Polinaut: February 2006 Archive

"The next two things you have to do..."

Posted at 7:39 AM on February 1, 2006 by Bob Collins

The blogs are roiling today with speculation (that's pretty much what blogs do, bless 'em) that Patty Wetterling has all but announced her decision to enter the 6th District race. This is based on some comments in the Star Tribune (surprisingly, according to blog-supplied links, the only source of political information for a lot of folks who spend a lot of time describing it in unflattering terms) published on Tuesday that she wants to continue her work "at the federal level."

That is then linked to comments from lone DFL candidate Elwyn Tinklenberg in October that he was assured by Wetterling that the only reason he got into the race is because he was assured by Wetterling that she would not run. In other words, the big "story" brewing is that Wetterling is breaking a promise.

Here's a bulletin: Politicians say whatever politicians need to say. Let's suppose, for example, a candidate -- a congressman, let's say -- is rumored to be interested in higher office. Let's say a Senate seat. So a reporter says to the congressman, "is it true you're thinking about running for the Senate?" You know the answer that's coming and so do I. "I'm only interested in being the best congressman for the next two years."

Really? That's all you're interested in? Figuring out what you'll be doing two years from now doesn't interest you? The Super Bowl? That doesn't interest you?

When I was learning to fly, my instructor told me "there's only two things that matter when you're flying a plane."

"What's that"" I asked.

"The next two things you have to do," he said.

OK, so pilots are one step ahead of politicians, who recognize that the only thing that's important to say is the next thing you have to say.

So let's suppose Wetterling gets into the race everyone with an ounce of political savvy knows she should've jumped into in the first place. Grown men will cry and opponents will be shocked -- shocked -- that she broke a promise.

Sure, it'd be nice if politicians told the whole truth from time to time, but the issue also raises questions about whether truth is a fixed data point. Do circumstances matter?

If Mark Kennedy says "I'm opposed to drilling in ANWR" right up until the moment that he votes for drilling in ANWR, do the circumstances surrounding that vote matter? If Samuel Alito were to say "I support precedent," can we take it to the bank what his vote on court cases would be even before they're filed?
If Wellstone says "this is the last time I'm running for office," and then runs again. does it matter if Democrats taking control of the Senate changes the circumstances surrounding his decision?

I don't know. That's my answer. But on the day I come up with one, I'm thinking the answer should be the same for all three.

Do we really want to bet the farm on a politician's statements?

Wetterling to make announcement on Friday

Posted at 1:27 PM on February 1, 2006 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)

Patty Wetterling will make an announcement on Friday. Asked whether she is running for the 6th District, an aide said only, "we'll see you Friday," according to MPR's Tom Scheck.

Check and Balances (registration required) reports on internal polling from the Wetterling camp:

In a poll of 400 Sixth Congressional Districts residents with a margin of error of +/-4%, Wetterling beats all comers in a head-to-head match-up. The poll was weighted heavily in favor of Republican voters with 40% represented and only 28% being Democratic voters. Of the respondents 42% percent self-identified as Conservative, 24% self identified as Liberal and 29% self-identified as Moderates.

In hard name identification Wetterling polled at 76% while Elwyn Tinklenberg barely made double digits at 15%. In the break down:

Of the respondents, only 4% had never heard of Wetterling and 22% did not know enough to form an opinion, compared to 45% had never heard of Tinklenberg, and of those who had, 40% did not know enough to form an opinion.

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Where's my numbers?

Posted at 5:50 PM on February 1, 2006 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)

Folks have inquired why I haven't added the Mark Kennedy and Amy Klobuchar numbers to the Campaign 2006 site. Well, the story is it's a scurrilous attempt to prevent any good publicity for one candidate over the other.

No, wait, that's not it. It's because I still don't have the exact numbers from the FEC. They're supposed to be available immediately for candidates who file electronically, and within 48 hours for those who file paper. So far, neither Klobuchar or Kennedy are showing up (note to campaigns: feel free to fax the actual year-end statement to me at 651-290-1295). And there's a couple of congressional candidates who haven't shown up either.

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Excuse me while I touch the sky

Posted at 9:53 PM on February 1, 2006 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)

Warning! Warning! Stream of consciousness posting follows.

This follows the discussion that got underway in the note about the Checks and Balances posting about Patty Wetterling's internal polling and what it means for the quotation of which to appear on a blog "run" (and I use that term loosely) by mainstream media; in this case, MPR. Michael at Minnesota Democrats Exposed has raised some good points.

I know they're good points because my bosses here raised them too and my bosses would never raise a point without it being good. OK, sure, the chances of them actually reading Polinaut aren't real high, but...

Seriously, here's a little background on all of the intricacies that went into the creation of Polinaut: one day I woke up and said, "we should have a political blog to go with Campaign 2006 that can capture a sense of the content and feel of political blogs around here." I asked my immediate boss, who said "OK" and then tried to sneak it through the rest of the chain of command and get it actually up and running before anybody actually noticed. That's the thing with being on the fringe side of mainstream media (i.e. online): you can do a lot of things that the bosses don't really know about it until it's too late.
But nobody said "no," even though they surely recognized this constituted moving the furniture around a bit.

About two days into Polinaut, a bigger boss than my immediate supervisor advised me of two things (1) he hated the name and (2) he hated the "cartoon" graphics. "They're going to hurt us," he said. Well, three things actually. He hated my picture too.

He didn't actually say, "hey, we're Minnesota Public Radio and we need to be stuffy and boring. People expect it," but he might as well have. Because he'd be right. Content-wise, a lot of people, I think, expect Minnesota Public Radio to be pretty much what it was a year ago, or five years ago, or 10 years ago. It should be... comfortable because in that comfort zone is the illusion of credibility.

Obviously, I disagree. I've been in the radio business for 30 years and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that a good way to achieve irrelevance, if not outright unemployment, is to do something because "that's the way we've always done it," even as the world around you is changing.

And then there's the little matter of the arrogance of mainstream media that dares -- even for a moment -- to believe that they can set the pace of changing how people consume information, simply because they always have. I'm sorry, that's just not possible anymore.

So what's this got to do with politics? Well, politics, as I'm guessing you're aware, is for the hyper-sensitive and the reaction to what people say about politics tends to be hypersensitive too. Mainstream media HATES hypersensitivity. MSM is hypersensitive to hypersensitivity.

As noted in the comments section, however, the way people are changing how they consume information is changing faster than MSM's ability to process it. And so even though starting a blog puts us squarely on the cutting edge of, I'd say, 2002,it seems like too much, too fast for a lot of people -- including a lot of people here. I get that. People are afraid that credibility will be lost because people won't know the difference between these colliding worlds. And they're right. It will on occasion, until people become more familiar with how these worlds relate.

There is, in fact, a difference between the "clipping service" nature of blogs and the dutiful, highly respected, much appreciated, and much admired process that leads to a newscast...or a talk show.

That the difference exists, however, doesn't erase the fact that most people don't yet know there's a difference. And that's the tension that exists in MSM newsrooms when someone says "blog." That's why I got a voicemail from the Kennedy campaign late this afternoon that said I didn't post the Rasmussen poll numbers that showed Mark Kennedy erasing an earlier deficit with Amy Klobuchar. Fair enough. But if I didn't -- and maybe I didn't, I don't remember -- so what? The blog -- this blog -- by its very nature, is going to throw stuff online as (1)fast as I can and (2) without keeping score. Sometimes I'll hit it. Sometimes I won't.

Now I wouldn't say that if I were writing stories. There, I would keep score. To me, that's a difference. Polinaut is one guy, perusing the blogs in Minnesota and elsewhere and trying not to duplicate stuff that's already out there, and tossing up the occassional tidbit that I hear screamed from one side of the newsroom to the other that might have some relevance. It's a very short trip to this page...shorter than anything MSM has ever done.

Is it worth doing? I sure think so. Are we -- that includes you -- going to help define how MSM embraces blogs? I sure see it that way.

At the moment, there's still a territorial DMZ between "the news" and "the blogs" here and at other MSM. In broadcast, the name "blog" is never uttered, even off the air except in the company of an adjective. Online, we're not going to put the Polinaut content in the news columns (except as a related link sometimes).

But take a look at what the Washington Post is doing. Using Technorati, the Post is embedding "what the blogs are saying about this story" in the story. That's just got to be killing some of those old dogs in that newsroom.

Let me close this sermon with a couple of links of folks who are trying to get MSM more interested in taking blogs seriously. The Center for Citizen Media and Buzz Machine. Check them out when you get a chance and I think they frame -- certainly better than I obviously can -- some of the issues surrounding MSM and blogs.

I think we're at a very important crossroad. I think blogs, especially in politics and especially in Minnesota, are going to get more exposure in the MSM and isn't going to be in a couple of paragraphs in the Saturday Strib. It's going to be everyday. And there are days you're probably not going to like it. There are going to be days I'm not going to like it.

And there'll be some evolutionary growing pains. For that, I apologize in advance.

Let's keep talking until someone hears us!

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Wetterling's announcement (updated)

Posted at 10:50 PM on February 1, 2006 by Bob Collins

Here's the particulars:

St. Paul --Patty Wetterling will be holding a press conference this Friday at 10am regarding an announcement about her political future.
The event will be held in the main atrium of the Anoka County Government Center.

*WHO: U.S. Senate Candidate Patty Wetterling*

*WHAT: Press Conference*

*WHEN: 10:00am, Friday, February 3^rd *

*WHERE: Main Atrium, Anoka County Government Center, 2100 3^rd Ave,
Anoka 55303*

Klobuchar, Bell answer questions

Posted at 10:51 PM on February 1, 2006 by Bob Collins

The Pulse of the Twin Cities has a survey response from Ford Bell and Amy Klobuchar posted. The subject is John Murtha's call for a redeployment of U.S. troops in Iraq, and health care.

Briefing - Thursday February 2, 2006

Posted at 7:48 AM on February 2, 2006 by Bob Collins

A skip around the political planet while I figure out whether "but the roads were all closed because of the president," will work as an excuse for showing up late for work.

First, if you're going to the event at 3M this morning at 11, how about shooting a couple of thoughts my way in e-mail form when you have a chance? I'll be happy to post them here. If you're not going, the speech will be streamed live online here (we're only streaming in Windows now, by the way).

I'm always amazed at the amount of time people have to dissect the smallest details. Daily Koz has a funny -- well, to me -- blurb and photo proving -- proving! -- that Sen. Joe Lieberman was the first lawmaker out of his seat to applaud President Bush at the SOTU, ignoring the very distinct possibility that, in fact, he was just the slowest at sitting down from the previous applause line.

The blog, The First Ring, has a very detailed opinion piece looking at the speech.

Rather, it’s nothing more than a return to the Mommy Party, Daddy Party debate of years past except instead of Bush telling voters to return Republicans to office to offer tough love and to finish cleaning their plates, he’s admonishing Congress---and by extension, himself---to do the same. With only two years to go and really only about one session left before all congressional considerations become directed around the presidential primaries, Bush isn’t interested in remaking the wheel but finishing the classic car he envisioned building when he took office.

I mentioned Bush is in town today, right?

