News Cut Category Archive: Politics

Should presidents salute?

Posted at 12:07 PM on November 3, 2009 by Bob Collins (9 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

No presidential deed goes unpunished anymore. The latest controversy appears to be whether President Barack Obama should have saluted when he went to Dover Air Force Base to meet the "transport cases" of dead soldiers and DEA agents arriving home.

Carey Winfrey, the editor of Smithsonian magazine, says Obama's salute was impeccable, but he's discomforted with the act. He says it was President Reagan who started the practice:

"He had sought advice on the matter from Gen. Robert Barrow, commandant of the Marine Corps. According to John Kline, then Mr. Reagan's military aide and today a member of Congress from Minnesota, General Barrow told the president that as commander in chief he could salute anybody he wished. And so it began."

A few years ago, Garry Wills, then a professor at Northwestern, suggested presidential saluting reinforces that the president is commander in chief of everyone.

The glorification of the president as a war leader is registered in numerous and substantial executive aggrandizements; but it is symbolized in other ways that, while small in themselves, dispose the citizenry to accept those aggrandizements. We are reminded, for instance, of the expanded commander in chief status every time a modern president gets off the White House helicopter and returns the salute of marines.

We used to take pride in civilian leadership of the military under the Constitution, a principle that George Washington embraced when he avoided military symbols at Mount Vernon. We are not led -- or were not in the past -- by caudillos.

Presidential salutes range "from halfhearted to jaunty," according to Winfrey.

Let's see:

Perhaps no president saluted more than Billl Clinton.

To the untrained eye -- mine -- none of those look particularly unappealing. But maybe the key is not in the show of a salute but in the sincerity of what's behind it. Jack Lucas' salute here is pretty pitiful, by the standards Winfrey described. He was the nation's youngest Medal of Honor winner. He lied his way into the military at age 17, then jumped on a grenade on Iwo Jima to save the lives of three others.

"I hollered to my pals to get out and did a Superman dive at the grenades. I wasn't a Superman after I got hit. I let out one helluva scream when that thing went off," he recalled in 2008, shortly before he died. How should he have saluted? Any way he wanted to.

Political arsonist Rush Limbaugh is behind this latest "controversy" with his comments on Sunday about Obama. He said Obama's salute was "a photo op precisely because he's having big-time trouble on this whole Afghanistan dithering situation," Limbaugh told "Fox News Sunday."

Then again, Limbaugh once proclaimed that Michael J. Fox was faking his Parkinson's.

How much will health care cost you?

Posted at 3:29 PM on November 2, 2009 by Bob Collins (12 Comments)
Filed under: Health, Politics

How much will the middle class pay for health care under the House bill being considered in Washington?

The Congressional Budget Office today released its assessment of how much you and your family will pay for health insurance under the various plans being considered in Congress. You can read the entire letter to Rep. Charles Rangel, the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee here, but here are the major examples it gives under the House bill:

♦ A single person with income of $26,500 in 2016 (225 percent of the FPL) would pay a premium of about $1,900 (after getting a premium subsidy of 64 percent) and could expect to pay another $900 in cost sharing (net of federal subsidies); thus, the average payment by such a person for the premium and cost sharing combined is projected to be $2,800, or about 11 percent of income.

♦ A family of four with income of about $54,000 (also 225 percent of the FPL in 2016) could expect to pay about the same share of its income for premiums and cost sharing.

♦ The average premium for a family policy would be $15,000 -- $9,500 after subsidies.

♦ A family of four making $102,500 (four times the current federal poverty level) would pay $15,000 a year plus $5,500 in "cost sharing" (such as co-pays and percentages not covered by insurance) for a total of $20,500 per year.

Question: How many of you keep track of what your health care is costing you now? If so, would you care to share? I'll be happy to go first. It's about half of these numbers, but my plan is shared by my employer).

Meanwhile, a North Carolina congresswoman had an interesting take on this today. Rep. Virginia Foxx said health care reform is a greater threat to the country than any terrorist in any country.

Live-blogging Midday: Mayoral debates

Posted at 11:48 AM on November 2, 2009 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

This is, of course, the last full day of campaigning for mayoral candidates in both St. Paul and Minneapolis (Not sure where to vote? Go here.) and MPR's Midday is hosting a mini-debate for each city.

Up first is St. Paul, where DFL-endorsed incumbent Chris Coleman is being challenged by Republican-endorsed Eva Ng. Then, it's Minneapolis' turn with incumbent DFLer R.T. Rybak is being challenged by Papa John Kolstad, who has both the Independence Party and Republican Party endorsements.

I'm live blogging (starting at noon) and you can listen to the debate here.

COLEMAN VS. NG

12:07 p.m.- Coleman introductory. Says "we've done a good job" getting through the worst economic times in the country.

Ng introductory. Says she found she could not make a living as an engineer during the oil bust. Became a business consultant, turning businesses around.

12:09 p.m. - Q: If elected, can residents expect tax and fee increases?

Coleman: The challenge we've had is since 2003, we've lost over $160 million in local government aid. "If the state continues to balance the budget on the backs of the cities, it'll be hard to do that (not raise taxes)"

Ng: Says she'd freeze raises and budget. "LGA is not a fixed number. It's a false thing to say we lost $160 million; it's a variable number every year."

Q: Where would you cut city budget?

Ng: This is what consultants do. They look for efficiencies and look to grow the revenue. "Properties and assets need to produce income." (Didn't really answer the question)

Coleman: If you're going to say you're going to freeze/cut taxes, you have to have a specific program. Are you prepared to close libraries, cut firefighters, police? In a business you can close unprofitable businesses. But you can't get out of the firefighting or snowplowing business.

12:14 p.m. Q: Is Central Corridor light rail line good for the city?

Coleman: It's the most important project that the city has ever seen. "It puts the East Metro on a part with what's happening in Minneapolis. If St. Paul is going to continue to thrive, we have to be part of a first-class transportation network.

Ng: This plan that we have is not the best one I've ever seen. We're taking an existing system, compromising it -- safety, cost, businesses losing parking. I project it will cost $2 billion by the time we finish. We should consider it doing north of there.

Q: Is the project so far down the tracks that you can't make those kind of changes?

Ng: We talked to Ray Lahood, the Transportation Secretary, and he says it's not too far down the road.

Coleman: The project has to have enough weight behind it that President Obama puts it in the budget. Says it won't cost more than $914 million.

12:17 p.m. Q: You (Coleman) made education a top priority when you ran four years ago. Had education improved in the last four years?

Coleman: We've received national recognition for the out-of-school programs. We've seen growth of new daycare facilities. We've opened college-access centers in libraries and have been able to leverage a network to provide out-of-school time for our children. We have made significant progress in helping people understand that one of the most important things we can do is provide quality out-of-school time.

Ng: The mayor's role is an advisory one. The mayor is saying he has funded three, four and five-year olds and that program is an overreach because the school department controls that budget; we shouldn't be spending city budget money. It's good to take kids off the street, but that program is not well administered. People on the East Side watch empty buses going up and down the street every hour. Our kids have a bigger achievement gap than ever. We have a 62% graduation rate.

Coleman: The money we spent on out-of-school programs is out of parks and recreation and library budget. The mayor has to be a critical and integral partner with the school district.

Ng: The mayor needs to convene the resources, but spending the city's money as opposed to the school board... there is budget in there to take care of the children.

12:22 p.m. Q: Should garbage collection be operated by city or individual contracting?

Ng: Residents like having choice. But they don't want to see wear-and-tear in their alleys. But they like their freedom of choice. The mayor should do listening and arrive at a solution.

Coleman: The city got out of the garbage business in the mid-'70s. You don't put that back in the box. Where people don't have garbage service, though, it impacts the neighborhood. We've tried to be aggressive on garbage cleanup.

12:25 p.m. Q: GOP National Convention. Success, failure or in-between?

Coleman: In between. There was a regional impact. Let's remember why we asked both parties to bid on it. If someone has been here, they rate is as one they want to come back to. If they've never been here, they rate it as one they don't want to come to.

Ng: Abysmal failure. To this day a lot of St. Paulites won't forgive the fact the banner at Xcel Center put Minneapolis on top of St. Paul. Guests were bused out of here.

12:27 p.m. Q: What the biggest challenge?

Ng: Taxes

Coleman: Transportation and Central Corridor.

Q: Your opinion of instant runoff voting.

Coleman: No opinion.

Ng: "We can chill on that for awhile."

RYBAK VS. KOLSTAD

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There are 11 candidates, Gary Eichten says, but "this being radio, we couldn't feature all 11 candidates so we chose the two endorsed by the major parties."

12:35 p.m. Introductory statements

Kolstad: I'm president of Mill City Music. I've done A Prairie Home Companion show when it was a morning show. The last 20 years I've been more active in civic life.

Rybak: When I ran for office, I said we'd be very focused, and we have been. We've had lower juvenile crime, we've created jobs, and we've created systems to help our young people for out-of-school time.

12:36 p.m. Q: What are the major issues:

Rybak: Public safety and job creation.

Kolstad: Increasing business, and the cost of a special election if Rybak runs for governor.

12:36p.m. How much of the lower crime rate is because of mayoral policies?

Kolstad: It's a national trend; it's not something controlled by what's going on in Minneapolis. This happened during the Great Depression. The most important thing to do to prevent crime is to have good jobs available. If you have that, they're not going to get involved with crime.

Rybak: If you ask the citizens of Chicago if it's a national trend, they'd say absolutely not. Minneapolis has led the nation in so many areas. We put 100 more police officers on the street. "They took down some key gangs." Launched youth violence prevention initiative.

12:38 p.m. Q: What would you do about complaints about the relationship between police and minority communities.

Rybak: We've made tremendous progress, but when police officers step over the line, they have to be accountable. Chief Timothy Dolan has removed three times as many police officers as any recent police chief. We'll continue to diversity police force, which is 18.6 officers of color. The recruit class is 50 percent officers of color.

Kolstad: There's mismanagement going on. The police are not being held accountable. There's a track record of the Minneapolis police ... there's serious cases of police violating civil rights, using excessive force, being absusive. If an officer does that, it's a criminal act and they should be held accountable. Too often, it's dealt as an internal affair.

12:41 p.m. How would you increase business?

Kolstad: Ninety percent of new jobs come from small business. They're being so burdened with taxes and fees and penalties. Their biggest problem is capital and when you rob them of that capital,you're harming business.

Rybak: John is wrong. Small business has a lobbyist in city hall and it's me. My parents ran a corner drug store. The first thing I did was to make it more efficient to get a business opened in Minneapolis. Before I took office, it took 37 days to get a permit. Today, it takes about nine days. We've done a tremendous amount for small business.

12:44 p.m. What would you do to make unemployment situation better?

Rybak: When I came into office, we merged programs and it's worked. The Sears building has 1,400 jobs for Allina. We've done things for smaller businesses. Standard Heating was thinking about moving out of the city; now we have 80 news jobs for Minneapolis. Wants more attention on job centers. Will continue to look at green and clean energy and medical technology.

Kolstad: He says small business has declined in the city. "I wish what he was saying was true, but East Lake St., looks like Detroit in the '70s. Things are not going well."

We have to find ways to support businesses. Green jobs is a great opportunity for the city. I'd like to turn it into a center for green technology. If I become mayor, I'd want to have an empowerment zone just for cities doing that and focus on small and independent businesses.

12:47 p.m. Can we assume taxes will go up?

Kolstad: Some people are hurting very badly. It's taking almost all of my capital to pay taxes, fees, and fines. They just started a new 20 percent penalty for fees that aren't paid on time. There are non-essential things; there hasn't been an internal audit in more than three years.

Rybak: The city is audited every year by the state auditor. Over the last eight years, I've made a series of tough choices and significant cuts. We cut $1.4 million out of budget last year. The city has navigated through incredibly difficult time. When I came into office, the city's debt rating was going down. First thing we said is we'd cut spending, then reform services and lay out a five year plan that would require people to put more money in. I'm very concerned about property taxes. Part of this issue rests on my shoulders. People who want property taxes should propose any cut they want to make, but we're not going to retreat on the process we've made. Not going to take cops off the street, or cut job creation strategies.

12:51 p.m. Why should people vote for you if you're going to run for governor?

Rybak: They knew three years ago when I became first mayor to endorse Obama that I would spend a lot of time campaigning for Obama. The years when we lowered unemployment, I was campaigning for Obama, but I was also working hard as mayor. The only thing I don't love about my job is the fiscal chaos.

Kolstad: He's appeared at three governor forums already. It's clear from what he's doing that he'll run. We've tried to get him to mayoral debates and he hasn't attended a single one. In 2001, there were 20 debates, in 2005 there were 10 debates for mayor. This year there were none. The mayor should make a choice.

12:54 p.m. Q: Do you support Republican and Independent Party platforms?

Kolstad: I'm endorsed by the GOP of Minneapolis, which is a little different than the statewide party.

FINAL STATEMENTS

Kolstad: I'm heading up a broad coalition across the political spectrum. These people are tired of mismanagement in Minneapolis. Are we better off than we were eight years ago? Most of us are not and it has to do with mismanagement by mayor and city council. Will remove regulatory burden on small business. I have 30 years of experience.

Rybak: I walked into our workforce center at Chicago and Lake and found something in short supply: hope. If that was the only sign of hope, I'd say our work has been successful. But then you look at Allina in the old Sears building, the streets are cleaner, in North Minneapolis you see crime dramatically down and improvements on West Broadway. There's been strong fiscal management. When a bridge collapses, when a tornado goes through a neighborhood, I've been a mayor who shows up.

For many in Congress, it's not the economy

Posted at 9:24 AM on October 29, 2009 by Bob Collins (7 Comments)
Filed under: Economy, Politics

At this hour, an utterly amazing exchange is taking place on Capitol Hill on an issue that is clearly the most important and fundamental issue facing the nation.

It's a brutally honest discussion between Tim Geithner, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the few members of the House Financial Services Committee who showed up for work today.

Geithner is, basically, calling out Congress for its inaction on closing loopholes that led to financial meltdown in the first place

It's a rare honest debate in which both sides are speaking frankly.

For example, Geithner was incredulous when one member of the committee suggested the "too-big-to-fail" banks should not be subject to the same regulation that smaller, community banks are.

"The important thing to recognize is -- and it's just worth going back to what it was like last fall -- without the ability for the government to step in and manage the failure of a large firm, to contain the risk of the fire spreading, we will be consigned to repeat the experience of last fall. It's a stark, simple thing. And there is no... I know of no person who has stood in my seat -- this is true of (Fed) Chairman Paulson -- in any central bank in any major country that would say the country should be run with no authority to step in and act in that case."

"They are getting into the fundamental issue of regulatory reform and that is the issue of pre-emption by the authority; do they have the right to go in and tell a bank they can't do a certain business, what is the right to take over a certain company if there's deemed to be a systemic risk?" a CNBC analyst noted. "This whole concept of prevention has been out there for, really, decades, that Congress has decided not to do because of these issues that have just been brought up."

Is that an important discussion -- the fundamental philosophical on the role of government -- for the people who were elected to Congress to hear? Not for many of them.

I count at least seven empty chairs. Even the committee chair, Rep. Barney Frank, left after his opening statement, in which he defended Congress by saying the committee has passed legislation that further regulates the banking industry. In fact, however, that legislation has not become law.

Three Minnesotans -- Rep. Michele Bachmann, Rep. Keith Ellison, and Rep. Erik Paulsen -- sit on the committee.

Was Rudin wrong?

Posted at 1:32 PM on October 27, 2009 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

NPR "Political Junkie" Ken Rudin has apologized for comparing Barack Obama to Richard Nixon.

NPR ombudsman Alica Shepard calls attention (via Twitter) to her column today, in which she says what Rudin said "was a dumb thing to say."

Here's what Rudin said about the Obama administration's spat with Fox News.

"Well, it's not only aggressive, it's almost Nixonesque. I mean, you think of what Nixon and Agnew did with their enemies list and their attacks on the media; certainly Vice President Agnew's constant denunciation of the media. Of course, then it was a conservative president denouncing a liberal media, and of course, a lot of good liberals said, 'Oh, that's ridiculous. That's an infringement on the freedom of press.' And now you see a lot of liberals almost kind of applauding what the White House is doing to Fox News, which I think is distressing."

Rudin caught it pretty quickly, and apologized:

"Comparing the tactics of the Nixon administration --which bugged and intimidated and harassed journalists -- to that of the Obama administration was foolish, facile, ridiculous and, ultimately embarrassing to me."

Rudin played it well to settle the matter quickly, but it's worth pointing out he didn't compare Obama's tactics with Nixon's intimidation of the media via illegal means. He compared it to Nixon's "enemies" list and their (presumably rhetorical) "attacks on the media."

It was Steve Benen of Washington Monthly who extended the meaning of Rudin's comments:

Now would be an excellent time for a reality break. Has the Obama White House ordered the Justice Department to spy on Fox News employees? Has the administration ordered the IRS to start digging through Fox News' books, hunting for irregularities and auditing on-air personalities? Has the president directed thugs to break into Glenn Beck's psychiatrist's office?

"As he noted in his apology, what the Obama administration is doing is a "far cry from illegal and unconstitutional activities," Shepard wrote. She said "it was a dumb thing to say." But what was dumb? What he said as fact, or saying it imprecisely so that it could be misinterpeted?

Back to Benen:

And what as (sic) the Obama team done? They've dared to point out a simple reality: an obviously-partisan propaganda outlet in (sic) not a legitimate news organization. That's it. That's the totality of the White House's efforts -- criticizing a network that operates as an arm of a political party. There's no boycott, no punishment, no vendetta. All we have here are some White House aides who've criticized a network.

Not exactly. The White House has also frozen out Fox News whenever it could. That's their right.

"We're going to treat them the way we would treat an opponent," Anita Dunn, the White House communications director, told the New York Times. "As they are undertaking a war against Barack Obama and the White House, we don't need to pretend that this is the way that legitimate news organizations behave."

Regardless of whether you like or hate Fox News (and you either like or hate it; there's no middle ground), you have to at least consider the comment from Tom Edsall, the author of Building Red America:

"Reacting to criticism is a very dangerous thing for any kind of publication to get involved in, especially when the criticism is ideological... I do think that Fox has often been tilted to the right, but if they're now inhibiting their coverage - if these Tea Parties [that they didn't cover] were newsworthy - that's not good."

Curiously, the director of the First Amendment Center at the University of Kentucky, Mike Farrell, invoked the same language that Rudin did:

"The White House has basically said that they don't believe in the marketplace of ideas, they're not willing to engage in debate, and they are going to be associated with John Adams and the Sedition Act and Richard Nixon and his 'enemies' list - is that the company they want to be in?"

Patients or prisoners?

Posted at 3:08 PM on October 20, 2009 by Bob Collins (8 Comments)
Filed under: Health, Politics

Gov. Tim Pawlenty's reaction to a Star Tribune story on TVs for sex offenders confirms the reality of Minnesota's "treatment program" for sex offenders -- it's really just a jail for people who haven't been charged or convicted of crimes they might commit in the future.

"They don't need 50-inch, flat-screen plasma televisions for sex offenders," Pawlenty said today of the $1,576 TVs in the Moose Lake facility."Clearly, somebody just made a bonehead decision, and I'm going to reverse it."

The reversal comes over the objection of some of the staff at the facility who say there is a clinical benefit to the TVs. Indeed, the Associated Press refers to the people housed in the facility as "patients," not inmates.

"Patients" in Minnesota's sex offender "treatment" program have already served their jail time. They're housed under the guise of being in treatment, even though experts say there is no evidence that there's a treatment for sex offenders, and nobody who was committed under state law has ever come out of the program.

Dennis Linehan came closest. In 1965, Linehan kidnapped, raped, and killed a Minnesota teenager, was sentenced to 40 years in prison, escaped and was captured after sexually molesting a 12-year-old in Michigan. When he was scheduled for supervised release in 1994, then Gov. Arne Carlson ordered him held until he could get the Legislature to enact the Sexually Dangerous Persons Law, which allows Minnesota to lock up people who haven't been charged, under the theory -- upheld by the courts -- that the rights of the public outweigh the rights of the individual.

The Moose Lake "treatment" facility is, in fact, a wing of a prison. Whether the "patients" are pampered -- as suggested by the Star Tribune's TV story -- is a matter of some dispute, especially considering a complaint from the ACLU earlier this year:

* Detainees are subjected to strip searches and are handcuffed and shackled as part of standard operating procedure whenever detainees are transported (for example, to attend patient advisory committee meetings at the MSOP facility) and after contact visits in violation of their Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.

* Detainees' incoming legal mail has, on numerous occasions, been opened outside the presence of the detainee in violation of their Sixth Amendment right to counsel.

* Detainees allege that they are not allowed incoming calls and that their calls are monitored in violation of their First Amendment right to telephone access.

* Detainees are denied their right to Procedural Due Process by being deprived of their access to freely move around the Annex without escorts, and, consequently, access to the privileges afforded to all other civilly committed detainees including daily access to the gym, access to library services, the ability to communicate with other Annex detainees, and free access to outside activities. The conditions imposed on Detainees are similar to what the Minnesota Department of Corrections imposes on inmates who are in Administrative Segregation. Inmates in A-Seg are entitled to procedural due process before being housed in that restrictive setting.

* Detainees are subjected to potentially severe health risks due to inadequate sanitation in violation of their Eighth Amendment rights includinng:

1. Communal showers and bathrooms are only cleaned once a day;
2. Urine and fecal matter are frequently found on the bathroom floor or toilet seats;
3. No sanitizer is readily available to disinfect the floors and toilet seats;
4. Dining room tables are not adequately sanitized prior to serving each meal;
5. Mops and brooms used to clean the bathrooms and showers are also used to clean cells, thereby spreading germs to their cells;
6. Towels, blankets and cleaning rags are washed in one unit washer and the water does not reach a temperature needed to properly sanitize them.

* Detainees who had purchased 20 inch televisions at the Annex had their property seized and were forced to send them out of the facility at their own expense to comply with a MNDOC rule allowing only 13 inch clear televisions on the Moose Lake prison property.

* MSOP retaliated against two of the plaintiffs (Beaulieu and Yazzie) for their participation in litigation challenging their access to religious activities while civilly committed to the MSOP. The retaliation took the form of a reduction in their access to religious services, attorneys, the court and visitation by family; unreasonable restraint of Yazzie leading to injury; unreasonable searches of Beaulieu's property; and the seizure and copying of Beaulieu's legal papers.

"It has to be treated like a hospital -- it is not a prison," said Rep. Thomas Huntley, DFL-Duluth.

Wink.

Wither Vermilion

Posted at 12:03 PM on October 13, 2009 by Than Tibbetts (2 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Lake Vermilion State Park map A little more than 2 years ago, Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced a plan to create a state park at Lake Vermilion, about 90 miles north of Duluth. By May 2008, the governor had secured $20 million from the Minnesota Legislature to pay for the park, all 3,000 acres and five miles of shoreline.

Except that price wasn't good enough for U.S. Steel, the current owner of the land, and since then, Britt Robson reports for the Capitol Report, not much has been done.

Yet even now, the proposed state park has its die-hard supporters, and they remain convinced that the land sale can eventually be completed. They are heartened by the fact that, nearly six months after getting the bureaucratic green light to develop the site, U.S. Steel has not turned a shovel's full of dirt to further the project.
"I drive by it at least 10 times a week, and I haven't seen any improvements on the road going in, or any other activity," reports Mike Forsman, one of the St. Louis County commissioners who voted for the development last spring. "My own suspicion is that the downturn in the economy has made it harder to buy and build housing up here. It certainly is not like it was three years ago. I imagine [U.S. Steel] will wait for the market to improve."

It was poor market timing by U.S. Steel, but they have time on their side. Gov. Pawlenty will likely have other things on his hands this legislative session. The state's revenues are running millions of dollars short and Pawlenty seems intent on running a practice presidential campaign.

In short, unless the market for high-value lakeshore developments makes a spectacular recovery in the near future or Pawlenty reopens negotiations, it will likely mean little closure to the state park question until after the next governor of Minnesota is seated in 2011.

Despite the political gamesmanship, or lack thereof, this never addresses the fundamental question: Do we need a new state park on Lake Vermilion?

Capitol showbiz

Posted at 10:05 AM on October 1, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Economy, Politics

Congress hasn't done much in the last year to close some of the loopholes in the nation's banking system that led to the worst economic crisis in America since the Great Depression, and it's not hard to figure out why. They're not that interested in the subject.

Today, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke testified before the House Financial Services Committee, which is "considering" changes in regulations.

Bernanke did something, however, that a lot of members of the committee didn't do: He showed up. Here's the revealing image off CNBC this morning:

What's the point of being on an important committee, if you don't show up -- preferably for the entire hearing -- to listen and participate in the discussion?

But discussions are rarely part of these hearings. Congresspeople show up for a few minutes when it's their turn to ask questions, then use most of their time to make a speech, and leave.

Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., for example, had five minutes to quiz Bernanke this morning, but used all but 3 seconds of her time to read a statement criticizing the possibility of the dollar not being the international standard, criticizing President Obama for saying he 'inherited' the financial mess, and wondering whether a new regulatory agency would regulate funding to ACORN. She then invited Bernanke to respond.

That earned her a rebuke from committee chair Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. "I've asked you before... there's only 3 seconds left in your time.... This practice of going right up to the end and then taking another minute or two is unfair to the other members."

Frank gave Bernanke 30 seconds to answer Bachmann's "questions," and said the dollar is in danger and punted on the question of funding for ACORN.

People watching on TV tend to get more information about the state of the economy and the options for fixing it than people who are elected to fix it. That might explain why it's broken.

Did money talk?

Posted at 2:04 PM on September 29, 2009 by Bob Collins (7 Comments)
Filed under: Health, Politics

The so-called "public option" component of health care reform died today when the Senate Finance Committee's Health Care Subdivision (essentially the entire committee) rejected an attempt to include it in legislation the panel is considering. Other bills circulating at the Capitol still have "public option," but Sen. Max Baucus removed it from his bill under pressure from Republicans, who considered it Socialist. The number of Democrats refusing to support the idea pretty much sinks it.

The vote was 15-to-8, with Democrats Baucus, Sen. Tom Carper, Sen. Kent Conrad, Sen. Blanche Lincoln, and Sen. Bill Nelson joining all of the committee's Republicans with "no" votes.

Most of the Democrats voting against the bill, were among the biggest Democratic recipients of health care cash in campaign fundraising. Coincidence? Who can say? The campaign finance system is such that one can only speculate what role it plays when legislation is considered that affects the campaign contributors. So you have to decide.

