October Newsletter
FDR Day Celebration
Sunday, October 18, 2020
6:00 PM-8:00 PM
Join us for the annual FDR Day celebration. Due to COVID-19, the event will be virtual this year.
There will be speeches from candidates and elected officials. A virtual silent auction will be open the week of the event.
Confirmed speakers include (more speakers to be announced)
Governor Tim Walz
Senator Tina Smith
Congressional District 1 candidate Dan Feehan
and local candidates.
Suggested donation $25. Donations are eligible for the Political Contribution Refund. You can get up to $50/person or $100 per married couple back from the state of Minnesota each year if you are eligible to vote in Minnesota.
Register for the event here: https://forms.gle/4KwUYmXHcdPM94pM7
The Resistance
by Alden Brown
(Because the September newsletter had limited circulation, we are giving you Alden’s September column again as well as his October column just below.)
More people die in the U.S. from COVID than in any other country because Donald Trump fails to lead.
What does he do?
Fly to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he compares instances of police shootings to golfers who “choke” when trying to sink “a three-foot putt.”
Trump might seek golf advice when his family members are shot seven times in the back, but most of us don’t.
For this president, it’s all about clicks, not leadership. The bigger the lie, the more clicks.
He even fed his trolls a “dark state” conspiracy before hopping on the plane. He couldn’t find time to meet with the victim’s family, though. Black lives have never mattered much to Trump.
Thousands die because Trump continues to mishandle the Coronavirus response. How many will die because a bunch of mostly rich, mostly white people flouted common sense and science to worship an orange conman at the GOP Convention in North Carolina?
At least four are already sick, according to news sources: two attendees and two support staff. The virus continues despite the convention’s fiction. There will be more infected.
Trump almost certainly won’t care. His June 20 rally in Tulsa led to record COVID cases three weeks later and possibly contributed to the death of former GOP candidate Herman Cain. Cain was hospitalized on July 2 after attending the rally without a mask. He died July 30. Did someone in Cain’s family feel like Kristin Urquiza who spoke at the Democratic Convention? Kristin said her father’s “only pre-existing condition was trusting Donald Trump — and for that he paid with his life.”
“Donald Trump may not have caused the coronavirus, but his dishonesty and his irresponsible actions made it so much worse,” Kristin said.
It should be noted that Cain and Kristin’s father were not white. People of color also get conned. When its COVID, they also die disproportionately when it occurs.
The GOP Convention fully enabled Trump’s bag of lies, finding newsworthy babble for the evening news with plenty of virtual fodder around “QAnon” and “12 More Years.”
And, it’s not just Trump. We know the defender of the great white state and the sower of lies will do anything at this point to keep the United States of Trump cash cow paying and the “get out of jail” card intact. His only chance at keeping the New York courts at bay lies in a second term.
It is terrifying that Trump says he accepts QAnon and its set of internet conspiracy theories. The world is not run by a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles who operate a global child sex-trafficking ring.
On a side note, chipmunks do not sing show tunes and Sponge Bob does not work at a fast food restaurant at the bottom of the ocean.
It is not surprising that Trump would push this nonsense. It is devastating that people like House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) have stopped pushing back.
You see, Scalise was shot June 14, 2017, at a GOP softball practice by an obsessed man who latched on to the internet, a political side, and a gun. Scalise knows what accepting this kind of crazy can do.
That did not stop Scalise from welcoming Georgia GOP Primary winner Marjorie Taylor Greene to the party. Complete with her QAnon conspiracy theorists, her racists, her haters, and their own particular brand of crazy in tow.
The party of Trump does not care about the most basic of truths. For example – that the other party is not made up of a cabal of Satan worshipers and pedophiles.
Only the clicks count.
On Nov. 3, We the People must matter.
Regardless of party, color, gender or who we love.
When a President doesn’t care about who lives or dies, regardless of party or facts, Democracy stands little chance in a second term.
This election is about nothing short of life or death for us and our form of government.
Vote I want to live … in the real world … in the United States of America … not the United States of Trump.
Vote Democracy.
Vote Democrat.
Vote Joe Biden.
The Resistance
by Alden Brown
It’s down to Emperor Palpatine or Luke Skywalker.
Storm Troopers or Ewoks.
Before an audience of 100 million, Trump told White Supremacist supporters to “stand back and stand by”. In the same 90 minutes, he boasted his police would control Democratic cities and his poll watchers would bring chaos to polling stations.
By the end of the first presidential debate it was clear Trump recognized no rules but his own.
He is clearly counting on haters to win against those who don’t worship, don’t love, don’t look like him (white as he is beneath his tighty whities).
