August 14-18, 2010
Aug 14 07:43 Debate Highlights Aug 15 13:46 Unions: Tax the People so We Stay Employed Aug 16 06:04 Sunday Morning Roundup Aug 16 14:32 Astroturfing Fergus Falls? Aug 17 03:48 Dayton's Cop-Killer Remarks Revisited Aug 17 10:40 Target Chooses Profits Over Special Interest Pandering Aug 18 06:31 Democracy Isn't For Sale? Aug 18 23:45 Extremists For Tarryl
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009
Debate Highlights
Tonight's gubernatorial debate on Almanac produced several noteworthy moments. Each of the candidates created an impression, which wasn't always a positive impression.
First, I'll say this about Mr. Horner: He is a world class BSer. About 13 minutes into the debate, with health care being discussed, Mr. Horner said that Mr. Dayton wants to put everyone one government-run health care and Tom Emmer wants to have everyone "rely on charity care."
That's utter nonsense.
Just prior to that, Tom Emmer explained that he favored reforming MinnesotaCare and staying away from Early MA because it would "cost Minnesota $480,000" each of the next 3 years.
Later, Horner said this :
"Representative Emmer talks about the status quo, he's right," Horner said. "But all we hear over here is 'Let's just cut the status quo and everything will be better" and from the other side it's 'let's just make the status quo bigger and everything will be better.' I believe most of us in Minnesota are saying we need something different than the status quo."That's just intellectually dishonest. Tom Emmer spent a significant portion of his time talking about how he'd restructure government. It's Mr. Horner's First Amendment right to mischaracterize Tom Emmer's statements but it's dishonest to say that.
Throughout the debate, Mr. Horner tried to portray himself as the only reasonable man in the debate. Too many times, though, his answers were flippant and dishonest. If you can't even tell the truth, then you aren't a viable candidate.
The last thing I'll say about Mr. Horner is that he's all schtick. There isn't much in the way of substance there. His "split the difference between the two extremes" act isn't because he's thought things through. I don't want half-baked, artificial policies. That's all you'll get from Mr. Horner.
Sen. Dayton stuck with his script most of the night but had a couple embarassing moments. One such moment came after Tom Emmer talked about streamlining Minnesota's permitting process. When Sen. Dayton said that he's all for streamlining government, Tom Emmer replied that he's watched Dayton's career and he's never seen Dayton write legislation that streamlined anything.
The Twin Cities media hasn't written about this, perhaps because they've forgotten what he said during the last pre-primary DFL debate. During that debate, Dayton essentially said that he didn't think another 2 years of investigating Polymet, which would mine copper and nickel on the Iron Range, was too long a wait while unemployed Iron Rangers suffered and lost their homes.
Horner said that Polymet had already spent 5 years and $100,000,000 trying to satisfy one evinronmental complaint or another.
Tom Emmer jumped in and said that there were a couple thousand jobs waiting and that people on the Iron Range needed those high-paying jobs now to prevent their homes from being foreclosed.
Dayton's feeble reply was to say that he'd gotten the endorsement of the Mesabi Daily News because the newspaper said he was best equipped to provide jobs. I'm betting that it's because his running mate is from the Iron Range because Dayton's lack of urgency to create high-paying jobs in a repressed area doesn't tell me that he's that serious about creating jobs.
Another embarassing moment for Dayton, I thought, came when he was asked by Eric Eskola what types of education reform he supported. Sen. Dayton's immediate response was that the first reform should be to restore the money that had been cut, which he said had been cut "$1,300 per pupil in inflation-adjusted dollars over the last eight years."
Based on Sen. Dayton's words, education reform doesn't mean alternative licensure or Race to the Top or anything like that. It's throwing more money at the education unions.
I'm betting that most parents wouldn't agree with Sen. Dayton on that.
The other thing that must be said is that Tom Horner and Sen. Dayton had a couple of cat fights that weren't based on sticking to their principles but rather were based on Dayton trying to be smug and Horner just not having the poise to avoid the catfight. I thought that these moments didn't help either candidates.
Tom Emmer took a couple of shots on not being more specific on how he'd restructure government, though he did have one strong reply about not needing a state OSHA when we have a federal OSHA, that we didn't need both the Department of Health and the Department of Human Services, among other agencies.
Another strong portion of the debate was when Rep. Emmer talked about some farmers that he'd talked with. He said that they raised hogs, chickens and turkeys and that they wanted to expand in Minnesota. He then said that they invested $40,000 and 2 years into the state permitting process without any guarantee that they'd get the local permits.
Eventually, they expanded in North Dakota, where it took them less than 6 months to get things into operation. Rep. Emmer noted that these farmers "now have a payroll of $1.4 million."
Rep. Emmer's final strong moment came when Cathy Wurzer talked about Sen. Dayton's alcoholism and Rep. Emmer's alcohol-related "situations". Rep. Emmer said that he felt bad for the woman in the ABM ad who'd lost her son to a drunk driver. He then said that he's never tried to rationalize what he'd done, that he accepted full responsibility for his actions.
He then turned it around and said that he'd appreciate it if Sen. Dayton would call off his family members and have them stop running the ads. Dayton seemed momentarily surprised that the subject was brought up but he quickly recovered when Horner jumped in.
