ST. PAUL [09/16/20]–Minnesotans need only listen to Republican Senate candidate Jason Lewis’ own words to know his approach to problems. In an interview in July 2011 with Fox Business, Lewis proclaimed “now, you know, I happen to like gridlock. I get real nervous when politicians start to compromise.”
Lewis’ unyielding support for President Trump proves his rigid ideology will get in the way of working for Minnesotans. Lewis cannot even name one thing the President has done that he disagrees with: “Well, good policy is good politics. And I agree with his policies, so why would I oppose anything?”And just recently, Lewis reiterated his role as a rubber stamp for the President when asked the same question saying “...it’s not a time to look for a crack in the movement,” and added “I have no disagreements.”
Senator Tina Smith takes the opposite approach–rather than adhering rigidly to the “movement” and the President’s agenda, Sen. Smith identifies where bipartisan headway can be made on behalf of Minnesotans and then gets to work to pass laws that make their lives better.
With the goal of working to better Minnesotans’ lives in mind, Sen. Smith has:
- Ensured rural cooperatives can retain tax-exempt status when they receive government grants to expand rural broadband or assist with recovering from a weather disaster by working with Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio;
- Passed into law a bipartisan bill with Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana to bring more low-cost insulin products to market and lower the price of insulin;
- Led another bipartisan bill to help lower the price of insulin by promoting competition;
- Passed into law a bipartisan measure to extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program with Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, which creates jobs and makes it possible for Minnesota to host large events like the 2018 Super Bowl; and
- Worked with Republican Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota to extend the length of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) rental assistance contracts to give more certainty to affordable housing developers in rural areas.
Jason Lewis happens to like gridlock. Senator Smith happens to like results, and getting bills passed and signed into law for Minnesotans.