Speaking as a recovering wonk, I'm thinking the legislative session looks like it's going to be a lot of fun this year what with retiring lawmakers left and right and some real 'you're either for us or agin' us' issues that may die in committee but put up a fight in the process. Governor Pawlenty is pushing for a constitutional amendment on the November ballot on transportation funding and the sales tax that he outlined yesterday. I have no clue -- none -- on its prospects. You?

Do Dems outnumber Republicans? Does it matter?

Mninvolved has a profile of 1st District candidate Tim Walz. It notes Walz' fundraising prowess, incumbent Gil Gutknecht is outraising him 4-to-1. That, however, is an awfully tough district to take the temperature of.

There's a movement afoot, speaking of Walz, to organize the Band of Brothers as a political force. Next Wednesday the group will rally in Washington:

Not since 1946 have so many veterans come together as candidates for one political party. We already have commitments from over half of our candidates to come to Washington D.C., rally around Rep. Murtha.

Looking ahead a bit, President Bush is quoted as saying he doesn't think Condoleezza Rice wants to be president.

Poll burps:

News story: Connecticut Republican governor getting some love.

Blog: ABC's Gibson used polls renounced by ABC's polling director to speculate that Bush might get a "pretty good size boost" in polls due to SOTU (Media Watch - C'mon boys, learn to write a headline!)

Rasmussen: Bush job approval at 47%

A year for incumbent governors?

Posted at 11:31 AM on February 2, 2006 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

University of Virginia professor Larry Sabato, one of the more oft-quoted "analysts" in MSM around these parts, is out with an essay today on the analysis of gubernatorial races. In Statehouses Gleam for Democrats in 2006 But all that Glisters is not Gold he places Minnesota in the Competitive States Leaning Republican category.

"Gov. Tim Pawlenty's road to reelection will be rocky, and he knows it, but this Democratic-leaning state will still be inclined to give him a second term."

Sabato sees Wisconsin as leaning Democrat.

"Maybe anyone who succeeded Gov. Tommy Thompson (R) would pale by comparison. First Lt. Gov. Scott McCallum (R) who got the post after Thompson joined Bush's Cabinet in 2001 and now Gov. Jim Doyle (D) who beat McCallum in 2002 never connected with the Wisconsin public. Doyle's ratings are mediocre, and while he may win a second term as the incumbent, he'll be hard pressed by either Congressman Mark Green (R) or Milwaukee executive Scott Walker (R). The sli ghtest lean for Doyle as the year begins."

But I wonder how the veto of the conceal carry legislation will play in November in the cheesehead state?

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The Bush speech

Posted at 12:53 PM on February 2, 2006 by Bob Collins

Here's the encoded version.

And just to remind you: All My Children will be aired tomorrow morning at 1:50 a.m.

Wetterling in

Posted at 6:36 PM on February 2, 2006 by Bob Collins

Associated Press is reporting that Elwyn Tinklenberg has been told by Patty Wetterling that she'll run in the 6th District against him. Not much of a surprise, of course.

Briefing - Friday February 3, 2006

Posted at 7:49 AM on February 3, 2006 by Bob Collins

OK, so Patty Wetterling is going to announce for Congress today. Is there anything else to talk about? Other than the flap over the governor's radio show, that is.

Just wondering, House and Senate candidates. When does Iran become an issue you'd like to talk about? Specifically, that is.

I'm late providing this link, but the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board has now posted all the candidate year-end reports (at least I think they're all there).

Attention Al Franken! There's something you ought to see in the Pioneer Press. Politicos handicap Rybak for Senate run. File it under "T" for trial balloon. And that rhymes with..... no, wait, it doesn't, actually.

Bloomberg gives a little bit of love -- not much, but a little bit -- to 6th District candidate Phil Krinkie.

I don't know why I find this so fascinating, but there are actually people who go to work every day, studying Dwight Eisenhower"s presidency.
What do you talk about when you get home and open a beer with your spouse at the end of the day? "How was your day?" Are they all different?

This isn't breaking news but Mark Ritchie is challenging Mary Kiffmeyer for secretary of state.

Did you know that Norm Coleman and Ted Kennedy are legislative buds in the Senate? The two have sponsored a resolution naming this GoDirect month. Sorry, I didn't get you a card. Or a present. And, it's not in the mail either.

The blog First Ring does a number on Bill Weld for characterizing the SOTU as "smarmy." Back when I was a wee lad of a radio guy, I worked in a small radio station in Fitchburg, Massachusetts when Weld was just getting started in politics. He was running against Attorney General Frank Bellotti, an AG so popular and intriguing (having overcome a whisper campaign in the '60s about the Maf... well, you know) that Weld was wasting his time. He showed up for an interview (small stations were the only ones interested in talking to him) in the company of two young ladies best described as (although they were not...) hoo...well,you know. I thought, "nice gig, wonder what your real job will end up being." Next thing I know (OK, it wasn't the next thing), he's running for and winning the governor's office in the Democratic state (I'm now working in Boston) and impressing me with what remains the most impressive characteristic of Bill Weld: he knows all the words to all the songs ever sung by the Rolling Stones, including the very obscure, Smarmy Sugar. Not excusin', just 'splainin.

I know it's the AP and all, but it's a small world when Sharon Marko running in the 2nd District is news in Columbus, Georgia. How big a news hole do you have to have in your local paper in Georgia when you have to fill it with the latest from Cottage Grove, Minnesota?

THIS WEEKEND
(Feel free to send me your listing)

Blog burp

Posted at 11:29 AM on February 3, 2006 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

I'm not going to go all crazy on the Wetterling story since it's all over the news site (you do visit the news site at MPR, right?), but there are a few interesting analysis pieces being written on the blogs today that I'll post as I stumble across them.

AUDIO (RealAudio)
Wetterling
Tinklenberg

OPPONENTS REACTION:
Phil Krinkie

BLOGGERS REACTION

Kennedy vs. The Machine: ANALYSIS: Bachmann to Benefit with Patty’s Re-entry

MNPublius: "She's going to have an uphill battle bucking the flip-flopper label especially with El poised to stay in this at least until the endorsement."

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Briefing - Monday February 6, 2006

Posted at 8:39 AM on February 6, 2006 by Bob Collins

I usually try to get Polinaut updated by 7:30 or 8 in the morning. You know the drill: let the dog out, pick up the paper, update the blog. For the next 10 days, though, the routine around the casa is going to be a bit different so it may be closer to 9 a.m. before it can get updated.

Now then, let's look around the political planet.

The Washington Post is out with a list of key races to accompany its story, Handful of key races may tip Congress. Bet you can't get which one in Minnesota is on the list.

Still wondering. When is Iran going to be appear on the political radar screen. Seems like it's become the Ndudi Ebi of issues. Maybe it's me, but the future of Social Security, the national debt, and most other things seem rather trivial compared to this. Is the fallout from the game of chicken little?

From the "it's quiet, too quiet" department, Minnesota Democrats Exposed posts:

Join the Business Democrats on Wednesday, Feb. 8 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Santorini's in St. Louis Park (9920 Wayzata Blvd., -- around the corner from the Interchange Building, near the intersection of 169 and I-394).

This month the Business Dems are hosting a candidate forum for Governor candidates, moderated by Politics in Minnesota's Blois Olson, and all four announced candidates are expected to attend. Members $15, guests $20. RSVP to Robert Jacobs at 763 424-3036 or rjacobs@teamcreative.com. Source: Sixth Congressional District DFL

Given the heavy GOP presence at the Wetterling (or was it Tinklenberg?) event on Friday, I wonder if one-party events are going to have a heavily opposition-party flavored during this campaign season? I can see the future: portable fact-checking units show up at every event and crank out blogs and press releases at every answer. Cool. That's a step past dressing up as a pair of flip-flops. Not that they weren't fashionable, mind you.

Speaking of Iran, apparently we have a little in common.

Shoot, didn't get it done to 9:09. Now nobody will see this because they're at work, working. Furiously. Never taking a moment...to....browse the Web. No time-wasting. Darn.

2nd District blues

Posted at 11:14 AM on February 6, 2006 by Bob Collins

DFL support for Coleen Rowley seems to be coming apart at the seams, at least on Main Street. With Sharon Marko ready to jump in the race, some of the DFL-leaning blogs are jumping off the Rowley ship.

Minnesota Campaign Report makes it distinctly clear:

et's get one thing straight - I would much rather have a Democrat in the 2nd CD seat rather than John Kline. But Ms. Rowley is not a good candidate. She does not demonstrate effective control in public speech, she does not exert control over her message (or perhaps too much, either way, it's bad) or over her campaign staff. "I was a post-9/11 whistleblower" is simply not enough to get elected to Congress. This is one case where an insurgent, activist-based campaign is a very bad thing - when the candidate is running on name recognition alone, and once the campaign gets off the ground, the cracks start to show. Not good.

Backbone Minnesota leaves it at this:

“I’ve just noticed the occasional lack of professional ability” - St. Sen. Sharon Marko (DFL) 2/1/06, when asked to comment on Coleen Rowley’s campaign.

Debates by jetpack

Posted at 11:25 AM on February 6, 2006 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

I see on Kennedy vs. the Machine that Rep. Mark Kennedy has accepted an invitation to appear at the North Chamber of Commerce meeting at noon on March 3.

“I was happy to accept this debate and I sincerely hope that both Amy and Ford will join me in speaking candidly to voters about the issues,” said Mark Kennedy. ”The voters of Minnesota deserve an open, honest and friendly discussion of the issues. This Senate seat is too important to allow candidates to hide behind poll tested sound bites and press releases.”

The news release is dated for today. One problem: Ford Bell and Amy Klobuchar already had accepted an invitation to debate on MPR's Midday on that same day, starting at 11, in St. Paul, a debate that was publicized and mentioned in at least one of the candidate's news releases.

Kennedy has been invited to appear on the same program on March 2 and/or March 8.

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Ritchie announces for SOS

Posted at 2:32 PM on February 6, 2006 by Bob Collins

Mark Ritchie today announce his candidacy for secretary of state in Minnesota. He took a few shots at incumbent Mary Kiffmeyer, who hasn't said yet if she'll run again this year. (Though she did respond to the "shots."). Jane Freeman was on the podium at the announcement, urging a vote for her son, Mike, who is a candidate for Hennepin County Attorney.

Here's the audio (RealPlayer required) of his speech.

Briefing - February 7, 2006

Posted at 8:56 AM on February 7, 2006 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

So Martin Sabo gets a DFL challenger today, eh? The guy has lots of things to say about the state of the DFL and its reticence to take on the White House. It'll be interesting to see how much coverage he gets today (and, no, I have no idea if MPR is covering it.)

City Hall Scoop has a cool caption contest going with a funny -- well, it could be funny if you provided the laughs -- photo.

The Pioneer Press says Rep. John Lesch has left Iraq. Apparently an Iraqi official told him it's not a place for grandstanding, which -- I guess -- could confirm that progress is being made in Iraq in the war on grandstanding. We have to fight the grandstanding in foreign lands because otherwise, we'll have to fight it here. I don't know. Regardless of how you feel about Lesch's politics, his blog is a good read anyway.

