Polinaut: July 25, 2006 Archive

The Daily Digest: 7-25-06

Posted at 9:35 AM on July 25, 2006 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)

Mike Hatch's complaint against the Star Tribune leads the digest. The Strib and Pi Press give it a look this morning. It's interesting how the Strib didn't list the things it was investigating but the Pi Press did. The Pi Press also has a link to Hatch's complaint.

The Strib's Rochelle Olson also has a story on Monday's 5th District Debate. The four DFL candidates square off again tonight at a forum hosted by the Jewish Community Relations Council. Minneapolis City Council member Paul Ostrow is courting some of the Jewish vote by calling for aid to Israel:

Today Paul Ostrow, a Democratic Candidate for Congress in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, called for an additional $100 million in military aid to Israel. The increased funding acknowledges the additional costs that the Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) are incurring during its ongoing battle against Hezbollah.

The American Spectator has a boiler plate story on the Minnesota Senate race. Nothing too new there.

KSTP-TV is out with a new poll that says Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar is ahead of Republican Congressman Mark Kennedy in the U.S. Senate race.

Governor Pawlenty also has a significant lead over Mike Hatch in the poll. Here are the actual results according to Survey USA.

All of these polls are making me dizzy. Remember that a poll is a snapshot in time not a indicator of how the race will fare in November. Things will get a lot more interesting when the corn dogs start selling at "The Great Minnesota Get Together."

One thing on the minds of Minnesotans could be the economy. RBC Dain Raucher has a news release saying Midwesterners aren't so confident about the economy.

While Americans' attitudes about the future direction of the economy are largely holding steady, amid rising oil prices and Middle East unrest, Midwesterners have a more pessimistic outlook than consumers in other parts of the United States, according to the July 2006 results of the RBC Midwest CASH (Consumer Attitudes and Spending by Household) Index, which measured the attitudes of 1,000 Americans. Results of the RBC Midwest CASH Index stand at 76.0 compared to 80.1 nationwide....

Consumers in Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin are slightly more optimistic with regard to the local economy, with 20 percent rating the local economy as strong -- significantly higher than the Midwest overall, but still below national confidence levels.

I guess that's why Governor Pawlenty and Congressman Kennedy are talking up the economy every chance they get.

Pawlenty is also scheduled to give a "major policy speech" today at the U of M's Humphrey School.

The Mankato Free Press has a story on the money race in MN's 1st. DFLer Tim Walz has also scheduled a news conference after he meets with Mayo Clinic executives. Think he'll rip Congressman Gutknecht on the DM&E railroad expansion?

The National Journal ranks the Walz/Gutknecht race as the 46th most competitive. It moves up two spots. Here's how they handicap it:

Tim Walz has a good story but money is coming in slow.

Mn's 6th is a little higher up. It's the 23rd most competitive House race in the nation. It dropped five spots. Here's the comments on that race:

One of the surprising omissions from the early DCCC TV buy. Still, Wetterling's money was very good.

I guess they don't read Polinaut. Silly Rabbits!

The Washington Post's Dana Milbank has a story profiling an unnamed Senator who says some members of the GOP are starting to distance themselves from President Bush.

The President may also be facing a lawsuit from Congress.

The Philly Inquirer's Dick Polman says the debate over embryonic stem cell is a gift to the dems.

The paper also has a story on how politics is entering the MySpace era.

Finally, an obit on one of the guys who created the Philly cheese steak. For the record, I order A cheez whiz wit and I never eat at Genos.

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Kennedy hits the airwaves

Posted at 10:31 AM on July 25, 2006 by Tom Scheck (4 Comments)

GOP Congressman Mark Kennedy is up with his first tv ad. You can see it here. It's minute long ad touting his family background and experience. It also includes a subtle jab at Klobuchar (Mark's not a lawyer) and says he won't toe the party line (some DFLers may take issue with that). An official with the Kennedy campaign called it a "significant statewide buy."

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A look at the Senate ads and the press release battle

Posted at 5:12 PM on July 25, 2006 by Tom Scheck

MPR has a story on the latest round of ads in the U.S. Senate race. Patrick Condon with the Associated Press also has a look at how the campaigns are using the words in press releases to shape stories.

Get ready for anonymous political ads

Posted at 5:19 PM on July 25, 2006 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

Brian Bakst with the Associated Press has an interesting story on how a court struck down a Minnesota law requiring certain disclaimers on campaign material and ads. This means hit pieces could be sent out anonymously and no one will know who sent the ads.

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Ember can't use DFL on billboards, website or e-mails

Posted at 5:27 PM on July 25, 2006 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

MNPublius reports that a judge ruled that there's enough probable cause to forbid former state senator Ember Reichgott Junge from using DFL on her billboards, e-mails and website. The DFL Party filed the complaint because Reichgott Junge is not the endorsed candidate. State Representative Keith Ellison is the DFL endorsed candidate in Minnesota's Fifth.

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