Minnesota House District 54B Republicans

The State Convention is hereby called to convene on Saturday, October 3, 2009 8:30 AM at RiverCentre, Saint Paul. Registration will be begin at 7:30 a.m. and the meeting will begin promptly at 9:00 a.m.

Major Agenda Items Include:

1. Constitution Committee Report
2. Gubernatorial Straw Poll
3. Reports by State Party Officers

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REGISTRATION FEE:

Online or mail in prior to 09/28/09 11:59 PM:
$30 with a lunch (NOTE: there will be no break for lunch)

On site:
$40 (LUNCH NOT INCLUDED AND LUNCH NOT AVAILABLE for purchase onsite)

Guests:
$20 with a lunch

For more information and to register online, visit www.mngop.com

PRECINCT	GOP	DEM	TOTAL	% GOP
VADNAIS HEIGHTS P-1	833	729	1,562	53.33%
VADNAIS HEIGHTS P-3	979	912	1,891	51.77%
VADNAIS HEIGHTS P-2	1,092	1,228	2,320	47.07%
GEM LAKE P-1	125	143	268	46.64%
SHOREVIEW P-3	831	1,008	1,839	45.19%
LITTLE CANADA P-3	661	869	1,530	43.20%
ROSEVILLE P-03	745	986	1,731	43.04%
SHOREVIEW P-2	902	1,248	2,150	41.95%
LITTLE CANADA P-2	782	1,155	1,937	40.37%
SHOREVIEW P-1	505	748	1,253	40.30%
VADNAIS HEIGHTS P-4	726	1,123	1,849	39.26%
ROSEVILLE P-04	560	907	1,467	38.17%
LITTLE CANADA P-1	695	1,227	1,922	36.16%

Minnesota House District 54B Republicans intend for these numbers to look very different in the 2009 and 2010 elections. But we need your help to accomplish this. For a more detailed look at 2008 election results, click here.

Date: Tuesday, February 2, 2010 7:00 p.m.
Location: Vadnais Heights Elementary School, 3645 Centerville Road, Vadnais Heights, MN 55127

Precinct caucuses are the first step used by Minnesota’s major political parties to select the candidates and issues they will support in the 2008 elections. Minnesota’s three major political parties are the Democratic-Farmer-Labor, Independence, and Republican parties. Minnesota's minor political parties are the Green, Constitution, and Libertarian Parties. Precinct caucuses are open to the public.

What’s happening at the caucuses?

1. Election of delegates and alternates
   Delegates are the individuals who will go to the party conventions later in the spring and summer to determine which candidates will receive the party endorsement. At the precinct caucus you will have an opportunity to elect delegates and alternate delegates. Become a delegate if you want to influence which candidates your party will support.
   
2. Discussion of issues
   Caucuses also provide a forum for you to voice your views on a wide range of important political issues. You can submit and vote on resolutions that the party conventions may make a part of their platform.
   
3. Election of local party leadership
   The political parties use the precinct caucuses to elect their precinct officers.
   
4. Straw Ballot
   Political parties may use the precinct caucuses to conduct preference polls for presidential candidates. The caucuses are also a great place for other candidates for elected office to build support.

Where will my caucus be held?

The parties have provided the Office of the Secretary of State with lists of caucues times and locations. The office encourages those interested in attending a precinct caucus to use our Caucus Finder. The Caucus Finder will display the caucus meetings and times in your precinct.

Who can attend the caucuses?

Precinct caucuses are free and open to the public. To participate at a caucus you must support or be likely to support the candidates of the political party whose caucus you attend.

What if I have a disability?

Most caucuses are held in accessible buildings. Individuals who plan to attend party caucuses may request an interpreter if needed. Requests must be made by letter or electronic mail to the state office of the major political party whose caucus they plan to attend before the precinct caucus date.

Individuals who require audio, braille, or large print materials may request all official caucus materials to be sent as soon as they are available. Contact your party’s state office for more details.

What is the next step after the precinct caucuses?

Each caucus will elect a certain number of delegates, which they usually set based on the voting results in that precinct for the party’s candidates in previous state elections. The delegates elected on precinct caucus night will take part in the party’s county or district convention, and many of these delegates will continue on to the congressional district and state conventions.

Be An Election Judge!

Election judges serve in over 4,000 polling places across Minnesota on election day. State law permits employees to take time off from work without loss of pay to serve as election judges. Parties also often ask people to express their interest in being an election judge (poll worker) at the precinct caucuses.

