LEGISLATION HIGHLIGHTS  Despite their refusal to show up for work, Minnesota House Democrats are happily collecting their legislative paychecks. To date, more than $170,000 of your tax dollars have been wasted on House Democrats who have orchestrated this shutdown of the Minnesota House. And this total rises every day. In short, you are not only paying the Democrats to do nothing, but you are also paying them to stop Republicans from working. The Democrats literally went to the Supreme Court to prevent us from doing the work Minnesotans elected us to do. So here we are. This ain’t your daddy’s Democrat party, folks. These people prioritize theatrics and power over your needs and your livelihood. Pay no attention to their spin, they simply do not want to work in a House that has a one seat Republican majority. It really is that simple. While Republicans are and will continue showing up for work every day, absent House Democrats are tweeting about the “work” they’re doing. Such monumental tasks as meeting with constituents in their hometowns and visiting local government agencies. All of this should be secondary to performing their top priority as an elected state lawmaker – show up to the Capitol and do your job. Visiting with people is what I do when we’re not on the House floor or in committee, or on my weekends during session, or during the interim. It’s not an excuse I use to justify collecting a government-issued paycheck. All week, we were hearing from constituents and rightfully upset conservatives around the State of Minnesota. They wanted us to do something, On Thursday, Minnesota House Republicans took action by filing a lawsuit against Secretary of State Steve Simon, saying he has “seized unilateral control” of the Minnesota House. We are trying to hold House Democrats accountable for their boycott, and under state law we are able to do that without a 68 member quorum in the House. But Secretary Simon refuses to allow this discussion to occur, which is clearly an abuse of his power, so we’re taking him to court. Read more here. I hashtag many of my social media posts with #SeekTruth. This might be messy, but as long as we continue to seek truth, we will work through this and come out better on the other side! THANK YOU to everyone who has been sending emails to the Republicans in my caucus. I cannot describe how much you all are lifting up the spirits of our Republican team and encouraging them to stay strong! I apologize to the taxpayers who see their money wasted every day on this partisan nonsense. The only way this stops is for Minnesotans to wake up and demand better from Democrats. See these theatrics for what they are. Remember the Democrat shutdown and why it continues. Do something about it. Act. LOCAL VISITORS I have been working all week at the Capitol and love seeing constituents. This week, local members of the American Bikers for Awareness, Training and Education (ABATE) visited Senator Drazkowski and me at the Capitol.   I also spoke with human resources specialists at the Capitol this week. Their priorities are to repeal the Paid Family Leave law, which is something we could work on if the Democrats show up for work. |