June 1-7, 2010
Jun 01 01:18 Get Out the Butter; Reid's Toast Jun 02 02:55 The Campaigning Officially Starts Jun 02 11:03 Hasn't Dane Smith Outgrown His Nanny Yet? Jun 03 07:11 Are AFL-CIO's Distortions Intentional? Jun 04 03:30 Emmer Visits St. Cloud, Deltone-Luth Gun Club Jun 06 02:25 Utterly Devastating, Part II Jun 06 21:47 Reed Drops Out; Tarryl's Tax Votes Take Center Stage Jun 07 08:23 St. Cloud TEA Party Highlights
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009
Get Out the Butter; Reid's Toast
Chris Cillizza's optimism notwhithstanding, things aren't improving for Harry Reid. In his column, Cillizza cites a Mason-Dixon poll showing Sue Lowden with a slim 3 point lead over Reid , well within the poll's margin of error.
I didn't buy the poll the first time because the poll surveyed registered voters, not likely voters. That's a huge difference considering the Republicans' huge advantage in the enthusiasm gap. That's before I read Glenn Cook's column in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Mr. Cook's column offers an insightful glimpse into this fall's campaign. Based on this information, Harry Reid will regret not retiring:
If Reid's camp hammers Lowden over campaign finance errors, she can remind voters that cheapskate Harry used campaign funds to provide Christmas bonuses to the staff of the Washington hotel where he lives.What's surprising to me is that Mr. Cook didn't include Sen. Reid's claim that the surge had failed. I suspect that's because his editors limited his column size and there's just too many thing he could've written about to fit into a column. Mr. Cook appears to admit that early in the column:
And those slams are the gentle ones.
How does a man who's been an elected official or public employee his entire working life become a millionaire who pays cash for a Ritz-Carlton condo? How can Reid criticize any corporate lobby when he has ushered passage of legislation for interests that employ his children and family members as well-paid lobbyists?
But the most devastating blows will be the hundreds of images of a smiling Reid standing next to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. These are the two most despised politicians in America, the poster couple for incompetent incumbents. They've been in charge of Congress for 3 1/2 years, and they've sent its approval rating below 20 percent.
There are so many easy ways to savage the Senate majority leader, the Republican nominee, likely to be Sue Lowden or Sharron Angle, and anti-Reid PACs could produce a new campaign ad a day through Nov. 2 and still have a mountain of ammunition remaining.Even if you wanted to bury Reid, there isn't a need to. Contributors should make sure the GOP candidate is suffiently-funded. One that's accomplished, others wishing to contribute should consider contributing to other races where their money might change a close GOP loss into a GOP pickup. The goal is to retake the House and Senate this year, then oust President Obama in 2012 while installing a filibuster-proof Majority in the Senate.
Sen. Reid's involuntary dismissal is just one step in the process of undoing the damage this Congress, led by Sen. Reid and Speaker Pelosi, and this administration have done. If we don't cut spending ASAP, we'll just be another Greece. Eyes on the prize, folks. Defeating Sen. Reid is just one of those prizes.
Posted Tuesday, June 1, 2010 1:24 AM
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The Campaigning Officially Starts
Now that the filing date for the Minnesota state legislatures has passed, it's time to size things up in central Minnesota. Until Tuesday, not only weren't Republicans sure if popular incumbents like Steve Gottwalt, Mary Kiffmeyer and Michelle Fischbach would have challengers. It's that we weren't certain that the DFL would have a challenger for the open seat left by Dan Severson's decision to run for the Secretary of State job instead.
Republicans have a strong group of candidates for central Minnesota. King Banaian is running for the open seat in HD-15B created by Larry Haws's surprise retirement. He'll face either former school board member Carol Lewis or former Franken organizer Zachary Dorholt, the winner to be determined by an August primary.
Local businessman Tom Ellenbecker will face off against House assistant Majority Leader Larry Hosch. This is my bellwether race. If Ellenbecker defeats Rep. Hosch, then there's a strong chance that Kurt Zellers will be the next Speaker in the House of Representatives.
The HD-16A matchup is a rematch of the 2008 election, pitting current DFL incumbent Gail Kulick Jackson against Sondra Erickson. Jackson defeated Erickson by 99 votes in 2008. Now Jackson has to defend her record. This will likely be another tight race. If the tide is big enough, Rep. Kulick-Jackson will have an uphilll fight getting re-elected.
