Where's the Media?
That's what the
St. Cloud
Bloggers
Association wants to know. As King & Leo noted on their blogs, the SCBA out-attended (is that a real word?) the traditional media by 3. That's pretty pathetic when you think about it. After all, it wasn't like this was a surprise stop. King notes that reporters were sent notice of this state tour of statewide candidates Friday noon.
This was the first time that I met Leo. Talk about a class act. I'm proud to be his blogging partner & I'm more proud to call him friend. And I was delighted to see King & the Little Scholar make it, too.
As for the candidates, I was struck by the energy they showed after 3 long days of the State GOP Convention. Ron Carey kicked the event off with a brief, energetic speech on how the Minnesota GOP is united in purpose & philosophy. The GOP, he said wanted to trust people. And he touted the quality of the candidates we have.
Mark Kennedy introduced Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer to an enthusiastic round of applause. Ms. Kiffmeyer said that it was her goal for the next 4 years to get passed the voter ID bill that the Republican-led House keeps passing before it dies in the Democratic-led Senate. That will pass soon because the people support the voter ID to the tune of 75-80%. The question is why do the Senate Democrats thwart the overwhelming will of the people? It isn't just me that's asking. Ms. Kiffmeyer said she was on WJON, one of the news radio stations that didn't cover the event, recently. She said that the man interviewing her told her that he's a Democrat & he can't think for the life of him why his party is opposed to the bill. Neither do I.
Ms. Kiffmeyer's other big point was saying that it was her goal to both improve voter turnout while maintaining ballot integrity. That was easily her biggest applause line.
Next up was incumbent State Auditor Pat Anderson. Pat applauded St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis for "firing St. Cloud's lobbyist the first day in office." Pat noted that just that move saved St. Cloud $110,000, or in Mayor Kleis's words, 2 police officers. The gentleman sitting next to me said something to the effect that "I wonder which is the better buy for the money." A smartalecky grin was noticeable on his face. My only regret about the comment is that he beat me to it. Ms. Anderson said that she would seek out more ways to eliminate wasteful spending throughout the state to the enthusiastic approval of the faithful.
Next up was the Jeff Johnson that's running for State AG. As Leo noted in his post, this AG thinks that it isn't his job to sue deep-pocketed companies to the delight of his lawyer friends. What a refreshing approach. Jeff also said that he'd "actually spend time chasing the bad guys" , something that I hope will rub off on Ms. Klobuchar when she returns to her current job.
Mayor Kleis stepped up & said a few words. The biggest thing I got from his speech was that having people who care about keeping spending under control & who make state & local governments accountable are a blessing to a mayor. That statement was clearly directed at Pat Anderson. Mayor Kleis also said that Minnesota's mayors couldn't have a better friend in Washington than Mark Kennedy. He cited Mark's work on getting enough highway & transportation funds for Minnesota in general & St. Cloud specifically.
Last up was the man I hope will represent me in the Minnesota Senate, Jeff Johnson. I've had the privilege of talking several times with Jeff & think highly of him. He says that education would be a major priority with him if he's elected. He said that his experience as an aviation professor at SCSU & as a small businessman would serve him well in the legislature. I heartily concur.
The traditional media has cast Republicans as being dejected because the President has taken some lumps the past 6 months. Nothing I've seen at these events hints at a lack of enthusiasm for our candidates & causes.
After the event, King intruced Leo & I to Mark Kennedy, who is a big blog reader. I couldn't help thinking that it'll be great having a blog-savvy Senator this time next year.
After that conversation, King, Leo & I had our first SCBA power meeting. I think it's safe to say that we're hoping that the list of St. Cloud bloggers grows, with a preference towards conservative St. Cloud bloggers. It's our conclusion that Michele would win her election to replace Mark Kennedy in Washington. We also agree that it'd be nice having an attorney general who wouldn't run businesses out of the state with his lawsuits.
UPDATE: Leo thinks that the SCBA sounds good!!! Might this be the dawning of a new conservative blogging powerhouse? Stop past our blogs often to find out. Lord knows that King's observations are always well-reasoned & never over-the-top like some political party's responses are. And Leo's passionate & intelligent about all things conservative.
Originally posted Saturday, June 3, 2006, revised 04-Jun 11:16 AM
May 2006 Posts
Comment 1 by Lawrence Schumacher at 05-Jun-06 12:43 PM
Comment 2 by Gary Gross at 05-Jun-06 04:05 PM
Comment 3 by Jeff at 05-Jun-06 07:54 PM
Comment 4 by Gary Gross at 05-Jun-06 10:26 PM
This was the first time that I met Leo. Talk about a class act. I'm proud to be his blogging partner & I'm more proud to call him friend. And I was delighted to see King & the Little Scholar make it, too.
