Run for Senate, Dean Phillips
Dean Phillips, please consider running for the open U.S. Senate seat from Minnesota in 2026.
He was the only Democrat with the integrity to put country over party by telling us President Biden was too old to run.
And that would be a wonderful, and winning, campaign slogan.
Andy Lynn, Mendota Heights
A nation of laws, not special powers
The Constitution describes a structure of government with a separation of powers among the executive, legislative and judicial branches as a critical principle to prevent tyrannical rule. President Trump and his partner Elon Musk are challenging this very foundational idea in ways unimaginable just six months ago. They are bypassing the legislative process completely to end previously approved programs and funding allocations.
Only Congress has the authority to allocate funding. If the president wants to change these allocations, he must propose new laws and policies to do so and gain congressional approval. The president acts as if his election was some kind of special election that granted him special powers to suddenly bypass the normal legislative processes to get what he wants.
We are a nation of laws based on the Constitution. Not even the newly elected President Trump or his unelected friend are above the law, or else we will find ourselves ruled by a tyrant.
Bill Lightner, St. Paul
It’s an intervention
Elon Musk, President Trump and DOGE are equivalent to a group of family and friends who have assembled in an intervention in the hopes of leading a loved one past his addiction, which you know could ultimately lead to his death. The loved one is the U.S.A.. The addiction is the insatiable desire to spend.
The U.S.A. has been borrowing from some very unsavory characters, China among others, to feed this addiction. This increases the vulnerability of the U.S.A. For all practical purposes, the U.S.A. is broke. Of course, we have those who benefit from this addiction and actually encourage it, the Democrats, and to be honest, some Republicans. This has to stop. It’s not sustainable. I would ask that both parties join in an effort to resolve this crisis, for the love of this great country.
Don Lohrey, Shoreview
Stop making cents
Mr. Trump, or more probably President Musk, has now done something that actually makes “cents”. He (they?) has ordered the U.S. Mint to stop making pennies. Since each penny cost 2 cents to make, this is obviously a major contributor to our national debt. The resulting savings will go a long way toward lessening the impact on our economy when President Musk enacts his tax breaks for his millionaire and billionaire friends.
Rick Gavin, Eagan
Lo, a plague
And lo, his followers were offered a choice: human rights and dignity or cheaper eggs. And lo, his people chose cheaper eggs. And lo, a plague descended upon the chickens, and his people blamed DEI.
M.L. Kluznik, Mendota Heights
Ridiculous spending
Why hasn’t the Pioneer Press reported all of the millions of dollars of wasteful, ridiculous spending programs DOGE has discovered at USAID, like some other news agencies?
Pat McKenzie, Hastings
Executive branch, judicial branch, subordinate branch
Regarding the role of government in our economy, we are overly preoccupied with debate of liberal versus conservative viewpoints. We should be concerned first and foremost with the tension between congressional decision-making versus executive governmental control. Toward this end, we are proceeding with a reasonable balance at the Minnesota state level but abysmally at the U.S. federal level.
The U.S. Congress as an institution has become increasingly subordinate to the office and the person of the U.S. presidency. Compounding this prevailing trend, our current U.S. president has not matured intellectually or emotionally beyond adolescence and is fond of and enraptured by dictatorial governments worldwide.
If you have the time and interest to do so, I recommend that you read editorial columns written by Washington Post columnist George Will and published often by the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Of particular interest, his column in the Sunday Feb. 9 edition of the Pioneer Press was an unrelenting take-down of a weary U.S. Congress and an out-of-control U.S. presidency.
Gerry Del Fiacco, Eagan
Support for victims of torture
The St. Paul-based Center for Victims of Torture, now in its 40th year, deserves to be sainted for its work throughout the world in combatting torture and helping rehabilitate more than 30,000 victims of this barbarity.
Created in 1985 under the auspices of Gov. Rudy Perpich, it carries out its charitable mission from its headquarters here on Dayton Avenue. But the non-profit organization warrants increased support from the private sector as it is now reeling from the Trump Administration’s freeze on foreign aid, which has caused the organization to place its 430 staffers worldwide on hold and has disrupted its beneficial programming around the globe.
Marshall H. Tanick, Minneapolis
No voter suppression
Our democracy works best when every eligible voter can cast their ballot and have their voice heard. Unfortunately, some lawmakers in Congress are pushing dangerous anti-voter bills like the so-called “SAVE Act,” which would make it harder for millions of Americans to vote by requiring proof citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate, to vote in federal elections. The SAVE Act is being promoted under the false pretense of “election security,” but in reality, it’s a direct attack on our freedom to vote.
It is already illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections. There is no need to add additional legislation to ensure that they don’t, especially if it disenfranchises millions of Americans. Ask yourself, do you have a valid passport or birth certificate on hand? Did you know that more than half of American voters don’t have a passport? They cost $130 and are a hassle to get. It took my adult children over a year to get their passports because they couldn’t figure out the paperwork and process. My kids are at college and graduate school. They don’t have important documents like their passports or birth certificates with them at school. This law would make it impractical for them to vote.
We need Congress to reject the SAVE Act and instead pass meaningful pro-voter legislation, like the Freedom to Vote Act, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and the Native American Voting Rights Act. These bills would ensure every eligible voter has equal access to the ballot box, protect against voter suppression, and secure fair representation for all Americans. Call your Senator and Representative and tell them to vote NO on voter suppression legislation such as the SAVE Act.
Christine L. Andrews, St. Paul
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