Here's the breakdown by committee members. The numbers in parentheses represents its rank for that senator in the grouping of contributions by industry. Keep in mind, these numbers are the amount raised through the end of June, well before the health care issue dominated the national dialogue.

DEMOCRATS

John D. Rockefeller, West Virginia (Chairman) - $255,950 from health professionals (2nd),

Jeff Bingaman, New Mexico - $210,563 from health professionals (3rd) and $92,000 from pharmaceutical industry (7th).

Sen. Kent Conrad, North Dakota - $239,533 from health professionals (3rd), $233,625 from the insurance industry (4th).

John Kerry, Massachusetts - $91,036 from insurance industry (7th). $64,948 from health professionals (13th)

Blanche Lincoln, Arkansas - $298,700 from health professionals (2nd), $153,304 from pharmaceutical industry (5th) and $131,850 from insurance industry (8th).

Ron Wyden, Oregon - $173,475 from health professionals (1st), $83,299 from insurance industry (7th).

Charles Schumer, New York - $155,300 from insurance industry (5th) , $108,650 from health professionals (9th).

Debbie Stabenow, Michigan - $338,455 from health professionals (4th). Second-biggest contributor was Blue Cross Blue Shield ($59,700)

Maria Cantwell, Washington - $206,001 from health professionals (11th).

Bill Nelson, Florida - $332,179 from health professionals (6th)

Robert Menendez, New Jersey - $256,950 from health professionals (7th)

Thomas Carper, Delaware - $238,680 from insurance industry (2nd), $139,520 from pharmaceutical industry (7th).

REPUBLICANS

Sen. Charles Grassley, Iowa - $241,856 from health professionals (1st), $201,148 from insurance industry (2nd), $152,650 from pharmaceutical industry (3rd), $139,137 from hospitals and nursing homes (4th). Blue Cross Blue Shield ($26,750) is second-largest contributor. Select Medical Group is third-largest contributor ($23,000).

Orrin G. Hatch, Utah. Ranking member - $481,081 from insurance industry (1st), $242,550 from health professionals. Blue Cross Blue Shield is second-largest contributor ($45,603)

Olympia Snowe, Maine - $174,074 from health professionals (2nd), $163,585 from insurance industry (3rd). Aetna Inc., is second-biggest contributor.

John Ensign, Nevada - $269,325 from health professionals (3rd), $211,462 from insurance industry (7th).

Michael Enzi, Wyoming - $218,700 from pharmaceutical industry (1st), $144,049 from health professionals (2nd), $124,250 from insurance industry (4th). Blue Cross Blue Shield is fifth-largest contributor ($15,000).

John Cornyn, Texas - $759,113 from health professionals (4th), $350,294 from insurance industry (9th).

John Kyl, Arizona - $649,383 from health professionals (4th).

Jim Bunning, Kentucky - $86,433 from insurance industry (1st), $63,650 from health care (3rd). Kindred Healthcare is fourth-largest contributor ( $12,100).

Pat Roberts, Kansas - $178,299 from pharmaceutical industry (9th).

(Source: OpenSecrets.org)

Creative writing, politics style

Posted at 1:19 PM on September 29, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Tomorrow marks the end of the quarter for politicians to report their campaign contributions, so today their fundraisers are sending out solicitation letters to try to pry money out of some wallets by creating straw men and challenges.

Rep. Keith Ellison raised the specter of "special interests."

"Special interests," of course, are in the eye of the beholder. This summer, Ellison was in the spotlight for accepting a privately-funded gift of a trip to Mecca.

Rep. Michele Bachmann meanwhile is using Nancy Pelosi as the "boogeyman" in her fundraising letter.

"I must show a solid bank account to keep the Democrats from pouring millions into my opponents' campaigns," Bachmann said in her letter, as if anything could prevent Democrats from pouring millions into the 6th District race.

If you've gotten a fundraising e-mail today, please forward it to me.

A tax to love?

Posted at 2:17 PM on September 28, 2009 by Bob Collins (9 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

The great thing about being governor is you can vehemently oppose a bill, and then take credit for its accomplishments later.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty's office sent out a news release today with a fair amount of back-patting for traffic congestion-relieving projects:

Motorists and transit riders in the south Twin Cities metro area will have an improved commute as several key components of a traffic congestion relief initiative open this week.

Governor Tim Pawlenty, Minnesota Department of Transportation Commissioner Tom Sorel, Metropolitan Council Chair Peter Bell, and Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez celebrated the opening today of two new transit stations in Lakeville and the launch of a new MnPASS Express Lane on I-35W.

"Moving people and goods efficiently around the Twin Cities is important for our economy and our quality of life," Governor Pawlenty said. "Over the past several years we've made significant investments to improve our transportation system, including an additional lane on 494/694, MnPASS on I-394, the 'Unweave the Weave' project and many more improvements around the metro area. Now, thousands of people who use I-35W will have additional options to get to work or home faster."

Let's hit the Wayback Machine to find out where many of these projects came from.

What we have here is one example of what can happen when you raise taxes, for many of these projects came from the most contentious issue of the 2008 legislative session: The gax tax increase. You may recall Gov. Pawlenty vetoed the bill and it was one of the few times he lost a showdown with the Legislature.

Pawlenty called the bill "ridiculous."

Update 4:18 p.m. Here's the press release list of projects being cited by Pawlenty:

Express Bus Service

Lakeville residents now have new commuting options to downtown Minneapolis as Metro Transit began service today on I-35 from the new 750-space park-and-ride ramp at Kenrick Avenue in Lakeville, and Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MTVA) also began offering express bus service today. MTVA began service this morning from a temporary park-and-ride at Crossroads United Methodist Church until the Cedar Avenue park-and-ride lot opens in two to four weeks.

"The UPA grant allowed us to accelerate the debut of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in the metro area, helping to grow transit ridership, ease congestion and improve mobility. We also welcome the City of Lakeville to metro-area transit services," said Council Chair Bell

Metro Transit express route 467 will offer nonstop service, with six morning trips to downtown and six return trips in the afternoon. Buses will travel on the new I-35W MnPASS lanes. New coach buses, which seat 57 customers, will be used on the route, featuring high back chairs, reading lights and overhead storage compartments. Travel time to downtown Minneapolis is about 30 minutes.

MVTA Route 477V offers five morning and five afternoon trips each weekday, also on coach buses.

MnPASS on I-35W

On Wednesday, almost 12 miles of a new MnPASS Express Lane will allow solo drivers the option to pay a toll to use the high occupancy vehicle lane on I-35W. Car pools with two or more occupants, motorcycles and transit buses will still use the Express Lanes free of charge. Similar lanes are in operation on I-394 and have proven popular with commuters with up to 150,000 vehicles a day driving on some portion of the 11 miles of roadway that runs from downtown Minneapolis to the western suburbs.

"The I-35W MnPASS Express Lanes will provide commuters with a more reliable commute between the south Twin Cities metro area and downtown Minneapolis," said Commissioner Sorel

The new I-35W MnPASS Express Lanes include two segments: from Highway 13 in Burnsville to I-494 and from I-494 to downtown Minneapolis.

On the segment from I-494 to downtown, transit vehicles, carpools and MnPASS customers will be able to use a converted shoulder lane north of 42nd Street during certain times when traffic is congested. Electronic signs will alert drivers when the shoulder is open or closed. Construction on the Crosstown project continues, and the MnPASS Express Lane segment between I-494 and 42nd Street will open in fall 2010.

MnPASS drivers lease a small electronic transponder that attaches to their windshield behind the rear view mirror. The toll is automatically deducted from their pre-paid MnPASS account by toll recording equipment located on the road. Fees vary in amount by the level of traffic congestion in the MnPASS lanes. Commuters can open a prepaid MnPASS account in less than 10 minutes online at www.mnpass.net or by calling the MnPASS Customer Service Center at 1-866-EZ-RIDE4

Urban Partnership Agreement

The Urban Partnership Agreement is a series of transportation projects aimed at improving traffic conditions by reducing congestion on Interstate 35W, Highway 77/Cedar Avenue and in downtown Minneapolis. Through a combination of transit, road pricing, technology and telecommuting, project partners anticipate that commuters will experience more transportation choices, less traffic congestion and reduced commute times on some of Minnesota's busiest roads.

Minnesota's UPA partnership includes Mn/DOT, the Metropolitan Council/Metro Transit, Minnesota Valley Transit Authority, University of Minnesota; Anoka, Dakota, Hennepin and Ramsey counties; the city of Minneapolis, and Transportation Management Organizations. This innovative partnership allows Minnesota to leverage federal dollars and keep project costs low while pioneering new ways to move traffic. Project components include:

Transit

· Expansion of the single-bus lanes to two-bus lanes on both Marquette Avenue and 2nd Avenue in downtown Minneapolis will nearly triple the capacity for the number of buses while reducing bus travel time by up to 10 minutes through the 16-block downtown area.

· Construction of nearly 2,700 new parking spaces at six new or expanded park and ride facilities along the Highway 77/Cedar Avenue and I-35W corridors north and south of downtown Minneapolis.

· Purchase of 27 new buses for new or expanded express service from the Highway 77/Cedar Avenue and I-35W corridors to downtown Minneapolis.

· Construction of a transit-only left turn lane at Highway 62/Crosstown and Highway 77/Cedar Avenue, completed in November 2008, is resulting in more predictable and quicker rides.

Road Pricing

· Existing high occupancy vehicle lanes on I-35W from Burnsville Parkway to I-494 are being converted to MnPASS Express lanes.

· Upon completion of the Crosstown project, a new I-35W MnPASS Express lane from I-494 to 46th Street will be opened.

· From 46th Street to downtown Minneapolis on northbound 35W, current bus-only shoulders are being replaced with priced dynamic shoulder lanes. Buses travel at free-flow freeway speeds instead of the current 35 mph limit on bus-only shoulders. The priced dynamic shoulder lanes will be used during peak periods and will operate as shared rapid transit lanes for buses and carpoolers and MnPASS express lanes for single occupancy vehicles.

Technology

· Electronic signage above the lanes on I-35W that provides real-time information that improves safety and keeps traffic moving to avoid congestion.

· Lane guidance technology using global positioning satellites and other techniques will be installed on ten buses to keep transit vehicles centered in narrow shoulder lanes, ensuring safe and fast operations on highway shoulders.

· Real-time electronic commuter information signage is being used at select locations along the I-35W corridor to alert motorists about the estimated time of the trip by auto and bus, and how many parking spots are still available at the nearest park and ride.

· Real-time bus arrival and departure signage will be used on Marquette and 2nd Avenues and at select transit facilities along the Cedar Avenue/Highway 77 and I-35W corridors to alert transit customers about arriving and departing buses.

· Transit signal priority on Central Avenue from 2nd Street to 53rd Avenue will provide an advantage for transit and help maintain transit schedules.

· Cameras and instrumentation on Highway 13 connecting to the I-35W and Cedar Avenue/Highway 77 corridors will provide traveler information for motorists and improve traffic flow.

Telecommuting

· Partnerships with major employers along the I-35W corridor and in downtown Minneapolis will be established to promote flex-time and telecommuting programs with a goal to increase the number of telecommuting workers by 500 individuals by 2011.

What do you want?

Posted at 8:42 AM on September 27, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Republicans in Minnesota have long criticized the Star Tribune's Minnesota poll for inaccuracy -- against the protestations of DFLers and the Star Tribune -- but we're wondering today how they feel about this headline:

Obama's support declines sharply

Accurate? Inaccurate? Who knows? But at the very least it's somewhat misleading. Why? Because the high point of the Obama presidency was in April, according to the poll, when Obama's popularity hit 63%. How hard is it to have high popularity in your first months in office? Not hard at all, assuming tanks aren't involved.

But last November, Obama's popularity rating -- as measured by election results -- was only 53% in Minnesota.

Disappointingly -- and, really, unacceptably -- the Minnesota Poll doesn't make the questions asked or the breakdown available online. Heck, even the methodology of the poll isn't provided.

We know, for example, that health care insurance reform -- it's not really health care reform -- is the main reason for the decline in popularity. But we don't know what Minnesotans expected. Obama ran on several platforms, including health care insurance reform. What did people think that meant way back then?

People are funny -- and fickle.

For example, President George Bush's job approval rating -- as measured by an MPR poll -- six months after he took office -- was 53 percent, statistically equal to Obama's current rating. But an October 2001 survey showed his job approval rating at 76 percent.

What changed? He launched attacks on Afghanistan in response to 9/11.

The poll showed people also favored expanding federal powers to wiretap, significant support for detaining Muslims without charges, and support for requiring us all to carry national ID cards. All things that would sink a job approval rating now. And the very thing that propelled Bush's job approval numbers then, is an anchor on Obama's now.

So perhaps the most important question in these polls of Minnesotans is: What do you want? Job approval ratings reflect a politician's ability to (a) figure it out and (b) adjust their actions to give it to you.

Clearly, Obama's concept of change is that (b) isn't part of his game. And while people might nod their heads that they want leaders not to bend to the polls, in practice that's exactly what we want.

History or politics

Posted at 1:40 PM on September 25, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Politics, Schools

You let the president of the United States speak to school children and the next thing you know they're singing about him.

The school in New Jersey says the kids were learning a song for Black History Month last winter.

It's become a YouTube sensation in the last few days, even though it was uploaded in June.

New Jersey's education commissioner today ordered a review of the teaching of the song, and wants to find ways to celebrate Black History Month without "inappropriate partisan politics in the classroom."

Action figures then and now

Posted at 2:52 PM on September 25, 2009 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Marketing and advertising, Politics

Today's first look at the Michele Bachmann action figure...

... has me wistful for the time when the idea of action figures in politics was fresh and new:

It was also a time when the action figure even looked something like the person it was supposed to portray. Rep. Bachmann's action figure looks more like Gladys Knight.

Obama on racism

Posted at 8:30 AM on September 22, 2009 by Bob Collins (9 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

If President Barack Obama doesn't think racism plays a significant role in opposition to his policies, why do so many people think it does?

Obama appeared on David Letterman's show last night and delivered the money quote when asked about racism. "It's important to realize that I was actually black before the election," he said.

I see your 'dumb,' and I raise you an 'elitist'

Posted at 10:24 AM on September 21, 2009 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

The latest debate on the ability of America to hold a political conversation was on display on today's first hour of Midmorning.

The show purported to ask, "Is racism fueling criticism of the president?" But the fix was in on the answer because both guests had the same perspective: "Yes."

That's not to say they didn't make good points in rebutting David Brooks' column last week, "No, it's not about race." Given all of this, it was guaranteed that he would spark a populist backlash, regardless of his skin color. And it was guaranteed that this backlash would be ill mannered, conspiratorial and over the top -- since these movements always are, whether they were led by Huey Long, Father Coughlin or anybody else.
A pretty poor example, said Jack White, who writes about politics for The Root. Father Couglin was an anti-Semite, he said.

The discussion intertwined with the "lack of civility" angle right up until it got hit in the kisser with an irony pie.

"The problem is, what is the Republican Party doing to make a bigger space for people like himself?" he said, addressing a caller who said he was a moderate Republican. People who have a disagreement with the president's policies but don't want to fall into this trap of falling back on fear and prejudice to move their party forward. You have a handicap, it seems to me, even though you have someone like Michael Steele, who is black, as Republican Party chairman, I would argue that Michael Steele is exactly the wrong kind of person to have?"

"Why? Kerri Miller asked.

"Because Michael Steel is dumb," White said.

Caller Tim from Minneapolis provided the other side of the discussion.

"Thank you for calling another Republican dumb," he said. "Ronald Reagan was portrayed on the one hand as being a tired, pre-senile old fool who, nonetheless, stayed up late at night masterminding the Iran contra deal. We still hear jokes about Dan Quayle misspelling potato. Bush was consistently portrayed -- hammered, hammered, hammered -- on late night comedy shows, everybody that he was dumb. And yet he was also an evil genius who masterminded -- in the eyes of some admittedly paranoid people -- that he masterminded the 9/11 tragedy."

"Are you saying there has long been disrespect towards...." Kerri Miller asked.

"What I'm saying is disrespect... has been going on consistently from the left and you mentioned populism and populism is the response to political elitism and I think what you fail to recognize is that the Democratic Washington power circle, as well as the liberal side of the media, is viewed as being highly elitist and certainly Barack Obama did not help his case anywhere along the line when during the election, for example, when he made the comment about the price of ~~irrugula~~ arugula, You've assembled a nice panel of people that all seem to see things only one way," he said.

And that brings us back to Brooks: What we're seeing is the latest iteration of that populist tendency and the militant progressive reaction to it. We now have a populist news media that exaggerates the importance of the Van Jones and Acorn stories to prove the elites are decadent and un-American, and we have a progressive news media that exaggerates stories like the Joe Wilson shout and the opposition to the Obama schools speech to show that small-town folks are dumb wackos.

Ramstad for governor?

Posted at 11:31 AM on September 18, 2009 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Former Third District congressman Jim Ramstad dropped a little bit of a bombshell -- for now, we'll call it a firecracker -- when he told Gary Eichten a few minutes ago that he's leaving the door on the possibility of his running for governor "open just a crack."

A few minutes later, however, he said there's a 99 percent chance he wouldn't run.

Ramstad, a moderate by any definition, has no shot at winning a Republican state convention, but in his scenario he made it clear he'd do what former Gov. Arne Carlson did and run in a primary.

The former congressman had announced earlier this summer that he would not run.

Ramstad made his comments during the early part of MPR's Midday show, when he strongly criticized "the hard core right wing Republicans who are in charge of the Republican House caucus."

Health care debate has been polite for some, survey says

Posted at 3:42 PM on September 17, 2009 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Politics, Surveys and trivia

We love surveys. We love to give them attention they don't deserve and this week, two surveys from the same organization caught our attention.

The first, which I won't belabor, was a Pew survey that said "the public's assessment of the accuracy of news stories is now at its lowest level in more than two decades of Pew Research surveys, and Americans' views of media bias and independence now match previous lows." Sounds interesting, but I posit that it doesn't necessarily mean stories are (or aren't) more inaccurate these days. It only means that people think so.

But perhaps it's more a reflection on people who turn increasingly to news sources that they think will report stories the way they want to hear them (Let me save you the trouble of posting the predictable comment: Yes, I know some people think this is why liberals tend to listen to Public Radio).

The other day we got an e-mail from someone who claimed we were covering up the story that global warming was created in a conspiracy between the liberal media and the United Nations in order to effect a redistribution of wealth. To prove it, he noted that he read about it on the Internet, not in the liberal media.

Well, OK, that's one for the power of the Internet.

Today's survey is even more puzzling. The headline:

Health Care Debate Seen as "Rude and Disrespectful"

So far, so good. According to Pew, 53% of those surveyed said the health care debate has been rude and disrespectful. Sixteen percent said they didn't know how to characterize it.

Thirty-one percent said the debate has been polite and respectful. That should be the takeaway. It's true, those most likely to be accused of being rude and disrespectful -- in this case, Republicans -- are also the most likely to disagree. And the survey showed that, indeed, 44 percent of them said the debate has been polite and respectful. But 24% of Democrats agreed with the assessment.

Democrats, however, are much more likely to put the blame for the lack of civility on opponents of health care legislation. Forty-five percent of Republicans say they're at fault.

Who are these people? Pew doesn't say. But we can deduce that 17% of those surveyed weren't paying any attention to what was going on. Only eighty-three percent said they'd heard "a little or a lot" about Rep. Joe Wilson's "you lie" moment, a news story that was nearly impossible to miss.

(Photo: A driver shows his polite side on Robert St. in West St. Paul on Wednesday. Click the image for a larger view).

Too late for ACORN?

Posted at 1:47 PM on September 16, 2009 by Bob Collins (27 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

The ACORN scandal is mushrooming.

It started after BigGovernment.com, a site run by commentator Andrew Breitbart, sent a couple of kids into an ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) office to try to get funding for a prostitution ring. Hidden video revealed an intake worker ready to help.

For conservatives, it was proof of a story they claim mainstream media has been ignoring: that of a fraudulent organization tied to the president.

ACORN's response has been -- charitably put -- uneven. At first, according to a press release, the group said an intake worker was just kidding: When the actors approached Ms. Kaelke with their provocative costuming and outlandish scenario, she could not take them seriously. So she met their outrageousness with her own personal style of outrageousness. She matched their false scenario with her own false scenarios.
But another press release today from ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis suggests now that they weren't: "As a result of the indefensible action of a handful of our employees, I am, in consultation with ACORN's Executive Committee , immediately ordering a halt to any new intakes into ACORN's service programs until completion of an independent review. I have also communicated with ACORN's independent Advisory Council, and they will assist ACORN in naming an independent auditor and investigator to conduct a thorough review of all of the organizations relevant systems and processes. That reviewer, to be named within 48 hours, will make recommendations directly to me and to the full ACORN Board. We enter this process with a commitment that all recommendations will be implemented."

Said Ms. Lewis: "We have all been deeply disturbed by what we've seen in some of these videos. I must say, on behalf of ACORN's Board and our Advisory Council, that we will go to whatever lengths necessary to reestablish the public trust. For nearly forty years, ACORN has given voice to communities, and gotten results. Right now, our nearly 500,000 member are working their hearts out for quality, affordable healthcare for every American and to help stop the foreclosure crisis. We must get this process right, so the good work can go forward."
It may be too late. Earlier this week, the Senate voted to prevent the organization from getting -- and distributing -- any housing money. When Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken line up against you, it's over.

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And today, according to MPR's Tom Scheck, Gov. Pawlenty has ordered a halt to any state money going to the group, if any.

(Update 4:47 p.m. MPR's Tom Scheck reports Pawlenty appears to have put a halt to something that didn't exist in the first place.)

Conservatives, meanwhile, are claiming the mainstream media are ignoring the story, which puts it squarely in the lap of comedians to figure out:

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

The Audacity of Hos

www.thedailyshow.com

Healthcare Protests

Political lightning round

Posted at 1:01 PM on September 15, 2009 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

There's a period at the beginning of session of the U.S. House when members make one-minute speeches to a near-empty chamber. It's the daily "lightning round" of American issues.

Here's today's:

Rep. Joe Pitts, R-Pa., objects to what Hamas is teaching in its schools.

Rep. Steven Kagen, D-Wisc., advocates reform in health care.

Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., congratulates a teenage tennis player at the U.S. Open.

Rep. Betsy Markey, D-Co., congratulates Congress for passing an economic stimulus

Rep. Christopher Lee, R-NY, pays tribute to a soldier killed in Afghanistan.

Rep. John Yarmuth, D-KY, says people are frustrated that they're not being heard and says it's because of campaign contributions from big money.

Rep. Ted Poe, R-TX, notes the high attendance of people protesting Obama's health care "These people don't like the attitude that disagreement with government is frowned upon." He says people object to the characterization of "these people as unAmerican."

Speaking of viral:

Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-NC, says people with health care coverage don't know what they've got.

Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mon., says Congress should adjourn for 30 days so the reps can "listen to real Americans" on health care.

Rep. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, says people need health insurance.

Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif., says the administration raised taxes by adding tariffs on tires from China.

Rep. John Hall, D-NY (former lead singer of Orleans) says health care must pass.

Rep. John Boozman, R-Ark., says proposed health care bill will force small businesses to close.

Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-NJ, says surging health care costs slow job growth.

Rep. Lamar Smith, R-TX., says 40 percent of medical practice suits are without merit.

Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., says people are mostly worked up over things that aren't in the health care bill. He calls them "hallucinations."

Rep. John Fleming, R-La., says health care reform plan will increase national debt.

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Tex., says it's time for insurance companies "to come to the table, spending the millions they're spending to spread falsehoods" and work out a plan on health care.

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-WV, who honors a police officer who was killed in the line of duty.

Rep. Steve Driehaus, D-Ohio, honors the late Cincinnati Pops conductor Erich Kunze.

Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., advocates public option in health care reform.

Rep. Paul Tonko, D-NY, pats himself on the back for passage of a wind energy bill.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., says Democrats are calling everything a crisis. "We still don't get it; the crisis is here in Washington," he says.

Rep. Michael Arcuri, D-NY, recounts stories of problems with people who have pre-existing conditions.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-NY, says 1 of 5 adults lacks health insurance.

Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis. recognizes 15th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act.

Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy, D-Ohio, says a woman who worked for GM and took early retirement, has found she's lost her health care and her retirement savings.

Rep. Rush Holt, D-NY, says Americans are living sicker and dying younger.

And that's today's lightning round.

Jody Powell, 1943-2009

Posted at 4:30 PM on September 14, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

The news today that Jody Powell died has sent us scurrying for the News Cut Wayback Machine.

It's 1977. And Time Magazine hates the new administration in town, and the new press secretary, a Mr. Jody Powell:

Jody Powell, the other principal staff strategist in the Lance affair, turned out to have some of the Machiavellian instincts of Nixon's Ziegler--and about the same skill --when he tried to send newsmen chasing after Chuck Percy on a provably false charge. Surely there have been times in the past when presidential press secretaries have called up newsmen and suggested they check out rumors of wrong-doing by Senators. But that sort of thing is probably done less in reality than in the Washington novels.

Looking back at that story, it's almost laughable to note that people once believed that White House officials didn't orchestrate media assaults on political opponents. And Time's observation came after experiencing the Nixon administration.

Powell was also responsible for leaking the one presidential story that should have died : The one about the "killer rabbit."

Although an experienced reporter, Brooks also failed to appreciate the significance of what he had heard. He did not rush to file an "urgent" story. In fact, he continued the conversation for some period of time and several more cups of tea. Not until the next day did he get around to sending this gripping account out over the wires to a waiting public. And even then it was a pleasant, lighthearted piece. Although he may not admit it now, I had the definite impression at the time that Brooks thought it was nothing more than a mildly amusing incident, too.

We were soon corrected. The Washington Post, exercising the news judgement (sic) that we in the White House had come to appreciate so keenly, headed the piece President Attacked by Rabbit and ran it on the front page. The more cautious New York Times boxed it on page A-12. That night, all three networks found time to report the amazing incident. But that was just the beginning.

In one of Powell's last "appearances," he talked to NPR in January about what it's like to move out of the White House.

Checking the speech

Posted at 5:52 PM on September 12, 2009 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

As Larry Jacobs told Gary Eichten after Saturday's speech at Target Center by President Barack Obama, it was a rally speech, not a policy speech. By design, it should have capitalized on the momentum from his speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night, except that most of the discussion afterwards was about a guy who yelled something stupid, rather than the issue. So the president needed to use Saturday's speech to jumpstart things... again.