In the end, the DFL talked Rob Jacobs to run against Sartell Mayor Tim O'Driscoll for the HD-14A seat currently held by Rep. Dan Severson. The fact that Jacobs filed on the last filing day suggests that he isn't motivated this year. At any rate, he's trailing badly in fundraising, organization strength and name recognition.
Further north, DFL incumbent Al Doty faces an uphill fight against Mike LeMieur in a rematch from 2008. LeMieur is currently the Little Falls City Council President. Doty won by only 76 votes in 2008 in a strong DFL year. The same headwinds that carried Doty to victory have since been replaced by a strong tailwind at LeMieur's back.
Further west, Mary Ellen Ottremba's surprise retirement makes it difficult for the DFL to hold that seat. Mary Franson is the GOP-endorsed candidate. With this being a conservative district, I rate this seat as leans Republican.
Republicans had an outstanding year recruiting House and Senate candidates. Matt Dean and Amy Koch should be applauded for the job they did and the candidates they recruited. In my opinion, the House is definitely in play for the GOP. While it's a steeper climb for Republicans in the Senate, there's no question but that the veto-proof DFL Senate is history.
It's impossible to know how it all shakes out this far out but the DFL must be worried.
Posted Wednesday, June 2, 2010 2:55 AM
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Hasn't Dane Smith Outgrown His Nanny Yet?
The first thing I thought after reading Dane Smith's op-ed was that Dane Smith is a bit old to need a nanny. Smith's op-ed attempts to rationalize the need for a nanny state form of government.
Here's one of the weakest intellectual arguments I've ever heard:
Almost everything the public sector does has a nannying dimension to it. The principle behind our mostly good and effective governments is that while individual freedoms must be protected, the group is important, too.It's impossible to simultaneously protect individual liberties while increasing the scope of government. This isn't a matter where it hasn't succeeded because the right people haven't been in charge. It's because it's impossible for anyone to increase individual liberties while increasing the size of government.
This paragraph is equally insulting:
A good nanny helps not only with the endless chores of care and feeding but with providing discipline and early childhood education and perhaps even with giving children the healthy feeling that a larger village cares for them.That doesn't have anything to do with the nanny state Smith is talking about. When people hire a nanny, the nanny deals with the children in a one-on-one reltationship. The nanny is charged with the responsibility of feeding the children, changing diapers, etc. In other words, the nanny's employers expect a level of personal responsibility of raising children.
That isn't what a nanny state form of government does. Nanny state government tells parents, employers, etc., what they must do. The government's 'Nanny' only visits the home if there's a report of impropriety. Nanny government isn't there to share the familial responsibilities. It's only there to tell people what to do.
Implied by the things the government's 'Nanny' imposes is the belief that Nanny knows best, especially with regards to health care. That's where Smith's argument fails most miserably. Massachusetts is the quintessential picture of nanny state interventionism in health care. It's also the failure of nanny state health care.
Meanwhile, government demands that Minnesota public employees be good shoppers for health care services. Minnesota tells their unions that their pay for an appendectomy or an angioplasty remains the same whether the individual goes to the Mayo Clinic or to a different or less expensive hospital. Because they have 'skin in the game', people have become wise shoppers. As a result, health insurance premiums for state employees has been flat the last 5 years.
Hoosier state residents have an incentive to use health savings account, another plan that requires people exercise good judgment. Their health care costs and health insurance premiums have stayed relatively flat.
Finally, this statement must be challenged:
A little more public investment in high-quality nannying is exactly what highly stressed, hardworking, low- and middle-income families need.It's a myth that that's what the nanny state does. Talk with Dave Kleis about what the nanny statists do annually that affect St. Cloud. He'll tell you that the nanny statists impose unfunded mandates on city governments that don't shrink the burden placed on his administration.
Rather, what happens altogether too often is that 'Nanny' imposes more burdens on his administration from 75 miles away. Far from being the one-on-one relationship that nannies provide, the government's nanny offers only one-size-fits-all remedies from miles away.
That's why the nanny state is nothing of the sort. Rather, it's an oppressor who tells individuals what they must do and what they can't do. King explained in his 9/12 TEA Party speech what happens when 'Nanny' seeks to impose its will on We The People:
The economist William Graham Sumner wrote a century ago about the way in which we are forgotten by those who would help others in the name of humanitarianism but not with their own money.That's the quintessential illustration of nanny states. Nanny states aren't caregivers like a true nanny is. They're just the people who tell us what we must do and what we have to pay for in the name of the greater good.
