Capitol View: July 2, 2008 Archive

Cole in town for Bachmann and Davis

Posted at 10:18 AM on July 2, 2008 by Tom Scheck (3 Comments)

MPR's Tim Pugmire provides greater detail into NRCC Chair Tom Cole's visit to Minnesota:

NRCC Chairman Tom Cole starts his Minnesota trip with appearances on behalf of Sixth District Congresswoman Michele Bachmann's re-election campaign. Bachmann, a fist-term Republican, defeated Democrat Patty Wetterling by 8 points in 2006. This year, she's facing a challenge from former state transportation commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg, a DFLer. Bachmann's campaign spokeswoman says Cole will appear at private fundraising events in Stillwater and Minneapolis.

Cole is also scheduled to travel Thursday to Minnesota's 1st district, where he'll campaign for GOP challenger Brian Davis. Davis is the party's endorsed candidate to run against first-term Democrat Tim Walz. But he faces a GOP primary challenge from State Senator Dick Day. A Davis campaign spokesman say Cole will attend a private fundraiser as well as a Rochester news conference on energy issues.

3rd District GOP candidate Erik Paulsen's spokeswoman says Cole is not doing anything on Paulsen's behalf during this trip.

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The litmus test?

Posted at 11:07 AM on July 2, 2008 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

Charlie Weaver, with the Minnesota Business Partnership (and former Chief of Staff to Gov. Pawlenty and former GOP State Rep. from Anoka), told me something in 2004 that I think is a great barometer when thinking about middle of the road, swing voters. It's not the issues or the fundraising or the number of campaign appearances that a candidate makes that makes the difference. It's style...

At the time, I was working on a piece that examined a precinct in Coon Rapids (Ward 2 Precinct 1) where just 14 votes separated George W. Bush from Al Gore in the 2000 election.

Democrat John Kerry was about to campaign in Anoka County so I talked to Weaver and other voters about the issues that were important to them. Here's what Weaver said about those Anoka County swing voters:

"If the test is ... who do you want to have a beer with? That's a good test in Anoka County for anybody. George Bush wins that test."

Weaver was right (Bush lost Minnesota but won the election and the Coon Rapids precinct). Voters there also reelected Gov. Pawlenty (a Republican) and sent Amy Klobuchar (a DFLer) to the Senate in 2006.

If that's the case, Weaver and other Republicans may be worried about these poll results.

So here are the questions: Which presidential candidate would you rather have a beer (or BBQ) with and why?

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Another conservative group goes after Pawlenty

Posted at 11:40 AM on July 2, 2008 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)

The National Taxpayers Union criticized Gov. Pawlenty on government spending and taxes (h/t Club for Growth). Here's a snippet from the NTU's blog:

Taxes

Pawlenty's record on taxes can rightly be characterized as a disaster for Minnesotans. There have been no broad-based tax cuts in Minnesota and the largest reduction during Pawlenty's time in office is only $28.7 million.

Overall, during Pawlenty's tenure, taxes have increased $1.74 billion (with a b). Some supporters might attempt to describe these increases as merely fees, but consumers and corporations nevertheless have to pay the bill. To his credit, Pawlenty has proposed a modest $77.3 million reduction in sales taxes for FY 2009, but this is more than offset with $138.7 million in other tax and fee hikes.

Rumors are abound that Pawlenty is the front-runner for McCain's VP slot, but with over $1.7 billion in tax hikes to his name and even more on the way, McCain might think twice about choosing Pawlenty.

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RNC Host Committee uses wrestler linked to steroids in PSAs.

Posted at 12:58 PM on July 2, 2008 by Tom Scheck

The Minneapolis Saint Paul 2008 Host Committee is using public service announcements from WWE superstar Mr. Kennedy (Ken Anderson) to encourage Minnesotans to volunteer for the 2008 RNC. You can view the PSAs on this site. Here's a snippet of the release:

Minnesota Viking Matt Birk and World Wrestling Entertainment Superstar Mr. Kennedy are encouraging Minnesotans to volunteer for the 2008 Republican National Convention - regardless of their political affiliation - to show the nation what it means to be "Minnesota Nice." Birk and Kennedy are appearing in two new Public Service Announcements that will begin airing this week in Minneapolis Saint Paul.

The MSP 2008 Host Committee produced the PSAs as another way to recruit volunteers for the Convention, which will be held September 1-4 at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn.

"We are thrilled to have Matt Birk and Mr. Kennedy participate in our volunteer effort because they understand what a unique opportunity this is for our state," said Cynthia Lesher, President of the Minneapolis Saint Paul 2008 Host Committee. "We are very close to our goal of recruiting 10,000 volunteers and we know that their messages of civic pride and participation in this historic event will resonate with Minnesotans."

Sports Illustrated reported last year that Mr. Kennedy's name (Ken Anderson) came up after federal and state agents raided a pharmacy and "anti-aging clinic" in Florida.

Ken Anderson, a/k/a Mr. Kennedy, lost to Eddie Guerrero in Guerrero's final match on Nov. 11, 2005. Kennedy received shipments of anastrozole, somatropin and testosterone between October 2006 and February 2007.

SI and other news outlets say Anderson (we'll refer to Mr. Kennedy as Anderson the rest of the way) may have been suspended by the WWE because of links to steroid use (the WWE wouldn't release the names).

Anderson (who is from Minneapolis) told Lords of Pain (warning on ads on site) said he had a legitimate reason for the steroids. He also told The UK based Sun Newspaper that he stopped doing steroids after the WWE implemented a Wellness Policy.

Bloomberg coming to Minnesota

Posted at 4:48 PM on July 2, 2008 by Tom Scheck

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (a Democrat turned Republican turned Independent) is coming to Minnesota to raise money for the Independence Party of Minnesota. Craig Swaggert, who chairs the I-P, said Bloomberg will hold a fundraising breakfast and give a policy speech in Minneapolis on July 25th. You can view the Bloomberg event on the I-P's website.

Swaggert also said there was nothing new on the "Will Jesse Ventura run for U.S. Senate?" front. He said the party has not had any contact with the former governor.