By Rep. Ben Davis
The 2024 legislative session soon will start amid growing concerns over how much more Democrats will use their paper-thin, one-party control to push their radical agenda on Minnesotans.
If the 2023 session is any indication, those concerns are well-founded. Democrats spent the last session activist-legislating by enacting the far-left’s wish list on both fiscal and policy issues. More moderate Minnesotans now may be suffering buyer's remorse after being baited by Democrats, who then broke promises and switched to passing extreme legislation, including:
- Allowing abortion up until the moment of birth.
- Sterilizing minors without their parents’ knowledge.
- Repealing life-saving care for children born alive.
- Eroding safety in our schools by causing resource officers to be pulled from schools across Minnesota.
- Placing tampons in boys’ bathrooms in schools.
- Performing mutilation for minors who live in other states (again, no permission needed by parents).
- Squandering the state’s $17.5 billion surplus (taxpayer money).
- Squandering the record surplus and still raising taxes by another $10 billion and spending $730,000,000 on renovating the State Office Building for politicians.
- Undermining of our 2nd and 4th Amendment rights.
- Compromising our 1st Amendment freedom of speech rights (biased speech registry).
- Stifling our mining industry.
- Making our power grid unaffordable, unreliable and unsafe.
- Redistributing dollars earned by hard-working Minnesotans.
- Empowering criminals.
- Issuing driver’s licenses for all illegal residents (they now may flood into our state).
- Conducting automatic voter registration for anyone getting a driver's license (which could pose massive election integrity issues when combined with the previous bullet).
This list of extreme Democrat changes serves as a blaring call for balance in St. Paul. Fellow Republicans and I will continue advocating a different set of priorities to help all Minnesotans, including:
- Reducing taxes for the hard-working middle class.
- Increasing financial independence and prosperity (which would include for single moms).
- Allowing independent school districts more flexibility to put their financial resources to best use in educating children.
- Improving safety in our schools.
- Supporting freedom of speech.
- Enhancing medical freedom.
- Developing energy independence.
- Protecting children who are ripped from their mother's womb (yes, this is being done up until birth).
- Making Minnesota a mining-friendly state.
- Restoring law and order.
- Honoring our veterans.
- Conducting fair and honest elections for citizens.
- Defending all of our God-given constitutional rights.
- Reversing the ever-growing beast of big government.
- Managing of our natural resources responsibly.
- Cutting unreasonable and unnecessary mandates on our farmers and job creators.
As you can see, there’s a massive difference between what Democrats and Republicans prioritize. Please keep this in mind as the 2024 session unfolds under full Democrat control and as you ponder how you envision the future in Minnesota.
As always, I welcome input from District 6A residents as we face important decisions in the coming months and beyond. I’d like to know whether these changes Democrats are enacting reflect your wishes, or if you would rather see a more balanced set of priorities such as what Republicans are offering.
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