Earl Newtal jumps into the race for the SD 62 seat. Which reminds me: I've got to figure out how to present all the legislative candidates this year on Campaign 2006. In 2004, we set up a giant table (HTMLy speaking) and had all candidates and incumbents fill out a form on issues. I was surprised by the number of incumbents who were offended by the request for a statement on issues. "Things could change," many of them said. You think? Goes to show how in the Internet age, many politicians are leaving no traceable evidence of having a position. Not sure what we'll do this year although I suppose I could link it in with Votetracker. But then, how to display the challengers, whoe -- often -- have no voting record? I'm up for opinions on this.

I feel like I'm stealing, but I can't help myself. I don't have a subscription to Roll Call, but I notice material via RSS is bypassing the usual log-in page. Maybe it's supposed to. Maybe it's not. But I read, Early money key in many '06 primaries, which was difficult since I was looking over my shoulder every few minutes.

Is the Democratic Party a big tent? Hillary Clinton is defending a contribution to a candidate who opposes abortion.

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Debates and forums

Posted at 11:08 AM on February 7, 2006 by Bob Collins

At present, here's the running list of candidate forums I've got on my trusty whiteboard. It's obviously by no means complete but if you know of some, send 'em along.

Wed 2/8 - DFL Govs. - St. Louis Park
Fri 3/3 - DFL Senate candidates, 11 a.m. (Midday)
Fri 3/3 - Senate candidates - North Chamber of Commerce - 12p
Mon 3/6 - DFL Govs - 11 a.m. (Midday)

Doyle leads in Rasmussen poll

Posted at 11:13 AM on February 7, 2006 by Bob Collins

Rasmussen is out with a poll today that shows Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle with a 7 percent lead over both Scott Walker and Mark Green. The Walker numbers are down 4% from December. His lead over Green is 1 percent better than December.

According to Rasmussen, the Doyle results put him squarely in the "vulnerable" category.

Blog update

Posted at 11:46 AM on February 7, 2006 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

A new political blog in the region to pass along (OK, "new" is a relative term. I get that.).

Dreckless, from Cory Miltomore describes itself as "Actively participating in Minnesota's political debate from a conservative co-conspirator's perspective."

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On the issues (continued)

Posted at 2:51 PM on February 7, 2006 by Bob Collins

As many of you know, we have individual pages for each candidate on the Campaign 2006 Web site. Click on the issue, hear the candidate discuss the issue. We're at the "interviewing" stage and ace MPR Capitol reporter Tom Scheck is sitting down with the Senate candidates and exploring specifics as part of the background we need to roll out the new version of Select A Candidate. And I post the answers on the candidate's page.

Last week, Tom talked to Ford Bell. Yesterday he talked to Amy Klobuchar. I believe he's waiting to hear back from Rep. Kennedy. And we interviewed Michael Cavlan (Green) months ago.

It'll take me a bit to get the material sliced up and posted. Hopefully by tomorrow.

Where in the world is John Lesch?

Posted at 3:50 PM on February 7, 2006 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

John Lesch has left Iraq, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press. We confirm that and we feel downright certain in reporting that , in fact, the Pioneer Press is reporting that John Lesch has left Iraq.

But where the St. Paul state rep is is anyone's guess and why he isn't talking is, well, our guess.

MPR reporter Marisa Helms got him on his cellphone earlier today and was told he wasn't ready to talk. And in the last few hours, the MPR All Things Considered producers have been chasing Lesch down. And they found him, but we don't know where.

But we do know this: he's 9 hours from here. We know that because they asked him what time it was there...wherever "there" was...or is. Beyond that, Lesch says he's not "ready to talk" about his sudden trip to Iraq. He did update his blog today.

So let's figure this out. We've narrowed Lesch's whereabouts to these locations:

Bahrain
Comoros
Djibouti
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Iraq
Kenya
Kuwait
Madagascar
Mayotte
Qatar
Russia
Astrakhan* (NAO)
Saratov* (NAO)
Ulyanovsk* (NAO)
Volgograd* (NAO)
Saudi Arabia
Somalia
Sudan
Tanzania
Uganda
Yemen
Bemidji

It's only a matter of time before we find him. We've turned the phone tapes over to CTU for analysis.

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Briefing - February 8, 2006

Posted at 8:48 AM on February 8, 2006 by Bob Collins

Roll Call has an article today called Patty Wetterling's about face. Nothing too much in there is going to be new information, but this quote was interesting.

“She would have been far smarter to say ‘this isn’t a year I will run for public office’ and step back, regroup,” observed Barry Casselman, a political columnist based in Minnesota. “It seems almost like she’s addicted to running.”

That's the kind of quote that can be used in a campaign. "She's addicted to running." But how do you use it if you are too? As near as I can tell, the only person in the race who hasn't made a pretty good living out of running for office -- and winning -- is Elwyn Tinklenberg. Hmmmmm....

Can't say that I'm familiar with Barry Casselman, but I'll try to poke around for more insight from him. By the way, based on my extensive military training (my brother, Bill, and I used to play Army in the field behind our house when we were kids), I think -- technically -- Wetterling did not "about face," but rather redeployed her unit to another front.

Things are starting to get nasty in the 6th District race. On his blog today, candidate Phil Krinkie lays in to GOP opponents Jim Knoblach and Michele Bachmann.

Now we learn, from a report by our State Auditor Pat Anderson, that there are a number of new, potentially scandalous problems with the project that Jim Knoblach and Michele Bachmann supported that are costing taxpayers even more.

Here's Pat Anderson's press release on her Northstar review.

One thing about politicians, they love to tell people how much they know. In other words, you can never shut them up and that's good for business -- my business anyway. A month or so ago Al Juhnke was upset at how quickly information from the caucus was ending up on the Checks and Balances side. Now DFL chair Donna Cassutt has apparently shutdown the DFL central committee's Yahoogroups site and is asking everyone to reapply, according to Minnesota Democrats Exposed. Meanwhile, Lloydletta's Nooz and Comments has theories.

Pulling down that State Central List will demotivate a number of DFLers who enjoy that list. There's other ways to deal with the interpersonal bickering that inevitably occurs on mailing lists.

Well, yeah. The DFL Central Committee has always been more entertaining than pro wrestling.

I thought I'd wake today to more angst about the Coretta Scott King funeral, at least the "political" part of that. Not a lot. The Blog of the Moderate Left dips a toe into it:

What are the Republicans really angry about from yesterday's service? One paragraph:

We know now there were no weapons of mass destruction over there. But Coretta knew and we knew that there were weapons of misdirection right down here. Millions without health insurance, poverty abound, for war billions more, but no more for the poor.

One paragraph in a six hour service. One paragraph which is absolutely true, every single word of it. One paragraph delivered by a minister.

The Kool Aid Report has a different take:

I’m surprised no one accused the President of killing Mrs. King. I’m sure the idea was discussed.

Today’s disgusting display is yet another example of how the Democrats continue to sink deeper and deeper into a hole they cannot dig themselves out of.

Feeling like going back in time today? Here you go.

Oh, yeah, Mike Ciresi isn't going to run.
OK, I give up, what exactly was the point of the last week? Is this a decision that was only made in the last week? Memo to self: deactivate the Mike Ciresi page. But don't delete it.

The DFL has started a blog. Memo to both parties who run blogs. How about realizing there's more to political news out there than what's in the Star Tribune? We all read the Strib. Blogs that are nothing more than a rundown of what's in one paper are lame. There's a whole world going on out there. Come out and see it.

Klobuchar on the issues

Posted at 1:26 PM on February 8, 2006 by Bob Collins

I've pretty much finished slicing up Tom Scheck's interview with Amy Klobuchar with specific issues. There's a few more to go that I haven't put on her Campaign 2006 page yet, but I hope to have it done by the end of the day, including the full audio of the interview.

FYI, the Klobuchar camp has been distributing video today of a debate said to have occurred last weekend, with a particular question about funding for community oriented policing. It's not on a streaming server, so once you click it, it'll take a bit to download.

Ciresi on Ciresi

Posted at 3:36 PM on February 8, 2006 by Bob Collins

I'm late getting this posted (meetings, too many meetings!). But here's the audio of Tom Scheck's interview with Mike Ciresi, who has decided not to run for U.S. Senate.

Who is Barry Casselman?

Posted at 8:36 AM on February 9, 2006 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

Greetings, Earthlings:

Another Barry Casselman sighting. Two days in a row after going a lifetime of never having heard of him. He's in the Washington Times today with a piece critical of Patty Wetterling called "Democrats in Minnesota." He has an engaging writing style but the headline action needs a little work. That's two Wetterling-critical mentions in the media in two days from Casselmanm, who -- it says at the bottom of the article -- writes about national politics for the Preludium News Service, whatever that is. Gotta find out who this guy is. There's no Preludium News Service Web site (hey, who doesn't have a Web site these days?) and I can't find anything in the dictionary that even says what a "preludium" is. We must explore.

Rasmussen is out with a survey today showing a drop in support for Hillary Clinton.

Al Franken, anyone? AlterNet has a profile of the man who is occasionally dropping the line that he may run against Norm Coleman in '08.

I'm still working that decision out. I think I'm going to let it evolve. I don't have to decide for a while, and I'm sort of doing the things that I'd have to do if I did run. So if I do make the decision to do it, I'll have done the things I needed to have done. I'm learning -- traveling within Minnesota, talking to people. I've been raising money for candidates in Minnesota and around the country. I've formed a national PAC called the Midwest Values PAC.

He's traveling within Minnesota. Gut-check: who's seen him outside Minneapolis St. Paul? And where? Fess up.

In Mankato, the Free Press has taken on Bob Gunther in an article about a fundraising letter that, it says, appeared to link cash with legislative action.

You know, a few years ago the Pioneer Press did a Sunday column that exposed the relationship between campaign contributions and legislative action. As I understand, the Press rolled a copying machine outside the campaign board's office on the day financial filings were due. As the legislators handed them in, the Press made copies of them, then whisked them downtown where a team of computer folks entered the data and then spent the entire night on a Friday making a database that compared the source funds to that legislator's actions in the next session. The reporters then spent Saturday writing the story and there it was on the front page on Sunday. It was a marvelous effort that I haven't seen repeated anywhere since, and it landed with a shrug of the shoulders at the time.

Not much on the "blog burp" today because my RSS reader is down (Bloglines) and I'm too lazy to enter all the URLs by hand. It's a long campaign season and Polinaut must pace himself.

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Speaking of the 6th

Posted at 10:50 AM on February 9, 2006 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball has the 6th District "leaning Republican." He figures Michele Bachmann is the early leader, but doesn't say why.

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Missed it by "that" much

Posted at 10:58 AM on February 9, 2006 by Bob Collins

Close but no political cigar. In January I saw former Rep. Bill Kuisle as a possible candidate for the District 30 Senate seat begin vacated by Sheila Kiscaden. But he announced today he's going for his old seat. (Listen to Sea Stachura's story in RealAudio)

For my next prediction: The Timberwolves will get more shots from Trenton Hassell than Kevin Garnett in the majority of fourth quarters the rest of the way. I cannot explain why. Some situations are beyond the understanding of humans.

