Reading Paul Lysen’s recent letter to the editor reminds me of why I left the Republican Party 10 years ago: I became sick of the gross exaggerations, outright lies and misleading things said to try to gain power.
Many rural Democrats, including Congressman Collin Peterson and myself, are pro-life. We always have been. We do not support abortion except under dire and medically necessary circumstances. We also think it is pro-life to assist low-income mothers and babies, before and after birth, with life-sustaining things like medical care, food support and public education (including special ed for disabled children).
By contrast, many supposedly pro-life Republicans have supported cuts to Medicaid, SNAP food support and special ed.
Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life surveys have become misleading.
When I ran for state senate four years ago, I received a MCCL survey. Of the 10 questions, three had little or nothing to do with being pro-life. They were political questions related to whether I support the Citizens United decision and other extreme, right-wing positions.
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I could not honestly answer such baited questions “yes,” and was thus branded as insufficiently pro-life.
If Peterson’s “pro-life” ratings declined in recent years, it is probably because MCCL has become more of an arm of the Republican Party and less of a supporter of women facing a difficult pregnancy.
Twelve years ago, when I chaired Meeker-McLeod-Sibley Community Health Board, I worked with local health agencies and Sen. Steve Dille to halt a bill supported by MCCL that would have slashed funding for free contraceptives for low-income women in Meeker-McLeod-Sibley. If MCCL truly wants to reduce abortions, it should support, not oppose, affordable contraception.
Readers may recall that Citizens United opened floodgates to unlimited, anonymous “dark money” to fund political campaigns. We’ve all seen these odious political ads claiming that so-and-so is a demon from hell based on a single vote on a complex bill.
MCCL (which is directed by Michelle Fischbach’s husband) wants to allow large donations from anonymous donors to continue to support its (and other special interest groups’) lobbying efforts.
Minions like Mr. Lysen have been duped into believing that being opposed to dark money in politics is somehow being pro-death. It is not. For him to slam Congressman Peterson because he favors campaign finance reform, and claim that a vote against an unnecessary, politically motivated amendment that won’t save a single baby’s life is somehow “pro-death” are flat-out lies. Don’t believe his propaganda.
Amy Wilde
Dassel