The Pi-Press's Bill Salisbury wrote that "there weren't any winners" but that Horner probably benefited most because Sen. Dayton and Rep. Emmer took him seriously.
I watched the debate. I'd say that they were polite to Mr. Horner. I don't think they took him seriously. At one point, Sen. Dayton jumped on Horner's stock reply that there was too much bickering at the debate, saying that that's Horner's favorite soundbite, then suggesting that Horner should just record it and replay it on schedule.
Frankly, I thought Dayton hurt himself with swing voters because of his Polymet and education reform answers. He didn't help himself by appearing smug at times, when he tried taking over the debate by asking his own questions.
Each group of partisans will think their guy won. Dayton played to his union base, making sure to promise to keep the spending spigot wide open. Horner played his I'm-the-only-reasonable-candidate schtick, perhaps too often.
Tom Emmer is right about what it'll take to create a dynamic economy: Get government out of the way. Keep taxes low. Retool the permitting process. Don't put mining companies and farmers through multi-year permitting processes.
If people want a prosperous Minnesota, there's only one serious choice. His name is Tom Emmer.
UPDATE: Mitch has more on Dayton's flexible numbers.
Originally posted Saturday, August 14, 2010, revised 16-Aug 6:15 AM
Comment 1 by eric q at 14-Aug-10 09:09 AM
Horner the huckster?
I thought Dayton sufficiently exposed him as the candidate from Zigyville, and it was good to see Emmer and Dayton, in different ways, show skepticism.
Sure, the home team during winning times is nice. But I would agree the choice is between Dayton and Emmer and that there are real issues beyond Zygi wanting a stadium without wanting to buy one.
Horner appears intent on trying to see which of the other two he can position himself to take votes from, so that he can bargain something. Like a Ross Perot.
Comment 2 by Gary Gross at 16-Aug-10 06:20 AM
Eric, I think it's extremely simple. Tom Horner will say anything to appear reasonable.
Anytime that you're willing to sacrifice integrity for the appearance of being reasonable, you're losing everything.
BTW, Dayton's playing with the numbers on his tax increase isn't proof of his integrity. It's proof of his LACK of integrity.
He's been talking about this forever. It's been THE CENTRAL FOCUS of his economic package.
Unions: Tax the People so We Stay Employed
According to this LTE writer, Minnesotans shouldn't object to having their taxes increased because it'll help unionized government employees keep their jobs :
I am sure most people out there would rather pay a little more tax to help balance the state budget than risk losing their jobs. Job loss shrinks a very important government revenue base - taxes.I google the names of any LTE writer that I haven't heard of before. This time, I found out that Mr. Akubue is a professor of Environmental and Technological Studies at SCSU. I don't know what type of teacher Mr. Akubue is or his political leaning, though I wouldn't be surprised if he leans liberal.
I'm certain, though, that his salary, and those of his cohorts, rely on increased tax revenue. I know that SCSU budget cuts forced the termination of some professors. In that light, I can understand why Mr. Akubue wrote this LTE.
That doesn't mean I agree with his policy perscription.
Private sector employees have had a tough time for quite some time. They've felt the pain of this administration's economic policies. Meanwhile, public union employees have been bouyed by Obama's Union Employees Bailout, aka ARRA, aka the stimulus. As long as the Obama administration's focus is on bailing ou public employee unions like the NEA, SEIU and AFSCME, this economy will stink.
It's understandable that the public employees unions feel empowered by the Obama administration's policies. They're getting everything they want and then some. I'd recommend that they not get too used to that because things will change this November because people are getting upset that the unions keep getting their way.
They shouldn't get used to that becoming the new normal. Alot of people are watching them whining while private sector employees are getting laid off. They're noticing that President Obama's policies, and the DFL's policies, favor the unions while punishing the private sector. People thinking that there won't be a dramatic course correction aren't dealing with reality.
It's understandable that union employees would hope that they keep their jobs. It isn't acceptable, though, that they advocate taxpayers carry a heavier tax burden so they can keep their jobs.
In New Jersey, unions whined when Gov. Chris Christie proposed a 1-year wage freeze. In California, the public unions rule the state. They ran huge ad buys against Gov. Christie to swing public opinion. It swung alright, swinging in Gov. Christie's direction to the point where people are asking if he'd run for president in 2012.
People are noticing that union employees frequently carry with them a sense of entitlement. People are also noticing that public employee union workers have lavish pension plans and earn about twice the amount of the average private sector worker. I'll guarantee that that isn'tplaying well with John Q. Public.
It's time that Mr. Akubue stopped whining that the people who pay his salary aren't paying enough in taxes. It's time he started appreciating the fact that he's still got a job.
Posted Sunday, August 15, 2010 1:46 PM
Comment 1 by walter hanson at 16-Aug-10 07:18 AM
Gary:
As a member of a government UNION I understand you have to have a strong private sector economy to get the tax revenues to pay for the services.
What these people don't understand is that people are trying to save (the repealing of the dividends will hurt my stocks on dividend reinvestment)
What these people don't understand is that increasing tax rates and permit processes don't create jobs. Aren't Dayton and those people at all aware that people go to North Dakota or can't hire people because they're spending money to get permits to hire people.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Sunday Morning Roundup
Just like I've done the last 2-3 months, I taped the local Sunday morning political talk shows. This week, I'll start by talking about the most outrageous/dishonest accusation of the weekend. This week, that 'award' goes to Javier Morillo-Alicea during his appearance on @Issue With Tom Hauser. Not only did Javier win the award but he won it almost in his first sentence.
Tom Hauser started by asking him why, after Target apologized for contributing to MN Forward, would the protests against Target continue. His response was that Target was supporting a candidate "who is anti-immigration."
That's a bald-faced lie.
Tom Emmer isn't opposed to immigration, just Mr. Morillo's definition of immigration. As I wrote here , Mr. Morillo's definition of immigration isn't the definition that many law-abiding citizens would agree with:
"CCA is one of the biggest winners of our broken immigration system, taking in billions of dollars in government contracts to detain immigrants and perpetuate today's failed status quo." said SEIU Immigration Campaign Director Javier Morillo. "The company recognizes that an enforcement-heavy immigration policy is good for their bottom line and has spent millions of dollars on lobbying and campaign contributions to anti-immigrant politicians who push for enforcement at the expense of real comprehensive immigration reform."Based on that quote, it's fair to say that Mr. Morillo thinks that politicians who support enforcement of existing immigration laws makes those politicians anti-immigrant. In reality, it just makes them pro-enforcement politicians.
This is just Mr. Morillo's feeble attempt to justify their continued protesting of Target and their continued protesting of a sane law enforcement policy.
That doesn't just mean that Morillo is outside Minnesota's political mainstream but that he's also a dishonest person and someone who's opposed to enforcing existing laws that maintain America's sovereignty.
In the segment prior to the Morillo vs. Phil Krinkie Face-Off segment, the 3 party chairs, Tony Sutton, Brian Melendez and the IP's chairman, did battle. Chairman Melendez gets this week's 'Shot Out of a Rocket' award for his reaction to Chairman Sutton's statement that "We don't have a budget problem. We have a jobs problem." Chairman Melendez's overreaction was obvious, with him saying "There. You heard it. Chairman Sutton doesn't think we have a budget problem."
What made this amusing was watching Chairman Sutton replying that many, though not all, of the budget problems are the direct result of a lousy economy, a sentiment I agree with especially considering the fact that Obamanomics has been a disaster.
What made this that much more amusing was Chairman Melendez's defense of government spending. It was apparent through his body language that he was prepared to defend every penny of government spending if required to do so. The thought of cutting spending obviously rankled him.
It's apparent that the DFL doesn't have a clue about creating jobs. Every time they talk about jobs, it's in the context of how government can help create jobs. That's why the DFL's jobs plan is based on bonding, which Rep. Sertich admitted is nothing more than the DFL's annual stimulus bill :
For more than 150 years, bonding bills have been exactly what Minnesota needed to stimulate the economy and create jobs. Minnesota's businesses, workers and families can feel confident we will continue to make job creation our top priority, with a responsible bonding bill as the cornerstone.This week's dishonesty award ended in a tie between Tom Horner and Mark Dayton. During Esme Murphy's interview of him, Tom Horner said "Rep. Emmer says 'We ought to make it all charity care, send everybody to doctors and hope that doctors provide free care." Mr. Horner needs to stop that outright lie if he hopes to be taken seriously. This isn't a slip of the tongue. He said it during Friday night's debate, then repeated it during his interview with Esme Murphy.
During his appearance on Esme Murphy's Sunday morning show, Mark Dayton was questioned about his numbers on where his tax increases start. I've transcribed the relevant part of the interview. Here's the relevant exchange:
MURPHY: You do have a specific plan in which you have called for tax increases for the top 10 percent of Minnesotans. People have pointed out that the top 10 percent includes people that might be in that $136,000 income bracket for single people. You've changed that a little bit and said that it's perhaps people making $150,000. Which is it?The problem for Sen. Dayton is that he's wrong. I know he's wrong because his website on taxes says different :
SEN. DAYTON: I'll send you the news reports going back months now that reference taxable income that has, I guess, confused some people so now I'm going to say total income. But that's over $150,000 for an individual, over $173,000 for a couple filing jointly . Rep. Emmer says that that's middle income...middle class. Those are people that work hard for a living but the fact is that that makes them wealthier than 90 percent of the rest of Minnesotans.
I have not concluded how entirely to achieve that objective, and my campaign lacks the computer modeling capabilities to do so in entirety. However, my proposal thus far includes:The statistician in me says that $130,000 is significantly less than $150,000 and that $150,000 is significantly less than $173,000. That's either a good thing or a bad thing. Let me explain.
1. Require individuals making over $130,000/year and couples, filing jointly, making over $150,000/year to pay their fair share in taxes . I would add at least two, probably three, upper-income tax brackets, so that someone making over $1 million/year paid a higher percentage of income than someone making $130,000/year. For now (without additional computer modeling information) I would say that an individual making over $130,000/yr. or a couple over $150,000/yr. would pay slightly more in state taxes; people making over $500,000/yr. would pay more in state taxes; and people making over $1 million/yr. would pay significantly more in state taxes.
It's good news in that it shows me that Sen. Dayton is flexible. It's bad news in that it shows me that Sen. Dayton is willing to adjust the income figures to appear more reasonable. Frankly, that offends me. Sen. Dayton needs to get his story straight. More importantly, he needs to settle on specific income levels and stick with those numbers.
