On this particular topic, I have to agree with GOP Deputy Chair Michael Brodkorb: “If you don’t want to be asked questions, if you don’t want to interact with the public, if you don’t want an opportunity to to get a tough question, uh, don’t run for office.”
Sean reported Tim Walz’s offer to John Kline to hold joint town-hall meetings in both of their districts. In The Least Surprising News Ever, Kline has refused, calling it a publicity stunt. Only John Kline, who has always avoided his own constituents like a plague, would consider town hall meetings a “publicity stunt.” Why won’t Kline agree to debate health reform in public?
How’s that for a politic that is responsive to the people? It isn’t.
Hiding like a Bachmann in the woodpile.
Brodkorb even wants to hear from Kline?
That’s a low, low bar.
I’m pretty sure that kline’s actual constituents like Oil, Insurance companies, Military contractors and credit card companies have no trouble being heard by the Representative. They just put the when and where on the memo line of their checks and the Texan shows up. Citizens who live in Minnesota, not so much.
I don’t think Kline holds Brodkorb in high esteem.
Kline has never paid much attention to Brodkorb, has he?
That’s unfortunate. A former milit’ry man should not be afraid of public speaking.
If he wants coverage,
nothing would get him more than a joint townhall to address
public fears & questions about health care.
It would be a benefit to Minnesota residents, if that is what Kline honestly wants.
He’s almost as invisible as Michele Bachmann’s gay-ridding husband.
(Good thing she doesn’t read this - she’d complain that someone is attacking her defenseless hubby).
Is Kline scared of Brodkorb’s Spock eyebrows in the video above?
He obviously doesn’t need to hold them to be re-elected. It is said that his constituents don’t hold him accountable, but he realizes they won’t. You and I would do it because it is part of doing a good job. Why would someone like him hold a town hall? Seriously. He doesn’t have to. Where his voters come from, they have a set idea of what they like, he is it, and they don’t want anything to change that world view.
It is “sad” his constituents , not “said” damn typo
I think every public servant should hold townhall forums. Every public servant should keep at least 30% of their schedule open (both at home and in DC) for interactively discussing issues of concern with constituents, either in-person or on the phone. It is a shame that Kline isn’t more available.
This, however, was a publicity stunt. Walz sent an invitation to Kline to join him and then — on the same day — made sure the media had the invitation in their hands. No follow-up call to Congressman Kline. No interaction with Kline’s office on “did you receive the invitation? What do you guys think of the idea?” Just an invite to Kline and then a cc to all the media.
That smells more like “Hey everyone, look at me trying to extend an olive branch. That is Walz with a ‘z’ and no ‘t’ for your article” than “hey John - I have an idea that I think we should discuss.”
And I’m a relative fan of Walz. But this was a publicity stunt.
All Kline had to do was accept the invitation.
So if Kline is not participating in this town hall meeting because it’s a publicity stunt, can we assume that he will be holding one or more on his own in the very near future? Are they scheduled?
Cowardice of Kline hiding behind the claim of a “publicity stunt!”
If he thinks he so well placed, then what harm in democracy in action?
Its pathetic. Tells me a lot about the character of Kline - zero.
“But this was a publicity stunt.”
Nice to know that you can parrot the Kline camp.
I called this refusal the minute I heard about the invite. Kline is a coward.
Indeed he is.
Yes Dan trying to do something for constituents is a sure fire publicity stunt. How dare Walz communicate to all stakeholders at once through the postal service, the internet, radio and television contacts. We need more closed door communications between representatives from both parties so they can act in concert to assure their reelection. This transparency thing has just gotten out of hand with voters expecting to be notified by the media of the elected officials doing stuff.
I’m certain if Representative Walz had secretly contacted Representative Kline and negotiated a constituent forum with set questions, predetermined audience and an opportunity for Kline to puff up his chest and lie without being called on it this meeting would be taking place today. We need more lobbyist bought soundbites and less actual citizen forums. Closed door meetings and back alley agreements are definitely what the citizens of Minnesota want more of instead of this publicity hound transparency. We need a law forbidding these kind of public discussions between the congressional delegation of Minnesota… get right on that Dan… you supporter of birthers, deathers and Republican tools everywhere.
