December 5-7, 2008
Dec 05 03:36 Rep. Gottwalt's Reaction to Budget Deficit Dec 05 10:42 Ya Think??? Dec 05 15:02 The Recount Is Finished Dec 06 08:52 It's Time To Challenge the DFL's Status Quo Thinking Dec 06 11:19 Strong Favorite Or Prohibitive Favorite? Dec 06 12:02 An Upset in the Making? Dec 06 12:21 Liveblogging From State Central Dec 07 02:19 Jefferson Ushered Into Retirement
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
Rep. Gottwalt's Reaction to Budget Deficit
Rep. Steve Gottwalt issued his December E-Letter update today. It focuses on today's budget forecast. Here's one of the highlights from Rep. Gottwalt's E-Letter:
In deciding what gets funded and what gets cut, my priorities include:Rep. Gottwalt has consistently pushed for reforming education. He's consistently taken the position that taxpayers have the right to know what their taxes are 'buying them'. That's more than a thoroughly defensible position. I'd say that any positions that doesn't have that as the centerpiece is indefensible.
- Essential services for those most vulnerable and in need
- Education funding and reforms
- Public safety and critical infrastructure
- Key programs to help businesses grow and create sustainable jobs
- Eliminating wasteful spending and unnecessary mandates
Steve also highlights something that Tarryl didn't get done in the 2007 session. In fact, she said that there wasn't enough money in the education system at the League of Women's Voters Education Forum. I'd like for her to explain why she thinks that considering the existence and size of the MnSCU Board.
Here's another highlight from Rep. Gottwalt's E-Letter:
I also support Gov. Tim Pawlenty's call to reorganize state government for greater efficiencies, and rein in government spending that has grown by 140 percent since 1992.I'm still reminded of the saying that "the gap between more and enough never closes." The DFL is never satisfied with the amount spent on their pet projects. In fact, I'll predict that that will never happen.
Finally, there's this:
Economic development is the key to Minnesota's recovery. Our state's business tax and regulatory climate is ranked 42nd nationally. That's killing jobs and driving away businesses at the very time when we need them most. If we want to grow good jobs, jumpstart our economy, and boost state revenues, we need to improve our business climate.If we want to grow high-paying jobs, two things are required: a good education system and a good business climate. In this instance, one out of two isn't good enough. In this instance one out of two equals an inhospitable climate for entrepreneurs.
I've talked with several Minnesota entrepreneurs over the last 3 months. The thing that stood out for me was their mentioning that Minnesota isn't giving businesses enough incentives to move or expand here. One entrepreneur said this:
"We'll never know that a business in Georgia or North Carolina or New Jersey chose to not move here or expand here and instead picked Utah or South Dakota or Colorado."There's a somewhat hidden aspect to this that people aren't talking about. The public works projects are decent wage jobs. The high tech jobs that we'd attract with lower tax rates would be high paying jobs that would stabilize Minnesota's budget situation and would usher in a new golden age of Minnesota prosperity.
Isn't that the type of Minnesota we want to create for the next generation?
Posted Friday, December 5, 2008 4:32 AM
Comment 1 by J. Ewing at 05-Dec-08 09:02 AM
Finding extra money for education would be child's play with one simple change that would cost the taxpayers nothing: Simple have the State Department of Education mandate that, henceforth, all local District budgets must be submitted to the DOE not in the current incomprehensible categories, but as a "program-based" budget. Taxpayers could then see where the money was going, and might decide that some of those expenditures might be better made in the classroom than for things like free coffee for the employees.
Comment 2 by eric z. at 05-Dec-08 11:18 AM
How you innovate, and what attracts innovative people is not a simplistic thing. If it were, everyone would be doing it successfully. Venture capital firms prosper on one-in-five payoffs that are sufficient to fund the four promising but failed items.
Gates put Microsoft in Seattle because he was born there - it started in Albuquerque - where the first micro computer was made with Gates and Paul Allen forming the company and Gates kludging a Basic language version that ran on it.
Cisco and Intel were fostered by and contributed to Silicon Valley. We don't have one.
We seem to have a lot of small machine shops, and such. Parts chain firms, where the buyer has a bigger size and market share.
So, what's the next big thing, and how do you assure it happens here?
Any ideas?
Comment 3 by Gary Gross at 05-Dec-08 11:30 AM
Eric, it doesn't have to be "the next big thing" thought they're welcome. I'd be just as happy seeing an established business move here or expand.