You can express interest in serving as an election judge by contacting your county auditor, municipal clerk, or township clerk at any time.

How to become an election judge:

1. Contact your county auditor, city clerk, or township clerk and apply to be an election judge.
   
2. Wait to be contacted by your county auditor, city clerk, or township clerk. If appointed, they will let you know when you will be attending election judge training.
   
3. Serve as an election judge on the day of the primary, general election, and possibly at any special elections.
   

Tired of the usual chicken dinners? The Fourth Congressional District Republicans are planning to hold their first annual golf outing at the Keller Golf Course on September 16 from 3:00-9:00pm.

Format: Best Ball Scramble 9 Holes. Great format for Beginners – Expert levels. Do not be afraid to participate.

Rules: Use best drive, 2nd shot, ect. to the green
Must use everyone's Tee shot at least once
Teams of 4 Preferred (5 acceptable if necessary)

After tournament party at the Keller Clubhouse. Drinks, entrées and appetizers available for purchase. Short speeches plus a meet & greet with the gubernatorial candidates. It’s about people meeting like-minded liberty loving conservatives.

Get the heck away from the computer, get the heck away from work. Come on out and play to fight for freedom.

Golf Event Information
WHERE: Keller Golf Course
2166 Maplewood Drive

WHEN: Wednesday September 16, 2009. 1st tee off is at 2:54 PM with rounds every 9 minutes.

Registration deadline is Friday, Sept. 11, 2009. Contact David Vranish @ djvranish@yahoo.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 612-384-2480.

WHO: Open to everyone

COST: $40/player

SOCIAL HOUR: After round of golf at the Keller Club house

SPONSORS: If you would like to sponsor a hole, please contact David Vranish 4 days prior to Event. “H” signs are welcome at the start of a hole for $100.

Winners of the the 2009 MN GOP CD4 best-ball golf tournament: Jeff Hagen (54B Secretary), John Kossett (54B Chair), Lorri Zuleger (CD4 Secretary), Nicole Haakinson, Tom (54A Resident)

1. Allow tax-deductions for individuals purchasing health insurance premiums. Since 1942, premiums on employer-sponsored plans have been tax-free while health insurance plans purchased by individuals have not enjoyed such benefits. The result: Most people get their health insurance from their employer. The down side it that now if you get laid off, you lose your insurance and become stigmatized with a pre-existing condition. Ending this special treatment will allow individuals to purchase affordable health insurance in a fair market environment. Repealing this 1942 federal law will facilitate portability of coverage, regardless of employment, and will put to rest much of the debate regarding pre-existing conditions.

2. Allow individuals to purchase insurance across state lines by invoking the interstate commerce clause. One study estimated that that adjustment alone could cover 17 million uninsured Americans without costing taxpayers a dime. Currently, Minnesotans have only five insurance companies to choose from. Interestingly, three of the largest, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, Medica and HealthPartners, are all non-profit organizations. So much for those evil profit-hoarding private insurance companies.

3. Enact tort reform to end unjust medical malpractice claims. Insurance premiums paid by doctors are passed down to the consumer, making health care more expensive for all.

4. Stop regulating what insurance companies have to cover. Mandating what insurance policies must cover leads to increased prices. Minnesota is one of the worst for mandating all sorts of ridiculous coverage. For example, ten states require residents to purchase coverage for hairpieces. And in 45 states, teetotalers (individuals completely abstinence from alcoholic beverages) must purchase coverage for alcoholism treatment.

5. Repeal the Kefauver Harris "Drug Efficacy Amendment" of 1962, mandating that the FDA test for not just safety but effectiveness. According to the Cato Institute, this drives the cost of some medications up as much as 40%. The invisible hand of free market has brought forth objective, independent, and reliable market solutions such as Consumer Reports, Underwriters Laboratories, and the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. As consumers and doctors demand such a service for food and drug effectiveness, the market will surely respond with such testing organizations. These services will be more efficient and cost effective than a bureaucratic federal regulator.

6. Switch to a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP). Most Americans are over-insured. A HDHP is a health insurance plan with lower premiums and higher deductibles than a traditional health plan. Insurance plans should be for catastrophic and unforeseen risk, not for everyday regular purchases. You wouldn't purchase gas or tires with your auto insurance. You wouldn't purchase a vacuum or furniture with your homeowners insurance. So why do we insist on purchasing routine tests and medications under our health insurance plan? As a result, Doctors’ offices waste billions just in the billing process. Plus, this third-party payer system masks the costs charged to insurance companies, employers, and customers. Switch to a HDHP and save!