A and B put their heads together to decide what C shall be made to do for D. The radical vice of all these schemes is that C is not allowed a voice in the matter, and his position, character, and interests, as well as the ultimate effects on society through C's interests, are entirely overlooked. I call C the Forgotten Man.
It's time Dane Smith admitted that the nanny state isn't the assistant that helps people but that it's the stern taskmaster that tells us what to do...from a distance of 75 miles.
Posted Wednesday, June 2, 2010 11:08 AM
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Are AFL-CIO's Distortions Intentional?
Shar Knutson's LTE in this morning's St. Cloud Times is the special interest groups' latest attempt to define Tom Emmer before he can define himself. Here's a noteworthy distortion:
Republican Tom Emmer, through his legislative record, has already committed to continuing to rest on our laurels and hoping to coast and cut our way to recovery. At every turn he has opposed job creation, opposed investing in students and opposed making health care affordable.That's a totally dishonest characterization of Tom's proposed agenda. It's intentionally dishonest because the special interests don't want real change but they know they can't appear to be for the status quo.
First, the notion that Tom Emmer will attempt to cut our way to recovery is absurd. During the post-session flyaround in St. Cloud, WJON reporter Jim Maurice asked Tom if the reforms he was proposing would save enough money to balance the budget . Tom's immediate response was to call Steve Gottwalt to the podium to explain how much money Minnesota taxpayers would save if his Healthy Minnesota Plan reform replaced the current version of MinnesotaCare.
When Steve said that the savings from the pilot program for 60,000 Minnesotans would save $110,000,000 over the next 2 years and that there are approximately 800,000 people on MinnesotaCare, the other reporters' body language told the story. It's worth noting that Steve's reform disproves Knutson's statement that Tom is opposed to "making health care affordable."
Another distortion in that paragraph is the assertion that Tom "has opposed job creation." That's utter nonsense. It's accurate to say that Tom opposed the pork projects included in recent bonding bills. That isn't the same as saying Tom's opposed to creating jobs.
It's accurate to say that Tom will focus on creating a vibrant, entrepreneur-oriented economy of the 21st Century. Businesses have left Minnesota because they didn't want to deal with the DFL's insatiable appetite for tax increases. Four years ago, I wrote about Mike Hatch's acceptance speech in which he made this statement:
Hatch gave his task an initial shot in a rambling acceptance speech that punched some of the right buttons. He cast Pawlenty as too stingy with education, responsible for large class sizes and rising college tuition. He tagged him for an inadequate response to soaring health care costs and the emerging biosciences industry. He promised more state investment in those things. Significantly, he said, "we can do this without raising taxes."I said then that Hatch was right, that we could do that if we set the right priorities. I also said that nobody should believe him because the DFL was genetically predisposed to raising taxes. As long as the DFL is predisposed to increasing spending, businesses will have to worry about tax increases.
According to these statistics from the IRS, $2,660,709,000 in income left the state in 2007-2008 while $2,281,952,000 entered the state. That's a loss of $378,757,000 in income.
This statement isn't worth the paper it's printed on:
Finally, greater reliance on fees and shifts to local property taxes has meant the middle class now pay a higher share of their income in taxes than the rich do.Let's start with the fact that most entrepreneurs want government to do a few basic things, like funding education, transportation and public safety, then getting government out of the way. All too often, the DFL has been hostile to capitalists, aka small businesses. All too often, the DFL has punished the job creators, expecting them to be 'good corporate citizens' that pay great wages while limiting profits.
If we want to make Minnesota great again, we need a governor who is committed to investing in our state again. The time has come for middle-class Minnesotans to ask the candidates running for governor how they will get us working again.
Meanwhile, North and South Dakota told businesses that they wanted them to be profitable, that they had highly skilled workers. In short, North and South Dakota told businesses that they wouldn't be hostile towards capitalists who wanted to make money while creating jobs.
As a result of North Dakota's business friendly attitude, their unemployment rate stayed below 5 percent. They're even recruiting employees from Ohio to fill the needs of a growing economy.
The lesson that the unions haven't learned from North Dakota is that property tax revenues jump when entrepreneurs are starting businesses and building buildings that house the new businesses.
Tom Emmer gets that. Tom is about setting the right priorities, limiting and reforming government while making Minnesota appealing to businesses.
It's worth noting that one way we'll get government spending under control is by switching to zero-based budgeting. If King's elected, that will be the first bill he submits. King's logic is that government should have to justify each penny it spends each budget cycle. King is fond of saying that we shouldn't be haggling over "the last dollars." King says that we should be about forcing government to justify that what they spent last biennium will be needed again this biennium.
