Sometimes you’re proud of other Democrats and sometimes you’re not.
I think this proves conclusively the only person who would be worse for the city of Detroit than this group of chuckleheads would be L. Paul Bremer. Lets get that 8th grader elected to the Detroit City Council.
Erik Paulsen continued to demonstrate his lack of moderation yesterday when he voted against authorizing the University of Minnesota to conduct potentially life saving stem cell research. The bill Paulsen opposed, S.F. 100, clarifies state law and expressly permits the U to use state funds to work on stem cells. Due to current ambiguity in the law, the U follows the federal standard, which does not permit stem cell research on new lines.
Moderate Republicans like John Berns and Ron Erhardt voted for the bill, but Paulsen sided with conservatives in opposition.
Paulsen’s vote was shortsighted and wrong. Not only did vote to delay potentially life saving cures, but at a time when Minnesota is attempting to build the Silicon Valley of biotech, he voted to constrict pioneering research at the U. Jim Ramstad would have never cast this vote. I know this to be true because Ramstad has repeatedly voted in favor of stem cell research in the Congress. But then, Paulsen is by his own admission, “more conservative than Ramstad.”
State GOP has its own bookkeeping woes
“…the state GOP has some bookkeeping issues of its own, problems that persist despite a yearlong, self-initiated audit. The party has spent some $78,475 on accounting services since early 2007, according to its reports to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
Failure to fully disclose expenses, questionable transfers of funds, math errors and other reporting problems have been flagged by the FEC in 28 letters to the state GOP since mid-December 2006….
The DFL Party has been questioned 19 times by the FEC over reporting problems during the same period. The DFL, however, has been able to address the issues raised, with the exception of what it calls a persistent software glitch.
The problems with the GOP bookkeeping take on added weight given the party’s attacks on Franken for irregularities with workers’ compensation and disability insurance premiums and the filing of taxes.
Last month, GOP party chairman Ron Carey said, “Why do Hollywood celebrities think there is one set of rules for them and one set of rules for everyone else when it comes to paying taxes?”
A left-leaning blogger tried to ask Carey about the party’s FEC reports at a news conference the GOP called last week to highlight Franken’s problems. Carey dismissed him, saying the press briefing “is something for our credentialed media here.”
Carey did not respond this week to Star Tribune requests for an interview about the FEC filings.”
(emphasis mine)
We’ve highlighted the Republican party’s incompetence in getting its financial house in order previously, make sure you check out our posts here, here, and here.
It’s time to bring this to an end.
To the Clinton’s and their campaign, congratulations you have run a campaign that has defied expectations since rebounding from your loss in Iowa to make a fight out of every week since then. You’ve run a campaign that you can be proud of; you’ve redefined tenacity. But it’s time. The ground rules of the game were clearly established last year. You agreed to abide by those rules then and to try and say now that different set of rules applies is disingenuous at best. And according to those rules it is a mathematical impossibility for you to win the nomination without overturning the will of the popular vote and the popularly elected delegates.
Senator Clinton, as a supporter of Eugene McCarthy the lessons of the summer of 1968 shouldn’t need repeating, should they?
If you want to get past the fact that you cannot mathematically win the Democratic endorsement for President, but still want to bear this out to it’s bitter end; I think there are a few things you should keep in mind.
Two weeks ago John McCain was in Selma Alabama. Republicans don’t go to Selma Alabama to praise civil rights workers, they go to Philadelphia Mississippi to praise ’states rights’. But as long as John McCain is running basically unopposed for the Presidency he can do just that, he can reach out not just to the independents that he needs to win the election but as well he can start to appeal to cores of the Democratic base who are frustrated with this bloodsport. Every day that the Democratic party doesn’t have a candidate is a day that John McCain can promote his message unencumbered by the responses that would come from a competing Presidential campaign. Every day that the Democratic party doesn’t have a candidate is another day that John McCain can raise money for the general election and another day that the Democratic party’s nominee can’t. Every day that the Democratic party doesn’t have a candidate is another day that John McCain and the Republican party can orchestrate their coordinated campaigns and messages and it puts the Democratic party one day further from having a coordinated campaign and message. This isn’t just hurting our chances at winning the Presidency it’s hurting our chances at winning Congressional and Senate seats.
Senator Clinton– it’s time.
To the remaining undecided superdelegates– it’s time. It’s time to bring this to an end. For our party to win in November and beyond, we need a resolution. Make your decision, and make it known.