7. Expand Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for routine expenses. HSAs are tax-advantaged medical savings account available to taxpayers in the United States who are enrolled in a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP). HSAs are for out-of-pocket and non-catastrophic expenses. Having a high-deductible health insurance plan in conjunction with consumer-driven HSA are key to low cost health care. It put patients in charge of their health care dollar.

8. Make costs transparent to the consumer. Insist that providers show consumers a detailed breakdown of their services and costs. Regardless of who is footing the bill, sunlight is the cure to wasteful spending.

9. Allow doctors to take their licenses from state to state. Rethink medical licensing laws to encourage greater competition among providers. For routine needs, consider seeing a nurse practitioner instead of a doctor. Patients should seek out the best medical practitioners for their dollar. Using non-partisan reviews such as Angie's List or Consumer Reports will provide shoppers with the information they need to make wise decisions.

10. Congress should change Medicare & Medicaid to a voucher system. Currently 46% of all health care spending in America is paid for by the government. This leads to hundreds of billions in potential waste. Let the customer choose any health plan on the market and if they choose an economical plan, allow them to roll their savings into next years plan. Again, let's put the consumer in control.

11. Legalize choice, competition, and responsibility. Let individuals control their own health care dollars, and allow consumers to choose from a wide variety of health plans and providers, without government interference. Choice, competition, and consumer-driven spending are why the cost of Laser Vision Correction procedures have gone from $10,000 to around $1000 in just 20 years. Most health care spending is non-catastrophic. Allow consumers to shop around get the best service for their dollar.

12. Encourage your federal legislators to reject single-payer, public-option, and "Medicare for All" proposals (H.R. 3200 and H.R. 676). Instead, ask them to pass The Patients' Choice Act (S. 1099 and H.R. 2520). Engage your Representative Betty McCollum at 651-224-9191, Senator Amy Klobuchar at 612-727-5220, and Senator Al Franken at 651-221-1016. Don't wait another moment. Call them today.

You're invited to the 2nd Annual Picnic in the Park!

When: Thursday evening, August 20, 5:30 – 9:00 pm
Who: All welcome – bring family, friends & neighbors
Where: Foundation Shelter, Roseville Central Park

Click here for all the details!

Taxes
-Limit to critical government functions – not for income
redistribution or bailing out irresponsible organizations.
-Reduce taxes – smaller government is better.

Health Care
-Government run health care is a bad idea. Competition is good for
consumers. Let us shop across state lines.
-A tax credit for purchasing our own health care insurance.
-We are better qualified than government bureaucrats to make our
health care decisions.
-Government run health care has proven to lead to rationing.

Cap & Trade
-Global Warming is a hoax to promote Cap & Trade. e Earth goes
through cycles of cooling and warming - Naturally! Cap & Trade
will not have an affect on our climate.
-Cap & Trade will make it more expensive to heat and cool our
houses, more expensive to feed our families, and more expensive to
get to our jobs.
-Danish political scientist “Bjørn Lomborg: Our priorities for saving
the world” on YouTube provides a fantastic argument that there are
many more effective uses of our money other than trying to fight
global warming.

Education
-We have the right to decide how and where our children are educated.
-We need a more inclusive tax credit for private and home school tuition.
-Competition leads to higher quality at a lower cost.

Firearms
- Thee right to self-defense is an inherent right; e US Constitution
guarantees protection of our right to keep and bear arms.

The 2010 Minnesota Governors race is shaping up to be a busy one. At least nine Republicans and an equal number of Democrats have lined up to replace outgoing Governor Tim Pawlenty. Republican candidates will have a sense of their standing in the race when the state party holds a straw poll at its October convention.

Some of the candidates include State Representative Tom Emmer, former House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, State Representative Paul Kohls, and former State Auditor and current President of the Minnesota Free Market Institute Pat Anderson. Other candidates include former State Representative Bill Haas, State Senator David Hann, State Senator Mike Jungbauer, environmental advocate Leslie Davis, and Phil Herwig.

The Taxpayers League of Minnesota and the Legislative Evaluation Assembly of Minnesota have scorecards available, so you can track your favorite candidate. Scorecards can be found at http://www.taxpayersleague.org/scorecards.html and
http://www.mnlea.org/reports.htm.

The 2010 race will no doubt be a close one. Minnesota is a swing state and the governor's race is essential to stopping the left wing tax and spend agenda of the democrats. With issues such as stadium tax, budget deficits, medical marijuana, and newborn DNA on the line, the 2010 governors office will shape policy for years to come.