Polinaut: April 21, 2006 Archive

"Special interests" choosing sides

Posted at 8:20 AM on April 21, 2006 by Bob Collins

The Analyst has an excellent post (the only kind he has), on the PAC contributions in the 6th District. Turns out, he discovered a reporting error in the FEC filings that excluded all of the Native American tribal donations, most of which seem to be going to Phil Krinkie, an opponents of state-operated casinos.

As I've pointed out before, there's not a lot of difference between Jim Knoblach and Phil Krinkie on the issues. The exception is the question of gambling -- specially, state sponsored gambling.

Apparently the tribes noticed that too.

One politician's pork...

Posted at 11:54 AM on April 21, 2006 by Bob Collins

I got a press release today from the National Taxpayers Union, offering up a spokesman for an interview on how Congress is loading up the spending bill for continuing operations in Iraq and hurricane Katrina Relief with "pork." I don't have anything to do with what MPR News covers so I ignored the guest and started looking at the alleged problem instead.

First, Congress makes it virtually impossible for the average person to find these bills and I'm not all that convinced it's an accident. But with a little digging around you can find some of these things.

I found Washingtonwatch.com to be somewhat helpful even though I have no clue whether HR4939 is the one the Taxpayers Union is shouting about, and they make a major mistake when they don't include the bill number in their calls to arms.

However, Washingtonwatch.com says HR 4939 is "H.R. 4939 makes emergency supplemental appropriations for the Defense Department, the global war on terror, and hurricane recovery." So I think that's the one.

They say it costs the average family $360.23.

I read the subject headings of what was in the bill, and came away completely unable to figure out what was what. Again, probably as designed. I was looking for the "bridge to nowhere" type of project that usually ends up in stump speeches.

However a conservative Web site, Human Events Online, has a list of pork.

What caught me was this one:

$4 billion for farm bailouts, which comes on top of the $25 billion that will be spent this year on farm subsidies, even as farm income reaches near-record highs;

... because I haven't heard a candidate for statewide office in Minnesota yet add farm subsidies when they rattle off the list of pork spending.

I also noted this one:

$594 million for highway projects unrelated to the Gulf Coast—some as far away as Hawaii;

.. and I'm dying to know how a mere mortal like me can find the list of projects to see if there's a Minnesota road on there. Because when it comes to "bringing home the bacon," man, do we ever love road projects.

If I were elected to the House or Senate, I think I'd have a two-year/four-year migraine trying to figure this stuff out.

Dayton's grade: F

Posted at 12:27 PM on April 21, 2006 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

OK, let me ask you this -- and feel free to use the comments section for discussion purposes --- Tim Penny left Congress because he didn't think he could change anything. Mark Dayton says the country is going in the wrong direction and he can't do anything about it.

If sitting senators and congressmen can't change anything, and we keep electing people who say they will, and nothing changes... what do they expect us to do about it?

(AP)- Mark Dayton told a group of students that
if he was going to grade himself on his accomplishments as a U.S. senator, he'd give himself an "F."

But it wasn't for a lack of trying, the Minnesota Democrat told students at Renville County West High School on Thursday. He said being part of the minority party in Congress had much to do with keeping him from achieving his goals.

Asked by a student whether he was satisfied with his accomplishments in the Senate, Dayton replied, "Definitely not." And he added that he'll be leaving office "frustrated."

Dayton announced in February 2005 he would not seek re-election for a second term. Speaking in general terms, Dayton told the students he feels he country "is going in the wrong direction. "I can't do anything about that and it bothers me," he said.

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Peace and harmony in the 6th

Posted at 12:38 PM on April 21, 2006 by Bob Collins

The GOP held a news conference today in which 6th District candidates pledged to abide by the endorsement process, and avoid a nasty primary battle. Phil Krinkie wasn't there but he had a late night last night and an early one today with stadium hearings, since he chairs the House Taxes Committee. He told Tim Pugmire a couple of weeks ago that he also intends to honor the endorsement.

Here's the audio from the news conference.

Update 2:12 p.m. - OK, so the whole "cohesiveness" thing wasn't entirely without bumps. Turns out Krinkie is refusing to sign the pledge. Bill Walsh, of the Krinkie campaign, says the candidate's "word is good." He then took some shots at the other candidates who, he says, sign pledges and then don't live up to them.

Update 2:14 As I was typing that, this release came into the INBOX.

Rep. Phil Krinkie warned delegates and voters today to be wary of any new written pledges signed by his two major opponents for the 6th District Republican nomination because they have not kept their word in the past on similar written pledges. Sen. Michele Bachmann and Rep. Jim Knoblach both signed a written pledge not to raise taxes on the citizens of Minnesota on April 15, 2005 and then violated that written pledge just 89 days later by voting for a $400 million tax increase.

