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Capitol View: October 11, 2007 Archive

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The Daily Digest: 10-11-2007

Posted at 8:50 AM on October 11, 2007 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Daily Digest

The state finances are doing better than projected but economists warn of cloudy skies on the horizon..

WCCO throws softballs to Transportation Committioner (and Lt. Governor) Carol Molnau.

Fox9 interviews some of the construction workers who were on the I-35W bridge when it collapsed.

MPR looks at the difficulties of building a bridge in cold weather.

A whistleblower highlights his concerns about atrazine. MPR and KARE-11 have stories.

The Minnesota National Guard will get unique mental health benefits. KARE-11, MPR and Forum Communications have stories.

The Star Tribune wonders if Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak can deliver on reducing airport noise.

Congress

GOP Sen. Norm Coleman talks health care. The Rochester Post Bulletin, KTTC and the St. Cloud Times have stories. MPR was at his townhall in Minneapolis. We'll put the audio up soon (I hope).

Kessler reality checks SCHIP.

A group is running ads targeting Coleman and DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar on the Farm Bill.

Klobuchar speaks in Duluth.

The Norwegian consulate to Minnneapolis might be downgraded.

A House bill would limit the number of employees who could be classified as supervisors. GOP Rep. John Kline says it reverses 60 years of law.

The Mental Health Parity Bill is still moving in the House. GOP Rep. Jim Ramstad is mentioned.

Proponents of a commuter rail line to Duluth start pushing it a bit harder.

CSX is asking for a public subsidy even though the company has a growing profit. DFL Rep. Jim Oberstar is mentioned.

2008

The GOP is pushing Ramstad to stay but his people tell the Star Tribune that he's gone. It would be interesting to see NRCC polling in the 3rd.

Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer makes his Senate run official. MPR, the Pi Press, AP and the Star Tribune have stories.

Al Franken visits St. Cloud State.

CQ says GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann is in for a tough fight in '08 but will be sitting comfortably after that.

Former President Clinton is coming to Minneapolis on October 23rd to raise money for his wife.

GOP Congressional candidate Randy Demmer reports his fundraising totals.

The National Review says Pawlenty should be the GOP candidate for vice-president.


No new taxes returns

Posted at 11:42 AM on October 11, 2007 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

I've been waiting a couple of days to see which key moments in the GOP presidential debate the other day would attract the most attention:

  • Mike Huckabee invoking Goober, Gomer, The Jetsons, and Fred Flintstone

    or

  • Mitt Romney invoking the largely disgraced "no new taxes" pledge (disgraced because it's a con job unless "fees" are included).

    It looks like the no-new-taxes pledge has won.

    For example, in the Boston Globe (which knows a little something about Romney's term in office), Scott Helman notes that Romney didn't think much of the pledge back when he was governor, which is a bit odd considering that he now points to his term in office to support the pledge he took on Tuesday.

    The Americans for Tax Reform pledge states I ,____________, pledge to the taxpayers of the _____ district of the State of _________ and to the American People that I will:
    ONE, oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rates for individuals and/or businesses; and
    TWO, oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates.

    Nothing there, of course, about fees.

    On the evening Mitt Romney was elected governor, though, another compelling story was how close to a majority -- 5 points -- the Small Government Act question (no income tax) came. No new taxes? The voters had a different idea: no old taxes either

    That prompted Michael New of the Cato Institute to call for a new tax reforming strategy, because these sorts of "no tax" initiatives (and pledges) inevitably lead to... more fees..

    The no-new-taxes strategy, of course, comes because there's no no-new-spending strategy. The theory is if you choke off the food, the beast will die. Only it doesn't. Bonding, borrowing, and fees create plenty of sustenance.

    For a candidate, however, it's difficult to talk about cutting spending in specific terms, because specifics is where you lose votes.

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