Friday, August 31, 2012

When Is Rape, Not a Rape? When Rep. Kline Says So!

A bill that Rep. Kline and Akins co-sponsored last year would have limited the government help available to women seeking abortions in the case of rape to cases of "forcible rape". However...after a huge public outcry, the House Republican party changed it's language....

By now, most of us have heard of Missouri Republican Senate nominee Todd Akin’s statements regarding "legitimate rape" in an effort to redefining and legitimizing rape and incest... bringing into question rape and incest by trying to redefine and de-legitimize it much like the bill that Kline and Akin co-sponsored...

“It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, [pregnancies from rape are] really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work or something: I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child.”

Kline has declined MPR's request for comment on Akin's remarks...so unlike the GOP leadership that has soundly condemn Akins and asked for Mr Akin to withdraw his candidacy for Missouri's Senate seat...we can assume that beside trying to redefine rape...Kline supports the beliefs..... If that is the case, shouldn't Kline also be asked to withdraw his candidacy and be held accountable for the same beliefs and lack of empathy toward the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year?

Even Mitt Romney has pointed out how wrong these views are:
“Congressman’s Akin comments on rape are insulting, inexcusable, and, frankly, wrong, Like millions of other Americans, we found them to be offensive.”


Rep. John Kline (R-MN2) "No Comment"
Yet, Kline refuses comment...still...

Speaking for myself and my daughters...rape is rape...it has no level of acceptances, there isn't nor should there be "legitimate rapes".  Nor should rape victims continue to be victimized by outdated and wrong views. As Mike Obermueller says:
"Rape is a heinous, disgusting crime... and the bill they've co-sponsored gives the impression that some rapes are not as bad as others, and to me that's really offensive,"

Kline is out of step on this with science, his own party, and most voters. It's time for him to go. Rape is rape...for Rep. John Kline to try and redefine it for his own agenda and war on women is unacceptable.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Kline Is A Leader In 112th Do-Nothing Congress!

This is the least productive Congress ever according to USA Today...and Kline is one of it's leaders!


'Do Nothing'  Congress with John Kline

Since the GOP has gained back House majority in 2010, the 112th Congress has adopted the logo of 'Do Nothing' and 'Obstruct' using Kline's personal mantra of let's  'Roll Back'....from education, to health care, to minimum wage...Kline would rather see no progress than reach across the aisle and work with Democratic colleagues...

According to a USA Today analysis of records since 1947 kept by the US House Clerk's office, the lowest number of laws to date has come out of the 2012 congress....just 61 bills. This combined with Congress's historically low approval rating of 10 percent (Gallup poll) shows that the 112th Congress covering 2011-12 is the least productive since WW ll....


As John Kline votes 97.7% with the GOP  preferring to focus on party needs over national well being while he holds a leadership position in chairing the powerful Education and Workforce Committee; We can only assume Kline is in major part to blame for the 'Do Nothing' Congress! With economic issues, several wars, and infrastructure needs, Kline has set up roadblocks rather than work across the aisle with Democrats to find common ground and solutions.


The Democratic Congress of 2007-09 was able demonstrated their ability and willingness to work with President Bush (R). Working together, by the end of 2008, President Bush signed 460 laws passed by the Democratic Congress moving America needs forward...unfortunately with the current GOP leadership including John Kline, this Congress plays partisan games of obstruction over addressing the serious issues facing our nation.

It doesn't have to work this way....there is an alternative to Kline's inability to lead and put America first in Congress...his name is Mike OBERMUELLER!

Wednesday, August 08, 2012

Top 5 Reasons Rep. Kline Refused To Attend Farmfest

Top Five Reasons John Kline Missed Farmfest 


5. Stayed up all night tweeting “Obama bad; Kline has the commonsense solutions”.


4. Why? Not enough lobbyist money left in farming, for-profit schools is the wave of future Kline funding.


3. Got wrong directions from David Gerson.


2. Forgot to ask permission to attend from John Boehner.

                        ....and the #1 reason:


1. Mike Obermueller (Democratic challenger running against Kline) can walk the talk as he grew up on a small family-run dairy farm and knows the importance and value of hard work, honesty in word and deed, and working together as a community to meet common goals.



Wednesday, August 01, 2012

'For Profit' Rasmussen Buys John Kline

A recently released Harken senate report says many 'for-profit' schools, including three in Minnesota, result in a lot of student/family debt but not in a degree. Among the three schools in Minnesota is Rasmussen Inc. which just happens to be among the top five contributors to John Kline's 2011-2012 campaign committee! Below is a partial list of donors and the amounts they've given to Kline from 'for profit' schools:

 2012 Contributors to John Kline:
  •  Assn of Private Sector Colleges/Univs  $17,500
  •  DeVry Inc  $16,750
  •  Education Affiliates  $15,000
  •  ITT Educational Services  $14,855
  •  Rasmussen Inc  $13,419
For-Profit Education is at the top of all industries in giving to Congressman John Kline ($215,224 in 2011-2012 alone!). It's no surprise that Kline chairs the House Education & Workforce Committee, but how can that amount of money not be seen as a conflict of interest? Especially in lieu of Kline's continue support to repeal existing regulations?

According to the two year investigative report, Rasmussen colleges 'took in tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to boost their marketing and profits', while many of their students 'dropped out in large numbers' often burdened with enormous debt. The report accuses the schools of spending public money "intended to support student educational opportunities" on marketing and to buttress profits. Also noted in the report was the fact that Rasmussen's programs cost several times what similar degrees cost at public colleges... Meanwhile, student dropout rates and loan default rates run many times higher than at public or nonprofit schools

Rasmussen's posted a dropout rate of 63 percent in its associate degree programs, the government said, and its bachelor's degree programs had a dropout rate of 64.2 percent. "Both rank amongst the 10 worst in the sector," the report stated. Beyond its generous marketing and recruiting budget, the report accused Rasmussen of giving credit for clearly plagiarized assignments to undercover investigators who enrolled in the college.

Yet Congressman John Kline continues to endorse for profit groups whose programs have a high student dropout rates and high loan defaults! Kline has even touted visiting Rasmussen college so either Kline (a) doesn't have a clue, or (b) doesn't give a heck about the fraud and misspent federal dollars at taxpayer expense. Kline has even gone as far as to try to kill reform and repeal regulations for these schools!
As chair of the House Education & the Workforce Committee, John Kline has a responsibility to the people that elected him to office to ensure the quality of education services and a fair and manageable cost, but John Kline has done neither.  Instead Kline has accepted thousands of dollars from the very people he should be protecting our students and education system from while eliminating reforms and regulations that would regulate the industry! Just as Kline has sold out to the 'for profit' schools, he's sold out American taxpayers.