GOP rallies against taxes
Several hundred people gathered on the lawn of the State Capitol today to rally against tax increases. Several Republicans spoke at the gathering including Rep. Michele Bachmann, Rep. John Kline, Rep. Erik Paulsen, Rep. Chip Cravaack, Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Zellers and Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch.
Bachmann told the audience that she favors abolishing the tax code and instituting a flat tax. She also told the crowd to urge lawmakers to oppose raising the federal debt ceiling.
"We can have the federal reserve stop printing money and financing the debt," Bachmann said. "We can have them stop having them buying our t-bills from the united states treasury. we can have them stop spending money that we don't have."
The rally comes as Republican lawmakers are at odds with Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton on the best approach to balance the state's budget. Dayton wants to increase income taxes on Minnesota's top earners. Republicans say they can balance the budget without tax increases.
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Here's a few of the speeches.
Bachmann:
Kline:
Paulsen:
Cravaack:
Koch:
Zellers:
Thanks to MPR's Rupa Shenoy for supplying the audio.