Dear Republican Lawmakers and Governor Mark Dayton,
As a constituent, Minnesotan and Republican, I urge you to avoid a government shutdown at all costs. News stories of what services would suffer as well as the amount of state income and payments lost is astronomical, certainly more than any kind of tax increase on the wealthy or cuts in spending would ever hope to offset. In talking to friends on both sides of the issue, one things is abundantly clear: no one cares whether Gov. Dayton’s plan to tax the richest 2% or the Republican’s method of balancing the budget or some combination of the two is ratified. Minnesotans just simply do not care. What we do care about is that the shutdown is avoided altogether.
In the only time I will probably ever quote President Obama, in his speech on June 29th, he called on lawmakers to “overcome the ‘selfish’ norms of politics and ‘do their job’”, this in regards to the debt ceiling, but I feel it has application here. He also stated that “congress needs to be willing to ‘take on their sacred cows and do tough things’ while moving away from ‘maximalist positions’.” I urge you to DO YOUR JOB at this moment, and create a budget that works for both sides. You have had since the beginning of the year to do this. It is your job. Do not hurt Minnesotas with petty politics. Give up your sacred cow.
“Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.” Philippians 2:2-4 (NLT)
David Helfinstine, Jr.
davidjr@helfinstine.net
(Source: http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/06/29/obama.news.conference/index.html)
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