This year I have had my fill of the Supreme Court’s decision basically allowing private dollars to have equal standing with individuals speech.

We have been inundated with large, odd-sized, heavy, glossy mailings generally telling us what some entity believes is wrong with the other candidate or party. I think we’re up to 17 so far this week.

Many times this is nothing more than opinion with no supportive documentation. Other times it may contain a general reference to some page in the state House or Senate journal. Going to that page may produce an action to repass some piece of legislation with dozens of references to other bills or actions with all sorts of amendment actions or almost infinite small appropriations.

I thought I had decided on the persons for whom I would vote until these mailings started flooding the mailbox from the two major state parties, MN Food Coalition, MN Action Network, Pro Jobs Majority, Coalition of MN Businesses PAC and many others that I didn’t know.

MNSure/Exchange continues to be a whipping post. There is no question there are problems with the rollout; however, nothing is said about the several years when preparation was stalled. There is much that could have improved the Affordable Care Act; however, anytime there was even a hint of learning what Germany and other countries were doing, socialism was vilified as if even considering their lesser-cost measures would somehow destroy this country.

Cost of the new state Senate office building gets blasted; however, I have yet to see or read what would have been a viable alternative. The governor gets blasted for supporting some day care providers’ desire for union representation.

For several years state funding for subsidized child care was frozen, even reduced, for those providing care to those receiving subsidies. Those providers had no real voice to present the damage that was doing; providers limiting their service to private pay families had no need for representation. Whether union representation would have happened or not, isn’t it valid for those affected by state action or inaction to seek a way to moderate the impact on low-income families?

I may count the unsubstantiated claims these PACs make in considering who has made the fewest in deciding for whom to vote.

Darryl Meyer

Albert Lea