Blue man in a Red district

See you in a bit

2009-12-10T05:34:00.001-06:00

We'll be back in a few months...hopefully under the title "Blue man in a Blue district".

Dean Mahlstedt announces in SD 18

2009-12-09T21:10:00.002-06:00

So far, a two way race for the GOP endorsement. I expect Scott Newman and one other candidate to announce soon.

Cokato business owner Dean Mahlstedt is seeking the Republican Party endorsement in his run for Minnesota Senate.

Mahlstedt is vying for Steve Dille’s seat as District 18 senator. Longtime incumbent Dille announced last month that he won’t run for re-election. His current term ends Jan. 3, 2011.

Mahlstedt will be at Dunn Bros. in Hutchinson from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Dec. 12. After a brief introduction, he’ll be available to answer questions and listen to comments.

Randy Wilson announces in SD 18

2009-12-09T09:15:00.001-06:00

From the McLeod County Chronicle

Wilson to run for Senate seat

Last Friday afternoon, Glencoe Mayor Randy Wilson announced he will be running for the District 18 state Senate seat in the fall 2010 election.

The seat is currently held by State Sen. Steve Dille, R-Dassel. Dille announced last month that he will not seek re-election.

Wilson announced he will run as a Republican, and will seek the District 18 Republican Party endorsement. But he did not rule out running in the primary if he does not receive the party endorsement.

"With the opening of the Senate seat in District 18, I would like to earn your support as a Republican candidate," Wilson said in making his announcement.

"While the 2010 elections seem a long time from now, the candidates interested in the open seat do need to start the process of meeting the people they desire to serve.

"We should give everyone an opportunity to learn which candidate will best represent their interests in St. Paul. I believe my experience as mayor of Glencoe and as a business owner for 23 years has given me the background to serve as your next state Senator in Senate District 18," Wilson said.

Comcast backs health care reform

2009-12-05T10:02:00.001-06:00

Good story at Think Progress

But on Thursday, Comcast, the nation’s largest cable provider, came out and endorsed the Senate health care legislation. CEO Brian Roberts sent a letter to President Obama saying that the “enactment of comprehensive health care reform legislation is, in my judgment, critical to putting this country on a path of sustained growth and prosperity.”

Is Michael Brodkorb still running the show at MDE?

2009-12-05T08:15:00.003-06:00

It would appear as such.

Yesterday, a post appeared at 1:29 pm, about a South Dakota blog going after Matt Entenza.

It was posted by "Luke Hellier".

SOUTH DAKOTA POLITICAL BLOG PICKS UP ENTENZA STORY
By Luke Hellier | December 4, 2009

South Dakota War College, a political blog from South Dakota, picked up the story about Entenza’s fundraising event in Washington, DC. The post is below:

Remember this story from a couple of years ago? If I recall, I even blogged on it:

"Luke Hellier" posts a link to the story

"I even blogged on it:" back on August 28, 2006.

"I" as in "Luke Hellier".

But that story was written by Michael Brodkorb.

So who wrote the South Dakota story? Brodkorb or Hellier?

On June 24, 2009, Brodkorb announced that he would be leaving MDE because of his position as the Deputy Chair of the Minnesota Republican Party, creating separation between the tabloid arm and the leadership arm of the Minnesota Republican Party.

On June 30, 2009, Brodkorb supposedly turned over the reigns of MDE to other bloggers.

New bloggers will be added over the coming weeks, but those decisions will be made by Ryan and Aaron, as I will have no editorial role in Minnesota Democrats Exposed. The keys to the store have been handed over to the new tenants.

Ryan and Aaron posted for about 3 months before they were joined by "Luke Hellier".

Perhaps Luke does some posting at MDE. Maybe it was Luke posting back in 2006 and not Michael?

Is the real Luke Hellier just a patsy?

So, is the Deputy Chair of the Minnesota Republican Party is posting at MDE now under the alias of "Luke Hellier"? Even after he stated he would "have no editorial role in Minnesota Democrats Exposed"?

Inquiring minds want to know...

