Recent TV spots

Don Lee has had several recent opportunities to present his views on local cable TV.  You can see these here:

Town Square TV candidate forum – video here

Town Square TV “Meet the Candidates” series TV schedules – here. or on-line here

Rule of Law?

The Rule of Law is a core idea from our history.  “A government of laws, and not of men” was the ideal of our founding fathers when they wrote the constitution.  This is affirmed in our constitution, which guarantees “equal protection” of the law.

So, how is it that our new “health care law” already has dozens of waivers granted to large politically connected organizations?  Is the law not to be applied equally?  Is the law unworkable?  Should it be changed?  Read about the waivers here.

The Obama administration has apparently decided that it should have the power to decide who needs to comply with the new law.

This is not Rule of Law, it is Rule of Officials.  It begs for corruption, and makes a mockery of equal protection.  It suggests a nation where we are not citizens, but subjects who are not free to act, but must frequently ask permission from government officials.  It suggests a nation where political connections are not optional, but absolutely required for business success.

Vote on November 2nd.

Thoughts on Progress and Government

The Minnesota legislature does not create wealth. What the legislature produces is laws, including taxation and state spending. Laws can and should protect us as free citizens from the misbehavior of others. They are a necessary foundation of a free society. Taxation is necessary, but seldom welcome. State spending is tax money given to others. Much of what the legislature debates is who should get that tax money.

It is widely believed that government can create jobs by spending money. This is simply not true.

In a recent candidate forum, when discussing the economy, I made the comment that “government cannot and does not create jobs” because for every job created by government taxes must be raised somewhere else, and those taxes make it harder to create jobs statewide. The effect is to kill a job somewhere else. (View the broadcast from Town Square TV – here)

My opponent responded by pointing out that government does create jobs – for example by funding University research.

It is true that many jobs have been created by innovations from University of Minnesota research and by brilliant entrepreneurs educated at the University of Minnesota.

Isn’t it odd that anyone would suggest that “government” should get the credit for their success? Shouldn’t the University, the researchers, or the entrepreneurs get full credit for their work? The state of Minnesota does provide the bulk of the funding to the University of Minnesota. Does this mean that government was responsible for their success?

It is typical that a politician would claim credit for anything good that happens on his watch. Smart voters know that it isn’t so.

The Weyerhausers and Wallaces have traditionally funded Macalester College. Kofi Annan graduated from Macalester and won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2001. I have never heard the Weyerhausers or Wallaces claim to have produced a nobel prize.

It is time to give those who work and innovate and produce the credit for what they do. At best, government can provide a stable and predictable legal foundation. At worst, it is a micromanager, taking our tax money and directing it to fashionable causes, often wasting it. Any time government gets into picking winners and losers, it undermines the efforts of those who are making real progress.

It is time to get government out of the business of picking winners and losers, and back into the business of providing a stable, predictable legal foundation for the productive, responsible citizens of Minnesota.

CRAA Rally

We had beautiful weather and good turnout on Sunday, Sept. 5th on the front steps of the capitol in St. Paul.  Daren Gardner spoke to us about his Ride Across America on a beautiful, sunny, crisp late summer day.

Constitution Ride Across America

On Sunday September 5th at 4 PM, there will be a rally on the south steps of the state capitol in  St. Paul.

The rally honors the Constitution Ride Across America 2010.  You can read more about it here.

Scheduled speakers include Teresa Collett – candidate for Congressional district 4, and of course – Don Lee – candidate for Minnesota House.

The rally will begin at 4:00 pm.  This is a rally to honor the Consitution rather rather than a political rally.  The organizers welcome flags, but request that people not bring signs.  (Passing out campaign literature is OK, though.)  The organizers also ask that the participants model the civil tone of a responsible, tolerant people, with mutual respect being key.  We honor and respect all of our leaders, even those with whom we disagree.  Our loyalty is to our processes – to our constitution and to the honor of the voters.  We have faith that following our constitution may not solve our problems, but is the right thing to do.

Title: Constitution Ride Across America
Location: State Capitol Grounds
More info: http://craa2010.com