This sums up Coleman’s biggest failure to our country in under two minutes. The url at the end of the video: alfranken.com/normsdodge
Monthly Archive for September, 2008
Walz is going to win in a landslide in CD1. More commentary on this ad from Ollie Ox.
Dean Barkley, the candidate that some in the media thought came out of nowhere when his name on Senate polls changed from “Other,” just flipped his position on the bailout. From the Star Tribune, less than 48 hours ago:
Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley, who practiced real estate law and once owned a mortgage brokerage firm, said that he would hold his nose and reluctantly vote for the bailout. “I just hope it doesn’t become a Christmas tree,” he said.
Wow. Before you could start singing O Tannenbaum or come up with a better analogy his decision to vote for something that might become a $700 Gazillion Balsam Fir changed:
Barkley Says ‘No’ to Immediate Action on Bail-Out Bill
…
PLYMOUTH, Minn.—Dean Barkley, the Independence Party candidate for U.S. Senate, said today that Congress should not vote on a bail-out package before adjourning at the end of the month.
So why the reversal? Figured he could work with Bachmann on this one? Or maybe he’s seeing he can cater to Ron Paul supporters? Or is this just part of his flailing-arms “look, I’m even more different than those two are different because I truly have no idea what’s going on here” strategy?
Addendum: So who do you want as a Senator in a time of tragedy? Someone who understands the situation inside and out and is clear where he stands, someone who can’t talk to anyone for two days until he gets his White House talking points or someone that still is figuring out where he stands?
Featuring Iraq War veteran Sam Scott:
This email just came out from Stu Rosenberg at the Madia campaign:
Did They Think We Wouldn’t Notice?
Dear Sean,
When I opened my email this morning, I had a message from Bill Newman of Brooklyn Center:“I just got push-polled by some Karl Rove wanna-be. It ticked me off enough to contribute $500. Good luck and God Speed. I am so sick of this kind of Nixon Now Campaigning by the Republican Machine.”
Bill Newman noticed. Then he wrote a check.
Join Bill in fighting the Republican Attack Machine. Give generously today.
Like all Republican smear tactics, push polls are used to scare voters. What the Republicans don’t realize is that we won’t be fooled. Voters are demanding more from this election, and they’re demanding better from candidates. They want solutions to the issues our nation now faces; they don’t want more of the same failed policies of the last eight years. The Republicans’ Karl Rove playbook won’t work in 2008.
Battle the Republican attacks on our campaign today. Give $25, $50 or more.
Nancy Cooley of Maple Grove wrote to say she received a “survey”:
“As the caller got into his question, I heard a very negative slant against Madia. I felt it was a con and very negative. It angered me, and I told the caller this as I hung up.”
We’re angry, too, Nancy. Help us combat these deceitful Republican lies. Give $50, $100 or $200 today.
Another email. This one from Warren Blechert of Excelsior:
“I received a call from someone representing himself as a pollster. After several harmless questions, he asked me a disgraceful question designed to make me think less of Ashwin Madia. His next question was even more disgusting … He was only interested in changing my opinion in a devious, dishonest way … It made me certain that someone is desperately trying to discredit an honorable Iraq War vet who happens to be my choice for the U.S Congress. Some people will stop at nothing to try to persuade citizens to vote against Ashwin Madia. How can you trust people like that?”
Warren noticed.Enough is enough. Let’s win the Third Congressional District together.
Sincerely,
Stuart Rosenberg
Campaign Manager
Madia for U. S. Congress
Michael Brodkorb’s crowing recently about Democrats push polling meant one thing: the Republicans were about to. They’ve got a mediocre, milquetoast candidate who can’t decided if he’s wants to privatize social security or not, and who refuses to allow the Government to save money by negotiating drug prices with Pharmaceutical companies. And all they can do to win is fight dirty.
The good new is, we’ve got a way better candidate! The NRCC has got a pile of dough, and Paulsen just announced that he’s raised over 2 million dollars — Madia can’t do it without you. He needs your help, volunteer for his campaign today. He needs your help, donate $5, $10, $25, $50 dollars today.
We’ve got 40 days till the election, and the lies, the smears and the attacks against Ash are just going to get louder and meaner from here on out. That’s why you can’t sit idly by, volunteer for his campaign right now or donate whatever you can. These aren’t easy times for anyone but every dollar you can spare can help make sure that things get better with Ash Madia’s leadership in Washington.
[Updated:] So what makes this different from what Brodkorb does and Paulsen does, what makes it I dunno… verifiable, is that the folks who got the push poll? They’re right there. Their names. People in the third congressional district felt so strongly about this they were willing to put their names behind it. It’s not some anonymous attack, it’s not some grandiose proclimation, it’s real folks talking about how they actually got these calls. Check out this article by MNIndy for more about the real people who responded to this, and the calls they recieved.