Senator Thune: Stay in your lane buddy

2009-12-04T07:02:00.004-06:00

What's up with Senator John Thune?

"I don’t know what his [Franken's] motivation was for taking us on, but I would hope that we won’t see a lot of Daily Kos-inspired amendments in the future coming from him," said South Dakota Sen. John Thune, No. 4 in the Senate Republican leadership. "I think hopefully he’ll settle down and do kind of the serious work of legislating that’s important to Minnesota."

I'll re-state some comments I made nearly a month ago on the "anti rape" amendment.

Senator Franken didn't propose this legislation to "be the poster boy for a hard hitting campaign against the Republican Party".

He proposed it because it was the right thing to do.

So, instead of going after Senator Franken, maybe we should spend more time figuring out why 30 Republican Senators thought that the individuals that raped Jamie Leigh Jones needed protection.

Being an advocate on an issue like this DOES build the base. Being an advocate on an issue like this IS important to Minnesota. It should be important to folks in South Dakota too Senator Thune.

Rape is about power. In this case, KBR employees slipped a date rape drug into Jamie Leigh Jones drink and gang raped her while she was unconscious.

After Jones reported the criminal act committed against her, KBR armed guards placed her in a metal shipping container and denied her access to food, water and medical treatment.

Anyone reading this ever actually been in a metal shipping container? We spend hours loading these things while I was stationed at Fort Hood Texas. Imagine how hot this sealed shipping container could get on a July 2005 day in Iraq.

And yet, 30 United States Senators sought fit that KBR and other defense contractors were the ones needing protection and not people like Jamie Leigh Jones.

Obviously I'm not the only one who sees the absurdity in that.

So, my question to Senator Thune is this.

If your daughters Brittany and Larissa were raped by a defense contractor in Iraq, would it still be a bad idea to seek justice?

Would you still feel that this was a "kos inspired amendment"?

GOP wants Franken to defend them?

2009-12-03T07:36:00.003-06:00

30 Republican United States Senators vote against an amendment that would de-fund contractors who prevent their employees from suing if they are raped by co-workers, and they want Senator Franken to defend their vote?

Really?

Do I really think these 30 gutless Senators support rape? Of course not.

They support corporations and the military industrial complex over real people.

To his credit, Senator Franken hasn't gone Bachmann on the bit and appeared on every cable news show known to mankind to hurl accusations.

He's been quiet. He's been professional. He's been a United States Senator.

And importantly, he's right.

Palin and Bachmann to unite Tea Baggers

2009-11-27T15:45:00.001-06:00

And for $549...you can witness the carnage first hand.

Navy SEALS: Let them do their job!

2009-11-26T09:27:00.003-06:00

I caught this story this morning and well...it ticks me off.

Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named "Objective Amber," told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it.

Now, instead of being lauded for bringing to justice a high-value target, three of the SEAL commandos, all enlisted, face assault charges and have retained lawyers.

Matthew McCabe, a Special Operations Petty Officer Second Class (SO-2), is facing three charges: dereliction of performance of duty for willfully failing to safeguard a detainee, making a false official statement, and assault.

Petty Officer Jonathan Keefe, SO-2, is facing charges of dereliction of performance of duty and making a false official statement.

Petty Officer Julio Huertas, SO-1, faces those same charges and an additional charge of impediment of an investigation.

So the guy that masterminded this...

got a bloody lip and 3 Navy SEALS who brought him to justice are being prosecuted?

Since we're bringing GITMO detainee's and 9-11 conspirators to NYC for a trial, what about bringing Ahmed Hashim Abed to the United States so these brave Navy SEALS can face their accuser?

Conservative, moderate, or liberal...it does not matter when the bureaucrats decide they want to make an example out of someone.

Pathetic...

R.T. Rybak for Governor Campaign Kickoff!

2009-11-26T07:52:00.000-06:00

Join R.T. Rybak as he officially kicks off his campaign for Governor of Minnesota!

The campaign is up and running, and we are building a grassroots movement to get real change in Minnesota. I’m running for Governor to create jobs and get real results for the people of Minnesota – because it is time to change not only the policies of St. Paul, but the politics.

