Minnesota Politics

Herbal Remedy

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

The Marijuana Policy Project is airing two television ads imploring Governor Tim Pawlenty to back down from his vow to veto a bill legalizing medical marijuana.

The first spot began running earlier in the month on cable channels. The second one--featuring a Ely resident whose neck surgery and resulting nerve pain have rendered him nearly bedridden--began running yesterday.

"I'm a registered Republican and born-again Christian," he says. "This doesn't have anything to do with culture wars. It's all about people in pain... please don't veto the medical marijuana bill, Governor Pawlenty."

Critics of the bill have framed it as a Trojan horse, maintaining that if we stop fining and jailing sick people who inhale cannabis smoke, we might one day cease fining and jailing healthy people who do the same. This "sends the wrong message," to quote an oft-repeated talking point.

Regardless of the bill's fate, medical morphine will remain legal.

[Peep the ads after the jump.]

(first one)

(second one)

Posted by Matt Snyders at April 30, 2008 2:38 PM | Comments (1)

 

Machinists back Franken

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

The labor endorsements continue to roll in for Al Franken. Today the senate candidate picked up support from the Minnesota State Council of Machinists. The union represents 5,100 workers in the state. Franken has been consolidating support among labor groups in recent weeks, with Education Minnesota, AFSCME Council 5, and the state council of SEIU all announcing endorsements. This would seem another positive portent for his candidacy heading towards the DFL endorsing convention.

Posted by Paul Demko at March 4, 2008 3:23 PM | Comments (3)

 

Minnesota Congressional Power Rankings

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

A group called Knowlegis has released Congressional Power Rankings. At 28 in the House, Rep. Oberstar is our most powerful member of Congress. In the senate, Coleman is 82--not much higher than Klobuchar. And despite her cloying attempts to curry favor with the Bush Administration (how'd that go?), Bachmann is among our most ineffectual representatives ... 383 (ouch!). Click through the jump to see where your elected official ranks.

Here's what Knowlegis says about its methodology:

We rated each current Member of Congress on various criteria that demonstrated power and the ability to be effective in Congress in 2007 and 2008. This resulted in a Power Score that ranked members for overall power in each chamber of Congress in our Power Rankings.

Rank/Official/Score

Senate
82. Sen. Coleman (REP-MN) 16.63
94. Sen. Klobuchar (DEM-MN) 13.26

House
28. Rep. Oberstar (DEM-MN-8) 36.86
117. Rep. McCollum (DEM-MN-4) 25.28
138. Rep. Ellison (DEM-MN-5) 22.80
177. Rep. Peterson (DEM-MN-7) 18.98
293. Rep. Ramstad (REP-MN-3) 17.07
308. Rep. Walz (DEM-MN-1) 11.82
363. Rep. Bachmann (REP-MN-6) 9.03
396. Rep. Kline (REP-MN-2) 6.52

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at March 3, 2008 9:00 AM | Comments (9)

 

Feeling gassy?

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

Lawmakers are back at it in St. Paul and they've got taxes on the brain--the gas variety. The transportation bill DFLers are pushing calls for the first gas tax increase in two decades. The state take--which would be used to invest in transportation infrastructure--would go from 20 to 22 cents a gallon, and then, sometime this year, to 25 cents a gallon. How would we rank with bordering states?

We'd still be paying out less than the good people of Wisconsin. According to the latest figures from the American Petroleum Institute, drivers there pay the state 30.9 cents on every gallon. But we'd be paying more than our other neighbors: Iowa's gas tax is 20.7, cents, South Dakota takes 22 cents, and the Dakota above them takes 23 cents.

Washington drivers pay the highest state gas tax, at 36 cents on the gallon. Alaska is the lowest, at eight cents.

Looking for a break at the pump? You're in luck, just follow this map:

View Larger Map

Posted by Jeff Severns Guntzel at February 13, 2008 11:12 AM | Comments (1)

 

We're movin' on up

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

Sen. Norm Coleman has inched up to the number five spot on Chris Cillizza's top-ten list of endangered senators. That's one spot higher than the previous ranking. The WaPo scribe heaps praise on challenger Al Franken:

5. Minnesota: Many months ago, we wrote a piece about whether the candidacy of comedian/entertainer Al Franken is a nightmare or a dream for Senate Democrats. At the moment, it appears it is the latter. He continues to raise huge amounts of money -- nearly $2 million over the final three months of 2007 -- and draws rave reviews for the grassroots operation he is building. And, in a recent independent poll Franken had a solid edge over attorney, and 2000 Senate candidate, Mike Ciresi (D) and even carried a narrow margin over Sen. Norm Coleman (R). Coleman is one of the savviest incumbents in the Senate and won't go easily or quietly. But, Franken is off to a very strong start. (Previous ranking: 6)

Posted by Paul Demko at February 8, 2008 1:16 PM | Comments (1)

 

Cohen backs Franken for senate seat

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

Former senate candidate Jim Cohen has endorsed Al Franken in the race to take on Norm Coleman. Cohen dropped out of the contest last week, citing frustration at his inability to raise money and garner press attention. The lawyer and environmental activist was often overlooked in discussions of the contest for the DFL endorsement. Here's part of Cohen's statement released this morning by the Franken folks:

"Al Franken has the right voice, compassion, demonstrated commitment to progressive values, energy and the most resources, and he will work tirelessly to ensure we defeat Norman Coleman this November. Al Franken has the right message to bring back jobs and prosperity, provide affordable health care for all, and to make America a nation where the American Dream is not just an unattainable dream but a reality once again.

Given Cohen's tepid support, it's hard to figure this will have much impact on the endorsement process. But following last week's positive poll numbers, it's another nugget of good news for the Franken campaign.

Posted by Paul Demko at February 4, 2008 12:39 PM | Comments (0)

 

Nelson-Pallmeyer wins senate straw poll

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

U.S. Senate candidate Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer beat out his two Democratic rivals in a straw poll conducted this afternoon at TakeAction Minnesota's annual meeting. The University of St. Thomas professor and anti-war activist received 140 votes from attendees, while Al Franken was the top choice of 107 particpants. Mike Ciresi received a paltry nine votes. All three DFL senate candidates, hoping to take on embattled Republican incumbent Norm Coleman, attended the progressive nonprofit group's gathering. Ciresi, however--perhaps sensing that this wasn't a particularly friendly crowd for the moderate attorney--left early.

Franken and Nelson-Pallmeyer stuck around to take questions. The latter drew frequent applause by calling for a single-payer health-care system, more stringent enforcement of the country's labor laws, and a rapid end to the Iraq War. He pointed out that the U.S. spends more on the Iraq War in seven minutes than it does annually on aid to Somalia.

Franken offered less red meat for the progressive activists, but did draw hearty cheers during his closing statement. "It isn't enough for Bush to go," he said. "His enablers have to go too--and Norm Coleman is number one on that list."

The informal poll has no binding significance, but it shows that Nelson-Pallmeyer will likely be more than just a liberal nuisance in the DFL-endorsement process. All three candidates have stated that they will abide by the party's endorsement.

