November Newsletter
The Resistance
Written by Alden Brown
As the House investigates President Trump for illegally soliciting help from a foreign government and bribery with Ukraine, the absolute cascade of corruption oozing from every pore of this administration is becoming too much for some Republicans.
Donald Trump is a threat to the Constitution every day he is in office. That is a threat to all of us. Some Republicans are feeling the tug of that document.
One defection was Pierre Delicto, the fictional Twitter account name for Mitt Romney. Romney has made no secret of his dislike for Trump, but he eventually fell in line to a bully and conman loved by Nazis and white supremacists.
Like millions of Republicans, he fell in line. Now, he, aka Pierre, is not in line.
When Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney stood up to a podium on Oct. 16 and announced the president would host the G7 Meeting at his Doral Golf Resort and … oh, yeah … he did tie Ukrainian military aid to investigating Democrats – just a debunked server theory from 2016.
“Get over it,” Mulvaney advised us.
That was just one Emoluments Clause violation … one foreign sell-out of the military for personal gain … one too many sickening dips into the Trump Swamp for some.
When all the president’s lawyers agreed Mulvaney couldn’t say what he said, he appeared on Fox.
“That’s not what I said. That’s what people said that I said.”
Fox News Host Chris Wallace played the tape and told Mulvaney he said what he said.
It was one more crazy stupid moment in an administration filled with crazy stupid. Mulvaney is apparently on his way out. The worrisome part is that Mulvaney is actually one of the more qualified members of this particular bunker.
This was a campaign of “us” and “them”. It is a presidency of “us” and “them”.
At some point, people have to ask do I want to be part of something so utterly contemptible that it stains everything it touches and violates every oath it stands upon.
There will be plenty of disagreements on issues between Republicans and Democrats, but we should be able to agree on the Constitution.
I don’t want a United States of Trump any more than Republicans wanted a United States of Clinton.
We would not have tolerated that as Democrats. They shouldn’t tolerate that as Republicans.
5TH ANNUAL FDR DINNER SUCCESSFUL
The VFW Hall was almost full on October 27 as over 130 people attended 2019’s FDR Dinner. We were entertained by an excellent band during the reception and silent auction. Muhamad Elrashidi and Karen MacLaughlin were our emcees. After a buffet dinner, local DFL and non-partisan elected officials and candidates were introduced and Marge Hoffa, the vice-chair of the Minnesota DFL spoke. She was followed by Amy Caucutt who assumed the persona of a Rochester supporter of suffrage from 1919 to give a presentation celebrating the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment in Minnesota. Representative Tina Liebling was a first-time auctioneer for a one-item live auction of placemats made by the DFL Sewcialists. Finally, Peggy Flanagan, the Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, gave an inspiring speech talking about DFL ideals and the need to turn the Minnesota Senate blue to help make progress in 2021 and beyond.
We had a 75-year age range of attendees, from Ginny Rice, who is 91 and saw FDR when he came to Rochester, to high school students, who were there as guests of Rep. Liebling.
RALPH KAEHLER WILL RUN FOR CONGRESS
Ralph Kaehler, who describes himself as “Minnesota’s practical citizen-farmer”, has announced he is running for Congress in Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District. He is seeking the DFL endorsement. Kaehler farms near St. Charles and runs a solar development business with his family. His website is https://kaehlerforcongress2020.com/. This is his first run for public office.
He’ll be at the November 11 Senate District 26 DFL meeting to talk about his positions and answer questions.
This is likely to be one of the highest profile races for Congress in the 2020 election cycle.
Other DFL candidates for the endorsement in this race are Johnny Akzam (www.johnnyakzam.com), Dan Feehan (www.danfeehan.com), and Rich Wright (www.richwright.org). The endorsing convention will be held Saturday, May 16, 2020 in Albert Lea.
DFL EVENTS
The 1st Congressional District DFL’s main fundraiser of 2019 will be Sunday, November 3 at the Owatonna VFW Hall at 135 Oakdale St., Owatonna. Tickets are $35/person. Governor Tim Walz and other statewide elected and DFL party officials will speak. The social hour is at 5. Dinner and the program start at 6. There are roast beef and vegetarian lasagna options. Contact Lori Sellner at lorisell@gmail.com for tickets.
The Minnesota DFL’s Founders Day Dinner fundraiser will be Friday, December 6 at the Minneapolis Hilton (1001 Marquette Ave. South). Registration starts at 4 and dinner is at 6 with the program starting soon after. The guest speaker is Stacey Abrams, who almost was elected governor in Georgia last year (and probably would have been if the election had been fair). She says ““It is an honor to be rallying Democrats in Minnesota, a crucial battleground state in the nation and a state with a proud Democratic legacy of fighting to make the ballot box accessible to all. My Fair Fight 2020 initiative includes Minnesota because the stakes are high in the upcoming election, and a Democrat needs to win Minnesota to win the White House. Minnesotans’ access to good health care, strong public schools and economic security depends on DFLers winning big.” Tickets, which start at $125, are available at www.dflfoundersday.com.
Other SD26DFL events:
Thursday, November 7 6:15- 8 PM DFLs of Olmsted County First Thursday Discussion Series, Ranked Choice Voting- Presenters: Anna Froehling and Vangie Castro. A light meal will be available 6:15-6:45 (free will donation) with the presentation at 7.