Erik Paulsen has also avoided any public interaction. He went to Morrie’s to discuss Cash for Clunkers last Monday and the people there watched. The newspaper reported that as a “town hall”. So far, calls to his office have resulted in no town halls scheduled. No invitations to his tele-town halls either. Time for our GOP representatives to be held to the same standards as the Dems. Let’s ask Paulsen why he won’t meet his constituents either….
I agree. Ramstad was always very accessible to all.
So I guess we can agree on this point. The GOP has become the party of zero ideas and cowardice. That’s a plan for the future. The very thought of moderates even considering the GOP is laughable.
No. We can agree on the point that Paulsen should be more accessible to his constituents, of whom I am one.
How the hell do you read one simple, direct sentance and infer so much? Unbelievable.
ERIK PAULSEN? No townhalls? No surprise there.
Is he a member of the special “Fellowship” clubhouse on C street too?
Mr. Clean-Marine is a chicken. Whooda thunkit?
If Kline invites Tim, then Tim will go. Just to capitalize on my recent prediction.
I had a case in my business about a year ago where a key competitor was trying to hire my people away, and I caught the same bug and tried to hire her people away. It was counterproductive to advancing thought and services in our market. Our clients were confused. The market thought it was petty. Our employees were all distracted.
I called her and said something to the effect of “Jan, this doesn’t make sense. Our employees are just playing musical chairs, and you and I are spending all this time on recruiting when we should be focused on our clients. I usually wouldn’t meddle in your business, but in this case, should we just call a truce?” She agreed. It was a gentle-persons agreement, and it still stands.
Now, what if instead of waiting for a callback from Jan, I would have shot off a missive to the Startribune, forwarded the text of my messages to industry blogs, and issued a press release saying “ABC Company Takes the High Road: Calls on Company XYZ to focus on client service instead of stealing employees away.”
Totally different tone. Totally different outcome. Walz’ mistake wasn’t inviting Kline to a townhall meeting — that much is to be respected. Walz’ mistake is making this more of a media event than a sincere invitation.
No what you did was form a union. Wage fixing, price fixing all stem from this. You told your competitor, “Don’t offer my people a better deal and I will do the same.” If I were one of your employees, and I found out about this, you would’ve found yourself in court. You are really an unbelievable piece of shit. Not for what you do but because you think what you do is OK.
Richard, I have a feeling that you never would have been one of my employees, and if you had, you would have lasted about two days.
I’ve still hired a few of her people, and she has hired a few of mine. The difference is we aren’t aggressively headhunting them. Headhunting employees is to protesting at a townhall meeting what letting normal hiring processes dictate is to having civil discourse at a townhall meeting. I think we all like civil discourse.
But I know… the government needs to stop two business owners from speaking to each other. There oughta be a law……
Totally different situations. As a business owner, you are responsible only to yourself and any other owners of the business (as long as you are law-abiding). A member of Congress is responsible to the public, and the public is entitled to know what their elected officials are up to (or not up to). An open government is all about transparency, which is another word for “publicity.”
Perhaps one of the problems with politics today is that transparency has become confused with publicity. It is a sad day when PR specialists and media contacts are more important people in a Congressman’s office than policy wonks. I miss people who are brilliant on policy but didn’t have a direct line to Maddow or Hannity.
If transparency is really what we’re going for, let’s have President Obama disclose who he meets with in the Oval Office. http://www.examiner.com/x-2547-Watchdog-Politics-Examiner~y2009m6d17-Obama-continues-Bush-policy-of-hiding-visitors-names. I don’t need to to so far as to be informed who he sends letters to on the day that he sends them (ala Walz) but I would like to know who is discussing business in our nation’s Oval Office.
Are you a public official?
Why is this cute little anecdote at all relevant to the matter at hand?
It isn’t!
