Polinaut: September 6, 2007 Archive

Good tool to follow campaign contributions

Posted at 9:02 AM on September 6, 2007 by Mike Mulcahy (3 Comments)

I was looking at the FEC Web site today and found they have followed the New York Times lead and created maps of presidential campaign contributions. Check out the Minnesota map. Wouldn't it be great to have the same kind of gizmo to track contributions for state and local offices?

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The Daily Digest: 9-6-07

Posted at 9:48 AM on September 6, 2007 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Daily Digest

Governor Pawlenty and DFL legislative leaders continue to play footsie and "Dear Pen Pal" on the issue of a special session. Pawlenty came back from visiting some of the flood stricken towns and now says he's hopeful a special session can occur. The pressure is mounting to do something for transportation and flood relief. MPR, the Star Tribune, the Pi Press and the Winona Daily News have stories.

AP says Pawlenty will also release some executive actions to free up money for flood victims on Friday.

The State Auditor says counties are improving their fiscal health.

Congress

Parties clash over gas tax increase at a hearing on bridge safety. DFL Rep. Jim Oberstar is pushing for a temporary nickel a gallon gas tax increase to repair bridges. AP, the Star Tribune and The Hill have stories.

MPR says Idaho Senator Larry Craig may have grounds to withdrawal his guilty plea.

The Hill says GOP Sen. Norm Coleman got a bit part in the Craig scandal.

AP has an analysis on how the Craig scandal could hurt the GOP. Coleman is mentioned.

Coleman and others have a back up plan brewing for convention funding.

Coleman is still stressing a small troop withdrawal.

DFL Rep. Keith Ellison speaks to the convention of the Islamic Society of North America

Two powerful senators push for payment limits in the Farm Bill. DFL Rep. Collin Peterson is mentioned.

2008

CQ rates Minnesota's Senate race as "no clear favorite" but the Rothenberg Political Report says Coleman has a slight advantage.

A research fellow for the American Enterprise Institute also says '08 could be a tough year for the Senate GOP.

Norman Hsu, a fugitive from justice, didn't appear for his court date. Hsu gave money to DFL U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken, which Franken is getting rid of.

The DFL U.S. Senate candidates appear at a labor rally at the U of M campus.

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani visits St. Paul today. One day after former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson officially announces his bid for the White House.

Congressional candidate Dick Day talks immigration as he campaigns for Minnesota's 1st Congressional seat. The Rochester Post Bulletin, The Owatonna People's Press and the Worthington Daily Globe have stories.

Rudy in St. Paul

Posted at 3:56 PM on September 6, 2007 by Tom Scheck

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani campaigned in Minnesota today. He attended a private fundraiser at a Roseville Country Club and met with supporters at a St. Paul restaurant. Giuliani is seeking the GOP nomination for President. You can listen to his press conference with reporters here.

And..... action!

Posted at 6:13 PM on September 6, 2007 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)

Rudy Giuliani's visit to a coffeeshop was a good example of the staged nature of political stops and, unfortunately, the media's ability to become a willing participant in a campaign commercial, and deny you even a shred of useful information that might help you pick the next president.

In a way, this is a preview of what we'll have to endure, perhaps, during the Republican National Convention. By then, the nominee will have already been selected and the week will become a test between the party staging an infomercial, and the media looking, hopefully, for something a little more substantive and useful to voters. The thousands of delegates? They are irrelevant props.

A candidate's trip to the coffee shop is supposed to look like your typical New Hampshire primary-type visit. You know, a candidate shows up at Farmer Joe's dairy barn, or just meeting real people in the midst of their ordinary day -- folks that just "happened" to be there when a candidate walked in.

Stupid me (I grew up on the New Hampshire border). I actually expected Giuliani to run into the "regulars" at the coffee shop. So I was surprised when watching WCCO's report on the visit during the 6 p.m. news this evening to see my pal, Gary Miller, playing the part of the "average Joe who just happened to be there when the presidential candidate walked in." Gary, of course, is the brains behind the blog, Truth vs. the Machine.

Now, let me be clear, there's nothing wrong with Gary having coffee for 20 minutes with Hizzoner. There's nothing wrong with the Giuliani campaign packing a coffee shop with supporters to help give the photo op the Republican flavor it needed. You wouldn't want the guy to walk in and find a bunch of DFLers waiting for their latte.

But I question whether mainstream media should be a willing participant in the staging of the photo op, by not striking back at their obvious manipulation by tackling some serious issues (note: that 9/11 was "bad" is not a serious issue in the campaign. It was bad, we can all agree.) while the guy's in town. In portraying the discussion at a table where, presumably, Giuliani was finding out that the people there seemed to have....surprise.... opinions that just happen to scream "Republican," it probably would've been a good idea for my TV news source to get into exactly why that is and who these people were (are) and how it is they happened to be there. There was at least one tough line of questioning -- on immigration -- that went unreported on TV (but not in the dead trees media) in favor of Gary's comments on ... you guessed it... 9/11.

The Star Tribune unmoderated video shows -- faithfully to what the Giuliani campaign wanted -- the same cup of coffee with the same folks, which included Kavon Nikrad of Race42008 (a darned good political blog, by the way) . It was his wife, I believe, who asked the immigration quesiton. So what do we end up with on the nightly news? An infommercial.

Great for Giuliani, great for the supporters, good video for the TVs. But what on earth do the folks who want to know who they should vote for for president get out of it? Zip.

We get the scene, we get the flavor, we get some pseudo analysis fit for a Sunday morning talk show (note: political analysis is not the same as political strategy, newsies), we get supporters tossing softballs, we get the TV crews ignoring anything that would require an explanation -- like the immigration issue . Meanwhile, bloggers like Eric Black were analyzing why a pro-choice guy like Giuliani is doing so well. Yes, that's why bloggers are beginning to eat mainstream media's lunch....or drinking its coffee at least.

Couldn't someone have asked the "mayor of 9/11" what he thinks of the day's court decision on national security letters and let the voters determine whether the guy is 'electable?'

Wouldn't you love to see a presidential candidate (or any other candidate for that matter) take a chance once -- just once -- by actually showing up somewhere -- unannounced -- and taking his/her chances with whoever happens to be there?

I recommend Farmer Joe's dairy barn.

By all means, be sure to listen to the unedited audio of the reporters talking to Giuliani posted by Tom below.

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