October 5, 2014
Oct 05 09:07 Scott Walker's surge will continue Oct 05 01:19 Udall getting defensive Oct 05 02:16 David Schultz's indictment Oct 05 07:45 Solemn vote, major mistake Oct 05 09:04 Highlighting the MNsure fiction Oct 05 18:36 Burke, Michelle Obama go too far
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Scott Walker's surge will continue
If this video gets the exposure it should, Mary Burke's stumbles will continue:
The Republican Party of Wisconsin put together a website highlighting Ms. Burke's plagiarism difficulties. It's called Copycat Mary . This article does an effective job highlighting Ms. Burke's copycatted jobs plan:
Madison - In an appearance on WISC-TV's '??For the Record' today, Mary Burke was asked by journalist Jessica Arp to name one unique Mary Burke idea in her plan. After a moment of thought, Burke named three things?,? but none of them were unique: anaerobic digesters, academic career planning, and upping the number of people in Wisconsin with degrees. These examples were uncovered by Buzzfeed News as cases of plagiarism?? ?and also include some of Governor Walker's accomplishments.?
This just adds to Burke's problems. Though this isn't plagiarism, it's worse from the standpoint that she's taking credit for her jobs plan even though it's mostly been taken from other candidates. It's important to remember that this was the centerpiece of her candidacy. Now it's been effectively discredited to the point that people are rightly questioning whether she's got any original thoughts on creating jobs.
This won't help her, either:
Mary Burke Also Said Academic Career Plans In High School - It Might Sound Familiar Because It Has Been A Priority Of Governor Scott Walker. Under Governor Walker, every student, beginning in the 6th grade, will have the opportunity to create an academic and career plan based on their interests. Nearly $1.1 million will be provided to school districts for students in 6th-12th grade. (2013 Wisconsin Act 20)
Governor Walker Also Provided Funding For Testing To Measure Work Readiness To Ensure Students Are Ready For College Or Career While In High School. (2013 Wisconsin Act 20)
It's one thing to lift ideas from failed candidates' plans. It's totally different when you attempt to tell people that you're going to champion a policy that your opponent has already implemented. There's no way that doesn't get highlighted.
It's inexplicable that she'd attempt this. Is she that desperate? Or is she betting that nobody will care what she's doing? Does she think that nobody's paying attention? Whichever it is, it isn't a smart bet.
On a different note, the Republican Party of Wisconsin deserves praise for their innovative messaging and fundraising tactics. This Copycat Store is brilliant. It's a way to contribute to the Republican Party of Wisconsin while getting Mary Burke: Plagiarized t-shirts.
Finally, the important point of this is that this video is playing off Burke's plagiarism difficulties. That's what tipped this race in Gov. Walker's direction. Gov. Walker went from trailing by 3 to leading by 5 in 3 short weeks. Thanks to this website and video, the Republican Party of Wisconsin is exploiting the situation to its maximum advantage. I'd be surprised if Gov. Walker's lead doesn't grow in the next Marquette Law School Poll.
I think that the next poll will push this race from toss-up to Leans Republican to Solid Republican. That's quite the jump in a month.
Posted Sunday, October 5, 2014 9:07 AM
No comments.
Udall getting defensive
This article talks about Mark Udall's latest campaign ads. Either Udall has found the special elixir to fix his failing campaign or he's just desperate. Here's one of Udall's ads:
Here's the intro into the ad:
'There's a reason women and families are front and center in this campaign,' Udall says in the ad, in which he attempts to pivot to other issues of importance to women.
There's a reason why "women and families are front and center" in Sen. Udall's campaign but it isn't the what he says it is:
'It's not just about respecting every woman's fundamental rights and freedoms. It's that everyone deserves a fair shot at success: with affordable student loans, equal pay for women in the workforce and equal treatment when it comes to what men and women pay for their health care.'
Talk about a focus group-tested line. That's the first time I've heard that people were worried that men and women weren't getting "equal treatment" for what they "pay for their health care." That's what you call contrived.
The truth is that Sen. Udall doesn't want to talk about how dysfunctional HealthCare.gov is or how expensive health insurance premiums are or how much premiums and out-of-pocket expenses are going up each year. Sen. Udall certainly doesn't want to talk about how networks have gotten restricted.
I can't imagine Sen. Udall wants to talk about the economy either, especially considering how a major manufacturing company left the state after Gov. Hickenlooper signed Colorado's gun grab laws.
I can't imagine Udall's other ad playing that well in Colorado:
Here's the transcript:
NARRATOR: A barbaric terrorist threat met by a respected national leader on national security, Colorado's own Mark Udall. Intelligence Committee member, chair of the subcommittee on strategic forces. Determined to defeat ISIS with full support for airstrikes in Syria and Iraq. No wonder military leaders call him a champion of an effective, common sense approach to fighting terrorism. Mark Udall, Colorado's senator.