Be a part of it. Join us to officially kick-off our campaign for Governor:

R.T. Rybak for Governor Campaign Kick-Off
Sunday December 6, 1 p.m
Varsity Theatre, 1306 4th Street SE in Dinkytown, U of M

This event will kick off a three-day swing around the state that will end in New Prague, the town R.T.'s great-grandparents helped found in 1865.

Perino: "We did not have a terrorist attack on our country during President Bush's term"

2009-11-24T21:54:00.001-06:00

And we're worried about re-education camps via Americorps and the University of Minnesota?

Oh holy hell...

A GOP 10 Commandments?

2009-11-24T07:12:00.003-06:00

Really? I'm not sure this will help the GOP at all.

The resolution invokes Ronald Reagan, and noted that Mr. Reagan had said the Republican Party should be devoted to conservative principles but also be open to diverse views. President Reagan believed, the resolution notes, “that someone who agreed with him 8 out of 10 times was his friend, not his opponent.”

Hence the provision calling for cutting off Republicans who agree with the party on seven of 10 items. The resolution demands that Republicans support “smaller government, smaller national deficits and lower taxes,” denial of government funding for abortion, and “victory in Iraq and Afghanistan.” It calls on candidates to oppose amnesty for illegal immigrants and repealing of the Defense of Marriage Act.

So if you only support 7 of these...you're SOL?

(1) We support smaller government, smaller national debt, lower deficits and lower taxes by opposing bills like Obama’s “stimulus” bill;

(2) We support market-based health care reform and oppose Obama-style government run health care;

(3) We support market-based energy reforms by opposing cap and trade legislation;

(4) We support workers’ right to secret ballot by opposing card check;

(5) We support legal immigration and assimilation into American society by opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants;

(6) We support victory in Iraq and Afghanistan by supporting military-recommended troop surges;

(7) We support containment of Iran and North Korea, particularly effective action to eliminate their nuclear weapons threat;

(8) We support retention of the Defense of Marriage Act;

(9) We support protecting the lives of vulnerable persons by opposing health care rationing and denial of health care and government funding of abortion; and

(10) We support the right to keep and bear arms by opposing government restrictions on gun ownership.

Sadly, Allen Quist and Michele Bachmann added this up and support 11 out of 11.

Note #9. Republicans bundle health care for for "vulnerable persons" with anti-choice rhetoric. So in the GOP eyes, you can't support health care for a senior or low income person but support a woman's right to choose.

So, what do you think? Is this a good idea for the GOP to strengthen it's base? Or will it result in more NY 23 type races?

193% of Republicans can't be wrong

2009-11-24T07:08:00.001-06:00

Pawlenty get's no love...

Dille wil be missed

2009-11-21T08:56:00.001-06:00

An op-ed in the West Central News Tribune

Sen. Steve Dille announced earlier this week that he would not seek re-election in 2010. The veteran Republican senator will serve during the 2010 Minnesota legislative session.

Dille will be missed in the Legislature.

A veterinarian and farmer from Dassel, Dille has served diligently and well — first in the House for six years and then for 17 years in the Senate. He has a good temperament that has served his constituents, his district and his party well.

Unfortunately, Dille is a moderate in a district where some in the Republican Party are moving farther to the right. This moderate senator was facing opposition within his district from party activists, who were not very tolerant of some of his moderate stands.

It is unfortunate when intolerance runs anyone out of either major political party.

Dille was brave and he was right for taking a stand for outstate Minnesota when he voted to override Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s veto of the transportation bill, which included a gas tax. All of Minnesota needed this investment in our infrastructure.

Dille authored the Freedom to Breathe Act, supported and signed by Pawlenty, that banned smoking in bars and restaurants. This was the right move for Minnesota.

Overall, Dille has been supportive of the Republican caucus for the majority of the time. Senate Minority Leader David Senjem of Rochester released a statement commending Dille for both his service and temperament.

However, Dille is 64 and has others things he wants to pursue in life. We understand that.

We are glad Dille will still serve through another session in the Legislature. Moreover, we wish him well in his new pursuits in life.