TakeAction Minnesota was created in 2005 from the merger of Progressive Minnesota and the Minnesota Alliance for Progressive Action. The group has already proven to be a formidable grassroots force in city and state elections.

Posted by Paul Demko at January 27, 2008 4:15 PM | Comments (5)

 

John Kline's political slush fund

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

Ken Silverstein has an intriguing Minnesota-related post over at Washington Babylon. The veteran muckraker delves into a fundraising organization known as the "Freedom & Security PAC" that was created in July. Silverstein discovered that the Minnesota-based leadership PAC is the work of Rep. John Kline. In fact the treasurer of the Freedom & Security PAC also happens to handle the funds for the 2nd District Congressman's re-election campaign.

Such political action committees are largely unregulated and allow donors to make contributions of up to $5,000. Politicians then use the funds to ladle out cash to the campaigns of political allies.

Silverstein makes the case that the Freedom & Security PAC is substantially funded by companies who benefited from a Kline co-sponsored bill that reduced pension obligations for some businesses. Corporations such as Northwest Airlines and United Postal Service achieved significant savings through the 2006 legislation. According to federal filings, in August UPS spent $2,750 to throw a fundraiser for the Congressman's newly created slush fund. So far the PAC has raised roughly $43,000.

Posted by Paul Demko at January 24, 2008 6:40 PM | Comments (0)

 

Coleman, Ramstad posts remain in jeopardy for GOP

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

Taking a break from presidential politics, Chris Cillizza has updated his analysis of the House and Senate seats most likely to switch parties in the 2008 elections. A pair of Minnesota posts remain on the most-endangered lists. Sen. Norm Coleman clocks in at sixth on the Senate side, while retiring Rep. Jim Ramstad's seat takes the eighth slot.

Posted by Paul Demko at January 18, 2008 1:13 PM | Comments (0)

 

Running away from Bush

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

Norm Coleman voted with the White House 64 percent of the time last year--the lowest level of political fealty since he took office, according to a new analysis by Congressional Quarterly. In fact the senator's loyalty to the White House has steadily eroded since he took office.

In 2003 he sided with the Bush administration on 93 percent of votes, and followed that up with a 92 percent rate of GOP-loyalty in 2004. But in 2005 and 2006, Coleman voted with the White House a mere 77 percent of the time.

Surely this surge of independent thinking on the part of Minnesota's senior senator has nothing to do with the fact that he's running for re-election this year in a state where the President is held in extraordinarily low regard.

Posted by Paul Demko at January 15, 2008 11:22 AM | Comments (0)

 

Warm up your jaw...the immigration debate is heating up again in Minnesota

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

Given all the talk of deporting babies born in the U.S. to parents who do not have the proper papers (you'll find it in Matt Snyders' latest piece and in our Elephants in the Room blog)--this seems like as good a place as any to pile a few more voices on the question of illegal immigration.

First, there is Gov. Pawlenty's new proposal for dealing with the issue of illegal immigration in Minnesota. Really, it's not all that new. There are pieces of it that will be familiar to anybody who was paying attention in 2006, the last time Pawlenty pitched such a proposal (that one didn't get so far). All the same, we are sure see the issue of illegal immigration make some headlines once the State Legislature gets back to it on February 12th.

I recently profiled Mark Cangemi, an experienced immigration cop who retired and took a job at a local immigration law firm known for its zealous defense of immigrant rights. This week Cangemi, the former head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), was on MPR's Gary Eichten's show talking about Pawlenty's proposal. It's worth a listen.

If you, like me, can't get the interview to play on your computer (the future is faster than I am), but your jaw dropped a little bit upon hearing of an immigration-cop-turned-immigration-lawyer, read more about the guy here.

There is, of course, a comment section below. I invite anything except a debate about shipping babies away. There's a place for that discussion, and it ain't here baby shipper.

Posted by Jeff Severns Guntzel at January 10, 2008 11:53 AM | Comments (3)

 

Coleman, Paulose and Susan Kimberly

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

Eric Black has again pushed the story of recently resigned and previously embattled Rachel Paulose a bit further. His hard-won interview with Sen. Norm Coleman about his role in "the rise and fall" of Paulose is a good read. But that's not what I'm here for. In Black's piece, Coleman re-visits, ever-so-briefly, a remarkable piece of history: Coleman, when he was mayor of St. Paul, appointed the first transgender deputy mayor in America: Susan Kimberly, a Republican.

In the interview article, Coleman defended his early enthusiasm for the Paulose appointment like this:

[Coleman] described Paulose as “a woman of extraordinary intellect… an immigrant background… attracting strong bipartisan support… The kind of woman you’d want to support.” Coleman said that during his public career, he has a history of appointing young women who broke glass ceilings (he mentioned several names, and added that he appointed Susan Kimberly, the first transgender deputy mayor in America).

In 2002, City Pages writer Leyla Kokmen profiled Kimberly in Body Vs. Soul:

Susan Kimberly has smooth, soft skin, a blond pageboy haircut, and curves even a prim blazer and slacks don't disguise. Her chronological age is 59, but she looks at least a decade younger. She looks like a woman. But once she was a man.

Kimberly, as she puts it, was once the "world's most famous transsexual." At least in St. Paul, where, in 1983, she very publicly cast off her male identity--that of Bob Sylvester, a former city council member--and became Susan Kimberly. The attention faded somewhat while Kimberly went through lean, difficult times, without a job, without any money. But her story popped up again in December 1998 when former St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman appointed her deputy mayor.

Despite the publicity around her transition--the barrage of questions, so prying, so often inappropriate--Kimberly's journey has been a personal one. Nearly two decades ago, when she was in her early 40s, Kimberly began the process of going from male to female. And that, she stresses, was precisely the goal at the time--both hers and the prevailing attitude of the doctors and therapists who treated gender dysphoria. The idea was to end up looking good enough to pass as a woman in society.

Even then she wasn't thrilled with the notion. She boycotted the then-mandatory makeup and modeling class. But she still believed that she would lie down on an operating table (in Trinidad, Colorado, in 1984) and simply switch from man to woman. She'd be done with it, and go on with her life in her new body.

"I never started out to be a transsexual," she says. "That wasn't my goal, it wasn't my fantasy. I thought I'd go through the transition, and no one would figure it out."

But more and more she realized that it wasn't that clear-cut. Finally, the identity of her mind and the anatomy of her body matched. Finally, there was peace. But, even after all that, she was still different.

"I realized I have no pretext anymore about being a woman. I'm a transsexual. There's no longer this magical twist and turn," she says. "We don't go from anything to anything. We come to terms with what we are.

"People are starting to get this sense, that if there's A and B, there's something in between," she suggests. "Although that's deeply unsettling for us--and the rest of the world--it's a powerful attack on the idea that there are men in the world and women in the world, and that's it.

"I don't know how many genders there are," she muses. "But there are more than two."

These days Susan Kimberly lobbies on behalf of the St. Paul Chamber of Commerce. And it appears Coleman has drafted her once more--if unwittingly--this time to serve him in his ongoing effort to defend unpopular decisions.