Colorado has tons of retired Air Force personnel. It's also home to the Air Force Academy. They know that you can't defeat ISIS with just air power. This is what it sounds like when a dovish senator panders for military votes.
I don't know if Sen. Udall is a "respected leader on national security" but I'm certain that he isn't serious about defeating ISIS or he isn't telling Coloradans that ISIS can't be defeated without ground troops before the election.
That's what it sounds like when you're caught betwixt and between.
Posted Sunday, October 5, 2014 1:19 AM
No comments.
David Schultz's indictment
The thing that came through when KARE11 interviewed David Schultz about the just-concluded Franken-McFadden debate was how disinterested Prof. Schultz seemed in the right policies. That's perhaps a bit harsh but that's what I took from the interview. Here's what Prof. Schultz said that got me thinking:
In many ways, the debate went about exactly the way both sides wanted it to go.Dr. Schultz, was it Sen. Franken's goal to get his butt kicked in that debate? That isn't what was reported but that's what happened.
One potential game-changing moment came when Franken and McFadden debated the railcar shortage, which is a huge issue in northern and rural Minnesota, Franken said that he'd talked with the Surface Transportation Board since getting to DC and that he'd worked with David Vitter of Louisiana on making it cheaper to file a complaint with the Surface Transportation Board. When it was McFadden's turn, he criticized Franken . Here's what he said:
Al, with all due respect, your lack of an energy policy and the lack of an energy policy from President Obama has caused the rail car shortage. There's not been one pipeline built. You haven't approved any pipeline. The Keystone Pipeline has been under the review process for 6 years. That is crazy. That is too long. Pipelines are proven to be the most effective, the most efficient, the most environmentally sensitive way to transport oil. Until you start passing pipelines, we'll have a railcar shortage. I know how to fix this economy. I know how to get us back on the road to growth and prosperity and you are putting Band-Aids as opposed to going to root causes. We need pipelines in this country. I want everyone in this room and in this state I am for pipelines. I will get them built.Sen. Franken sounded like a typical DC politician who wanted to sound like he was doing something without really fixing anything. Sen. Franken also sounded like a politician who didn't want to cross his special interest allies.
By comparison, McFadden sounded like a person not beholden to special interests. He also sounded like a solutions-oriented leader intent on making Minnesotans' lives better.
Sen. Franken sounded like a politician who wanted to make it easier to file complaints. That won't get the farmers' grain to market or the miners' ore to the shipping port. Schultz apparently thinks it's more important to evaluate how politicians look rather than opine on whether that politician's policies will solve problems or make Minnesotans' lives better.
Admittedly, that's a harsh indictment of Prof. Schultz. This isn't about being gentle. It's about getting people's priorities right. That includes high profile professors' priorities, too.
Posted Sunday, October 5, 2014 3:03 AM
No comments.
Solemn vote, major mistake
Bruce Braley just made a major mistake during his debate with Joni Ernst:
Braley tried to be tough on the threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS), saying he voted to authorize the airstrikes Obama ordered in Iraq and Syria.
The authorization to go to war is one of the toughest votes a congressman will ever cast. That's why neither party whips the vote. Each congressman and each senator is left to make up their own minds. It's a solemn event to the point that there's very little in the way of conversations during the vote.
It's difficult to think Braley didn't notice that this wasn't a vote to authorize military strikes. Politifact rated Braley's statement during his debate with Joni Ernst as false:
On Sept. 17, less than two weeks before the debate, the House took two votes relevant to this question. The first was whether to attach an amendment, one related to the situation in the Middle East, to a broad spending bill. The House voted, 273-156, to attach the amendment to the bill.
The second was on passage of the bill itself, including the amendment. The bill passed, 319-108. In both cases, Braley voted in favor, along with a bipartisan majority. However, in the debate, Braley misstated what he was voting on.
Here's the relevant text from the amendment that passed along with the rest of the spending bill:
"The Secretary of Defense is authorized, in coordination with the Secretary of State, to provide assistance, including training, equipment, supplies, and sustainment, to appropriately vetted elements of the Syrian opposition and other appropriately vetted Syrian groups and individuals. : Nothing in this section shall be construed to constitute a specific statutory authorization for the introduction of United States Armed Forces into hostilities or into situations wherein hostilities are clearly indicated by the circumstances."
Perhaps Braley thought he had to embellish because Ernst is a war veteran. Perhaps, it's because he thought that's what people wanted to hear. Undoubtedly, it's because he isn't an honest person. Frankly, I think it's at least partially because he isn't that bright. Did he think candidates didn't verify their opponents' statements?