"Candidates should be judged by their actions, not their words," said Krinkie. "When I said I wasn't going to raise taxes, I kept my word. When I say I'm not going to run against the endorsed Republican candidate, I mean it."

Rep. Krinkie could not attend a pledge signing ceremony sponsored by the Republican Party of Minnesota today because he was busy chairing the House Tax Committee.

In other campaign developments, Sen. Bachmann distributed a campaign flyer on the issue of immigration using the now infamous defense that she voted against giving children of illegal immigrants in-state tuition before she voted for it.

"Once again, saying you are against something after you've voted for it does not work with the voters – just ask John Kerry," added Krinkie.

One big happy family.

Peterson on Peterson

Posted at 4:57 PM on April 21, 2006 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

I've always found 7th District Rep. Collin Peterson among the more interesting politicians in Minnesota. The DFL is glad to have his seat, but generally ignores him. At the national conventions, whenever the Minnesota delegation is having a breakfast meeting and someone comes in to whip them up into a frenzy over all the DFLers they're going to put in Congress (or re-elect), I've never heard a single person utter Peterson's name and it's too glaring an ommission to be anything but intentional.

The media -- at least in the Twin Cities -- hardly ever talks to him. So maybe he's the one politician who really doesn't get fair shake from the media and, ironically, he's the one politician who's not complaining about it.

Anyway, I say that to pass along that I've just finished up putting a series of audio files corresponding to issues in the 7th District, on Peterson's page in the Campaign 2006 section.

Credit goes to MPR reporter Dan Gunderson in Moorhead.

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Maybe a stadium is no longer a political poison pill

Posted at 5:42 PM on April 21, 2006 by Bob Collins (7 Comments)

So the Twins stadium bill has emerged from its years-long death sentence and now looks like a certainty at the Capitol. There were some interesting things about this afternoon's vote.

One thing I always chuckle over is the legislators who don't cast a vote until they get a better sense, I guess, how the legislation is faring in the vote. Rep. Ron Erhardt and Rep. Larry Howes, both passed on their turn to vote, and eventually voted no, after it was assured that the bill would pass. Or maybe they just couldn't decide after 20 hours of hearings over three days.

Second, since I'm sort of "in" to streaks, political combatants Phil Krinkie and Jim Knoblach are now 9 for 9 voting the same way on issues this legislative session that Votetracker is watching. Who'll blink first?

And finally, it's always interesting to me when DFLers stand arm-in-arm with their GOP counterparts at the Capitol. Here's the breakdown of the vote sorted by party, courtesy of the fabulous MPR Votetracker. That's some good-old-fashioned bipartisan ... something.

Legislator	Party	District	Vote
Irv Anderson	Democrat	03A	FOR
Joe Atkins	Democrat	39B	FOR
Connie Bernardy	Democrat	51B	AGAINST
Jim Davnie	Democrat	62A	AGAINST
David Dill	Democrat	06A	FOR
Mike Jaros	Democrat	07B	AGAINST
Lyle Koenen	Democrat	20B	FOR
Ann Lenczewski	Democrat	40B	AGAINST
John Lesch	Democrat	66A	FOR
Paul Marquart	Democrat	09B	FOR
Joe Mullery	Democrat	58A	AGAINST
Tom Rukavina	Democrat	05A	FOR
Katie Sieben	Democrat	57A	FOR
Ron Abrams	Republican	43B	AGAINST
Laura Brod	Republican	25A	FOR
Gregory M. Davids	Republican	31B	FOR
Chris DeLaForest	Republican	49A	ABSTAINED
Dan Dorman	Republican	27A	FOR
Ron Erhardt	Republican	41A	AGAINST
Larry Howes	Republican	04B	AGAINST
Jim Knoblach	Republican	15A	AGAINST
Paul Kohls	Republican	34A	AGAINST
Philip Krinkie	Republican	53A	AGAINST
Morrie Lanning	Republican	09A	FOR
Peter Nelson	Republican	17B	FOR
Dean Simpson	Republican	10B	FOR
Ray Vandeveer	Republican	52A	AGAINST
Andrew Westerberg	Republican	51A	FOR
Kurt Zellers	Republican	32B	AGAINST

And, finally, the non vote by Rep. Chris Delaforest is puzzling to an outsider. He voted on several amendments during the day, participated in the three days of hearings, but when it came time to vote, he either wasn't still at the hearing or decided not to vote. I have no idea which. Or why.

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