Letter: Change Is Coming and Everyone’s Invited

We are getting closer to the election finish line, but the closer we get the more aggressive the attack ads against Dean Phillips are getting. Why?

We’ve all seen the headlines. We know how close the race is between Dean Phillips and Rep. Erik Paulsen, but I don’t understand why Paulsen endorses ad after ad attacking Dean Phillips under false pretenses. The ads run by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) are prime examples of false advertising. Should this type of campaigning be allowed? Where’s the integrity in Paulsen’s campaign?

I encourage each and every eligible voter to seek truth (which can be found from sources such as fivethirtyeight.com, erikpaulsen.org and opensecrets.org) to fully understand the situation before listening to the ads. Commercials such as the attack ads against Dean Phillips are creating division and anger.

Let’s focus on the issues and on the facts. Dean Phillips supports health care as a moral right and provides it to his full-time employees. He pays his taxes. He promises to run an accessible campaign and he refuses all PAC money, special interest money and money from elected officials. So, false claims from Erik Paulsen and his special interest money sources will not measure up to effective representation and will make him indebted to these organizations.

Values like honesty, accessibility and disentanglement from special interests are what the Third District needs right now; it’s what Congress needs right now and it’s what our country needs right now. Among recent events such as the Kavanaugh hearings, climate change and more, voters are ready and need their voices to be heard. Let’s bring people back into politics by getting involved with campaigns and seeking the truth. Smear campaigns and false ads are not the way to go when transparency is so desperately needed in times like these. Change is coming and everyone’s invited.