Extremist Allen Quist for Congress? Really?

2009-11-20T07:24:00.001-06:00

We all long for the story that writes itself. It truly is a writer's dream. In nearly 4 years on the Minnesota Blogosphere I hadn't really come across one...

Until now!

Allen Quist is running for Congress...against Congressman Tim Walz.

The story broke a few weeks ago now and surprisingly, posts about the extremist Quist are few and far between.

So who is Allen Quist? Simply put, a liberal bloggers delight.

The short answer is that Quist was elected to three terms in the Minnesota House and ran for Governor twice.

We've never been fans of the short answer though.

A quick look at Allen Quist's Gubernatorial coverage in both 1994 and 1998 tell us a lot about the man.

He has strong opinions on a woman's role in society

During our interview in St Peter, his home town, Quist confirmed his belief that, in a household, the husband is genetically predisposed to be master of his wife. 'In marriage, there is a political arrangement between the man and a wife, and in the political arrangement the man should be the head of the house. I think it's instinctive,' said Quist, 49, who served as a state legislator in the mid-1980s. 'I know it's true. You look in the animal world versus the human and it's virtually universal in the animal world.'

At the funeral for his first wife, Quist directed the mortician to display the couple's unborn child.

Quist also recalls the death of his first wife seven years ago when she was pregnant. He had the undertaker remove the 6 1/2 - month fetus from the womb and display it in his dead wife's arms lying in a glass-fronted casket. That way, he said, he and his family were able fully to grieve the unborn child.

He's displayed some rather odd behavior in the past.

First, voters have heard a lot about Quist's reputation as a three-term legislator almost obsessed with sexual morality, including an undercover foray into a sex-oriented bookstore in Mankato, hours and hours of speeches on the House floor railing against homosexuality and pornography and sponsorship of a bill to require AIDS testing for all marriage license applicants.

He has not made a big deal out of those issues in his campaign, and explains that he got caught up in those issues, in part, because he was given grossly inflated estimates by the state about the spread of AIDS.

He was virtually unelectable in 1994. Yep...15 years ago...

Still, with a month to go before the primary, polls show that Quist's negatives are very high and that, as people get to know him, a significant percentage strongly dislike him or disapprove of his politics.

Vin Weber, the former Minnesota congressman who pioneered the Reagan coalition in the 1980s - a coalition Quist claims to be trying to resurrect - predicted last spring that Quist would become unelectable as the news media and his opponents defined him, especially in a general election.

"He won't wear well at all," predicted Mike Triggs, a former campaign manager for Carlson. "Mr. and Mrs. Gopher are going to think [the Quists] are damn weird." Over the course of the campaign, some odd angles have been revealed about both Quist and his activist wife, Julie, who at times has been almost as intensively covered as the candidate.

He has an "interesting" take on dinosaurs and evolution.

“Did dinosaurs and people live at the same time, and why do so many recently discovered ancient art works accurately picture dinosaurs?”

“How should we interpret the numerous references in ancient literature to dinosaurs (called “dragons” before 1850 AD), and what are the creatures described in Job chapters 40-41?

“What is the status of various examples of irreducible complexity, and have these examples been explained in Darwinian terms?”

“How has Darwinism influenced American law and politics?”

He wrote an "interesting book about abortion"

In his 1980 book The Abortion Revolution, Quist even compares abortion to Hitler’s murder of millions of Jews.

I think you get the picture...

Quist has a long history of extremist actions and views. I wonder what Congresswoman Bachmann thinks about her friend's opinion that women remain submissive to their husband? Regardless, it will be interesting to see Quist go through a quixotic campaign down in the Fighting First, only to get thumped by Congressman Walz.

Since 2007, Congressman Walz has served the constituents of the 1st CD in an honorable and consistent fashion. He's held countless open forums and meetings across the First that have brought unprecedented transparency to the political process in the district.

Are we going to let Quist and his extremist views muck that up?

2009-11-19T08:46:00.001-06:00

Fyi, I now only post at this blog. I apologize for....well, cheating on BMIARD.