This basically blows Coleman’s latest ad out of the water. Without further commentary I am posting this release in full:
Statement from Senator Frank Lautenberg on Senator Coleman’s Record
SAINT PAUL [9/25/08] - United States Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) issued the following statement today regarding Senator Norm Coleman’s record as Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
“I served as a member of Norm Coleman’s subcommittee while he was chairman. I was eager to get to the bottom of the serious allegations against Halliburton and other contractors – potentially the biggest wartime rip-off in our country’s history.
“But Norm Coleman and the Republican leadership of the committee simply refused to to investigate. Even after multiple requests from me and my colleagues to get the committee to do its job and get to the bottom of it – they refused.
“As an Army veteran, the committee’s failures were infuriating, especially because it was undermining the well-being of our troops in Iraq.
“By turning a blind eye to Halliburton’s transgressions in Iraq, Norm Coleman refused to protect billions in taxpayer dollars. And the reason he refused is tragic: merely to protect Vice President Cheney from embarrassment.
“The people of Minnesota deserve a leader in the Senate who will stand up for what’s right – not just for what party leaders want you to do. I know Al Franken will stand up for everyday people in the U.S. Senate.
“Al Franken cares as deeply about this issue as I do. We both know that when taxpayers’ money is wasted – in this case billions of dollars – we need to take action.
“While Norm Coleman sat on the sidelines, Halliburton and the Bush Administration committed a series of outrageous transgressions:
- The Bush-Cheney Administration gave Halliburton a no-bid contract to run Iraq’s oil fields. Halliburton eventually charged taxpayers two-point-four (2.4) billion dollars under that sweetheart deal. No hearing or investigation.
- Halliburton bills the taxpayers one-point-four billion dollars in what the Defense Department’s auditors deemed to be questionable charges. No hearing or investigation.
- There were credible allegations that Halliburton charged taxpayers for meals it never served the troops. No hearing or investigation.
- Halliburton burned new trucks on the side of the road because they didn’t have the right wrench to change a tire. No hearing or investigation.
- The Army Corps of Engineer’s top contracting official is demoted after blowing the whistle on improper Halliburton contracts. No hearing or investigation.
“The list goes on and on.
“Even after I wrote nine letters to the committee leadership, no action was taken – not by Committee Chairman Susan Collins nor Subcommittee Chairman Norm Coleman.
“When it was time to choose between protecting taxpayer dollars and our troops or protecting Dick Cheney from embarrassment, Norm Coleman chose Dick Cheney.”
And I now have more foreign policy experience than Sarah Palin.
The transcript from last night’s interview with Katie Couric:
Katie Couric: You’ve cited Alaska’s proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that?
Sarah Palin: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and, on our other side, the land-boundry that we have with Canada. It’s funny that a comment like that was kinda made to … I don’t know, you know … reporters.
Couric: Mocked?
Palin: Mocked, yeah I guess that’s the word, mocked.
Couric: Well, explain to me why that enhances your foreign-policy credentials.
Palin: Well, it certainly does, because our, our next-door neighbors are foreign countries, there in the state that I am the executive of. And there…
Couric: Have you ever been involved in any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?
Palin: We have trade missions back and forth, we do. It’s very important when you consider even national-security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It’s Alaska. It’s just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right next to, they are right next to our state.
The transcript doesn’t do her bumbling, half rambling tirade justice, the video is at the bottom of the page here. I can do nothing other than shake my head, I’m just flabbergasted — really this is the best you’ve got John?
Picking her to be your running mate isn’t America first, it’s McCain’s campaign first.
We knew Coleman would be sweating bullets over being called out on his lack of oversight. Coleman even tried to get Joe Lieberman to help, even though Leiberman was critical of the oversight performance. What do they do? They scrambled to put together a defensive ad touting Coleman’s oversight. As Rachel E. Stassen-Berger writes:
At first, the Coleman campaign dismissed the complaint saying others were better equipped to handle such an investigation, Coleman has a strong record on oversight and he supported the idea of war funding oversight. His campaign also sent two notes to supporters rebutting Franken’s claims. On Wednesday, the campaign added a new line of defense — in the person of Sen. Joe Lieberman.
But Franken’s line of attack must have gotten under the campaign’s skin because now it has bought air time in order to defend Coleman’s record.
…
Nothing in the ad pops out as immediately false although it does make some opinionated claims that are tough to verify one way or the other.
Well, false or not, it certainly distracts from the big story on Coleman here.
Coleman’s desperate campaign as well as groups buying ads on Coleman’s behalf have released at least five TV spots attacking Franken on overpaying his taxes in two states.
From Pat Doyle in today’s Star Tribune:
How do the ads stand up to an audit?
The phrases accurately describe Franken’s tax problem only in the most literal sense. They’re misleading for what they don’t say and the implication they leave.
