Capitol View: August 21, 2012 Archive
The Daily Digest
Posted at 6:30 AM on August 21, 2012
by Catharine Richert
Filed under: Daily Digest
Welcome to the Daily Digest, where Biden is visiting Minnesota, Dayton makes a Supreme Court appointment, and Romney once again outraises Obama.
Around Minnesota
Reminder: Vice President Joe Biden will be in Minnesota today, first in Minneapolis and then in Rochester.
Gov. Mark Dayton appointed Judge Wilhelmina Wright to the state's Supreme Court. Wright will replace retiring Justice Helen Meyer. She will be the first African American woman on the state's highest court.
Mayors Chris Coleman and R.T. Rybak say a voter ID requirement would be too expensive and restrictive.
Rep. Paul Thissen and DFL Party Chair Ken Martin joined a growing chorus of political voices asking Rep. Kerry Gauthier, DFL-Duluth, to step aside.
The Minnesota State Court of Appeals today overturned a $60,000 judgment against a blogger.
In Washington
As the housing market remains slow to recover, some economists say President Barack Obama should have been more aggressive on foreclosures, the New York Times reports.
U.S. Senate Elections
The Associated Press reports that Missouri GOP candidate Rep. Todd Akin apologized for his comment that women's bodies are able to prevent pregnancies if they are victims of "a legitimate rape."
He says he will stay in the race.
Republicans distanced themselves from Akin's comments.
Super PACs planning to support Akin are pulling their money.
Health experts say Akin's claim isn't true.
The Presidential Campaign
Democrats are highlighting VP candidate Paul Ryan's opposition to abortion.
President Barack Obama defended the tenor of the campaign, and criticized Akin for his comments about rape and abortion.
Romney and the RNC once again outraised Obama and the DNC in July, according to new finance reports.
The Washington Post profiles this election's independent voters.
DFL leader moving beyond Gauthier
Posted at 12:30 PM on August 21, 2012
by Tim Pugmire
(5 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2012: Minn. House Races
The top Democrat in the Minnesota House not only wants Rep. Kerry Gauthier, DFL-Duluth, to end his re-election bid, but he also wants his name off of the November ballot.
House Minority leader Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis, told reporters today that he's exploring the options under state election law to remove Gauthier's name.
"It seems to me that there's a statute that's pretty clear that creates a mechanism for doing so," Thissen said.
A law passed after the Republican gubernatorial nominee Jon Grunseth left the race days before the election in 1990 appears to apply only to candidates for constitutional offices.
Police investigated Gauthier for his involvement in a sex act with a 17-year-old boy at a Duluth-area rest stop. Authorities did not press charges against the first-term legislator. But Thissen said in a news release Monday that the conduct was wrong and that he told Gauthier that he should withdraw from the race.
Two DFLers are already planning write-in campaigns. Thissen said he has not talked to either of those candidates. He said he expects a clear path to emerge in the coming days.
"My goal is that we get to a point where we have a unified campaign and that Democrats rally around one individual," Thissen said. "It's going to take some additional resources, but those resources are going to be what makes the difference."
Thissen, who was attending Vice President Joe Biden's campaign event in Minneapolis, said he thinks Gauthier is still trying to absorb the enormity of the situation. But he added that he expects Gauthier to make a decision about his political future soon.
(5 Comments)Biden rips into Romney in Minneapolis
Posted at 3:54 PM on August 21, 2012
by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2012, Campaign 2012: Presidential Race
(MPR photo/Jennifer Simonson)
Vice President Joe Biden told about 1,500 people at a campaign rally in Minneapolis today that he and President Obama is protecting the middle class while their Republican opponents are out of touch.
Biden criticized Mitt Romney for not releasing a more of his tax returns and for founding a private investment firm that invested in companies that shifted jobs from the U.S. to foreign countries. He said Romney's running mate Paul Ryan's budget plan would cut health care for ordinary Americans to give tax breaks to the country's wealthiest families.
"What's new about their plan?" Biden said. "What is new? It's not only not new, it's not fair, it's not right and the people paying the price for their new plan are the middle class and the working poor."
Biden said Romney's plan is essentially the same one George W. Bush used, which he said not only didn't create jobs, but also drove the economy to disaster.
You can listen to Biden's speech here: Listen
Biden also dropped in on the Minneapolis South High School Tigers football team practice this afternoon. You can listen to that visit here: Listen
Biden will hold another rally in Rochester later this afternoon.
Romney is scheduled to be in the Twin Cities on Thursday for a campaign fundraiser. No word yet on whether Romney will hold any public events during his Minnesota visit.
| August 2012 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | |
Master Archive
Recent Entries
- Last day of session underway
- Graves touts poll showing tight race with Bachmann
- The Daily Digest: Last Day of Session Edition
- House passes tax bill
- Senate passes pared down bonding bill
- Lawmaker pay amendment to go on 2016 ballot
- Senate won't vote on anti-bullying bill
- No legislative pay raise this session
- Lawmakers begin next to last day of session
- Elections and campaign finance bills draw bipartisan support
Categories
- 2011 Freshman class
- 2011 Shutdown
- Bachmann fact check
- Campaign 2008
- Campaign 2008: MN Legislature
- Campaign 2008: President
- Campaign 2008: U.S. MN CD1
- Campaign 2008: U.S. MN CD2
- Campaign 2008: U.S. MN CD3
- Campaign 2008: U.S. MN CD4
- Campaign 2008: U.S. MN CD5
- Campaign 2008: U.S. MN CD6
- Campaign 2008: U.S. Senate
- Campaign 2010
- Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor
- Campaign 2010: U.S. House
- Campaign 2010: U.S. MN CD1
- Campaign 2010: U.S. MN CD2
- Campaign 2010: U.S. MN CD3
- Campaign 2010: U.S. MN CD4
- Campaign 2010: U.S. MN CD5
- Campaign 2010: U.S. MN CD6
- Campaign 2010: U.S. MN CD7
- Campaign 2010: U.S. MN CD8
- Campaign 2012
- Campaign 2012: Minn. House Races
- Campaign 2012: Minn. Senate Races
- Campaign 2012: Presidential Race
- Campaign 2012: U.S. House
- Campaign 2012: U.S. MN CD1
- Campaign 2012: U.S. MN CD2
- Campaign 2012: U.S. MN CD3
- Campaign 2012: U.S. MN CD4
- Campaign 2012: U.S. MN CD5
- Campaign 2012: U.S. MN CD6
- Campaign 2012: U.S. MN CD7
- Campaign 2012: U.S. MN CD8
- Campaign 2012: U.S. Senate
- Daily Digest
- Iowa
- Mark Dayton
- Marriage Amendment
- Michele Bachmann
- MN Legislature
- MPR in D.C.
- Pawlenty fact check
- Pawlenty travel
- PoliGraph
- Political parties
- Recount
- Recount 2010
- Redistricting
- State Government
- Tim Pawlenty
- U.S. House
- U.S. Senate
- Vikings stadium
- Voter ID Amendment
About Poligraph
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. MoreServices
- Become a Member
- Member Connect Accounts
- Leadership Circle
- Sustaining Members
- Member Discounts
- Become a Sponsor
- Tax Information
- Planned Giving
- Vehicle Donation
- Donate Stock