I’ll be over at MNMonitor as a panelist for their liveblog tonight. Come check it out at www.mnmonitor.com .
(If there is anything to liveblog by then– CNN calls NC for Obama– looks to be a sizable victory)
Mark Buesgens is one of the most conservative members of the Minnesota House and a frequent critic of DFL efforts to provide property tax relief to average Minnesotans.
Yesterday, the House debated a tax bill that would have provided millions of dollars of property tax relief for average Minnesotans. Buesgens railed against the bill on the floor and then voted against it, just like he voted against property tax relief during the 2007 session. Why? Well, It might be because Buesgens has his very own property tax relief plan: just don’t pay them.
According to his Economic Interest Statement, Buesgens has a mortgage on a property at 1129 Selby Ave in St. Paul. A Lexis Nexis search of public records confirms that Buesgens bought the property in October of 2006. No problem there (though it is a little bit curious that the records list 1129 as “owner occupied.” Don’t you live in Jordan Rep. Buesgens?)
Here’s the problem: Ramsey County property tax records show that the 1129 Selby Ave has delinquent taxes outstanding. This, of course, explains everything. People who don’t pay their property taxes don’t need property tax relief.
We’re Andrew Sullivan fans around here. His write up for Barack Obama last December was one of the most poignant and compelling arguments for the ascendant candidacy of Barack Obama. But this week he has done the impossible, made an equally compelling argument for an Obama-Clinton ticket.
Obama-Clinton, a hate-filled dream ticket
I never thought I’d even consider it; but times change; politics shifts, and in the roiling flux of this American campaign, a bold unifying gesture could make the Democratic ticket — and an Obama presidency — unstoppable almost overnight. It’s still highly unlikely, but so was JF Kennedy running with Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan running with the first George Bush….
The conservative white voters that Clinton has amazingly managed to attract could be combined with the massive infusion of new young votes, internet money, and African-American enthusiasm to create a potential tsunami in the election. Instead of having to pick between the first black president and the first woman president, the Democrats could offer voters both: the first black president and first female vice-president. Worries about Obama’s relative youth and lack of Washington experience would be allayed by the presence of the Clintons. The toxicity of the Clinton baggage could be balanced by the hope Obama has inspired.
The Clintons could be deployed to shore up support in some of the Reagan Democrat states, while Obama wins over enough independents to carry the Mountain West and the upper Midwest. California, Ohio, New York, Florida and Pennsylvania could be secured. The downside? They hate each other. Over this campaign, Obama’s supporters, along with many others, have been taken aback by the raw, unprincipled bare-knuckle politics that the Clintons have unleashed against the greatest talent to emerge in national politics since Bill Clinton himself….
There’s also a way for Obama to explain this choice in a way that does not violate — and in fact strengthens — his core message. His model in this should be Abraham Lincoln. What Lincoln did, as Doris Kearns Goodwin explained in her brilliant book, “Team Of Rivals,” was to bring his most bitter opponents into his cabinet in order to maintain national and party unity at a time of crisis. Obama — who is a green legislator from Illinois, just as Lincoln was — could signal to his own supporters in picking Clinton that he isn’t capitulating to old politics, he is demonstrating his capacity to reach out and engage and co-opt his rivals and opponents. Done deftly, picking Clinton could even resonate with Obama’s supporters as a statesmanlike gesture, a sign of the kind of reconciliation he wants to achieve at home and abroad and energize his own party for the fall….
The JFK-LBJ argument is a compelling one. Barack Obama by choosing Hillary Clinton as his running mate can bring someone who like LBJ is intimately familiar with the slings, arrows and brickbats of modern politics, as well he can give her a portfolio, Sullivan specifically mentions Health Care reform to occupy her time and energies.
A month ago I would have spat and cursed at the ground if someone brought up this scenario, but it’s time to start considering it.
Yesterday Matt posted about a push poll that we were getting reports about– we’ve gotten some information this afternoon that the push poll was not put in the field by a partisan group but instead by KSTP the Twin Cities ABC affiliate.
Again, we’re getting that there are two questions: would you be more or less likely to vote for Franken knowing he was paying $70,000 after incorrectly filing his tax returns? And, should he drop out?
Like Matt said yesterday, this is a push poll for two reasons, first it doesn’t contain all of the information about the situation, it fails to mention that Franken paid taxes on the entire amount and then it asks the associated damaging question about whether or not he should drop out.
