Thissen wins a round

The moment I saw on paper at 2:02 p.m. GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s
proposal to unallot the political contribution reimbursement fund
program, I wondered which party or candidate would be first out of the
box to solicit contributions before the July 1 deadline. Looks like
DFL gubernatorial candidate Rep. Paul Thissen (DFL-Minneapolis) was the first. The following was sent at 4:41 p.m.:

Dear Fellow Minnesotan, Did you watch Governor Pawlenty’s announcement about his proposed unallotments this afternoon? Did you know that he suggested eliminating the Minnesota Political Contribution Refund program by July 1st of this year? This is just one of many cuts Governor Pawlenty proposed for Minnesota between now and 2011. With the elimination of the refund program, you will no longer be eligible to get the first $50 of your contribution refunded by the state. Please hurry and contribute $50 or $100 (for married couples) today! My campaign for Governor is based on our core Minnesota values of doing things the right way — honoring hard work, looking beyond narrow self-interest, and creating opportunity for the next generation. Our current Governor offers a set of values unrecognizable to most Minnesotans: Do things as quickly, as easily and as cheaply as possible without looking back. I reject that path and I know you do too. Our greatest successes as a state come when we act together, acknowledge that we do owe obligations to one another and take responsibility to honor those commitments. But, I cannot do this alone. Help us raise $10,000 before the end of June! That’s 200 people contributing $50 each!! Donate NOW to secure your $50 refund! I would be honored to have your support. Best, Representative Paul Thissen

 

P.O.
Box 23632
Richfield, MN 55423

3 Responses to “Thissen wins a round”

1. Anonymous Says:
   June 17th, 2009 at 9:40 am

   Thanks for this link to Thissen and his campaign letter. It seems to me Paul Thissen is already working hard for us and every one of my dollars counts, nowadays. I appreciate the chance to give and be fully reimbursed.

   Pawlenty and his potential successors seem to believe in unfairly burdening some more than others. We will all hurt, probably, but some much more than others because of this ‘unallotment’… which was Tim Pawlenty quickly using the pen to stroke away precious funding.

   The DFL had already painstakingly looked into where we could make cuts and they had asked for a small increase in revenue. They had worked as a group, had asked for input, and they knew the pain they were going to cause with each cut. Still they knew it was important for us to be responsible. Pawlenty and his potential successors seem to gloat in fast and furious, thinking it’s okay to do things without care for us or without listening to our voices.

2. Holly Cairns Says:
   June 17th, 2009 at 9:54 am

   I meant Tim Pawlenty and his potential, Republican successors. No DFL successor would gloat in fast and furious pen strokes like what we’ve just seen, or in unfairly burdening some more than others.

3. Anonymous Says:
   June 19th, 2009 at 7:29 am

   Does the Governor have the legal authority to terminate this program ? If the program was created by statute, doesn’t he have to change the law ?

   IF this is temporary for the next two years, should he have deferred the payment until 2013 ?

   IF he feels the funds will be unavailable, why didn’t he immediately announce the end of the program