I can't, therefore I won't

Posted at 11:25 AM on February 9, 2006 by Bob Collins

First, let me take the politics out of the Mike Ciresi decision not to run for the U.S. Senate and let's focus -- if only for a minute -- on a growing concept in America: that if we think we can't change anything, it's OK to admit we won't try.

OK, I guess I get that. I gave up any hope of being the guy who drives the Zamboni at the old Boston Garden quite awhile ago. But here at my place of employment, I'm constantly flailing away at suggesting new things, in the face of evidence sometimes that it's a wasted effort. But hasn't that been our national character: fighting lost causes?

In the same week a Minneapolis professor with absolutely no chance -- I think we can agree -- of beating Martin Sabo, decided to try anyway, Ciresi -- who has a lot more cash to burn on a lark -- decided not to. (Listen to Ciresi's comments).

It troubles me. It troubles me not as a Democrat, not as a Republican, not as a journalist, and not as a blogger. It troubles me as an American. It troubles me as the son of my father.

Forget, again, the debate on whether anything needs changing in Washington, but the suggestion that someone else should get things changed and then I'll think about helping out bothers me -- an admitted idealist when it comes to politics.

There are only 100 senators in Washington. The Party, in this case, needs only a seat or two here or there to take control of the Senate. So Ciresi's announcement that he can't change things not only speaks to his hopelessness for the government as a whole, it speaks to his hopelessness for -- in this case, the Democratic Party too. It speaks to his hopelessness for getting the budget under control. It speaks to his hopelessness for helping people who need health care. It speaks to his hopelessness for achieving peace. It speaks to his hopelessness for saving Social Security.

Excuse me, but isn't that a good way to write a great political obituary?

As I listened to Ciresi's comments yesterday, I heard Tim Penny's appearance on the McNeil-Lehrer report when he decided to step down from his 1st District seat years ago for many of the same reasons Ciresi indicated. The system's too screwed up for me to try to change it.

What I remember was how incredulous Jim Lehrer (I think it was Lehrer) was at the suggestion that a member of an exclusive club was giving up because of his inability and -- hence -- unwillingness to try to change things.

When Paul Wellstone decided to break his promise not to run for another term in the U.S. Senate (because the Democrats had taken control with Sen. Jeffords' defection), it certainly indicated that his reason for leaving was that he wouldn't be able to change anything with the Republicans in control.

From what I've heard today, nobody is incredulous at Ciresi's comments. They're too busy trying to figure out what it means for the politics of it all; you know, the race itself.

When things seem hopeless, that's when we need people to step forward to tell us it's not, and then rally us to that lost cause. But when those people say "it's hopeless," then the rest of us begin to believe it to.

And you wonder why so many people don't bother voting?

Briefing - Friday February 10, 2006

Posted at 8:29 AM on February 10, 2006 by Bob Collins

Larry Sabato's article on Townhall.com (turn the pop-up blocker on!) turns his crystal ball back on and sees a 5 to 10 seat gain in the U.S. House in November. The only mention of Minnesota is an acknowledgement that Coleen Rowley is "stumbling."

...but with continued momentum and new openings brought about by the wildcard of scandal, today's minority would quickly be within reach of "running the table" Pittsburgh-style all the way to a paper-thin majority. Such a consequential "six-year itch" outcome would certainly prove a giant rash for the Bush Administration's final two years.

You've probably (or maybe not) seen the AP story on this site regarding the money flowing into the campaign regarding the definition of marriage debate in Minnesota. The Minnesota Daily also has a related article on the subject today. The debate hasn't generated anywhere near enough consideration in analyzing November. Does it make it on the ballot? Does it become an issue anyway? In 2004, it certainly seemed to trail only Iraq in the "emotion" factor. Odd, too, that the bill in Congress hasn't gotten any juice in the attention market. But steroids in baseball -- not a campaign issue in 2004 -- did.

According to the AP, "good-government groups are using the Internet and interactive mapping technology to chart how mass media affect elections — using Peru's rugged, village-dotted countryside as a testing ground." Whew. Thank goodness that could never happen here.

Chuckles

"President Bush unveiled his new $2.2 trillion budget. The president settled on $2 trillion after being told that $2 bazillion was not a real number."

--- Conan O'Brien

It's quiet out there today. Too quiet.

Mondays with Barry

Posted at 11:28 AM on February 10, 2006 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

The day is off to a pleasant start. Barry Casselman called. Sure, I know you political gurus already know who Barry Casselman is, but while I've seen his columns -- more of late than before Polinaut -- I had never heard of him locally. This is, I gather, a reflection on me rather than him. I don't get out much.

Sounds to me like he's worth a story. Gary Miller says he's the person Michael Barone goes to (although Barry says that's a "generous" assessment)and he's frequently on the road with the Broders of the world.

He's from Erie, Pennsylvania originally; grew up just down the road from former Gov. Tom Ridge and, although they're about the same age, didn't know him growing up.

And he also used to be at MPR. He doesn't belong to a political party and describes himself as a "centrist."

I'm thinking there's good fodder for a little profile, so we're having lunch on Monday. I'll buy. Should be good insight. I already have his assessment of the Wetterling campaign, but there's a bigger political universe out there to explore.

Oh, by the way, he'd never heard of me either. He's in good company.

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Budget talk

Posted at 5:38 PM on February 10, 2006 by Bob Collins

MPR's Tom Crann has been talking about President Bush's proposed budget with members of the Minnesota delegation. There are two expanded interviews available. RealPlayer is required.

Mark Kennedy

Betty McCollum

A journalism manifesto

Posted at 5:43 PM on February 10, 2006 by Bob Collins

Good reading.

Mainstream journalists are being torn apart. Conservatives long have accused reporters and editors for big newspapers, magazines and television of having liberal biases. More recently, liberals have hounded journalists for pandering to conservatives and America's social elite. Both conservatives and liberals depict journalists as craven careerists, more concerned with maintaining their own privilege than getting stories right or serving the national interest.

Briefing - Monday February 13, 2006

Posted at 8:23 AM on February 13, 2006 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)

I hoped to avoid two things during the Winter Olympics: those profile pieces in which every athlete seems to have to overcome some personal tragedy in order to make the team ("and then, at age 6, her cat, Muffy, was hit by a neighbor, who didn't know Muffy was there." Sniff), and the morning newspaper pieces in which some columnist kvetches about the state of the nation if it fails to medal in luge. I was one for two. And that doesn't even include columnists who waste space to note that the women's curling team is hot. I must seek sweet relief in the arms of politics.

(Update 9:14 a.m.) Good MSM vs. blogger piece from Jim Brady in the Post. Yeah, this should sure calm the waters.

The Minnesota Daily has an opinion piece urging liberals to rethink their opinion of Christianity. What's interesting about it is the muscle-pull of attempting to end a sentence with a preposition in the deck headline: Progressives need to stop thinking of Christianity as something against to battle against. Ouch.

Rasmussen is out with a couple of polls this morning. Burns in trouble? (Montana) and Talent (GOP) leads in Missouri (Senate).

The Democrat-leaning blogs today are spreading the word on Sen. Norm Coleman's run-up against former FEMA director Mike Brown (video). If memory serves, by the way, (and it frequently doesn't, for the record) Coleman was at the Minnesota State Fair when the 9th Ward was going toes up. Few senators -- on either side of the aisle -- were beating a hasty path to Washington to help the government get in gear.

You know it's a tough weekend when even Ann Coulter doesn't trot out new material at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.

If you've wondered how Cheri Pierson Yecke is doing in Florida, Kennedy vs. the Machine has an interesting interview with her today.

mninvolved has "coverage" on the weekend rally in Willmar about same-sex marriage. Getting around the site via the links provided, though, is very difficult so you'll have to work at it if interested.

By the way -- and this has nothing to do with mninvolved -- this message to bloggers: the copyright laws still apply. Even to bloggers. If you're going to take material off the Campaign 2006 (or any other part of our Web site or anybody else's), putting it on your own server doesn't make it yours. Ask. Then credit. Finis.

Somebody named Roland Low sent out an e-mail last week announcing his candidacy against Jim Ramstad. As far as I know, he scheduled no event and didn't send it to the media. Not a good start to knocking off a guy like Ramstad.

News burps:

* Political heat over disasters rising (Christian Science Monitor).

* Gingrich cheers frustrated conservatives. (AP)

To those who've called me and I haven't called back: nothing personal. We've been implementing a new content management system on the Web site and it's involved hours of meetings and twice as much work since for a couple of weeks we're doing two of everything Web-wise. It's not you. It's me. Can we still be friends?

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Post on Scott Howell

Posted at 2:17 PM on February 13, 2006 by Bob Collins

The Washington Post FIXIT blog has an interesting profile -- and even more interesting comments -- on Scott Howell, who will have a little something to do do with the Mark Kennedy campaign in Minnesota.

Lunch and a chat

Posted at 2:57 PM on February 13, 2006 by Bob Collins

I had a very pleasant lunch today with Barry Casselman, chief writer and janitor for the Preludium News Service, whose name I've encountered with increasing frequency as I patrol the political universe. He's given me several copies of some of articles which he's written for the Utne Reader, Campaigns & Elections, and copies of his former newspaper (that he started) "Many Corners."

We chatted about a few political races but mostly about some of his work and how he ended up in Minnesota and the amount of travelling he must do covering national elections.

I asked him, "what politician did you like to cover most?" And he told me a fascinating story of meeting then-Gov. Bill Clinton in the St. Paul Hotel in the early '90s. Clinton was in town to speak to the Democratic Leadership Council and was to fly in, and get right out. Casselman got Tom Foley to introduce him and since Clinton was leaving right away, Casselman jumped in the van for the ride to the airport.

He said he can always tell how deep the knowledge that a candidate has goes (my description, not his), so he asked Clinton about the banking crisis in Mexico. He expected some shallow response in return but he got not only great depth, but solutions, indicative that Clinton has researched it and looked at it from several directions. He said no other politician has been so impressive.

On the way to the airport, he decided he wanted to visit with outgoing Gov. Rudy Perpich. So they bagged the flight and turned around and headed for the Governor's Residence, where they -- Clinton, Perpich, and -- I think -- Foley sat on the porch and talked for a couple of hours.

Casselman says he's going to get a blog "some day." He should. More later.

Briefing - Tuesday February 14, 2006

Posted at 8:32 AM on February 14, 2006 by Bob Collins

First, if you use Google alerts to keep you up to date on specific candidates, you might be getting some old alerts today. We've moved most of our content over to a new server(or at least a new URL) and I guess Google thinks it's new content. But that's the reason. I expect to get a Google alert announcing Lindbergh's arrival in Paris at any moment.

I have, by the way, a Google alert set up for Mark Kennedy. But apparently in the UK, there is a Mark Kennedy soccer player -- or something. So I'm always getting the latest news on the wrong Mark Kennedy. Today, I also got an item on the wrong Mark Kennedy, but at least the headline was interesting. "Kennedy slams woeful Wolves." At first I thought, "it's about time Congress look into this stinkin' team." But no.