Posted by Jeff Severns Guntzel at December 6, 2007 9:23 AM | Comments (0)

 

Iraq War veteran challenges Kline

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

Former Watertown mayor Steve Sarvi, a veteran of the Iraq War, filed to run against Rep. John Kline today in Minnesota's Second Congressional District. Sarvi returned from a 16-month tour of duty with the National Guard in July. The 42-year-old father of three is currently the city administrator of Victoria.

“I am very proud to have served my country in Iraq,” says Sarvi in a press release announcing his campaign. “Our district deserves a representative in Congress who will put the safety of our troops and the well-being of our families ahead of blind party loyalty."

Kline, a three-term Republican from Lakeville, has been among the staunchest supporters of President Bush's Iraq policies. In 2006 he easily outpolled former FBI agent Coleen Rowley, 56 to 40 percent, despite the most favorable political climate for Democrats in two decades.

The Minnesota DFL Party just issued a statement making the case that, despite Kline's easy victory, the 2nd district is trending Democrat. In 2006 Amy Klobuchar earned 53 percent of the vote in her successful Senate run against Mark Kennedy, while 16 of the district's 33 state legislative seats are now held by DFL'ers, an increase of 10 since 2004.

Sarvi's campaign sets up a potential scenario similar to that faced by Rep. Gil Gutknecht last year. The six-term Republican was ousted by retired Army National Guard member Tim Walz.

Posted by Paul Demko at October 4, 2007 2:23 PM | Comments (1)

 

Court Hears Convicted City Councilmember's Appeal

Filed under: Politics , Politics , Politics

When last we heard from convicted City Councilmember Dean Zimmerman, he was making plans for prison ("I am hoping to be able to do some teaching while I am in"). Today, with Zimmerman already serving a 30-month sentence, his lawyers are appealing his bribery conviction in the 8th Circuit Appeals Court. Want to hear how that's going? You can listen to the oral arguments here.

Zimmerman enjoyed a reputation for living on the cheap and working hard (a handyman by trade, he was apparently doing carpentry work for extra scratch when the indictment was announced in 2006).

On the City Council, he had a notorious lean to the left--loyal to his Green Party. Zimmerman was the third City Councilmember to be indicted in under 5 years.

All told, he was convicted of taking $7200 in questionable cash from a developer who had a stake in Zimmerman's zoning votes.

Here's how Zimmerman explained one incident detailed in the indictment to MPR in 2005:

"I don't really know. I mean I... the guy showed up one time and asked me how he could help with the campaign and I said, of course, he could give donations to the campaign -- $300 limit -- and he said , well, he had already given that much. And so I said, 'well, is there something else you can do?' and I suggested that he might want to help out with the redistricting lawsuit.

"Of course, as you know, the Green Party people were gerrymandered in the last redistricting and we took that case to court and we're still trying to pay off some of our legal bills. He wanted to help with that and I thought that was quite reasonable. That's.... and, of course, I've been raising money for that all along from a number of people.. so it doesn't seem like anything unusual."

Avidor of Minneapolis Confidential posted an excerpt of the Government's side of the story (Zimmerman, the Government's attorney said, was "readily predisposed to take money in exchange for selling his office").

USA v. Zimmerman continues...stay tuned.

Posted by Jeff Severns Guntzel at October 4, 2007 11:48 AM | Comments (4)

 

Timeline for a Timebomb: Rachel Paulose

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

Eric Black has been doing his homework...as usual. His post on the investigation of U.S. Attorney Rachel Paulose provides a folly of a footnote to a story that ties Minnesota to the national scandal that led to the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales--but that's not what the investigation is about.

Of the investigation by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, underway since June, Black writes:

"The conflicts enumerated in this matter are not explicitly political or ideological, except for one instance in which Paulose allegedly made false statements about a job candidate who had liberal associations.

"But the pattern of the matters under investigation by the special counsel may shed some light on the gray area between issue of 'management style' and issues of politics.

"When Paulose took over the office, she told several of the career officials there that she demanded total personal loyalty. At least one replied that loyalty was owed to the Constitution, not to her. Many of the allegations raise the possibility that Paulose crossed the line while seeking to punish personal disloyalty."

In the spirit of homework, here's an abridged timeline of the entire Paulose debacle. It begins with a choir and a color guard. Where it ends...well, stay tuned.

TIMELINE FOR A TIMEBOMB

DECEMBER 2006: Rachel Paulose is confirmed as the federal government's top prosecutor in Minnesota. Senator Norm Coleman, who nominated Paulose for the post, releases a statement praising her as "extremely competent."

Paulose is the first woman to fill the post in Minnesota, something her former colleague Scott Johnson at the conservative blog Power Line apparently found novel. Just before the confirmation, Johnson wrote that he had told Paulose that if her legal career didn't work out, she could always go into modeling. Good God Scott Johnson--take that act back to 1950. Better yet, retire it altogether.

JANUARY 2007: McClatchy Newspapers reports that Paulose is or has been a member of the Federalist Society, a distinction she shares with the likes of John Ashcroft, Orrin Hatch, William Kristol, and Antonin Scalia. The organization is perennially alarmed by "orthodox liberal ideology" in law schools and the legal profession.

In addition to the Federalist Society revelation, McClatchy also identifies Paulose as one of at least nine recently named U.S. Attorneys with close Bush administration ties--in her case, a stint as counselor to the deputy attorney general.

MARCH 9, 2007: Rachel Paulose is sworn in as U.S. Attorney for Minnesota. Government watchdog groups call the unusually large ceremony inappropriate. Paulose persuaded the University of St. Thomas to provide a $1,500 rental space for free. According to a 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS report, the ceremony--some say coronation--included a processional, a professional photographer, a color guard and a choir.

Also in March, there are growing rumblings from Minnesota to Washington DC that the resignation of Paulose's predecessor, Thomas B. Heffelfinger, may have been something more complex than the "gotta look out for my family" story Heffelfinger told to the press.

APRIL 2007: Three top aides to Paulose revolt against her and resign their posts. Her human resources officer follows. A federal attorney, speaking to the Star Tribune anonymously, explained the departures with an observation on Paulose's leadership style: "Disagreement is treated as disloyalty."

MAY 2007: The now famous Monica Goodling testifies before the House Judiciary Committee about her role in administering the Justice Department's purge. Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison (D-5th) has the following exchange with Goodling over Paulose...

Ellison: Did Rachel Paulose's political affiliation play any role in her hiring?

Goodling: Yes, it did.

Ellison: And that would be that she was a Republican?

Goodling:Yes.

Also in the exchange was a revealing tidbit about Heffelfinger's standing with DOJ before his resignation. Apparently Goodling and her colleagues felt the U.S. Attorney was spending too much time on American Indian issues. "Shame on them," was Heffelfinger's blunt response.

JUNE 2007: Paulose attends a ceremony for a retiring colleague. When the colleague praises the dissenters in her office (the three aides and her HR officer who resigned in protest of her behavior) the room erupts in thunderous applause.