Comment 4 by eric z. at 05-Dec-08 02:19 PM
One of the interesting "component on a larger product" idea, whether it takes off or not, is Cymbet, in Elk River:
http://www.genesiscenters.com/CYMBET_annct_5-1b.html
It is innovative, and has those lengthy granted patents to prove it.
Solid state batteries that can be fabricated on a circuit board, or in conjunction with an RFID, is a concept that I would expect to see prosper, if the implementation is as good as the idea.
But they're in Elk River because they live there - the challenge would be to not have any business environment factors causing them to want to look elsewhere if they succeed. I think that's the point.
But somebody's got to pay taxes or there are no services. Payroll is always easy to attack, and any payroll probably has dead wood, once you get above five employees.
But I think the aim is to foster innovation and to keep the innovative people in state - which means the engineering, medicine and post graduate faculties at the U.Minn. should not be sacrificed.
You'd not want Medtronic moving.
Ya Think???
The Hill is going out on a limb with this title :
Matthews could be haunted by his own wordsThere's no guarantee on what type of candidate he'll be but it's guaranteed that his opponents will throw his words back in his face. They'll be used to paint him as an erratic scatterbrain who isn't disciplined enough to be a politician.
If there's a Pennsylvania version of Michael Brodkorb, that person is licking their chops praying that Matthews runs. Having Matthews run would be full employment season for Pennsylvania bloggers.
Posted Friday, December 5, 2008 10:43 AM
Comment 1 by Lady Logician at 05-Dec-08 01:11 PM
Kinda like they did with Al Franken????? We all saw how well THAT worked.....
LL
Comment 2 by eric z. at 05-Dec-08 05:08 PM
As "an erratic scatterbrain who isn't disciplined enough to be a politician," Gary - I don't think he's at all like Michele Bachmann.
Comment 3 by Gary Gross at 05-Dec-08 05:31 PM
That's true. She's spoken out of turn but she isn't the idiot he is.
Comment 4 by eric z. at 06-Dec-08 10:55 AM
Mathews against Bill O'Rilley? If Bill would run. All smoke, no fire.
Comment 5 by Gary Gross at 06-Dec-08 11:29 AM
Matthews vs. O'Reilly = All bluster, no brains.
The Recount Is Finished
That's the message from this statement from Cullen Sheehan, Sen. Coleman's campaign manager:
ST. PAUL - The Coleman campaign released the following statement from Cullen Sheehan, campaign manager:Now the only step left is to determine if any absentee ballots were improperly rejected and to rule on the challenged absentee ballots.
"With Wright County completing its recount, an important phase of the Great Minnesota Recount has ended. While we are pleased that we remain ahead in this recount, we want to give our thanks and appreciation for all Minnesota's local election officials for their commitment to a fair, legal and transparent process. We are confident that when the Canvassing Board begins meeting on December 16th and ultimately completes its work, that Norm Coleman will continue to be ahead, and will be re-elected to the United States Senate. This recount process showed the best of Minnesota with the commitment of election officials to do their best to give the best possible result for the citizens of the state."
Once that's done, Mark Ritchie can certify a winner. I suspect that won't be the final step because Mr. Franken has proven himself to be a sore loser but that's another issue for another day.
Posted Friday, December 5, 2008 3:02 PM
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It's Time To Challenge the DFL's Status Quo Thinking
It's past time to challenge the DFL's mindset that Tarryl Clark so perfectly enunciated at the LWV Education Forum in September, 2007. Here's what she said then:
"I've studied everything thoroughly and there simply isn't any place to cut. We just need more revenue in the system."Tarryl said this despite the legislature not holding oversight hearings during the 2007 session. In fact, many committees met infrequently during January and February that year. I reject the notion that there isn't a single ounce of fat in the education budget. Even the most efficient companies spend some money inefficiently. The thought that education dollars are spent efficiently doesn't pass the laugh test. In fact, it's insulting to a thinking person's intelligence.
That's before we get into the fat that's thrown into omnibus spending bills to buy votes. That's another batch of wasteful spending. It's time we thought of the budgeting process in terms of mindset. The DFL has used the mindset that once something has had money appropriated to it, then that becomes part of the budget forever. The only exceptions to that rule is when they want to eliminate GOP programs like JOBZ.
In January, 2007, I asked Tarryl if she was a proponent of zero-based budgeting . She said she was but that they wouldn't be able to use that "this year." According to this article , it sounds like they'll use ZBB:
"What we'd like to do is look at everything," Sen. Tarryl Clark said. "We're going need to go line-by-line to figure out what's working, what's not. What's fundamentally important to keeping us on a good road map, moving forward for the future. Keeping our kids and our grandkids in mind what's our state going to look like?"Shouldn't legislators automatically do that before putting a budget together? Why appropriate money to something that's underperforming or that doesn't make us more prosperous, more free or more safe? If it doesn't meet those criteria, isn't it probably wasteful spending?