There usually isn't a great deal of meat in a rally speech, but that's not to say there weren't many interesting parts. Let's look at a few segments of his speech. In the last twelve months alone, six million more Americans lost their health insurance. And today, we received more disturbing news. A new report from the Treasury Department found that nearly half of all Americans under 65 will lose their health coverage at some point over the next ten years. More than one-third will go without coverage for longer than one year. In other words, it can happen to anyone. There but for the grace of God go I.
The president used this on his Saturday radio address. We'll have to take his word for it; the report isn't online. But it makes sense because health insurance is tied to employment in this country and we know in the last 12 months, people have lost their jobs. It's interesting that only 6 million lost their health insurance, because nearly 15 million are currently unemployed. COBRA allows people to keep health insurance for a few months -- until they can figure out how to pay for private insurance when they don't have income.

At some point, opponents are going to have to acknowledge the validity of this aspect of the problem. Many of them did in the last campaign. Another woman from Texas was about to get a double mastectomy when her insurance company canceled her policy because she forgot to declare a case of acne. By the time she had her insurance reinstated, her breast cancer more than doubled in size.
Her name is Robin Beaton of Waxahachie, Texas. Obama mentioned her situation in his speech on Wednesday.

It has now been nearly a century since Teddy Roosevelt first called for health care reform.
I was alive during the debate over Lyndon Johnson's Great Society. Trust me, plenty has been done to help provide it since Teddy Roosevelt. The suggestion that nothing has been done since Teddy Roosevelt is, of course, wrong.

If we do nothing, we will eventually spend more on Medicare and Medicaid than every other government program combined. That is not an option for the United States of America.

On this Republicans agree. The comment mirrors Gov. Tim Pawlenty's comments in recent years about health care in Minnesota. His view is the state shouldn't provide health care to the extent it does. Obama's is that someone should. That's really the issue here. First, if you are among the hundreds of millions of Americans who already have health insurance through your job, Medicare, Medicaid, or the VA, nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have. Let me repeat this: nothing in our plan requires you to change what you have.
This, of course, is the "money quote" and has been for some time. But the concern of opponents is that employers -- if there is a cheaper option available via public option -- will drop their private-insurer coverage and force their employees to go on whatever public "exchange" is available. Why should employers pay for something that would be provided directly to their employees via this option? We will do this by creating a new insurance exchange - a marketplace where individuals and small businesses will be able to shop for an affordable health insurance plan that works for them.
Lacking details as almost every plan does, what would you consider affordable when it comes to health insurance premiums?

And it would require changes for those who have Medicare. The Congressional Budget Office says the provisions currently in the House version of the health care bill will add 5 percent to Medicare premiums in 2001 and 20 percent in 2019 (although spending on prescriptions would fall. Is this a wash? It depends on whether you buy a lot of prescriptions). Now, if you still cannot afford the lower-priced insurance available in the exchange, we will provide tax credits so that you can. And in the few years it takes us to set up the exchange, we will immediately offer Americans with pre-existing conditions low-cost coverage that will protect you from financial ruin if you become seriously ill.
Again, these are the details we don't have. What does low cost mean? I have also said that one of the options in the insurance exchange should be a public insurance option. Let me be clear - it would only be an option. No one would be forced to choose it, and no one with insurance would be affected by it. What it would do is provide more choice and more competition. It would keep pressure on private insurers to keep their policies affordable and treat their customers better, the same way public colleges and universities provide additional choice and competition to students without in any way inhibiting private colleges and universities.
We know by experience how insurance companies lower their costs. So if the public option is intended to apply pressure on private insurers to keep their policies affordable, how does that likely square with the claim that having such a public option wouldn't affect anyone with insurance now? I'm not saying it will. I'm not saying it won't. I'm not inviting another round of T-shirt slogans. I'm asking how the theory works in detail? And I will make sure that no government bureaucrat or insurance company bureaucrat gets between you and the coverage that you need.
There seems to be almost no way to provide a public option without a bureaucrat working on administering it. But giving Obama the benefit of the doubt that what he means is a bureaucrat won't deny "the coverage you need," it invites the question, "who decides what coverage you need?" We know who does now. The insurance companies. But the promise is a bureaucrat won't be involved in this. Suppose your health care provider -- however you define that -- suggests laetrile to treat cancer. Who's going to be the one to say that's not an acceptable treatment? First, I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits - either now or in the future.
According to the "Congressional Budget Office":http://cboblog.cbo.gov/?p=332" target="_blank:

According to CBO's and JCT's assessment, enacting H.R. 3200 would result in a net increase in the federal budget deficit of $239 billion over the 2010-2019 period. That estimate reflects a projected 10-year cost of the bill's insurance coverage provisions of $1,042 billion, partly offset by net spending changes that CBO estimates would save $219 billion over the same period, and by revenue provisions that JCT estimates would increase federal revenues by about $583 billion over those 10 years.

By the end of the 10-year period, in 2019, the coverage provisions would add $202 billion to the federal deficit, CBO and JCT estimate. That increase would be partially offset by net cost savings of $50 billion and additional revenues of $86 billion, resulting in a net increase in the deficit of an estimated $65 billion.

Keep in mind, that refers to the House version of the bill, which nobody thinks is ever going to be enacted in its present form.

Right now, too much of the hard-earned savings and tax dollars we spend on health care doesn't make us healthier. That's not my judgment - it's the judgment of medical professionals across this country.

And it's also true that this isn't a serious point of debate.

The only thing this plan would eliminate is the hundreds of billions of dollars in waste and fraud, as well as unwarranted subsidies in Medicare that go to insurance companies - subsidies that do everything to pad their profits and nothing to improve your care. And we will also create an independent commission of doctors and medical experts charged with identifying more waste in the years ahead.

This also mirrors what the president said Wednesday. The New York Times said the president overreached.

Critics of the president's plan have said Americans ages 65 and over could find their Medicare benefits reduced as a result of the health care overhaul. Congressional Democrats certainly do not intend to cut benefits, but they are proposing big cuts in government spending on Medicare and not all of it would come from eliminating waste. The legislation seeks to trim Medicare payments for most services, as an incentive for hospitals and other health care providers to become more efficient. Other cuts would come from reduced payments to drug makers. Such cutbacks could inadvertently reduce access to some types of care.

The changes could also create new co-payments for services, including some laboratory tests that are now provided without charge.

So don't pay attention to those scary stories about how your benefits will be cut. That will never happen on my watch. I will protect Medicare.

Even if he's re-elected president, Medicare isn't expected to run out of money until 2017, right after his term would expire.

Can undocumented immigrants get government subsidized health care?

Posted at 9:34 AM on September 10, 2009 by Bob Collins (23 Comments)
Filed under: Health, Politics

There are also those who claim that our reform efforts would insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false. The reforms -- the reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.

That was the point at which Rep. Joe Wilson shouted, "you lie," and led to today's national dialog about whether people who are here illegally will have access to health care. Notice, however, that the president didn't say they would. He didn't say they wouldn't. He said "the reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally."

That's different than saying government won't pay for access to health care for people who are in the United States illegally. It already is. Technically.

Take Minnesota, for example.

Technically, "Nonimmigrants" and "undocumented persons" are not eligible for General Assistance, welfare, Minnesota Supplemental Aid, SSI, Food Support, Emergency General Assistance, and MinnesotaCare. But, again technically, they have access to government-subsidized health care even though they don't. How can both be true?

The 2003 Legislature eliminated GAMC coverage (General Assistance Medical Care) for nonimmigrants and undocumented persons who are under age 18, age 65 or older, blind, or disabled. It also eliminated GAMC coverage for all other nonimmigrants and undocumented persons.

But, according to the Minnesota House of Representatives Research Department, "Nonimmigrants and undocumented persons who meet MA eligibility criteria, such as children under age 21, parents of children under age 18, people who are age 65 or older, blind, or disabled, may be eligible for treatment of emergency medical conditions (including labor and delivery costs for pregnant women) under Emergency MA." That's federally funded.

In Minnesota and the U.S., SCHIP, the children's health insurance program, provides undocumented and nonimmigrants prenatal and delivery care through the end of the month in which the child is born.

Technically, that's government-subsidized health care.

So who's right? That's the problem. Technically both sides are. Especially when it's boiled down to sound bites and talk show rhetoric. That's why there needs to be more attention to the details of the various plans being discussed. The "immigrant issue" is a technicality being used to sway people who can't be bothered with such things.

USA the Franken Way

Posted at 8:57 PM on September 4, 2009 by Bob Collins (17 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

If you listened to Midday via the radio on Friday -- MPR Day at the State Fair -- the whole "Al draws the USA thing" might not have been that impressive. So ... here:

Here's Gary Eichten's full interview with the senator. Health care, of course, was the big topic. Franken would not commit to an answer on the question of whether he'd support a health care bill without the "public option."

"I'm not going to negotiate with myself at the State Fair," he said.

Senator Schilling?

Posted at 2:41 PM on September 2, 2009 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Minnesotans are familiar with the odd backgrounds of its political candidates. See Ventura, Jesse and Franken, Al.

But what would it say about the U.S. Senate if someone can go from the starting rotation for the Boston Red Sox to the United States Senate?

In an interview with New England Cable News, Curt Schilling -- a Republican -- says he's considering running for the seat vacated by the death of Ted Kennedy.

Republicans had Stuart Smalley to use to undercut Al Franken's candidacy. Is this enough for Massachusetts Democrats?

Prepare your Massachusetts jokes, Minnesota!

Live-blogging: The Gang Strike Force hearing

Posted at 5:15 PM on August 26, 2009 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Crime and Justice, Politics

A joint legislative committee got a first-hand look at wrongdoing in the Metro Gang Strike Force on Wednesday, although there was disagreement over whether it constitutes "corruption." According to an independent review issued last week, members of the gang unit confiscated property from people who often had nothing to do with gangs, and brought the property home. Other property simply disappeared. (Read the report here)

The hearing also touched on a question of the disproportionate targeting of communities of color by the Gang Strike Force. This morning, MPR's Cathy Wurzer talked with Rep. Michael Paymar, DFL-St. Paul, who chairs the House Public Safety Finance Committee.

Here's the live blog of the hearing. Please join the discussion below.

The health care debate: Marginal treatments

Posted at 2:00 PM on August 25, 2009 by Bob Collins (11 Comments)
Filed under: Health, Politics

Sen. John McCain is back on the stump with a "town meeting" style event for health care today.

"You know in England, the NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) has denied treatment for women with breast cancer, and people with Alzheimer's, and denied life-saving drugs for people with MS," the former presidential candidate said to a group of mostly senior citizens, the one demographic he won in last year's election.

True?

Apparently so. And it comes directly from a briefing paper prepared by the conservative Heritage Foundation, which said:

* NICE restricted access to two drugs for Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Britain's leading cause of blindness.[6] The first drug, Macugen, was completely blocked, while the second, Lucentis, was limited to the approximately one in five disease sufferers who have a specific type of the disorder.[7] Even then, Lucentis was restricted to patients with that type of the disorder in both eyes--and could only be used in the less-diseased eye. In the words of Tom Bremridge, chief executive of the Macular Disease Society, "allowing one eye to go blind before treating the second eye is cruel and totally unacceptable." Winfried Amoaku of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists explained, "There are differences in action between these two drugs, which may be important in individual cases, and so we do not wish to be limited in our treatment options in this way."

* NICE limited several Alzheimer's drugs to use in patients whose disease had advanced from early to middle-stage. Even though doctors argued that starting treatment at the onset of dementia would be most effective in slowing the progression of the disease,[8] NICE decided that patients would have to wait until they became sick enough for the treatments to meet the cost-effectiveness threshold. A charity has taken legal action, accusing NICE of "ignoring totally the proven benefits of the drugs for careers of those with mild symptoms, and grossly underestimating the savings they bring to the state by enabling suffers to remain in their own homes longer. [The charity] accused NICE of implying careers are far better off when the condition of their sick relative deteriorates so much that they are forced to move into a residential home."[9]

* NICE blocked access to Glivec, a leukemia treatment. Ann Tittley, a 55-year-old patient, was being treated for breast cancer when she was diagnosed with leukemia. After realizing she would be denied access to Glivec even though her physician had recommended she start it immediately, Ms. Tittley wrote a letter to then-Prime Minister Tony Blair. "Glivec was my lifeline, at least it would give me a chance of beating this disease," wrote Ms. Tittley. "Life is precious.... I appreciate that cost is important, but to deny patients this potentially life-saving treatment on this basis is totally unforgivable and criminal."[10]

In a June article, the Economist noted the concerns and suggested, however, there are provisions which could prevent them in a reformed health care system:

In America, the drugs and devices lobbies are violently opposed to a NICE-style agency that could issue mandatory rulings. They paint a scary picture of Americans being denied access to life-saving new drugs by faceless bureaucrats. In Britain NICE has come under fire for rulings that limited access to expensive drugs for Alzheimer's and cancer on the NHS. America could get around this problem by requiring and perhaps even funding studies, but leaving insurers and individuals to decide whether to pay for treatments.

As with many aspects of the health care debate, there's more to the story. Aricept is the drug NICE originally kept off its formulary, according to the New York Times. It costs about $2,200 a year and some Medicare drug plans pay for it; some don't, says The Times' Caring and Coping blog.

Daniel Callahan, a bioethicist at the Hastings Center, says the drug -- and several others that are linked to the anecdotes above, can slow the progression of a disease, but only for a short time and have only marginal benefits given their cost. It's a question, he says, Americans don't want to ask or discuss.

The most generic way this is done is to declare that life is priceless and even to pose such a question is immoral; and so also with the idea of rationing beneficial treatments. Considerations of cost should simply have no place in our reform calculus.

But there are more subtle ways that cost are sidelined in the reform debate. One of them is the powerful role of the pharmaceutical industry, also taken up in the New Old Age. By treating any consideration of cost as a threat to innovation, both the profit motive is protected (patents run out), and the American romance with endless medical progress is pandered to.

At the end of the debate where McCain traveled today, each side -- proponents and opponents -- can approach the same issue with two different questions.

(1) Why should the government tell me what drugs I can have when it should be my choice?

- or -

(2) Why should taxpayers -- or the other members of your insurance pool -- pay for a drug for you that has little value?

Pick your poison.

(AP Photo/Matt York)

Transportation funding: How much do you need?

Posted at 3:40 PM on August 24, 2009 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

There was a reason why transportation advocates were relatively quiet last spring when just about everyone else who gets money from the state was decrying the fallout from the economic crisis, the massive state budget shortfall, and then Gov. Pawlenty's unallotment.

Over the objections of Gov. Pawlenty, the Legislature increased the state's gas tax in 2008 to pay for maintaining and upgrading the system.

"Transportation one exception to funding crisis," the headline on Dan Olson's story read last January.

The increased revenue means the Minnesota Department of Transportation construction budget for this year over last rises by more than half. In two years, spending will more than double from last year's.

Good times? Apparently not. Today, the Minnesota Department of Transportation released its spending outlook for the next 20 years and found it's $50 billion short, more than twice the projected gap cited in its previous report, issued five years ago. And that was before the Legislature approved the additional $6.6 billion funding plan.

The problem, aside from inflation, is that people are driving more fuel-efficient cars, using less gasoline.

"If we continue to let our roads deteriorate the cost is going to be exponential," said Murphy, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, echoing virtually the same argument he applied in the legislative debate over the gas tax. "Instead of building new roads, we're going to have to tear up all of our old roads and build them again.

One idea: A program for people with fuel-efficient vehicles whereby the government gives them money to buy more gas guzzlers.

Health care rationing?

Posted at 9:53 AM on August 19, 2009 by Bob Collins (13 Comments)
Filed under: Health, Politics

At the same time MPR's Kerri Miller was hosting a discussion today on where the money goes that's dumped into health care, and why health care costs so much, a Harvard professor was sounding an alarm that health care reform will lead to rationing, and getting significant pushback from an unlikely source.

"The best solution to this problem of private overconsumption of health services would be to eliminate the tax rule that is causing the excessive insurance and the resulting rise in health spending, Martin Feldstein wrote in a Wall St. Journal column today called ObamaCare is all About Rationing." Alternatively, Congress could strengthen the incentives in the existing law for health savings accounts with high insurance copayments. Either way, the result would be more cost-conscious behavior that would lower health-care spending."

Feldstein went on CNBC this morning, where anchor Mark Haines found his view objectionable.

Haines: Why would that lead to rationing?
Feldstein: Because that's what the administration strategy is. They've said they're going to cut the projected rate of growth on health care spending by 30 percent over the next two decades. That came from a White House study released in June. And the way they're going to do that is by setting rules for doctors and hospitals, what they call 'cost effective forms of treatment' that will limit the kinds of things that can be done.

Haines: And we don't have rationing now?

Feldstein: We have some of it, but this...

Haines: You bet your bippy we've got it. C'mon. You have profit-motivated bureaucrats making rationing decisions.

Feldstein: But I can talk to my doctor. I can talk to my hospital and say, 'should we do this or not do that?' And people with private insurance today have those kinds of options.

Haines: And then the insurance company has the final say on whether it actually happens, right? Rationing care.

Feldstein: They turn down very, very few things and, again, it is not the government that's doing it. So if my insurance company doesn't allow certain drugs, or doesn't allow certain kinds of treatment, I can choose a different kind of policy. And the idea as I see it in the Obama proposal is to force us all into a certain kind of spending pattern because the government is concerned -- the administration is concerned -- about how much the government is spending on health care, and Medicare, and Medicaid, but in order to control that, they want to change the kind of treatments that you and I -- outside the Medicare and Medicaid system -- can get on our own.

Haines. I'm sorry, but how are you being... how are we being forced into anything? You will be allowed to keep your private insurance.

Feldstein: Yes, but what the administration is talking about, what they describe in this White House report, is what they call 'comparative effectiveness research.' In other words: Their studies will say whether a particular kind of treatment is worth the money. And that's what concerns me.

Haines: Wait a minute! You want to be able to have anything regardless of its cost vs. its effectiveness?

Feldstein: No, I want to make that decision.

Haines: How are you qualified to make that decision?

Feldstein: I and my physician together will talk about whether something is worse spending the money to do. Whether the risks associated with not doing this test or that test are risks that we want to take. And I think that individuals who want to pay out of pocket, there ought to be higher co-payments. But I think individuals and their physicians rather than a bureaucratic process should be making the choice.

Haines: First of all, the private insurance companies are a bureaucracy, so this bureaucrat argument is nonsense. And, second, you'll pardon me sir, but your argument is a very easy one to make by someone who has money.

Feldstein: But 85 percent of Americans have insurance. So it's not that we're talking about a small handful of people who have insurance. And one of the nice things is there's choice. I can, here in Boston, I can join any of a number of plans and they're going to differ (Bob notes: He didn't mention that Massachusetts has universal health care) in the kinds of hospitals I would have access to and the kinds of limits on various things. So there's choice and it seems to me that's one of the things that's made the American health care system so good. That it has stimulated research. It has stimulated new technologies...

Haines: Well I'll say, again, sir, you have these choices because you can afford them. A lot of people can't afford them. And we're 29th in the industrial world in infant mortality. We spend two-and-a-half times what Britain spends for worse outcomes...I'm sorry.

Haines got so worked up, he turned the interview over to his co-anchor.

Barney Frank opens new front in health care debate

Posted at 8:18 AM on August 19, 2009 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Opponents of President Obama's health care plan are never going to vote for Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., so that gives him the luxury of telling them off.

Picket-line politics

Posted at 12:10 PM on August 17, 2009 by Bob Collins (9 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Today, President Obama was in Phoenix, speaking to the VFW about his health care plan. Then it's on to Colorado.

Both sides in the debate were out in force early.

If we didn't have their signs, could we still tell which side they're on? Why? Or why not?

Here's one side:

Here's the other:

Click on the image for a larger version.

Think it's easy? Maybe. Maybe not.

Charles Quimby at Across the Great Divide had a great question on this picture.

Can you guess who stands for what in whatever this disagreement is about?

Answer later on the photos above.

1:38 p.m. Answers -

Live-blogging Midday: St. Paul and Minneapolis budgets

Posted at 11:04 AM on August 14, 2009 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Economy, Politics

Both Minneapolis and St. Paul mayors have released their budget updates. Both call for increases in property taxes and reductions in some services. Mayor R.T. Rybak and Mayor Chris Coleman are Gary Eichten's guests on Midday. Listen to the program here. React below.

11:07 a.m. - Coleman says the city is "relatively strong," and looking at doing things "more efficiently." Says the city is focusing on "what really matters," which brings up the obvious question: "What doesn't matter?"

11:09 a.m. - You can watch Rybak's budget message here.

11:10 a.m. - Coleman says St. Paul is "down 40 officers." Gives props to Obama for stimulus. Rybak gives props too, and criticizes state cuts to cities and says stimulus money will go away. "Every budget I've presented in five years has been balanced, which is in sharp contrast to the state."

Rybak says more than 100 positions were eliminated yesterday.

11:12 a.m. - Gary plays sound bite of Pawlenty says some good things in Minneapolis wouldn't have happened without him. He cites Guthrie, Northstar, Twins stadium, light rail, and "all of the money pumped into the University of Minnesota."

11:14 a.m. - "I wish he'd stick around because I'd love to have him come on this program,' Rybak countered. He says spending in Minneapolis increased 1 percent, during Pawlenty's term, state spending jumped 12 percent. "I don't need a lecture." He says Pawlenty sat on his hands for Twins stadium. Rybak says he led initiatives and Pawlenty 'was there for the signing.'

11:17 a.m. - Coleman says Pawlenty did not solve budget problems this year. "He just pushed it into the future."

"This whole country has been engulfed in this negative tone where people get up and scream. I wish we could have a dialog about where we need to go and stop blaming everyone for our problems," Coleman said.

Q: Are you running for governor?

A: Coleman: I've made no secret I'm exploring that?
A: Rybak: "I'm likely to do that."

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q: Have you laid off more firefighters? (Question from wife of firefighter)

A: Everyone is taking a cut, public safety taking less of a cut. Didn't accept grant for firefighters because it required us to spend more money.

Q: To Coleman: How can you call a 6 percent hike in property tax, "more service at a better price"?

A: We have merged departments, invested up-front money to save money in the long run. We're making long-term investments in which we'll see huge paybacks. We're asking employees to do more with less. Layoffs after the first of the year.

Q: Caller: In 1967 the Legislature passed first sales tax. 100% were to go to reduce property taxes. That was the purpose. Now the state is fighting increases in sales tax and has no regard for local property taxes.

A: Rybak: Correct. We should say "let's have the sales tax but earmark it for property tax relief."

Q: Without Gang Strike Force, will gang activity increase?

A: Coleman; We have great anti-gang cops. "Unfortunate that the sideshow has taken away from what our officers are doing."

Rybak: "Doesn't have a significant impact on what we're doing in the city." Says Minneapolis cops have lots of intelligence (informers?)

11:29 a.m. - Coleman just mentioned the Harlem Children's Zone as a model. Here's the Web site.

Q: (Caller to Coleman) I live in Highland Park. We can save money by not cleaning the streets in the summer. They're not dirty.

A: Coleman: You're going to get your wish; it's one of the things we're going to have to clean the streets (Ah, but will there be towing on days you're not going to clean anymore?). It's not all about aesthetics; it ends up in the river.

11:36 a.m. - Why do the cities have different policies on things like trash collection?

Rybak: There's a whole long history of garbage in Minneapolis. It works well for us. St. Paul's works well for them. Same with snow plowing.

(Of course, this brings up an old question: Why do we need two big cities? Why not just be like businesses and merge)

Q: Does downtown St. Paul have a future?

A: Coleman: "It's unbelievable. I'm so excited it's impossible to contain (bob: Is a lunch joint staying open after 2 p.m. downtown?). Cray is coming downtown. Microsoft wants to be a part of downtown. Light rail is a critical piece of that. High-speed rail is a critical part of that.

Q: Block E has reputation for intimidation and violence. When is the mayor going to do something?

A: Crime in downtown is dramatically down, Rybak says. Putting more people on the street -- via the Twins ballpark -- will help. So does all the residential properties "we've built."

Q: Re: Central Corridor light-rail. There are still a lot of critics. Businesses are worried on University Ave., etc. Are these problems going to be resolved?

A: Coleman: "This line is going to be built. We've all but begun construction. I've sat through mitigation meetings at the University of Minnesota. Communities along the corridor have deep concerns and we are taking proactive steps -- adding money for parking mitigation and beautification of University Ave., and another stop on Western Avenue. How we get there is an open question.

It's like the 7 minute blackout when a rocket ship is coming back from space.

Rybak: We have to figure out how to get Uptown connected. We're doing bus rapid transit on 35W. None of these will be easy. Everyone needs to bring their points to the table, but stay at the table.

Wrapping up, Gary asked how they thought Obama is doing. Surprisingly, they both think he's doing great.

How much attention should Obama opponents get?

Posted at 1:13 PM on August 12, 2009 by Bob Collins (12 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Why wasn't President Obama's health care town hall forum in New Hampshire yesterday as raucous as some of the video clips we've seen at forums around the country recently?

"I doubt we're seeing a representative sample of any series of town hall meetings despite the food fight on cable every day," Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said at his daily briefing today. The Boston Globe reports:

"People want to take the opportunity to find out from the president -- to have him answer their questions about why he's doing what he's doing and the concerns they may have on the legislation," he added. "I think most people took that opportunity as something that was positive.

"I think some of you were disappointed yesterday that the president didn't get yelled at," Gibbs told reporters, chiding them for paying too much attention to the back-and-forth between protestors outside."

"A bunch of your stories had more to do with the fact that the -- the sideshow on each side of the street outside than what was actually going on inside of the town hall," he said.

Nothing in politics happens in a vacuum, of course. Presidential town hall forums are staged affairs with attention to detail about how it'll play on the TV screen in the evening.

They're not inherently phony, of course, and provide a piece of a larger contextual story. But so do the sometimes staged affairs going on outside, too.

Meanwhile, the White House is pushing back in the public-relations war, creating a Health Insurance Reform Reality Check page.

Conservative sites are already setting up a Health Insurance Reform Reality Check reality checks.

People-watching politics

Posted at 2:05 PM on August 11, 2009 by Bob Collins (13 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

For pure theater, the growing protests over President Obama's health care initiative makes for a compelling people-watching moment or two. The scene today shifted to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in a state that knows how to make life miserable for visiting Democrats.

Pixelating of the image above (you can click for a larger version) makes some of the material difficult to read, so let's take a closer look:

We've got the woman with the bad grammar:

The always lame attempt to turn a name into an acronym:

Irony, anyone? The flag-waving American with the foreign-automaker (BMW) hat, holding a sign about fascism. BMW, the company whose largest shareholder family allegedly had a Nazi past:

And the tourist-town T-shirt shop's best-seller:

Across the street we have an entirely different looking crowd. This is the side that says the other side isn't "grassroots" because they're coordinated in their demonstrations. Note the coordination.

