TO THE EDITOR:

The Minnesota Legislature’s dysfunction has reached new heights, and the blame lies squarely with the Democrats. For 23 days at the beginning of the session, Democrat lawmakers failed to show up to do the job they were elected to do. Then, after finally arriving, they reneged on a budget agreement, throwing the state into chaos and forcing a special session. And for what? To fight over taxpayer-funded health care for illegal immigrants. MinnesotaCare, a program meant to serve low-income Minnesotans, was expanded in 2023 to cover undocumented immigrants. Unsurprisingly, enrollment skyrocketed beyond projections, with more than 20,000 signing up in just four months. The cost of the program is already ballooning, and Republicans are rightly pushing to rein it in. A budget deal was struck to remove undocumented adults from MinnesotaCare while keeping coverage for children. But instead of honoring that agreement, left wing Democrat lawmakers staged protests and derailed the budget process. The behavior of Minnesota Democrats is unacceptable. The legislature has a duty to pass a balanced budget and keep the government running. Instead, Democrats have prioritized political grandstanding and illegal immigrants instead of Minneatime protesting and more time showing up and negotiating in good faith, Minnesota wouldn’t be on the brink of a government shutdown.

Dan Schonhardt

Chairman, Republican Party of Wright County

TO THE EDITOR:

Congressman Emmer and President Trump have devised a bill which will increase the national debt by trillions of dollars, much of that debt due to tax breaks for the very wealthy, including their billionaire buddies. Looking around, I don’t see the rich ‘hurting’ in any way and in need of help! Do you? But regular folks are facing higher costs of living due to Trump Administration policies such as come and go tariffs, etc. And Emmer and Trump are refusing to end Federal taxation of Social Security benefits!  Trump’s budget and tax bill is “Big and “Beautiful” for the wealthy; the rest of us get breadcrumbs.

Anthony Thompson

Big Lake, MN