Today, Governor Dayton provided a model of civility by allowing protesting Tea Party members to have a turn at the microphone to explain their objections to early Medicaid funding. Bloomberg reports:
Gov. Mark Dayton shared the podium with tea party protesters on Wednesday as he completed his first official act — deepening Minnesota's participation in the federal health care overhaul by expanding Medicaid coverage for the poor.
The Democratic governor turned his first news conference into an impromptu town hall meeting, but laid down ground rules before giving equal time to opponents of the Medicaid expansion who jammed into the Capitol reception room.
"This is a public room that belongs to the people of Minnesota, where all points of view are honored," Dayton said. . . .
Andy Birkey at the Minnesota Independent caught another special interest on the part of one teabagger:
As the tea party booed Dayton, he handed over the microphone and allowed opponents to have their say. Among those speaking was Jake McMillian of Bradlee Dean‘s controversial hard rock ministry You Can Run But You Cannot Hide. . . .
. . .And Jake McMillian, sidekick of Dean at You Can Run But You Cannot Hide, took to the podium to say that health care should be left up to churches.
“Where is the church to help these people? Because that’s the church’s job and duty: it’s social causes,” he said. “I don’t see where it is in the Constitution. It isn’t the government’s job is to do that, it’s for nonprofits organizations. It’s for the church to do what it rightfully does.”
Dayton’s executive order, he added, “has a ripple effect of destroying societies.”
“I feel that this is a usurpation of authority here, because that’s what it is. It’s uncalled for and it’s unnecessary. If somebody can show me where I’m wrong constitutionally… but you probably won’t find somebody doing that today.”
Because the society that's sick together, stays together. Or something.
McMillian's name has also been in the news in articles with headlines similar to this one: Hard Rock ministry may have ties to tax evasion scheme. First reported by Ripple in Stillwater back in December'sDid 'You Can Run But You Cannot Hide' get caught up in IRS crackdown on sham ministries?,the story had legs there and at the Minnesota Independent.
Update: Ripple in Stillwater asks some key questions about what Jake's own church might be doing for the poor in Punk anti-gay 'minister' tells Governor Dayton churches should provide health care for the poor. Answer: not much.
At Dump Bachmann, Ken Avidor looks at reportage from the opposing side inBradlee Dean's Ministry Posts Video of "Son of Liberty" Crashing Governor's Press Conference.
Youtube courtesy of the The Uptake.
Funny how the legacy media seems to be ignoring these unsavory connections of Dean's and McMillian's just as assiduously as they refuse to call Michele Bachmann an extremist even though she's so much of one, John Boehner doesn't trust her with anything he thinks is important.
Posted by: Phoenix Woman | Jan 05, 2011 at 05:14 PM