Polinaut: October 8, 2007 Archive

The Daily Digest: 10-8-2007

Posted at 8:16 AM on October 8, 2007 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Daily Digest

A Star Tribune poll says a majority of those polled say there's no reason to rush the I-35W bridge. They also oppose a gas tax increase.

The Pi Press has an interesting story on how MnDOT is making the argument that they can't release bridge records because it's a matter of national security.

The federal highway administration says Minnesota can ask for emergency bridge money.

Confused on all of this money stuff regarding the bridge? Here's a backgrounder.

DFLers continue to question Carol Molnau's work as Transportation Commissioner.

The St. Cloud Times takes a look at per diem payments.

The Pi Press says more rapists and sex offenders are locked up but county officials say the state isn't picking up its share of the tab.

Gov. Pawlenty makes stops in Owatonna (to tour flooded areas) and Central Minnesota (to name a judge and talk SEED). He is headed to Vermont tonight to campaign for Arizona Senator John McCain. A campaign spokeswoman says Pawlenty will be in Washington DC tomorrow for a National Infrastructure Advisory Council meeting.

Forum Communications says there is a broad coalition ready to push for the passage of a sales tax hike for arts, cultural programs and the environment.

The Albert Lea Tribune has a story on why so many school districts are seeking a levy referendum.

The Mankato Free Press says DFL Rep. Tom Rukavina (who chairs the House Higher Ed Committee) got an earful during a tour in Mankato.

Lloydletta says MN NOW is calling on GOP Rep. Mark Olson to resign.

Congress

61% of those polled in a Star Tribune poll say things are going very badly or badly in Iraq. But, like Congress, they don't agree on the next step.

President Bush singles out Minnesota's SCHIP program (because it funds more adults than children).

Gov. Pawlenty was one of many GOP governors who did not urge President Bush to sign SCHIP.

The mental health parity bill is gaining steam in Congress.

DFL Rep. Keith Ellison talks to MPR about observing Ramadan and visiting the White House for an iftar dinner.

A promised cattle tracking system is still on paper even though the Mad Cow scare started four years ago. Peterson says he's given up on the program until a new administration is in power.

Food safety advocates are threatening to stall the Farm Bill. Peterson is mentioned.

Oberstar supports an economic development commission bill that passed the House.

2008

The DFL candidates debated the issues on Friday. The Star Tribune and MPR have stories.

Franken will take a college tour this week. One of the places is St. Olaf.

A columnist with the conservative Human Events says he's taking Franken seriously.

The Fix says the 3rd will be a headache for the GOP.

Edina Mayor Jim Hovland will run for the seat as a Democrat.

Several unions and interest groups target GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann on her SCHIP vote.

Select An Image

Posted at 9:14 AM on October 8, 2007 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)

For an application that, I think, is pretty long in the tooth, MPR's Select A Candidate has been getting a lot of attention from folks who've just discovered it for the first time. From what I understand, some TV station in Iowa lifted it off the site and plunked it on theirs, and the boss of the station is a friend of Howard Stern, who mentioned it on the air and the station's servers crashed thanks to his mentioning it. Howard Stern. Seriously.

Since most news stories are ripped off from other media and repackaged to be treated as "new news," the quiz's existence has now reached Los Angeles where L.A. Times columnist Robert Greene discovers that people vote for candidates on other things besides the issues. Yeah, no kidding.

Political consultants are way past questions about trust and respect. What they really want to know is: Whose story do you like the best? Do you respond better to a Joe Biden, who seems to know everything and has been around forever? Or do you prefer a guy like Fred Thompson because he has stature in another field but is a fresh face in politics? Maybe you like Hillary Clinton, not merely because you like her strength and where she is on the issues but also because you'd see in her election simultaneous vindication against the vast right-wing conspiracy and cheating husbands. Or perhaps you like that a Mormon Republican such as Romney could emerge from Massachusetts, homeland of the Catholic Kennedy clan.

Many people have sent me notes to tell me there's no education question on the quiz. I've been working on adding it for weeks now, researching candidate positions. Here's the problem: most of the candidates do not have well-formed positions on education. They have generalities and stump speeches. "We need to educate our kids," or "we need more accountability." Inspiring stuff, really. But the "how" of it all -- with a few exceptions -- is hard to find.

For a reason.

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The Ron Paul factor explored

Posted at 6:15 PM on October 8, 2007 by Bob Collins

The weekend featured one of those moments that reminded me of the time -- in the '70s -- that both Time and Newsweek put Bruce Springsteen on the cover.

Three highly-visible news organizations ran stories about the buzz -- especially on the Internet -- surrounding Ron Paul, the Texas Republican running for president.

The Washington Post takes on the claim that he's the "Howard Dean of '08" by noting that the Internet is flexing the philosophy which dominated it in the '90s - libertarianism.

ABC News talks about him as the "Republican dark horse," who is a a bona fide grassroots sensation. " He's a big hit on Facebook, and he's right below Paris Hilton and right above Mario Lopez on blog searches," it says. Of course.

CBS News noted his impressive fundraising, which it says is "not bad for a guy who has generally been treated as a fringe candidate whose only impact on the race would be as a punching bag for more legitimate candidates looking to score political points."

All stories were relatively interesting. The timing -- Thursday for the WashPo story and Saturday for the broadcasters -- was a good example of how few electronic media newsrooms think of stories on their own.