Senator Dille was forced out

2009-11-19T07:22:00.002-06:00

I had heard on numerous occasions that Senator Dille was being forced out...now the proof.

"The far right wing has basically taken over the Republican Party in my district," Dille said. "They're not very tolerant of some of the votes I've taken over the years."

Senate Minority Leader David Senjem of Rochester issued a statement praising Dille for his service and temperament, but a local party leader in Dille's district had a different take on Dille.

"He's an honorable man, but it was time for him to go," said Doug Krueger, first vice chairman of the McLeod County Republican Party. "He's a moderate. I'm ... a conservative first and a Republican second. So I'm pushing for candidates that are conservative."

Conservative first, Republican second, the people of SD 18 third is how that should have read.

"I'm really disgusted with Republicans not stepping up to the plate on this transportation issue," said Dille, the ranking minority member on agricultural committees.

Most of the criticism of the Senator is based on his transportation bill vote which contained a gas tax increase. I'll remind readers yet again that Dille always said he would support an increase. He said he would support it and didn't cave when political pressure mounted.

Rep Urdahl also said he would support this bill, eventually voted for it, but put his party ahead of his district and voted to sustain the Governor's veto.

With rumors rampant about who will run in SD 18, with this seat being open for the first time in 24 years, does anyone think the local GOP will run anyone short of a far right wing conservative?

2009-11-17T08:43:00.001-06:00

Had a nice chat with Senator Dille this morning...expect something soon.

Anyone read Army of Dude today?

2009-11-17T07:27:00.001-06:00

Alex has an amazingly powerful post up!

Dille will not seek relection in 2010

2009-11-16T21:17:00.001-06:00

You know how I feel about this...

Go check it out here!

North Star Liberal Launch

2009-11-16T05:00:00.000-06:00

This morning a new Minnesota Political Blog launched, one that I will proudly take an active role in.

North Star Liberal

Blueman readers have most likely read the contributors of North Star Liberal at other Minnesota political blogs. I believe each of us will continue to post at our own blogs, but we will also develop content exclusively for NSL.

So, Tax Paying Liberal, Political Muse, Two Putt Tommy, Brian Falldin, Chris Truscott, and I hope you enjoy our newest endeavor!

Another Tea Baggers get punked video!

2009-11-15T08:50:00.000-06:00

Tea Baggers Get Punked!

2009-11-15T06:14:00.002-06:00

Sally Jo at Bluestem Prairie has the scoop!

DJ at I Don't Hate America has the video footage!

A good story on R.T. Rybak

2009-11-14T07:10:00.002-06:00

From the St Paul Legal Ledger

The evolution of R.T. Rybak: From pajama-party protests to DFL gubernatorial contender

By Britt Robson, Special to Capitol Report

November 16, 2009

When R.T. Rybak first ran for mayor of Minneapolis eight years ago, he was perhaps best known for a stunt of activism. Back then he organized a group “pajama party” at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport as a member of Residents Opposed to Airport Racket (ROAR).

Challenging an entrenched DFL incumbent, Sharon Sayles Belton, in a solidly Democratic city, the then-45-year-old Rybak campaigned with a quirky panache, announcing his candidacy on the Minneapolis Issues List server before holding a formal press conference, and using a giant air freshener as a prop in the summer parades as he weaved with manic energy from one side of the street to the other.

“I’m not a caretaker,” he said proudly at the time. “I’m the change guy.”

Last week, just two days after a mayoral campaign cakewalk that concluded with his being elected to a third term with 74 percent of the vote, Rybak filed the necessary papers and declared his intention to run for governor. This time, in his first statewide race, Rybak doesn’t need pajamas or aerosol cans.

And while “caretaker” is probably not the perfect word for his current persona, his best strategy would seem to be portraying himself as the sure and steady adult in the room — the chief executive who has structurally balanced his city’s budget and repaired a prior downgrade in its bond rating despite two huge subsequent cuts in state aid to local governments; who has bucked inner-city poverty enough that the unemployment rate is lower in Minneapolis than in the seven-county metro area or statewide; and who has received near-unanimous plaudits for his calm, competent management of the emergency and rescue efforts surrounding the I-35 bridge collapse two years ago.