Monday, November 11 7-8:30 PM Senate District 26 DFL Central Committee Meeting, DFL office, 1500 1st Ave, NE, Rochester
Wednesday, November 20 7-10 PM DFLs of Olmsted County Debate Party, DFL office
INSULIN LEGISLATION UPDATE
Under pressure from Governor Walz, Speaker Hortman of the Minnesota House and Majority Leader Gazelka of the Minnesota Senate agreed to form a working group to try to negotiate a compromise to make sure people with diabetes who need insulin to survive can get it even if they can’t afford it immediately. The group has three members from the House, one of whom is Representative Tina Liebling, and three from the Senate. The group met twice in October and will continue meeting regularly in November. If a compromise is reached, Governor Walz is expected to call a special session of the legislature so the compromise can be enacted into law before the next regular session begins in February.
DONATE TO SENATE DISTRICT 26 DFL
We need your help to maintain a DFL presence in Rochester between now and the 2020 election. While one-time donations are welcome, we especially need monthly donations. We don’t get money from the national Democratic Party. The state DFL only contributes $500 a month, less than 1/3 of our rent. We rely on our local supporters to keep going and to get the DFL message out. There are tremendous opportunities for the DFL, locally and statewide, this year and in 2020, including replacing Carla Nelson with a DFL Senator. We need more money at the local level to take advantage of them. We need the money and you want an active DFL. If you give, there will be an office for DFL events and meetings, DFL participation in events and parades that require entry fees, technology that makes the DFL work better, outreach into underrepresented communities, and, if we can afford it, local people hired to talk to people in Senate District 26 to find out who supports the DFL and thus improve our performance in 2020. You can make a refundable donation in 2019 even if you made a contribution to us, to another party unit, or to a candidate in 2018. Donate to Senate District 26 DFL and you can get up to $50/person or $100 per married couple back from the state of Minnesota if you are eligible to vote in Minnesota and haven’t claimed the refund already this year. Do it now. Make your donation via ActBlue (https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/senate-district-26-dfl-party-1?refcode=sd2). If you would rather write a check, please make it payable to DFL SD26 and send it to:
P.O. Box 9044
Rochester, MN 55904-9044
Send us a donation and we’ll send you a receipt. Send the receipt and a form
(https://www.revenue.state.mn.us/media/59866) needed to claim the reimbursement to Minnesota Revenue Political Contribution Refund St. Paul, MN 55146-1800. Make a donation, file a claim, and you’ll get a check back soon.
If you send a check, please include whether you are retired, self-employed or employed. If employed, include the name of your employer and your job title. The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board requires us to collect that information. If you use Act Blue, the appropriate information is collected.
PRECINCT CAUCUSES ARE IN LESS THAN 3 MONTHS
The 2020 DFL precinct caucuses will be Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at 6:30 PM. We won’t have a presidential preference poll this year, as there will be a primary a week later. However, we will elect precinct or township party officers, elect delegates to the Senate District 26 DFL convention (where endorsements for the DFL candidates for the Minnesota House and Senate in Senate District 26 will be made), and vote on resolutions that if passed at several levels may become part of the DFL Platform or Action Agenda.
Because of parking problems at Willow Creek Middle School in 2016 and 2018, we will be moving the caucuses for the precincts that are closer to John Marshall High School than to Willow Creek to JM and moving two caucuses for precincts that are closer to Century High School than to Willow Creek to Century. We will be sending postcards to previous caucus goers and placing reminder calls about the new locations in February.
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY WILL BE IN MARCH
The first Presidential primary in Minnesota will be Tuesday, March 5, 2020. This will be run by the state of Minnesota, not the political parties, so you will vote in your precinct, city, or township, as if this were the November election. You can go www.mnvotes.org to see where you vote. Polling places will be open from 7 AM-8 PM.
Early voting starts Friday, January 17. The early voting location will change from where it was in 2018 to the 4-H Building on the Olmsted County Fairgrounds in Graham Park. Until the last week, voting hours will be 8 AM-5 PM weekdays. We don’t yet know exactly who will be on the ballot as the deadline for candidates to submit their names is in December.
ROCHESTER PUBLIC SCHOOL REFERENDUM IS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5
There is a two-part bond referendum for Rochester Independent School District #135 Tuesday, November 5. Polls will be open 7:00 AM- 8:00 PM. While people in Rochester will vote at their usual locations, polling places have moved for some people in the district who live outside Rochester. You can check where you vote at https://www.rochesterschools.org/referendum/voting-information/locations. We hope you’ll vote. Rochester is growing and the schools are full.
Early voting is at Edison Building, 615 7th Street SW in Rochester. Hours on Friday, November 1 and Monday, November 4 are 8:00 AM-4:45 PM and on Saturday, November 2 are 10:00 AM-3:00 PM. Enter through Door 2 and proceed to the Office of Business Services.
Connect with us!
This is a monthly newsletter. However, events often happen on short notice, so we may not be able to include them in the newsletter. Check our website and Facebook pages for the latest news on what is happening.
Official communications come from SD DFL , sd26mn.dfl@gmail.com . Watch for them.
We tweet from @sd26dfl and have a website at www.senatedistrict26dfl.com
We have a closed Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/144866495637545/
We share an open Facebook page with Olmsted-25 DFL and Senate District 25 at
https://www.facebook.com/sd26sd25olm25/?fref=ts
Our Instagram account is at dflsenatedistrict26.