Because it is about how professional treats his or her colleagues. Call me old fashioned, but there was a day when you would pick up the phone and talk to your colleague, and not be chomping at the bit to alert the media and press on the same day.
Dan - How does that CHANGE anything?
Be honest.
Is it like funerals? What is a decent interval between the offer & going public?
1 day?
A week?
A month?
15 minutes before the townhall?
Kline could have been a hero & accepted. I don’t think the advantage would have been
significantly in favor of Walz if it had been accepted by Kline.
We would have all felt better about our officials, like their positions, or not. They were taking step 1
to be honest with us about healthcare & other issues to at least get up there together.
Now, not so. What can Kline to do repair that?
Kline has not been an honorable colleague from past record.
Politics is not exactly the same as normal business, or are you saying that it is?
You don’t see a problem here. That’s what is so unbelievable. I am astounded you admitted to skirting the law so closely. You claim to be a free marketer but when it comes to your employees and their skills, you enter into an agreement with a competitor to fix the market. Why not fix prices as well? Why not enter into an agreement with all your competitors to charge uniformly for the same product? Wouldn’t that give you the ability to charge as much as you like? Or, in the case of wages, pay as little as you like?
You really don’t see a problem with what you’ve done. That is simply amazing.
I didn’t skirt the law. There is no law saying that a competitor and I cannot “play fair”. There was no fixing done. I don’t know what she pays her employees. She doesn’t know what I pay.
Price fixing would be skirting the law. Pricing and quality of our delivery is where we gain competitive advantage. Calling Jan and asking for a truce in terms of offering good value to clients would be unthinkable. I wouldn’t be able to keep my business afloat, and keep supporting the 400 people (employees plus their families) who rely on me if I was doing that kind of crap.
Why not fix prices as well? Why not enter into an agreement with all your competitors to charge uniformly for the same product? Wouldn’t that give you the ability to charge as much as you like?
Do you see the irony here, Richard? A capitalist can’t and wouldn’t do that. But the government can and does. Governments = monopolies, and for some reason, to you, what is bad in business is fine as long as it is part of the public sector.
You did a serious disservice to your employees for the sake of the almighty dollar and you know it. You feel it. You rationalize however you need to so you can sleep at night but you violated their trust. If I had been Jan, I would’ve owned you within the month. I would’ve mounted such a campaign to steal not only your employees but your customers, and your procedures, and whatever else I could get out of the deal. That’s business. There’s no cozy little deals with a competitor. If you compete with me, I will own your business, your customers, your house, your cars, your wife, everything. No quarter, no mercy. Those are the rules.
Government provides infrastructure. Roads, utilities, an educated workforce and in every modern country beside this one, a healthy workforce. As a businessman, albeit, not a very good businessman, you must see the logic in pooling the entire population into a single bucket and providing health care for everyone, regardless of status.
Tomorrow, assemble all your workers and tell them about the arrangement you’ve reached with Jan. Of course, if your ashamed of it or if you think your employees might react badly to it, you may want to keep your phoney-ass mouth shut.
Do you understand the definition of headhunting? Do you understand the difference between that and a normal hiring / job seeking process? Your rant tells me you don’t.
PLenty of room in our industry, Richard. Set out a shingle and open up shop. I’d welcome you. There is an abundance mentality. A rising tide lifts a boats. I would wish you luck. We might even be friends. Cordial competitors. It happens, believe it or not.
“If you compete with me, I will own your business, your customers, your house, your cars, your wife, everything. No quarter, no mercy. Those are the rules.”
I think Gordon Gekko said that first. Are we back to wives being property now? I thought that wasn’t part of the rules anymore.
oooh..that Dan the Man just makes me so mad! If I were one of his employees, I’d probably band together with my co-workers and we’d start our own employee owned company and pay ourselves better, but that would require self-actualization and accountability, something Poor Richard knows absolutely nothing about.
Something tells me that life isn’t so bad for Dantheman Inc. employees.
Life is probably not so bad for DtMInc’s employees as long as they know their place. Servants, once brought in line are useful tools. Any effort by the underclass to improve their station is unseemly and disquieting. Servants must trust their betters to know what’s best and simply trust in the wisdom of the elite.