Shouldn't we also repudiate the public works-oriented economic model that's kept Minnesota on a suplus/deficit roller coaster ride the last 15 years? Shouldn't we also eliminate the 'you need to restore full funding to my project' thinking? That thinking is why we've swung from dramatically cutting spending to dramatically increasing spending to back again. It's a vicious cycle that must end ASAP.
This winter, it's important that we monitor how serious the DFL is in examining each line item in the budget. We'll know that they're serious about it by how much whining we hear from people like Sandy ' We're Starving Higher Education ' Pappas, John Marty and Tommy Ruckavina. If they aren't whining loudly and often, then it's probably safe to say that a serious line-item-by-line-item examination isn't happening.
If we hear Pappas, Marty, et al whining alot about the budget, then I'll probably have a big smile on my face.
Posted Saturday, December 6, 2008 8:52 AM
Comment 1 by eric z. at 06-Dec-08 10:53 AM
Is that the Rukavina who got money in one bill for the Hockey Hall of Fame, in Eveleth? That was inexcusable when real needs existed.
Comment 2 by Gary Gross at 06-Dec-08 11:27 AM
I don't know that for sure but it wouldn't surprise me if it was. Rep. Ruckavina's nickname is Tommie the Commie. (That's what the Duluth newspaper called him & it's stuck ever since.)
Comment 3 by J. Ewing at 06-Dec-08 11:56 PM
Since education is a full 50% of the budget, logic dictates that this is where you go looking for cuts to make. If they were serious, they would look at some of the state requirements, and determine their costs (Suggested by Gov. Pawlenty this morning). They would also look at NCLB, which by some reports costs more than we receive.
Comment 4 by eric z. at 07-Dec-08 08:45 AM
J. Ewing - The devil's in the details. You seem from several comments suggesting you might have distinct views of WHERE you'd make cuts, but for some reason you have been reticent about any distinct proposal. Whose ox would you see gored?
You should start a blog on Education in Minnesota, what's right, what's wrong.
Comment 5 by J. Ewing at 07-Dec-08 09:21 AM
You're right. The devil's in the details. But the problem is that those very few (if any) who know the details either deliberately, or through inaction, obscure them so badly that nobody really knows where all of that huge expenditure goes, and what the priorities are.
My proposal is this: Require every district to produce a "program based budget" and report it to the state. Once we know where it's going, we can decide where some of it doesn't need to go.
Strong Favorite Or Prohibitive Favorite?
Fred Barnes' article says that Jeb Bush would be a "strong favorite to win" Mel Martinez' seat if he chooses to run. I'd suggest that Jeb would be the prohibitive favorite to win. If this were Vegas, they wouldn't even offer odds on this race. If this were InTrade, it'd be the only stock sold for the Florida Senate seat.
Bush's sudden emergence, after two years out of politics, has national significance beyond the possibility he might run for president some day. Republicans, divided and depressed after crushing election losses in 2006 and this year, need unifying leaders with broad appeal. Bush, in his eight years as Florida governor, was popular with all branches of the party. Merely as a candidate, he'd be a focus of Republican attention.He'd also soon be the GOP leader in the Senate if he's interested. This would be great for the GOP because he'd be a national voice for conservatives. Anytime you're the out party in the Senate and the White House, the party struggles because (a) they don't have the same sized megaphone as the president does and (b) everyone is trying to carve out a niche for themselves as a leader. The minute Jeb Bush gets sworn in, he'd be the guy reporters would quote.
There are other benefits to having Jeb Bush in the Senate. Another benefit is his understanding of education issues. Having a heavyweight like Jeb would give Republicans instant credibility on that important issue. Jeb's also a fiscal hawk. We'd replace a squishy moderate who ignored the GOP's activists on a host of issues with a conservative's conservative.
The other thing I'd relish is seeing Jeb Bush going to-to-toe with Harry Reid. That would be a mismatch of epic proportions.
Here's proof of Jeb Bush's conservative leanings:
Bush is a small government conservative who often talks about having a "libertarian gene." Neither his brother nor his father, the elder President George H.W. Bush, has anything of the kind. "There should not be such a thing as a big government Republican," Jeb Bush told Politico after the November election, differentiating himself from his brother in a none-too-subtle way.It's time we distanced ourselves from the image of fiscal irresponsibility people like Ted Stevens gave the GOP. It's time we started highlighting the fiscal restraint of Jim DeMint, Tom Coborn and, hopefully, Jeb Bush. That's the only real path back to the majority for Republicans. If the GOP doesn't change their image on that issue, they'll be the minority party for a long time.
