On Monday evening at 9 p.m. I had a call from Rep. Rich Murray’s spokeswoman. She asked me to call Rep. Murray and thank him for turning a $6 billion plus debt into a $2 billion surplus. I stopped her and said I didn’t believe a freshman representative could do all that. She said she didn’t know why I didn’t like Murray.

I said I didn’t dislike him, I just did not believe that. I said if there is a big surplus, why did the business manager of the school tell me she had to borrow millions for operating expenses? I said Austin had to borrow and the Rochester system is always broke. She said she didn’t know Austin or Rochester because she wasn’t from this area.

I said, “Have you ever heard of Spam?” She said she had. I said Austin is where Spam is made. She said she had never heard of Rochester or Mayo Clinic. I asked her where she was from and she said Ohio. I asked her how long she had lived in Minnesota. She said she was in Ohio.

I asked her if she was a volunteer or paid. She said she needed a job and took this one. Finally, she told me she wasn’t supposed to talk or answer any questions and hung up.

Folks, this is not strange to me! In 2010 the Supreme Court in Citizens United, by a 5-4 opinion, said corporations and people could give unlimited money to campaigns. Here is a clear-cut case of it. Dozens of political action committees, with millions of dollars have been set up. They have targeted state legislative districts all over the country, as well as the presidential race. A casino owner, worth $23 billion, says she will give $100 million to defeat Obama.

Rep. Murray told me he did not take money from political action committees. He doesn’t need to. They are separate from him and make calls, send out literature, etc.

My objection is to a system that is so silly that they try to make us believe a freshman like Murray can turn a debt from $6 billion to a $2 billion surplus without the Senate and the governor.

 

Robert Sherman

Albert Lea