urbanMSP

I'm at the House hearing of Rep. Loon's repeal bill.

Rep. Joe Atkins is real a piece of shit
Rep. Raymond Dehn too.

Maybe you disagree with Dehn on this issue but I can assure you without question that he is not "a piece of shit." You should meet him and hear his story.

Right now the only story I know of his is that he's against Sunday Sales. Which identifies him as an obvious shill, and someone who should not be in office. I have a hundred bucks for the first serious DFL challenger of his. If someone such as D.G. or even Dehn himself wants to come on here and share his story, or link to his story in an easily consumable location, feel free. It may make me think that he's a someone nicer, more well-intentioned shill. But I still want him out of office if he's against something as obvious as Sunday Sales.

I'll take a shill for small local businesses and organized labor over a shill for "beer activists" and big box retailers.

I can't believe how worked up Sunday sales supporters get. I'm against Sunday sales because small liquor stores are already fighting an up hill battle against large liquor retailers. Spreading the same sales over another day is far easier for total wine and Costco to weather.

Currently just 12 states prohibit Sunday sales. How long will those on your side carry on this fight? When there are 5 states left? 1?

At some point you just have to admit that argument simply has no merit. Big or small, liquor stores do not deserve government protection to ensure their day off, period. An overwhelming majority of Minnesotans agree, based on every poll ever. It is perhaps the single issue in Minnesota politics that the highest percentage of people agree on.

Sidebar: it's going to be pretty embarrassing for the DFL if the GOP manages to beat them on this issue. With the rise of libertarian-minded candidates in the GOP, and social conservatives retiring and dying off in the coming years, I don't think it's too big a reach to see that happening. Sunday sales is going to wind up on a statewide party platform soon... who will manage to pull that off first? Libertarian GOP activists or non-union-affiliated DFL activists? The former certainly seems more plausible to me. Frankly, I still don't understand how the DFL Central Committee managed to keep Sunday sales off the 2014 party platform. It was on the ballot I filled out at our senate district convention last year.

I really don't care what other states are doing. I'm always going to side with labor over poverty level wage paying big box retailers. Good on the dfl party for keeping Sunday sales out of their platform.

By that logic, we may as well require all stores to be closed on Sundays. It's way easier for Walmart to spread out sales over 7 days than the little ma-and-pa corner shop.

Will you be fighting for the DFL to adopt a plank that advocates for banning Saturday sales as well?

Ma and Pop retail, aside from booze and specialty stuff, is dead. I won't be fighting for anything in the dfl platform.

Maybe in the suburbs, but ma and pop or local stuff is all I see in the city, even though I can't go in without someone over 21

I am for Sunday sales. It seems like a strange law and I'd be happy to change it. But to call someone who supports it a piece of shit and a shill who needs to be removed from office no matter what other good they are doing sounds crazy. You honestly believe Sunday sales are that important of a litmus test?

Ma and Pop retail, aside from booze and specialty stuff, is dead. I won't be fighting for anything in the dfl platform.

I'll let my family—owners of a ma-and-pa business—know that their model is dead. I'm sure they'll believe you. Funny enough, they willingly close one day a week (it's two small businesses - one closes Sunday, the other on Monday) and don't need the government telling them they have to be, despite facing competition from larger fish.

I'll take a shill for small local businesses and organized labor over a shill for "beer activists" and big box retailers.

I can't believe how worked up Sunday sales supporters get. I'm against Sunday sales because small liquor stores are already fighting an up hill battle against large liquor retailers. Spreading the same sales over another day is far easier for total wine and Costco to weather.

Would you support mandating liquor stores could only be open 6 days a week but not mandating which day they had to close?

Also I think concern for small business vs big box is a silly reason. If you're concerned about big box stores then work to change those. And for what it matters Costco pays really well so I guess really I don't see the problem with "big box" retailers.

I think totally overhauling liquor restrictions would do a lot more to help smaller stores either way. If grocery and convenience stores could sell liquor then you could have a whole new class of store that can offer products people want 7 days a week.

The status quo is preferable because it doesn't open labor agreements. Floating closed dates would. Allowing grocery stores to sell booze next to other products is a bad idea. The states with this arraignment I've spent a lot of time in don't have great liquor retail like we have.

When I've visted Chicago and made my ritualistic vacation liquor store run, I've gone to both a 7-11 and a small local liquor store (oh wait it's 3, and a grocery store).

Anyway I suppose you're right about status-quo being better than an in-flux future. But related to that I'd hate to have state laws propping up an industry that is not really meeting the needs of what people really want. Are fancy liquor stores with knowledgeable staff subsidizing the mid to high range product lines with the cheap junk that people would just pick up at the grocery store if they could?

As to the mom-and-pop arguments, microbreweries that sell growlers, which I think we can safely include in the "mom-and-pop small business we want to save and protect" list are hurt by a ban on Sunday sales, they're open and serving on Sundays but they can't sell growlers, which require basically zero extra labor cost to actually sell. But it's refreshing to actually meet someone that makes the mom-and-pop argument genuinely, I wasn't aware those people actually existed.

You honestly believe Sunday sales are that important of a litmus test?

Yes. It speaks to who an elected official is serving. I still have yet to hear of any decent reason NOT to allow Sunday Sales. It's not like this is a debate where there are good, well-intentioned people with compelling reasons to be on both sides. It's literally narrow, powerful special interests versus the public interest.

Are fancy liquor stores with knowledgeable staff subsidizing the mid to high range product lines with the cheap junk that people would just pick up at the grocery store if they could?

Isn't that how most stores work?

I think most stores work with ridiculous margins on cables, probably not applicable in a liquor store context?

You honestly believe Sunday sales are that important of a litmus test?

Yes. It speaks to who an elected official is serving.

I'll just note that all single-issue voters make the same argument.

Go meet with Dehn or not. Your loss if not. It doesn't really matter since he's not going to have a strong challenger. Calling someone a piece of shit for simply having a different opinion on this issue is utterly ridiculous and simply makes the name-caller look silly.

I'll take a shill for small local businesses and organized labor over a shill for "beer activists" and big box retailers.

I can't believe how worked up Sunday sales supporters get. I'm against Sunday sales because small liquor stores are already fighting an up hill battle against large liquor retailers. Spreading the same sales over another day is far easier for total wine and Costco to weather.

Minimum wage increases also hurt mom and pop stores far more than big box retailers...

Good thing I never called him a piece of shit, then, David?