Stuck in the middle

Posted at 12:21 PM on August 11, 2009 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

By now, you've no doubt been following the controversy surrounding protests breaking out at political town halls. I mean, everyone's doing the story:

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Healther Skelter

www.thedailyshow.com

Spinal Tap Performance

(If the video doesn't load, try here)

Us against them. Good vs. evil. You're either for us or agin' us. The perfect scenario for our let's not scratch the depth too much society.

Today, the story moves to Portsmouth, New Hampshire where President Obama gets to experience the love firsthand (live blog)

With supporters of Obama on one side of the street, and opponents of Obama on the other side of the street, Greg Meyer, 39, of Hampton Falls, N.H., was able to get a mention in Boston Globe coverage by standing in the middle of the street.

"If we did not believe in that separation, maybe we'd find a way to work together," Meyer said. "I'm on the side of the dialogue."

Protesters and protests

Posted at 12:09 PM on August 7, 2009 by Bob Collins (7 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Depending on your party persuasion, there are two narratives going on today regarding political discourse and the apparent backlash against Democratic policies.

If you're a Democrat: There's an incivility from Republicans that's impinging intelligent discussions.

If you're a Republican: Funny, but dissent was patriotic when Democrats were doing it.

Regardless of which camp you're in, a confrontation in St. Louis County was the predictable progression. Warning: There are obscenities in this video.

Drops in a very big bucket

Posted at 2:08 PM on July 29, 2009 by Than Tibbetts (9 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Remember when President Obama ordered federal agencies to shave $100 million from their budgets? Well, The Wall Street Journal reports they did it with $2 million extra on top.

With the budget deficit soaring toward $2 trillion, the Department of Justice has figured out how to play its part: double-sided photocopying.

There are other acts of national sacrifice. The Forest Service will no longer repaint its new, white vehicles green immediately upon purchase. The Army will start packing more soldiers onto R&R flights. The Navy will delete unused email accounts.

The Journal, it seems, could barely hide its contempt for the initiative, calling it a “savings shocker” in the headline and calling out “Front-and-Back Copies, Other Wonders” in the subhead.

That is 0.006% of the estimated federal deficit.

Still, a penny saved is a penny earned, right?

Update: It seems the Minnesota Senate is getting into the cost-cutting act as well. The AP says the Senate is cutting $2.2 million from its budget by spending “less on everything from employees to Kleenex.”

Keeping up with Congress

Posted at 5:00 PM on July 28, 2009 by Than Tibbetts (0 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

It's 5 o'clock. Do you know where your Congressional representatives are?

Sen. Al Franken (D) railed on "judicial activism" today as the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to confirm Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) said she was "irritated" by "mostly anonymous" critiques of Sotomayor's judicial temperament.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R) yesterday briefly held up a House resolution commemorating the 50th anniversary of Hawaii's statehood. The resolution was ostensibly designed to pinch Republican lawmakers who have skirted the edge of the "birther" movement by noting in the text that President Barack Obama was indeed born in Hawaii.

Salon reports that the resolution later passed the House unanimously with Bachmann voting "yea."

The average lifespan of a superintendent is three years.

The revolving school superintendent door

Posted at 2:45 PM on July 23, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Politics, Schools

The Minneapolis school system, it seems, has tried everything. But, like so many other metro school districts nationwide, it can't keep a school superintendent in office for more than a few years; barely long enough to make a difference.

Bill Green announced on Thursday that he will not seek another contract as the superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools. He has been the district's interim and permanent leader since 2006. He said he plans to return to teaching and writing as a history professor at Augsburg College in Minneapolis.

Here's a timeline of the last 15 years in the city:

1993 - The school board turns over the schools to a for-profit private firm. Peter Hutchinson and his three-person Public Strategies Group operate the schools on a performance-based contract. "We need to make whatever changes are necessary to see all children learn and see that the gap between children of color and white children closes," Hutchinson says. It's the first time a private company took over an entire school district.

1997 - Hutchinson leaves. Some minority groups didn't want Hutchinson as superintendent, and charged him with failing to meet minority students' needs," MPR's Laura McCallum reported.

1997 - Carol Johnson is hired

2003 - Carol Johnson leaves. She became superintendent of schools in Memphis, and superintendent in Boston

2003 (September) - The Minneapolis School Board taps Dave Jennings as new superintendent. "I have confidence because he's shown to be a warrior for public education in the city of Minneapolis. And I think that's what we need," Board member Audrey Johnson says of the ex-legislator.

2003 (October) - Jennings quits after "some African American leaders, who claimed the search process was flawed and Jennings lacked the necessary qualifications," MPR's Tim Pugmire reported. "While the noise is coming from a small group of folks, it is beginning to get in the way of the work, and time is short," Jennings said.

2004 - Thandiwe Peebles is introduced as the new Minneapolis school superintendent, telling people she didn't think things in Minneapolis are as tough as people said they were.

2006 (January) - Peebles resigns, embroiled in controversies over her management style and over allegations that she used district employees to conduct personal business for her.

2007 - Green, an African American, is named interim superintendent. "I would not do this if I felt that we were in a death spiral," Green said. "I do feel we can turn this around."

St. Paul has spun through a few superintendents, too, but they tend to stay longer. Meria Carstarphen left in February after a short tenure. But her predecessors -- Pat Harvey and Curman Gaines -- stayed for a combined 13 years.

Johnson, by all accounts, was brilliant and in great demand. And that's part of the problem. There are apparently so few game-changing school superintendents available, that a small-market city can't keep them.

The hidden issue of health care

Posted at 11:55 AM on July 23, 2009 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Health, Politics

When I checked a few minutes ago, of the few dozen people who answered the question posed in this morning's Five at 8, 83% said they knew little to nothing about the specifics of the health care debate taking place in Washington.

How could that be? Because it's happening in Washington where process is most important.

Example. Read this article from the Associated Press. I'll wait right here.

Welcome back. Did you notice something about the article? There wasn't a single word about what's in the legislation or what the major points of contention are. Not one word. There is a reference to the Blue Dogs -- conservative Democrats -- being concerned about "tax increases and the impact on rural health care and small businesses." That's it. So what's in the House bill that specifically has them concerned?

It's no wonder that talk shows -- which boil legislation down to small talking points, some of which are occasionally in context and accurate -- steer the political debate.

But what if you want to be informed about the specific issues?

For the most part, it's piecemeal. Pick an editorial here or there, read a blog and piece it together.

Here are a few salient points.

Des Moines Register editorial Democrats propose increasing taxes on the wealthiest Americans - about 2 million taxpayers - to help pay for reform. The surtax would be imposed on families earning more than $350,000 a year and individuals earning more than $280,000 a year. The tax rate would range from 1 percent to 5.4 percent.
The New York Times provided separate views of this proposal in a blog post here. "Should the Rich Pay for the Uninsured?" Included were these details.

Doctors' reimbursements: The baseline budget calls for large cuts over the next decade in doctors' reimbursements under Medicare. Congress has always voted to waive these cuts. The health care reform bill will make this waiver permanent at a cost of more than $200 billion. It is disingenuous to get outraged over this expense, since we always knew that Congress would not allow the baseline cuts to go into effect.
Capping health insurance premiums: Senator Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, wants to cap the tax exclusion to put a lid on inflationary health insurance and restore fairness to the tax code. Workers could still keep their health insurance at work, but they would have a new incentive to stay under an annual cap of, say, $15,000 for a family policy.The company could still deduct any amount it spends on insurance, but employees would be motivated to stay under the cap.
Maggie Mahar, who writes the Health Beat blog for the Century Foundation, says misinformation is growing. She took apart a Wall Street Journal editorial which, she says, are full of falsehoods. She provides a few more details of what's actually in the bill. The House bill actually protects and increases employer-sponsored insurance. According to official CBO numbers, 2 million more people would be covered under employer-sponsored insurance than is projected to be the case today - 164 million compared to 162 under current law.
But the best analysis of what's in the House bill -- which is H.R. 3200, by the way -- may be the Congressional Budget Office: The legislation would establish a mandate to have health insurance, expand eligibility for Medicaid, and establish new health insurance exchanges through which some people could purchase subsidized coverage. The options available in the insurance exchange would include private health insurance plans as well as a public plan that would be administered by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The specifications would also require payments of penalties by uninsured individuals, firms that did not provide qualified health insurance, and other firms whose employees would receive subsidized coverage through the exchanges. The plan would also provide tax credits to small employers that contribute toward the cost of health insurance for their workers.
... and ... Changes to the Medicare Part D program... would establish a new prescription drug rebate program for some people who are eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare, while expanding drug coverage to beneficiaries that are currently subject to a gap in coverage (often referred to as the Part D "doughnut hole"), saving $30 billion over the 2010-2019 period.
A read of the actual bill shows a few other provisions: >> A grant to train more nurses, and to provide more diversity in the nursing profession.
>> Health clinics in schools
>> Low-interest student loans for primary care students.
>> Home visitation programs for families expecting children.
>> Optional Medicaid coverage for low-income HIV individuals.

It's not a perfect way to get up to speed on the actual issue of health care, but it's better than what we've had so far.

As for the politics of the debate, which are getting the lion's share of coverage, a guest on this morning's Midmorning program succinctly told us all we needed to know about that: "Every dollar in the health care system is someone's income."
It was good listening.

Live-blogging Obama's news conference

Posted at 8:13 PM on July 22, 2009 by Bob Collins (11 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

5:47 p.m. - David Kurtz at Talking Points Memo suggests health care is to the Obama White House what oil and energy was to the Bush-Cheney White House.

6:59 p.m. - NPR ran an excellent piece on All Things Considered tonight, documented how health care interests have access to the chair of the Senate Finance Committee. If you make more than $7 million from PACs, and a little more than $650,000 from your own state, who are you most beholden to?

7:00 p.m. - We're underway. Here are his opening remarks.

If you already have health insurance, the reform we're proposing will provide you with more security and more stability. It will keep government out of health care decisions, giving you the option to keep your insurance if you're happy with it. It will prevent insurance companies from dropping your coverage if you get too sick. It will give you the security of knowing that if you lose your job, move, or change your job, you will still be able to have coverage. It will limit the amount your insurance company can force you to pay for your medical costs out of your own pocket. And it will cover preventive care like check-ups and mammograms that save lives and money.

If you don't have health insurance, or are a small business looking to cover your employees, you'll be able to choose a quality, affordable health plan through a health insurance exchange - a marketplace that promotes choice and competition Finally, no insurance company will be allowed to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing medical condition.

His opening statements didn't say specifically how we'll pay for this. If my out-of-pocket costs are limited, what's to stop my premiums from going up? "It will be paid for," he said, "while reallocating money being wasted." Is there that much waste out there? This thing has a $1 trillion price tag.

7:08 p.m. - "Not all of the cost containment was included in Congress's initial bill," he said. That reminds me of Jon Stewart's chronicle of the climate change bill.

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Jon Stewart Jizz-Ams in Front of Children - Cap'n Trade

www.thedailyshow.com

Joke of the Day

QUESTIONS

Q: Have you told Congress how you want this paid for?

A: Obama initially ignores question and talks about the problem of rising premiums. "That's what reform is all about." He then says "the entire thing has to be paid for." He says taxpayers are already putting money into the kitty. Through eliminating waste, he says two-thirds of it are already being paid for. He wants to limit itemized deductions for wealthiest Americans. That, he says, would raise sufficient funds for the remaining one-third. None of the bills include that provision. "I don't want that final one-third of the cost of health care to be completely shouldered on the backs of middle class families who are already struggling in a difficult economy.

He says he's opposed to tax on middle class. Didn't say he'd veto that.

"If someone told you there is a plan out there that is guaranteed to double your health care costs... and is the biggest contributor to the national deficit, I think most people would be opposed to that. That's what we have right now," he said.

7:17 p.m. - A CBS poll last month showed the president's problem. Most say health care is a big problem. But no solution has much support.

Q: Why the rush?

A: "I get letters every day from people," the president says. "If you don't set deadlines in this town, nothing happens. The default setting is inertia." He says it's important to "get it right" and "if at the end of the day I see we do not have it right, I'm not going to sign a bill that doesn't reduce health care inflation... that I don't think will work."

Q: Will all uninsured Americans be insured under your bill?

A: I want to cover everybody. Unless you have a single payer system, there's always going to be someone that's not covered. He says his plan would cover 98 percent of Americans.

Q: You mentioned two Republicans in your opening statement. But you have 60 seats. Isn't this a fight in the Democratic Party?

A: "You haven't seen me out there blaming Republicans. I'm frustrated with some of the misinformation coming from Republicans. That's politics." Gave props to Chuck Grassley. Says even if "you don't see Republican votes, you see Republican ideas."

Says some Democrats are opposed to low reimbursement rates for Medicare. (This is the concern of the Minnesota congressional delegation)

Q: What sacrifices will Americans have to make?

A: "They're going to have to give up paying for things that don't make them healthier. That's the kind of change you want. If hospitals and doctors aren't coordinating enough... and nobody's bother to send the last test you took to the next doctor, you're wasting money."

7:29 p.m. - Personal story time: I needed a painkiller shot in a shoulder last year. I had to go to four different doctors who did four different tests -- many of them the same. Total cost of one shot: $6,000. He's got a point. It's pretty silly. Share your horror story below.

"It will (force) people to be better consumers," the president said. (See my post earlier today. How can this possibly be anything more than you'll decide to do without some health care you need? In the above example, I could've been a better consumer -- which insurance companies say they want me to do -- and I wouldn't have gotten treatment for an injured shoulder. I had to go to doctor I had a referral to go to, in the order I had to go to them, paying every step of the way.)

Q: When you talk about bending the long term costs downward, you talk about cuts in Medicare but there are never many specifics. What kind of sacrifice are you calling on beneficiaries to make?

A: Obama talks about the MEDPAC program to cut Medicare costs. Here's the report.

"It's not going to change Medicare benefits, it's going to change how efficiently those benefits are delivered," he said.

Q: Your administration turned down a request for a list of health care execs who've visited the White House (see link at top of this ost), you promised to hold health care negotiations on C-SPAN, an agency said it's not getting enough information on TARP. Are you fulfilling your promise of transparency in the White House?

A: "You guys have been in there taking pictures, so it hasn't been a secret who's in there. You'll recall ... our kickoff event was here on C-SPAN and at a certain point you start getting into all kinds of different meetings. If they wanted those to be on C-SPAN, I would welcome it."

"Let me take a look at what they say we haven't provided (TARP). I think we've provided much greater transparency than the previous administration. I'll find out and I'll have an answer for you."

Q: Do you think your administration should take a harder line with Wall St? Would you support a fee on risky activities that go beyond traditional lending?

A: "We were on the verge of a complete financial meltdown. Wall St. took extraordinary risk with other people's money." (aside: Be sure to catch the first 5 minutes of John Hope Bryant on Midmorning this morning discussing this)

"We've stepped away from the brink. Now, banks are starting to make profits again. Some have paid back the TARP money they received. That's a good thing. What we haven't seen is the kind of change in practices on Wall Street."

Obama said financial regulatory reform must be passed.

7:47 p.m. Speaking of TARP repayments. From Marketplace:

As banks start paying back TARP funds, taxpayers are getting about 12.4% return on their investment. Now lawmakers are trying to decide whether to spend that money to help the housing market or to pay down the national debt. Steve Henn reports.

Q: Can you guarantee the government will not deny (health care) coverage?

A: "We want a public option to keep the insurance companies honest... having a public plan that also shows that if you take the profit motive out, reduce administrative costs, that's going to incentivize the private sector to do even better."

"There've been reports of insurance companies making record profits.

"Can I guarantee that there are going to be no changes in the health care delivery system? No. The whole point of this is to try to encourage changes that work."

7:52 p.m.: Note that he changed the question. Then answered his. We all know what "deny coverage" means. It means coverage the consumer needs, but can't get funding for. The president could've ended the fear about government involvement here by answering the question asked. He didn't. So now we can expect even more analysis not only about whether the government would lead to less quality health care, but why he didn't choose to end the fear.

7:55 p.m. - Obama is told the guy he called on for the last question isn't the guy who stood up and asked one. It was supposed to be a reporter from the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Q: You cited the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic as models. The Mayo Clinic has problems with the House proposal (way ahead of you, Steve)

A: "The Mayo Clinic was initially concerned about whether there were enough cost-saving measures. After they found out we put forward specific criticisms, they wrote in their blog the next day, this would make a difference."

8:02 p.m. - Fact Check: If the goal was to imply that Mayo is on board, that's not even close to true. Here's what the blog said:

Although there are some positive provisions in the current House Tri-Committee bill - including insurance for all and payment reform demonstration projects - the proposed legislation misses the opportunity to help create higher-quality, more affordable health care for patients. In fact, it will do the opposite.

And today, Mayo sent this letter to Congress

Q: What does the arrest of Prof. Gates (Harvard) say about race relations in America.

A: "Skip Gates is a friend so I may be biased. If I were trying to jigger into my house -- well, this is my house now, let's say my old house in Chicago. Here, I'd get shot. (laughter). My understanding is at that point, Prof. Gates is already in his house. The police officer comes in, and my understand is he showed his ID to show this was his house. At that point he's arrested for disorderly conduct."

"Not having been there, I don't know what role race played in that but it's fair to say any of us would be angry. The Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting someone when there was already proof he was in his own home."

"There's a long history in this country of African Americans and Latinos being stopped by police disproportionately. That's a fact. This still haunts us. The fact that blacks and Hispanics are picked up frequently -- and often times for no cause -- casts suspicion."

Gun bill fails

Posted at 2:24 PM on July 22, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

South Dakota Sen. John Thune's attempt to expand the boundaries of concealed carry gun laws has failed.

Thune attached an amendment to a defense appropriations bill that would allow people in states that have concealed carry laws -- like Minnesota -- to continue to carry in other states whose residents don't enjoy the same privilege.

A majority of the Senate voted for the measure, but it fell two votes short of the 60 needed.

The vote also showed the deep divisions within the Democratic Party on the issue, the Washington Post notes:

Democrats, who have traditionally championed gun control as a way to reduce crime, are suffering from their own political success of the past two elections. Schumer served as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for the 2006 and 2008 election cycles, specifically recruiting supporters of the Second Amendment to run in states where gun ownership is common. Going from 45 seats in the fall of 2006 to 60 seats this summer, Democrats now have about 25 senators who are strong supporters of gun rights.

Minnesota's senators -- Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken -- voted against the amendment. Wisconsin's Russ Feingold and North Dakota's Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad were among the Democrats who voted for it. (See roll call vote here)

The health care debate

Posted at 1:01 PM on July 22, 2009 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Health, Politics

Rochester's Mayo Clinic is getting plenty of attention as the health care debate has eclipsed the economy as the number one domestic issue.

President Obama holds a news conference tonight (7 p.m. CT with live-blogging here) to try to win support for his proposals, amid growing punditry that his entire presidency is on the line.

Mayo Clinic, and particularly its CEO Denis Cortese, doesn't like the president's proposals. In a story on National Public Radio on Tuesday's All Things Considered, it was described as "one of the health-care industry's great bargains, with costs 28 percent below the national average."

So when Mayo speaks, people in high places tend to listen. Here's the clinic's blog speaking:

"The proposed legislation misses the opportunity to help create higher-quality, more affordable health care for patients. In fact, it will do the opposite."

... and ...

"Unless legislators create payment systems that pay for good patient results at reasonable costs, the promise of transformation in American health care will wither. The real losers will be the citizens of the United States."

Dr. Cortese told NPR further that "by higher value, we mean better outcomes, better results, better safety, better service -- at lower cost over time."

How to do that isn't exactly spelled out. But in a response to a New York Times blog post on how much health care really costs ($15,000 a year per family), a Mayo physician, Randall Walker, offered his idea.

It's a lengthy comment that deserves a full reading (several times, in my case. Such is the nature of the health care debate).

The government simply needs to do what it has always done best: to obtain money from those who have more to help those who have less.

The key is to structure this within a frame-work that nonetheless gives everyone, across all levels of income and employment conditions, more first-dollar responsibility for health care expenses, with the opportunity that comes with it to directly retain the savings of their wiser health care choices.

Dr. Walker says later in life, health savings accounts could be tax-free gifts to heirs...

In this way, many consumers would forgo a lot of the futile, expensive medical interventions toward the end of life that do not significantly improve the quality or duration of one's life -- knowing they and their heirs can directly enjoy the financial benefits of these choices.

It all starts, quite simply, with comprehensive means-adjustment -- for both the below-deductible payments to providers and the premiums to insurers that consumers would pay in relatively high-deductible / low-premium insurance policies.

At the heart of much of the health care debate, it seems to me, is the notion that people are simply wasting the health industry's time by seeking treatment without regard for its true cost. Perhaps, but is that what you"re seeing at the end of the health care food chain?

I don't dismiss the logic, but I also don't see how it meets the intent to raise the quality of care. There are plenty of stories about people who die of heart attacks because they didn't choose to go to the ER when the chest got tight.

The other day, a family member told me the story about getting hit in the head during an athletic contest. His head hurt and his vision was blurry and common sense dictated a trip to the doctor was in order. But he didn't go because he knew a CT-scan would be prescribed and those cost too much.

I fell off a roof last year and didn't go to the doctor for exactly the same reason. That might make financial sense, but it doesn't make medical sense.

And that's the issue that's making everyone's head hurt in the health care debate. How can a system do both?

Writing on the Health Care Blog, Matthew Holt suggests the question doesn't matter, because the legislation being considered doesn't do either.

Of course we'll be back here in a few years because the fundamental problems of the health care system--employment-based insurance & fee-for-service medicine--will remain whatever happens this summer. And they continue to be a recipe for disaster. Although of course it's a disaster that has lots of supporters.

It's almost enough to make you tune out and turn on Fox. Almost.

Report: More whites stayed home on Election Day

Posted at 12:19 PM on July 20, 2009 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

The Census Bureau sure knows how to ruin a good narrative.

The bureau released figures today showing a smaller percentage of registered voters went to the polls last November than in 2004. Even in voting-intensive Minnesota, more whites stayed home.

According to the national data, more older whites opted to stay home compared with 2004, citing little interest in supporting either Barack Obama or John McCain.

By race, the percentage of registered voters in Minnesota who voted was higher for whites (71.6%) than blacks (69%). In 2004, 78% of registered white voters showed up. Among black voters , 64.7% voted.

"The 2008 presidential election saw a significant increase in voter turnout among young people, blacks and Hispanics," said Thom File, a voting analyst with the Census Bureau's Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division said in a news release. "But as turnout among some other demographic groups either decreased or remained unchanged, the overall 2008 voter turnout rate was not statistically different from 2004."

The study also reaffirmed an existing maxim: Generally speaking, young people couldn't care less about voting. Among whites, the smallest turnout was among 18-to-24 year olds (43.8%). Among blacks, this age group also had the lowest turnout (52.3%).

But for all of the jokes about Minnesota in the wake of the Coleman-Franken race, one fact remains: Minnesotans vote. The state had the highest turnout (75%). Hawaii (51.8%), Utah (53.1%), West Virginia (53.4%), and Arkansas (53.8%) brought up the rear.

The Census Bureau data also showed -- again -- that the higher your income, the more likely you are to vote.

Pawlenty in Iraq

Posted at 11:51 AM on July 20, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Politics, War

Minnesota's commander-in-chief of the National Guard looked soldier-like in the U.S. Army images of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's meeting with the troops in a surprise visit to Iraq over the weekend. The governor wore an Army-olive t-shirt and blended in with the troops.

Pawlenty is traveling with Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon who went with khaki:

And Gov. Jim Gibbons of Nevada, who went with the golf shirt and jeans look:

(Above photo from Red Bulls south newsletter)

Romney makes money, political friends

Posted at 12:51 PM on July 16, 2009 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty, Politics

Today's Gallup Poll makes clear the size of the task Gov. Tim Pawlenty has of getting the Republican nomination for president in 2012 (assuming he wants it). The big green bar up there (click for a larger image)? That's former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. The little one? That's Tim Pawlenty.

It's not an impossible task, of course, but Romney is making powerful friends the old-fashioned way. He's giving them money. The Boston Globe reports Romney's political action committee has taken in $1.6 million so far in 2009, and given away thousands of dollars to state and federal candidates (none from Minnesota).

Romney also has another advantage over Pawlenty. When his gubernatorial term ended, his state wasn't an economic basket case.

Little substance at Sotomayor hearings

Posted at 1:37 PM on July 14, 2009 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Crime and Justice, Politics

Some senators at the Supreme Court nomination hearings of Sonia Sotomayor seemed to chafe a bit today because the answers seemed evasive. Now they know how voters feel when the politicians provide vague and evasive answers at debates around election time.

Their goal is to get re-elected. Her goal is to get the Supreme Court job, and weighty political and judicial discourse will have to wait for the lecture circuit.

If there was ever a subject that could have led to a wonderful discussion on the Constitution, it was the one asked by Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisc., on whether Sotomayor had any constitutional qualms in the days after 9/11.

Oh, gosh, where to begin? Eavesdropping of conversations and e-mail, the Patriot Act, government snooping on library records, arresting people without pressing charges? Are we too quick to throw the Constitution under the bus when we're scared?

Sotomayor's answer made it abundantly clear that she had been well coached to say nothing interesting, let alone controversial.

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Of course, Feingold's question may well have been an attempt to draw the judge into the brewing controversy over a reported hit squad program in the CIA in the days after 9/11. But she did not take the bait.

Still, it's becoming clear that a Supreme Court nomination hearing is not the time for honest dialog about the law. Again.

Tom Goldstein, who is live-blogging the hearings on ScotusBlog, says he's not surprised.

"She's following the tradition of saying very little. Ideologically, I'd say the hearings so far have confirmed to me that she's on the middle left. Intellectually, she does seem quite well informed and very capable of covering a lot of complicated topics without difficulty. So, she's quite smart," he said.

Certainly smart enough not to say anything that will get her nomination in trouble.

Franken's first comments

Posted at 1:31 PM on July 13, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Crime and Justice, Politics

Sen. Al Franken made his first prepared remarks in a Senate hearing this afternoon when he got to read his remarks at the nomination hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.

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"I may not be a lawyer but neither are the overwhelming majority of Americans. Yet all of us, regardless of our backgrounds and professions, have a huge stake in who sits on the Supreme Court," he said, invoking Winona, Duluth, and the Twin Cities in his remarks.
Franken turned the tables on Republicans by saying, "I am wary of judicial activism. The judicial branch is supposed to show deep deference to Congress." It's a key Republican point. But then Franken used several Supreme Court decisions applauded by Republicans as examples. "Looking at voter rights, appropriate deference may not have been shown in the past few years and there are ominous signs that judicial activism is on the rise in these areas."