I’m curious to see why exactly a news network which should be devoted to journalistic integrity would put out a poll like this and how they’re going to try and report on the erroneous poll. I didn’t see anything on their broadcasts earlier today, or on At Issue and there is nothing on their website , yet– I’ll be watching the 10:00 news tonight to see if they report on this.
UPDATE: It’s a KSTP-Survey USA poll. They’re saying Coleman is up 10%, the same amount from March . with 51% saying that Franken should drop out, based on the misleading questions reported previously. The information isn’t up yet, and we’ll keep you informed as we find out more information.
The Minnesota House voted Thursday to raise Minnesota’s minimum wage to $7.90 an hour in July of 2009 (just 65 cents higher than the federal minimum will be at that time). Several moderate Republicans broke ranks with their caucus and voted for the increase, including Jim Abeler, Dennis Ozment, and Larry Howes. Republican support was not limited to moderates. Steve Smith, one of the more conservative members of the GOP Caucus, also voted for the bill.
Erik Paulsen, however, once again put his conservative ideology ahead of ordinary Minnesotans and voted against the bill. This is still more proof that Paulsen is no Jim Ramstad, who has voted to increase the federal minimum wage on several occasions.
As a special side note to a frequent commenter, the bill includes a provision that will index the minimum wage to inflation starting in 2010. Gov. Pawlenty, who claims to be supportive of a minimum wage increase, has threatened to veto the bill if it contains this provision:
Pawlenty called the bill “overbaked” and said changes are needed before he will support it.
The GOP governor said the wage shouldn’t be linked to inflation and workers who make more than $15 or $20 an hour in tips shouldn’t get the entire increase. Unlike some states, Minnesota doesn’t set a lower minimum wage for waitresses, waiters, bartenders and other workers who make tips.
Too bad, Minnesotans deserve better.
I always hesitate to post items on this blog that suggest a political angle when I really have none because it seems almost inevitable that anything on a political blog will be interpreted as just that, political. But I couldn’t help but share a link to these stunning images of the immediate aftermath of Hiroshima that have just recently been made available for reproduction. They certainly aren’t pleasant viewing on a Sunday morning, but for as many times as I’ve read about Hiroshima, I certainly haven’t seen it from such a visceral and raw perspective before.
These are rough to look at, but I think the pictures are incredibly important from a historical perspective (and, again, I’m really not trying to make a pro or anti-Hiroshima comment here). Take a look, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
I’ve been hearing reports that people are getting push-poll calls on Al Franken asking if they’ve heard that he owes “70 thousand dollars in taxes” and if that information leads them to think he should drop out of the race. This is pretty text-book push polling as, apparently, the calls fail to mention the fact that taxes on this income was, albeit erroneously, paid in full in Minnesota and New York and then asks an associated damaging question of whether he’ll drop out. Moreover, anyone who does polling on these type of issues will tell you that the results will be meaningless when the polling is done so close to the news story breaking.
So, that’s why I’m thinking it’s maybe a partisan group? Or maybe the MN GOP? What do you guys think; have you heard anything about this?
Our congratulations go out to Steve Sarvi who was endorsed by acclimation after the first ballot (perennial candidate Peter Idusogie was nominated for endorsement as well).
Like we said last night it’s the first step in a long race to beat John Kline, but congratulations to Steve!
The Sarvi press release after the jump.
I’ll be on the radio today for a two-hour program from 3-5 p.m. on AM 1280 The Patriot . Filling in for King Banaian of SCSU Scholars while he recuperates from having his gall bladder removed.
Michael has always been polite and respectful when I’ve been on his show and in our personal interaction. I encourage all of our readers to listen in and call in at 651-289-4488 as we discuss current political events.
And, it deserves saying here, and I’ll make sure to say it on air, I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge my beautiful wife as I go cavorting on the radio on her birthday.
Tomorrow morning Steve Sarvi is going to be endorsed by the 2nd CD DFL. It’s the first step in a long campaign to unseat John Kline. But he needs your help, you can start by donating to him here . The DFL thought that Sarvi’s impending endorsement was time to drop a little science on everyone with this handy little reminder of the shifting demographics of the Second Congressional District.
In our recent write up about the race we mention how Steve needs your cash, and we weren’t joking, donate to him here (hey, that tax rebate can either go to stuff made in China or go towards the local economy by buying pizza for haggard volunteers, or towards helping our local printers… you get the idea) and just as importantly, sign up to volunteer for Steve here . It’s bad luck to clap before the fat lady sings, so I’ll save my congratulations for tomorrow, but we all might as well start preparing for the next 5 months now.
People are Shouting