Polinaut: February 26, 2007 Archive

The Daily Digest: 2-26-07

Posted at 8:31 AM on February 26, 2007 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Daily Digest

Gov. Pawlenty and state lawmakers are eagerly waiting for the February forecast number to be released on Wednesday. Pawlenty is currently in Washington D.C. attending the National Governors Association winter meeting. The AP says governors are worried about National Guard deployments. Pawlenty says the Bush Administration has been listening to their concerns.

The AP says Pawlenty will also meet with Guard officials today.

The New York Times says Pawlenty is one of several governors concerned about federal budget cuts to health care for children.

The Star Tribune says DFL Secretary of State Mark Ritchie wants to register voters when they get their driver's licenses.

WCCO says Pawlenty wants Minnesota kids to get fit.

GOP Rep. Erik Paulsen wants to form an India Center at the U of M.

KARE-11 says a rise in hybrid vehicles could cause some trouble for road funding.

The St. Cloud Times interviews GOP Sen. Michelle Fischbach.

The Star Tribune also documents concern in the east Metro about the drinking water as a result of the 3M chemicals found in wells.

Congress

GOP Sen. Norm Coleman will be on MPR's Midday program today at 11 am.

Coleman tells conservative columnist Robert Novak that he doesn't think they should go rewrite history on Iraq.

ABC News says equipment for National Guard troops is getting worn out. Pawlenty says he's been assured that it will be addressed.

The Rochester Post Bulletin says legislation trying to stop DM&E faces long odds.

DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar is headed to Missouri next week.

KTTC says DFL Rep. Tim Walz will talk global warming this week.

DFL Rep. Keith Ellison will talk predatory lending today in Minneapolis.

The St. Cloud Times says GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann backs off her comments on Iran. There are other stories in an earlier post but the Times had the interview so they get another link.

USA Today says federal lawmakers still receive exemptions for some trips. DFL Rep. Collin Peterson is mentioned.

Peterson also plays a gig in Arizona and hails the potential of ethanol.

2008
The New York Times says Gov. Pawlenty urges moderation when it comes to picking a GOP presidential candidate.

AP says national candidates are leaning on governors like Pawlenty.

But the Washington Post says the influence among governors is waning.

The Politico says there's plenty of politicking at the NGA Winter Meetings.

Stu Rothenberg wonders how much race will impact the '08 elections. DFL Rep. Keith Ellison is mentioned.

I was watching 60 minutes last night and there was Al Franken in a profile on Bill O'Reilly.

Human Events lists the best quotes from Al Franken (a DFLer challenging GOP Sen. Norm Coleman). Reporters hit the print key. UPDATE: I just was on the phone with a Franken aide (on a different topic) and he says #8 on the list is false. It was taken from a comedic bit. I'm told Franken never spoke to a technical college in Connecticut.

Franken stopped at the Don Pablos in Fergus Falls.

AP says state Rep. John Lesch is thinking about running for a U.S. Senate seat. The article also mentions that Lesch visited Iraq by himself last year.

MNPublius says former state sen. and Pawlenty chief of staff David Gaither is thinking about challenging GOP Rep. Jim Ramstad in Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District.

Stu Rothenberg has house ratings on the 1st and the 6th.

McCain names his Minnesota leadership team

Posted at 11:39 AM on February 26, 2007 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

Here's the news release. There's a long list of current and former state lawmakers. As you know, Gov. Pawlenty is co-chairing McCain's presidential exploratory committee.

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Agency denies DM&E loan

Posted at 4:16 PM on February 26, 2007 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

The news just broke. DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar and GOP Sen. Norm Coleman will hold a conference call in a few minutes. DFL Rep. Tim Walz is also holding a news conference this afternoon.

Here's the news from the AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) - The head of the Federal Railroad Administration has denied the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad's application for a two-point-three (b) billion-dollar federal loan.
In a release from Washington, Joseph H. Boardman says the loan posed an unacceptably high risk to federal taxpayers.
The Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based railroad wanted the loan to help finance new track to Wyoming coal fields and renovation of 600 miles of existing line so it could haul coal across southern Minnesota to eastern power plants.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
AP-NY-02-26-07 1711EST

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The House GOP fires its only shot over and over and over again

Posted at 5:16 PM on February 26, 2007 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)

The Minnesota House has just entered hour six in a debate that no one is really paying attention to (except for the politicos who are taking note of the bad votes for 2008). The debate is over House rules. Don't get me wrong, it's important to set the rules for the body but there aren't too many people out there who understand the rules or care.

There have been 22 amendments offered on the House floor at this point. One was offered by a DFLer. The others by the GOP.

The House GOP has been weakened in the past election (49 votes if you include Mark Olson who was booted out of the GOP caucus) so they know they don't have the votes to defeat or change any policies. Their strategy may be to run a "four corners offense" with the hopes that the House doesn't look like it's doing anything. It will be interesting to see how DFL leaders handle the delay tactics as the clock ticks toward the end of session.

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