Monthly Archives: February 2014

According to a report in the Washington Post, President Obama has offered to avoid states where his presence would hurt vulnerable Senate Democrats.

The news came the same week that Congressional Quarterly announced that Sen. Al Franken votes with President Obama 100% of the time, and http://www.govtrack.us shows that he had the fewest bipartisan bills of any U.S. Senator. Republican Party of Minnesota chairman Keith Downey released the following statement asking if Sen. Franken will have President Obama campaign for him in 2014:

“Between voting for a healthcare law that is canceling insurance coverage and costing us jobs, Al Franken has a lot to answer for,” said Chairman Downey. “As President Obama’s number one cheerleader, Al Franken won’t be able to run from his record of putting his party first.”

Strib: “At Least 140,000 Minnesotans Will Lose Current Health Policies” Because Of Obamacare. “At least 140,000 Minnesotans who buy health insurance on their own are being notified that their plans will no longer be available under the new federal health care law, adding to the national furor over canceled policies that has overtaken the health care debate.”

(Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune, Oct. 31, 2013)

“More than 2 million Americans who would otherwise rely on a job for health insurance will quit working, reduce their hours or stop looking for employment because of new health benefits available under the Affordable Care Act, congressional budget analysts said Tuesday.”

(Source: Washington Post, Feb. 4, 2014)

President Offers To Stay Away From States With Competitive Senate Races. “President Obama, struggling with low approval ratings after a dispiriting year of setbacks, conceded in private remarks Wednesday that some fellow Democrats might not want his help in this fall’s elections. … ‘He said he knew he is not popular in some of the states so he would not be offended if he were not invited to visit them this year,’ said one senator who requested anonymity to discuss the private meeting. ‘But he said he could be helpful in some parts of some states.’”

(Source: Washington Post, Feb. 6, 2014)

In 2013, Al Franken Voted With President Obama 100 Percent Of The Time. (CQ Voting Studies – Sen. Al Franken, CQ Roll Call, Updated February 2014)


Equivalent of 50,855 Jobs Could Be Lost

A recent report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) detailed that ObamaCare will cost the economy the equivalent of 2.5 million jobs by 2024. A new state-by-state analysis by the Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) shows that ObamaCare will have harmful effects on employment and the workforce in Minnesota.

In 2009, when trying to justify ObamaCare, Senator Al Franken gushed, “I’m proud of what we’re doing, I’m really proud.”

It is difficult to reconcile Franken’s words in light of the news from the Congressional Budget Office that makes clear that fewer people will be employed and fewer hours worked because of the unpopular law. According to the new ATR analysis, it is estimated that ObamaCare will reduce employment and cost Minnesota the equivalent of over 50,000 jobs.

An editorial in the Wall Street Journal made clear how this news is politically harmful to Senators who championed the law like Al Franken: “All of this is one more contradiction of the arguments that were used to sell ObamaCare. The law would reduce health-care costs and shrink the deficit, you could keep your health plan and your doctor, and businesses could hire more workers and be more competitive. All of this is turning out to be false, and now we learn that the law is a job destroyer that is removing rungs from the ladder of upward economic mobility.”

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BACKGROUND: Franken On Health Care: “I’m Proud Of What We’re Doing, I’m Really Proud.” (Senator Al Franken, “Sen. Franken Delivers Final Speech on Health Care Reform,” Press Release, 12/23/09)

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Prepared and Paid for by the Republican Party of Minnesota
Keith Downey, Chair
Not Authorized By Any Candidate or Candidate’s Committee