Based on my observations, the current budgeting system is built on the premise of helping stabilize funding to the DFL's political allies more than it's built on the premise of making Minnesota a prosperous state once again.
If Minnesota doesn't become more hospitable towards capitalists, Minnesota's economy won't return to being a job-creating wealth creator. It's time we told the AFL-CIO that we can't create jobs while hating the job creators. It's time we told the AFL-CIO that we can't return to prosperity if we attack the creators of prosperity.
What we really need most is a governor and legislature who will roll out the welcome mat to small businesses so they can start creating wealth again. There's only one choice if we want Minnesota to return to being a prosperous state. That choice means electing Tom Emmer as governor and giving him a pro-growth, pro-reform legislature to enact the laws needed to help Minnesota prosper.
Posted Thursday, June 3, 2010 7:11 AM
Comment 1 by Stonewall Jackson at 03-Jun-10 09:11 AM
This is why it is incumbent upon Tom Emmer to define himself before his opponents do. Tom, however, is not doing this. He seems almost invisible post-convention.
Put another way, Tom's campaign in the run up to the convention was nearly a model of perfection. Tom's campaign, post-convention, is also a model. Unfortunatley, it is looking more and more like a model of...the Titantic.
Comment 2 by NightOwl at 05-Jun-10 08:06 AM
I totally agree.......Tom needs to explain who he is and what he stands for before the voters long before the media does it for him.
Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 05-Jun-10 08:37 AM
Starting next week, Tom will be barnstorming the state in an RV for the rest of the summer. He & his family will hit towns in the Arrowhead, the Iron Range to Bemidji, Moorhead, Park Rapids, Brainerd, St. Cloud, Alexandria, Mankato, Fairmont, Rochester, Redwood Falls, to Winona. Then he'll be at the Minnesota State Fair.
Trust me on this: Tom will be hitting the road hard the next 2 months.
Comment 3 by Tim at 08-Jun-10 03:55 PM
Bravo. Emmer gets it. It seems every liberal with a computer needs to write something to stop common sense from becoming a part of our checks and balances here in Minnesota. Careful where you get your information on Emmer, the truth will tell you why he is the man for the job in St. Paul.
Emmer Visits St. Cloud, Deltone-Luth Gun Club
Thursday afternoon, Tom Emmer made a campaign stop at the Deltone-Luth Trap Range and Gun Club to have a conversation with central Minnesota outdoors enthusiasts. What started off as a conversation about outdoors issues quickly turned into a wideranging conversation that touched on subjects like property taxes, Legacy fund projects to redesigning government.
Rep. Emmer said that he wouldn't talk in terms of spending cuts, that he'd talk about refocusing government on Minnesotans' priorities, which include public safety, transportation and education but then getting government out of the way on things like the permitting process.
Rep. Emmer talked about a businessman who was given the responsibility of expanding his company's operations. Iowa contacted him, walked him through the permitting process, talked about Iowa's education system and life in Iowa in general.
This same businessman contacted Minnesota's Department of Economic Development, where he was given a 2-inch thick book and told that he had to comply with the things in the book.
Predictably, the company expanded in Iowa.
Rep. Emmer questioned why we need both a Human Rights department and a state EEOC, why we needed a Department of Corrections and a Department of Public Safety. He said an Emmer administration would start scrutinizing those things the first day of the transition if elected.
Another subject that got Rep. Emmer animated was the issue of growing private sector jobs. I asked him whether an Emmer administration would focus on creating a business-friendly climate in the state so that cities' property tax roles would grow and stabilize.
Rep. Emmer said that that's one of the things he hopes to achieve, saying that a growing entrepreneurial base would fix many things causing the financial turmoil for cities, counties and the state.
Another thing that got Rep. Emmer animated was when he talked about a department that started 15 years ago as penel with 7 members. Rep. Emmer says that there are 25 people working in the communications department of this agency. Rep. Emmer questioned why we needed that many communications people, saying that more taxpayers would agree with him in eliminating most of these jobs than agree with the managers who argue that they're needed.
Finally, it's worth noting that Rep. Emmer said that he'd only make 2 promises, the first promise being that he wouldn't change, the second being that, if he's elected governor, there would be a Governor's Pheasant Opener.
All in all, I'd estimate that approximately 40 people showed up at one time or another. Joining Rep. Emmer for the trip was Rep. Tom Hackbarth, who represents HD-48A in northern Anoka County. Based on the conversations I heard afterwards, people enjoyed having the opportunity to have a low-key conversation with a gubernatorial candidate.