I posted Sen. Amy Klobuchar's comments here earlier. Here's the audio from Klobuchar:

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Continue reading "Doc in the house"

Doc in the house

Posted at 12:36 PM on July 13, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Health, Politics

Say whatever you want about President Obama's selections to the cabinet and courts, but you can't deny they often have fascinating personal journeys.

Sonia Sotomayor? No. Regina Benjamin. She has been selected to be the next surgeon general.

She founded the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic, then rebuilt it when Hurricane Katrina destroyed it. Then had to rebuild it again, according to President Barack Obama.

When Hurricane George destroyed the clinic in 1998, she made house calls to all her patients while it was rebuilt. When Hurricane Katrina destroyed it again and left most of her town homeless, she mortgaged her house and maxed out her credit cards to rebuild that clinic for a second time. She tended to those who had been wounded in the storm, and when folks needed medicine, she asked the pharmacist to send the bill her way.

And when Regina's clinic was about to open for the third time, and a fire burned it to the ground before it could serve the first patient, well, you can guess what Dr. Benjamin did. With help from her community, she is rebuilding it again. One disabled patient brought her an envelope with $20 inside. Another elderly man said simply, "Maybe I can help. I got a hammer."

She's not it in for the money. There are only 2,500 residents in the town where it's located.

She was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow in 2008:

She has established a family practice that allows her to treat all incoming patients, many of whom are uninsured, and frequently travels by pickup truck to care for the most isolated and immobile in her region. Benjamin is skilled, as well, in translating research on preventive health measures into accessible, community-based interventions to decrease the disease burdens of her diverse patient base, which includes immigrants from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, who comprise a third of Bayou La Batre's population. A committed local physician, she also plays key roles statewide and nationally, helping others establish clinics in remote areas of the country and serving in leadership positions in such health-related organizations as the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians. With a deep, firsthand knowledge of the pressing needs and health disparities afflicting rural, high-poverty communities, Benjamin is ensuring that the most vulnerable among us have access to high-quality care.

She had big plans for the money: Expanding the clinic:

WKRG.com

She's also the first African American woman to serve on the American Medical Association's board of trustees.

Back in 1995, she was named Person of the Week on the late Peter Jennings' nightly news program.

It's not clear now, however, what happens to the clinic when she leaves town.

(h/t: Chris Worthington)

Here are her remarks today:

Klobuchar on Sotomayor

Posted at 10:49 AM on July 13, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Crime and Justice, Politics

Here's Sen. Amy Klobuchar's opening statement as written for the Sonia Sotomayor hearings(you can listen to the hearing here), as provided by her office:

Welcome, Judge Sotomayor.

It's a pleasure to see you again today, and I enjoyed the meeting we had in my office a few weeks ago. We had a good conversation - although you did confess to me that when you once visited Minnesota in June, you felt the need to bring a winter parka. I'll try not to hold that against you this week!

I know you have lots of family and friends with you today, supporting you during this important hearing, and we welcome them too. In particular, it's been an honor for me to see your mom here.

When President Obama first announced your nomination, I loved the story about how your mom had saved up money to buy you and your brother the only set of encyclopedias in the neighborhood. It reminded me of when my parents bought a set of Encyclopedia Britannicas in the seventies that always occupied a hallowed place in our hallway. For me, those encyclopedias were a window on the world and a gateway to learning, as they clearly were for you.

From the time you were nine years old, your mom raised you and your brother on her own. She struggled to buy those encyclopedias on her nurse's salary, but she did it because she believed deeply in the value of education.

You went on to be the valedictorian of your high school class, to graduate at the top of your class in college and to attend law school.

After that - and this is an experience we have in common - you became a local prosecutor. Most of my questions during this hearing will be about opinions you've authored and work you've done in the criminal area. I believe having judges with real world, frontline experience as a prosecutor is a good thing.

Continue reading "Klobuchar on Sotomayor"

Who's in charge?

Posted at 7:04 PM on July 11, 2009 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Politics, War

If there's one story that's yet to strike a significant nerve with folks outside of Washington, it's the revelation that the Central Intelligence Agency had a secret counterterrorism program that it didn't tell Congress about.

Oh, and it didn't tell Leon Panetta, who is director of the Central Intelligence Agency, according to Panetta, who says he ended the program when he heard about it on June 23 after he heard about.

As befits Washington, it's Republicans on one side; Democrats on the other, according to National Public Radio's All Things Considered on Saturday..

Details of the program have not been released. Some Republicans say the revelation is no big deal, and that Democrats are playing politics. A man at the center of the controversy -- Democrat Silvestre Reyes of Texas, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee -- tells NPR's Guy Raz that his committee has pinpointed numerous instances where it was not given "full and complete information" and in at least one case, "we were deliberately lied to."

But wait, there's more, according to the New York Times, which cites its sources claiming it was under orders from former VP Dick Cheney that withheld information about the program from Congress:

The disclosure about Mr. Cheney's role in the unidentified C.I.A. program comes a day after an inspector general's report underscored the central role of the former vice president's office in restricting to a small circle of officials knowledge of the National Security Agency's program of eavesdropping without warrants, a degree of secrecy that the report concluded had hurt the effectiveness of the counterterrorism surveillance effort.

Amid all the controversy over who knew what, we still don't know what the counterterrorism program was. The Times says it didn't involve domestic spying, or waterboarding and that it never became fully operational.

Sotomayor's rulings

Posted at 3:43 PM on July 9, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Crime and Justice, Politics

Minnesota Public Radio will be providing live coverage of the nomination hearings for Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Minnesota's two senators -- Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken -- sit on the Judiciary Committee.

Perhaps you'll want to get started reading some of the newly released papers about her nomination. The New York Times forced the release of more than 5,000 pages of White House documents on Sotomayor.

The documents are now available online at the National Archives Web site. There are also links to Sotomayor documents in the archives of President Bill Clinton and President George H.W. Bush.

Several news organizations today provided analysis of her Appeals Court record. The Times has just posted an article claiming he was tougher on criminals than her colleagues. The Washington Post's Jerry Markon held an online chat today on his analysis of her rulings.

The hearings start on Monday

Brod suspends gubernatorial aspirations

Posted at 10:39 AM on July 8, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

State Rep. Laura Brod has suspended her exploratory campaign for governor, according to Gary Miller, who writes at Truth vs. the Machine and helped spearhead a Draft Brod movement.

Miller posted a letter from Brod which said some undisclosed health problems prevent her from running at the moment:

Recently I went in to the doctor for a yearly check up, and unfortunately, found that I had some results from routine diagnostic tests which were concerning. Last week, a second opinion confirmed what I originally learned and set forth a treatment plan, after which I am certain I will get a clean bill of health. Over the holiday weekend, my family and I decided right now is not the right time to begin a campaign for the Governor so we are suspending the conversations I have been having related to the potential of my candidacy so we can focus our energy where it needs to be and will evaluate where things are at in late summer.

A look at congressional office expenses

Posted at 12:07 PM on July 7, 2009 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

The U.S. Senate is following the lead of the U.S. House and is entering the 21st century soon. On Monday, the Senate passed an appropriations bill funding Congress' own budget. The bill would provide senators with office budgets of $3.1 million to $4.9 million next year, depending on the population of their state and other factors. It included a provision requiring Congress to post their office expenses online. Currently, they're kept only in paper records.

But the data is already available online thanks to LegisStorm.

I've put together Minnesota's congressional delegation spending up to the latest full year available. Where possible, I compared it to the same office's spending back to 2004.

	FY 2008	FY2007	FY2006	FY2005	FY2004	Increase
Klobuchar	$2,455,415	$1,599,638
Walz	$777,158
Ellison	$878,792
Bachmann	$754,929
Oberstar	$1,153,911	$1,029,835	$1,056,817	$1,046,012	$921,187	25.3%
McCollum	$1,004,280	$892,103	$849,939	$871,002	$813,563	23.4%
Coleman	$2,288,895	$2,162,587	$2,138,923	$1,955,451	$1,889,943	21.1%
Sabo			$966,036	$836,820	$800,529	20.7%
Kline	$836,655	$815,467	$846,007	$821,164	$696,507	20.1%
Dayton			$2,508,160	$2,339,313	$2,174,434	15.3%
Peterson	$1,005,940	$1,005,239	$954,052	$943,859	$886,238	13.5%
Ramstad	$861,371	$865,602	$865,980	$859,810	$797,103	8.1%
Gutknecht			$720,731	$783,798	$688,906	4.6%
Kennedy			$733,192	$809,807	$767,066	-4.4%

In most cases, the biggest expense -- aside from the congressional salary -- is the salary for the lawmaker's chief of staff or administrative assistant. These numbers are not necessarily the annual salary, because they may include bonuses and they don't include time a person may have split with a campaign committee.

In the last full fiscal year, these were the top earners in the position per congressional office:

Aide	Assigned to	Disbursement
Lee Sheehy	Klobuchar	$160,692.60
Mark Brownell	Peterson	$158,940.97
Bill Richard	Oberstar	$155,837.02
Kari Moe	Ellison	$155,434.75
Jean Hinz	Kline	$119,883.33
Joshua Syrjamaki	Walz	$104,166.70
Michelle Marston	Bachmann	$103,804.67*
William Harper	McCollum	$22,459.35

* - Includes salary of previous chief of staff.

Meanwhile, the Center for Public Integrity has drilled down the political food chain and examined financial disclosure requirements for state lawmakers around the country. Minnesota was ranked one of the worst.

On the attack against Franken

Posted at 10:33 AM on July 7, 2009 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

The end is near now that Al Franken is in the Senate, according to the latest video from the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Perhaps you recognize the images of Franken from an anti-Franken ad that showed him screaming during some sort of speech. You can't see the ad anymore because the NRSC has made it "private" on YouTube.

That ad prompted the Franken campaign to reveal where the video came from:

It will be interesting to see if Franken becomes the Republican poster child for the Democratic majority in the Senate.

Here's the oath being administered to Franken today by Joe Biden:

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(h/t: Eric Ringham)

The health care bills

Posted at 12:02 PM on July 2, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Health, Politics

As the economy continues to collapse, it appears health care has overtaken it as the most important issue facing Washington politicians.

The Senate's giant health care bill has been posted here. It's 615 pages long. The chairman's amendments are another 175 pages.

How many people who boil the characterization of the bill down to talk-show-sized bites will actually read it? How politicians will actually read it? And this is just the Senate version.

Most people won't. But that won't stop them from having an opinion.

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Is a marital affair worse for Republican politicians?

Posted at 9:01 AM on July 2, 2009 by Bob Collins (52 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

I'm live blogging Midmorning's first hour on Thursday, a discussion about politicians and their affairs. Over our neighboring cubicles on Wednesday, I gave Kerri Miller my view: marriage is about as serious as a commitment as there is, and if you're willing to sell it out, the chances are pretty good you'd think nothing of taking a lesser route on the road of ethics. It's more a question of character than a matter of hypocrisy.

But is it a more egregious violation if it's a Republican who walks the Appalachian Trail?

"This is a very disturbing trend that some of their leaders can't abide by some of the values they as a party used to esteem, or should esteem," David Woodard, a Republican consultant and political science professor at South Carolina's Clemson University told the Los Angeles Times last week.

"As other Republicans come up for consideration, this is certainly one of the first things they'll have to address," Woodard said. "Voters will be looking at their private lives much more than before."

Fine. But does that mean a Democrat who admits to an affair gets a pass?

"The American public is often forgiving of personal mistakes," Julian Zelizer, a political science professor at Princeton University, wrote in the New York Times. "There have been many instances when voters re-elect politicians who have suffered through damaging events. But voters don't like it when a politician does something that directly contradicts the core arguments that they or their party have been making in the public arena."

Both Zilizer and Woodard are the guests during the hour (starting at 9:06 a.m.), and I'd like to have a corresponding discussion here to share during the hour. So please share your thoughts below.

LIVE BLOGGING

9:02 a.m. - Let's start by trying to separate the political from the moral. Take this poll.

9:04 a.m. - Some of the comments are getting mailed in. Just got this one:

"We are born with two innate urges. One is to eat, the other is to reproduce. There should be no surprise that infidelity is part of the human condition."

9:07 a.m. - Here's Kerri's intro she read just now:

There are new calls this morning for South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford to resign--A dozen Republican state senators have asked Sanford to step down...and a handful of county GOP chairs are calling for him to quit. One of the largest newspapers in the state has also editorialized that Sanford should tender his resignation.

The chorus for the governor to leave office grew louder this week....after he disclosed more details about his extra-marital affair. In a lengthy interview with the Associated Press... Sanford said he was no longer in love with his wife...that his Argentinian mistress was his "soul mate"...and that he'd had other encounters with women during trips with friends. At one point he told the journalists: "I will be able to die knowing that I had met my soul mate."

Attorney General Henry McMaster has asked the State Law Enforcement Division to review all of Sanford's travel records to determine whether he broke state laws.
So far, Sanford has said he will fulfill the remaining 18 months of his term...but there are diverging opinions on whether he can still be effective.... There are also differing perspectives on whether marital fidelity tells us anything about the kind of leader someone can be?

And that's where you, our audience, comes in this morning.

9:09 a.m. - We're starting with Woodard. "I feel like I'm watching a marital autopsy," he says. We're all still trying to figure out why Sanford felt the need to make matters worse by saying he doesn't love his wife anymore, has found his soulmate and still hopes to reconcile.

9:10 a.m. "Do Men See Mark Sanford in the Mirror?" the Los Angeles Times asks this morning.

Call me crazy, but amid all this finger-wagging, am I detecting just a little bit of -- gasp -- empathy? Is there something about Sanford's puppyish comportment, not to mention the fact that, unlike many adulterous politicos, he seems to be truly in love with his mistress (or at least truly convinced that he is) that's making him less a pariah and more a symbol of the male midlife crisis? For all his duplicity and entitlement, are some Americans -- particularly men -- feeling as much pity as outrage? Consider this small sample:

You can read the rest for yourself but it seems to me the suggestion is most men are doing this. Quite a generalization. Does Mark Sanford represent you, gentlemen?

9:13 a.m. - "There's a few people on the Democratic side enjoying this," Woodard says.

9:14 a.m. - Can you be an effective leader after having admitted to an affair? "Yeah, I think you can," Julian Zelizer says. He uses the fact Wilbur Mills got re-elected. But lots of crooked politicians have been re-elected. Does that make them good leaders, or just good crooks?

9:18 a.m. - Chuck (caller): "He seems to be extremely selfish and putting himself in front of everything else and these aren't the times for that." Zelizer says bad economic times can make people angrier. The condition of the Republican Party could make people shakier about "having someone like this in the spotlight." On the other hand, the Great Depression involved FDR having some behavior issues, and yet is considered one of the greatest presidents.

9:21 a.m. - Katherine (callers) says the issue isn't personal transgressions but incompetence to govern.

9:23 a.m. - "He's telling us much more than any of us need to know," Zelizer says. "People don't understand why he can't stop himself." Dave Woodard reacts to my comment so the air just now that 100% of the people taking the News Cut poll says the crime here is "being a hypocrite." "I think that's accurate," he said.

9:25 a.m. - Thelma of Minneapolis writes:

"It matters very much when it takes a hypocritical stance. Didn't Gov Sanford publicly reprehended Pres Clintion for his indiscretions? "

Why, yes, that's true. And funny you should mention that:

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9:28 a.m. - Woodard says Sanford makes it hard to attract candidates to run for office. He says since Watergate, we're telling people more than they want to know. It's an interesting comment because very little about Watergate coverage had anything to do with personal lives.

9:30 a.m. - A revelation that everyone knows but few acknowledge. Woodard says bill and proposals such as Defense of Marriage are designed more to increase voter turnout than actually "defend marriage."

9:35 a.m. - We're back after the break. Kerri and I have been talking about what great guests Woodard and Zelizer are.

9:36 a.m. - Caller says it's not about hypocrisy etc. It's about whether or not "you're lying to me. If you're lying to me or the voters, you're out, bucko, because lying means I can't trust you about anything else." Kerri asks if he holds his politicians to 100% truthfulness. He says a broken promise well explained isn't lying. But "if you ask where are you and I lie about that, that's deceit. That's just bald-faced lying."

9:38 a.m. - Responding to that, Dave Woodard said, "I did not have sex with that woman." He says you can lie and get away with it in office. But, for the record, Clinton never came up for a vote after lying to the American people.

9:40 a.m. - The Digitel in Charleston, SC:

The point here is, yes, flay Sanford for his marital indiscretions, but we've got to recognize the real problem is how South Carolina has been starved in education -- and that's the real root of our job problems.

9:41 a.m. - Zelizer: "We don't elect angels, we elect politicians. Ideally we'd love a government full of truth-tellers but I'm not sure we're ever going to have that and I think most voters know that."

9:43 a.m. - Talk shifts a bit to Sanford's presidential aspirations. "Mitt Romney is smiling," Woodard says. "If after a big-spending administration like the Obama administration and you want to cut taxes, I think Gov. Sanford could've stood very tall. But it's a moot point now."

What about Tim Pawlenty?

"There's a lack of a clear farm team of leaders not only to run for president, but to define what the party is all about. In 2004, people said the Democrats were done. Parties can remake themselves very quickly. It's too early and the loss of Sanford isn't a huge detriment.... it's not a sign the party can't rebound. These scandals happen. We hear that these are the people who are natural leaders, but nobody had ever heard of them until then. Pawlenty and Romney are two of the leaders still standing. Romney is more formidable."

9:47 a.m. - I thinking maybe I should add a poll question: Is it wrong to have an affair?

9:49 a.m. "I factor in hypocrisy, don't we expect it?" Kerri asks. "Yeah, but we don't like to see it in our face," Zelizer says.

9:51 a.m. - "People will give politicians give and take if they make a position and they can't take it later on because of the circumstances. What they can't seem to accept is when they take an oath or a vow," says Woodard. "When they violate those kind of things (marriage vows), they violate something in a serious situation and they're on record as being hypocrites and that's why hypocrisy is winning." (He's referring to the poll posted above)

9:52 a.m. - Time to turn this hypocrisy thing around. Suppose a governor spends two terms telling you taxes are wrong. Is he a hypocrite if he raises taxes? Would we hold that against a governor?

9:54 a.m. - Caller's observation: "If the governor were a woman, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"The images of politics is smoking, drinking, and fooling around," Zelizer says. "It's hard to see a woman candidate surviving thise."

It's not much of an issue in South Carolina, Woodard notes, because the state has the lowest number of elected female politicians.

9:57 a.m. - Gail Collins in the New York Times today

Talking about money was familiar ground for South Carolina conservatives, and for a while it looked as if they might settle on a rule that sex is irrelevant unless it leads to a tax increase.

This was a great hour. I hope you continue the discussion down below in the comments section!

Franken faces

Posted at 1:01 PM on July 1, 2009 by Bob Collins (6 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Faces in the crowd at today's rally for Sen.-elect Al Franken. You'll need to click the image to enlarge it.

It's near impossible to keep that Election Night excitement alive for 8 months.

11/4/08

Coleman-Franken: The reaction

Posted at 5:13 PM on June 30, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

MPR has been getting plenty of comments in the wake of the end of the Minnesota Senate race. Our Public Insight Network has been posting them here. You can also find reaction on the Polinaut blog.

The Network's Michael Caputo and I were on All Things Considered with Tom Crann on Tuesday evening. Listen in:

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Q&A on the Franken-Coleman fight

Posted at 2:19 PM on June 30, 2009 by Bob Collins (18 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Q: What happens now?

A: Al Franken needs an election certificate before he can enter the Senate. It has to be signed by the Secretary of State and the Governor.

Update 3:57 p.m. - Coleman has conceded the election. "I have always believed you do the best you can and leave the results up to a higher authority. I'm at peace with
that," Coleman said. "It's time to move forward."

Listen

Q: Where's the governor and what's his plan?

A: He's in Washington and released this statement shortly after Coleman conceded:

The Minnesota Supreme Court has today addressed the issues surrounding the accuracy and integrity of our election system during the 2008 U.S. Senate race in Minnesota. In light of that decision and Senator Coleman's announcement that he will not be pursuing an appeal, I will be signing the election certificate today as directed by the court and applicable law.

"I would like to thank Senator Coleman for his service. As state solicitor general, Mayor of Saint Paul and United States Senator, he has been an extraordinary leader and public servant for Minnesota.

"I also want to congratulate Al Franken and wish him well as he serves the people of Minnesota."

Sen. Harry Reid issued the following statement:

"I congratulate Senator-elect Al Franken, the next Senator from the state of Minnesota. The people of Minnesota will now finally get the brilliant and hardworking new senator they elected in November and the full representation they deserve. After all the votes have been counted and recounted, the Minnesota Supreme Court has made the final determination that Minnesotans have chosen Al Franken to help their state and our country get back on track. "The Senate looks forward to welcoming Senator-elect Franken as soon as possible. He will play a crucial role as we work to strengthen our economy, ensure all Americans can access and afford quality health care, make our country more energy independent, confirm the President's outstanding nominee to the Supreme Court, and tackle the many other challenges we face. "I once again encourage Governor Pawlenty to respect the votes of his constituents and the decisions of his state's highest court. He should put politics aside, follow his state's laws and finally sign the certificate that will bring this episode to an end."

The Senate is not currently in Washington. It's on its July 4th break.

Franken told reporters today he's "going up to the Range to do some parades." So it'll be a few days before he's sworn in. Listen

Q: Did judges on the Supreme Court all agree?

A: Yes. The decision was unanimous ~~-- per curiam, in legal speak~~. Two members of the court abstained because they served on a panel that considered the issue earlier.

"Whatever your political point of view, you had someone on the court from your perspective, who from a political perspective would share your point of view. And yet, given that diversity, they all saw the law the same way. That's significant," Ned Foley said.

Q: Why did it take so long?

A: "One of the things that's always on the mind of judges and justices is not wanting to be reversed," said Prof. Rick Hasen of Loyola Law School, who also writes the Election Law blog. He says the decision was intended to keep Coleman from winning had he attempted to convince the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.

Q: Could Coleman have continued the fight?

Yes, according to Hasen. He had two options. "One is an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court , the other is federal appeals court. He certainly has federal and constitutional issues, "and the Supreme Court is open for business to hear those."

A lawsuit to the federal appeals court would likely not have been successful, the professor said, because the court was likely to say the issues had already been decided at state court.

Q: Why didn't Coleman continue the fight?

A: Larry Jacobs at the University of Minnesota says Coleman is "busted" and also has to pay some of Al Franken's legal bills. Jacobs says Coleman also has his eyes on running for governor in 2010.

There was also little chance of success. Realistically, the federal options are only a few days' delay, Ned Foley of Ohio State told MPR's Gary Eichten this afternoon. "It's not going to delay it much further," he said.

Q: Will Coleman run for governor?
A: Not saying "no" when asked that question is saying "maybe." Coleman said he's more concerned with catching fish.

Q: How does this affect Washington?

A: Franken becomes the Democrats' 60th vote. That's the number required to avert filibusters. "...with both Senators Edward M. Kennedy and Robert C. Byrd absent due to illness, the Democrats have sometimes scrambled to make sure they had lined up enough votes," the New York Times notes.

Closer to home, we will likely start hearing opinions on critical issues from Sen.-elect Franken.

Q: So that's it, then? The Democrats get everything they want?

A: These are the Democrats. In-fighting is part of the party DNA. Just look at the veiled shots President Obama has sent Congress' way in the last month. As Forbes noted on Tuesday:

... rifts over climate change and energy policy tend to be more regional than partisan. Last week, a sweeping bill that addresses both issues barely squeaked by in the House. Even before the Minnesota court's ruling, the bill's future in the Senate was in doubt. Opponents worry that it would lead to rising energy costs and is too watered-down to be meaningful anyway.

The Democrats' biggest foe in climate change legislation last week wasn't a Republican. It was a Democratic congressman. From Minnesota.

"I'm not going to Washington to be the 60th Democratic senator. I'm going to be the second senator from Minnesota," he said on Tuesday.

Q: What committees will Franken serve on in the Senate?

The Health Education, Pension and Labor Committee; the Judiciary Committee; the Committee on Indian Affairs, and the Committee on Aging.

The money quotes in the Coleman-Franken decision

Posted at 1:11 PM on June 30, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Crime and Justice, Politics

Here are the money quotes from today's Minnesota Supreme Court decision confirming Al Franken as Minnesota's junior U.S. Senator:

On absentee ballots:

The distinction between errors by voters and errors by election officials is an important one. We have drawn "a clear distinction between the provisions and prohibitions in the election laws which are personal to the elector and those which apply to election officials over whose conduct he has no control."...Fitzgerald v. Morlock, 264 Minn. 520, 524, 120 N.W.2d 339, 345 (1963). We have said that "any reasonable regulations of the statute as to the conduct of the voter himself" are mandatory, and a vote is properly rejected if the voter fails to comply with the law. Id. at 524, 120 N.W.2d at 345. But if a voter complies with the law, his vote should not be rejected because of "irregularities, ignorance, inadvertence, or mistake, or even intentional wrong on the part of the election officers."

We conclude that our existing case law requires strict compliance by voters with the requirements for absentee voting. Thus, we reject Coleman‟s argument that only substantial compliance by voters is required. Having rejected this argument, we also conclude that the trial court‟s February 13 order requiring strict compliance with the statutory requirements for absentee voting was not a deviation from our well-established precedent.

Is absentee voting a right or a privilege?

At oral argument, Coleman posited that because of the increased use of the absentee voting method, it should now be treated as a right, not a privilege. But that is a policy determination for the legislature, not this court, to make.

On the differing standards from county to county for how absentee ballots were judged:

Coleman was required to prove either that local jurisdictions ‟differences in application or the trial court‟s application of the requirements for absentee voting was the product of intentional discrimination. Coleman neither claims nor produced any evidence that the differing treatment of absentee ballots among jurisdictions during the election was the result of intentional or purposeful discrimination against individuals or classes. Nor does Coleman claim that the trial court‟s February 13 order, establishing certain categories of ballots as not legally cast, was the product of an intent to discriminate against any individual or class.

On Coleman's claim that some ballots were counted twice:

Coleman called no witnesses with direct knowledge of the handling of duplicate ballots in the relevant precincts, but he did introduce at trial voter rosters, envelopes from accepted absentee ballots, copies of ballots challenged during the manual recount, and machine tapes from the identified precincts in which he alleges double-counting of absentee ballots occurred. On appeal, Coleman has identified nothing additional that an inspection of ballots under section 209.06 would have produced.We therefore hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the petition for inspection.