In the Boston Globe today, Jerome Kassirer takes a look at the "fallout" from the Jack Abramoff scandal that isn't really fallout. Attention, perhaps would be a better word. It takes the world of political lobbying, and all the dirt surrounding it, and plops it into the pharmaceutical "lobbying" business with doctors. See "How drug lobbyists influence doctors".

Want to make a political contribution in Minnesota? You'll want to know about the political campaign refund in the state. Mninvolved has a step-by-step guide today, noting that in many ways, contributing money to a candidate is more important than voting itself. Ummmmm. Hmmmmm. ??

For your entertainment -- and I've pretty much stayed away from Dick Cheney jokes -- Nihilist in Golf Pants has the Top 11 Reasons for the 24 Hour Delay in Reporting Dick Cheney’s Hunting Accident. The story is a burr under Red State's saddle, however.

This one is a bit of a head scratcher, Paul Hackett apparently has dropped out of the Ohio Senate race. Apparently he was pressured to do so by national Democratic Party leaders. This notion of "king-making," which is not at all limited to a single party, by the way, is going to have a backlash on Main Street... someday.

What's Rasmussen got today? In Michigan, Jennifer Granholm's lead has disappeared. In Florida , speaking of king-making, the results of the GOP giving up trying to force Katherine Harris out of the Senate race appear obvious. Republican George Allen is in control in Virginia, and the story in the Texas gubernatorial race is just how bad can the Democrats do?

Twenty-five years ago, I had my first date with my wife.

Shepard in 4th

Posted at 10:50 AM on February 14, 2006 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

Dr. Jack Shepard announces he's a candidate for the GOP nomination in the 4th District. Obi Sium provides the competition. He's what we call a "colorful" candidate. He tried to run in 2004 but was living in Rome at the time.

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Briefing - Wednesday February 15, 2006

Posted at 8:06 AM on February 15, 2006 by Bob Collins

Before I go much farther (while noting that I haven't even taken a step yet), let me say for the record, that I love the City Hall Scoop from Tim Nelson & Jason Hoppin. There's a really fascinating piece today about the delay in the St. Paul Planning Commission's vote on the Holman Field dike, coupled with the fact that 7 terms on the board have expired. Good reading. The Scoop, by the was is celebrating its 1st birthday, which is....umm... a long time in dog...err.. blog years.

Here's a scary proposition: "The Senate has never been a bastion of managerial efficiency. But as the campaign season gets into full swing, lawmakers say things are clearly getting worse." It can get worse? Who knew? The New York Times, apparently, in the story Senate Scrubs Hearings as Politics Trump Policy in an Election Year.

Not that it's surprising, but isn't Judge Anton Scalia calling those who believe in a living Constitution "idiots" the most under-reported story of the last 24 hours. And I don't really need to point out the most over-reported story, do I?

Lots of views out there on the Hackett withdrawal in Ohio. Take this, for example, With Hackett Departure, Old Politics Win.

The Hill has a good read tha was printed yesterday. Voters prefer agendas.

This brings us to a larger problem for Democrats: the lack of a unified message. They have been hit hard by Republicans and some Democrats on a lack of a legislative agenda.

When did it become fashionable to use the phrase "Democrats" and "unified" in the same sentence?

Which brings us to Molly Ivins' column last month, Equivocation in Democratic party has gone on far too long -- time for real leadership, which in turn connects us to this on tompaine.commonsense, The Patriotic Bully Card, which I point out because it made my Barry-Casselman-O-Meter go off this morning.

Here's a prize example by someone named Barry Casselman, who writes, "There is an invisible civil war in the Democratic Party, and it is between those who are attempting to satisfy the defeatist and pacifist left base of the party and those who are attempting to prepare the party for successful elections in 2006 and 2008."

Charlie Cook introduced us to the Six Year Itch.

The point of all of this is not to dump on the White House, but to demonstrate that an examination of history reveals patterns and certain behavioral tendencies that emerge in presidencies and in the members of Congress of the president's party at various stages of their terms. None of this is unusual or unexpected.

It's always interesting to watch when folks who live in Washington -- 12 square miles surrounded by reality - tell us what people outside the Beltway are thinking. Roll Call (subscription) takes a swing at it with It Really Is Different Out There on Political Priorities today. Get this, in order to find what people are thinking, they're setting up a survey of ... reporters who work at capitols. OK, look, nobody likes state house reporters more than me. No reporter works harder and gets less credit from the bosses than state house reporters. Trust me on this. But Punxatawney Phil sees sunlight more often. And the article notes this.

For this first installment, we received responses from 21 reporters and editors working in 18 states. Inevitably, their assessments will be subjective — and admittedly, the view from a state house press room can be somewhat limited. But we hope to find some useful insights about the differences between national and local policy agendas.

Ten gazillion bloggers out there in every state in the union. Gosh, I wonder if there's a better way to find out what is turning people's cranks?

I'd like "Snarky" for $100, Alex

Posted at 9:23 AM on February 15, 2006 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)

A smackdown requires me to note that I had the name of the new blog wrong. It's not MNvolved. It's minvolved. It's a new site put together by long-time bloggers in the area and has promise to be something more than just another grenade-thrower. But, c'mon folks, toughen up the skin. This ain't a fight against cancer, here.

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Daybook item

Posted at 10:43 AM on February 15, 2006 by Bob Collins

One item for you:

5-7 p.m. LOUREY IMMIGRATION FORUM - Gubernatorial candidate Becky Lourey sponsors a public forum addressing Minnesota immigration concerns.
Location: Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center, 179 Robie St. E., St. Paul.

National GOP convention in Minneapolis

Posted at 12:30 PM on February 15, 2006 by Bob Collins

If there's one theme that came out of the national conventions a couple of years ago it was this: let's not make this mistake again. There's a sizeable group of city leaders out there who think that downtowns are a lousy place now to have national conventions, especially in tourist areas.

So let's see who got invited today to bid on the '08 convention.

Anaheim, Calif.; Atlanta; Boston; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas; Denver; Detroit; Houston; Indianapolis; Los Angeles; Kansas City, Mo.; Memphis, Tenn.; Miami; Minneapolis; Nashville, Tenn.; New Orleans; New York; Orlando, Fla.; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Pittsburgh; Portland, Ore.; Sacramento, Calif.; San Antonio; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; St. Louis, Mo.; and Tampa.

Boston? OK, I guess that's good news for hopeful Mitt Romney.

But Minneapolis? Sounds like a battleground state to me.

San Francisco? California?????? The Republicans in San Francisco?
Chicago? Oh, yeah, Daley will roll out the red carpet.

Of course, many of these cities are in battleground states, but let's figure out who the frontrunners are. I'm guessing it's not Minneapolis. But San Diego (hosted '96), Dallas seem good bets. But I'm going with... Miami.

Senate candidate forum in Virginia, Minn.

Posted at 4:51 PM on February 15, 2006 by Bob Collins

I'm late getting this posted but you don't want to hear why. It doesn't matter. But Tom Scheck has given me the audio from the Senate candidates debate/forum in Virginia, Minnesota over the weekend and that is now posted on both the Klobuchar and the Bell Campaign 2006 sites.

There was also a forum/debate of DFL gubernatorial candidates but there's some audio cut-and-pasting I've got to do to get it into an encodeable form. Maybe tomorrow.

Briefing - Thursday February 16, 2006

Posted at 8:44 AM on February 16, 2006 by Bob Collins

I'm late getting to the briefing this morning because I had to renew my Norton anti-virus subscription. I thought if I just deleted the program and re-installed it, I'd get another year "free" (hey, this use to work!). That took a half hour. Didn't work. Then I had to actually buy a renewal. And I couldn't get those news stories about the occasional firefighter who's arrested for arson out of my head as I did so. Now then....

It's been a quiet weeek on planet politics. I think we've been spoiled by January; if that's possible. I was intrigued by the Rasmussen headline today: 27% Say Cheney Hunting Accident Raises Serious Questions. Fifty-seven percent say it doesn't. Most have an unfavorable view of Cheney anyway which, I guess, means that they had their questions already answered.

Rasmussen notes that Sonny Perdue, Georgia's Republican governor, has a commanding lead over challengers. I'm not that interested in the race, but, man, do I ever love the name: Sonny Perdue. Always have. Offhand, I can't think of a better name in politics. Sonny Perdue. You?

I mentioned yesterday that I've put up the audio of the Senate forum in Virginia. While listening yesterday, I found that the way to say Klobuchar (KLO boo shar) on the Iron Range actually is klo-BUTCHER. Klobuchar, however you say it, by the way, has taken to telling the story of her county prosecutor race in which her opponent is said to have said on Almanac, "you're nothing but a streetfighter," and she is said to have said, "thank-you." So Ford Bell turned that around in an interesting way -- anticipating, no doubt that this would be a theme -- and used the Norm Coleman strategy ("it's about the tone.") of gridlock and said "when you send a fighter to Washington, you have fights and nothing gets done." Over to you, Ms. Klobuchar.

I haven't put the gov's forum audio up yet but I did find Kelly Doran's emphasis interesting. He's stressing his ties to the business community (he's a real estate developer), saying no DFLer can get elected governor in Minnesota without the support of business. He says Roger Moe told him that was a significant reason why he lost in '02.

City Hall Scoop has a good write-up of being invited to Al Franken's housewarming upon his return to Minnesota, apparently to lay the groundwork for a Senate run in '08. Politics aside, and admitting that I'm not from here (I'm from another planet, actually), can I just say that I've never found Minnesota comics, well, funny. That includes Louie Anderson. The exception is Mitch Hedberg. And he's dead.

Tim Walz, minvolved says, is making his candidacy official on Sunday for the 1st District seat. Sunday is usually a pretty good day for these sorts of things because newswise, it's usually pretty dead, thus guaranteeing some real estate in the papers on Monday morning.

Poll burp: Most think GOP, Democrats lack vision

Commentary: Faith, Power & Bush's American Way

You get your money where you can find it

Posted at 4:28 PM on February 16, 2006 by Bob Collins

Gov. Pawlenty is attending a fundraiser tonight in Naples, FL. His campaign spokesperson says he's taking some personal time but is attending a fundraiser. He wouldn't say who is hosting it.

NaplesNews.com doesn't offer any clues. But it's worth going there just to read the weather forecast.

DFL gubernatorial candidate forum - Virginia

Posted at 5:17 PM on February 16, 2006 by Bob Collins

I've finally gotten the audio encoded on the weekend DFL gubernatorial candidate forum in Virginia. Here it is (RealAudio required).

Eventually I'll get it sliced up and put on the individual candidate pages on the Campaign 2006 site.

Money in the Senate race

Posted at 6:12 PM on February 16, 2006 by Bob Collins

AP's Fred Frommer has a story out this evening looking at who's tossing in the big bucks in the Minnesota Senate race.

AP provides some of Kennedy's backers:

The following are Senate Republicans who have made the maximum $10,000 PAC donation to Republican candidate Mark Kennedy. Democratic candidate Amy Klobuchar has not yet picked up money from Senate Democrats.

-Northstar Leadership PAC, Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn.
-Friends of the Big Sky, Sen. Conrad Burn, R-Mont.
-Senate Victory Fund, Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss.
-New Republican Majority Fund, Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss.
-Leadership Circle PAC, Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C.
-Bluegrass Committee, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
-Heartland Values PAC, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.
-Defend America PAC, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.
-----
Source: Congressional campaign records analyzed by The
Associated Press

Manners at the political dinner table.

