July Newsletter
The Resistance
by Alden Brown
What does Russian President Vladimir Putin have on Donald Trump?
After 18,000 lies and counting, the question remains.
Our troops demand an answer. At least when it comes to when he knew Russia put a bounty that led to the killing of US troops. And, why would he continue to do Putin favors while the Russian dictator hung wanted posters on US soldiers?
He would never have been elected without Putin’s help. Now, the blood of our soldiers may be on his hand.
The New York Times reports that investigators are said to be focused on at least two deadly attacks on American soldiers in Afghanistan. One is an April 2019 bombing outside Bagram Air Base that killed three Marines: Staff Sgt. Christopher Slutman, 43, of Newark, Del.; Cpl. Robert A. Hendriks, 25, of Locust Valley, N.Y.; and Sgt. Benjamin S. Hines, 31, of York, Pa.
As president, Trump is commander in chief.
There are words to describe a commander who sends his troops onto a battlefield against an enemy he is supporting behind the scenes. Some are obscene. Others criminal. None are presidential.
Why would a president kill his supporters – especially his elderly supporters – by making the wearing of a mask political?
How many tens of thousands of Americans have already died in this pandemic because we do not wear masks? Science is now politics? At 135,000 dead and rising, it is staggering.
Democrats and Republicans pleaded with Trump to wear a mask so that his supporters would start following his own advisors’ medical advice in order to save lives and reopen our economy.
He still wouldn’t do it.
Does he have a poll that measures the exact amount of “stupid” over “science” it takes to please his base? If so, does it measure the number of lives lost, dreams destroyed, futures crushed?
What am I thinking?
There really is only one answer to Trump.
No Trump.
Resist.
Vote Democracy.
Vote Democrat.
Vote Joe Biden.
You know the GOP screwed the pooch when someone as self-righteous as Bill Kristol backs a Democrat.
What good is another Supreme Court judge without a Constitution? What good is privilege when only the president gets to decide who has it?
And, at a time our country is in crisis, what good is a cowardly lion who encourages violence with tweets from the bunker of the White House?
Not much.
“This is no time for incendiary tweets. It’s no time to encourage violence,” Biden livestreamed from his campaign website. “This is a national crisis, and we need real leadership right now.”
Resist.
Vote Democracy.
Vote Democratic.
Vote Joe Biden.
SENATE DISTRICT 26 DFL ELECTS OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS
The COVID pandemic canceled the 2020 Senate District 26 DFL convention and the state DFL’s emergency rules pushed off most of the business normally done at the convention to the first Central Committee after June 1. For Senate District 26 DFL, that meeting was Friday, June 19. At that meeting, the hybrid Central Committee (new precinct chairs with old officers and directors) met to elect officers, directors, and State Central Committee delegates and alternates.
The new officers are:
Chair: Mark Liebow
Vice-Chair: Deb Staley
Secretary: Jonathan Thoreson
Treasurer: Anastasia Hopkins Folpe (re-elected)
There were no candidates for the Inclusion and Outreach Officer or for the Communications Officer, so those positions were not filled. By DFL rules, the Vice-Chair serves as the Inclusion and Outreach Officer until the position is filled. We welcome candidates for either of these positions. Please contact the Chair at mark.liebow@gmail.com if you’re interested.
The new directors (and the districts they live in) are:
Tyler Bussian (26B)
Christopher Kruger (26A)
Tom Kingsley (26A)
Karen MacLaughlin (26A)
Andy Smith (26A)
Eric Starnes (26A) (re-elected)
Jen Verhagen (26A)
There are four open Director positions, which must be filled by people who live in House District 26B. Three of them must not identify as male. If eligible and interested, please contact the Chair.
The unit has five seats on the State Central Committee. The chair and vice-chair are automatically delegates. The three delegates elected on June 19 were Mary Jones (re-elected), Chris Kruger, and . Jonathan Thoreson was elected as the first alternate and the other four alternate positions went unfilled. If interested in an alternate position, please contact the Chair.
DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION GOES VIRTUAL
The Democratic National Convention was originally scheduled for mid-July in Milwaukee. When the COVID pandemic first hit, the convention was postponed into August. However, recently, as it became clear it would not be safe to have thousands of people gathered into an arena, the Democratic National Committee announced most of the convention would be virtual. Joe Biden may still accept the nomination in Milwaukee (in a smaller space where any in-person events will be moved to) but Minnesota’s delegates will not travel to Milwaukee to vote or debate. Instead, they will participate virtually.
Other, more local, events where the DFL usually participates have been canceled. These include the Minnesota State Fair and the Olmsted County Free Fair along with all the parades usually held in Olmsted County.
ELECTION AND CAMPAIGN NEWS
Editor’s Note: We learned after this newsletter was published that a Republican candidate filed for the House District 26A seat on the last day to file and his name was not released by the Secretary of State’s Office until two days later.
We won’t know who the DFL and Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate are until after the August 11 primary, but Senator Tina Smith and Jason Lewis, an ex-Congressman, are the prohibitive favorites in the primary. Each was endorsed by their party, but have four opponents.
General election match-ups:
U.S. House of Representatives:
Dan Feehan (DFL)
Jim Hagedorn (Republican)
Bill Rood (Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis)
Minnesota Senate District 26:
Aleta Borrud (DFL)
Carla Nelson (Republican)
Minnesota House District 26A:
Tina Liebling (DFL)
Gary Melin (Republican)
Minnesota House District 26B:
Randy Brock (DFL)
Nels Pierson (Republican)
None of these four races will appear on your primary ballot.
To help these candidates: (Click on link)
Early voting has begun for the August primary.
To apply electronically for a vote by mail ballot, click here.
To get a paper application, click here.
To register to vote, click here.
To vote early in person, go to the Olmsted County Elections Office at 2122 Campus Dr. SE, Suite 300 in Rochester. The office is open 8 AM-5 PM Monday through Friday (except for July 3). At the time this was written, you can only enter Campus Drive from the west because of road construction on 4th St. SE. There are bus routes that go to the building.
To find out where to vote in person on August 11, click here.
Many polling place locations in Rochester have changed due to the pandemic.
Martin Hernandez is the DFL Coordinated Campaign’s Regional Field Director for the 1st Congressional District. He’s living in Rochester and will spend a significant amount of time at the DFL office once that reopens along with two field organizers who work for him. The Feehan campaign will have at least one organizer assigned to Olmsted County. The organizer assigned to the Borrud campaign is likely to work out of the office at times.
DONATE TO SENATE DISTRICT 26 DFL
We know this is a tough time economically for many people in Senate District 26 because of the economic effects from shutdowns due to the pandemic. Not everyone will be able to donate right now, but if you can, we need your help to keep a DFL presence in Rochester in 2020. We have a year-round office, which is expensive, but is crucial in a battleground area like Rochester. 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, including replacing Carla Nelson with a DFL Senator and Jim Hagedorn with a DFL member of Congress. 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 when those are possible again, DFL participation in events and parades that require entry fees, technology that makes the DFL work better, and outreach into underrepresented communities. 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. You can make a refundable donation in 2020 even if you made a contribution and got a refund in 2019. Do it now.
Make your donation via ActBlue, click here.
If you would rather write a check, please make it payable to DFL SD26 and send it to:
Senate District 26 DFL
P.O. Box 9044
Rochester, MN 55903-9044
Send us a donation and we’ll send you a receipt. Send the receipt and a form 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.
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.
Email: sd26mn.dfl@gmail.com
Website: www.senatedistrict26dfl.com
Twitter: @sd26dfl
Facebook: DFL in Olmsted County
Facebook (SD26 Closed Group): DFL Senate District 26
Facebook (Closed Group): DFL in Olmsted County (group)
Instagram: @dflsenatedistrict26.
Our office is unstaffed for now because of the safer-at-home order but you can leave a message for us at 507-536-9785. We are monitoring the messages.