Rep. Emmer said that he and his family will jump into an RV soon and spend the rest of the summer introducing himself to Minnesotans and listening to their concerns. Based on what I've seen, Rep. Emmer is a skilled retail politicker.
That should help him in introducing himself to Minnesota voters.
Posted Friday, June 4, 2010 3:30 AM
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Utterly Devastating, Part II
Briana Bierschbach's article spells out what I wrote almost a month ago: that Tarryl Clark's literally casting the deciding vote for another major tax increase will cause her trouble this election cycle. I wrote this post that highlighted Michele Bachmann's advertisement. Here's what Ms. Bierschbach wrote:
The tally board remained open for an excruciatingly long time as the Senate awaited the tie-breaking vote. But Assistant Majority Leader Sen. Tarryl Clark, DFL-St. Cloud, was missing from the chamber. Moments before the vote, she had tweeted out a swipe at incumbent U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-MN6, who Clark hopes to unseat this fall.I could go on a luxurious vactaion if I had a dollar for each time I've said that Tarryl has voted for the biggest tax increases in Minnesota history. I'd be able to afford an even more expensive vacation if I would've said that 7 of those tax increases came when Minnesota was running a surplus.
As the minutes ticked away, some speculated that Clark was behind the scenes trying to convince one of the DFLers who had voted no to switch. After nearly 20 minutes, Clark returned, saying she had been dealing with issues related to her son's health. Then she voted yes, passing the bill. Within 48 hours, the GOP and Bachmann issued statements and posted videos on Youtube denouncing Clark a "tax-and-spend liberal." They even crafted a nickname: "Taxin' Tarryl Clark."
At the start of the 2009 session, during an interview with Tom Hauser, Tarryl said that we might be fortunate to find $500,000,000 of spending cuts :
Hauser: You can talk about reform all you want but reform inevitably ends up meaning that some people that are getting state services now won't be getting them after this reform, whether it be in HHS, whether it be in education, early childhood, any of those things.Don't take Tarryl's statement seriously because it isn't a well-informed statement. When Gov. Pawlenty signed the budget agreement into law, one of the things included in the budget agreement was a pilot program based on Steve Gottwalt's Healthy Minnesota Plan to reform MinnesotaCare. The fiscal note attached to this pilot program said that Steve's plan would cover 60,000 Minnesotans currently on MinnesotaCare while saving Minnesota's taxpayers more than $110,000,000.
Tarryl: Sure, and an estimate, a good estimate would be that maybe we could figure out how to save about $500 million.
Considering the fact that there are approximately 800,000 Minnesotans currently enrolled in MinnesotaCare, it isn't a stretch to think that, if fully implemented, Steve's Healthy Minnesota Plan could save Minnesota's taxpayers $750,000,000 per biennium.
The last I looked, $750,000,000 was significantly bigger than $500,000,000.
That's just one section of the budget. Imagine how much money could be saved if the Minnesota legislature went through the entire budget and weeded out the wasteful spending. (Elect Tom Emmer and give him Republican majorities in the House and Senate and you won't have to imagine it because that's an important part of their reform agenda.)
This exchange should infuriate CD-6 voters:
Shortly after Clark filed for office last Thursday, Minnesota GOP chairman Tony Sutton released a statement attacking her vote on the DFL budget-balancing bill: "It's official. With her filing today, Taxin' Tarryl Clark formally kicks off her campaign of higher taxes and bigger government. With a big spending record like that, Clark will have a tough time selling her liberal candidacy to the voters of the Sixth District."Since when has raising taxes been a difficult choice for obstructionist DFL legislators like Tarryl? It's like the DFL leadership is reflexively predisposed to raising taxes. What would constitute a difficult choice for DFL legislators would be the restructuring reducing the size of government.
But Clark says she stands by her vote and work this legislative session, touting her efforts in creating jobs and pushing a balanced budget solution.
"It's meant making tough choices that sometimes have been the subject of unfair or dishonest partisan attacks. But I have always stood on my principles and put people ahead of politics," she said in a statement. "Minnesotans respect leaders who are willing to be a part of the solution, who focus on results and not rhetoric, and who get the people's work done."
What's more insulting is Tarryl saying that she puts "people ahead of politics." First, let's admit that there's nothing wrong with a politician doing things that benefit him/her politically. With that said, let's also take a look at whether Tarryl's statement holds water by asking a couple questions.
Did Tarryl put people ahead of politics when she voted to break the tie by voting to raise taxes on small businesses? Did Tarryl put people ahead of politics when she voted to raise spending by 17 perecent during the 2007 session?