It bothers me that Sen. Dayton claims he has a specific plan for tax increases for the top 10 percent of Minnesotans. His claim simply doesn't hold up to close scrutiny.
Based on the 'flexibility' in Sen. Dayton's plan, it's intellectually dishonest to say that Sen. Dayton has a "specific plan." It's more honest to say that Sen. Dayton is selling Minnesota a dishonest bill of goods. I'll agree, though, that he's put forward a detailed plan and that he's changed the numbers now that he's been questioned about the numbers.
That's a big deal because it raises questions about whether Sen. Dayton is committed to these numbers or if he's willing to raise taxes on the middle class if his tax the rich plan doesn't balance the budget. (PS- His plan, as currently constituted, won't balance Minnesota's budget. It falls far short of balancing Minnesota's budget and it drives businesses from Minnesota.)
Based on this weekend's talk shows, it's safe to conclude that Javier Morillo will characterize illegal immigration as "immigration", that Tom Horner will lie about clearly stated policy to look like a reasonable centrist and that Sen. Dayton either needs a math refresher course or he needs to start telling the truth about his tax the rich scheme.
Posted Monday, August 16, 2010 6:04 AM
Comment 1 by walter hanson at 16-Aug-10 07:22 AM
Gary:
The biggest problem with spending is that liberals still haven't realized that you can't spend what you don't have. Millions of Americans have stopped spending and are trying to reduce their debt. Part of that is the natural barrier they don't have the money and they can't borrow anymore money.
Liberals unfortunately still think they can tax for it and government is still borrowed money (at interest rates much cheaper than me) to keep spending.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Comment 2 by Randy at 25-Aug-10 05:48 AM
You're an awfully offensive character - Emmer has changed his mind on immigration and it is offensive that you don't see that. You need a little education before you comment any further on Emmer's immigration policies. When you spout lies it hurts your credibility. It's too bad that anyone with an internet connection can start a "blog" and think that they are reporting the news.
Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 25-Aug-10 09:48 AM
Randy, you're full of shit. Tom hasn't changed his immigration policies. Has he clarified his policies? Definitely. Changed. Not a snowball's prayer in hell.
Go back to your little playpen until you're ready for primetime.
Astroturfing Fergus Falls?
This weekend, the DFL's astroturf machine was in full operation. According to this Fergus Forum article , protests were held at Target stores across the nation:
Thousands of protesters, including several in Fergus Falls, showed up at Target stores across the country to protest a controversial $150,000 donation that Target Corp. made to an organization backing Republican Tom Emmer for governor.The next paragraph was revealing to me:
According to the Los Angeles Times, the controversy started when Target made the choice to donate to MN Forward, a business organization, that is backing candidate Tom Emmer, a vocal opponent of gay marriage, for governor. After the contribution was made public, Target faced complaints from employees and calls for a national boycott by several liberal groups.
Rea Sasseville, a participant in Saturday's protest in Fergus Falls, said "We want them (Target) to stop using money to fund political candidates when thousands of Americans are unemployed." Sasseville pointed out that Target's $150,000 donation could easy hire three full-time employees, in a time when many jobs are being transferred overseas.According to this website , Rea Sasseville is a DFL officer in Ottertail County, which is where Fergus Falls is located. What's got me laughing is this report:
Thousands of protesters, including several in Fergus Falls , showed up at Target stores across the country...WOW!!! Several astroturfed protesters showed up at the Fergus Falls Target store. I'm sure Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel started quaking in his boots the minute he got that report.
I'd take these protest articles more seriously if progressives didn't have a lengthy, well-chronicled history of rent-a-mob protests. The people who organize these rent-a-mob protests are about one thing: doing whatever it takes to make it look like there's genuine grassroots support for the Left's extremist special interest groups.
Lest there be any doubt that these are astroturf protests, ABM is touting via Twitter the protests across the nation. The bottom line is this: It's easy to activate the SEIU's astroturf machinery: contribute to a corporate PAC that supports pro-growth candidates and candidates that believe in enforcing existing border security laws.
Originally posted Monday, August 16, 2010, revised 10-Oct 6:08 AM
No comments.
Dayton's Cop-Killer Remarks Revisited
This past weekend, numerous liberal bloggers wrote that Sen. Dayton supposedly put Rep. Emmer in his place at the Game Fair debate after Rep. Emmer asked Sen. Dayton this question :
Tom Emmer: Senator Dayton you talk about deathbed conversions. Ive explained why I do the things I do. If you could just explain to me and everybody else here in the state of Minnesota, how is it that you can have an F rating from the NRA and you can sit up here and tell us that you're gonna defend sportsmen's rights, you're gonna defend my right and my children's right to hunt and fish in this state when you got an F from the NRA? Have you had one of your own deathbed conversions? Well, we wont call it deathbed, but one of your own conversions that you're sharing with us today?Here's Sen. Dayton's response:
Mark Dayton: Well, I had a D rating from the NRA in 1982 when I ran for the Senate. I had a two- an A rating in 2000. There were two principal votes you can look em up when I was a Senator. One was banning Cop Killer bullets. And one reason that I have the endorsement of the Minneapolis Police and Peace Officers Association, Representative, is because I respect the law enforcement men and women. I was on a ride-along last week to, as I've been several times with a police officer in St. Paul. And those guys wear bulletproof vests every time they go out there. Men and women. And anybody who wants to go out there and see them put their lives on the line to protect us.Not being one to accept a politician's answer as Gospel fact, I called the NRA about Sen. Dayton's cop-killer claims. I read the bill's language . Suffice it to say that it's frightening. Here's the provision that likely got the NRA upset:
And when the police chiefs and the police officers of this state and this nation send to us and say, Those bullets are made to kill us, then yeah, I'll vote to ban em. Does that prevent a law-abiding hunter or fisher, a hunter in this state from, from going out and hunting and fishing? Absolutely not.
