I think we all saw this one coming. Coleman announced today, after initially declaring his support and then opposition, that he voted for the CAFTA bill. From the AP:
Sen. Norm Coleman, who has said he would not vote for the Central American Free Trade Agreement unless concerns of the sugar industry were met, came out in favor of the deal Wednesday after securing concessions meant to protect sugar growers.
But he conceded that the industry is still not on board.
Hmm… sounds a little fishy doesn’t it? So basically after trying to protect the interests of Minnesotan farmers in a cheap bid for votes, Coleman collapsed under the Administration’s pressure. Why did he collapse? He doesn’t have any internally generated thoughts, duh. This is just another showing of Coleman the politician, willing to do anything for votes and sell anyone out to cover his own ass. Man, how did Paul get replaced with his polar opposite!?
With the midnight deadline looming and a partial government shutdown seeming almost certain, I think it’s important to note who the political winners and losers are in this whole debacle.
LOSERS
Tim Pawlenty – The federal government shutdown in 1995 enabled Bill Clinton’s political resurrection, but Tim Pawlenty is, to put it mildly, no Bill Clinton. In 1995, Clinton appeared principled and strong as he stood up to the extremist agenda of Newt Gingrich. Pawlenty, on the other hand, has looked weak and ineffective throughout this whole ordeal. He lost the principled high ground when he put a cigarette tax increase on the table (a move which also alienated his political base and quashed his national ambitions). If the government shuts down, I think his reelection is in serious jeopardy.
Dean Johnson - If a shutdown hurts anyone more than Tim Pawlenty it’s Dean Johnson. He looked ridiculous when he was the only legislative leader unwilling to accompany Pawlenty to Camp Ripley for around-the-clock negotiations and he’s quickly earning the dreaded “obstructionist” label. For Johnson, who is rumored to be interested in running for Governor, a shutdown could prove to be disastrous.
WINNERS
Speaker Sviggum - In 2004, the democrats gained 13 seats in Sviggum’s chamber by campaigning against the “do-nothing legislature”. A conspiracy theory floating around in DFL circles is that Sviggum wants the government to shut down in order to gain a competitive advantage when he tries to regain these seats in 2006. I don’t know if this is all part of Sviggum’s master plan, but I do think it helps him more than it hurts. Sviggum, moreover, has done a masterful job at staying out of the spotlight as this episode has unfolded. The media has portrayed this as Pawlenty v. Johnson, with Sviggum, Entenza and Day as supporting characters.
Mike Hatch - The AG is a winner only because he isn’t a loser. With no part in the budget process, Hatch should be able to avoid the fallout pretty easily. And as a likely candidate for Governor in 2006, anything that hurts Pawlenty helps Hatch.
Published by Zack 2 years, 10 months ago
in Blog.
I thought it would be a good idea to briefly introduce myself before I begin posting on this site. Like Matt, I’m from Minnesota but went out of state for college. Currently, I am a rising senior at Knox College in Galesburg, IL, where my major is public policy analysis. I’m a lifelong democrat who was inspired into political activism by the late Sen. Paul Wellstone. At this point, that’s all the background information that’s necessary; I’ll fill in the blanks as time goes on. Right now, there are many more important subjects to tackle.
As many of you have probably noticed, my posting has gotten very sporadic. I really wish that I could keep on top of this blog a bit better but I am finding that my summer schedule is making that very difficult. So over the next few weeks I’m going to try to get things in line. The first step was buying a new computer (see below) but the more important step may be getting a friend or two on board to post alongside yours truly. I haven’t done this before because my college schedule allowed enough free time to do it solo but, more importantly, I hadn’t previously found anyone familiar enough with Minnesota politics and similar enough to myself in opinions and drive to be comfortable with such a move. But things have changed, and I think we’ll be giving it a shot.
Hopefully we can get this back on track because Minnesota is going to need some strong progressive voices in the near future!
I finally did it. I bought a new laptop.
After waiting for 3 years for a Powerbook G5 to materialize, I’ve given up and ordered a Powerbook G4 to replace my archaic G3. Apple announced (about a month ago) that it is going to switch to intel processors, but in that same announcement they said that this transition will not make it to the pro line until 2007. So I give up, you got me Apple, you got me.
For all of the PC users out there: do you hate yourself?
What does this mean for my audience? Well, now that approaching my computer won’t be masochistic, maybe I’ll start posting more regularly again (keep your fingers crossed!). And the slick backlight keyboard will help me type in front of my TV with the lights off (picture’s better in a dim room).
(I know the picture is a bit big, but it seems fitting)
Well, I’m back… obviously (sorry, late again). I’ve been mulling over the experience of this past weekend in my head trying to think of how to present a review of the camp. I am realizing that there’s a problem: I don’t have much negative to say. It was, overall, a very positive experience; one that I would recommend to anyone with the proper prerequisites (interest in politics, progressive, and close to a camp area).