Posted at 7:53 AM on February 17, 2006 by Bob Collins

The 2004 campaign was a referendum on the war in Iraq and the Republicans waged the war -- err, campaign -- magnificently. So when the polls showed declining support for the war, and for President Bush, I wondered what strategy the Republicans would use in '06. If you're really interested in politics -- and if there's nothing good on TV (and, yes, I think men's figure skating qualifies in that category) -- you can actually get excited about figuring out how a bunch of candidates who defined themselves with an "I'm-like-him" strategy can, two years later, adopt a "Bush? Never heard of him" approach.

And now we know. They won't. (Sound of palm slapping against forehead). The test marketing of the TV commercial (latest | first ) building support for war by Progress for America would suggest -- at least to me -- that a referendum on Iraq is a logical strategy if support for the war can be restored first; especially if "we got steroids out of baseball" seems like one of the only other alternatives.

And the DFL walked right into the trap yesterday, getting itself involved in a flap between Progress for America and KSTP, which refused to air the first ad, because it started out criticizing TV news coverage of the war. And organizing a campaign to phone other TV stations to pressure them to pull the ads.

So after getting plenty of mileage for the ad, courtesy -- to some degree -- of the news conferences decrying it (stop me when this sounds familiar), Progress for America then pulled out a second ad that KSTP probably can't turn down.

So, and subtleties and logic aside because they don't matter in these sorts of things, the DFL raised awareness of an ad they hoped to muzzle, and allowed its opponents to portray the party as not supporting soldiers in Iraq (and, again, the fact the party wasn't withdrawing support of the soldiers in criticizing the ad, gets lost in the argument)

The decision to call attention to an ad they wanted muzzled could mean one of two things (1) the DFL is confident the poll numbers are solid on opposition to the war no matter what ads are thrown out there or (2) they didn't learn anything from 2004.

I think a rule of thumb in '06 might have been: Don't put yourself in any position of being painted as not supporting soldiers in Iraq -- especially dead ones.

And why do I put the subtleties of the DFL message aside? Because the next round of ads will. And that's what makes people vote the way they do.

The DFL didn't put the release on their Web page, but they did put it on their blog and then went home before posting the video of the news conference with this note:

Check back tomorrow, we might have some video clips up.

So the DFL gave opponents 24 hours to package what their message was before they'd presented it in an online form. The voice of the curmudgeonly political strategist "Bruno" (Ron Silver) when he was counseling a stumbling Jed Bartlett campaign on West Wing begins to ring in my ears (Specifically the episode in which the news coverage of a negative ad got it broadcast on every network.... for free).

There's more. One point person yesterday was 1st District candidate Tim Walz, a battle vet with sterling patriotic credentials; just the type of guy the Democrats have pined for. But while putting a picture of Walz up on the blog, his comments were nowhere to be found.

That left the blogging world to frame them for consumption, which they did. Happily.

Minnesota Democrats Exposed picked up this nugget and ran with it:

"Freedom of speech has its limitations on this, and that that is one of them, that is you cannot just say whatever you think."

So the Democrats, who currently seemed to have an issue to run with in Washington -- spying and alleged abuse of constitutional authority by the government -- open the door for this comment on the DFL blog.

What is the matter with you people?!? Here I am writing Congress, trying to get them not to let the Bush Administration completely destroy the Constitution, and you guys are back here trying to rip up the First Amendment by muzzling the Repubs' TV ads.

By the wording of the next paragraph, one might even conclude the post came from an opponent of the DFL who posted the comment. Maybe. Maybe not. If so, it shows they were ready to throw a little alkaline on the acid. And they didn't go home before their work was done.

Either way, the Republicans played with their food yesterday.

Making it a good day for the folks who couldn't find anything good on TV.

Miscellany

>>>Gary Miller at Kennedy v. the Machine takes me to task this morning for posting only Kennedy's contributions in the blog entry last night, that linked to the complete AP story.

No one can entirely escape the bias they bring to a story — or job. Collins has done better than most in this fashion. But if this is what passes for an even-handed look at “Money in the Senate Race”, then Collins has just fallen off his pace.

Actually, I didn't do any editing of the Frommer piece. The entire story was posted without an edit and the only "extra" that AP provided was Kennedy's. So you got what I got. There was, actually, no highlighting of Frommer's story -- selective or otherwise -- in the post. The AP sent the list as a "box" to go alongside Frommer's story in print versions. In the nature of blogging, you got what I got when I got it. And if I get something additional, you'll get it when I get it too.

>>> The Midday folks tell me Mark Kennedy has now accepted a Meet the Candidates invitation. He'll be on at 11 a.m. on March 2. His DFL rivals will be on on March 3.

An alternative to watching figure skating

Posted at 12:30 PM on February 17, 2006 by Bob Collins

St. Paul Rep. John Lesch is back in town after a quick trip to Iraq, and a U.S. embassy-induced invitation to leave.

A contributor sends along an e-mail Lesch is sending out inviting folks to a party he's hosting tomorrow night. The e-mail follows:

There once was a man from Saint Paul
To whom some attributed gall;
He went to Iraq, and just now came back,
So pints are in order for all.

Dear friends:

I am happy to report that I am once again on American soil where I cannot legally be wire-tapped. I return to discover that the Vice-President shot a guy in the face. I have not yet read enough back-logged newspapers to yet determine if these first two sentences are correlated.

While I am happy to be back, I leave behind what was unquestionably the most rewarding trip of my life. The stories I have collected would take a lifetime to relay, so I shant bore you with them here. But now that I am no longer cannon fodder in the tabloid wars, I can tell a few uncensored tales or "amusing anecdotes," as it were. Please join me upstairs at The Happy Gnome (formerly Chang O'Hara's) tomorrow night (Saturday) at 8 p.m. There will be a good spread, a cash bar and much revelry. Allow this e-mail to serve as your invitation.

A reception for my friends, supporters, detractors and reactors (I love you all)

Hosted by John Lesch

Saturday February 18
8:00 p.m.

The Happy Gnome (formerly Chang O'Hara's)
498 Selby Ave., in beautiful Saint Paul

I brought spoils of war, so there will be door prizes. Please be prepared to sign in when you arrive.

One more thing. No press will be allowed in. Nothin personal, guys (seriously, I do love you) but I want to enjoy a relaxing evening with my friends who do not carry tape recorders.

Lesch's blog, Down the Rabbit Hole, is still active and was last updated on Monday.

Better Watch list

Posted at 1:12 PM on February 17, 2006 by Bob Collins

Larry Sabato adds the Minnesota 2nd to his Better Watch list of congressional races.

Hey, boss, how are ya?

Posted at 8:08 AM on February 20, 2006 by Bob Collins

I was halfway through this morning's Polinaut when the laptop froze up on me, taking one of the most hilarious and informative scripts with it. Nope, can't remember a thing I wrote except that it was brilliant, I tell you. Brilliant.

What's left is weekend table scraps.

So, how'd you like to be an AFSCME employee in Amy Klobuchar's office. AFSCME went ahead and endorsed the DFL Senate candidate yesterday, but not before the AFSCME members of her office -- or at least some of them -- came out on Saturday against the endorsement, delivering a series of reasons that have got the Republican bloggers giddy with content today. "How was your weekend?" probably isn't going to be a question asked around her office as the workweek starts.

Marko makes it official

Posted at 11:41 AM on February 20, 2006 by Bob Collins

Not much of a surprise but Sharon Marko "officially" jumped into the 2nd District race for Congress today against Coleen Rowley for the DFL endorsement. No big splash, her campaign slipped a press release under the door of the locked MPR Capitol bureau (hey, it's a holiday!)

Political editor Mike Mulcahy -- who is always working -- has a request in for an interview but Marko is doing interviews with newspapers in the district today. We'll see. has interviewed Marko. Listen in (RealPlayer required).

On Iraq, she endorsed the "Murtha strategy." She says the U.S. should fix the "Part D" program for prescription drugs, and said she hasn't paid much attention to Coleen Rowley. She said she'll honor the endorsement process.

BTW, the Marko Web site (www.markoforcongress.com) doesn't seem to work for me.

Speaking of Rowley there's a write-up of a leadership conference she took part in at Annapolis, which suggests she caused a stir.

A Democrat, Rowley became famous almost overnight after she blew the whistle on some FBI cover-ups. She spoke about the moral courage it takes to stand up and go against superiors if someone sees something wrong.

Ossola says that this viewpoint created some debate, especially on the military delegate side.

Though the speakers were briefed on the conference theme before they prepared and presented their speeches, the staff had no idea what they would actually say.

"What we were hoping for was to help the delegates better define who they're going to be as leaders," says Ossola. "We all got something from Coleen Rowley, whether we personally agreed with (what she said) or not."

Briefing - Tuesday February 21, 2006

Posted at 7:40 AM on February 21, 2006 by Bob Collins

A couple of political guests to call your attention to today. Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, who wants to be president someday, is Gary Eichten's 11 a.m. guest on MPR's Midday. And Becky Lourey, the DFLer who wants to be governor is on the show's Meet the Candidates series at noon. Where can you find the previous episodes? On the individual candidate pages on our Campaign 2006 Web site.

Are we -- Minnesota -- more purple than blue? City Pages thinks so, noting that support for President Bush is higher in Minnesota than any other blue state.

Issue watch: Roll Call (subscription required) is fielding a story today looking at the environment as a political issue in the age of Iraq and the war on terror as the dominants. In some states, Roll Call suggests, it could be significant.

Is Hatch's heart in it?

Posted at 11:14 AM on February 21, 2006 by Bob Collins

Mike Hatch has played his candidacy for governor pretty low-key so far, skipping several DFL gubernatorial candidate forums, the latest one was a week ago in Virginia.

Is his heart in it or what? MPR's Tom Scheck asked him about it Friday. He says, basically, he's waiting until the March 7 caucuses.

Meanwhile, he says, he's got AG work to do. "The best campaigning is doing your job," he told Tom.

Listen (RealAudio required)

Things to help you recover from ice-dancing withdrawal

Posted at 3:12 PM on February 21, 2006 by Bob Collins

This item just crossed the inbox:

The Center for the Study of Politics and Governance New Research on American Politics and Governance A series of in-depth talks by prominent experts.

Presents:

"Why Political Ads Matter: Voting Turnout, Public Preferences, and the Effects of the Paid Media"

Dr. Donald Green
A. Whitney Griswold Professor of Political Science Director, Institution for Social and Policy Studies Yale University

What difference do paid advertisements make in elections? Candidates spend millions on them and the press watches them. But do they matter to voters? Perhaps dueling ads offset each other or voters gets so burned out that they tune out the ads. Dr. Green will report on a series of new experiments that investigate the impacts of political advertisements on the policy preferences of voters and their decisions on whether to turnout to vote or to stay at home.

Monday, February 27, 2006
10:00am - 11:30am

Wilkins Room 215
Hubert H. Humphrey Center
301 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis (U of M West Bank) No cost, but advance registration is appreciated ( * Please e-mail cspg@hhh.umn.edu with the title of "RSVP for Donald Green's Lecture".)