How many of you, how many of you own Cop Killer bullets and use em against police officers? Raise your hand. How many ever fire a Cop Killer bullet against a police officer in this state? Raise your hand. Nobody's, Representative Emmer, nobody. Nobody. And they shouldn't ever happen.
SEC. 5. ARMOR PIERCING AMMUNITION.That's extremely slippery language. First off, it doesn't say that the projectile would penetrate body armor. The threshold is met if it's "more likely to penetrate body armor than standard ammunition of the same caliber." Next, the "Attorney General determines, under section 926(d)," whether the projectile fits the vague description proposed in the legislation. Third, they're talking about "a projectile for a center-fire rifle, designed or marketed as having armor piercing capability."
(iv) a projectile for a center-fire rifle , designed or marketed as having armor piercing capability, that the Attorney General determines , under section 926(d), to be more likely to penetrate body armor than standard ammunition of the same caliber.
Let's break this down for people. Just about any rifle cartridge has "armor piercing capability" if it's a full metal jacket bullet and if the range is close enough. An FMJ cartridge from a 7mm Weatherby Magnum at 50 yds. likely could penetrate armor. I know that a 7mm Remington Magnum will go through a 1/2" thick railroad plate with ease because I've seen it happen.
Let's flip this question right back to Sen. Dayton. When was the last time that Sen. Dayton heard of a bolt action rifle be used to kill cops? While I'm sure it's happened somewhere sometime, I'm betting that it wasn't used in more than .001 of a percent of the cop-killings in the last thirty years.
What's clear is that many rifle cartridges would've been outlawed had this amendment passed. Thankfully, it was defeated by a 64-31 margin:
Alphabetical by Senator Name Akaka (D-HI), Yea, Alexander (R-TN), Nay, Allard (R-CO), Nay, Allen (R-VA), Nay, Baucus (D-MT), Nay, Bayh (D-IN), Yea, Bennett (R-UT), Nay, Biden (D-DE), Yea, Bingaman (D-NM), Nay, Bond (R-MO), Nay, Boxer (D-CA), Yea, Brownback (R-KS), Nay, Bunning (R-KY), Nay, Burns (R-MT), Nay, Burr (R-NC), Nay, Byrd (D-WV), Nay, Cantwell (D-WA), Yea, Carper (D-DE), Yea, Chafee (R-RI), Yea, Chambliss (R-GA), Nay, Clinton (D-NY), Yea, Coburn (R-OK), Nay, Cochran (R-MS), Nay, Coleman (R-MN), Nay, Collins (R-ME), Nay, Conrad (D-ND), Nay, Cornyn (R-TX), Not Voting, Corzine (D-NJ), Yea, Craig (R-ID), Nay, Crapo (R-ID), Nay, Dayton (D-MN), Yea, DeMint (R-SC), Nay, DeWine (R-OH), Nay, Dodd (D-CT), Yea, Dole (R-NC), Nay, Domenici (R-NM), Nay, Dorgan (D-ND), Nay, Durbin (D-IL), Yea, Ensign (R-NV), Nay, Enzi (R-WY), Nay, Feingold (D-WI), Yea, Feinstein (D-CA), Not Voting, Frist (R-TN), Nay, Graham (R-SC), Nay, Grassley (R-IA), Nay, Gregg (R-NH), Nay, Hagel (R-NE), Nay, Harkin (D-IA), Yea, Hatch (R-UT), Nay, Hutchison (R-TX), Nay, Inhofe (R-OK), Nay, Inouye (D-HI), Yea, Isakson (R-GA), Nay, Jeffords (I-VT), Nay, Johnson (D-SD), Nay, Kennedy (D-MA), Yea, Kerry (D-MA), Yea, Kohl (D-WI), Yea, Kyl (R-AZ), Nay, Landrieu (D-LA), Nay, Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea, Leahy (D-VT), Nay, Levin (D-MI), Yea, Lieberman (D-CT), Yea, Lincoln (D-AR), Nay, Lott (R-MS), Nay, Lugar (R-IN), Nay, Martinez (R-FL), Nay, McCain (R-AZ), Nay, McConnell (R-KY), Nay, Mikulski (D-MD), Yea, Murkowski (R-AK), Nay, Murray (D-WA), Yea, Nelson (D-FL), Yea, Nelson (D-NE), Nay, Obama (D-IL), Yea, Pryor (D-AR), Nay, Reed (D-RI), Yea, Reid (D-NV), Nay, Roberts (R-KS), Not Voting, Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea, Salazar (D-CO), Nay, Santorum (R-PA), Nay Sarbanes (D-MD), Yea, Schumer (D-NY), Yea, Sessions (R-AL), Nay, Shelby (R-AL), Nay, Smith (R-OR), Not Voting, Snowe (R-ME), Nay, Specter (R-PA), Nay, Stabenow (D-MI), Yea, Stevens (R-AK), Nay, Sununu (R-NH), Not Voting, Talent (R-MO), Nay, Thomas (R-WY), Nay, Thune (R-SD), Nay, Vitter (R-LA), Nay, Voinovich (R-OH), Nay, Warner (R-VA), Nay, Wyden (D-OR), YeaThe vote wasn't even close. Is Sen. Dayton prepared to accuse people like Patrick Leahy, Jim Jeffords, Arlen Specter, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of voting against protecting police officers? Seriously, these senators don't have a history of being stalwart supporters of the Second Amendment.
