Capitol View: September 21, 2012 Archive
Cravaack announces endorsements from officials who had backed DFLer Anderson
Posted at 12:48 PM on September 21, 2012
by Mark Zdechlik
(3 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2012: U.S. MN CD8
Eighth District Republican Congressman Chip Cravaack's re-election campaign says Cravaack has the endorsements of two elected officials who backed a Democrat in the primary.
Both Ely Mayor Roger Skraba and St. Louis County Commissioner Mike Forsman had endorsed Democrat Jeff Anderson in the primary race to nominate a Democrat to run against Cravaack. Rick Nolan won the primary and will face Cravaack in November.
A release from the Cravaack campaign quoted both Skraba and Forsman.
"Three of the biggest reasons I support Chip: his leadership on the BWCA land swap, his unwavering support for mining, and his strong opposition to any additional gun control. Chip will be good for our communities and good for jobs," said Skraba.
"Like me, Chip is a union man and a veteran. I've been a lifelong Democrat, but I'll be splitting my ticket in November and voting for Chip Cravaack for Congress," said Forsman.
PoliGraph: Ad hitting Cravaack goes one for two
Posted at 2:05 PM on September 21, 2012
by Catharine Richert
(1 Comments)
Filed under: PoliGraph
If you live in Minnesota's politically competitive 8th Congressional District, get used to seeing a lot of campaign ads in the race between Republican Congressman Chip Cravaack and his DFL challenger Rick Nolan.
In the latest round of spots launched this week, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) takes aim at Cravaack's record on education policy.
"Cravaack voted to cut Pell Grants for 23,000 Minnesota college students. He voted to cut overall education funding by $115 billion. And Cravaack supported eliminating the Department of Education," the "Tradition" ad states.
The DCCC's spot mixes truth and fiction.
The Evidence
The point of the DCCC's ad is to paint Cravaack as out of touch with Minnesota's educational tradition.
The first part of the ad's claim about Pell Grants refers to U.S. House Budget Committee chairman and GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan's fiscal year 2012 budget resolution. The document isn't legally binding. It's a broad blueprint for how Congress should spend cash. It's up to the appropriations committees that decide where to put the money.
Pell Grants are meant for low-income college students. Prior to the passage of the 2009 stimulus bill, grants were capped at $4,731, according to the New America Foundation. The stimulus bill increased that cap to $5,550. But Ryan's fiscal year 2012 budget resolution stated that the grants be returned to their "pre-stimulus levels" to curb rising inflation and it included a series of new eligibility limits.
The Department of Education estimated that such changes would cut aid for 1.4 million students including 23,755 Minnesota students.
The GOP's budget resolution stalled in the Senate. As part of a massive funding bill for multiple federal departments, both chambers ultimately agreed to maintain current Pell Grant caps but require new eligibility limits, too. Cravaack voted against that measure.
Cravaack's spokesman, Michael Bars, said that Cravaack has protected Pell Grants by voting to make the program more sustainable.
"The program must be put on more stable footing," wrote Bars in an email. "Currently, the program is on an unsustainable trajectory that serves only to put the program at greater risk of ultimately being unable to fulfill its promises to students."
In 2012, Cravaack also voted in favor of his party's fiscal year 2013 budget resolution. It included $897 billion in unspecified cuts in domestic spending.
So, how did the DCCC come up with $115 billion cut to the Department of Education?
The number is from the White House, and it's speculative. The Office of Management and Budget assumed that the cuts were spread equally across all areas of the budget, which would mean $115 billion less in funding for the Department of Education over 10 years.
But that's not what Cravaack voted for, as the ad states. He voted for a measure than included $897 billion in unspecified cuts. Right now, the House and Senate are hashing out a deal to keep the government funded through next March. That bill, which Cravaack also voted for, doesn't cut education department funding.
It's true that Cravaack said he wanted to eliminate the Department of Education. In a 2010 interview with Sue Jeffers, an activist involved in Republican politics, Cravaack said:
"I do not see a place for the Department of Education. All the Department of Education does is redistribute the wealth that we give the government and then takes a nice little chunk for itself and then passes it on to our schools. We eliminate the Department of Education, it is a states' issue. The states are in charge of the education."
The Verdict
The DCCC's has some truth to it. It's accurate to say that Cravaack voted to cut scale back Pell Grants, which would have meant roughly 23,000 Minnesotans could have lost their funding. And it's also true that Cravaack said he wanted to eliminate the Department of Education.
But the ad's second claim that Cravaack voted to cut education department funding by $115 billion is false. That's a speculative number from the White House.
