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MN-02: Kline -v- Obermueller Contest Makes National Top Ten List

Aaron Blake of the Washington Post asks which seats might be surprisingly competitive this year? Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.): Kline’s redistricting fate [the state legislature deadlocked and left the issue to the courts] – the courts drew a surprising map, and he drew the short straw. His district now would have given Obama 50 percent

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MN-02 : Kline Responds to Jobs Report By Promoting Cuts to Woman’s Jobs Program

The Wall Street Journal headline says it all : Private Jobs Turn Positive for Obama Presidency Private-sector Jobs With the latest report, total private payrolls are now higher than they were in January 2009. The latest count put private-sector jobs at about 111 million in April (reported as 111.02 million), or 35,000 jobs more than

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MN-02 : Businessman Questions Kline’s Claims – Ambush Elections Wreck Havoc

Expanding on Holly Cairns piece on the Senate’s rejection of Republican efforts to changing proposed NLRB procedures, it is appropriate to note the efforts in the House. John Kline (R-MN-02) as Chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee was presented with a companion resolution that matched the Senate’s — HJ Res 103. Chairman Kline was

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New NLRB Rule Takes Effect Today

SEIU RELEASE: Today, April 30, 2012 New NLRB Rule Takes Effect Today You are most likely already aware of this unfortunate labor truth: The union election system in this country has failed, time and again, to protect the free choice of too many Americans who want to have a voice at work. Happily, a new

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Romney, the Gypsum Industry and Plant Closings

Mitt Romney’s path to the Republican nomination has taken some unusual turns … oh, sure, there was the big economic speech in Detroit’s Ford Field which was shoeboxed into one corner (this was the speech in which he related to the audience about his wife’s two Cadillacs – not to be confused with his speech

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Chairman Kline Holds Unprecedented Hearing That is Not Unprecedented

John Kline (R-MN-02), Chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee, issued a press release announcing a Congressional hearing to examine the “Unprecedented NLRB Recess Appointments” made recently by President Obama. As the Wall Street Journal described, the hearing as either “a waste of time” or “instructive” depending upon your viewpoint … the Chairman had one

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MN-02 : Op-Ed Confuses “Perfect” John Kline and Gabby Giffords

QUERY : How should a Congressman be judged … based on attendance or legislative accomplishment ? “If you don’t like what is being said, change the conversation.” – Don Draper – Mad Men- Episode 29 “Love Among the Ruins” With an approval for Congress at 11%, John Kline’s PR machine must be listening to Don

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Kline and the Impact of Union Pressure on Job Creation

After another week of “constituent listening sessions “, (anyone taking bets on whether the House has held more days in session versus time off …. but the smart money is on time off), the House returns to work (before the Memorial Day holiday). John Kline’s (R-MN-02) Education and Workforce Committee actually has a hearing scheduled

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Does Voting With Your Wallet Work ?

Do you wonder if Johnsonville Brats, Coors Beer, and Angel Soft Toilet Paper will be monitoring their Wisconsin sales volumes in May ? Maybe they should. Remember the reaction to those businesses that responded MNForward’s request for campaign contributions that were given to Tom Emmer’s gubernatorial campaign ? For example, it was cited that Regis

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Connecting the Dots : Gay Marriage and Union-busting

Political Axiom : As Ohio goes in the Electoral College determines the presidency. Testing the Axiom : In 2004, if Ohio’s 20 Electoral College votes had gone to John Kerry, Kerry would have won 272 to 266. George Bush’s popular vote margin in Ohio was 2% despite Ohio’s declining employment levels … so what was

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Oscar Time – Political Actors Win for Best Use of Fear

If you are a taxpayer (obviously since it is well documented that although corporations have “free speech” rights to make political contributions, that does not mean they incur income taxes … if you pay “one dollar” in Federal Income Taxes, you’re paying more than the combined income tax liability of GE, ExxonMobil, Citibank, and the

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MN-02 : Who is Out on Kline’s Workforce Committee

Making Changes ! New Name ! New Players ! But Don’t Worry John Kline’s Iron Fist will Rule ! Background : John Kline (R-MN-02) became the Ranking Republican on the Labor and Education Committee as a result President Obama asking Congressman John McHugh to become Secretary of the Army. While it is standard practice for

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Union Endorsement For Kelliher and the Possibility For So Much More

DFL Gubernatorial candidate Margaret Anderson Kelliher picked up a key endorsement today from the United Auto Workers of Minnesota.  As Kelliher does her best to distance herself from challengers Matt Entenza and Mark Dayton, the union endorsement will undoubtedly help bring credibility and muscle to her campaign leading into the primary. And if there was

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MN-02 : Kline Eerily Silent on Miners Deaths

In October 2007, as a result of the Crandall Canyon mine disaster, the Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on mine safety. During that hearing, a young boy whose father had perished in the Crandall Canyon disaster came up to Congressman Phil Hare and asked if Representative Hare could attend one of his soccer

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The Merit Pay Fallacy

In their quest to demonize teacher unions across the country, conservatives have typically used two main issues with which to attack: teacher tenure and merit pay. The latter argument is presented as the union and its members simply not wanting to be evaluated based upon “merit“. Everyone else is evaluated based upon their merit, so

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