Sen. Dayton, despite all his huffing and puffing on the issue, voted to essentially outlaw rounds that big game hunters use each year. What's most aggravating is that the Attorney General would have the final say in determining which ammunition is on the list.
Sen. Dayton's statement that the MPPOA wanted these bullets banned doesn't mean that they should've been banned. Certainly, you take the MPPOA's recommendations seriously but that doesn't mean they're infallible. In this instance, they weren't. Had Sen. Dayton done his due diligence, he would've known that the bullets he voted to ban had a legitimate hunting purpose.
There's a reason why Sen. Dayton had a failing grade. Voting to outlaw bullets that sportsmen use each year is a major reason for Sen. Dayton's failing grade from the NRA.
Posted Tuesday, August 17, 2010 3:48 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 18-Aug-10 05:51 AM
Tax the rich. Gary, all of you, do not forget how that resonates with people who are very tired of Reagan tax cuts for the rich, Bush tax cuts for the rich, and of people like Hemsley of UnitedHealth, or Lord of Sally Mae - it took gas, he took millions.
Emmer would hold nobody accountable, and would screw around with an already too low minimum wage instead of raising it decently so that people's time is accorded value even when their parents cannot get them into ivy league schools and jobs.
Ask a waiter. Ask a waitress.
Eight years of Pawlenty were awful, Emmer is more extreme.
Dayton won the DFL primary because he distinguished himself as more willing to unwind the sweet deals the rich have set up for themselves with year after year of compliant GOP governors and with Tom Weaver going from campaign aide to head of the Business Alliance.
You GOP guys are so desperate that every election you kiss the NRA's rifle barrel. Give me a break.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 18-Aug-10 11:16 PM
Eric, I'm tired of liberals hating the profitmakers, without whom job growth isn't possible. Keep hating the job creators in this environment & see how hard you get slapped around. HINT: Don't be surprised if R's gain more seats in the U.S. this November than in 1994.
Minimum wage isn't a winning issue for the DFL either. The reality is that Emmer has a plan that will create lots of private sector jobs, the only type of jobs that are sustainable. The DFL's idea of job creation isn't even about creating jobs. Last week, House Majority Leader Sertich admitted that the DFL's annual bonding bill is nothing more than a stimulus bill. At some point, we've got to choose solid economic policies over short-term jolts to the system.
Look at Obama's stimulus. We had a quarter of explosive growth, another quarter of solid growth & now everything's fading fast. We're likely heading for a 2nd recession. Obama wants to talk about not giving the keys back to the people who drove the car into the ditch. BRING IT ON!!! Yes, the car was in the ditch. Obama's policies have taken that car & driven the economy from the proverbial ditch into the proverbial swamp.
Dayton won the DFL primary because he outspent Kelliher & because his family ran a shadow campaign for him. PERIOD. If he hadn't spent fistfuls of his own money, Kelliher would be the DFL candidate. Now he's whining about trackers recording his conversations. What a weenie. He's fallen apart before & he's doing it again.
Eric, I'd recommend you get used to having a bad November this year & in 2012.
Target Chooses Profits Over Special Interest Pandering
According to this article , Target chose profits over pandering:
But today Target said that they're no longer interested in working with the group, and don't really feel it's in the company's best interest to make things right with the LGBT community. Target FAIL.Which should mean the loss of about 28 voters nationwide. Seriously, it's more than that but there's one thing that's clear: GLBT's attempt to make it appear that there's a massive outpouring of support for GLBT issues.
"All fair-minded Americans will now rightly question Target's commitment to equality. If their initial contribution was a slap in the face, their refusal to make it right is a punch in the gut and that's not something that we will soon forget," said HRC president Joe Solmonese. "However, with full marriage equality hanging in the balance in Minnesota, regardless of Target, it's important that we as a community send a message that we will work tirelessly to elect pro-equality candidates."
Two things here:
Rule # 1. There isn't a massive groundswell of support for these issues.
Rule # 2. No amount of astroturfing will change change Rule # 1.
This paragraph is more than a little overwrought:
Target initially felt their donation to support an anti-gay candidate was fine, because at least they have LGBT-friendly corporate policies. Then they apologized for any hurt they may have caused with their donation, but still maintained that it was their right to try and elect an anti-gay candidate. And now they're telling LGBT people, "Look, we don't even want to work with your organizations to fix things, because we don't believe we did anything wrong in the first place."I haven't read anything about Target's not offering benefits to GLBT partners. That means Target simply said that they wouldn't pay HRC for Target supporting a pro-growth candidate. Target stood up for themselves and others who simply stated that they'd support pro-growth candidates.
