen. The party of Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt has sadly thrown overboard all good reason and common sense.
Just two weeks ago, as rivers swelled and flood waters rose across Minnesota, Tea Party paranoia overflowed at the state Capitol – weakening Minnesota’s ability to respond appropriately to natural disasters or terrorist attacks.
Republicans, led by GOP gubernatorial front-runners Marty Seifert and Tom Emmer, used conspiracy theories to bring down bipartisan emergency management legislation. They begged to include a provision in the bill that would require all emergency volunteers to swear an oath to uphold the Constitution before pitching in to fill sandbags.
That’s just silly. As basements fill with water, Minnesotans don’t care if their neighbors swear to uphold the freedom of the press or the 2nd Amendment. They just want emergency management officials to do what’s necessary to keep their families safe and their basements dry.
But if you think that was ridiculous, Minnesota Republicans were just getting started.
Seifert and Emmer lined up for Act II last week. They led every single Republican in the Legislature in a bizarre attempt to deny health care coverage for hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans. And they brought their secret weapon: do it yourself constitutional theories – legal fantasies born and raised on the Internet.
Yes, Minnesota Republicans in the House and Senate called Social Security and Medicare unconstitutional. Using states’ rights myths in an attempt to undermine historic federal health insurance reform, Seifert, Emmer, and their misguided followers want to exclude Minnesotans from the health care benefits all other Americans will receive. And they want to do it by wasting taxpayer dollars to file a frivolous lawsuit against the federal government.
If their case had any legal merit – which it doesn’t – Emmer and Seifert’s frivolous lawsuit would:
1) Eliminate health insurance for sick kids;
2) Raise prescription drug prices for senior citizens on Medicare;
3) Increase premiums for working families and small businesses; and
4) Allow insurance companies to deny coverage for Minnesotans who get sick.
That’s what happens when partisan fringe movements play on people’s fears. Mistruths and conspiracy theories turn into party platforms, and Minnesotans end up paying the price.
Act III is next week when the Tea Party Express will roll into town with such reality TV heroes as Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber. Before then, the Republican Party has to decide if they are a serious party with a serious purpose, or whether they are the party of cheap entertainment, paranoid conspiracy theories, and unguided anger. I guess we’ll find out next week if they fall all over themselves to get Joe the Plumber’s autograph.
If the stakes weren’t so high, the extreme behavior of Minnesota Republicans would almost be funny. But with 215,000 Minnesotans unemployed and 480,000 uninsured, our state needs serious leaders focused on real solutions – instead of just the fear they’re trying to peddle. Constructive conservatives are welcome.
News Items
- Statement on Budget Forecast - (Posted: 2012-12-05 00:00:00)
- Statement on Final I-35 W Bridge Settlement - (Posted: 2012-11-13 00:00:00)
- Rep. Winkler: Tea Party Activists Can’t Be Trusted to Reform Our Elections - (Posted: 2012-11-01 00:00:00)
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