SEPTEMBER 2007: Eric Black posts a "modest scoop" on his blog, namely, that a Office of Special Counsel investigation into Paulose's tenure is focusing on allegations that she "mishandled classified information, decided to fire the subordinate who called it to her attention, retaliated against others in the office who crossed her, and made racist remarks about one employee."

The racist remark? Black only reveals that it utilized the words "fat," "black," "lazy" and "ass."

The "mishandled classified information" is apparently a matter of Paulose leaving classified war on terror documents laying around her office. Reckless if true--and true to her recklessness.

Rachel Paulose may or may not live out the last days of the Bush administration as a U.S. Attorney. For now, Paulose says she is "focused on doing the work of the people."

Like Gonzales, it seems inevitable that Paulose will eventually have to walk away from this squandered opportunity.

Someone cue the color guard--a recessional is imminent.

Posted by Jeff Severns Guntzel at September 19, 2007 8:18 AM | Comments (1)

 

He's serious, already!

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

Al Franken isn't clowning around. He's serious. This, we should know. The national media has done well reminding us that he's not joking, jesting, joshing, kidding, pranking, or shitting us whenever they report on his rather vigorous (one might say "serious") campaign.

For any other candidate, the sober tone of his or her campaign goes without saying—to date, no politician has won many hearts on the stump by greeting constituents with hand-buzzers or depantsing flushed opponents mid-debate. No need to dabble in is-this-guy-for-real? guessing games when the candidate in question is a former trial lawyer, military goon, oil lobbyist, or religious zealot. These people laugh seriously.

Then there's Franken. His campaign has elicited stories that invariably include a variant of the word serious it their headlines, as if brain-dead readers might otherwise conclude his candidacy is some kind of elaborately planned and inexplicably costly farce, maybe one in which Stuart Smalley hijacks an ice cream truck and crashes it into the twisted remnants of John McCain's Straight Talk Express on the eve of the election and proceeds to reassure a dour McCain that, gosh darnit, people like him.

On Feb. 14, The New York Times political blog, The Caucus, ran a blurb whose headline succinctly assured readers, "Franken Serious About Senate." The same day, a CBC News headline read, "Comedian to make serious run for U.S. Senate." One day later, courtesy of the Chicago Sun-Times via the AP came "Comic Franken serious about bid for Senate."

More recently, a July 24 NewsMax.com headline stated, "Al Franken's Senate Bid Gets Serious." Two days later, the AP story in the Tonawanda News upped the ante with two inclusions of the word seriously and threw in some caps for good measure: "NO, SERIOUSLY: Comedian Al Franken asks Democrats to take him seriously as candidate" And just last week, Congressional Quarterly added to the shtick with, "Al Franken Running Hard for Minnesota Senate Seat... Seriously."

Are we reading too much into this? Probably. But we're serious.

Posted by Matt Snyders at August 10, 2007 3:38 PM | Comments (1)

 

Kids beware: former Roseville mayor runs for school board

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

Perhaps the most interesting name to pop up in the ranks of candidates for office this year in Ramsey County is John Kysylyczyn. The former Roseville mayor has filed to run for the Roseville school board. He's one of 12 candidates vying for three seats. Kysylyczyn was elected mayor in 1999 and served a contentious (to put it charitably) four-year term. His tenure was marked by personal attacks and unusually combative city council meetings that often dragged on into the wee hours of the morning. (The drama was similar to what's been happening in Maplewood in recent months.) Kysylyczyn didn't seek a second mayoral term in 2003. Instead he opted to run for city council, losing in the primary election. For those not familiar with Kysylyczyn's leaderhip style, here's a May 2002 clip of him browbeating then-city council member (and now mayor) Craig Klausing:

Posted by Paul Demko at July 18, 2007 3:24 PM | Comments (0)

 

South St. Paul: New home to Chuck Norris Park?

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

No good deed goes unpranked it seems. The South St. Paul Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission is inviting residents to submit a name for the Port Crosby Area to be officially named as a park. What was once a demolition landfill will soon be a public park, quite possibly the Chuck Norris Park if pranksters filling out the naming form on the South St. Paul city website have their way. Rumor has it the e-suggestion box has been getting stuffed with the name of the aging martial arts artist, with the "significance of name" field peppered with those beloved Chuck Norris facts, such as "There is no theory of evolution, just a list of creatures Chuck Norris allows to live." The inspiration for these monkeyshines comes from an online poll conducted last year by Hungarian officials to name a new bridge across the river Danube in Budapest. The Walker, Texas Ranger star held the lead in that poll over Hungary's first king and a beloved children's book character for much of the voting.

Posted by Corey Anderson at June 29, 2007 4:18 PM | Comments (5)

 

Tim Pawlenty would be a dentist today...

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

...if he only managed to get better grades in his chemistry class at the University of Minnesota. He also shops at Wal-Mart and says--apparently with a straight face--that John McCain shares a "lineage" with great Republicans such as Teddy Roosevelt and Abe Lincoln. All this comes in a wet kiss profile in the current issue of The Weekly Standard.

Posted by Mike Mosedale at April 30, 2007 11:42 AM | Comments (0)

 

Revolving Door to Keep Spinning

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

Minnesota's state Senate today failed to pass a bill that would have prohibited lawmakers from lobbying at the Legislature for one year after they leave office. The bill, which failed on a vote of 33-33, was sponsored by Roseville Sen. John Marty, faithful author of years of good-government legislation that's typically torpedoed by his cohorts. We can only imagine the lawmakers who voted down the bill were only thinking of their futures, given how many of them end up on Minnesota's registered lobbyist rolls within days of leaving office.

A few of this year's new entrants--all of whom left the statehouse last year--and their clients: Former Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson (DFL-Willmar) is registered to represent a host of entities, including Minnesota Public Radio, Northwest Airlines, the Minnesota Corn Growers Association, and the city of Clearwater; former Sen. Sharon Marko (DFL-Cottage Grove) registered on behalf of 3M, and former Rep. Phil Krinke (R-Shoreview) will lobby for the Taxpayers League of Minnesota, which he now heads.

Posted by Beth Hawkins at April 18, 2007 3:13 PM | Comments (0)

 

Clip of St. Louis County Board member's slavery gaffe

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

Here's the video of St. Louis County Board member Keith Nelson making a point about the dedication to his constituents in not the most eloquent way. During a Feb. 27 board meeting, Nelson announced "If the people in my district had voted for slavery, and if the vast majority had, and I was representing them, the answer is 'yes,' I would have voted for it." Could he have replaced "voted for slavery" with "voted for banana-walnut as the state muffin?" Sure. But then there'd be no reason to watch the clip.

Posted by Corey Anderson at April 12, 2007 5:57 PM | Comments (2)

 

You have to be this tall to legislate

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

In a bid to honor Faribault's favorite son Herbert Sellner, Rep. Patti Fritz (DFL-26B) has proposed a bill (H.F. No. 2354) in the Minnesota Legislature creating a State Amusement Ride, akin to the state flower, drink, muffin, etc., with Sellner's invention, the Tilt-A-Whirl, as the choice. Sellner created the ubiquitous fair ride in his backyard in 1926, and it made its debut at the Minnesota State Fair the following year, one of only nine rides on a Midway that 80 years later would be touted as one of the world's largest.

