St. Paul E-Democracy Links http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/links.html _________________________________________ After a week it is clear that Senator Pappas is not choosing to respond. Senator Pappas has done many things positive for Saint Paul (of course with the exception of her contribution to bringing GSE to town) so I would be the last to suggest "throwing the baby out with the bath water," but I think the issues need to be discussed.
For me, the wider issue is where is Senator Pappas coming from? One might think that protecting the right to choose would be a significant issue for Senator Pappas. At least Former Senate majority leader Hottenger did not vote on the choice limiting bill last session. Although this too is the wrong method to protect constitutionally mandated doctor-patient privacy, Hottenger recognized the political ramifications of his vote and the questions that would arise concerning his leadership had he voted the wishes of his religiously conservative Blue Earth County district. Eric's assertion that Senator Johnson is acceptable because he spoke out against the draconian cuts last session is well taken and understood. This simplistic view of acceptable politics may now be a reality that progressives have to live with, but that does not mean they should take it lying down. In addition, why should DFLers not have purity tests? Lord knows the other side of the chamber does but is able to hide their radical views through hokey hockey games. Honestly, how will the Saint Paul DFL and other progressive politicos respond if the Senate Leader actually proposes legislation that would further limit choice or any further slaps in the face of tried and true progressive principles? It appears the closed-door dealing that went on may have led to the hiring of a pro-choice chief of staff. Is this the new face of the DFL --conservative on the outside and progressive on the inside? In the words of Presidential Candidate Howard Dean (and many others), democrats are not going to win elections by being "Bush-Lite" or "Republican-Lite". Is it now the position of Senator Pappas that the right to choose is negotiable? If so, she may want to think about caucusing with the other side of the aisle, because her view of what progressive urban women want is apparently growing more and more out of touch with her strongly committed DFL base. - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mary C. Zanmiller West Seventh Neighborhood St Paul, MN USA ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------- I sent the following to Senator Pappas . so what do people think that urban women really want? Dear Senator Pappas, I was perplexed upon reading the following quote attributed to you in Wednesday's Saint Paul Pioneer Press. "Dean Johnson is the one who has the trust of the rural members and the trust of the urban women," said Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul. ***Saint Paul Pioneer Press 1-14-04*** Senator Johnson voted for the so-called "women's right to know" bill on April 14, 2003. I am wondering how urban women like us can support such a man? I eagerly await your response. Sincerely, Mary Mary C. Zanmiller - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mary C. Zanmiller West Seventh Neighborhood Saint Paul, MN USASaint Paul, MN USA ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------- Eric responds: I can't speak for Senator Pappas. Maybe Urban Women can support him because he stood against the massive cuts that affected Child Care programs, Early Education, Head Start and education in general. Also he fought against the Republican plan which left us with a decreased presence of public safety in our core cities, less community based services, cuts to families in public housing, cuts in food assistance programs, 14 million dollar cuts to our courts, children mental health screenings only when an out of home placement or court adjudication takes place and 15% cuts in senior nutrition and other elderly grant programs. Senator Dean called them on how thousands will lose their healthcare thanks to changes in MA and MinnCare proposed by the Republicans and increase costs in public transportation. It also forced state colleges to raise tuition and property taxes. I'm just a man, but I do think those are issues that are important to urban women as well. Of course the independently wealthy ones may not worry about those everyday issues and can focus on the purity tests. Eric Mitchell Payne Phalen _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ _____________________________________________ For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract
