Polinaut: August 31, 2006 Archive

Voting records redux

Posted at 9:23 AM on August 31, 2006 by Bob Collins

I usually don't read my SPAM, but one this morning from Congress.org invited me to check the attendance rating of my congressman in 2006. My congressman is Mark Kennedy and I already know he's got a high score because he used to talk about it quite often, at least until his streak of never missing a vote was snapped by the demands of the campaign a few months ago.

What I didn't realize, however, that Kennedy's voting/attendance record, while pretty high, is actually eclipsed by almost all of the rest Minnesota congressional delegation.

The best record actually goes to John Kline, who hasn't missed a vote this year.

Gil Gutknecht follows with a 99.6 rating. Gutknecht is tied at that spot with Rep. Jim Ramstad. They're followed by Rep. Betty McCollum (97.8), Rep. Collin Peterson (96.5), Rep. Martin Sabo (96.48), and then Rep. Mark Kennedy (95.31), and Rep. Jim Oberstar.

If you believe the numbers, of course.

The worst record in Congress goes to Rep. Lane Evans of Illinois. He's got a good excuse. He's been on leave while he battles Parkinson's.

The Daily Digest: 8-31-06

Posted at 9:46 AM on August 31, 2006 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

The race in Minnesota's First Congressional District leads the digest this morning. DFLer Tim Walz and Republican incumbent Gil Gutknecht are both in the national papers.

Walz is quoted in the Washington Post talking about the Iraq war. It doesn't help Gutknecht that both the Post and the New York Times mention him in stories as a vocal supporter of the war who has changed his position. Or does it help him?

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire also examines the race in the first and the other MN races (props to Blue Stem Prairie for catching that).

The Star Tribune profiles some voters.

The Senate candidates took a deep breath yesterday after announcing policy positions and hosting fundraisers earlier in the week. Perhaps they're preparing for Friday's MPR debate at the state fair (shameless plug -- The debate is at 11 AM in Carousel Park or on the radio and at mpr.org).

DFLer Mike Hatch speaks at the DFL Party booth at the State Fair at 6pm. Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty will be at the fair for most of the day.

Pawlenty wants Alfonso Rodriguez Junior put to death.

WCCO's Pat Kessler reality checks Pawlenty's latest ad. I'm sure he'll be busy examining the latest counter ad from The Alliance for a Better Minnesota.

The GOP must be happy to see fuel prices going down. But a Kansas City Star report says Americans are paying billions more than they should be because the gas temps are too hot:

But you should understand it too - because collectively it's costing us billions of dollars a year. An investigation by The Kansas City Star has found that at recent prices U.S. consumers are spending about $2.3 billion more for gasoline and diesel this year than they otherwise would if fuel pumps were adjusted to account for expansion of hot fuel.

The economy is also in the news. Polls are finding workers pessimisstic and that has labor focusing its efforts in Minnesota this election cycle according the New York Times.

It doesn't help that some folks in Bemidji got laid off.

The New York Times tries to drive the ethanol corridor.

The Star Tribune has a story on a GOP complaint filed against DFL Representative Denise Dittrich. This was first raised on Minnesota Democrats Exposed.

MPR's Tim Post takes a look at Senator Paul Koering's primary challenge. Koering, an openly gay Republican state senator, says he's being challenged because of his sexual preference.

Republican Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer drops a fee after her DFL opponent criticized it.

The Pulse is the second weekly mag this week (following City Pages) with a front page story on Keith Ellison.

Ellison and the other DFLers running in the Fifth are mixing it up a bit today. Ellison gets the endorsement of the Sierra Club and Clean Water Action later this morning. Mike Erlandson gets Congressman John Murtha's (PA-D) endorsement via a written statement later today. Erlandson will describe how he differs from the other candidates on the war. Paul Ostrow also had a statement on the Iraq war but it missed the digest and I got busy. He has an op-ed piece on the conflict today.

The West Central Tribune has a candidate profile on Dean Johnson's primary challenger, Michael Cruze.

By the way, the MCCL endorsed Cruze. The group opposed to legalized abortion used to back Johnson.

The Washington Post's David Broder says the rejiggering of the Democratic primaries leaves a lot to be desired.

Finally, the Pi Press has a story saying Vikings owner Zygi Wilf's eye may be wandering from Blaine.

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Not his DFL

Posted at 11:00 AM on August 31, 2006 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)

Usually -- or at least recently -- the criticism of the DFL by DFLers comes after the election. But the blog Rambling from the North may have started something.

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Over? It hasn't even begun yet!

Posted at 12:27 PM on August 31, 2006 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

One of the most enlightening aspects of taking two months off is it allowed me to find out just how little attention many people give to campaigns. I guess I always sort of knew this, especially since in the campaign of 2004, I watched the traffic on our Campaign 2004 site (it was much better before a database change killed all of our pictures, trust me.) absolutely explode after Labor Day.

The Campaign 2006 site went up in January 2005, when Mark Dayton announced he wouldn't run for a second term, forcing a lot of candidates to start their campaigns sooner than they had planned. And it forced political reporters and wags to start talking about the campaign sooner than they had planned.

Here comes another one of those paradoxes of campaigns. The media and the wags -- well, a lot of them anyway -- are sick of the campaign, and are trying to find something new to talk about. The problem is this comes at a time when the general voting population is just starting to be interested in it.