SOURCES
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, "Tradition", 9.14.12
Department of Education, Pell Grants, accessed Sept. 21, 2012
THOMAS, H Con Res 34, fiscal year 2012 budget resolution, May 2, 2011
THOMAS, roll call vote on H Con Res 34, April 15, 2011
THOMAS, roll call vote on HR 2055, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012, Dec. 16, 2011
THOMAS, roll call vote on H Con Res 112, fiscal year 2013 budget resolution, March 29, 2012
THOMAS, H. J. Res. 117, Six month continuing resolution, accessed Sept. 20, 2012
THOMAS, roll call vote H. J. Res 117, Sept. 13, 2012
The New America Foundation, Revisiting Ryan Versus Obama on Pell Grants, by Jason Delisle, Aug. 14, 2012
The New America Foundation, Congress Reaches Pell Grant Funding Agreement for Fiscal Year 2012, by Jason Delisle, Dec. 13, 2011
House Budget Committee, Strengthening the Social Safety Net, accessed Sept. 21, 2012
NASFAA, House GOP FY2012 Budget Outline Would Deny Pell Grants to 1.4M Students, April 20, 2011
Education and Workforce Committee, New Data: Pell Grant Program By State: Current Maximum vs. GOP Budget, accessed Sept. 20, 2012
NASFAA, Summary of Student Aid Changes in FY 2012 Budget Bill, Dec. 16, 2011
The White House, Office of Management and Budget, The Ryan-Republican Budget: The Consequences of Imbalance, March 21, 2012
Libertarian Party of Minnesota, Cravaack interview with Sue Jeffers, March 12, 2010
Email exchange, Haley Morris, spokesperson for the DCCC, Sept. 20, 2012
Email exchange, Michael Bars, spokesman, Rep. Chip Cravaack, Sept. 21, 2012
(1 Comments)Gary Johnson campaigns in Minnesota
Posted at 5:23 PM on September 21, 2012
by Tom Scheck
(2 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2012, Campaign 2012: Presidential Race
Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson brought his campaign to Minnesota this afternoon.
Johnson is a former Republican governor of New Mexico who joined the Libertarian Party after unsuccessfully seeking the Republican presidential nomination. Speaking at Macalester College to about 150 people he said he'll push to privatize Social Security, abolish the Federal Reserve and repeal the Patriot Act. Johnson also said he'd push for relaxing the nation's drug laws.
"I am the only candidate who wants to end the drug war," Johnson said. "Let's legalize marijuana now."
Johnson says he'll likely be on the ballot in all 50 states. He dismissed suggestions that he'd be a spoiler candidate for Republican Mitt Romney or President Obama. He suggested that he'll win the race if everyone "wastes their votes and votes for me."
Johnson also took a firm stance on foreign policy. He said the U.S. should not be intervening in the affairs of other countries.
"I call for vacating our embassies right now," Johnson said. "Why make ourselves a target in the Middle East? I think more people are understanding that we have become the symbol of everything that is wrong in the world."
Johnson also worked to distinguish himself from Romney and Obama. He said he's the only candidate in the race that has a favorable rating in their home state.
"In New Mexico, people wave at me with all five fingers not just one," Johnson joked.
Johnson appeared with former Gov. Jesse Ventura. Ventura told the audience that Johnson is the only viable alternative to President Obama and Republican Mitt Romney.
"The more votes that Gary gets, the more scare it's going to put it into the system," Ventura said.
Johnson's visit is a part of a larger tour of college campuses across the country.
You can listen to Johnson's speech here: Listen
You can listen to the brief q and a with the audience here: Listen
Ventura speaks out against proposed constitutional amendments
Posted at 6:57 PM on September 21, 2012
by Tom Scheck
(4 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2012, Marriage Amendment, Voter ID Amendment
Former Governor Jesse Ventura is speaking out against both constitutional amendments on the November ballot. Ventura recorded a video message earlier this month speaking out against a proposed amendment that would ban same-sex marriage. He also told a group of people at Macalester College that he opposed a proposed amendment that would require people to present photo identification to vote. He told MPR News he felt the amendment was aimed at reducing voter fraud that he says isn't there.
"It's clearly being done to disenfranchise poor people, immigration people, whoever. And you notice who sponsors it? The people who don't normally get those people's votes are the big sponsors of Voter ID. It sounds good on the surface but it sucks."
Supporters of the voter ID amendment argue it's needed to ensure integrity in the state's election system.
Ventura made his comments during a rally for presidential candidate Gary Johnson, who is running as a Libertarian.
Ventura also said the same-sex marriage debate is an issue of civil rights. He said he believes the constitution should protect an individual's rights.
"It should not be on a ballot for the public to make that decision because you're asking a majority to make a decision that affects a minority," Ventura said. "If they allowed that, we'd probably still have slavery."
If the measure against gay marriage goes into the constitution, Ventura said it's unlikely he'd continue to live in Minnesota.
Ventura did speak in favor of a constitutional amendment on the federal level. He said he would favor an amendment that says corporations do not have the rights of individuals and money is not free speech.
"This decision by the Supreme Court is going to be the downfall of our country," he said.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that corporations and unions can spend unlimited money to influence political campaigns.
Here's Ventura full speech at the Johnson rally: Listen
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