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Capitol View: August 29, 2011 Archive

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The Daily Digest (Dayton starts school, Bachmann's considers drilling in Everglades, Obama in MN this week)

Posted at 6:25 AM on August 29, 2011 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Daily Digest

Gov. Dayton will visit South St. Paul today as several school districts start school.

The Star Tribune takes a look at how Minnesota is dealing with the No Child Left Behind law.

Congress

President Obama will be in Minnesota on Tuesday to speak at the American Legion's National Convention.

Hurricane Irene left millions of dollars in property damage on the eastern seaboard but it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Will Republicans only support disaster relief it it's offset by spending cuts?

Al Qaeda's number two in command has been killed.

Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke says he's optimistic about U.S. growth.

DFL Rep. Betty McCollum visited the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Reservation in North Dakota over the weekend.

DFL Sen. Al Franken says he'll hold a listening session on senior issues.

Franken's relationship with labor unions is getting testy.

GOP Rep. John Kline will hold a jobs fair in Eagan September 19.

Race for President

GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann continues campaigning in Florida today.

Over the weekend, she said environmentalists are blocking energy policy, said she would consider lowering the minimum wage and would consider drilling in the Everglades.

Bachmann and also said God is using an earthquake and a hurricane to get the attention of politicians.

"I don't know how much God has to do to get the attention of the politicians. We've had an earthquake; we've had a hurricane. He said, 'Are you going to start listening to me here?' Listen to the American people because the American people are roaring right now. They know government is on a morbid obesity diet and we've got to rein in the spending."

Bachmann also touted her Washington D.C. experience.

The Hill says Bachmann's support for the Stillwater Bridge could be a political problem for her.

The St. Cloud Times says Bachmann's Medicare claims are bogus.

MPR takes a look at the similarities between Bachmann and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

Perry stands by his statement that he believes Social Security is unconstitutional.

Iowa farmers also ripped Perry for his opposition to an ethanol mandate.

The New York Times says Perry only started embracing states' rights in the last few years - a time when it's been growing more popular with Tea Party activists.

The Wall St. Journal says Perry and Mitt Romney have publicly clashed in the past.

The L.A. Times says Perry's surge may force Romney to switch gears.

Ron Paul says FEMA is a deeply flawed system.

GOP Rep. John Kline says he'll wait to see how the field develops in the 2012 race.


(1 Comments)

Obama to address veterans issues at American Legion Convention

Posted at 2:07 PM on August 29, 2011 by Mark Zdechlik (1 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2012

President Barack Obama will be in Minnesota tomorrow for the second time this month. He'll be addressing the American Legion national convention in Minneapolis, just over two weeks after he started a multi-state bus tour in Cannon Falls.

White House Director of Veterans and Wounded Warrior Policy Matt Flavin told MPR News that the president will use his speech to address problems facing veterans and to outline steps his administration has already taken to help veterans.

"You'll hear him talk about the historic accomplishments of the administration in terms of veterans' policy: the largest percentage increase in the VA budget in 30 years, help for caregivers of severely wounded veterans, taking homeless veterans off the streets in the tens of thousands to date," Flavin said. "So there's a lot of good stuff to talk about, but at the same time, I think you'll hear form him that it's still not enough and we still have along way to go."

The main theme of this year's American Legion convention is veterans' unemployment. Flavin said finding jobs is certainly one of the biggest struggles veterans now face. But Flavin also said addressing mental illness must remain at the forefront of efforts to help veterans.

"We've seen spikes in the suicide rate that are very troubling and unacceptable and we have to do more there as well," he said. "There's obviously an issue with stigma and we've done a lot of good work on that, but it's not enough. As a symbol against the stigma, we reversed a long standing policy at the White House of not sending condolence letters to service members' families who committee suicide while deployed."

Two years ago at the American Legion's national convention, Obama's Secretary of Veteran's Affairs Eric Shinseki laid out a goal of ending homelessness among veterans in five years. American Legion spokesman Craig Roberts applauded the Obama administration for its attention to the problem of homeless veterans and for its efforts to clear the backlog of requests for veterans' benefits.

(1 Comments)

Dayton ready to help Minneapolis

Posted at 4:07 PM on August 29, 2011 by Tim Pugmire (1 Comments)
Filed under: Mark Dayton

Gov. Mark Dayton says he'd be willing to use the State Patrol to help quell recent violence in North Minneapolis, if city leaders make such a request.

Dayton says he'd be glad to provide the help, but so far he hasn't been asked. Gov. Tim Pawlenty authorized the State Patrol to help Minneapolis in 2006 after a rash of violent crimes. Gov. Arne Carlson took similar action a decade earlier. Dayton says he feels terrible about a string of recent shootings that killed several young men.

"The violence is horrible and just crazy, absolutely beyond belief that innocent children, not even teenagers, or just teenagers are getting gunned down by other teenagers most likely," Dayton said. "It's just a very, very horrible situations, and if there's anything I can do I'll certainly do so."

Dayton says he's still trying to help North Minneapolis through economic development efforts and job creation. He held a community meeting there earlier this year.

(1 Comments)

Dayton rips GOP amendment plan

Posted at 6:00 PM on August 29, 2011 by Tim Pugmire
Filed under: MN Legislature, Mark Dayton

Gov. Mark Dayton is blasting a proposed constitutional amendment that would require a super majority vote for future tax increases.

House Republicans say the amendment will be a key piece of their agenda for the 2012 session. During an appearance today at the State Fair, Dayton called the proposal the "millionaires tax protection amendment." The DFL governor said it would be impossible to ever pass his proposed income tax increase on top earners.

"To say that people in the future don't have the right to make their own decisions on a majority basis to me is just selfish and short sighted," dayton said. "And it's going to have the practical effect of keeping our taxes unfair and unequal and allowing the richest Minnesotans to avoid paying their fair share, and I'm dead opposed to that."

Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa , the chief sponsor of the proposed amendment, said the threshold would force the Legislature to focus on redesigning government rather than on raising taxes.

Parties endorse candidates in MN Senate special elections

Posted at 5:33 PM on August 29, 2011 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: MN Legislature

The three major political parties in Minnesota have nearly endorsed all of the candidates for special elections in Minneapolis and Brooklyn Park. The DFL Party announced that it's backing Chris Eaton to replace DFL Sen. Linda Scheid. Scheid passed away in early June after a long battle with ovarian cancer. Timothy Davis is also running as a Democrat. The two will square off in a primary on September 13. The Republican Party endorsed Corey Jensen in that race. Ryan Sibinski is also running as a Republican. The Independence Party endorsed Tom Reynolds.

In Senate District 61, Democrats endorsed Rep. Jeff Hayden He's vying to replace DFL Sen. Linda Berglin who retired to take a job with Hennepin County. He's facing a primary challenge against three others; Paulette Will, Sadik Warfa, Kristian Heuer and Elsa Batica and Kyle Wilson. Bruce Lundeen is the only Republican running for the seat. Matt Brillhart is running as a member of the Independence Party. Farheen Hakeem is running as a member of the Green Party.

Special election primaries in both races will be held on September 13th. The special election will be held on October 18.

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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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