This statement is pure spin:
McFarland said Clark's vote for a tax increase shows a balanced approach to governance. "Tarryl does more than just say no," he said.Please. The only time Tarryl says no is when a Republican offers a bill or an amendment. In the past 4 years, she's said yes to raising taxes. She's certainly said yes to the DFL's attempted spending binge in 2007.
This might be the most accurate statement I've heard from the DFL in ages:
But Reed, who is challenging the DFL-endorsed Clark in the August primary, likened tax increases to "toxins" in the district, noting that Clark voted to raise taxes in 2008 and 2009 as well. She says Clark's tax record dooms her in a general election race against Bachmann.I've said Tarryl's voting for the biggest tax increases in Minnesota history are a millstone around her neck in this district, especially against Michele. Nothing's happened to change my mind about that.
Still, the DFL tries putting a smiley face on this race:
McFarland maintains that this could still be a winning year, despite the odds.Based on her body of work in the Minnesota Senate, small businesses can't afford to have Tarryl go to work on them.
"It will not be easy. We have our work cut out for us," he said. "But I believe in any given Sunday. In politics, anything can happen. And we are really exited about Tarryl. Every day she has just suited up and gotten to work, and that's what she would do for the Sixth District."
I'd also highlight the fact that McFarland's statement isn't a ringing endorsement of Tarryl's electability. In fact, it's a rather passive statement. "I believe in any given Sunday"???
TRUTH-IN-ADVERTISING TRANSLATION: If Michele makes mistake after mistake and voters forget Tarryl's voting record and if there's massive voter fraud, Tarryl might have an outside shot at winning.
Simply put, Tarryl's casting the tie-breaking vote to increase taxes was utterly devastating. This was an unforced error of immense proportions, one which she won't recover from.
Posted Sunday, June 6, 2010 2:30 AM
Comment 1 by Leslie Davis at 07-Jun-10 05:03 AM
Readers should learn about me, Leslie Davis for Governor, so they don't make a mistake and vote for Tom Emmer in the August 10th primary. Compare my record and experience to Tom Emmer and you can breathe a sigh of relief that Minnesota can have a great Governor if you know about me. "The Davis Money Plan" will rescue Minnesota and put us on the right track.
Sincerely,
Leslie Davis
www.LeslieDavis.org
612/522-9433
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 07-Jun-10 07:33 AM
Based on what you said during the St. Cloud bipartisan debate, I'd say you aren't much into holding down spending. No Thanks, Mr. Davis. I want a conservative who believes in limiting government, not a Democrat masqerading as a real conservative.
Reed Drops Out; Tarryl's Tax Votes Take Center Stage
This afternoon, Maureen Reed dropped out of the DFL primary for the CD-6 seat currently held by Michele Bachmann. With Dr. Reed dropping out, Tarryl Clark's voting record will receive greater scrutiny. That's something Tarryl can't afford because her record of voting for massive tax increases will hurt her.
Dr. Maureen Reed says in a statement Sunday that a prolonged primary fight between her and Tarryl Clark is only assisting Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann.While it's true that this helps Tarryl by not forcing her to spend money against a primary opponent, it's equally true that Dr. Reed's dropping out puts the spotlight on Tarryl's voting record, which isn't a good fit for this district.
Reed says her time on the campaign trail was a wonderful opportunity. She says she's now going to support Clark.
Clark won the party's endorsement in March. In a statement, Clark called Reed a "spirited competitor" and thanked her for her support. She says she and Reed always had the same goal of defeating Bachmann, who is seeking a third term.
There's little doubt but that Tarryl will go negative almost immediately. She has to turn this into a referendum on Michele and pray that alot of people change their opinions of Michele. She also has to pray that her negatives don't soar with the revelation that she's earned the reputation of Taxin' Tarryl Clark with multiple votes to raise taxes on Minnesota's small businesses.
In 2006, Tarryl ran as a moderate. She even got a fair amount of support from St. Cloud's business community. Based on the reports I've heard all winter, that support has essentially vanished. Apparently, the St. Cloud business community isn't fond of Tarryl's voting to raise their taxes.
At a time when the economy needed businesses to hire people and expand their business, Tarryl voted for reckless spending increases and job-killing tax increases. Tony Sutton got it exactly right in this statement :
"Unfortunately for Clark, her campaign of higher taxes and big government will go over like a lead balloon in the Sixth Congressional District," said Minnesota GOP Chairman Tony Sutton.As I said earlier today, Tarryl's casting the tie-breaking vote for a $435,000,000 tax increase was immediately highlighted by the Bachmann campaign as proof that Tarryl isn't a fiscal moderate, that she's really fiscally irresponsible.