Braley's put his foot in his mouth too many times to win. He isn't a top tier candidate. That's why he's trailing in the RCP average of polls . In 2 polls, they were tied. In 2 other polls, including the latest Des Moines Register poll, Ernst had a 6-point lead. The PPP poll, which is definitely a Democrat-leaning poll, showed Ernst with a 2-point lead. If things don't change quickly for Braley, he'll definitely have an uphill fight heading into the stretch drive.
Posted Sunday, October 5, 2014 7:45 AM
No comments.
Highlighting the MNsure fiction
Fox9's Tim Blotz did a nice job explaining how the Commerce Department's political document doesn't fit with people's real life experiences:
KMSP-TV
This information wasn't included in Gov. Dayton's Commerce Department report:
While the Commerce Department says individual plans will increase just 4.5 percent, their math only measures providers. One insurer had a decrease of 9 percent and the remaining three had increases in their rates of 1 percent, 8 percent and 17 percent. It averages out to 4.5 percent, but it doesn't measure specific plans or the number of people in each plan.
Using the Commerce Department's methodology, plans will increase 4.25%, not 4.5%. Unfortunately for individuals and families, the Commerce Department's methodology is flawed:
If you break down the lowest monthly premium rates in Minneapolis and St. Paul for a 40-year-old, the numbers tell a different story. The monthly premium for the lowest cost Bronze plan increases $24, or 21 percent, in 2015. The Silver plan jumps 17 percent, the Gold plan 19 percent and the Platinum plan 36 percent.
In the real world, this information means a 40-year-old living in the Twin Cities will see their premiums increase by a minimum of 17% and a maximum of 36%. That's the real increase for 40-year-olds.
In mid-September, PreferredOne, the company that had 59 percent of the privately-underwritten health care plans in the marketplace, announced its withdrawal from MNsure. For the 32,000 current PreferredOne MNsure customers, Rothman said rates will likely go up, but they need to look at the available subsidy and compare the remaining providers during open enrollment. 'Even though rates may increase for some MNsure clients, there will be more tax credits available,' MNsure CEO Scott Leitz said. 'What we are seeing is a more competitive market place.'
If you believe that there are no free lunches, that everything costs someone something, then Mr. Leitz is actually saying that premiums are going up but that the Dayton administration is hiding the cost with subsidies.
What he didn't say is who's paying for those additional subsidies. Will small business owners pay for those additional subsidies? Will others in the middle class pay extra to pay for those subsidies?
If he was interviewed by a reporter who asked pointed follow-up questions, I suspect that Mr. Leitz would've had a difficult time tap-dancing. The Dayton administration is praying that this doesn't get discussed before the election.
Think about what that says. Gov. Dayton is worried more about getting re-elected than he's worried about whether MNsure/Obamacare is hurting Minnesotans. That's a pretty despicable way of thinking.
Posted Sunday, October 5, 2014 9:04 AM
No comments.
Burke, Michelle Obama go too far
If there's anything that's obvious about this article , it's that the Burke campaign and the security detail for Michelle Obama went too far last week:
Political campaigns make otherwise reasonable people go over the edge. The latest example surrounds Michelle Obama's campaign visit to Milwaukee this week in support of Mary Burke, who is trying to unseat incumbent Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter, Meg Kissinger, was trying to interview people who were attending the event when campaign workers stopped her.
This sounds too much like a totalitarian state :
The partisan attacks worry Burke campaign spokesman Joe Zepecki. He called the Journal Sentinel newsroom and tried to have the mention of press restrictions deleted from the online news article. Editors refused. Zepecki then complained bitterly in emails to Kissinger and said it wasn't news, nor was her inclusion in the article that people at the rally who needed to sit down were having trouble finding chairs.
Zepecki later told me no other reporters mentioned any of this in their news accounts. That just proves Kissinger is the only one who got it right. We can't have politicians or their staffs dictating how news is covered, because you know they'd love to.
There's a difference between controlling the message and controlling the reporters. Zepecki tried controlling the reporters. There's no justification for that.
Fans of press freedom, and, yes, there are some left, praised Kissinger for exposing such a ridiculous rule and then interviewing anyone she darn well pleased. Opponents of Burke seized the opportunity to say, see, she would make a lousy governor who will keep all the people's quotes for herself.
This isn't proof that Burke would make a lousy governor. It's proof that her first instinct is to control the media. That's un-American. It shouldn't be tolerated.
Thankfully, Ms. Kissinger didn't let the thugs masquerading as campaign workers prevent her from telling the world what happened.
Posted Sunday, October 5, 2014 6:36 PM
No comments.
