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Capitol View: August 10, 2011 Archive

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The Daily Digest (Dayton to talk early childhood, Bachmann on MTP and the narrative on Tpaw)

Posted at 6:38 AM on August 10, 2011 by Tom Scheck (7 Comments)
Filed under: Daily Digest

The Dow surged on Tuesday.

The Federal Reserve says it will keep interest rates near zero for the next two years.

The head of one of Minnesota's pension funds says the funds are weathering the stock sell off.

Under the Dome

Gov. Dayton will speak before several education groups in the morning. He'll also hold a news conference on early childhood education.

AP says Minnesota squeezes counties for sexual predator costs.

Minneapolis says it will lay off some fire fighters but not as many as proposed earlier.

A group of Republican teachers will meet tonight to consider forming a GOP caucus.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin Republicans hold off Democrats in the recall effort.

Constitutional Amendment to ban same sex marriage

The Minnesota Family Council starts ramping up efforts to pass the amendment.

Congress

President Obama salutes the Navy SEALs killed in the Afghanistan helicopter crash.

Obama calls for fuel standards for big vehicles.

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid picks Max Baucus, Patty Murray and John Kerry to be on the deficit committee.

Republicans are using the downgrade in robo-calls against DFL Rep. Tim Walz.

The Pi Press says DFL Rep. Betty McCollum fielded concerns about President Obama's policies during a town hall event in St. Paul.

The Duluth News Tribune says GOP Rep. Chip Cravaack was challenged on his budget stance during a town hall in Deer River.

DFL Rep. Keith Ellison will attend the White House Iftar tonight.

Race for President

President Obama will visit Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois next week.

The Iowa Tea Party founder is backing GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann.

The former Chair of the Iowa Family Leader is also backing Bachmann.

Bachmann will appear on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday.

Bachmann also promised "no teleprompters" if she's in the White House.

Tim Pawlenty joined Anti-abortion activists at an event in Iowa.

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman says Pawlenty is "Sarah Palin in a suit."

Politico says Pawlenty campaigns for attention in Iowa.

The L.A. Times and Politico both say Pawlenty needs a strong showing in Ames or his campaign will be finished.

The New York Times says Pawlenty is courting Evangelicals at a "make of a break moment."

Tidbit: Pawlenty is having a difficult time escaping the media narrative of win or bust. Expect him to work hard to distinguish himself at Thursday's debate. But the only real way he can escape the "struggling campaign" narrative will be to win the Straw Poll or come in a close second.

Pawlenty also polled behind Thad McCotter in Michigan.

Pawlenty points to Minnesota health law as a model for the U.S.

Pawlenty released an ad on the eve of the Straw Poll.

Pawlenty opted against attacking Rick Perry before Perry announces on Saturday.

Rick Perry added a Sunday Iowa stop. That means he'll campaign in South Carolina, New Hampshire and Iowa over the weekend.

(7 Comments)

Boehner to attend Minnesota fundraiser next week

Posted at 11:25 AM on August 10, 2011 by Brett Neely
Filed under: Campaign 2012, Michele Bachmann, U.S. House

WASHINGTON - President Obama won't be the only high-level political visitor to Minnesota next week. Republican House Speaker John Boehner will hold a fundraiser in Wayzata on Wednesday, Aug. 17.

According to an invite given to Minnesota Public Radio News, tickets for a round of golf at the Spring Hill Golf Club with the Speaker and a lunch cost $10,000, while lunch-only tickets run $1,000. Boehner's hosts for the event are all four Republican House members from Minnesota, John Kline, Erik Paulsen, Chip Cravaack and Michele Bachmann.

Bachmann, who's also running for the GOP presidential nomination is keeping a busy schedule. She's in Iowa this week ahead of the Ames Straw Poll. Then early next week she heads to South Carolina for more campaigning before the fundraiser with Boehner.

Walker heading to MN in October

Posted at 4:55 PM on August 10, 2011 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2012: U.S. Senate

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will be crossing his state's border with Minnesota to attend a GOP gathering in October. The first term GOP governor, who has been heavily criticized by Democrats and unions for his work to change collective bargaining laws in Wisconsin, will be one of the keynote speakers at the Midwest Leadership Conference on October 7 and 8.

"We are honored and excited to add Gov. Scott Walker to the list of speakers for the Midwest Leadership Conference," said Minnesota GOP Chairman Tony Sutton in a statement. ""Despite millions of dollars and man hours spent by the Democrat Party and its allies on the Wisconsin recall elections, Republicans maintained their majority status in the Wisconsin Senate."

The Midwest Leadership Conference is a gathering of 1,500 Republican leaders and activists from Republican National Committee's Midwest Region (Ohio, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota). Several GOP presidential hopefuls are also scheduled to speak at the event.

(1 Comments)

Rybak to introduce Anderson and Nolan to funders

Posted at 4:58 PM on August 10, 2011 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Redistricting, U.S. House

Minnesota's 8th Congressional District is about an hour's drive from Minneapolis, but that isn't stopping Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak from helping some of the DFL candidates looking to challenge GOP Rep. Chip Cravaack in 2012.

Rybak is scheduled to attend a fundraiser for Duluth City Council member Jeff Anderson later this month. He also says he'll hold another event for former DFL Congressman Rick Nolan (who was elected to Congress in Minnesota's 6th District in 1974. 1976 and 1978).

"Jeff and Rick Nolan were both very active in my campaign for governor," Rybak said. "Both asked me to introduce them to some funders from the Cities where they are virtually unknown."

Rybak was careful to note that he won't be backing anyone in the race. He said Anderson, Nolan and former DFL state Sen. Tarryl Clark are all strong candidates.

"I think the people of the 8th should decide who should get picked, so I'm not going to jump into the race," Rybak said.

Democrats are optimistic that they can reclaim Minnesota's 8th District. Cravaack won an upset victory over DFL Rep. Jim Oberstar in 2010. One wild card in the potential race is the makeup of the district. Redistricting could dramatically change the state's congressional boundaries.

MNGOP cancels teacher meeting

Posted at 5:04 PM on August 10, 2011 by Tom Scheck (3 Comments)
Filed under: MN Legislature

From MPR's Tom Weber...

The Minnesota Republican Party has canceled a meeting that was scheduled to take place tonight with GOP-leaning union teachers.

The teacher organizing the effort said his goal was to create a group to represent Republican members of the traditionally Democratic-leaning teachers union Education Minnesota. MNGOP Chair Tony Sutton says he inquired further about the meeting after MPR News contacted him about it yesterday... and that's when he says concerns came up.

"One of the people involved with this was very insistent that it only be public school teachers and union members," Sutton said. "It really raised some concerns for me because I think there are a lot of teachers in charter schools and private schools that should be part of this, if we do something like this."

Sutton says he's not sure if the meeting will be rescheduled. The union isn't formally tied to the effort but advertised the meeting on its website, and a spokesman said it aligns with outreach efforts to its Republican members.

The teacher who was organizing the effort, Tom Schoper - a teacher in the Glencoe-Silver Lake school district - declined to comment on the cancellation.

(3 Comments)
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The feature examines statements made by Minnesota politicians and checks them for accuracy. Based on data analysis, document reviews and interviews with non-partisan analysts, statements are rated true, misleading, false or inconclusive. More

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