Reed said her primary battle with state Sen. Tarryl Clark would only have benefited Bachmann, a champion of the Tea Party who has raised millions of dollars from across the country for her re-election bid.Don't be surprised when you start seeing Dr. Reed's words from earlier in the campaign used against Tarryl:
"The other DFL challenger, Tarryl Clark, has amassed more resources, and I feel that it is time for the DFL to unify behind one candidate in this race," Reed said. Reed asked her supporters to rally behind Clark and her "campaign to bring sensible leadership to the district."
"After fully analyzing the situation, I have decided that if I do not receive the endorsement at the convention this spring, we will proceed to the DFL primary election.The reality is that Dr. Reed understands how bad a fit Tarryl is for the district. As I said earlier, Tarryl's votes will hurt her.
We used thoughtful consideration to reach this conclusion since I have such a great deal of respect for the dedicated individuals in the DFL who generously give their time working to improve our state and nation. However, the Sixth District is unique in that it is more moderate and independently minded in its political leanings than the state as a whole. In fact, we conducted a poll which showed that the profile of the Democratic primary voter is more diverse in political philosophy than those who participate in the conventions.
Recent campaign results in the Sixth District show that a big-tent Democrat who appeals to independent voters has the best chance to defeat Michele Bachmann."
What's worse is that Michele's vision for Minnesota appeals to small businesses and families who want to prosper. Compare that with Tarryl repeatedly voting the way the unions want her to and for voting for the DFL's special interests' wishlists.
In 2006, Tarryl ran on personality. This year, she won't get away with that. This year, she'll have to run on substance and positive accomplishments, two things she's sorely lacking.
Posted Sunday, June 6, 2010 9:47 PM
Comment 1 by eric z at 08-Jun-10 10:18 AM
Bachmann has accepted every automatic pay raise Congress has given itself; she's taken welfare from farm and clinic subsidy; and she's not had an adult working job of consequence that's not been giving her a government check.
And you bash Clark??????
Strange. I think you'd want one who not only talks the talk but walks the walk.
Comment 2 by Eric K at 19-Jul-11 08:52 AM
Tarryl Clark is big on embracing illegal immigrants. She wants them to be able to pay instate tuition rates when they are not necessarily long term residents in the first place, and shouldn't be here at all.
We would have far fewer budgetary problems if not for supporters of illegal "Sanctuary" such as Clark.
St. Cloud TEA Party Highlights
Friday afternoon's TEA Party at St. Cloud's Eastman Park was a great success, thanks to a roster filled with great speakers.
The event started off with Michele Bachmann stirring up the crowd of about 200-225 people with a great speech about how important it is to stop the Obama administration's radical agenda. During her speech, Michele spoke about how the national debt had risen to $13,000,000,000,000 this week. She spoke about how the Obamacare bill is having a dampening effect on job creation. Michele then said that that morning's jobs report was disappointing, with 411,000 of the 431,000 jobs being created attributed to hiring temp workers for the Census.
After Michele's speech, King reprised his speech last fall about William Graham Sumner's Forgotten Man. It was fitting then. It's more fitting today than it was last September, especially considering how President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, Harry Reid and Congressional Democrats ignored the will of the American people for over a year before passing Obamacare.
CPAC blogger of the Year Ed Morrissey delivered an outstanding speech, talking about how disappointing the jobs report was, then talking about how conservative principles like limited government were the only cure for the economy.
RF's Andy Aplikowski's speech connected with the audience, too. Andy's speech was a combination of conservative principles and a call to arms to get lots of fiscal conservatives elected this cycle.
The event was something of a coming out party for Luke Yurczyk. Luke is running for the Stearns County Commission this year. What struck me the most about Luke's speech was his arguing that LGA cuts didn't automatically mean higher local property taxes. Luke argued, rightly, that city councils and county commissioners have the option of spending less.
Luke also highlighted the importance of city councils and county commissioners setting smart priorities and spending only on needs when times are tough. This played very well with the audience.
The showstopper of the event was Sanu Patel-Zellinger. First, a little background on Sanu is in order. Sanu moved to the United States in 1990 from India. She arrived here with a suitcase full of clothes and a little money. Twenty years later, she is employed by Best Buy International. In short, she's experienced the American Dream.