As for the candidates, I was struck by the energy they showed after 3 long days of the State GOP Convention. Ron Carey kicked the event off with a brief, energetic speech on how the Minnesota GOP is united in purpose & philosophy. The GOP, he said wanted to trust people. And he touted the quality of the candidates we have.
Mark Kennedy introduced Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer to an enthusiastic round of applause. Ms. Kiffmeyer said that it was her goal for the next 4 years to get passed the voter ID bill that the Republican-led House keeps passing before it dies in the Democratic-led Senate. That will pass soon because the people support the voter ID to the tune of 75-80%. The question is why do the Senate Democrats thwart the overwhelming will of the people? It isn't just me that's asking. Ms. Kiffmeyer said she was on WJON, one of the news radio stations that didn't cover the event, recently. She said that the man interviewing her told her that he's a Democrat & he can't think for the life of him why his party is opposed to the bill. Neither do I.
Ms. Kiffmeyer's other big point was saying that it was her goal to both improve voter turnout while maintaining ballot integrity. That was easily her biggest applause line.
Next up was incumbent State Auditor Pat Anderson. Pat applauded St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis for "firing St. Cloud's lobbyist the first day in office." Pat noted that just that move saved St. Cloud $110,000, or in Mayor Kleis's words, 2 police officers. The gentleman sitting next to me said something to the effect that "I wonder which is the better buy for the money." A smartalecky grin was noticeable on his face. My only regret about the comment is that he beat me to it. Ms. Anderson said that she would seek out more ways to eliminate wasteful spending throughout the state to the enthusiastic approval of the faithful.
Next up was the Jeff Johnson that's running for State AG. As Leo noted in his post, this AG thinks that it isn't his job to sue deep-pocketed companies to the delight of his lawyer friends. What a refreshing approach. Jeff also said that he'd "actually spend time chasing the bad guys" , something that I hope will rub off on Ms. Klobuchar when she returns to her current job.
Mayor Kleis stepped up & said a few words. The biggest thing I got from his speech was that having people who care about keeping spending under control & who make state & local governments accountable are a blessing to a mayor. That statement was clearly directed at Pat Anderson. Mayor Kleis also said that Minnesota's mayors couldn't have a better friend in Washington than Mark Kennedy. He cited Mark's work on getting enough highway & transportation funds for Minnesota in general & St. Cloud specifically.
Last up was the man I hope will represent me in the Minnesota Senate, Jeff Johnson. I've had the privilege of talking several times with Jeff & think highly of him. He says that education would be a major priority with him if he's elected. He said that his experience as an aviation professor at SCSU & as a small businessman would serve him well in the legislature. I heartily concur.
The traditional media has cast Republicans as being dejected because the President has taken some lumps the past 6 months. Nothing I've seen at these events hints at a lack of enthusiasm for our candidates & causes.
After the event, King intruced Leo & I to Mark Kennedy, who is a big blog reader. I couldn't help thinking that it'll be great having a blog-savvy Senator this time next year.
After that conversation, King, Leo & I had our first SCBA power meeting. I think it's safe to say that we're hoping that the list of St. Cloud bloggers grows, with a preference towards conservative St. Cloud bloggers. It's our conclusion that Michele would win her election to replace Mark Kennedy in Washington. We also agree that it'd be nice having an attorney general who wouldn't run businesses out of the state with his lawsuits.
UPDATE: Leo thinks that the SCBA sounds good!!! Might this be the dawning of a new conservative blogging powerhouse? Stop past our blogs often to find out. Lord knows that King's observations are always well-reasoned & never over-the-top like some political party's responses are. And Leo's passionate & intelligent about all things conservative.
Originally posted Saturday, June 3, 2006, revised 04-Jun 11:16 AM
May 2006 Posts
Comment 1 by Lawrence Schumacher at 05-Jun-06 12:43 PM
The message on my inbox from Mark Drake notifying the St. Cloud Times of the press conference on Saturday is dated 7:44 a.m. Saturday morning.
People need to give more notice than that of events if they expect coverage.
Comment 2 by Gary Gross at 05-Jun-06 04:05 PM
Larry, I was going by the notice I got Friday mid-afternoon on the event. If it arrived in your inbox Saturday, then that's different than when I got it.
Know that I'll take you at your word that that's when you got it.
Comment 3 by Jeff at 05-Jun-06 07:54 PM
Nice report!
Comment 4 by Gary Gross at 05-Jun-06 10:26 PM
Thanks, Mr. Jeff. Stop back often.