I participated in the “working on a campaign track” and had a wonderful time. The lectures were actually very well presented, with a couple exceptions, and actually applicable (applicability of education is a foreign concept given my liberal arts background). Occasionally things did get slow as some lecturers were stronger than others, but I was impressed with the overall quality given these people are volunteers.
A few suggestions to people interested in the program:
- REGISTER EARLY!!! I can’t stress this one enough. The spots fill up really fast so get on their list so that you get an e-mail first thing when registration opens up (go to their website). Especially if you live in Minnesota.
- Go with friends. This isn’t a must, but it would have made things much better. Hotels are way cheaper when you can split it and Saturday night in Rochester (or wherever the camp is you’re going to) when you know no one isn’t exactly a non-stop fun fest.
- Make it applicable! I know I would have gotten more out of the program had I been deeply involved with a local or district level campaign. The more involved you are in a given race, the more you will get out of the program.
- Network. One of the best parts about the program is that you will be meeting people with like interests that are deeply involved in politics. Work the crowd, take some names, don’t be afraid of imposing, they’ll probably be doing the same.
I really do recommend it. It was not perfect, there were spots of boredom, but there isn’t any other program like it. And for us newbies it is a great crash course in the nitty-gritties of the political world.
Paul Wellstone is a personal hero. He is a large reason of why I got into politics. Anything I can do to keep his legacy alive and continue what he started is A-Okay by me.
I’m at Camp Wellstone for the weekend so posts will be minimal. I’ve heard good things about it and so far I don’t have any complaints but I’ll have a full review for you at the end of the weekend. Of interest is that State Senator Steve Kelley is here with a couple of his Governor campaign staffers. At least that makes the whole thing feel more legitimate!
Apparently Police in Germany are after vandals who have been going around sticking miniature flags with President Bush’s face on them into piles of dog poop. Go here for a picture.
I have to admit that it’s been a fairly slow day for local news and my internet connection is moving incredibly slow for some reason (dear God I miss Dartmouth and its direct fiber optic connection).
This is pretty interesting though (from the Pioneer Press):
A coalition seeking to block President Bush’s Social Security overhaul agenda is targeting Rep. Jim Ramstad as a “vulnerable” Republican who could be persuaded to help defeat the president’s controversial proposal.
Americans United to Protect Social Security, a coalition of organizations opposing the president’s plan to create private savings accounts, believes it can “administer the coup de grace” to Bush’s plan by targeting eight Republican congressmen on the House Ways and Means Committee, including Ramstad, R-Minnetonka.
“We look at members of the Ways and Means Committee who we see as particularly vulnerable on this issue,” coalition spokeswoman Cara Morris said. “We see Ramstad as being in a position where he needs to listen to his constituents on this, instead of toeing the party line and blindly following the president’s plan.”
To be perfectly honest this probably doesn’t mean a hell of a lot for Ramstad. If he blocks Bush’s Social Security plan he can talk about how he’s not a cookie-cutter Republican and if he votes for it he’ll just be one in a sea of Bush supporting Republicans so it probably can’t be made into a big point of attack, even though his opponent will inevitably try in the next election. The man wins the district by embarrassing margins every round; being an incumbent in Congress is a pretty sweet deal.
When I set up this blog I did so because I felt that there was an unfortunate tendency in the political blogging community to get too caught up in rhetoric and party extremism. I do admit that I perceive of this as a larger problem in the conservative blogs but I will readily acknowledge that it is a problem in many progressive blogs as well. Although I often find the conservative blogs going too far, today I found an example of the left: Operation Yellow Elephant.
A quick excerpt from Patriot Boy’s blog as to the intentions of the “Operation”:
The objective of OPERATION YELLOW ELEPHANT is to recruit College Republicans and Young Republicans to serve as infantry. They demanded this war and now viciously support it. It’s only right that they also experience it.
Too much… too far over the top.
Yes it is humorous, yes it points out a possible hypocrisy, it might even be slightly clever, but it damages our arguments as liberals by crossing a line. I am as upset about the war in Iraq as much as the next Democrat but once our troops set foot in Iraq we were in this one together. I will point to problems with the war freely and readily but I will never dishonor the troops who so loyally serve their country. We are all Americans and regardless of political opinions or ideological differences we share the burden of our national actions, no matter who makes the choice. The correct avenues of change are through the representatives we elect, through collective debate and discussion. Neither Democrats nor Republicans will win elections for any extended period by dividing the population, demographics are always changing, allegiances always shifting; it is in unity that we succeed.
