Staunton was "Recruited" to run for Edina's benefit  by the Washington D.C. based, Ultra-Liberal, Multi-Million-Dollar   PAC    Progressive Majority 

   Our "Local DFL Party" [apparently viewed by Progressive Majority as inept] only "Helped" the leftist group recruit Kevin Staunton for Edina

   Staunton Had to agree in-writing to follow 100% the 40 critical points of PM's radical-left-agenda questionnaire [E.G. publicly funded abortions. See link to writer's interview with PM and her examination of the required 40 points.]

   Staunton is Progressive Majority's "hottest" pick contest for PM's new entry into Minnesota local politics

   Gloria Totten's Progressive Majority Provides "Training" for its national "farm team" of which Staunton is now a Progressive Majority "farm team" member. [Totten states: Farm Team members are those chosen to begin in local offices and move up to spread Progressive Majority's national social agenda and ultimately control elections in 25 states. Therefore before starting out, candidates chosen must agree 100% with PM's social agenda.]

   See Progressive Majority's own proudly published flickr.com pictures of their national training  as we have linked for you through our own website EdinaModerates.org

   Staunton did not sign Minnesota Campaign Limit on Campaign Spending!
Only Erhardt signed the state limit. Out of 270 total house candidates Downey & Staunton are 2 (of only 8) who filed to run a big $$$ campaign.

Click to See our Kevin Staunton Page

   Erhardt's votes match the views of the vast majority of Edina residents.

   A senior legislative leader - well known as a "maverick" for going against party-leaders when party-leaders' positions conflict with what Edina residents want and believe. Erhardt often wins that battle for Edina

   Multiple-Award Winning Erhardt is a traditional old-fashioned public servant who works long and hard for the people,
NOT for his personal profit or ambition

   Won 9 times by landslide margins - even in years when other Republican candidates did poorly in Edina

   Traditionally 1/3 of Erhardt's election votes are cross-over votes from those who otherwise voted for other parties

   Erhardt is a long time state leader in Tax Reform, Environment (before it was popular), plus K-12 AND Higher Education Reform (saving Edina Residents over $1 million),
and more... and, of course, what Erhardt
is famous for, Transportation Reform.

   61% of Edina supported Erhardt's leading the over-ride of Pawlenty's Transportation bill veto. A bill Erhardt originally wrote including the gas tax as the Edina Transportation Commission asked for [2005]!

   Erhardt DID sign Minnesota Campaign Limit on Campaign Spending!
[Erhardt was released by the state automatically in September when Staunton and Downey went over the limit a fact they were required to report to the state.]

Click to See our Ron Erhardt Page

  49% of post-filing Name-Listed Donations on Downey's own campaign report came from OUTSIDE of Minnesota

   Outside Groups including Minnesota Majority, Taxpayers League and Christian Right from a church group organized to pack Republican Caucuses, takeover the Edina Republican Party and elect with "new delegates" of their belief. That far-right philosophy is not representative of most Edina Republicans who are mostly moderate and practical in their beliefs and wishes.

   Publicly promised in Downey's GOP speech to follow party leaders, NOT the wishes of Edina voters' and residents' if those are different from the party leaders

   Downey Created PowerPoint "slide 1" a radical-right-wing "manifesto" presentation  which Google™ found accidentally left on Downey's original web server www.keithdowney.biz. Before it disappeared from the internet
we preserved a copy of Google™ results as a PDF  at EdinaModerates.org
Don't take our word for how wacky some of Downey's  writings are. Read it all 17 [PDF] pages yourself. He wrote this radical social philosophy to try to win a state House of Representatives' race???

   Downey has remade his websites and apparent public image -  therefore he is NOW masquerading as moderate - which he is not.

   Downey did not sign Minnesota Campaign Limit on Campaign Spending!
Only Erhardt signed the state limit. Out of 270 total house candidates Downey & Staunton are 2 (of only 8) who filed to run a big $$$ campaign.

Click to See our Keith Downey Page

Outside Groups‡ are behind the main challenger candidates for both of our Minnesota House of Representatives seats. Expect big outside money to be spent in OUR district in an attempt to elect candidates with particular political and social views. In-particular, candidates that have agreed to follow a particular group's agenda and control. You will note that District 41b's primary election, in southern Edina and western Bloomington, already had, unknown to the public, outside forces work to defeat the incumbent.

Most outsiders who are interfering in Edina promote views that are actually contrary to those long held by the vast majority of Edina residents. Statistically, Edina residents consider themselves as moderate republicans, moderate democrats, or moderate independents - AND espouse views generally considered moderate. Some of these outside agendas promote national social views that a state-representative has no control over and which have nothing to do with effectively running local government.

Until this year, these types of radical groups - left or right - have thankfully left Edina alone, while sinking-in their big-money teeth elsewhere, including some other metro-area races. After all, Edina residents are pretty much known as thinking and voting for themselves when they have the facts! The grand majority of Edinans are highly known for crossing over to vote for a good candidate not of their own party - in either direction. As an example, popular and publicly respected, Congressman Ramstad (R) and State Representative Erhardt (R) have always won by major landslides, each traditionally getting a high percentage of votes from voters who voted for other party candidates in other races on the ballot. Likewise presidential candidate Kerry (D) and U.S. Senator Klobuchar (D) won this Edina district.

Please vote carefully, and if you can, contribute to help counter the big outside money expected to be "independently" spent in Edina. Thanks!

Note How our Edina District 41a is Unique for 2008.  The biggest targeted race in Minnesota!
                          Traditionally Minnesota House seat races are small battles. Of 270 candidates in the General Election for 134 Minnesota House seats ONLY 8 candidates did not sign the State of Minnesota Campaign Finance Limit agreement - and in fact opted for a big-money campaign battle. TWO of those 8 are Downey and Staunton in 41a. Erhardt DID sign the agreement and DID keep his spending in the legal line until the state released him from the agreement on the legal release date in September after the primary date because Downey and Staunton had spent over the limit.

‡    Known Outside Groups: For Kevin Staunton, Progressive Majority Washington D. C. an ultra liberal group as above. No state Campaign Finance Board filing can be found for their efforts in Staunton's case which apparently began in 2007. For  Keith Downey, Minnesota Majority, a very, very conservative 501(c)4 association founded by former MN Sec of State Mary Kiffmeyer and which worked hard to take Republican Endorsement away from Erhardt. No state Campaign Finance Board filings can be found for their expenditures for Downey. (In fact their political efforts are not registered ). Also for Downey, Minnesota Taxpayers League who's current head, Phil Krinkie, has gleefully taken public credit for the takeover of the Edina Republican Party and the endorsement of his candidates Downey and Peterson. The higly visible Taxpayers League is a very conservative group previously run by political TV personality David Strom and now run by former representative and political TV personality Phil Krinkie (a/k/a "Cranky Phil" and "Dr. No"), which group also intervened in the Republican endorsement process so much so that non-Edinan Krinkie was there at the Edina 41a & 41b endorsing convention managing his organization's efforts to defeat endorsement of Rep. Neil Peterson and Rep. Ron Erhardt. No state Campaign Finance Board filing can be found for their expenditures in this race on behalf of Downey either, even though the dollar cost and "in-kind" has to have exceeded the legal minimum for filing.  All this outside effort is effectively the bringing of (IRS) 547 "soft-money" to a local campaign situation. And that in truth also brings - very belatedly - two very recently (September) legally filed independent organizations of Edinans not connected with any campaign - including PoliticalModerates.org - who plan, separate from each other, to intervene in the election to counter those outside efforts.