Capitol View: October 9, 2009 Archive

Pawlenty to Obama: Congratulations

Posted at 9:24 AM on October 9, 2009 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

Gov. Pawlenty congratulated President Obama for winning the Nobel Peace Prize. During his weekly radio show, Pawlenty said "I think an appropriate response is to say congratulations."

"I would say regardless of the circumstances, congratulations to President Obama for winning the Nobel Prize. I know there will be some people who are saying 'Was it based on good intentions and thoughts or is it going to be based on good results?' But I think the appropriate response is when anybody wins a Nobel Prize that is a very noteworthy development and designation and I think the appropriate response is to say 'Congratulations."

Pawlenty later said on the show "I'm struggling with this" when he talking with Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle about it. Doyle said "I think it's great" that Obama won the Nobel Prize. Doyle also said he thinks Obama will be president for eight years (Irony alert that Doyle said that on Pawlenty's show since Pawlenty is a possible 2012 opponent to Obama).

Update:

Later on the show, Pawlenty said this:

"I do think the concern that is it's more about process and aspiration rather than results is a valid one but I do think overall when someone wins a Nobel Prize the appropriate response is to say 'Congratulations."

Here's the audio of Pawlenty's two statements:

Listen

Listen

Comment on this post

Reed looking toward DFL primary after union snubs

Posted at 3:32 PM on October 9, 2009 by Tim Pugmire (5 Comments)

Sixth District Congressional candidate Dr. Maureen Reed says she'll no longer pledge to abide by the DFL endorsement after being overlooked by several labor unions.

Since entering the race five months ago, Reed has said she would seek the DFL party endorsement to challenge incumbent Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. But Reed's pledge to abide by that process is now wavering. State Sen. Tarry Clark, DFL-St. Cloud, who's also running in the 6th district, has been piling up several key endorsements from organized labor. Reed says she now wants to keep her options open, including running in a primary, because she never got a shot at those union endorsements.

"We weren't even screened," Reed said. "I didn't even get a call saying we're going forward, would you like to come in Maureen and screen with us? And that's been disappointing to me. If this isn't an open and fair process here, maybe I should keep my options open."

The Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council and the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters have confirmed that Reed was not screened for endorsements that went to Clark. Officials with the Minnesota AFL-CIO and Minnesota Nurses Associations say they interviewed both DFL candidates for endorsement and Clark prevailed. Other unions have not returned phone calls.

Clark said she is focused on her campaign, not Reed's.

Comment on this post

Minnesota's flag stamp

Posted at 3:36 PM on October 9, 2009 by Tom Scheck (8 Comments)

DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar and DFL Sen. Al Franken will appear at the Minnesota State Capitol on Sunday for the unveiling of the state's flag stamp. The United States Postal Service announced the images of the fifty flag stamps in August but the official ceremony will be held in Minnesota on Sunday. Here's what the Minnesota stamp looks like:

The USPS gave this description of the stamp:

The flag design incorporates the state seal, state flower, state name, and important dates in state history. Snapshot art features a grain elevator on a riverbank with swans in the foreground.

Question of the day: Do you think the stamp represents Minnesota?

Comment on this post

For your viewing pleasure.

Posted at 3:54 PM on October 9, 2009 by Tom Scheck

Here's a list of who will be on the Sunday public policy shows.

TPT's Almanac:

This week on Almanac, Minnesota National Guard Chaplain John Morris joins us from Basra, Iraq to talk about the death of Maj.Tad Hervas earlier this week; Rep. Tom Hackbarth and Rep. Mindy Greiling debate funding for a new Vikings stadium and Macalester College President Brian Rosenberg stops by to chat about their new green building.

KSTP's At Issue:

GOP candidate for Governor Bill Haas. Political analysis and debate from Annette Meeks, Blois Olson, Cathie Hartnett and David Strom.

WCCO's Sunday Morning:

Senator Klobuchar
Rep. Marty Seifert
Rep. Tom Hackbarth
General Mills rep talking about Join My Village-- an on line community that empowers Americans to unlock General Mills funds to help fight poverty in Africa. Doctor talking about the H1N1 virus and what people/parents can do to watch out for it.

Capitol Report (Sundays on some PBS channels):

Julie Bartkey sits down with the Sen. Linda Scheid, Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, to discuss whether Minnesota's banking system is sound. Gambling on revenue for a new Viking stadium, Rep. Tom Hackbarth proposes a constitutional amendment that would add slots to existing race tracks, and Senator Ann Lynch details why she thinks Rochester is the best route for high speed rail.

C-Span's Newsmakers:
Guest: Sen. Tom Harkin.

CBS' Face the Nation:
GUESTS: Sen. Mitch McConnell; Sen. Jack Reed; David Ignatius, Washington Post; Michael O'Hanlon, Brookings.

CNN's State of the Union:
Sen. John McCain

Fox News Sunday:
TOPIC: Eceonmy, Unemployment numbers, recovery. GUESTS: Steve, Wynn, Wynn Resorts; Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Michigan; Gov. Mitch Daniels, Indiana; Mark Zandi, Chief Economist at Moodys Economy.com.

NBC's Meet the Press:
TOPICS: Iraq, Afghanistan, Health Care; Jobs. Guests: Sen. Carl Levin; Sen. Lindsay Graham; Gen. Barry McCaffrey, fmr, Commander-in-chief, U.S. Southern Command; Gen. Richard Myers, fmr, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff; Ron Brownstein, National Journal; Paul Gigot, Wall Street Journal; Katty Kay, BBC; Bob Woodward, Washington Post.

The AFSCME debate

Posted at 6:15 PM on October 9, 2009 by Tom Scheck

Ten of the DFL candidates for governor participated in a debate in Duluth this afternoon. The forum was hosted by AFSCME Council 5.

MN House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, state Sen. Tom Bakk, former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, former state Rep. Matt Entenza, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner, former state Sen. Steve Kelley, state Sen. John Marty, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, state Rep. Tom Rukavina and state Rep. Paul Thissen all took part in the debate. None of the GOP candidates decided to attend.

You can listen to the two hour forum here:

Listen

Thanks to MPR's Bob Kelleher for getting me the audio.