When Martinez announced his retirement, the Right Blogosphere worried that we'd lose that seat. If Jeb runs, which is sounding more likely each day, the Democrats effectively write that seat off. It's that simple.
Posted Saturday, December 6, 2008 11:24 AM
Comment 1 by Josh D. Ondich at 08-Dec-08 12:40 AM
No Bush will ever be good for the GOP or the US. He is no different whatsoever from His Father or His Brother. Replacing a Bush with another Bush and expecting different results is insane. hyping Jeb Bush is basically a strategy if you want to end up back where you were or worse. I believe a GOP without the Bushes will be a more successful political party
An Upset in the Making?
Since the 2006 midterms, the GOP has been a little like the character in Lil Abner with the perpetual rain cloud hovering over his head. This year's elections didn't do alot to change that mood. The good news is that there's a distinct possibility that the GOP might pick off William 'Cold Cash' Jefferson in today's runoff election :
Normally, we wouldn't have a prayer in LA-2. Except for one thing: the incumbent is Wiliam "Freezer Cash" Jefferson. And recent polling shows Republican Joseph Cao actually has a chance to knock off Jefferson. An internal Republican poll shows Cao leading Jefferson 50-35 , with Jefferson at 60 percent unfavorables (significant because Jefferson retains a base of support in the African American community). Quin Hillyer has been tracking this race for the Spectator.Any incumbent politician whose JA rating is in the mid-thirties and whose unfavorables are in the sixties is in for a fight and then some. I won't predict the outcome of this race but it's worth thinking about the next time people start thinking that some seats will forever be red or blue. (Minnesota's Fifth District comes to mind.)
Patrick Ruffini supplies this strategy advice:
This is Exhibit A of why we need a 435 district strategy . Yes, we need to be focused on our traditional targets. We saw how replacing Woody Jenkins with Bill Cassidy made all the difference in LA-6 . But we can't be playing defense all the time. Congressional races can be surprisingly nonpartisan if the incumbent is corrupt or has other liabilities . We can pick off 60-40 and 70-30 Democrat seats if we focus on getting the right candidates with some level of professional staffing. (And I wouldn't be surprised if LA-2 wound up being even more lopsided than that.)One lesson I'd take from this is that recruiting quality candidates matters. Another lesson I'd take from this runoff is that solid candidates are easier to fundraise for. It isn't possible for a Republican to defeat a Democrat in a solidly blue district if he didn't have adequate financial support.
For those of you who haven't checked out Patrick's 435 District plan, it's today's must reading. In fact, check out RebuildTheParty.com when you have the time. In fact, I'd suggest that you make time to read it.
Posted Saturday, December 6, 2008 12:09 PM
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Liveblogging From State Central
Andy Aplikowski is liveblogging the State Central meeting. It's today's must reading.
Posted Saturday, December 6, 2008 12:21 PM
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Jefferson Ushered Into Retirement
In an election year thoroughly dominated by Democrats, Joseph Cao defeated William 'Cold Cash' Jefferson . This follows on the heals of Saxby Chambliss' resounding defeat of Paul Martin in the Georgia runoff.
Scandal-tarred Louisiana Democratic Rep. Bill Jefferson was defeated in his bid for a tenth term tonight by a little known Republican named Joseph Cao.I didn't see this coming but it's a great consolation prize after another disappointing election cycle for the GOP.
With 80 percent of precincts reporting, Cao led Jefferson 53 percent to 43 percent and the Associated Press had called the race for the Republican. The 2nd district heavily favors Democrats; Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) won 75 percent of the vote in it in 2004.
In 2007, Jefferson was indicted on 16 counts relating to allegations that he had accepted bribes from companies hoping to secure contracts in Africa. Jefferson insisted he had done nothing wrong.
The primary election in Louisiana, held on Nov. 4, gave Jefferson a 57 percent to 43 percent margin, a sign, many believed, that his ongoing legal problems would not impact his electoral success. Tonight's results affirm that conventional wisdom regarding Jefferson was dead wrong.
The results might indicate that things will rebound for the GOP in the 2010 midterms. This suggests that Barack Obama swept alot of Democrats into office with the large turnout. In 2010, people won't be casting a history-making vote. They'll be voting for their congressman. I suspect that that will dramatically change that year's turnout model.
Posted Sunday, December 7, 2008 2:19 AM
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