Herbert's great-granddaughter, Erin Sellner Ward, currently oversees the manufacturing company he formed following the success of the Tilt-A-Whirl. The Sellner Manufacturing Co. produces, on average, 50 rides a year, including other spinning rides, kid-powered mine cars, track rides, and swing rides, for amusement parks around the country. Each Tilt-A-Whirl takes six weeks to construct and costs $375,000. A perfect addition to that water garden in the backyard, next to the cotton candy machine.

Posted by Corey Anderson at March 30, 2007 3:35 PM | Comments (1)

 

Minnesotans currently prefer Coleman to Franken

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

In a poll conducted by SurveyUSA for KSTP-TV Minneapolis and WDIO-TV Duluth of 639 registered votes, Minnesotans prefer Sen. Norm Coleman to challenger Al Franken, 57 percent to 35 percent, with eight percent undecided. Another DFL candidate, lawyer Mike Ciresi, would lose to Coleman 57 percent to 34, in a poll also conducted on Wednesday, February 14. According to the survey, a quarter of all Democrats would vote for Coleman and 58 of Independent voters would do the same.

Posted by Corey Anderson at February 16, 2007 10:59 AM | Comments (1)

 

Al Franken releases his candidacy video

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

Last year it was penguin movies, this year it's candidate videos on the internet. Humorist and former Air America host, Al Franken, as expected, today announced his candidacy for the senate seat currently held by Norm Coleman. The eight and a half-minute video features anecdotes about his middle class childhood in St. Louis Park and his wife's more difficult Maine upbringing. He also does what I can only assume is a workmanlike impression of his father. Check out the video and let us know if Al's ready for prime time.

Posted by Corey Anderson at February 14, 2007 4:47 PM | Comments (1)

 

Norm Coleman loves lamp

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

The Sleuth, WaPo's D.C. insider blog by Mary Ann Akers, recently reported on a dumpster-diving expedition by Sen. Norm Coleman that left him sporting a giant gash on his head for last week's State of the Union address. In the post, Coleman claims his actress wife Laurie accidentally tossed an antique lamp that he was then enlisted to retrieve, whacking his head on a "piece of wood" in the process. A couple of questions come to mind about this tale: How does one inadvertantly throw away a lamp? And how does one strike their head on a piece of wood in a dumpster so hard that they "see stars?" If E. Howard Hunt hadn't died last week, I would guess he had something to do with this operation.

Posted by Corey Anderson at January 29, 2007 3:29 PM | Comments (2)

 

Walz emerging as Democratic Leader on Iraq War

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

After all the hoopla and controversy surrounding the election of new Minnesota Congresspeople Keith Ellison and Michele Bachmann, it may be the third member of that freshman class, U.S. Rep. Tim Walz from the 1st District, who winds up with the most clout. Walz defeated popular incumbent Gil Gutknecht last November by leading with his impressive bio--which includes a long tenure, including overseas service, in the National Guard, as well as being a veteran geography teacher and football coach--and following through with sharp, carefully considered, and pragmatic (and left of center) positions on the economy and the Iraq war.

Now, in the wake of President Bush's recent announcement of a troop "surge" in Iraq, the freshman from Mankato is taking center stage on the national scene. Tomorrow Walz will be a guest on "Hardball" with Chris Matthews on MSNBC. Saturday, Walz will give the Democratic response to President Bush's radio address.

Posted by Britt Robson at January 11, 2007 4:22 PM | Comments (0)

 

Tim Pawlenty's Rodney King moment

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

As plenty of political observers have already noted, Governor Tim Pawlenty struck an unusually conciliatory tone in his recent inaugural address. "On this occasion, and from this place," the governor announced, "I'm calling on every Minnesotan, especially our political leaders, to walk together down a new and better pathway: a path of civility and positive change...And let's be progressive as we improve and overhaul things that aren't working well or have us on the wrong course."

Given the tiny margin of his victory--and the utter thrashing of his many of his fellow Republicans at the polls--Pawlenty's statesman-like call for bipartisanship and civility was to be expected. But invoking the dreaded term "progressive?" That does represent a pretty radical departure from the no- bars-held, red meat conservative rhetoric he let loose at the Republican national convention this summer.

"I can tell you what your worst nightmare is," he said then. "It's one of the big-spendin', tax-raisin', abortion-promotin', gay marriage-embracin', more welfare-without-accountability lovin', school reform-resistin', illegal immigration-supportin' Democrats for governor who think Hillary Clinton should be president of the United States...We're fighting a tradition that is deeply liberal. But it's changing. It's changing. And we do not want to go back."

Posted by Mike Mosedale at January 4, 2007 12:36 PM | Comments (1)

 

Keith Ellison to use Thomas Jefferson's Koran for swearing in ceremony

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

According to an article in today's Washington Post, Representative-elect Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, will be holding a personal copy of the Koran once owned by Thomas Jefferson while taking a ceremonial oath with new House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The article describes the Koran as "an English translation by George Sale published in the 1750s," having "survived the 1851 fire that destroyed most of Jefferson's collection and has his customary initialing on the pages." Mark Dimunation, chief of the rare book and special collections division at the Library of Congress, and a native of Minnesota's 5th District, stated Ellison contacted him in early December requesting a Koran that was "special." Read the entire article here.

Posted by Corey Anderson at January 3, 2007 10:16 AM | Comments (9)

 

McCain and Pawlenty, sittin' in a tree?

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

The New York Sun is the latest publication to fuel speculation of a possible McCain-Pawlenty 2008 presidential ticket. Among other things, the conservative newspaper takes note of the big fat wet kiss McCain planted on Pawlenty during the most recent campaign: "I know of no one who will make a greater contribution to the future of America than this great leader," McCain said of T. Paw. "This is the kind of leadership that I'd like to pass the torch to." Really don't need a gypsy to read those tea leaves there, do you?

Pundit/blogger Jim Geharghty also cites two other factors that auger in favor of a McCain-Pawlenty bid: the tactical importance of the upper Midwest to the GOP's 2008 prospects (Karl Rove is said to have referred to Minnesota as "the Holy Grail") and, more importantly, the sudden scarcity of sitting GOP governors who would make for a viable running mate.

Writes Geharghty:

This year's elections eviscerated the GOP's supply of governors. In Maryland, Governor Ehrlich's term is likely to be deemed a historical accident. Governor Taft is loathed in his home state of Ohio, where Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell was roundly defeated in his bid to become governor. And Governor Schwarzenegger, who may have the most impressive election performance of all the Republican governors, would require an amendment to the Constitution to qualify as a running mate. The year 2006 provided such a poor environment for Republican issues that Governor Daniels of Indiana - the former White House budget director - has run into trouble with his constituents over a change in policy on daylight-saving time, and his unpopularity was cited as a factor in the Republicans' loss of three House seats in his state.