I'm betting that the HRC crowd just hoped to intimidate Target and other corporations from contributing to conservative PACs again. Clearly, Target said that they wouldn't be intimidated because their bottom line depends on an economy that's hitting on all eight cylinders.
In Target's mind, a Gov. Dayton would implement policies that would stagnate Minnesota's economy. That's why they contributed to MN Forward.
When that happened, the progressive left tried conflating Target's donation with other progressive causes like gay marriage. Simply put, the public didn't buy that because they thought it was reasonable that Target simply was looking out for their bottom line.
Now that Target's called their bluff by saying no, HRC is essentially throwing an online hissy fit, much like Sen. Dayton is doing lately . Just once, I'd like to see the progressive wing of the DFL act like adults instead of like petulant children.
Until then, I'll just be content that Target said that investing in a strong economy is more important than catering to fringe special interest groups.
Posted Tuesday, August 17, 2010 10:40 AM
Comment 1 by J. Ewing at 17-Aug-10 01:19 PM
"Just once, I'd like to see the progressive wing of the DFL act like adults instead of like petulant children."
That's like expecting petulant children to act like adults because you think they should. They not only won't, but can't, because that's what they are. Plain and simple.
Thank you for the news, however. I can go back to shopping at Target again. I would have gone earlier, to make up for the HRC boycott (which I could probably do all by myself), but canceled those plans when Target apologized. Now Target has redeemed themselves.
Comment 2 by Greg Lang at 17-Aug-10 03:22 PM
Another part of the "Astroturfing" was that CNN poll that cliamed more than 50% support for gay marriage. CNN just did another poll where the support dropped down to around one-third.
The difference? Most polls are automated with a recording where person being called is ask to press a phone button or answer with specific words that voice recognition recognize (IE: yes or no)
The CNN majority poll used live person questioning while the "one-third" poll used the "robo-polling".
On "political correctness sensitive" subjects there seems to be an intimidation factor with live calling. With a live person is it a fake polling call? If asked if you favor gay marriage and say "no" will the live poller start asking why you favor gay bashing or why you want to deprive people of their rights. (hint: rights are rights as defined by law) The robo-polling is less intimidating, especially when you have the "button" option.
Comment 3 by Rex Newman at 18-Aug-10 09:01 PM
Sound like more of this "People before profits" crap. Profits are good, only made if in fact you please people.
How about "People before [liberal] policies"?
Democracy Isn't For Sale?
According to this MinnIndy post , MoveOn.org has a new ad coming out. Here's the ad's script that MinnIndy posted:
VO: Target and other corporations are trying buy our elections.That's insulting. ABM, aka Dayton Family Politics, Inc., bought tons of smear ads against Tom Emmer, ads that were later determined to be false by FactCheck.org :
VO: But if we all work together, we can stop them.
VO: Boycott Target. Our democracy is not for sale.
Disclaimer:
Paid for by moveon.org political action, political.moveon.org, not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee, Moveon.org Political Action is responsible for the content of this advertising.
A False Claim About TaxesThe Dayton family ran these ads smearing Tom Emmer with the sole purpose of buying the governor's office for Sen. Dayton. What's worse is that they tried doing it very quietly and with little transparency.
The ad claims that Emmer "opposed a plan that would force corporations and CEOs to pay their fair share of taxes." That's false. The bill did not mention corporations or corporate CEOs at all. What it would have done is raise taxes on more than 100,000 high-income individuals, pushing the state's top individual income tax rate up to among the highest in the nation.
An estimated 122,000 taxpayers would have been affected, and while that group no doubt includes some corporate CEOs, it also would have included many more small-business owners, doctors and other professionals, not to mention high-income farmers and retirees. And whether or not the higher rate is "fair" is a matter of opinion on which even Democrats are divided. It passed the state Senate by a single vote, with Republicans and 12 Democrats voting against it. It also passed the Democratic-controlled House but Gov. Pawlenty vetoed the bill, forcing the Legislature to return in special session and pass a revised budget bill, without any income tax increase, which the governor signed into law.
Now MoveOn.org is whining that Target, Best Buy and other corporations are trying to buy elections? That's outrageous. MoveOn.org is loosely affiliated with ABM, meaning they knew about ABM's attempt to buy this election for Mark Dayton.
The dirty lttle secret, though it isn't much of a secret, is that Sen. Dayton isn't fit for office. The DFL would've been far better off had Speaker Kelliher won the DFL primary. This past Monday, Sen. Dayton whined about a GOP tracker filming him:
DFL gubernatorial hopeful Mark Dayton said Monday that GOP operatives harassed him at an outdoors expo over the weekend and prevented him from talking to Minnesota voters.What a wimp!!! Sen. Dayton, what types of things did the MNGOP tracker prevent you from saying? Did the MNGOP tracker prevent you from getting your message out?
By following him at close range with inexpensive Flip cameras, Dayton said the video trackers "made it impossible for me to conduct normal campaign activities."
When the MNGOP's candidates for statewide office went on their statewide tour just prior to the 4th of July weekend, Tarryl Clark's son followed them to all of their stops for 3 days. At the St. Cloud event, which I attended, Tom Emmer gave a shout out to Tarryl's son, saying that he'd done a good job following their tour before telling Tarryl's son that he would've been welcome on the bus to save some gas money.