On missing ballots in Minneapolis:

The ballots are missing, but Coleman introduced no evidence of foul play or misconduct, and the election day precinct returns are available to give effect to those votes.

The Supreme Court did not order Gov. Pawlenty to sign an election certificate.

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Fact-checking Bachmann

Posted at 5:15 PM on July 10, 2009 by Bob Collins (12 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Rep. Michele Bachmann overreached today when she delivered her latest salvo against the U.S. census. Bachmann proposed allowing people the option not to answer questions on the census.

ASSERTION: "Beginning last weekend, the Pentagon was broken into, its computers, as well as Homeland Security's computers, and North Korea may be the culprit," she said. "What we know is that the government's computer systems are not hacker proof."

FACT: According to the Associated Press, "Treasury Department and Federal Trade Commission Web sites were knocked out by the blizzard of digital requests, while others such as the Pentagon and the White House were able to fend it off with little disruption." No one has been "hacked" in this cyberattack from -- reportedly -- North Korea. Instead, access to a computer service is blocked through "denial of service" attacks. No information actually is pried from a targeted computer. And no computer was "broken into."

As the AP report characterized it:

Denial of service attacks against Web sites are not uncommon, and are usually caused when sites are deluged with Internet traffic so as to effectively take them off-line. Mounting such an attack can be relatively easy using widely available hacking programs, and they can be made far more serious if hackers infect and use thousands of computers tied together into "botnets."

ASSERTION: "And so American's private information, including their home telephone numbers..."

FACT: But you can get people's home telephone numbers from a telephone book.

ASSERTION: ".. and very private information about their personal lives could be subject to a hacker."

FACT: True, a computer could be hacked into. But that doesn't stop Bachmann from accepting donations on her Web site that require you to reveal your credit card number, your occupation, your address and your email address. One has to calculate the risks and evaluate the return.

A couple of weeks ago, Bachmann said the census data might be used to round Americans up, making a connection to Japanese internment in World War II.

If Bachmann is worried about what the government might do, it's not as if it hasn't given some reason to be. In 2004, the Electronic Privacy Information Center said it obtained documents to show that data "on people who identified themselves on the 2000 census as being of Arab ancestry" had been given to the Department of Homeland Security. But the DHS said that was to figure out what language to use on signs at airports.

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I have a confession to make. I can't remember ever filling out a census form. I can't remember anyone coming to the door and asking me questions. A young man stopped by a month or so ago to confirm that my address is correct, apparently to be sure I didn't put four large numbers on the post by the garage to fool the Census people.

"I know for my family the only question we will be answering is how many people are in our home," Rep. Bachmann told the Washington Times last month. "We won't be answering any information beyond that, because the Constitution doesn't require any information beyond that."

That, of course, is wrong, according to Census officials. It also ignores the reality that the Constitution provides a framework for laws. There's nothing in the Constitution, for example, about a 55 mph speed limit, but my argument fell on deaf ears in White Bear Lake not long ago.

What's the point of the census? Let's look at a couple of the questions.

Question: How old are you?
Reason for asking: The voting age population census could help Minnesota lawmakers decide, for example, which House district could be eliminated if, as reported, the state loses a congressional seat.

Question: Last week did this person work for either pay or profit?
Reason for asking: Helps to identify the impact of immigration and job markets, according to the Census Bureau. It's an issue that's been important to some representatives like Bachmann and could provide facts to back up assertions, should that ever comes back into style in Washington.

None of this is new. The census people have been making this point for decades:

Many of the questions claimed as "personal" are actually on the American Community Survey, rather than the Census short form that most people will get.

Bachmann is making the claim that government intrusion by way of the Census is an expanding universe. But there's evidence that the opposite is true. Past census records, for example, reveal that Clark Haley of Anoka County got $18 a month in a government pension for having a "diseased lung" in 1869. George Fairbanks, also of Anoka County, got $4 a month for chronic diarrhea.

Let the record show, there are no questions planned in the '10 Census about diarrhea.

Dishonorable mention

Posted at 4:02 PM on June 24, 2009 by Bob Collins (26 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

It's not the heat; it's the hypocrisy.

Maybe Mark Sanford had a real shot at presidential politics; maybe he didn't. It's all over now that he's admitted he was having an affair with a woman in Argentina (See emails) and that's why he disappeared for several days and nobody -- including his wife -- knew where he was. The fact his wife said she wasn't concerned told me everything I need to know about the Sanford marriage.

Why do politicians have affairs? Perhaps for the same reasons everyone else who's running around has one: they don't think they're going to get caught, ego, and, sex; -- not necessarily in that order.

Twenty-two percent of adults in monogamous relationships have cheated on their current partner. The rate is even higher among married men, according to a recent survey. If politicians cheat at the same clip, 91 members of Congress are fooling around.

"We think everybody is out there doing it," says Janet Lever, a sociologist at California State University, Los Angeles, and the study's lead researcher told MSNBC. "Well, they're not."

Our reaction -- usually disappointment -- reveals our basic idealism toward politics. "I think why this gets so much attention in the news is because these are people we want to trust - they are people who make important decisions that affect our lives. When they turn out to be dishonest, we are not only disappointed, but we can't trust them at all," Emily Brown, a marriage counselor, told the Washington Post after one politician's fling went public.

The list of pols getting caught, though, seems endless. My ranking of the top 10 political "affairs."

10. Gov. James E. McGreevey - With his wife standing by his side, the New Jersey governor acknowledged he had an affair, then admitted he was gay.

9. Gov. David Patterson - One day after replacing the philandering Elliot Spitzer, Patterson admitted that he also had an affair... or two, causing a communal forehead slap among New York residents.

8. Rep. Vito Fossella - The New York congressman broke down on the House floor last May after acknowledging his arrest for drunk driving and admitting he had a daughter with a woman who wasn't his wife.

7. Sen. John Ensign - It was just last Tuesday -- two days before Sanford took off for Argentina -- that Ensign admitted he had an affair with a family friend. "I take full responsibility for my actions," reading from the first chapter of the "Politician's Guide to Admitting Your Affair."

6. Rep. Newt Gingrich - One of President Clinton's biggest critics during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Gingrich admitted he was fooling around, too, around the same time. "There are times that I have fallen short of my own standards. There's certainly times when I've fallen short of God's standards," he said, while insisting he wasn't a hypocrite. Gingrich, considered a potential presidential contender, may end up proving that having an affair isn't a political death sentence.

5. Sen. David Vitter -- The Louisiana senator was all about family values, as long as you don't define family values as "eschewing the DC Madam." "This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible," he said, with his wife standing nearby.

4. Sen. Larry Craig - The Idaho senator was arrested at the Minneapolis St. Paul airport Concourse C men's room after apparently soliciting an undercover cop for sex. His defense? "I am not gay," he insisted. His wife joined him at his side for his press conference.

3. John Edwards - The former presidential candidate proved there really are two Americas: the men who cheat on their wives and the men who don't. "I was and am ashamed of my conduct and choices," he said of his affair with the campaign's filmmaker. His wife, battling breast cancer, stood beside him. It was an uncomfortable moment, though, when she appeared on NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me last Saturday, only to be asked by Peter Sagal, "how big is the doghouse your husband lives in now?"

2. Eliot Spitzer - The New York governor with a squeaky clean reputation, tossed it away for a romp with high-priced hookers. "I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself," he said, with his wife standing at his side.

1. Bill Clinton - Still the mother of all political affairs. "I did not have sex with that woman" is as big a part of presidential history as "I am not a crook." Both were lies. (Zip ahead to 6:18 here). Well-delivered lies.

News conference choreography

Posted at 3:06 PM on June 23, 2009 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Media, News, Politics

The very tail end of President Obama's news conference today provided the best glimpse into the workings of the White House press corps.

Listen to the comment shouted at the end of the president's remarks. (Listen)

After Obama had bid everyone "adieu," an unidentified reporter whined "No questions about Iraq?" It seemed an odd complaint to a president, coming from someone responsible for asking the questions, one of which, by the way, included "how many cigarettes do you smoke a day?"

I wondered about that on Twitter, when Kevin Watterson, the Minnesota House Republican Caucus' communications boss, suggested coordination between Obama and the press corps over what questions would be asked.

He wasn't the only one. Writing on the Politico blog, Michael Calderone noted that Obama invited a question on Iran from Huffington Post's Nico Pitney.

Reporters typically don't coordinate their questions for the president before press conferences, so it seemed odd that Obama might have an idea what the question would be. Also, it was a departure from White House protocol by calling on The Huffington Post second, in between the AP and Reuters.

CBS Radio's Mark Knoller, a veteran White House correspondent, said over Twitter it was "very unusual that Obama called on Huffington Post second, appearing to know the issue the reporter would ask about."

Knoller says a news conference shouldn't "be choreographed," although presidents historically have had a "go-to" reporter to call on when questioning gets tough -- the kind of reporter who might ask about, for example, a new dog or the number of cigarettes he smokes a day.

Most of the questions asked today seemed to follow the issues that currently have our attention -- Iran and health care. It's not clear what question about Iraq the lonely reporter with the complaint would have asked had he been given the chance.

On that subject -- the news agenda -- a survey of what we're interested in (by way of the news media) speaks to our short attention spans.

Here's the graph for the last week, compiled by Pew's Project for Excellence in Journalism:

BuildChartP2.php.jpg

And the week before that:

And the one before that:

Iraq hasn't registered on the PEJ's news coverage index since the third week in February.

(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Politics South Carolina style

Posted at 4:28 PM on June 22, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

It was an odd few hours in South Carolina on Monday when nobody could figure out where the state's governor was. Gov. Mark Sanford disappeared last Thursday. But TheState.com reports his cellphone signal was picked up in Atlanta.

Adding weirdness to the situation was this reaction from the governor's wife, as reported by the newspaper.

First lady Jenny Sanford told The Associated Press earlier Monday her husband has been gone for several days and she did not know where.

Wait for it.

She said she was not concerned.

Politicization of the language

Posted at 11:57 AM on June 19, 2009 by Bob Collins (8 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

"It follows that any struggle against the abuse of language is a sentimental archaism, like preferring candles to electric light or hansom cabs to aeroplanes. Underneath this lies the half-conscious belief that language is a natural growth and not an instrument which we shape for our own purposes."
-- George Orwell

Is it torture or harsh interrogation tactics? National Public Radio ombudsman Alicia Shepard told MPR Midmorning host Kerri Miller she'll have a piece on her online column later today because "NPR listeners are furious that we're not calling a spade a spade."

So the timing was perfect for today's Midmorning hour on how our language has been politicized, and how a point of view creeps into the journalism.

At MPR, for example, pro-choice and pro-life and no-no's. Instead, we use phrases such as legalized abortion. Of more recent vintage is the controversy over the use partial birth abortion. It is a virtually endless debate.

That said, here's a list of the words or phrases that came up in this morning's broadcast, either from the guests -- Shepard and Karlyn Kohrs Campbell from the University of Minnesota -- or callers. Add your own below.

Public plan vs. government plan
Death tax
Public option vs. government takeover
Waterboarding
Disabled person vs. Person with disabilities
Enhanced interrogation technique
Fee vs. tax
Break news
Abortion doctor
Latino
Collateral damage
Regime vs. government

The Renter's Credit impact

Posted at 10:30 AM on June 19, 2009 by Bob Collins (8 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

MPR's Jessica Mador provides some insight into the impact of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's trimming of the Minnesota Renter's Credit as part of the effort to balance the state budget without raising taxes.

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That's Robert Zozaski, who lives in subsidized rental housing in Breckenridge. He's 80 years old, a veteran of the Korean War and he's thinning his packaged soup to help make ends meet. The credit goes to about 270,000 low- and moderate-income Minnesotans.

Here's what Jess wrote:

The credit is essentially a tax refund intended to offset renters' share of property taxes. (Many) homeowners get one, too but the governor's proposed cuts would only affect renters.

The refund goes to people who earn about $50,000 or less, but more than half of the households make less than $20,000 a year. An estimated 28 percent are seniors and people with disabilities.

Eighty-year old Korean War veteran Robert Zozaski lives in subsidized rental housing in Breckenridge. Between his Social Security check and his pension from the VA, he gets by on about $930 a month. He says he saves money by eating lots of ramen noodles.

"The ramen noodles and chicken flavor, I like. One package of that, I double the water so I make two meals out of it. What I do is I buy them by the case when they are a dime a pack. That's $2.40 a case. That's quite a few meals," he says.

Zozaski has a heart condition. Luckily, his medications are paid for by the VA, but he worries about the sodium in the ramen and other cheap foods he relies on but says it's all he can really afford.

He'll have to figure out a way to save even more money if he loses his Renter's Credit, which usually puts a few hundred dollars extra in his pocket. He uses it to buy new clothes and pay a county home health aide, who comes twice a month to help with laundry and chores.

Zozaski says he doubts the governor and lawmakers know what it's like to live on ramen.

The governor's budget would cut the Renter's Credit by more than a quarter - about $51 million a year, a deeper cut than he has proposed in the past.

Stay tuned

Are you receiving the Renter's Credit? Tell us about your budget.

On his weekly radio show today, Gov. Tim Pawlenty said the cut that his fellow politicians have been most vocal about, is the end of the rebate for political contributions, according to the Pioneer Press' Rachel Stassen-Berger.

How unallotment affects your city

Posted at 11:35 AM on June 17, 2009 by Bob Collins (6 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

On MPR's Midday this afternoon, Rep. Loren Solberg predicted massive property tax increases because of Gov. Pawlenty's "unallotment."

At the same time, the League of Minnesota Cities has just posted a Department of Revenue spreadsheet showing the impact on each city in the state. Find it here.

The League makes clear that pushing many of the cuts to the second year of the state's two-year budget gives officials some flexibility...

For cities, approximately one-third of the reduction will occur in 2009 and two-thirds will occur in 2010. This "backloading" of the cuts will allow cities the most flexibility and longest time frame to make budgetary adjustments.

How familiar are you with how your city spends tax money? What would you be willing to do without if you were given a choice? (Update: Mitch Berg has an impressive list here)

If

Posted at 2:06 PM on June 16, 2009 by Bob Collins (76 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

A few ways the governor's unallotment may impact you.

If you're a politician:

You'll have to find another way to convince people to contribute to your campaign. The political contribution refund is eliminated through June 30, 2011. It reimburses Minnesotans for contributions to candidates.

If you're a renter:

Your renter's refund would be reduced from 19% of rent paid to 15%.

If you're a personal care attendant:

The most hours you can work in a month are being reduced by 45.

If you work for the Department of Public Safety, Military and Veterans Affairs, Corrections, or State Operated Services Division of the Department of Human Services:

Relax. The 2.25 percent reduction in the state agencies budget doesn't apply to you.

If you invested in capital equipment:

You won't be getting your sales tax refund payment for up to 3 months.

If you need help applying for public health care programs:

You're on your own. The money to fund it from the state is being suspended. Parts of the program paid for by the tax on health care providers will continue.

If you live in Albertville, Andover, Arden Hills, Baxter, Blaine, Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Burnsville, Champlin, Chanhassen, Circle Pines, Corcoran, Cottage Grove, Dayton, Eagan, East Bethel, Edina, Farmington,Forest Lake, Golden Valley, Ham Lake, Hugo, Inver Grove Heights, Lake Elmo,Lakeville, Lino Lakes, Mahtomedi, Maple Grove Maplewood, Mendota Heights, Minnetonka, Minnestrista, Monticello, Mound, New Brighton, Oakdale, Orono, Otsego, Plymouth, Prior Lake, Ramsey, Rogers, Rosemount, Roseville, Sartell, Savage, Shakopee, Shoreview, Shorewood, Spring Lake Park, St. Anthony, St. Louis Park, St. Michael, Vadnais Heights, Victoria, or Woodbury:

You may not feel the impact as deeply. Your city doesn't get local government aid (LGA) from the state. Other cities will feel it, city officials say. "It could be in the form of no cop in their kid's school, higher property taxes, or a local library that is no longer open," according to St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman.

If you're Wisconsin:

Send that check! Minnesota will require payments under the reciprocity agreement that allows Wisconsin students who attend Minnesota public colleges to pay the same tuition they would at a comparable Wisconsin school, and vice versa. This is wrong. You still have to pay up, Wisconsin, but it's the income tax reciprocity agreement that allows residents of one state to file income taxes only in the state in which he/she lives when he/she works across the border.

Throwing the book at politicians

Posted at 12:00 PM on June 16, 2009 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Within the last week, Minnesota legislators began receiving copies of the book, "48 Liberal Lies About American History," written by a University of Dayton professor, and sent to them by the chairman of the Montgomery County (Ohio) Republican Party. They weren't the only ones, however. Over 7,000 politicians across the country are getting the book.

"It's been very fun, the responses that I've gotten," according to Attorney Greg Gantt, the party chairman in the Ohio county. "The speaker of the Ohio House actually returned a bunch of the books and said that the suggested $25.95 cover price exceeded the amount the gift could be. But it only cost us $7. But they took the time and money to send them back," he said. "That sparked some lively debate around town." ~~(Note: The gift ban in Minnesota is $50).~~

Twenty volunteers worked for two weeks in Gantt's law firm to get the books out. The effort was bankrolled by Harlan Crow, the Texas real estate mogul and Republican benefactor and frequent contributor to Minnesota Republican pols.

"I just loved it, just from someone taking an event in history," Gantt said. "Many times, as a party chairman, I'll be a part of something and the story comes out and everybody (who knows) realizes that's not exactly how it happened."

Gantt says he hasn't heard anything back from Minnesota politicians, yet. "I got a thank-you note from Sarah Palin yesterday," he said.

Palin and Dayton, Ohio are well linked. It was the city chosen by Sen. John McCain to announce her as his vice presidential running mate. Gantt says Montgomery County is representative of Ohio as a whole. "We've got all the different socio-economic subsets in our county here," Gantt said.

So I had to ask whether Gov. Tim Pawlenty's rumored entrance into the presidential race has got people stirred up in Montgomery County? "Not really, yet," he said. "I think everybody just needed a break from presidential politics."

Googling Pawlenty

Posted at 11:01 AM on June 12, 2009 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

I stumbled across this while doing some Google searches this morning. The governor is buying ads on Google to tout his Web site, which asks for political contributions, even though he's already announced he's not running again.

Apparently they've been running for at least a week.

Based on our own knowledge of Googleads, playing around with various keywords (even if you just Google "governor," you get Pawlenty) and seeing various versions of the Pawlenty ad suggests it's a pretty extensive ad buy.

President Pawlenty, however are not one of the keywords for the ad. "Sarah Palin Tim Pawlenty" and "Mitt Romney Tim Pawlenty" are. "Barack Obama Tim Pawlenty" are not. "Minnesota budget" are.

Fact checking: Income vs. property taxes

Posted at 1:17 PM on June 11, 2009 by Bob Collins (6 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Assistant Senate Majority Leader Taryl Clark, DFL-St. Cloud, today claimed that for the first time, collections from the property tax will be greater than collections from the income tax.

Is this true?

We turn to veteran political calculator Mike Mulcahy.

This does appear to be true if you're talking individual income taxes. House research made this handy chart.

But there are also some caveats. It looks like income tax collections took a big drop because of the recession. Handy chart here on page 3

Also worth noting that the property tax figures include the statewide property tax on businesses but the individual income tax totals do not include the corporate tax, which raises $792 million this year...a little more than the statewide business property tax.

Also not sure if it's fair to say this is the first time ever. The state had no individual income tax before 1933.

Update 5:33 p.m. (From Mulcahy)

According to information Tom Scheck just got from the Revenue Department, the state collected more in property taxes than income taxes from 1962 to 1978 (the year of the Minnesota Miracle) and fiscal years 91-96. (The records they gave us only go back to '62). It also looks like there were a few years in the early 1980s when property tax revenues where higher than income taxes (that may have been due to the recession then, but it's a little hard to read their chart).

How blue is Minnesota?

Posted at 11:40 AM on June 11, 2009 by Bob Collins (8 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Chris Cillizza, who writes The Fix political blog for the Washington Post today handicapped the characteristics of those who would be king, injecting an assertion about Minnesota voters designed to impress those outside of flyover country.

Pawlenty, as we have written before, is the leading populist in the party at the moment. (Apologies to Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels but his pledge not to run in 2012 limits his reach within the GOP.) Pawlenty's personal story -- first in his family to go to college, a truck driver father etc. -- is at the heart of his appeal in Minnesota, a state not particularly inclined to support Republicans in statewide elections.

How to measure that? Let's look at the statewide races.

Governor - Minnesota hasn't been particularly inclined to support Democrats in the race for governor. It's elected one -- Rudy Perpich -- in the last 28 years. There have only been 9 Democrat governors in the state's history, and that's counting Perpich twice. There have been 26 Republican governors. So getting elected governor of Minnesota as a Republican isn't such a big deal.

Senator - Norm Coleman was the sitting Republican in the Senate before he lost last year's election to Al Franken. Out of three million votes cast, only a handful separates the two. Suggesting the state isn't inclined to support Republicans for the seat is a tough sell, especially when the seat has been held by two Republicans since the 1978, and only one Democrat. Similarly, the seat held by Amy Klobuchar has been split by Republicans and Democrats since 1977 (two apiece).

Secretary of State - Since 1858, there have been only five Democrat secretaries of state, although DFLer Joan Growe sailed through every election to serve from 1975 to 1999.

Attorney General - A Republican hasn't been elected attorney general in Minnesota since 1966. Even when Republicans were sweeping to victory in most statewide offices in 2002, DFLer Mike Hatch was the only one to buck the trend.

Cillizza may be hanging his hat on presidential contests in the state, but that's a thin peg in evaluating Pawlenty's history as a state candidate.

The domain game

Posted at 4:36 PM on June 2, 2009 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

The Web intentions of politicians can tell us whether someone is thinking about running for another office. Or it can tell us whether someone is thinking about making money by registering a domain and then hoping to sell it to a candidate thinking about running for another office. Or it can tell us a political party is reserving the domains. In other words: It's not a reliable political yardstick.

On the other hand, it can be fun to poke around.

Seifertforgovernor.com (Rep. Marty Seifert), brodforgovernor.com (Rep. Laura Brod), and sullivanforgovernor.com (former gubernatorial candidate Brian Sullivan) are taken. They were registered on the same day in April 2008.

Kohlsforgovernor.com (Rep. Paul Kohls), Hannforgovernor.com (Sen. David Hann), Michelforgovernor.com (Sen. Geoff Michel), Weaverforgovernor.com (Former Pawlenty chief of staff Charlie Weaver), Gramsforgovernor.com (former Sen. Rod Grams) and Ramstadforgovernor.com (Former congressman Jim Ramstad) are available.

Pawlentyforpresident.com was registered by Rep. Pat Garofolo, R-Farmington.

On Pawlenty's future

Posted at 10:48 AM on June 2, 2009 by Bob Collins (17 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Tim Pawlenty is holding a 2 p.m. news conference "regarding his future plans," which gives us a little more time to engage in the national pastime for political types who have nothing else to write about: Tim Pawlenty's future plans. MPR's Tom Scheck is citing a source saying the governor won't run. (Update: He won't run.)

Even before that, however, the betting line -- mine -- said he'll announce he's not running for a third term. Reasons: Why should he? He's wanted to be more than a governor since before he was a governor. The governor's office was the consolation prize for getting out of Norm Coleman's way -- at the behest of Dick Cheney -- in 2001.

Second, it's never too early to start raising money for a national campaign, but it can be too late. The 2012 presidential campaign -- at least from the Republican point of view -- started the minute John McCain declared he had enough delegates for the Republican nomination. Mitt Romney has been raising money. Newt Gingrich has been raising money, and Mike Huckabee has a daily radio show. And while Tim Pawlenty has a few bucks in the campaign accounts, it's hard to raise money when there's still a chance you'll run for governor again.

Which brings up the new big question. What's he raising money for? The odds say Tim Pawlenty is not going to be the next Republican nominee for president. But if he can make a healthy showing in the primaries, he can be a #2 spot. He'll be only 52 in 2012 -- pretty wet behind the ears in the presidential game (note: Obama was 51 47 when elected.) But the game of a presidential ticket -- like TV anchor teams -- has changed. His chances at a spot on the ticket would depend on whomever gets the top spot not being a white guy and especially not being a white guy former governor.

Pawlenty's announcement also puts pressure on Sarah Palin, still the darling of many Republican mainstreeters, to make a move of some sort.

Those aren't the only two jobs available, however. There's still the U.S. Senate. Sen. Amy Klobuchar's seat is up in 2012 and while her job approval ratings are pretty high, the Senate makes a nice place to plot a political future and make a ton of cash.

An even more compelling "what if" scenario is what happens to Al Franken's election certificate if the Minnesota Supreme Court turns aside Norm Coleman's appeal of Franken's apparent election victory? Pawlenty has yet to say if he'd sign the certificate. Would not having a statewide election to worry about influence his decision? Few Republicans are going to hold not sending Al Franken to Washington against a future candidate for, well, whatever.

NPR's "Political Junkie" Ken Rudin analyzes it:

Assuming a White House bid is in his plans, Pawlenty's decision probably makes sense. It frees him to plot a more conservative course than he would have had he intended to run again back home.

What was your favorite Tim Pawlenty moment? Here's mine.

The next political game will be who do the Republicans turn to in the 2010 race for governor? A possible bet is Brian Sullivan, the man who turned Gov. Pawlenty into a more conservative conservative at the Republican State Convention in 2002.

Here's the full press release from the governor's office:

"I am incredibly grateful for the support and trust the people of Minnesota have given me during my two terms as Governor," Governor Pawlenty said. "From providing the best support programs in the country for veterans and their families, to moving Minnesota out of the top ten highest taxed states, to sparking economic development in Greater Minnesota, to strengthening our K-12 education standards and implementing performance pay for teachers, much has been accomplished for our state."
Governor Pawlenty said being governor should not be a permanent position for anyone.

"When it comes to how long someone should stay in an elected position, a little less is better than too much," Governor Pawlenty said. "It's a lesson I learned spending time in places like the Croatian Hall in South Saint Paul, where there is inevitably less joy and more trouble in too much pizza or too much beer. We don't have term limits in Minnesota, but we do have good judgment and common sense. We are a government of laws and ideas, not personalities."

Governor Pawlenty noted that during the past six and a half years, his administration has continued to improve Minnesota's quality of life. The state ranks:

1st in the region in annual per capita income (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis)
1st in the county in Fortune 500 companies per capita (2009 Fortune 500 list, U.S. Census)
1st in the nation in average ACT test scores (2008 ACT, Inc.)