Posted by Mike Mosedale at December 13, 2006 2:52 PM | Comments (1)

 

A Win-Win Situation

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

It was sad to read in today's Strib that people automatically assume Attorney General-elect Lori Swanson will be a figurehead unable to exert her will because she has offered her former boss, Mike Hatch, a position in her new administration. Swanson knows better than anyone what she'd be getting into by inviting Hatch on board. When I wrote an extensive profile of Mike Hatch for this paper nearly eight years ago, Lori Swanson was one of the first people Hatch recommended I speak with to find out what makes him tick. Swanson not only served with Hatch during his two terms in the Attorney General's office, she was with him in private practice, and before that at the Department of Commerce.

On at least a half-dozen occasions when he was AG, at times far removed from elective politics, Hatch referred to Swanson as "the real brains behind this operation." As solicitor general, it was Swanson who managed 160 lawyers and juggled 2000 cases in the office. It was Swanson, for example, who conducted the interviews and laid out the problem of hospitals charging those without insurance a higher room rate and then using strong-arm collection tactics to make them pay. The case she built resulted in the first-ever settlement in the nation where hospitals have agreed not automatically nail the uninsured with the inflated sticker price of a hospital stay. That's one of dozens of prominent cases where Swanson worked in conjunction with Hatch and Hatch's other top deputy, Kris Eiden (who has agreed to stay on under Swanson) to go after powerful business interests on behalf of the little guy.

Ethics expert David Schultz is quoted in the Strib as worrying about whether Hatch would be perceived by citizens as actually running for two offices this fall, Governor and Attorney General. But let's take that logic a step further: Many more people voted for Swanson for AG than Hatch for Governor. You can parse that two ways: Either the public has endorsed Swanson's right to independently run the office as she sees fit, or they were secretly hoping Swanson would do exactly what she did and invite Hatch back in. But either way, Swanson and Hatch weren't duplicitous about their joint agenda. Swanson, an electoral neophyte, campaigned hard on continuing the policies she and Hatch had established. Where's the ethical subterfuge? If Schultz is looking for voters feeling burned by a bait and switch, he should talk to conservative Republicans who had no idea Tim Pawlenty would endorse universal health insurance for children just a week after the election.

But back to Swanson: It wasn't as if she was given a free pass by the party insiders because of her proximity to Hatch. On the contrary, the DFL first endorsed a guy, Matt Entenza, whose wife is a powerful executive in the health care industry Hatch and Swanson so assiduously investigate; a guy who did clandestine opposition research on Hatch. Then, after Entenza quit the race over that scandal, the DFL executive committee weighed in on behalf of a sitting State Senator weeks removed from a spirited statewide campaign for governor. A former U.S. Congressman and state legislator also jumped into the primary. Swanson whipped them both, then trounced Rep. Jeff Johnson--regarded as one of the strongest AG candidates the Republicans had fielded in years--in the general election. Without question, Swanson's association with the Hatch regime helped her with voters. But if she was a bumbling public speaker, or an obvious Hatch bobo without a mind of her own, it would have come out during the campaign. Instead, the opposite occurred: People were pleasantly surprised by Swanson's poise on the stump and her command of the issues.

If Hatch can't handle someone else making the decisions, he either won't take the job offer or he'll leave. Because anyone who takes a serious look at Swanson's credentials and recent performance and concludes that she's merely keeping the office warm for Hatch's return doesn't know her. That would include House Minority Leader Marty Seifert (R-Marshall) who likened Swanson to Mrs. George Wallace in today's Strib, an offensive comment on a variety of levels, not least because Seifert himself owes his political ascent to prejudicial pandering and partisan wedge issues. Seifert is the guy who wanted to enact laws to cut welfare benefits to recipients who smoke cigarettes, cut meals for prisoners below the federal standard for nutrition while double-bunking those serving time, and ban the Pledge of Allegiance being spoken in Spanish.

Last but not least, it bears noting that Swanson is indeed charting her own course in terms utilizing the enforcement power of the AG's office. Asked during the campaign how she would be different than Hatch, she answered that she would spend more time and resources protecting consumers from unsavory mortgages and other predatory lending practices in the housing market. Yesterday she called a press conference to announce a 12-member study group charged with drafting legislation to enact four measure to protect consumers on this issue. It was her first major policy initiative. With or without Hatch, many more will follow.

Posted by Britt Robson at December 8, 2006 1:23 PM | Comments (0)

 

Michael Brodkorb's house egged, Mike Hatch's whereabouts unknown

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

Republican Party activist and Minnesota Democrats Exposed blogger Michael Brodkorb awoke yesterday morning to a bit of political commentary on the side of his house in the form of smashed eggs. Brodkorb reports his house appears to be the only one on the block targeted and a report has been filed with the Eagan police department. No suspects so far, but the consensus among MDE commenters is that liberals possessing organically-grown free-range chicken eggs from farmers markets should be considered armed and dangerous.

Posted by Corey Anderson at December 4, 2006 2:07 PM | Comments (6)

 

Conspiracy fight! Fetzer boots 9/11 truth movement colleague

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

In the world of conspiracy theories, as anyone who has spent too much time contemplating the grassy knoll knows full well, infighting is more rule than exception. Put another way: While JFK assassination buffs may scoff at John Q. Public's blithe acceptance of the Warren Commission findings, they reserve their true contempt for fellow believers with whom they differ on the more picayune aspects of the plot. You know, stuff like, Was the Zupruder film faked? Did JFK's autopsy involve a brain from another corpse?

So news of a schism at the Scholars for 9/11 Truth is hardly an earth shaking development. On the contrary, it was all but inevitable.

In an open letter posted last weekend, James H. Fetzer, the former University of Minnesota Duluth philosophy professor who founded the Scholars for 9/11 Truth (and leading purveyor of the Wellstone-was-assassinated school of thought), announced that he had "temporarily" removed Steve Jones from his position as the group's co-chair. The reason? A sharp difference over whether the Scholars website should be used to advance the latest in 9/11 theories: the proposition that the World Trade Center buildings might have been felled by Star Wars technology.

Evidently Jones, who emerged as a leading figure of the truth movement after he published a paper arguing that that the WTC buildings were likely destroyed by strategically planted explosive charges, did not care for such wild speculation.

But Fetzer (profiled here in City Pages) was smitten with the Star Wars hypothesis, first advanced by Judy Wood, an assistant professor of engineering at Clemson University and member of the Scholars.

No doubt, intrepid truth seekers will click their way through the Scholars site and ther assorted corners of the 9/11 blogosphere to get all the details on the dispute. The rest of you sheeple can satisfy your meager curiosity with this excerpt from Fetzer's letter:

When Steve was nudged into "early retirement", I invited him to supervise our members' forum as well as continue to co-edit the society's journal, which he co-founded with Judy Wood as co-editor. I had become aware of his strenuous objections to having "star wars beam weapons" hypotheses mentioned on our home page. (Judy's use of "star wars" was a subtle intimation of its probable origins, but Steve has used "space beams" in order to denigrate it!) But I was acutely distressed when members of the forum were cut off from access to the forum abruptly and without notice...For this reason and other actions and communications between us, I have temporarily removed Steve Jones as Co-Chair of Scholars for 9/11 Truth. I took this action because I had concluded that Steve's conduct was undermining the objectives of the society.