This year, she decided to run for elected office against House Tax Committee Chairlady Ann Lenczewski. If you read the text of Sanu's speech, I'm certain that you'll want to contribute to her campaign. Here's the text of Sanu's speech:
"I want to thank you for the opportunity to be here today...not just the chance to speak with you but also for the past two decades I have enjoyed living in America.If you're inspired by Sanu's speech, then I strongly recommend you visit her campaign website to find out more about her. It's my hope that the voters in HD-40B will elect Sanu this November.
My name is Sanu. I came to the US in 1991 from India. I got a job at Seagate Technology so I could pay my way through college, which I did, by working during the day and taking night classes.
In 1998, I became a United States citizen. I was as proud as could be to be a United States citizen. In this American Republic I found individual freedom, real freedom and opportunity. Thank you.
Over the years I have met many hardworking and generous Americans. America's strength and creativity come from the opportunities available to each individual, the freedom to pursue their dreams, and a Constitution that keeps a check and balance on government so we can preserve this. Thank you.
However, there are many things being offered to us today which are not opportunities.
Socialized medicine? No thank you!
Bailouts? No thank you!
Nationalization of private industry? No thank you!
Irresponsible spending with no accountability? No thank you!
This past year I decided to run for State Representative because I feel that we are not being properly represented in government. I am seeing the American Dream being destroyed by out-of-control spending, government debt and never-ending taxation. And I am seeing that many hard working Americans and their children are being punished with taxes to pay for it all.
I am willing to help the vulnerable in society. But I am no longer willing to be punished for being a responsible citizen.
I want to see an end to the misuse of taxpayer funds. I want to see a limited government that lives within a sensible budget just as we all do.
America was started with a great vision, the rights of the individual that cannot be destroyed by any majority.
A country where its people are free.
A country where hard work and personal responsibility are rewarded.
A country that others round the world would like to live in.
A country whose citizens dare to strive for the American Dream. What we have here is precious.
It is time we all stand up for this country of ours and it's great vision for all generations. It is up to us to preserve this free nation.
It takes only a generation to lose it all. Let us not lose it in our watch. President Obama definitely appears to be campaigning for us conservatives). We need to set the stage so that the American Dream remains in the grasp of all who are willing to work for it.
We have plenty to be proud of here. Let us band together to preserve this land of the free!
This year we have a golden opportunity. Let us seize it!
Let us leave behind a state and country our children and grandchildren will be proud to inherit.
Thank you for coming today. That tells me you care about our country. And I am proud to call you a fellow citizen. I am proud to be an American. I am proud to be one of you.
Thank you."
Finally, this post wouldn't be complete if I didn't include the thoughts of the crowd that the legislators and candidates were impressive, whether they were talking about U.S. Congresswoman Bachmann, state legislators like Steve Gottwalt and Mary Kiffmeyer, state legislative candidates like King Banaian, Tom Ellenbecker and Sanu Patel-Zellinger or local candidates like Jeff Johnson or Luke Yurczyk. Jeff is running for St. Cloud City Council. Luke is running to be a Stearns County Commissioner.
Posted Monday, June 7, 2010 8:23 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 08-Jun-10 10:14 AM
That's a low turnout. But on a nice day with options, I guess it is okay.
Is Tea Party stuff waning, or is this a lull before getting closer to the general election?
Also, it reads as if it was a GOP organized thing, and from what I have read of a lot of Tea Party sentiment, there is a skepticism about being coopted by establishment folks; with the Dems not really in the bidding.
How do you distinguish a "Tea Party" event from a "GOP rally?"
And, Gary, I am not belittling Tea Party sentiment. I also feel a bit dismayed about an Obama administration little different from the Bush one, and both spending on two war fronts, still, on borrowed cash that puts the nation behind the Eight Ball, and in debt to the Chinese, who are fighting nobody and producing cheap goods in international commerce while mockingly manipulating their currency exchange value and US of A people in office only bleat and blather but let it happen.
I think that overlaps a bit of legitimate and real Tea Party frustration, and it's from the far left of the current "spectrum" of Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee as the two parties running things along with lobbyists and big corporate special interests.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 08-Jun-10 10:53 AM
Eric, part of the reason why turnout wasn't bigger was my fault in not getting enough advertising to highlight the event.
As for whether it was a GOP-organized event, I'll simply point you to this LTE by Jim Rugg, one of the co-organizers of the event.
There's alot of idealism, Eric, within the TEA Party movement but there's also a realization that there will never be a 100 percent 'pure' TEA Party movement.