I think Gordon Gekko said that first. Are we back to wives being property now? I thought that wasn’t part of the rules anymore.
Ron, I was actually thinking more along the lines of a John D MacDonald character named Travis Magee. In one of MacDonald’s more memorable passages, Magee is on the vengeance trail and is running a con on a particularly reprehensible villain. Magee tells the villain whatever he holds most precious is what Magee will take.
Our firm actually does have a strong servant mentality. We have a good business because we serve our clients. The firm serves its employees & families as well as the community.
You hit the nail on the head. If more companies had a servanthood mentality, we’d see more local firms stand the test of time and make our region stronger.
That is so much corporate BS. Your company provides a service to customers for a fee.
Perhaps we could add this to things that make you go Hhhhmmmm…
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/collusion.html
collusion
Definition
Improper secret agreement between two or more entities, to defraud or deprive others of their property or rightful share, or to otherwise indulge in a forbidden, illegal, or illegitimate activity.
I suppose employees do not have a right to sell their talents and skills to the highest bidder when competitive businesses collude to control employee movement? I sure could swear that a free market is supposed to stop stuff like that…
I suppose employees do not have a right to sell their talents and skills to the highest bidder when competitive businesses collude to control employee movement?
Yeah, me and Jan and our whopping 15% of combined market share are really going to create a monopoly environment.
Where is Sen. Sherman when you need him?
Actually it maybe should be Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee… he lead the Senate Anti-Trust and Monopoly subcommitte in 1958 that gave baseball a legally confirmed monopoly.
A little of the testimony… makes about as much sense as collusion between 15% of a market in one geographic area is unimportant just because it isn’t 100% of the market. It is still not allowed.
VERBATIM
Senator Kefauver: I was asking you, sir, why it is that baseball wants this bill passed.
Mr. Stengel: I would say I would not know, but would say the reason why they would want it passed is to keep baseball going as the highest paid ball sport that has gone into baseball and from the baseball angle, I am not going to speak of any other sport. I am not here to argue about other sports, I am in the baseball business. It has been run cleaner than any business that was ever put out in the one-hundred years at the present time. I am not speaking about television or I am not speaking about income that comes into the ball parks: You have to take that off. I don’t know too much about it. I say the ballplayers have a better advancement at the present time.
amuseinc and richard -
I appreciate your fervor and convition. I know you truly believe that you are fighting a good fight, and that you believe you are right. I admire that. It takes people from all corners of the political specturm to run a good democracy, and you are doing your part.
conviction. sorry.
Stolen reasoning:
When they renegotiate your health care at work - and these days its DOWNWARD,
that is a net loss to your wage or salary. When your deducible is raised & you need any healthcare.
If dtm is a headhunter: shouldn’t removing healthcare from any compensation package help compare 2 jobs on an equal footing if it is not a function of your work salary?
Lastly, my employer wanted ME to shop around for cheaper services at various clinic & hospitals in the new plan.
If I have to do this - why should it be employer mandated?
HOW MUCH ATRAZINE IN THE 6th & 2nd District WATER?
Maybe Kline will run as Bachmann’s VP!! LOL
Yeah, if only that was legal
Just to clarify:
Atrazine IS legal.
Is is the herbicide used to inhibit weeds around corn.
It is also implicated in frog deformities & potential sex change.
I digress from the madness in the 6th CD. Or not.
This is actually about KLINE & possibly Bachmann chickening out from townhalls!!!
We get atrazine drifting in from other midwest states settling in Minnesota.
The last time the National EPA meetings happened here - Dr Tyrone Hayes was DIS-invited.
http://www.nrdc.org/health/pesticides/natrazine.asp
http://www.atrazinelovers.com/
Further digression & clarification:
The difference in corn yield when using atrazine is reported to be tiny; 1-2%.
Maybe it does more for one’s mental condition.
Kline has always, always supported corporations over constituents. Bought and paid for. Wrapped up with a bow.