Polinaut: August 25, 2006 Archive

Today's items...

Posted at 8:41 AM on August 25, 2006 by Mike Mulcahy

A little busy with storm follow-up in the newsroom this morning.

Gov. Pawlenty's office tells me that he will tour the damage by helicoptor sometime today, probably around midday, but they're still working out the details.

Mike Hatch has a press conference to go after Pawlenty on the public safety issue, trying to tie his budget cuts to a rise in crime and gang activity.

Which story do you think will dominate the TV news tonight?

And of course the state fair continues with a variety of politicians out and about.

A day of endorsements

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

The interest groups must have the "endorsement itch" today because there are several.

Emily's List is endorsing Rebecca Otto for Minnesota Auditor:

In this position, Otto will be the watchdog for Minnesota taxpayers and help to ensure financial integrity, accountability, and cost-effectiveness of Minnesota's local governmental entities.

A former state representative, Otto is known as an independent voice for balance and reason in the House of Representatives, earning her the New Legislator of the Year award in 2004. She is a dynamic leader and a rising political star.

Otto is running against GOP incumbent Pat Anderson.

The Minnesota Women's Political Caucus and the Women's Campaign Fund PAC are endorsing Lori Swanson for Minnesota Attorney General. Swanson faces a DFL primary battle with former Congressman Bill Luther and state Senator Steve Kelley.

Mike Hatch, the DFL endorsed candidate for governor, is touting the endorsement of Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association and the St. Paul and Duluth Fire Fighters. Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty already has the endorsement of the much larger Minnesota Professional Fire Fighters.

Finally, former DFL Party Chair Mike Erlandson has the endorsement of the League of Conservation Voters. Erlandson is running for Congress in Minnesota's Fifth Congressional District. Seven DFLers are squaring off in the DFL Primary.

The Daily Digest: 8-25-06

Posted at 12:46 PM on August 25, 2006 by Tom Scheck

The Minnesota State Fair leads the digest today. Rochelle Olson, with the Star Tribune, has a story focusing on the MPR debate. She also has a list of the other debates coming up in that race.

Pat Lopez, with the Star Tribune, focuses on next week's senate debate and why there isn't a gubernatorial debate.

Don Davis with Forum Communications has a story on politicking at the fair. So does the Star Tribune.

The AP and the Star Tribune have stories on the hearing in Ramsey County District Court regarding Mike Hatch. Hatch wants to remove a different judge from a trial regarding two consumer protection cases. Hatch said the issue was in the hands of the judge when asked about it today.

Hatch says he's sending members of the office of Attorney General to southern Minnesota to ensure that consumers damaged by the storm aren't ripped off. It may be because his chief political rival, Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty, is also touring the damaged areas. The governor will have a hold a news conference and conference call to discuss the damage.

Pawlenty is also scheduled to appear at a fundraiser in Brooklyn Park this evening for state rep. candidate Andrew Reinhardt. Contributions are $50, a private roundtable with Pawlenty is $250.

The Washington Post's "The Fix" isn't even listing the Pawlenty/Hatch/Hutchinson/other candidates race in the top 15 of races.

Pawlenty has also scheduled a 9/11 memorial.

Finally, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette says the tv networks are pushing the RNC and DNC to have one city host both conventions. Some DNC insiders believe the perfect place would be Minneapolis for the RNC and St. Paul for the DNC:

With the conventions back to back, at least some network officials have told party organizers they want both conventions in the same city. That would cut the cost of shipping all the TV equipment.

At a recent gathering of Democrats in Denver -- which is hoping to land the Democratic convention -- some party members buzzed that the TV pitch would lead to a Minnesota win, with one convention in St. Paul and the other in Minneapolis.

"It would make it easier for TV. But it's not possible," said Aaron McLear, a Republican National Committee spokesman. "The staging, the lighting, is all different for each party. They need time to set up."

The only problem is that Twin Cities officials say they don't want to host both conventions.

Drug companies paid for part of recent Medicare ads thanking Kennedy, Kline and Peterson.