"Healthiest state in the nation" according to the CQ Press study Health Care State Rankings 2008: Health Care Across America

Accomplishments during the past six and a half years include:

Proposing and creating the nation's most comprehensive programs for veterans, military members and their families, including enhancing state G.I. Bill benefits, funding a memorial to Minnesota's World War II veterans, beginning the Military and Veterans

Support Cabinet, and starting the LinkVet program to connect veterans with assistance.

Keeping Minnesota competitive by requiring state government to live within its means and not raise taxes, especially during this period of economic uncertainty.
Balancing the state budget four times without raising taxes, including eliminating a $4.5 billion deficit in 2003 and a $4.8 billion deficit in 2009.
Moving Minnesota out of the top ten highest taxed states, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, a goal of every Governor from all three political parties dating back to Governor Rudy Perpich.
Signing into law nearly $800 million in total tax reductions and a three-year local property tax cap, projected to save taxpayers $78.5 million in 2009 and $460.5 million over the next three years.
Reducing state government growth to average two-year budget increases of less than six percent during the past six years, the lowest budget increases under any Minnesota Governor in at least the past 40 years.
Developing the nation-leading teacher performance pay reform, Q Comp, which links teacher compensation to classroom and student achievement, rather than just seniority.
Creating the Minnesota Academic Standards - new, more rigorous high school graduation requirements.
Establishing Minnesota as the Renewable Fuels Capital of the United States by doubling the amount of renewable fuel used in gasoline, implementing the use of biodiesel and enhancing Minnesota's role as a top wind energy producing state.
Proposing and signing into law Minnesota's nation-leading 25 x 25 renewable energy standard, establishing a benchmark of 25 percent of energy from renewable sources by 2025.
Creating the Job Opportunity Building Zone (JOBZ) program to stimulate economic activity in Greater Minnesota. JOBZ has been involved in 323 deals, resulting in commitments of 5,169 jobs, helping to retain 9,743 jobs and producing more than $580 million in new capital investments.
Proposing and establishing a new higher education institution in Rochester, the University of Minnesota-Rochester, with an emphasis on medicine, business and technology.
Reorganizing and consolidating state government agencies including eliminating Minnesota Planning by combining it with the Department of Administration, merging the Departments of Economic Security and Trade and Economic Development, and merging the Department of Employee Relations into the Departments of Finance and Administration, reducing overhead and saving taxpayer resources.
Proposing and signing into law longer sentences for all categories of sex offenders, including life in prison without release.
Implementing health care payment reform based on incentives to improve quality, reduce costs, engage consumers in decision making and encourage more competition - expected to have the potential for approximately $6.9 billion in cost savings by 2015.

Governor Pawlenty also told Minnesotans that he continues to be honored and humbled by the opportunity to serve and will work energetically during his remaining 19 months in office.

"I've run a few marathons and I believe in finishing strong," Governor Pawlenty said. "Minnesotans will get my very best until I'm done."

Governor Pawenty is serving his second term as the 39th governor of Minnesota. During his time in office, he has served as Chair of the National Governors Association, Chair of the Midwestern Governors Association, and on the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, the Achieve Inc. Board of Directors and the James B. Hunt Jr. Institute Board of Directors. He is currently Chair of the Education Commission of the States.

And the DFL's response:

The Minnesota DFL Party released this statement from Chair Brian Melendez regarding Governor Tim Pawlenty's announcement that he will not seek another term:
"While we thank Governor Pawlenty for his service to our state, his retirement as governor is an opportunity to move Minnesota forward.

"Governor Pawlenty's 'no new taxes' ideology plays well to Republican special interests and the dinner circuits from Iowa to New Hampshire, but it has hurt Minnesota and Minnesotans. The divisive politics of ideology and calculation have done enough damage.

"Minnesota faces incredible challenges: a historic multi-billion-dollar deficit, disappearing jobs, skyrocketing health-care costs and rising property taxes. We need a leader who will face these problems with courage and honesty, and won't hide behind clever word games, accounting shifts and budget tricks. We need a leader who understands Minnesota values: accountability, opportunity, prosperity and fair play.

"Today is a day to thank Governor Pawlenty for his service. Starting tomorrow, it will be time to bring Minnesota values back to the Governor's Mansion. We look forward with hope. We look forward to electing a DFL governor."

Coleman-Franken: Last stop?

Posted at 10:22 AM on June 1, 2009 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

The Minnesota Supreme Court holds its hearing into Norm Coleman's appeal of Al Franken's apparent victory in the U.S. Senate race in Minnesota, starting at 9 a.m. on Monday. I hope you'll join me here for the hearing, and then we'll live-blog the follow-up analysis with Kerri Miller and guests.

<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=07b1a65b05" >Minnesota Supreme Court hearing on Coleman-Franken dispute</a>

Sotomayor's Minnesota connection

Posted at 5:41 PM on May 26, 2009 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Crime and Justice, Politics

The conservatives' rallying cry against Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor uses a 2001 speech with this quote as its underpinning:

I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.

The meaning seems clear: It is easier to relate to something you know, than something you don't. What involvement that fact plays with the matter of jurisprudence is for the politicians to debate and decide.

But Sotomayor used the women of the Minnesota Supreme Court to make her point in the same speech:

...three women on the Minnesota (Supreme) Court with two men dissenting agreed to grant a protective order against a father's visitation rights when the father abused his child. The Judicature Journal has at least two excellent studies on how women on the courts of appeal and state supreme courts have tended to vote more often than their male counterpart to uphold women's claims in sex discrimination cases and criminal defendants' claims in search and seizure cases. As recognized by legal scholars, whatever the reason, not one woman or person of color in any one position but as a group we will have an effect on the development of the law and on judging.

Sotomayor's observations aren't that different from those expressed many times in Minnesota, where women have been appointed to the state Supreme Court with fair regularity since Rosalie Wahl was first appointed by Gov. Rudy Perpich..

Squint your eyes a little bit and the reaction to Sotomayer's eight-year-old speech could be Minnesota in the '70s reacting to Wahl.

In a 1991 New York Times article, justices Wahl and Esther Tomljanovich acknowledge the value of a different prospective on the bench.

"I don't think men are going to have to run for the hills, but there is definitely a woman's perspective," said Justice Tomljanovich, recalling past humiliations she had experienced as a woman in her personal life.

Is that sexist? Or reality?

The view that a woman's perspective has a place on the bench is no longer seriously debated.

The Sotomayor saga

Posted at 11:10 AM on May 26, 2009 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

MPR's Midmorning has done a great job lining up a program reacting to the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor as a Supreme Court justice. I won't wade into the politics of her nomination nor the analysis of her judicial record because they're available there.

I am interested in her journey from the south Bronx to an appointment with the president in the East Room. How is it that one person can make such a journey, and not most others? Nature or nurture?

Regardless of how you feel about the politics, there's no denying she's a story of success from hard times. Her father, who had only a third-grade education, died when she was 9. Her mother, a nurse, took a second job to support her family. True, this sort of thing happens to people all of the time, but most don't go on to be Supreme Court justices.

Here are a few links with background:

The Chicago Tribune calls her "plucky." "Sotomayor immersed herself in Nancy Drew books and spent hours watching Perry Mason on television, and knew she wanted to be a judge by the age of 10 after being inspired by a Perry Mason episode that ended with the camera settling on the robed sage," it says.

The New York Daily News adds that she made a heck of a jump from a housing project to Princeton, but doesn't answer the question: "how is that possible? What -- other than Perry Mason -- allowed her to escape the Bronx (Six Degrees of Aerosmith: Steven Tyler of Aerosmith went to the same high school)? Is she a fluke or is she an example of what hard work and some breaks can do? "Born in the Bronx in 1954 to parents from Puerto Rico, she was diagnosed with diabetes at 8. Her father, a factory worker, died when she was 9. Her mother supported Sotomayor and her brother, now a doctor, by working at methadone clinics," it says.

"Like Sonia's mother, he had a willingness to work hard, a strong sense of family, and a belief in the American Dream," President Obama said this morning. How much of achieving success consists of those traits?

In an interview with the Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education, she outlined the criteria that makes poor Latinos successful. "This is the pathology of successful Latinos and other successful individuals who come from economically deprived populations. It is hard to enjoy your success and wear it comfortably when the world we have grown up in is filled with friends and sometimes relatives who don't make it in our society at all."

In this 2004 video from the Law School Admission Council in 2004., posted today, Sotomayor describes more about her upbringing:

Her comments refute some of the descriptions of her housing project-apartment. One account today called it "drab." She called it "pristine" and "wonderful."

"My mom believed that education was the key to everything in the world. If you became educated, you could do whatever you wanted, and accomplish whatever dreams you had," she said, adding she didn't think of herself as a "minority" in the environment she was in.

From the looks of things today, the kids at Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx might have seen the message firsthand that anything is still possible.

Listening to the whole story

Posted at 3:44 PM on May 22, 2009 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

"These are extraordinary times for our country," President Barack Obama repeated yesterday in his Washington speech outlining his national security philosophy and vision. A few minutes after that, former Vice President Dick Cheney delivered an equally strong and eloquent response. Extraordinary, indeed. We rarely have had the opportunity to hear such gripping and passionate speeches on a major issue in such a closely-timed way.

What's been fascinating in the 24 hours since both speeches, is how little of the analysis has been about the substance contained in each. Bob Schieffer on CBS this morning declared that -- politically -- Dick Cheney was the winner. "Cheney's Compelling, Human Speech Was Better Than Obama's Boring Legal Seminar," Mary Kate Cary wrote this afternoon. A local TV political reporter declared Cheney "the winner" during a radio appearance on Thursday afternoon in which the politics, not the merits, of the arguments, was the focus. The Associated Press, in its analysis this afternoon, headlined "Analysis: Obama debating Cheney is a plus for GOP."

So that's it, then? One of the most compelling days for substantive debate on one of the ost important issues facing the country is settled on the basis of style and political gamesmanship and not on the substance of the argument?

This is why Jon Stewart, who at least listened to what was in the speeches, is doing some of the best journalism in the country. The bar is low.

M - Th 11p / 10c

American Idealogues

thedailyshow.com

Economic Crisis

So here are the entire speeches from both. Watch Obama's, then Cheney's.

Six degrees of medical marijuana

Posted at 11:40 AM on May 22, 2009 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

A few political analysts have pointed to a conflict former state Rep. Chris DeLaForest has with his new boss, Gov. Tim Pawlenty. They needn't bother. DeLaForest, a former state rep who gave up his House seat last year, is Pawlenty's new director of legislative affairs. He's also a lobbyist who pushed legislators to pass a medical marijuana bill that Pawlenty is going to veto.

But a glance at the MPR Votetracker (a neat app that I wish we'd kept in service) shows a clearer picture. DeLaForest and Pawlenty are politically joined at the hip.

A look at his votes on major issues during his legislative career reveals that.

FOR

Charging 13 year olds as adults
Preventing local government grants from going to organizations that provide abortions
Requiring voters to show ID
Banning public funding of abortions
Welfare limits for newcomers
Defining marriage as between one man and one woman
A metro-area casino

AGAINST
Embryonic stem cell research
Gas tax
Dedicated outdoors and arts funding
Studying cancer among Iron Range miners
Expanding health care coverage

Editorial assessments on the budget: Lose-lose

Posted at 3:37 PM on May 20, 2009 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Lawmakers and the governor spent much of Tuesday trying to spin the just-concluded legislative session. For the most part, newspaper editorial boards weren't buying it. The DFL legislators, the Republican minority and Gov. Tim Pawlenty all received failing grades.

A look at some of today's judgments:

The St. Cloud Times:

Of course, he's successful with it thanks largely to just enough Republican legislators who either are so enamored with "no new taxes" they don't read their own local property tax bills, or they are politically fearful of what Pawlenty will do to them should they vote against his fiscal wishes.

Either way, they failed to do their jobs.

And then there is the DFL and its leadership.

From the day he delivered his State of the State speech, they were incessantly critical of the governor's budgeting plans, but noticeably short on their own detailed solutions. Beyond across-the-board cuts, they seemed to offer few ideas that truly reformed how the state does business.

Marshall Independent:

Minnesotans deserve better than a DFL-controlled House and Senate jamming a tax bill through the Legislature late Monday and Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who threatens to make cuts on his own, on budget and the DFL tax bill.

In a time when the state needed leaders with vision and the ability to have spirited, healthy debate on issues which will shape our state for years to come, we got partisan bickering, stubbornness and, it seems, no one with an ability or voice strong enough to ask the Legislature to think beyond the next year or two.

Fargo Forum:

The governor might think he's won because he will exercise his constitutional authority to cut and modify the budget to his liking, and will do so without going along with Democratic tax increases. But Democrats also are smiling because they believe they can blame the governor, not their own legislative failure, for the deep cuts in vital funding that will be felt in every city, school district and college campus in the state.

If the governor and his Democratic antagonists see the legislative stalemate as a win-win situation in political terms, they should understand that the people of Minnesota are the losers. The governor and Democratic leaders should be embarrassed not only by wasting 19 weeks in St. Paul, but also by engaging in a dizzying, post-session spin cycle regarding their culpability.

Albert Lea Tribune:

How state funding is distributed is now in the hands of one person, rather than determined through a series of compromises by many leaders.

Good? Bad? That's up to you, but most people vote for legislators because they want representation. For a Republican Party worrying a lot lately about disenfranchised voters, it sure seems to be a move that will disenfranchise voters.

Jesse being Jesse

Posted at 5:02 PM on May 19, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Former Gov. Jesse Ventura is continuing his book-selling tour (but not in Minnesota) and on Monday he appeared on the Sean Hannity program on Fox. Ventura was typical outspoken but also fell into the mistake of discussing the John McCain - Osama bin Laden race for president. Whoops.

Ventura patted himself on the back for talking about the U.S. budget deficit "before the election," and says the topic never came up in the campaign. He's wrong, of course, and it came up in the presidential debates.

Honor amid the gathering gloom

Posted at 2:10 PM on May 19, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Health, Politics

A ceremony to honor emergency medical services personnel couldn't escape the long shadows cast by the nearby Capitol and the looming gubernatorial race today.

On the former helipad of Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Mayor Chris Coleman, a possible gubernatorial candidate, said, "We all need to stand up... to protect people who don't have the ability to provide for themselves," referring to Gov. Pawlenty's promise to cut medical care for the poor and mentally ill. "Let's not lose what we have here," he said outside a new wing of the trauma hospital.

Hospitals have started -- or are expected to start -- laying off people in anticipation of the cuts. "I'm humbled in light of what all of you are facing in the next few months," Rep. Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis, (on the right in the photo below) told the crowd of mostly hospital employees. He has announced plans to run for governor.

Sen. Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, (on the left in the photo above) who is also a candidate for governor, claimed some victory in the tax bill sent to Gov. Pawlenty; a provision that extends the ability of communities to increase the property tax for emergency medical services. "It was one line in a 300 page tax bill," he said.

By the time the ceremony got around to the people who provide those services, however, most of the politicians had disappeared.

While the Capitol's eight-month summer vacation is underway, the EMS people have gone back to work, stopping long enough for a rare moment in the spotlight.

Moses Alejado, Scott Swenson, Tony Vanneli, and Michael McGaene - St. Paul's Medic 23 C Shift unit -- responded when Mike Popovich felt his chest tighten during a post-bike-ride shower. They treated him, and took him to Regions, where the cardiac team performed an angioplasty. It took all of 31 minutes.

"There was a time, there, that I thought I might, perhaps, die," Popovich told them today, shortly before asking them to sign a picture he took of them.

A helicopter medical team was also honored for rescuing a young girl in Baldwin, Wisconsin.

And representatives of Hennepin County Medical Center EMS, Allina Transportration, North Memorial Hospital, Lakes Region EMS and Kannebec County EMS were acknowledged for their works at the I-35W bridge collapse.

"In one hour and 35 minutes, they had cleared all four sections of the bridge and treated and transferred over 50 patients," Minneapolis Fire Chief Alex Jackson said. "By the time the national media flew in to see the rescue, it was over."

Live-blogging Midmorning: Taxes

Posted at 9:00 AM on May 19, 2009 by Bob Collins (12 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Now that we've heard from lawmakers for the past five months, it's your turn. On Midmorning , Kerri Miller is discussing taxes with Sen. Julianne Ortman, R-Chanhasen, and Rep. Diane Loeffler.

News Cut is live blogging and awaiting your comments.

<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=cc52ae0c40" >The day after</a>

Live-blogging: Midday at the Capitol

Posted at 10:44 AM on May 18, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

So here we are, hours away from the end of a legislative session that appears to be ending in chaos. Let's talk about it as we listen to Gary Eichten on Midday talking to most of the principals involved.

<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=5978a5bd32" >Live-blogging: Midday at the Capitol</a>

Obama at Notre Dame

Posted at 7:39 PM on May 17, 2009 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Politics, Religion

He came. He spoke. He got heckled. Months of controversy over Notre Dame's decision to invite Barack Obama as its commencement speaker ended today with a small group of hecklers interrupting the president.

He then asked a good question.

Is it possible for us to join hands in common effort? As citizens of a vibrant and varied democracy, how do we engage in vigorous debate? How does each of us remain firm in our principles, and fight for what we consider right, without demonizing those with just as strongly held convictions on the other side?

For the most, we don't. But that's beside the point of the protest, according to John Kass of the Chicago Tribune, for the problem wasn't that Obama was asked to speak, it was that he was given an honorary degree, he says.

Warfare at the Capitol

Posted at 10:05 PM on May 14, 2009 by Bob Collins (8 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

The governor and the DFL-controlled Legislature are now at full-scale war. Judging by some of the comments at the Capitol, the situation is being met with shock and surprise. Outside the Capitol, it's something we could see coming a mile away.

They didn't talk much -- at least face-to-face -- and it always seemed as though each was trying to navigate the other into a political corner. Watching some of the Capitol press corps' Twitter feeds on Thursday night, it appears the discussion is more about who this "plays" better for politically, rather than what's in the best interest of Minnesotans who don't make their living by getting elected or appointred to state government gigs.

Politics in Minnesota's Steve Perry provided a transcript of an exchange between the combatants that does not inspire confidence on Main St., Minnesota.

Hanson: "Rep. Sertich, if you have another idea, we're listening."

Sertich: "Commissioner Hanson, you use words like 'agreement' and 'mutual' as if you mean them, and I don't believe you, quite honestly. What I hear you say on agreement is, we want you to agree with what the governor says, and if you don't do that, we'll go it alone. I don't share the optimism from around this table. I don't think this is funny.... If the governor goes it alone and has it his way, 113,000 Minnesotans will lose health insurance. Sixteen thousand Minnesotans will lose their jobs, and there will be cuts in education and higher tuition. That's not funny. That's not an agreement. I'm not optimistic."

Hanson: "Well, Rep. Sertich, your version of agreement is us doing exactly what you want."

Sertich: "That's not true. We're looking for compromise. We have compromised in many of these bills to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. We've cut more than you've cut. We've lowered our revenue [proposal] down to the revenue that the governor has stated is needed to balance this budget."

And now the fallout comes, and it's hit the poor first. MPR's Tom Scheck reports the governor has removed $381,081,000 in general assistance, essentially rolling up the safety net for about 33,000 (number according to Rep. Paul Thissen via Twitter).

Let's talk about this but let's do it a little differently. Let's put aside the political sniping for a second and let's come up with a way to solve this problem.

Any ideas?

(Bob is not writing on Friday)

A failure to communicate

Posted at 3:26 PM on May 11, 2009 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

At the Capitol today, Governor Tim Pawlenty offered some changes to his position on the state budget.

According to the Associated Press, "the governor offered to cut his borrowing plan in half and to agree to a larger amount of deferred education spending that wouldn't appear on the books during this budget period. He also said he would divert $250 million he wanted in a reserve account to the general budget." (More via Polinaut)

The governor offered the suggestion "in the spirit of compromise" by sending a letter to legislative leaders.

Let's look at the Capitol floor plan, again.

House leaders rejected the idea by posting it on Twitter.

From House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher:

Governor's letter a compromise? Compromise in word only, doesn't balance the budget. Not a responsible plan.

House Majority Leader Tony Sertich also used Twitter, but "retweeted" a reporter's "tweet" to reject the idea:

Agreed. RT @sturdevant: Gov's first end-of-session proposal is more of the same: loads of one-time money.

I don't think the governor is going to see it on Twitter. He only posts about once a day. His latest one is pretty old:

Fishing opener banquet last night; Then to Rochester for daughter's Vball tournament; mom's day lunch; mowed grass and now cooking dinner.

Meanwhile, aides are standing by in the event further negotiations are needed.

Gas prices jumping

Posted at 1:24 PM on May 11, 2009 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Energy, Politics

Despite what the weather might suggest, there must be a summer coming. Gas prices are heading up in a hurry.

In the Twin Cities today, the price of a gallon jumped about 20-cents-a-gallon, to about $2.39 in some locations, still lower than the $3.61 of a year ago, but we might get back there soon enough.

It was July 2005, when we visited these levels for the first time. The state had shut down over a budget dispute between Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the Legislature.

Coincidence?

The most boring moment

Posted at 10:32 AM on May 10, 2009 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Politics, Sports

What's the most boring moment in baseball? Tom Scocca of the Boston Globe has spent considerable seconds thinking about this and has determined that's it ball two.

Ball two stands alone, above any of the other dull business on the diamond. The intentional walk at least adds a base runner to the game. The halfhearted throw to first to check the runner is a sign that the pitcher is feeling tension. But ball two signifies almost nothing.

I am now considering other most boring moments in other spectator sports -- the Minnesota Legislature, for example.

But I can't tell whether the most boring moment is on the first day of the session when everybody says they think there'll be cooperation and great progress or near the end of the session when they complain there wasn't.

Pawlenty vetoes tax bill

Posted at 7:48 AM on May 9, 2009 by Bob Collins (18 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

The governor vetoed the big tax bill early Saturday morning, shortly before the governor went fishing.

Under the Legislature's plan, taxes would rise on alcohol, credit card companies that charge high interest rates and couples earning more than $250,000.

The House can -- and will, probably -- try to override the veto and most of the media experts focus on the need to get three Republicans to defect to their side, presuming that all the DFLers vote for the override. But will they?

Here's the roll call (courtesy of the Associated Press)

SENATE

DEMOCRATS VOTING YES
Anderson (St. Paul); Bakk (Cook); Berglin (Minneapolis); Betzold
(Fridley); Bonoff (Minnetonka); Carlson (Eagan); Chaudhary
(Fridley); Clark (St. Cloud); Cohen (St. Paul); Dahle (Northfield);
Dibble (Minneapolis); Doll (Burnsville); Erickson Ropes (Winona);
Fobbe (Zimmerman); Foley (Coon Rapids); Higgins (Minneapolis);
Kelash (Minneapolis); Kubly (Granite Falls); Langseth (Glyndon);
Latz (St. Louis Park); Lourey (Kerrick); Lynch (Rochester); Marty
(Roseville); Metzen (South St. Paul); Moua (St. Paul); Murphy (Red
Wing); Olseen (Harris); Olson, M. (Bemidji); Pappas (St. Paul);
Pogemiller (Minneapolis); Prettner Solon (Duluth); Rest (New Hope);
Rummel (White Bear Lake); Saltzman (Woodbury); Saxhaug (Grand
Rapids); Scheid (Brooklyn Park); Sheran (Mankato); Sieben
(Newport); Skoe (Clearbrook); Skogen (Hewitt); Stumpf (Plummer);
Torres Ray (Minneapolis); Vickerman (Tracy); Wiger (Maplewood)

DEMOCRATS VOTING NO
Sparks (Austin); Tomassoni (Chisholm)

REPUBLICANS VOTING NO
Day (Owatonna); Fischbach (Paynesville); Frederickson (New Ulm);
Gerlach (Apple Valley); Gimse (Willmar); Hann (Eden Prairie);
Ingebrigtsen (Alexandria); Johnson (Ham Lake); Jungbauer (East
Bethel); Koch (Buffalo); Koering (Fort Ripley); Limmer (Maple
Grove); Michel (Edina); Olson, G. (Minnetrista); Ortman
(Chanhassen); Pariseau (Farmington); Senjem (Rochester); Vandeveer
(Forest Lake)

REPUBLICANS NOT VOTING
Dille (Dassel); Robling (Jordan); Rosen (Fairmont)

HOUSE

DEMOCRATS VOTING YES
Anzelc (Balsam Twp); Atkins (Inver Grove Heights); Benson
(Minnetonka); Bigham (Cottage Grove); Bly (Northfield); Brown
(Moscow Twp); Brynaert (Mankato); Bunn (Lake Elmo); Carlson
(Crystal); Champion (Minneapolis); Clark (Minneapolis); Davnie
(Minneapolis); Dill (Crane Lake); Dittrich (Champlin); Doty
(Royalton); Eken (Twin Valley); Falk (Murdock); Faust (Hinckley);
Fritz (Faribault); Gardner (Shoreview); Greiling (Roseville);
Hansen (South St. Paul); Hausman (St. Paul); Haws (St. Cloud);
Hayden (Minneapolis); Hilstrom (Brooklyn Center); Hilty
(Finlayson); Hornstein (Minneapolis); Hortman (Brooklyn Park);
Hosch (St. Joseph); Huntley (Duluth); Jackson (Milaca); Johnson
(St. Paul); Juhnke (Willmar); Kahn (Minneapolis); Kalin (North
Branch); Kath (Owatonna); Kelliher (Minneapolis); Knuth (New
Brighton); Koenen (Clara City); Laine (Columbia Heights);
Lenczewski (Bloomington); Lesch (St. Paul); Liebling (Rochester);
Lieder (Crookston); Lillie (North St. Paul); Loeffler
(Minneapolis); Mahoney (St. Paul); Mariani (St. Paul); Marquart
(Dilworth); Masin (Eagan); Morgan (Burnsville); Morrow (St. Peter);
Mullery (Minneapolis); Murphy, E. (St. Paul); Murphy, M.
(Hermantown); Nelson (Brooklyn Park); Newton (Coon Rapids); Norton
(Rochester); Obermueller (Eagan); Olin (Thief River Falls); Otremba
(Long Prairie); Paymar (St. Paul); Persell (Bemidji); Peterson (New
Hope); Poppe (Austin); Reinert (Duluth); Rosenthal (Edina);
Rukavina (Virginia); Ruud (Minnetonka); Sailer (Park Rapids);
Scalze (Little Canada); Sertich (Chisholm); Simon (St. Louis Park);
Slawik (Maplewood); Slocum (Richfield); Solberg (Grand Rapids);
Sterner (Rosemount); Swails (Woodbury); Thao (St. Paul); Thissen
(Minneapolis); Tillberry (Fridley); Wagenius (Minneapolis); Ward
(Brainerd); Welti (Plainview); Winkler (Golden Valley)

DEMOCRATS VOTING NO
Pelowski (Winona)

REPUBLICANS VOTING NO
Abeler (Anoka); Anderson, B. (Buffalo Twp); Anderson, P.
(Starbuck); Anderson, S. (Plymouth); Beard (Shakopee); Brod (New
Prague); Buesgens (Jordan); Cornish (Good Thunder); Davids
(Preston); Dean (Dellwood); Demmer (Hayfield); Dettmer (Forest
Lake); Doepke (Orono); Downey (Edina); Drazkowski (Wabasha);
Eastlund (Isanti); Emmer (Delano); Garofalo (Farmington); Gottwalt
(St. Cloud); Gunther (Fairmont); Hackbarth (Cedar); Hamilton
(Mountain Lake); Holberg (Lakeville); Hoppe (Chaska); Howes
(Walker); Kelly (Red Wing); Kiffmeyer (Big Lake); Kohls (Victoria);
Lanning (Moorhead); Loon (Eden Prairie); Mack (Apple Valley);
McNamara (Hastings); Murdock (Ottertail); Nornes (Fergus Falls);
Peppin (Rogers); Sanders (Blaine); Scott (Andover); Seifert
(Marshall); Severson (Sauk Rapids); Smith (Mound); Torkelson
(Nelson Twp); Urdahl (Grove City); Westrom (Elbow Lake); Zellers
(Maple Grove);

REPUBLICANS NOT VOTING
Magnus (Slayton); McFarlane (White Bear Lake); Shimanski (Silver
Lake);

Assuming the House doesn't override the veto, how far should the DFL go to stand on principle? Most of the Capitol press corps I've talked with say not far, since it could lead to a government shutdown, which would put state workers out of work and nobody in the DFL wants to anger the state workers.