Some people, it seems, just can't handle the truth movement.

Posted by Mike Mosedale at December 1, 2006 2:25 PM | Comments (5)

 

Exit interview: Mark Dayton

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

Suffice to say that things in Washington didn't quite turn out the way Mark Dayton planned. When he took office in early 2001, he became known as "Senator 100," the lowest ranking member of the congressional body.

Not long after, he had to deal on a personal and political level with the 9/11 attacks--and various office evacuations afterward--along with the death of his friend and mentor Paul Wellstone, Minnesota's senior Senator. It seemed as though Dayton never truly found his footing after that.

"The two worst events of my senate career, and the two very worst of my lifetime, were the 9/11 attacks here in Washington, and then Paul and Sheila's death," the Senator says. "Paul was a personal friend of 22 years and a mentor the first two years. I went around the state during his re-election campaign that year, saying that I hoped to be the junior Senator from Minnesota for many years. I miss him every day here."

From there, as Dayton points out, things got worse. He was suddenly a minor player in a minor party in Washington, and struggled to get things--anything, really--done. He had to vote on two war resolutions, something he notes that he was never asked about in the 31 debates on his way to the Senate--though he proudly points out that he voted against the Iraq War.

But Dayton, by his own admission, knows that he'll best be remembered for being the only congressional member to close his office in late 2004, for reasons that to this day remain unclear. From there, he became a subject of ridicule--a main reason why in early 2005 he chose not to seek re-election.

Not that he has any love lost for the gig anyway. After a long career in public service, including a post as Minnesota's Commissioner of the Department of Energy and Economic Development in the early 1980s and a stint as state auditor in the 1990s, the 59-year-old scion of one of Minnesota's most famous families is set to come home and regroup. In an interview with City Pages, Dayton was at once candid and sadly resigned, speaking in a familiar halting speech pattern that at times revealed a surprising level of self-deprecating humor, touched with a bitterness.

"I'm coming back to Minnesota with my two German Shepherds," he told me when I recently caught up with him by phone from his Senate office. "Harry Truman said if you don't have a friend in Washington, get a dog, and if you're really hard up get two. And I have two." Then he concluded, "I'm not staying in Washington one day after January 3rd."

City Pages: I know that after 9/11 you spent a lot of time researching and traveling to the Middle East and Central Asia. I want to ask you: Have you seen the Borat movie?

Mark Dayton: No, I haven't. Both of my sons have seen it and recommend it highly, so it's on my roster of "to dos."

CP: What were some of the places you visited?

MD: Two weeks ago I went to Iraq for the third time, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan ...

CP: Never been to Kazakhstan though?

MD: No, I never made it there. But maybe after watching the movie I'll be inspired to do so. But I wonder if you've seen one "stan," you've seen them all. [laughs.]

CP: In the last two years, your office has been constantly sending out press releases for money you've secured for this and money you've secured for that. It strikes me that maybe you've done a lot of work that's been overshadowed by other things, and unnoticed. Are you frustrated by that?

MD: I think that's the nature of political dynamics. There's a book I just read, "State of Denial," where Dick Armitage, the deputy secretary of state, one of his friends in public office had screwed up and was bemoaning the fact, and Dick said, "For every 100 'atta boys' there's going to be one 'oh, shit.'" People tend to remember the "oh, shit," the mistake, and tend to overlook all the other things. That comes with the territory.

I'll be remembered for closing my office, the only member of congress to do so and, you know, in hindsight, if I had known there wasn't going to be an attack I wouldn't have closed my office. But I didn't have that kind crystal ball at the time, and unfortunately people didn't have access to the classified information, which I did have. I know why I made the decision at the time, and I believe knowing what I knew, I feel it was the proper decision to make, but I recognize no one else is ever going to view it that way.

CP: Right, well, you telegraphed my next question. Can you talk about the nature of the classified information that you had? Or at least why it seemed you had it and nobody else did?

MD: Members of congress had access to it. In fact, Majority Leader Bill Frist brought it to our attention. He interrupted another classified meeting with the secretary of defense to urge those of us present to read the report, which by law I can't discuss it ... but you could summarize it by saying that the information before the 9/11 attack paled in comparison to the information they had at that time regarding what the intelligence community said was the likelihood of another 9/11 type of attack somewhere in the United States.

So what I wasn't able to explain to people was that the Senate had adjourned until after the November election. We'd left town, and we were leaving our staff members behind and exposed to that danger, unaware of their being in that position.

CP: But why do you think you were the only one who reacted the way you did with the office closing?

MD: I think others were willing to play Russian roulette with the lives of their staff, and I wasn't willing to do so. How they could make that decision, you'd have to ask them. But I couldn't live with myself if knowing--again, this is the consensus view of the national intelligence community. Now, as we've learned their views are often a mistake, and this is one of those times--they weren't saying there was an absolute, guaranteed certainty of attack, but they were saying there was a likelihood of an attack. And they were again wrong. But I didn't have any other information to base my view other than the consensus of the national intelligence sector of the United States government.

CP: The ways you were portrayed to varying degrees were that you were crazy or that you were a ninny or whatever. It didn't paint you favorably. Did that have an impact on your decision not to run again?

MD: Well, it affected my standing in the polls significantly. I dropped about 15 points in approval rating from the previous period--I wasn't doing my own polls, it was, I think, the Minnesota Poll. I dropped from 56 percent approval in January 2004 to 41 percent approval in January 2005. I attribute most if not all of that to the publicity surrounding that decision. I wish I could explain to people that I and my colleagues were all gone from Washington. Our offices were effectively closed and the Senate was closed. I was just removing my staff from the line of fire. My own failure to communicate clearly what the circumstances were brought that bad publicity on my own head. I blame myself for that.

CP: Did that signal an end for you--that you shouldn't run again?

MD: It was one of the factors, because I knew that whoever was going to be the DFL Senate candidate was going to be at the top of the ticket, and the whole ticket was going to depend on how well that person performed. I still thought I would win a very tough election, but I knew that would be used heavily against me. And in hindsight now, after seeing what a good Democratic year it's been, I'm even more certain that I would have won an election--one that certainly would have been much closer than how Amy Klobuchar annihilated Mark Kennedy. But no doubt in my mind I would have won. I also would have had to raise $15 to $20 million to counteract the onslaught that would have been dumped on me.

But if you gave me a piece of paper today that said "Sign on the bottom line, you can have another six-year term," I wouldn't sign it. I had other reasons--seeing the country going in the opposite direction from what I thought was best for the country and best for Minnesota, and the frustration of not being able to effectively counteract that being in the minority caucus. And being part of the very reactive body that the legislative branch [is], and being the lowest seniority and being in the minority combined to make me feel very ineffective. I'm a cause-driven person, and I wasn't happy just being there for the glory of it.