Which means there are a whole lot of us Ewoks out there. It’s difficult to find anyone that white unless they’ve been injected with his favorite bleach COVID cure.
Still, Storm Troopers are loyal. They made no secret of their love for this president during and after the debate. They have so many places to post and troll and hate.
For a Storm Trooper, Trump always wins. Death Star Central aka Fox talking heads defended the Emperor as the victor the moment the debacle ended.
If nothing else, the debate and the comments that followed made it clear again that the defenders and supporters of this president are equally to blame for the planet-destroying, Democracy-eating weapon they pointed at our future in 2016. In 2020, the safeties are clearly off.
Republic generals like Mattis and McMaster are gone while Pompeo and Barr try to squeeze into a Pong Krell uniform. Anyone who has paid attention to the prequels knows that cackle offstage comes from the emperor’s son-in-law who knows he has an inside track to the nuclear codes.
The checks and balances put in place when the Constitution was enacted in 1787 depend on a functioning democracy. Trump has done everything he can to destroy it. He couldn’t have gotten this far without the support of Death Star Central and a Republican Party now holding its throat every time he raises two hands to drink a glass of water.
It is no accident that professionals from his own executive branch now fill the airwaves and social media with warnings. They are truly frightened of a second term. It is just as telling for those who do not. Lies don’t bother Storm Troopers. Only clicks and polls count in that empty white helmet.
It was painfully obvious on September 29, 2020, that our sitting president is a liar, a racist, and more frightened of losing power than killing the people he is supposed to serve. He showed no concern for those who attend his crowded events and will get sick and possibly die from COVID.
He again blew off the fact that his friend Putin put a bounty on the heads of American troops in Afghanistan.
Our school children and teachers are being rushed into classrooms without proper supplies or a national plan. Our essential workers including police and firefighters will face layoffs and cuts as he and Republicans refuse to support states and cities where budgets are decimated by the pandemic.
He continues to feed lies to tens of millions of Americans who face an uncertain future without a job or health insurance. The rent is due, and the kids are hungry.
Cook a lie and serve it. The plate remains empty.
Like any evil emperor, Trump lives in his own fictional world surrounded by those with far more want than give. It would be good if Storm Troopers like Barr remember that Justice has a long memory beneath the blindfold.
Trump denied the accidental truth spoken by his own spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway on "Fox and Friends" on Aug. 27: "The more chaos and anarchy and vandalism and violence reigns, the better it is for the very clear choice on who's best on public safety and law and order."
No one is fooled by Trump or Barr, his new Roy Cohen. It is fundamentally wrong to incite violence while sworn to protect us from the very violence you are promoting.
Barr may defend Trump as above the law while he is president. They may be searching for another strategy for the day the Death Star comes crashing down. They should.
We Ewoks look to Rule of Law rather than Rule by Tweet.
And we vote regardless of how many Storm Troopers you threaten us with.
We vote for Joe Biden, our Luke Skywalker, not because of any fear of the darkness but because of our love for the light.
Vote Democracy.
Vote Democrat.
Vote Joe Biden.
ELECTION AND CAMPAIGN NEWS
Early voting has begun for the general election. People are voting early in large numbers. As of September 30, only 12 days after ballots were mailed out, 6.25% of all voters in Senate District 26 had returned their absentee ballots and had them accepted. If you didn’t apply for an absentee ballot, you still can by going to https://sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/other-ways-to-vote/vote-early-by-mail/, but you should do that quickly. If you have a ballot, complete it and return it soon. You do not need a witness for absentee ballots for this election. Mailed ballots must be postmarked by November 3 and received by November 10 to be counted. Ballots can also be put in the drop boxes at Olmsted County Elections Office at 2122 Campus Dr. SE, Suite 300 in Rochester or the information desk at the Government Center 151 4th St SE 8 AM-5 PM Monday through Friday through November 2.
To vote early in person, go to the Olmsted County Elections Office at 2122 Campus Dr. SE, Suite 300 in Rochester or -from October 27 through November 2- at the Government Center at 151 4th St., SE in Rochester. You can vote 8 AM-5 PM Monday through Friday. Both these places will be open Saturday, October 31 10 AM- 3 PM. Right now you can only enter Campus Drive from the east 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 November 3, go to https://pollfinder.sos.state.mn.us/
Many polling place locations in Rochester have changed due to the pandemic. ____________________________________________________________________________
DFL voters in 26B can unseat or help unseat four Republicans, while those in 26A can help unseat three.