When confronted with a DFL tracker, Tom Emmer was gracious to the tracker, even having a few lighthearted moments about it. By contrast, when confronted with the MNGOP's tracker, Sen. Dayton shut down his day at the Game Fair before whining that the tracker's presense "made it impossible for me to conduct normal campaign activities."
Here's the DFL's and their special interest allies' playbook: 1) Smear Rep. Emmer with demonstrably false ads with Dayton family money before accusing the Republicans of trying to buy the gubernatorial election, 2) Whine that the MNGOP tracker is cramping Sen. Dayton's ability to campaign.
Dayton's real complaint isn't with the tracker. It's that he can't say the things to his supporters that he could if he wasn't being filmed. Sen. Dayton, if you're freaking out because you're being scrutinized, you don't have the temperament to be governor.
I suspect that's the biggest reason why the Dayton family and special interest allies like MoveOn.org have had to buy this election for him.
Originally posted Wednesday, August 18, 2010, revised 30-Jul 3:42 AM
Comment 1 by walter hanson at 18-Aug-10 07:25 AM
Another point to make on the tracker issue here is that in 2006 Senator Allen was trying to be nice to his tracker and telling the public that the tracker was there. Because of he missed prounced a name that you can say isn't common he was branded a racist and a horrible humanbeing.
The fact that Emmer is shown behaving like a governor compared with this in November I hope will be enough to win over Dayton's and Move On's money.
And they have the nerve to say that this race is being bought.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis,MN
Comment 2 by J. Ewing at 18-Aug-10 08:35 AM
I think the folks at MDE have it right: What is Dayton trying to hide? If you are going to make "public" statements to the public, why do you not want the public to record and disseminate those recordings? If you don't want the things you say to be heard, how about not saying them?
Extremists For Tarryl
It's no secret that fringe lefties want to defeat Michele Bachmann in the worst way. That's the biggest factor in Tarryl Clark's fundraising success. They also know that Tarryl doesn't stand a snowball's prayer in hell if she's seen as a radical left. Based on this post , I'd say that Tarryl's centrist image is history. Here's why:
Democracy for America, the political organization founded by Howard Dean, says money it raised recently for democratic State Senator Tarryl Clark against republican incumbent Rep. Michele Bachmann set a record: it was the most the group had pulled in for a democratic U.S. House challenger in a 24-hour period.As DNC Chairman, Howard Dean welcomed self-described socialist Bernie Sanders into the Democrats' coalition. That isn't surprising given the economic policies supported by Speaker Pelosi and President Obama. Certainly, that fits Tarryl's policies, too.
The group EMILY's List, which aims to elect pro-Choice Democratic women to every level of office, is also trying to raise money for Clark. Bachmann is one of several candidates who are endorsed by former Alaska Governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin and whom EMILY's List wants to defeat.EMILY's List is another far left organization. They're committed to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand. Here's what Discover the Network said about them:
EMILY's List has withdrawn its support from women who vote against event the most extreme abortion positions. For instance, Mary Landrieu, the recently re-elected Democratic Senator from Louisiana, lost EL's backing when she voted in favor of a ban on partial-birth abortion.So Tarryl Clark has accepted the fundraising help of an organization whose abortion views are outside the mainstream of even pro-choice politicians. That's interesting.
It's also the type of thing that will kill Tarryl this November. Then again, I predicted that ages ago:
On abortion rights issues, Tarryl would represent EMILY'S List's priorities, not Central Minnesota's priorities. A respectable case could at least be made that Tarryl would represent Central Minnesota when the various unions endorsed her. It wouldn't be a strong argument but reasonable people could make a reasonable argument.This might be the beginning of the end for Tarryl's political career. With this much help from radicals like SEIU, Howard Dean and EMILY's List, it's essentially impossible to argue that Tarryl's a centrist. Factor in the fact that she voted for the biggest tax increases in Minnesota history and it's apparent that she isn't a centrist.
That isn't the case with EMILY'S List. EMILY'S List's agenda would attract marginal support in this district at best. This endorsement alone is all the justification church-going Catholic women will need to vote against Tarryl. The intensity over this issue is that strong in this district.
That's why EMILY'S List's endorsement might just be Tarryl's kiss of death.
By now, everyone's likely heard of EMILY's List's recent ad about momma grizzlies. I can't thank them enough for running such a foolish ad. At the 27 second mark, the woman says "You want to know what threatens me? My daughter not having the right to choose." Another 'grizzly' said that if Republicans ran the country, "my little cubs wouldn't have health care."
I've heard Democrats say idiotic things before, this week in fact, but those quotes rate rather highly. What's stunning is that Tarryl freely chooses to associate with these lunatics.
I'm sure that wouldn't cause a blip in MN-4 or MN-5 but associating with these types of radicals in MN-6 will get you beat soundly. That's why I said in that previous post that getting EMILY's List's endorsement "just might be Tarryl's kiss of death."
After watching EMILY's List's ad, I'm more confident of that prediction than the day I made it.
Originally posted Wednesday, August 18, 2010, revised 19-Aug 11:26 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 22-Aug-10 07:52 AM
What's a "fringe leftie"?
Is it like a "right-wing nut case," but viewed from a different perspective?
Perhaps take both wings, loop them into a circle, and have a circular firing squad.
It might be one way to downsize politics, if not government.