CP: But now it would be a different situation.

MD: It would be slightly more tempting to me, certainly, to be in the majority. And I'm thrilled for my colleagues here and for Amy Klobuchar. In the better interest of our state and our country, it will be a Democratic majority, but I still wouldn't sign that bottom line.

CP: Interesting. So you think you could have beaten Mark Kennedy.

MD: I believed when I made my decision in the early spring of 2005, I would win the election--it would be close and mean and nasty. The Karl Rove approach is to try to destroy the incumbent personally to try to defeat him politically, and I think they would have done that. They would have stopped at nothing and stooped to anything and they would have used lies and misinformation and whatever embellished part of the truth would serve their purpose shamelessly. I've seen them do it to others, and I have no doubt they would have tried that to me.

CP: I can hear in your voice that you don't have the will to go through something like that.

MD: Well, I'm willing to walk through fire for something that I want to do and believe is worthwhile doing. I couldn't say that about another six-year term in the Senate.

CP: The rumor was that some DFL leaders and money people asked you to not run because they didn't want the party to suffer across the board in raising cash.

MD: Nobody ever asked me not to run again.

CP: What were some of the other factors, then? It sounds like you simply didn't want this job anymore.

MD: That was the three factors. I started from a difficult position in the public's mind, that I would have had to raise $15 to $20 million and I hate fundraising, and, thirdly, that I really could not sustain my enthusiasm for the next six years that I had been able to sustain for this six years. I've given this job my very best, and I've felt honored throughout to have it and I'm proud to be here. I feel very good in my mind for having been the best Senator I could possibly be for the last six years. The results are not what I wished for.

CP: What are the things most disappointing to you?

MD: As my son would say, being in the minority really sucks. [laughs.] I've gone from being at 50-50 parity when I arrived to, when Jim Jeffords switched in 2001 until the end of 2002, we were in the majority, and now the last four years we've been in the minority and I've been very low in seniority. I've gone from number 100 to number 79 today. So the combination of minority and low seniority is extremely difficult ...

CP: What were some of the things you wanted to get done?

MD: Well, I voted against the Iraq War. I was one of 23 to vote against it at a time when public opinion in Minnesota was running 85 percent in favor in support of the president taking us to war. That was a time I stood relatively alone based on the courage of my own convictions. And that time I was definitely vindicated by the outcome, as much as I hate to say that. I tried seven times to get the Senate to pass full funding for special education, which was promised--40 percent of the cost was promised 30 years ago and it's less than half of that today. I couldn't get the majority votes.

I did get the majority of votes in the Senate for what was called the "Taste of your Own Medicine" legislation which said that members of congress couldn't have better prescription drug coverage than we provided to seniors under Medicare. And it passed the Senate 93 to 3; all the Republicans voted for my amendment, which surprised me. Then I learn the next day in the paper that the Majority Leader Bill Frist told them "Vote for it, we're gonna drop it in conference committee with the House." They were able to vote with the knowledge it would not be enacted, which anywhere else in the country would be called hypocrisy, in Washington it's called politics as usual.

CP: Is there anything that you did accomplish?

MD: In the last defense appropriations bill, I got $3 million for the Minnesota National Guard for a pilot program called "Beyond the Yellow Ribbon," which will provide counseling and support services for the 2,600 Minnesota men and women who will be returning from Iraq next spring and to their families, for the re-integration into their communities.

I also spearheaded getting an additional $44 million for border patrol agents for patrolling the northern border of the United States. I was able to get the next generation of F-16 fighter planes for the Duluth National Guard to help them ...

CP: But this is all military-oriented stuff. Every politician has to talk now about military and public safety. Is there anything outside of that that you've done that you're proud of?

MD: I helped to arrange for a Rochester couple to adopt a Chinese orphan. It was the first time the Chinese government waived the requirement that the child, who had three open-heart surgeries at the Mayo Clinic, return to China to complete the process. I also helped a Long Lake couple and 120 other couples around the country complete their adoption of Cambodian orphans after the State Department had put a stop to those adoptions.

I set up a health care helpline through my Minnesota office, which has helped 2,000 Minnesotans get either the healthcare that their doctors prescribed that their HMOs were denying them or helped in getting them reimbursements. I've donated my Senate salary every year to the Minnesota Senior Federation to keep taking buses up to Canada to get lower-cost prescription drugs.

CP: That's right, I think most people have forgotten that you're doing this free of charge.

MD: I've worked for a dollar a year; that's the one way I can assure people they are getting their money's worth.

CP: What has, for you, has been the most surprising thing--good or bad--about Washington?

MD: I said 10 years before I came here that I thought Washington was a cesspool, and nothing here has changed my opinion of it.

Posted by G.R. Anderson Jr. at November 22, 2006 8:26 AM | Comments (4)

 

The real Chris Stewart: a CP interview with the embattled school board member-elect

Filed under: Minnesota Politics

It all happened too late for this week's print edition, but I've posted a web interview with Chris Stewart, the man at the center of the flap about the satiric Tammy Lee website that painted the IP candidate as a racist.

Here's an excerpt, with a link to the full interview afterward:

CP: What was it that bugged you and your friends at AHS enough about the Tammy Lee candidacy that it was worth going to the trouble of building this spoof page?

Stewart: Let me give the John Kerry answer: I was for Tammy Lee before I was against Tammy Lee. I liked Tammy Lee. I was a former Independence Party candidate, I was very supportive of Peter Hutchinson every time I saw him--he was the first person I talked to when I decided to run for Minneapolis school board. And then I had a sit-down with people from the Independence Party. And every time I'd see Tammy Lee, I'd thank her, because she was running a really clean campaign and it was something I was glad to see. I was a Keith Ellison supporter, but I really appreciated what she was doing.

When the quote came out with her saying to Sarah Janecek [of the Politics in Minnesota newsletter] that liberals in the district were just a little bit too eager to elect a Minnesota black to Congress, I thought about that. I thought about the fact that what I know about Keith Ellison--people talk about the troubles in his life and reduce him to that. But when I thought about it, I saw a guy with an advanced education who's a dad, who's married, who's given a lot back to the community. In terms of what we're taught growing up as African-Americans, that's kind of the Valhalla. If you do that, you're successful.

So he's passed all the signposts you're supposed to have to pass to be successful, but it comes down to people claiming he was chosen because he was black. And that's very insulting. And it was doubly insulting coming from someone I'd placed so much faith in. I'd written good things about Tammy Lee, and I had faith in her.

When that quote came out, it deflated me. It's perplexing in part because it's saying that all the liberals in CD5 are racist--that they have no minds beyond seeing a black candidate and thinking, let's send him! Keith Ellison was more than that. So that bothered me, and it bothered people around me.

My spoof was, to me, not a spoof of Tammy Lee--it was a spoof of the idea that we shouldn't vote for this guy because he was chosen for his race. That was the subtext of the spoof in my mind: Vote for me, because I'm not the guy who got chosen because he was black.

The rest of the interview is here.

Posted by Steve Perry at November 21, 2006 3:58 PM |