This is why I think Operation Yellow Elephant is an ill-conceived program of rhetoric; its only possible outcome is the encouragement of division and antagonism. I don’t mean to lecture, as I admit that I do not always play by the rules I preach, but I believe that productive and respectful debate is the only way to move forward. And as a progressive, moving forward is what I’m all about.
Senator Joe Biden Jr. revealed yesterday on Face the Nation that he has presidential ambitions. This had long been assumed but Biden made things official with his remarks:
My intention now is to seek the nomination … If, in fact, I think I have a clear shot at winning the nomination, by this November or December, then I’m going to seek the nomination
I like Biden, actually. Will he make a good candidate? I honestly don’t know at this stage. He has a history of rocking the boat which people like to an extent but the Republican Party may be able to use that to push his image far left, which is not true in reality. Also a potential pitfall is his northeast groundings. Biden could, potentially, get stuck in that same east-coast liberal trap that Kerry did in 2004. If Biden can navigate these troubles, however, he could make for a great candidate, if he keeps himself in line. Man 2008 is going to be interesting!
Everyone is getting pretty upset over the remarks Senator Durbin made regarding Guantanamo Bay and I have to admit that they were a bit over the top. Yet no one seems to recall that a member of the opposite party made just as egregious of a remark a little more than a month ago. Yes when Senator Rick Santorum was lambasting the use of the filibuster against judicial nominations (that worked out by the way) he said this about the Democrats:
It’s the equivalent of Adolf Hitler in 1942 saying, ‘I’m in Paris. How dare you invade me? How dare you bomb my city? It’s mine.’
Now I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but don’t you think comparing the tactics of the opposite political party directly to Hitler is worse than using the remarks of a FBI agent that compares Guantanamo to Nazi camps? But now that the Republican party is calling for blood no one seems to remember Santorum’s comparison. Then, showing the true difference between the two parties, Durbin apologized, recognizing the mistake he had made:
I have learned from my statement that historical parallels can be misused and misunderstood. I sincerely regret if what I said caused anyone to misunderstand my true feelings: Our soldiers around the world and their families at home deserve our respect, admiration and total support.
Just another example of the hypocrisy of some of the Republican Party leaders.
It’s getting late and I have work tomorrow, so this is going to be a quicky, but look into it because it is interesting and important. So remember how the Republicans in Congress are essentially trying to kill Public Broadcasting by stopping funding, throwing around allegations that has been transformed into a publicly funded liberal propaganda campaign. Well turns out that statement is true, but for conservatives not liberals. Looks as though the Republican chairman was keeping some conservative political lobbyists on the rolls for various biased reasons. One of those guys was the same aide who resigned from McCain’s office after his memo detailing how the Schiavo case could be politically exploited for political gains. Hmm… liberal bastion huh? Read about it (really, read it) here(NY Times registration required).
Umm…. Dr. Frist, I’m pretty sure that whether or not you made an official “diagnosis” isn’t the important fact. I think people are more concerned about how you headed the whole Schiavo saving bill based on the idea that she wasn’t in a persistive vegitative state and now it turns out she was… for sure. Given that set of circumstances, this is the best you’ve got!? (NY Times):
The Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, who drew criticism earlier this year after reviewing images of Terri Schiavo on videotape and then suggesting that she was responsive, defended himself on Thursday, a day after an autopsy report showed that she had suffered irreversible brain damage.
“People said: ‘Bill Frist, you’re making a diagnosis. Doctor, you’re trying to wear your white coat on the floor of the Senate,’ ” said Dr. Frist, a heart-lung transplant surgeon. “I never made a diagnosis. I wouldn’t even attempt to make a diagnosis from a videotape.”
What a douche bag.
Do I really need to say anything more than this?(from the NY Times):
Forty-two percent of the people responding to the poll said they approved of the way Mr. Bush was handling his job, a marked decline from his 51 percent rating after of the November election, when he embarked on an ambitious second term agenda led by the overhaul of Social Security. Sixteen months before the midterm elections, Congress fared even worse in the survey, with the approval of just 33 percent of the respondents, and 19 percent saying Congress shared their priorities.
Despite months of presidential effort, the nationwide poll found the public is not rallying toward Mr. Bush’s vision of a new Social Security that would allow younger workers to put part of their payroll taxes into private investment accounts. Two-thirds said they were uneasy about Mr. Bush’s ability to make sound decisions on Social Security. Only 25 percent said they approved of the way Mr. Bush was handling Social Security, down slightly from what the poll found in March.
Moreover, 45 percent said the more they heard about the Bush plan, the less they liked it. The survey also found the public shared the growing skepticism in Washington about Mr. Bush’s prospects for success on Social Security, with most saying they did not think Mr. Bush would succeed.
MAN! If I were the GOP heading into the 2006 elections, I’d be a little worried, but then again I’m not the GOP. Yes, it’s finally looking up for Democrats, but let’s not let that make us complacent!
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