Much energy has been expended on a who is a CPA and who isn't. And who identified herself as a Democrat in a TV ad and who didn't. Reporters and wags care because it's something new to talk about. But the voters -- at least the ones I've been talking to -- don't. They're not at that stage yet.

The folks who really have been gung-ho on the campaign already made up their mind and did so long ago. Blogs, in general, have been firing salvos at one another under the guise of informing the unknowing what the real story is. It's been fun and it's been entertaining, but has it done any good yet other than to try to test-market some talking points?

My guess is the folks who are truly on the fence in this campaign, are only now getting around to exploring the issues and making decisions. So when I hear people cite polls and say the race -- and I'm not talking about any specific race -- is over, well, nonsense.

Labor Day is the "traditional" start of the campaign -- the real campaign -- for a reason. Everything up to now has been a test drive.

Sidebar: Here's a great little Web site that will help you see how the candidates use small techniques to win points. CampaignSecrets.com.

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Mondale and Spannaus endorse Kelley for attorney general

Posted at 1:37 PM on August 31, 2006 by Tom Scheck

Walter Mondale and Warren Spannaus are former attorneys general. Kelley is running in the DFL primary against Minnesota Solicitor General Lori Swanson and former Congressman Bill Luther.

Here's the release from the Steve Kelley campaign:

Dear Friend,

We are writing in strong support of Steve Kelley for Attorney General.

We must not take this election for granted. The attorney general holds the top legal post in the state. It is a post that requires both legal and political expertise. It is important that we choose the right person for the job—the right person to stand up for the people of Minnesota.

Steve has the depth and breadth of both legal and policy experience needed to be Attorney General. He has been a lawyer for 27 years. He has valuable experience in state and federal courts, including the Minnesota State Supreme Court. Steve has also been a legislator for 14 years. He has deep policy knowledge of the issues he’ll focus on in the attorney general’s office: health care, privacy, education, and public safety.

Steve will be a champion for affordable prescription drugs by targeting anticompetitive business practices and improper marketing activities. He will hold accountable health care and drug companies that exploit patent laws to keep profit margins wide, including the companies that conspire to keep generics off the market.

Steve is a man of the highest integrity. He will continue the office’s tradition of vigorously defending the rights of Minnesotans. He will be a strong advocate for consumers, children, seniors, and patients.

Steve has what it takes to be our next great Attorney General. He will stand up for those without power, against those who misuse power. He will be a leader—a true public servant driven to unite Minnesotans to work for a better future for all of us.

Please join us in supporting Steve Kelley for Attorney General on September 12.

Sincerely,

Vice President Walter Mondale
Former Minnesota Attorney General

Warren Spannaus
Former Minnesota Attorney General

National Dems aid Wetterling

Posted at 2:10 PM on August 31, 2006 by Mike Mulcahy

Nancy Pelosi and EMILY's List say 6th District DFLer Patty Wetterling is one of three Democratic House candidates from around the country who they've targeted for extra aid. Here's part of the "special message" from Pelosi:

Today I'm honored to announce the winners of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's (DCCC) "Candidate for Change" contest, where the DCCC asked the grassroots to choose which Democratic House candidates they want to see get additional support from the DCCC and the progressive community. The online community came together and chose three proud Democratic women running winning campaigns in historically Republican districts, each with an amazing story to tell.

The DCCC, the official campaign arm of the Democrats in the House of Representatives, opened voting three weeks ago -- tens of thousands of activists across the country voted and there were three candidates that came out as the clear winners.

The winners are three great women out of a wave of Democratic women on the ballot this November: community leader Mary Jo Kilroy, Iraq War hero Tammy Duckworth, and national child advocate Patty Wetterling. These are the next generation of leaders in Congress who can take this country and bring fresh ideas, new energy and a new direction to America.

Endorsements in the 5th Congressional District

Posted at 2:27 PM on August 31, 2006 by Tom Scheck (3 Comments)

Former DFL Party Chair Mike Erlandson is getting the endorsement of Pennsylvania Democratic Congressman John Murtha this afternoon. Murtha has been a vocal critic of the war in Iraq.

State Rep. Keith Ellison received the endorsement of The Sierra Club and Clean Water Action.

Former State Senator Ember Reichgott Junge got the backing of Lavendar Magazine. The biweekly magazine's audience is mostly the GLBT community.

The three candidates, along with four others, are all running in the DFL Primary on September 12th. The winner will face Republican Alan Fine, Green Party candidate Jay Pond and Independence Party member Tammy Lee in the November election.

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MPR's Senate Debate is on Friday at 11 AM, latest fundraising $.

Posted at 9:00 PM on August 31, 2006 by Tom Scheck

The Senate debate between DFLer Amy Klobuchar, Republican Mark Kennedy and Independence Party member Robert Fitzgerald is at 11 AM in Carousel Park at the MN State Fair. You can also listen to it on MPR or on the web. By the way, Klobuchar and Kennedy are out with their latest fundraising reports. Klobuchar raised $979,983 during the seven week period. The campaign raised a total of $6.6 million to date and will report just under $3 million cash-on-hand.

Kennedy's campaign is reporting $825,000 raised for the period. His campaign raised a total of $7.57 million for his Senate campaign with over $3.4 million cash-on hand.