Kelley's turn

Posted at 7:39 AM on February 22, 2006 by Bob Collins

DFL gubernatorial candidate Steve Kelley is up next on the Meet the Candidate series on MPR's Midday today at 11. Becky Lourey had her time yesterday. Audio is posted on her Campaign 2006 page.

Update: Kelley's appearance is now archived on the Steve Kelley page in Campaign 2006. I've also isolated responses to specific issues and created a larger "On the Issues" section on the page.

Mother Jones on Coleen Rowley

Posted at 8:02 AM on February 22, 2006 by Bob Collins

The Purity of Coleen Rowley

he has limited campaign funding and won't pose for the cover of Time. But Rowley might have what it takes to win a congressional election.

-- Mother Jones

Meanwhile, Rowley is trying to raise some dough...in Poughkeepsie.

Competition for Kennedy

Posted at 11:47 AM on February 22, 2006 by Bob Collins

Rep. Mark Kennedy has Republican opposition, apparently. According to a press release which floated onto the desk a short time ago, John Uldrich, not to be confused with the former IP Senate candidate, describes himself as a "centrist Republican."

In his cover letter he said "this candidate believes he (is) well suited by background and temperament to deal with the coming "perfect storm" -- a convergence of failed practices and policies colliding with swiftly changing dynamics on a global scale.

He says his campaign can succeed because he doesn't "underestimate the intelligence of the voters."

Web site is www.johnuldrichforussenate.com .

I've also put together a page for him on Campaign 2006 and you'll find an interview that Laura McCallum did with him posted there.

Change in Klobuchar campaign

Posted at 12:52 PM on February 22, 2006 by Bob Collins

In a letter to Amy Klobuchar supporters today, Jessica Vanden Berg announced that Ben Goldfarb will take over as campaign manager. She'll serve as a senior advisor.

Goldfarb is a former head of Progressive Minnesota. He also handled a get-out-the-vote drive for the John Kerry campaign in Minnesota.

Klobuchar next

Posted at 3:00 PM on February 22, 2006 by Bob Collins

Next up on the Meet the Candidate series on MPR is Amy Klobuchar. She'll be on Thursday at 11 on Midday.

Remaining Meet the Candidate schedule

Posted at 4:41 PM on February 22, 2006 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)

Feb. 27 -- Mike Hatch -- Democrat (11 a.m.)

Feb. 28 -- Kelly Doran -- Democrat (11 a.m.)

March 7 -- Democrats Debate: Mike Hatch, Becky Lourey, Kelly Doran and Steve Kelley (11 a.m.)

March 7 -- Tim Pawlenty -- Republican (noon)

U.S. Senate race

Feb. 23 -- Amy Klobuchar -- Democrat (11 a.m.)

Feb. 24 -- Ford Bell -- Democrat (11 a.m.)

March 2 -- Mark Kennedy -- Republican (11 a.m.)

March 3 -- Democrats debate: Amy Klobuchar and Ford Bell (11 a.m.)

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The power of the 'burbs

Posted at 8:01 AM on February 23, 2006 by Bob Collins

You'd never guess it by the coverage provided by most mainstream media, but the suburbs are where it's at politically in Minnesota and -- increasingly -- economically. But Congressional Quarterly apparently gets it with an article today Suburbs Playing Host to Several of Year's Key Races. Of course, it's just a series of bullet points and it only includes the 6th District but, think about how things have changed in just the last 10 years.

The 2nd District appears to be relatively red, and it probably won't make a list of key races nationally, but regardless of how it presently leans, there's no denying the dynamics of the district have changed since the suburbs became a bigger player in the district. At one time, perhaps a Farmfest appearance provided enough votes, but probably not anymore.

Certainly in the 6th, it was redistricting and the growth of the East metro (the most ignored part of the metro, even to candidates for the 6th District) that has led the district to a more conservative tilt.

And maybe the equal opportunity nature of the suburbs has changed some districts in other ways. Too early to tell. But with some of the Lake Minnetonka area races going blue at the state level recently, maybe the 3rd -- which already had a penchant for moderation -- is getting a deeper shade of blue in its purple.

Pssst. Washington, Minnesotans can read too

Posted at 10:00 AM on February 23, 2006 by Bob Collins

The Washington Times has an editorial today on the controversy sparked by the Midwest Heroes TV ad.

I think it's fine for folks to have editorials. Conflicting opinions are good. Debate is healthy.

...as "un-American, untruthful and a lie." He furthermore demands that Minnesota television stations pull the ads "and send a message that we will not tolerate this kind of 'swiftboating' anymore." At least one station so far has complied with the request, which is reason enough for outrage.

The writer wants outrage for something that didn't occur and then says the lack of it proves a point. Well, no. At least not the point the writer intended.

The DFL news conference, written about last week on these pages, came after KSTP had already rejected the ad. The editorial suggests KSTP acted as a result of a DFL request. Further, the documents that some of the bloggers have provided from KSTP seem to suggest the ad was not rejected on ideological grounds.

But there's been precious little of that. Aside from a handful of bloggers covering the issue and an appearance of one of the veterans on Fox News' "Hannity and Colmes," the media has ignored the issue completely, essentially proving one of the ad campaign's main points.

It's true that the bloggers had an issue here and they ran with it ( I think they did a better job of airing the two sides -- albeit separately -- than MSM did), but there is not a lot further from the truth than "the media has ignored the issue completely." Just check the links in those blogs.

And, just for the record, MPR didn't do a story about the DFL news conference opposing the ad, because - as pointed out earlier -- MWH had already replaced it and KSTP's reason for not running the ad wasn't because of its left-leaning ways (hello? We're talking about Stan Hubbard here.), it was because -- and we can debate the merits of this argument -- they didn't want their programming undercut by an ad that basically started off with "by the way, your news stinks." It all comes down to... truthiness.

Additionally, the ads have been running to a relatively collective shrug of the shoulders from just about everyone out here in flyover country, Washington. Write that down.

All that said, I think the question of why there's a war going on is worth debating. That issue, in case you haven't noticed, has not gone away. If, on the other hand, the issue the writer wants covered is the media treatment of the war, then why start the presentation of the issue by two points that aren't true?

The current media meme, at least as it concerns the homefront, is that most returning veterans have turned against the war and those still in field are demoralized and jaded.

I'm not familiar with a single story on MPR that includes one returning demoralized and jaded, let alone "most."

The rest of the editorial is the debate of the merits of the war, and everyone is entitled to a position on that, imho.

The politics of gender renewed

Posted at 12:16 PM on February 23, 2006 by Bob Collins

There's a little bit of an in-party food fight going on as a result of Sarah Janacek's piece in the Star Tribune today that looked at last-weekend's dust-up over the AFSCME endorsement of Amy Klobuchar, apparently over the objections of some AFSCME members in her office. Specifically she focused on the complaint from the rebellion that Klobuchar is ambitious.

Said Sarah, a Republican, and one of the publishers of Politics in Minnesota:

So much for 40 years of feminism. Women not only have to bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan, we also have to look as if we just walked off the set of "Desperate Housewives" while standing over the stove.

And for women running for U.S. Senate, there's a new rule: Don't be too ambitious.

She also referred to the state auditor and secretary of state as "girlie offices," although it seemed clear that she was referring to an earlier point that she made criticizing treatment of Joan Growe by Rudy Boschwitz.

Over to you State Auditor Pat Anderson (courtesy of the blog, Kennedy v. the Machine)

“‘Girlie office’? Sarah didn’t seem to hold that opinion when she was an announced candidate for Secretary of State in ‘98 before withdrawing for personal reasons.”

“Historically, the State Auditor position has been held by men. I am just the second woman to hold the office which is responsible for oversite of over $20B. Regardless of gender, the State Auditor position requires a unique toughness as you are required to make sure public monies are being spent properly.”

Putting my feet up and turning up the sound.

A green card, a crash course in the Constitution, a little help on the citizenship test and we might have someone who can stir up this campaign... finally

Posted at 8:36 AM on February 24, 2006 by Bob Collins

I had some stronger-than-usual coffee and a double dose of blood pressure medicine this morning because I wanted to watch the Today show this morning and I can't face Katie Couric without help. But I wanted to see the interviews with some of the Olympic winners and losers.

The Polinaut is always looking for someone to inject a little life -- a little personality -- into the game, err... the politics game... you know, the one without the new scoring system.

Got one.

What is news? Beats the heck out of me.

Posted at 9:17 AM on February 24, 2006 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)

Sometimes the ability of politicians and political candidates to control the news through the use of a fax machine scares me. I often wonder who the heck is at the other end of those machines who grab the press releases from candidates and dutifully run to the computer to type up a story, rush to the studio to read it, or quickly paste it on the blog.

Ford Bell is the latest candidate to say something he's said before that didn't, apparently, get news coverage and get it because he later sent out a press release saying the same thing. He had a news conference to also say the same thing... again.

The Star Tribune bit on the four-page release (which, for the record, I tossed in the recycling because it wasn't new) from Bell announcing he wanted soldiers out by Christmas. So did the Pioneer Press. And if it's in the newspaper, you can bet it's on the TV and radio stations. Even the bloggers are going whole hog on it today. (Thus proving that the media that is supposed to be an alternative to mainstream media, is still too dependent on it).

It's a decent story. One worth looking at.

So how come the folks who think it's news because he sent out a news release, didn't think it was news when he said it before? It's been almost a month since he said it.

Go to this page, go to the right column where it says On the Issues and click "Iraq."

Listen.

And while you're there, click all the other links too. And see what will be reported as news weeks from now.

It was an interview that MPR's Tom Scheck did on January 26. Tom went to the news conference and apparently was one of the few political reporters who had (a) previously asked Ford Bell what his position was on the most pressing issue facing the country today and (b) knew the answer so when it was reiterated yesterday, he recognized it wasn't a breaking story. Or even a story at all.

It's scary. Very scary. The news media gets pretty defensive over some of the criticism it gets, but a lot of it is deserved... especially the willingness to let the news come to them in news releases and press conferences before considering what's news and what's not.

Oh, by the way, Ford Bell is on Midday today at 11.

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Briefing - Monday February 27, 2006

Posted at 7:40 AM on February 27, 2006 by Bob Collins

The Minnesota Legislature starts its session this week. Political editor Mike Mulcahy is writing The Capitol Letter, again, although I haven't figured out a home for it yet because there's no Session 2006 section on the site this year. Look for a daily Policast (podcast) coming from Mike in the next few days, too.

Kim Millman, a volunteer on the Sharon Marko campaign, has a letter in the Pioneer Press clarifying criticisms of the Coleen Rowley campaign.

You've probably seen -- or perhaps not -- the results of the St. Paul DFL straw poll held Saturday, the results of which are completely meaningless. But the blog Broken Nail has a colorful recap of the action.

He's got a PAC, he says he wants to run, he's moved to Minnesota. So how come Al Franken still is doing his radio show? (It's a joke, don't send answers). (Update: The Blog Residual Forces missed the point of this ... and not by a little bit.)