While the 26A race is unlikely to be competitive, the other four partisan races are. Our Minnesota Senate race, with Aleta Borrud vs. Carla Nelson, is getting a lot attention than usual as DFLers only need to take over two seats from Republicans to have a majority in the Senate and this is seen as one of the likeliest to flip. As the House is expected to remain under DFL control, taking over a majority in the Senate would mean unified DFL control of the Minnesota Legislature for the first time since 2013-14. Expect to see ads or mailers from lots of party-affiliated or issue groups from outside the district. The DFL considers this one of the top five state legislative races in the state.
Tyrel Clark’s excellent campaign in 26B in 2018 showed the district is not out of reach. With evidence that Trump and Republicans are losing support in southern Minnesota and Randy Brock’s name recognition and media savvy, this district could be primed to flip as well.
The 1st Congressional District race is getting national attention as Hagedorn is seen as one of the most vulnerable incumbent Republicans in Congress, especially with scandals about Hagedorn’s mailings while in Congress emerging, and Dan Feehan has run a strong campaign. Expect a barrage of ads from national organizations in this race. Dan Feehan carried Senate District 26 by 4,441 votes but hopes to do even better here this year.
Tina Smith has always led Jason Lewis in statewide polls. She carried Senate District 26 in her 2018 race, but with a lower percentage of votes than any other candidate running district-wide. This race is viewed nationally as one of the few where a Democratic Senator could lose, but that seems less likely as time goes on.
Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton by 315 votes in Senate District 26 in 2016. His campaign views Minnesota, which he only lost by 1.5%, as a state he can win this year and has hired more staff than in previous campaigns and reserved millions of dollars of TV ads. He has made three trips to Minnesota this year, including one to Mankato.
The pre-primary reports for state candidates to the Campaign Finance Board were filed late in July. Aleta Borrud’s campaign had raised over $73,000 by July 20, an unprecedented amount for this area. She raised more than $40,000 more so far in 2020 than Carla Nelson did. The Nelson campaign had about $5000 more cash-on-hand. Both Tina Liebling and Randy Brock outraised their opponents and had more cash-on-hand. The next reports will come out in late October.
The pre-primary reports to the Federal Election Commission for Federal candidates were also filed in July. Dan Feehan has raised almost $2.3 million, $634,000 more than Hagedorn and has $1.78 million cash-on-hand, $833,000 more than Hagedorn. Tina Smith has raised over $10 million, four times what Lewis has raised, and has almost $5.8 million cash-on-hand, while Lewis has less than $1 million.
In the one partisan race in August’s primary, DFLers and Republicans had five-candidate primaries for the U.S. Senate with the endorsed candidate as a heavy favorite, so partisans on each side had about equal motivation to vote. However, DFL turnout was far higher. In 26B, DFL turnout was just over twice the Republican turnout, while in 26A it was almost three times as big. There was a turnout difference in 2018, but the difference between DFL and Republican turnout is even bigger this year. It doesn’t guarantee better results in November, but is encouraging.
The Real Clear Politics (RCP) polling average, which is a simple average of all polls, for the Presidential race in Minnesota, shows Biden over Trump by 50.4%-41.0%. The Star-Tribune poll, a generally high-quality poll, released on September 26, had Biden up 48%-42%. In the U.S. Senate race, the RCP polling average, has Tina Smith over Jason Lewis 47.5%-39.0%. The Star-Tribune poll has her up 49%-41%. The public polls in the Feehan-Hagedorn race show almost a tie. We don’t have public polls for the state legislative races.
We have 18” x 24” Biden-Harris signs at the DFL office. We had to buy these and so ask for a $5 donation to cover our costs. We may have 2’ x4’ signs. If so, we ask a $10 donation for those. We may have 4’ x 8’ signs and the requested donation for those is $40.
We have Smith and Feehan signs at the office as well. These are free. Once we are out of those, we may not be getting more.
We may have Borrud, Liebling, or Brock signs at the office. These are free. They are also available at the candidate's websites by filling out a Google form.
Borrud signs are available at https://www.aleta4mnsenate.com/. Click on Get a Lawn Sign!
For Liebling signs, go to https://www.tinaliebling.com/ and scroll down until you get to Get a Yard Sign on the right side of the page.
For Brock signs, go to https://randybrock.mn/contact/ and click on Request a Sign.
If you see blue Liebling for State House signs in southwest Rochester, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. For the first time in 18 years, the campaign is using a new color and has redesigned the signs somewhat.