…
Franken said that he had paid federal and state taxes on all of his income but that his accountant had failed to properly distribute the state payments. Instead, Franken said, he overpaid his taxes in New York and Minnesota, where he had lived, while failing to pay in the 17 other states where he earned income.
The redistribution of the state income taxes means he and his wife, Franni, should receive a refund on their overpayments in Minnesota and New York, Franken said.
I can’t tell you how bored I am with this stupid tax non-issue. Franken paid tax on every penny he earned. This was taken care of a long time ago and I’m glad the media is finally stepping up to say that the entourage of misleading attacks from Coleman are, indeed, dishonest. For Coleman to continue to try to drag this out is another clear sign that Coleman cannot play on actual issues.
KSTP’s Truth Test has deemed an attack ad from Norm Coleman’s allies at the NRSC to have “several misleading statements…” The ad earned a “D-” rating. Norm Coleman wrote in a fundraising email yesterday that his campaign was “part of a team that gets the facts right, and treats voters with respect.” Coleman can’t claim this anymore.
Sound the alarm!
Madia has some of the best ads this season and his third holds the tradition:
If you didn’t see it already, David Letterman had a few words about how John McCain was conducting himself:
Make sure to catch the part with CBS News. More at Minnesota Independent.
[via Wonkette]
What a horrible week for Coleman so far. Then he makes this grave mistake:
Washington, D.C. - United States Senator Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) issued the following statement today regarding Senator Norm Coleman’s record of aggressive oversight as Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
“As Chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, I know that during his time as Chair and Ranking Member of our Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Norm Coleman has uncovered over $80 billion of government waste, fraud and abuse. Norm has been aggressive in protecting taxpayers, and rooting out corruption. His leadership is marked by groundbreaking reforms in Medicare, the United Nations and border security.
Joe Lieberman standing with Coleman on oversight? That’s weird. Turn back the clock just two years to hear Lieberman tell a different story on oversight subtitled “Massive Waste, Fraud, and Abuse Goes Unexamined”:
“Waste, mismanagement and corruption undermine America’s mission in Iraq,” the Senators said in their letter. “And in some instances, the failure of contractors to fulfill their obligations has jeopardized the health, welfare and safety of American troops and civilian personnel…
We ask that the Committee exercise similar oversight more broadly of the Iraqi reconstruction contracts to prevent further waste of precious tax payer dollars and to hold accountable those who misused Iraqi funds entrusted to U.S. government management.
…The Committee’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation is currently looking into one example of contractor abuse involving allegations that U.S. troops were exposed to contaminated water in Iraq. We ask that the Committee exercise similar oversight more broadly of the Iraqi reconstruction contracts to prevent further waste of precious tax payer dollars and to hold accountable those who misused Iraqi funds entrusted to U.S. government management.
It was sent to Susan Collins, chairwoman of the HSGAC which is the parent of the PSI, chaired by Norm Coleman. It’s the PSI, as Leiberman noted, that was asked to exercise more broad oversight in Iraq.
Lieberman pleads for more oversight in and then turns around and “praises” Coleman’s work on oversight on the campaign trail. Whoops. Did they think the press and bloggers would simply forget?
The DFL with their second best headline of the season today, “Irony Alert: After Year of Not Paying Utilities, Utility Industry to Pay Coleman”:
Lobbyists who wrote 2005 industry-giveaway energy bill to reward Coleman at D.C. fundraiser today.
St. Paul (September 24, 2008) - Today, the utility industry is hosting a fundraiser in Washington, D.C. for Republican Senator Norm Coleman. The event is co-hosted by some of the key lobbyists involved in writing the 2005 industry-giveaway energy bill that Coleman supported. Coleman has already accepted $291,000 in campaign contributions from the electric utility industry.
Ironically, and as many Minnesotans remember, Norm Coleman did not pay
utilities for one year on his sweetheart housing deal with landlord and Republican operative Jeff Larson, in clear violation of the Senate’s ethics rules.Today’s fundraiser is not the first time that Coleman has met with the utility industry. As the Pioneer Press reported in February 2004, Senator Coleman had to apologize to the Senate Ethics Committee for accepting a $1,000 campaign check in his St. Paul Senate office, in an apparent violation of federal law.
DFL Party Deputy Communications Director Frank Benenati released the following statement:
“Coleman just can’t seem to help himself from skirting the law when dealing with the utility industry. First he makes a ‘rookie mistake’ by illegally accepting a campaign check in his federal office, then we find out he has violated the Senate’s gift ban by not paying his utilities for over a year.
“If Coleman is serious about keeping clean, the utility industry is a crowd that Coleman might want to steer clear of. But based on his track record of supporting their special interests, we won’t hold our breath.”
How timely of Norm Coleman! Based off of this week’s stuff from the Coleman campaign, I’m not sure if Coleman is truly even aware that there’s a crisis going on.
Rest of the DFL press release after the jump.
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