Posted at 2:25 PM on August 25, 2006 by Tom Scheck

The U.S. Chamber ran the ads thanking Congressman Mark Kennedy (the GOP endorsed candidate running for MN's Senate Seat), GOP Congressman John Kline and DFL Congressman Collin Peterson for voting in favor of the Medicare legislation. Apparently the drug companies are quietly thanking them as well. Here's the story from the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The pharmaceutical industry quietly footed the
bill for at least part of a recent multimillion-dollar ad campaign praising lawmakers who support the new Medicare prescription drug benefit, according to political officials.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce claims credit for the ads, although
a spokesman refused repeatedly to say whether it had received any funds from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

Several campaign strategists not involved in the ad campaign said
no legal issues were raised by the pharmaceutical industry's involvement. In political terms, though, the disclosure is likely to embolden Democratic critics of the Medicare drug program, who charge it amounts to a Republican-engineered windfall for drug companies.

The commercials, airing in 10 states or congressional districts,
generally say the local congressman or senator supports the drug program, and that hundreds of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries have saved money since its inception earlier this year.

Under the voluntary program, Medicare beneficiaries purchase
prescription drug coverage from among competing plans offered by private insurance companies. Monthly premiums cover a fraction of the overall cost of the benefit, and the federal government covers most of the rest.

The insurance companies bargain with drug manufacturers over
price. But in drafting the legislation, Republicans rejected Democratic calls to permit the government to negotiate directly in hopes of pushing down prices further.

The officials who described PhRMA's involvement said they did not
know whether the industry had given the Chamber money to cover the entire cost of the ads and other elements of an election-year voter mobilization effort, or merely a portion.

Ken Johnson, a senior vice president at PhRMA, issued a statement
that said the organization ``works with a variety of groups, including patient advocacy groups and business organizations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others, to support policies that improve patient access to life-saving medicines.''

In a follow-up statement, he added that as a result of the
program, ``millions of Medicare patients who previously had no prescription drug coverage are now benefiting from substantial discounts negotiated by Medicare drug plans.''

He declined to elaborate.

Bill Miller, political director for the Chamber, did not respond
to numerous requests for an interview. A spokesman, Eric Wohlschlegel, said, ``The Chamber paid for the Medicare ads.'' But he declined repeatedly to say whether his organization had received any money from PhRMA.

In announcing the program earlier this summer, Miller described a
$10 million ad campaign but made no mention of PhRMA.

The episode is reminiscent of another PhRMA-financed ad campaign,
this one in May 2002.

At the time, a little-known conservative group, United Seniors
Association, announced plans for a multimillion-dollar advertising effort supporting prescription drug legislation that Republicans were drafting. A USA spokesman denied then that PhRMA had picked up the cost. But several political officials said it had, and the drug association confirmed it had made an ``unrestricted educational grant'' to the seniors' group.

The Chamber's current advertising effort has been marred by
errors.

An ad on behalf of Republican Rep. Steve Chabot of Ohio was
pulled from the air after officials realized he had voted against the legislation creating the prescription drug bill.

Commercials backing two other Republicans, Michael Fitzpatrick of
Pennsylvania and Mike Sodrel of Indiana, were changed after Democrats pointed out they had not been in Congress the year the legislation passed.

At a news conference earlier in the month, Miller initially
denied that either the Pennsylvania or Indiana ads had been changed until reporters showed the revised wording.

Comings and goings

Posted at 5:23 PM on August 25, 2006 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

Minnesotans are busy cleaning up after last night's tornado. Governor Pawlenty toured the disaster today. MPR, the Pi Press and the Star Tribune have stories.

A judge also blocked the NWA flight attendants from going on strike.

The AP also has a story saying the GOP is trying to convince voters that DFLer Amy Klobuchar will follow in the footsteps of retiring DFL Senator Mark Dayton.

GOP Congressman Mark Kennedy also has a new tv ad up.

The AP's Martiga Lohn has a story on the controversy regarding the D,M and E railroad and the political implications behind it.

And finally, City Pages has an interesting look into the person who hosted the Bush fundraiser for Michele Bachmann.

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Becky Lourey's campaign will report a deficit

Posted at 6:09 PM on August 25, 2006 by Tom Scheck

Her office just sent this out:

Candidate for Governor Becky Lourey will report a deficit in her campaign fund when filings are due Monday. The amount of deficit, which has been reduced since the June DFL convention, will not be known until time of state filing.

"It was challenging to raise funds to lower debt following the DFL convention, but we have been encouraged in recent weeks by growing financial and voter support. Retiring this debt is a high priority, and we have restructured the campaign to put us on the right track. The campaign is bolstered by an influx of tremendously talented volunteers and the willingness of committed worker s to make sacrifices. It is difficult to raise funds when my candidacy so clearly speaks for the public interest, not monied special interests."