Check out Midmorning at 9 this morning for a show on "the crisis of polling." Audio will be archived for later listening by arund 10:30 or so.

Should be a new Rasmussen poll for Minnesota out this week --perhaps tomorrow.

Mike Hatch on Midday

Posted at 1:20 PM on February 27, 2006 by Bob Collins

Mike Hatch was on MPR's Midday today. As with the other candidates who've been through in the last week or so, I've stripped the answers to particular questions and put it on the candidate's Web page in our Campaign 2006 section.

Decipering the code

Posted at 1:44 PM on February 27, 2006 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)

Reporter Tom Scheck just gave me a copy of the CD the Republican Party is mailing out to voters in certain districts. It's a very impressive technical product (in Flash) featuring the top elected Republicans in the state talking about the need for a constitutional amendment defining marriage (aka: "the same-sex marriage ban").

I don't know how many people actually will put these things in the computer and take a look at them. Is there a lot left to say that people haven't already heard on this debate?

But here's the thing. The CD -- at least mine -- comes with an access code. And during the presentation, you're asked to "vote" on a couple of issues, including the 2nd Amendment.

OK, this is where I get suspicious. WHY is there a code. And where is that "vote" going? Is every voter being identified with a special code and therefore is input entered by the user during a presentation being sent back to the Republican Party of Minnesota?

I checked the "terms of use" and I could find nothing that gave me any indication. Nor is there a privacy statement anywhere that I could find.

Perhaps with the literature that is being sent with the disk (I didn't get literature), it has some sort of privacy statement.

I'm going to play around with it a bit more because it is a fascinating tool, obviously put together by a firm that knows what it's doing. I've been dabbling in Flash for years and putting something like this together isn't easy. The GOP in Minnesota has -- in recent years, anyway -- been a little more out in front than its DFL counterpart in recognizing new ways to use media. They don't seem to define the "m" word strictly as "newspaper, radio, TV."

But, like I said, I'd like to know what this disk is sending back about me and what personal information -- if any -- is being stored and how it's being used -- if at all.

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Bachmann suspends campaign

Posted at 5:55 PM on February 27, 2006 by Bob Collins

Just moved across the wire. Michele Bachmann has suspended her campaign in order to seek medical treatment.

Briefing - Tuesday February 28, 2006

Posted at 7:51 AM on February 28, 2006 by Bob Collins

I just finished a column about there being no Rasmussen on Minnesota today when, voila!... there it is.

Bottom line in the Senate. Everyone appears to be within the margin of error, although I find the notation that Klobuchar does better than Bell among moderates and unaffiliated voters to be interesting. But I don't have Rasmussen's premium service (see below) so I can't get access to the crosstabs.

Nothing from Rasmussen today on the Minnesota poll. Maybe tomorrow. We've been kicking around polling options for the last week or so at MPR. We used to use Mason-Dixon but we did so in partnership with the St. Paul Pioneer Press. But the guy who handled it has fled to the Strib and the PiPress is being groomed for sale so things are questionable on that front. MPR political editor Mike Mulcahy was at an event yesterday discussing polling and said a ton of people were there from the Star Tribune's polling unit, but they report they have budget issues too, and may not do anything until September.

Meanwhile, we've been looking at Rasmussen, to at least tap into the polls they're already doing but the word from the "experts" is that Rasmussen uses automatic dialers, and apparently that's a no-no in polling circles.

Sounds to me like there won't be a lot of media polls until late in the game this year, and maybe that's a good thing.

Around the planet today, DFL gubernatorial candidate Kelly Doran is on Midday today at 11. After listening to all of these shows in the last couple of weeks, I think it would be cool to invite them all back and do another, limiting all answers to questions posed by the public with a "yes" or a "no."

I'll also reintroduce the "blog" item I wrote from the Democratic convention a few years ago and, as you listen, when you hear the words "we need" at the beginning of an answer, you're probably not getting one.

AMFA chief to run for state Senate

Posted at 10:22 AM on February 28, 2006 by Bob Collins

Ted Ludwig, the president of the striking AMFA union locally is announcing he's running for state Senate in District 25. AMFA has a little bit of interest in some issues before the Legislature.

The GOP CD

Posted at 10:26 AM on February 28, 2006 by Bob Collins (17 Comments)

Following up on yesterday's questions I had about the marriage-amendment CD being mailed out to voters by the Republican Party, I posed them to Mark Drake, the GOP Minnesota spokesman.

I wrote:

I really enjoyed the production work on the CD for the marriage amendment. It was first-rate stuff and as a Flash novice, made me a little bit envious. The copy that Tom Scheck gave me required an access code. Do all the CDs being mailed out come with an access code? If so, I'm curious as to why that is and wondering if the "votes" I'm asked to take during the presentation are reported back to the MN GOP? And, if so, are they matched to the access code and do you keep a record of what code is mailed to what person?

Mark was kind enough to respond promptly:

Thank you for the kind words regarding the high tech merits of the cd. Like any political survey done by the Party, it is our hope the cd will help us recruit more volunteers, provide valuable voter ID information and hopefully allow us to raise money so we can continue to send the cd out to more Minnesotans.

On Friday, the cd will be released to the public. The cd's packaging will make clear that the cd is interactive in nature.

A follow-up e-mail from me:

So by interactive in nature, do you mean the results are being reported back to the GOP and, if so, are they identified by the access code?

And a response:

Yes- very similar process to if you got a free AOL cd at the grocery store.

So if you run the CD in your personal computer, by the end of it, the Minnesota GOP will not only know what you think on particular issues, but also who you are. I'm not sure how polling firms do this. Do they keep track of the individual answers by identity? Maybe so. Maybe not.

Let me think out loud about how this could play out. Depending on what data the GOP is gathering, you get home, you see the CD, you pop it in your computer. Now, the sponsor knows you played the thing. Do they know how long you played the thing? How many features you watched? When it comes time answer some questions (and I don't think you're required to answer them, but it doesn't say that), you go ahead and click the answer. As far as I could tell, nothing tells you that the answers are about to be e-mailed or otherwise transmitted to the Minnesota GOP.

So you finish, and then the phone rings. "Hello, Mr/Mrs. Voters, it's Joe and I notice you support gun control and the marriage amendment, would you like to donate some money to us?" That might startle the person who may have thought he/she was viewing the presentation in the privacy of the computer room.

It'll be interesting to see how that data will be used and the extent to which it's collected.

(Update 11:50 a.m.)

I played around with it some more to try to figure what information is being gathered. The first clue the GOP was tracking was the fact when it starts it says something like "Welcome, John Smith." And if you're not John Smith, you can "apply" for an activation code (see photo). The data you have to submit is: Name, spouse's name, district, address, e-mail and phone. Only name, address, and phone are required.

I filled out this information using Tim Pawlenty's address and it gave me a code to allow me to continue further.

The first section "our culture" features a presentation with Mary Kiffmeyer, and then asks "which of the following BEST describes your position on abortion." The answers are "all abortions should be legal, abortions should be legal but only in the first 3 months, abortions should be illegal except in the case of rape, incest, or the life of the mother is threatened; and abortions should be illegal.

It then gives you another blurb of Kiffmeyer and then asks if you support the amendment on marriage. And then asks if you believe in the 2nd amendment. It does not say you can just hit SUBMIT and skip the answer. And it doesn't say the results are being transmitted.

More Kiffmeyer, and then it asks how you usually vote on Election Day - always Republican, always Democrat, sometimes Republican, sometimes Democrat, and other.

Six issues are then presented -- taxes, performance pay for teachers, designated motor vehicle sales tax to transportation, illegal immigration, eminent domain, and the marriage amendment...with a rating of 1 to 6.

Checked again to find a privacy notice. Nothing.

Anybody got a good decompiler?

(1:55 Updating) From an information standpoint, having a better handle on who is out there and who exactly supports your position makes perfect sense. You can target your focus better, you can more easily identify potential contributors, and you can create a good database on Election Day to make sure those folks are voting. Why waste your money blanketing folks who aren't going to support you? My suggestion would be to tighten up the program a bit to give people the option not to send data. After telling them the program is, of course.

In the comments section, someone asked for screenshots of the questions. Here you go.

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GOP CD accumulates data, but data is not secured

Posted at 6:38 PM on February 28, 2006 by Bob Collins (18 Comments)

Let's suppose I got the Republican CD advocating the marriage amendment in the mail. And let's assume -- and remember this is a hypothetical here -- I had enough intelligence to decompile the program and figure out what data is being captured and sent. Could I do it?

Yes. Someone did.

No.", "Time", "Source", "Destination", "Protocol", "Info" "1", "17:11:52.780492305", "***.1**.***.*2*", "*0.2.*.81", "TCP", "1106 > http [SYN] Seq=0 Ack=0 Win=64240 Len=0 MSS=1460" "2", "17:11:52.794481754", "**.*.*.**", "***.***.1*5.***", "TCP", "http > 1106 [SYN, ACK] Seq=0 Ack=1 Win=64240 Len=0 MSS=1460"

(Update 9:08 p.m.: This is not the available data. This is the internal stream as we ran the program. We're not going to show any of the data we actually found and in the image below, you're not going to get any useful data. We'll show the actual contents of the packets if the subcontractor denies the existence of the information. We're not interested in exposing the subcontractor to a malicious attack while this information is still available. This is a privacy issue, not about how to compromise the site with the information. )

Now that's pretty basic stuff: what your IP is, what your CPU is, what your operating system is. But is it possible for me to find out how you vote in elections? What your position on abortion is? Or even how long it takes you to answer those questions? ? Can I get your private phone number, your address, your name, your spouse's name, your IP?

Yes. Someone did.

Using the stream indicated above, people way smarter than me were able to figure out the destination for the data being accumulated, and then poked around and found the site. And the data was not secured at the site.

I checked to see if two entries I made via the CD -- one for Tim Pawlenty and one for Joe Blow -- showed up in the database. Yep. This must be the place.

The screenshot above is a sample of several we took. Another has the answers along with the code of the submittor, the identity of whom can be ascertained easily with the data above.

What's worse, the information is on an unsecured Web site. I'm not going to tell you what site we found it on (until it's been secured), just to let you know that the data is there. And it can be found by anyone who can decompile the program on the CD.

We could -- if we were malicious (and we're not ) -- change the questions that are "on the CD" because they're really not on the CD. The program connects to a database and provides the questions.

Imagine if thousands of CDs arrived in homes with the question "do you like Siegried and Roy?"

We could steal the data. In fact, the mailing list of more than 259,000 25,000 names is also on the site, and is easily downloaded into a spreadsheet. Cool. Twenty-five-thousand names and addresses. Free.

This is a significant security flaw. And it's coming to a mailbox near you in a few days.

It also leaves a cookie behind on your computer, although we haven't figured out what that does yet. (Update: The cookie is likely nothing - just a way to autofill some information if you decide to go back later and resubmit your answers.)

This is why it matters when someone raises concerns about data. This is why it matters if someone asks you if you're collecting it. This is why it matters if someone asks you what you'll do it with it. This is why it matters if someone asks if you're protecting it. Privacy concerns are bipartisan.

But didn't anyone ask these questions already?

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