Unfortunately, there has been a lot of theft and vandalism of signs. If yours is stolen or vandalized, please file a police report.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Staff: If you want to or know people who want to volunteer for a campaign, here’s whom to contact:
Coordinated Campaign (Biden-Harris campaign):
Sarah Doyle (she/her) House District 26A sdoyle@dfl.org (651) 470-2627
Lauren Kvasnicka (she/her) House District 26B lkvasnicka@dfl.org (507) 269-7155
Tina Smith campaign:
Brayden Sorenson bsorenson@dfl.org (218) 431-0786
Dan Feehan campaign:
Hank Lee hlee@dfl.org (952) 847-0329
Aleta Borrud campaign
Alex Goudie-Averill alex@senatedflcaucus.com
Tina Liebling campaign
Mark Liebow mark.liebow@gmail.com (507) 261-3025
Randy Brock campaign
Kendra Weber weber362@gmail.com (507) 202-6718
If you missed the League of Women Voters Candidate Forums with our candidates, you can watch them at http://rochestercitymn.iqm2.com/Citizens/Media.aspx?fbclid=IwAR1Bw5X1wLSbyaE8YB5cMI4cBKt_XLNV8_XjDhG-MSoLi2bdlSTwTCqvotE, then scroll down to Candidate Forums.
The Rochester NAACP chapter had candidate forums for our House candidates and they are on its Facebook page. The Senate forum is Tuesday, October 13- Senate District 25 and 26 Candidates Forum: broadcast via the NAACP Rochester, MN Facebook page.
KSMQ, the public TV station in Austin, is also doing candidate forums, but it hasn’t posted the schedule for showing them yet. ______________________________________________________________________________
If you or a DFLer you know is voting early in person, please read this and think about helping out:
The DFL Voter Protection team needs your assistance! We hope that most of you will be voting before Election Day. If you are going to vote early in person, please let us know here to be part of our voter visibility program.
In order to ensure that all early voting locations across Minnesota are operating smoothly—and because we cannot place poll challengers in early voting locations as we can on Election Day—we need DFL early voters to provide us with feedback on their early voting experience. This feedback will alert our team to any issues at that location and allow us to fix the issues for future early voters. After you sign up above, we'll send you a quick Google form to fill out after you vote (~5 min) about your experience.
We appreciate your help on this! We would also love if you could circulate the sign-up form to your members, friends, and family. The more voters sign up, the better our insight will be into how early voting is going.
Now get out there and bank your vote!
(P.S. – To get involved with voter protection efforts this year, check out: https://www.dfl.org/voter-protection/)
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The first Presidential debate, on September 29, was a shocking display of despicable behavior by Donald Trump while Joe Biden behaved sanely and with dignity. The Vice-Presidential debate will be Wednesday, October 7 and the last two Presidential debates are Thursday, October 15 and Thursday, October 22, all at 8 PM Central Time. There will be virtual watch parties for all three of the October debates. Check our website for that.
Tina Smith and Jason Lewis have debated twice, once in August and in September. Their last debate is October 2, on Minnesota Public Radio. It will be available for replay on the MPR website.
There are one or two more debates scheduled in the Feehan-Hagedorn race, but details are not yet available.
To help our candidates:
Donate to Biden/Harris: https://joebiden.com/
Volunteer for Smith: https://tinaforminnesota.com/act/ and click on Volunteer
Donate to Smith: https://tinaforminnesota.com/ and click on the Donate button
Volunteer for Feehan: https://www.mobilize.us/feehanforcongress/
Donate to Feehan: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/feehan-site
Volunteer for Borrud: https://www.aleta4mnsenate.com/ and click on Join Us!
Donate to Borrud: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/aleta4mn
Volunteer for Liebling: https://www.tinaliebling.com/volunteer
Donate to Liebling: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/liebling-for-state-house
Donate to Brock: https://randybrock.mn/donate/
SENATE DISTRICT 26 DFL CENTRAL COMMITTEE
The meeting will be Monday, October 12 from 7-9 PM. It will be a virtual meeting on Zoom. DFL meetings are public, so if you want to “attend”, contact the Chair at mark.liebow@gmail.com. We plan to hear updates for the five partisan campaigns in the area, from the U.S. Senate campaign to the two Minnesota House of Representatives campaigns, sample ballots, Get-Out-the Vote plans, our Facebook advertising campaigns, and more
We are still looking for an Outreach and Inclusion Officer and a Communications Officer. There are also four open Director positions, which must be filled by people who live in House District 26B. Three of them must not identify as male. Please contact the Chair at mark.liebow@gmail.com if you’re interested.
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 make the DFL a bigger 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 (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 55903-9044
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.
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 26 DFL - sd26mn.dfl@gmail.com
Twitter - @sd26dfl
Instagram - @dflsenatedistrict26.
Office phone number: 507-536-9785.