But if we're talking about throwing 100,000 people off health care and closing hospitals, is that worth angering state workers? Or not?

What say you?

Live-blogging: The Legislature's final days

Posted at 10:44 AM on May 6, 2009 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Senator Larry Pogemillers Senate Majority Leader, and Rep. Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Speaker of the Minnesota House are on Midday with Gary Eichten. The Legislature is down to its last few days and the annual stand-off with the governor is brewing.

Why not join in and discuss what you hear? Listen here.

<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=8a5a431820" >The Legislature's final days</a>

Is it a time to forgive?

Posted at 8:27 PM on May 5, 2009 by Bob Collins (10 Comments)
Filed under: Economy, Politics

Should taxpayers pay for a hockey arena in St. Paul?

That's the question facing Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a professed hockey nut, now that the Legislature has sent him a political grenade -- a bill that forgives $33 million of a no-interest loan the city got from the state to lure professional hockey back to Minnesota by building the Xcel arena.

The city really doesn't need the money, except that it wants to build another hockey arena across the street for the benefit -- primarily -- of the Minnesota Wild, who need a hockey facility.

A hotel planned for the site has been dropped, according to St. Paul councilman Dave Thune on the the St. Paul Issues Forum. "The ice sheet would provide a base...(surrounded) by a really exciting retail component befitting historic seven corners. The pond would host world class figure skating, public skating, wild hockey practice, curling and youth hockey," he said.

Perhaps. But wasn't one benefit of the Xcel Center to be a boost to business in St. Paul? A few restaurants have benefited, there's more business for parking ramps, but other than that, not much. And while it attracted the Republican National Convention, that week was a disaster, even for businesses a teargas cannister's throw from the arena.

Back when then-mayor Norm Coleman was trying to cut the arena deal, some people in St. Paul objected to the city getting stuck with pricetag for an arena that would attract hockey-loving suburbanites. Perhaps this is one way they can pony up their share.

But what about people in Marshall, for example. Its representative, Marty Seifert, the House Minority Leader is, predictably, no fan of the bill. "Go back to your coffee shop. Go back to your hardware store ... and ask people if you think this is an opportune time for us to be forgiving over $30 million that's owed to the state of Minnesota, from a deal that was struck in the 1990s, when we are $6 billion in the hole," said he said.

What say you?

The myth of the health care access fund

Posted at 5:14 PM on May 4, 2009 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Health, Politics

At the Capitol today, some health care advocates pushed for a higher "provider tax" to avoid health care cuts proposed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

The 2 percent tax -- known as a "sick tax" in health care provider circles -- is part of the funding mechanism for the Health Care Access Fund, which also uses premiums paid by enrollees of MinnesotaCare, the state-subsidized health care plan for low-income Minnesotans. The tax is levied on doctors, dentists, and other health care providers.

"MinnesotaCare is an excellent program providing coverage for the working poor in Minnesota and if it requires some additional tax on health care providers to keep those services in place, our members as a whole are willing to step forward and do that," said Lawrence Massa with the Minnesota Hospitals Association.

If you didn't know any better, you'd think the HCAF had run out of money, so the governor is imposing the cuts. You'd be wrong.

The Health Care Access Fund is one of the few dedicated taxes in Minnesota that actually works for the limited goal that spawned it. It works so well, in fact, that it often runs a surplus, which is why the governor and Legislature have regularly used it as a "slush fund" to balance shortfalls in the state budget, over the objection of the health care providers.

Last year, for example, the governor proposed pulling $149 million from the fund. Over his term, he's diverted more than $400 million from the fund.

Writing in the Spokesman Recorder last month, Rep. Bobby Joe Champion criticized the governor for proposing the HCAF money go directly into the General Fund.

The governor wants to keep collecting the Provider Tax while diverting it away from the people it was created to help. That's on top of the hundreds of millions of dollars that his administration has already shifted out of the fund to balance previous deficits. Those shifts have resulted in fewer people able to access MinnesotaCare and other programs.

Such a move would have allowed Pawlenty to spend the health care tax on anything but health care, and avoid the annual attention of raiding the fund. Tax bills emerging in the House and Senate, however, did not include Pawlenty's plan.

The people Massa represents -- hospitals -- have a serious problem, to be sure. The Bemidji Pioneer's Brad Swenson admirably describes the health care mess (registration required), partially created by years of shifting money from areas for which it was intended.

The situation is the underpinning of the coming showdown between the governor and Legislature. But its core is simple.

1. Health care providers pay a tax to provide health insurance for low-income Minnesotans.
2. The fund that provides the insurance often runs a surplus.
3. The governor diverts the surplus -- and more -- to other uses and notes the spiraling cost of health care, while cutting reimbursements to hospitals who end up providing care to those who can't afford to pay for it.
4. Pressure builds to remove more people from health insurance coverage.
5. Proposals surface to increase the tax to provide health insurance for low-income Minnesotans, even though it ends up being used for something else.

The problem, of course, is exacerbated by the reality of the economy and the state budget which -- even if the health care fund were used for other things -- is still going to lead to major cuts in Minnesota health care.

Does anybody see a solution here?

Medical marijuana bill passes Minnesota Senate

Posted at 11:30 AM on May 4, 2009 by Bob Collins (11 Comments)
Filed under: Crime and Justice, Politics

The Minnesota Senate today has passed the bill legalizing the medical use of marijuana, but not without a brief rehash of arguments that haven't changed on either side over the last 10 years.

Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen, R-Alexandria, says the bill is the first step in legalizing drugs, and says it'll be "a law enforcement nightmare."

The bill passed 35-to-29, picking up two more votes in the Senate than in 2007, the first time a medical marijuana bill survived a full vote in either the Senate or House, and one vote fewer than a preliminary vote last week.

The flu formerly known as swine

Posted at 3:02 PM on April 30, 2009 by Than Tibbetts (6 Comments)
Filed under: Health, Media, Politics

What's in a name?

We've moved beyond the "panic" stories to the politically tinged debates over what to call that nasty virus traversing the globe.

World Health Organization officials today begin referring to the virus formerly known as swine flu as "influenza A (H1N1)." (Though the WHO has shown it isn't above industry meddling.)

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has this note posted on one of its flu pages:

This is a rapidly evolving situation and current guidance and other web content may contain variations in how this new H1N1 virus of swine origin is referred to.
Over the coming days and weeks, these inconsistencies will be addressed, but in the interests of meeting the agency's response goals, all guidance will remain posted and new guidance will continue to be issued.

But they might have trouble switching things up as they've been giving out cdc.gov/swineflu as the site for information.

The City of St. Paul just sent out a press release titled "Information available on H1N1 (swine) flu threat."

Then there's the World Organization for Animal Health which, so far, has the most novel approach:

No current information in influenza like animal disease in Mexico or the USA could support a link between human cases and possible animal cases including swine. The virus has not been isolated in animals to date. Therefore, it is not justified to name this disease swine influenza. In the past, many human influenza epidemics with animal origin have been named using geographic name, eg Spanish influenza or Asiatic influenza, thus it would be logical to call this disease "North-American influenza".

MPR received a letter from a pork producer representative that laid bare the industry's objections to calling it swine flu:

[Please] reference the present flu virus by its appropriate name, the 2009 N1H1 flu.
Referring to the present flu virus as "swine flu" is not only damaging to MN pork producers, but demonstrates an uneducated, reckless approach, which is undoubtedly uncharacteristic of MN Public Radio.

The negative connotations to swine, unfairly made and scientifically unsupported, affect consumer confidence and therefore have a significant negative impact on pork production.

There is scientific evidence that the virus is genetically connected to pigs, but you cannot get the flu by eating pork products. It's not like we're not calling it bacon flu, though. To be fair, when your industry is under sudden and near total onslaught, you have a right to be defensive.

When it comes down to it, the media, at least for now, will likely stick with swine flu.

Today on Talk of the Nation, host Neal Conan was asked by a caller why he was not using the term "correct" term of H1N1. Said Conan, "We call it swine flu because that's what people call it."

So... what do you call it?

The Switch

Posted at 1:01 PM on April 28, 2009 by Than Tibbetts (1 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

If you were listening to the radio yesterday afternoon, you might recall Neal Conan's interview with Sen. Arlen Specter ~~(R-PA)~~ (D-PA).

While the talk of the Specter's switch will certainly revolve around the national political ramifications — you know, what with Al Franken being the potential 60th vote for the Democrats if Norm Coleman loses his appeal at the Minnesota Supreme Court — NPR's reflection on the interview offers a different take.

All politics is local, and Sen. Specter was concerned about his ability to win a Republican primary in 2010, or so the subtext goes:

Specter: Well, it is true that the polls are bleak. When I voted for the stimulus package, one of just three, and was in position, along with Senator Snowe and Senator Collins, to provide the decisive votes, there was a very strong adverse reaction. There was a resolution filed in state committee to censure me. The state chairman and the national chairman said they didn't know if they could support me. My office was picketed. And it's a tough proposition. I've overcome some challenges before, and I'm working on a game plan.

The Atlantic's Mark Ambinder offers a Cliffs Notes analysis of the switch.

Time flies. Two weeks ago, Specter said he'd be a Republican forever.

Tom Scheck is running down the implications of Specter's change on Minnesota's Senate race. He's got the reactions from the Franken and Norm Coleman campaigns on Polinaut.

Now, imagine the onus on Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Democrats want Franken to have the election certificate, oh, yesterday, while there will no doubt be pressure from Republicans to a) find a way for Coleman to win or b) keep Franken out of the Senate for as long as possible. It's been clear for a while that the race would have to pivot around Pawlenty before it comes to a conclusion.

Update: Pawlenty says the switch won't affect the Minnesota Senate race. He wouldn't say when he'd issue the certificate, except to say he'll follow the court's direction.

"We're going to follow the law with respect to the Franken/Coleman litigation and when and how a certificate gets issued," Pawlenty said. "So again, the situation with Pennsylvania has no connection or impact on what's going to happen in Minnesota."

History is history

Posted at 3:26 PM on April 16, 2009 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Economy, Politics

The Minnesota Historical Society is announcing huge proposed budget cuts. According to a news release, more than 90 people would lose their jobs, fewer books would be published and three sites would close.

You know my penchant for aviation, so I'll weep silently for the the Charles A. Lindbergh Historic Site in Little Falls. It, along with Historic Forestville in Preston, and North West Company Fur Post in Pine City would be closed to the public.

Lindbergh, for the record, was good enough for Gov. Pawlenty to invoke in his 2008 State of the State address. "When Charles Lindbergh emerged from the plane, he said just what you might expect a Minnesotan to say, 'Well ... I made it,'" It's easier to fly solo to Paris than it is to keep history alive in Minnesota, however.

Historic Fort Snelling would close for two days each week.

The Oliver H. Kelley Farm in Elk River, Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post in Onamia, Forest History Center in Grand Rapids, and Jeffers Petroglyphs in Comfrey would only be open weekends.

Maybe nobody cares about these particular cuts, the governor's spokesman suggests.

"If you weren't able to go to the Historical Society Library when you thought you' might be able to, some people might notice that. It doesn't seem like the Historical Society is trying to go overboard. I think their attempt here is one that presents a realistic approach as they seems like they look at the budget situation," said Brian McClung.

But wasn't the "Legacy Amendment" -- that's when you voted for a sales tax increase last fall -- supposed to be a boon to cultural programs in the state?

How others see us

Posted at 12:40 PM on April 16, 2009 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

The Norm Coleman - Al Franken recount story is a hit -- sort of -- in Europe.

On Wednesday, MPR's Mark Zdechlik was on the BBC's Up All Night. Once you get past the mangling of Mark's name, it's even more interesting to hear the questions. The host apparently thought the race between the two was over. But when you hear Mark explain the process, one wonders how anyone overseas can wonder what's wrong with Minnesota.

"Why didn't anyone weigh into this long before?" the commentator asked, referring to the Supreme Court ruling in the Gore-Bush clash in 2000 49 days after the election. "There is no sense of a clock running here at all," he said incredulously.

"We urge more patience on you," he said. Listen

Meanwhile, All Things Considered host Tom Crann was on the radio in Dublin. The host on RTE Radio 1wondered why a Democrat in "one of the bluest states in the union" couldn't easily win an election in which Barack Obama swept to victory.

Told by Crann that Coleman was appealing this week's decision, the host intoned, "Oh, good lord." Listen

Why does Europe care? Is it a fascination with the democratic process in the colonies? Or the fact it involves a former comedian?

The Internet tax debate

Posted at 10:19 AM on April 8, 2009 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

(From this morning's Future Tense)

Cash-strapped states are targeting Internet merchants. Several are considering bills that would require merchants to collect sales taxes on digital downloads. Under a Supreme Court ruling, states can only require the merchants to collect the taxes online if they have a bricks-and-mortar presence in the state. In Minnesota, for example, a bill being considered by the Legislature would add a sales tax to downloads from iTunes and WalMart.

I talked first with Minneapolis representative Jim Davnie, the bill's author, and then to Steve DelBianco, the executive director of NetChoice, a coalition of some of the biggest online corporations.

MP3 - iTunes

TAKE THE SURVEY!

Do you believe online merchants should be required to collect sales taxes from you for digital downloads? ( surveys)

Gay marriage - Vermont style

Posted at 4:42 PM on April 7, 2009 by Bob Collins (6 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

The gay marriage issue is starting to feel like the collapse of the Eastern bloc. It's happening quickly and relatively quietly, without much of a fight. Today, Vermont became the latest state to legalize gay marriage when its legislature voted to override the governor's veto of a bill. It's the first time gay marriage was enacted via the legislature and not from the courts. The "activist judges" cries, which started when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court struck down laws to prevent gay marriage, don't work here.

Four states now allow gay marriage, and two of them have joined the ranks in the last week. On Friday, Iowa's Supreme Court cleared the way for same-sex marriage.

Iowa. The nation's heartland. You could almost hear conservative groups sigh, "If we've lost Iowa, we've lost America." But after last November's bruising, the reaction has been somewhat muted. Then again, it's not an election year.

"You cannot take marriage, a social institution that developed over a very, very long period of time, and redefine it out of existence, without taking an enormous risk," writes BeliefNet columnist Rod Dreher. "The agenda of some of these leaders is precisely to do that -- to rid marriage of anything normative, to make it a free-floating legal condition that has no meaning beyond whatever it is they want it to mean today."

But like the fall of the Eastern bloc, the effort to legalize same-sex marriage is picking up steam on a regional basis, and it's happening quickly. The chances are improving, the New York Times reported, that New England is the core of the movement, whose slogan is "Six by '12."

This map from the Human Rights Campaign reinforces the notion of a regional strategy:

What does this mean in Minnesota? Not much; at least not yet. Same-sex marriages from other states are not recognized in Minnesota. A bill to change that is -- so far -- going nowhere at the Capitol. Legislation to make Minnesota's marriage laws gender neutral is similarly stalled.

(Photo: Jordan Silverman/Getty Images)

Taxes: It don't come easy

Posted at 12:18 PM on April 7, 2009 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

The Minnesota Department of Revenue has sent out a news release today touting changes the Legislature has made in tax code to make it easier and less confusing for people to file their taxes.

Presumably, this will be the case once people who have already filed their taxes refile their taxes because of the new rules.

Confused? Well, yes.

Here's the release.

Some of the changes contained in the law resulted in the elimination of Department of Revenue Schedule M1NC, Federal Adjustments. As a result, some taxpayers who used this schedule in calculating their Minnesota taxable income will have to file an amended individual income tax return for 2008.
No further action is required for taxpayers who claimed federal deductions for higher education tuition and fees or for teacher classroom expenses, but who had no other adjustments on Schedule M1NC.

However, taxpayers with other adjustments on Schedule M1NC should re-file their Minnesota tax return as outlined below. This includes taxpayers aged 70 ½ or older who reported non-taxable direct transfers from IRA accounts to charitable organizations.

Taxpayers who have not yet filed their 2008 Form M1:
· Do not complete Schedule M1NC, since the schedule is now obsolete.
· Taxpayers claiming the college tuition and fees and/or educator expenses deduction on their federal returns must add back these deductions on line 12 of the newly revised Schedule M1M, Income Additions and Subtractions.
· Taxpayers who use tax software should be sure to download the latest program updates.

Taxpayers who have already filed their Minnesota return and included Schedule M1NC:
· File an amended return if you added back tax-free charitable transfers from IRA accounts or reported any federal adjustments other than tuition and fees and educator expenses. You must use Form M1X, Amended Minnesota Income Tax.
· Taxpayers who used tax preparers should contact those professionals for updated forms and information.

The legislation (HF 392) conforms Minnesota's income tax to most federal changes enacted through Dec. 31, 2008. It does not include any provisions of the recently passed federal stimulus law, which generally take effect with tax year 2009.

Conforming to federal tax law helps provide clear and consistent rules that help reduce taxpayer confusion and make it easier to calculate and file state taxes.

Earmarks deadline

Posted at 3:49 PM on April 3, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Today is the deadline for members of Congress to post their 2010 "earmark" requests online. Under new House rules, members have to post their requests on their individual Web sites.

The Web sites, of course, are not standardized so it's not always easy to find a particular posting. But given a reasonable review of the Web sites, here's the ones that have been posted for the Minnesota delegation:

Rep. Tim Walz - Not found.
Rep. John Kline - Not found.
Rep. Erik Paulsen - Not found.
Rep. Betty McCollum - Not found
Rep. Keith Ellison - Not found
Rep. Michele Bachmann - Not found.
Colin Peterson - Includes flood protection for the Red River valley, barley research, ultra-light vehicles for the military.
Rep. James Oberstar - Not found

There's something about Pawlenty

Posted at 12:15 PM on April 2, 2009 by Bob Collins (7 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty, Politics

It's budget season and that's open season on politicians, but after six years on the job, most of which have been taken up by budget cutting, it may be time for DFLers to acknowledge that Tim Pawlenty's nickname should be be "Teflon Tim."

Eric Ostermeier, who writes the Smart Politics blog over at the Humphrey Institute has analyzed Pawlenty's latest approval ratings and pulls out this nugget:

In fact, Pawlenty is one of only three Governors in the 14 states polled by SurveyUSA who currently has an approval rating in excess of the vote received during the state's last gubernatorial election. And only Virginia's Democratic Governor Tim Kaine (+5) has a higher net favorability rating vis-à-vis vote percentage than Pawlenty (+4). The average gubernatorial job performance rating across the more than one dozen states polled is 11+ points south of the average election vote tally.

What Ostermeier doesn't mention in his list, however, is that only Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick had the third party competition (Christy Mihos - 6% of the vote) in the election in 2006 that Pawlenty had from Peter Hutchinson in the same election (6.4%).

In that context, it was actually easier for Pawlenty to have a higher approval rating than on election night than most any other governor.

Legislature may close loophole on misusing funds

Posted at 2:53 PM on March 18, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

While Congress was busy sending journalists scurrying to the thesaurus to find words to replace "outrage," a Minnesota House committee was tightening a rather glaring loophole: it's not illegal to misuse taxpayer money (insert the predictable joke here).

According to the Legislature's Session Daily:

Following a rash of recent scandals involving fraud and financial mismanagement at state agencies, Winkler wondered why the state employees involved were being fired but not prosecuted. It turns out that knowingly misappropriating state money is not actually a crime.

Under Rep. Ryan Winkler's bill, anyone who intentionally misuses state funds could be charged with a gross misdemeanor.

The bill was inspired by the case of Sonia Pitt, the former director of homeland security planning for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, who was AWOL when the I-35W bridge collapsed in Minneapolis, who charged over $14,000 in personal travel expenses to the state, and caused the state to pay over $11,000 for her use of cellphones, hotels, airfare, and unnecessary business travel, according to an investigation by the Office of the Legislative Auditor.

AIG's campaign contributions

Posted at 11:31 AM on March 18, 2009 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Earlier, I provided a link to a few news stories about AIG's campaign contributions, which is getting grilled today by many of the recipients over the millions paid out in bonuses.

According to the watchdog site, OpenSecrets.org, these Minnesota candidates have received campaign contributions by the AIG Group.

2008
Michele Bachmann $250
Norm Coleman $1,000
Elwyn Tinklenberg $750
Al Franken $400

2006
Amy Klobuchar $3,000
Mark Kennedy $1,250

2004
Jim Oberstar $3,000

2002
Norm Coleman $7,333
Paul Wellstone $1,100
Jim Oberstar $1,000

Update 3:23 p.m. From Dave Dziok, communications director for Rep. Michele Bachmann:

If you follow the link below you will see that an analyst for AIG in Houston, Texas, donated to Congresswoman Bachmann's campaign but not to the AIG PAC.

Here's the link for donors to AIG's PAC. Trevor Cox of Houston, TX doesn't appear on there at all.

http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgave.php?sort=A&cmte=C00097725&cycle=2008&Page=1

Here's the link to Trevor Cox's donations which are completely separate and independent from AIG. Simply because he is employed there does not mean he is associated with the PAC that is responsible for political contributions in any way. The names he contributed to, on his own, seem to be all pro-life heavy hitters.

http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/donor_lookup.php?name=Cox,%20Trevor

Congresswoman Bachmann has not ever received donations from AIG. As we told the CRP, the way they report is misleading so I understand how the confusion was made, but the story as reported is misleading so I wanted to draw it your attention.

Live-blogging Midday: The governor's budget

Posted at 10:58 AM on March 18, 2009 by Bob Collins (6 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

MPR's Midday is discussing Gov. Tim Pawlenty's reworked budget plan. I've live-blogging it in search of the salient nuggets.

Guests are Sen. Dick Cohen, DFL-St. Paul, chair of the Senate Finance Committee and Sen. Geoff Michel,, R-Edina, assistant minority leader.

I would anticipate some discussion of Tom Scheck's story that the governor's proposal assumes property tax increases.

11:07 a.m. - "The governor set an appropriate direction," Michel said. "We're starting to see specific proposals and we're starting to digest what the federal money means."

Cohen says Pawlenty uses one-time money and says in the next biennium, "the budget falls off the cliff."

11:10 a.m. - Sen. Michel, asked if one-time money is preferable to a state-wide tax increase, he said a recession is not the right time to raise $2 billion in taxes. "At a minimum we should expect state government should live within its means and set some priorities." That may be a shot against the Pogemiller budget proposal that called for an across-the-board cut.

Cohen says using one-time money for a secure budget "makes no sense." Michel says the DFL is saying "the governor should cut more, but he's cut too much."

11:16 a.m. - Cohen says he's prefer tax increases to the use of one-time money. He says to raises taxes on the wealthiest is preferable "to kicking people who are least able to take care of themselves off the programs they need."

11:19 a.m. - The tax incidence study is being kicked around.

Listener questions

Q: Why are human services the first to be cut?

A: "That's the portion of the budget which is racing away at an unsustainable rate -- 22% was the projected increase over the next two years," Michel said. "This is the PacMan of the state budget."

"If we cut everything in state budget by 5% that's $1.5 billion... you're still short of solving the problem," Cohen said. Pressed on the lack of priorities in the Senate budget, Cohen said "it's a work in progress."

11:25 a.m. - Could K-12 be cut to restore some human service cuts? "There's been a lot of trimming going on in K-12," Sen. Michel said. Cohen says "at the end of the day when we pass K-12 out of the Senate, we'll have a smaller cut than what we show now."

11:39 a.m. - Do business owners have to have $250,000 in profit in order not to be included in an income tax increase for people making more than $250,000

According to MIchel, "92% of small businesses report business income on personal income tax. To lay out this tax increase as just a tax increase on the rich is wrong." Cohen notes businesses can deduct expenses so the number reaching adjusted gross income of $250,000 is much smaller.

11:42 a.m. South Dakota caller cites the number of businesses moving to South Dakota and says "Sen. Cohen is the best politician South Dakota can hope for.

"South Dakota is a state losing population," Cohen said.

11:46 a.m. - Caller says the state's economy has been doing down since the state cut taxes. Proper application of cause-and-effect?

11:49 a.m. - For every wealthy taxpayer the state loses, according to Cohen, "we have to fill that hole with 86 middle-income taxpayer.

11:51 a.m. - "Republican governors throughout the country have attempted to have a mixture of budget cuts and tax increases to deal with budget problems. That's why Minnesota has fallen behind; Governor Pawlenty has refused to look at anything," Cohen said.

11:56 a.m. - Michel asks, "what is reasonable" in the size of the budget?

11:57 a.m. - "Why not just paper over the budget, avoid taxes, under the assumption the economy will get better?" Eichten asks.

"It's a false premise," Cohen says. "You can't have a budget of that sort and not continue to run a significant deficit over the next two years. There is no economic projection to say the economic problems won't continue."

Says Michel" "We've got to deal with the jobs deficit. It's the only thing we should be working on for the next two months.