Whether you agree or disagree with Rybak’s method of governance — among other things, he has locked in tax increases to achieve fiscal solvency — it is hard to deny that he has matured in grappling with the core pocketbook and safety issues so integral to voters in most any contest.

This maturation process was first catalyzed during the heat of Rybak’s first mayoral campaign, when Moody’s downgraded the city’s bond rating in large part because of a $70 million deficit in the internal service funds used to buy equipment such as police cars and fire trucks.

“I questioned the finances at City Hall during the campaign, but when I got into office, it was dramatically worse than I expected,” Rybak remembers. “For the first couple of weeks of financing briefings, I would go home at night slack-jawed at the seriousness of the situation.”

Minneapolis CFO Pat Born, who was appointed a year before Rybak took over, corroborates this view, noting that, along with the bond-rating reduction from the internal services deficit, the city’s pension funds were becoming shaky — and the previous City Council had left a roughly $5 million hole in that year’s budget.

“R.T. put himself through financial boot camp right after he got into office,” Born says. “He spent two or three days per week his first few months in office with the council leadership deciding how to do this $5 million cut.”

The immersion gave him enough knowledge and context to begin asking the right questions of Born and the city’s other money people about how to prevent future deficits — and to get a tangible feel for the power of the purse strings. As Born puts it, “He learned that these budget issues were important, and a way to exert his own influence on the way government did things. It led to some of the intensive reforms we did [with council approval] over the next 18 months.”

These included a locked-in 8 percent increase in property taxes, a 2 percent increase in public employee wages, and five-year financial plans for balanced budgets. But since the property tax increase alone wasn’t going to balance costs if the deficits were to be reduced, setting priorities became part of the process — which proved enormously helpful when Gov. Tim Pawlenty and state legislators began slashing local government aid payments in 2003.

“The parts of my character I most wanted to use were to be more of a city builder, utilizing my experience with architecture and things like that,” Rybak says. “Instead, I had to learn this whole new body of work, and now it is one of my favorite parts of the job. People laugh when I tell them I have spent the last eight summers in multi-hour budget meetings and I like it.”

But finance wasn’t the only area where Rybak, who had never run for office before his first successful bid for mayor, faced a steep learning curve. The consensus of many council members and others who work in City Hall is that many of Rybak’s first-term appointments were ill-suited for the duties of their position. These ranged from his first chief of staff, former affordable housing advocate David Fey, who lacked the acute political skills to thrive in City Hall, to his fire chief, Bonnie Bleskachek, who lasted little more than two years before being demoted by the council amid allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination.

“He’s matured so much,” says City Council President Barb Johnson. “From his first term to his second term, it was like night and day. I think it was conscious, that he was racked by the criticism he was getting, particularly with his appointments.”

“Those of us who work with him began to see a real professionalism in the second term, especially in his appointing quality people with the right experience,” echoes Council Member Gary Schiff. “We talk about the I-35 bridge collapse a lot, because if that had happened a year earlier, Minneapolis wouldn’t have been the city that worked. There would have been a different police chief, fire chief, public works chief and city coordinator. Those were the people who never slept. They were the best people for the job and [they were] there at the right time.”

The competence and efficiency of these high-level workers were deftly complemented by Rybak’s own calm, compassionate demeanor throughout the early stages of the ordeal. He credits at least part of this behavior to his experience in a federally sponsored disaster management training program instituted in response to the 9/11 attacks shortly after he was first elected.

“FEMA flew about 70 of us out to this place called Mount Weather, Virginia, near Dick Cheney’s cave, for disaster simulation exercises at this secluded encampment,” Rybak recalls. “And I had to play a role as a mayor in a disaster. I was a rookie who had never held public office and I remember calling my wife Megan and saying, ‘This is a whole new ballgame.’ But when the bridge collapsed, I knew exactly what to do and how to act because of that training. I had had no background, yet I was able to act and react appropriately.”

It was early in his second mayoral term that Rybak became energetically involved — perhaps sooner than any other publicly elected official outside of Illinois — in a movement to convince Barack Obama to run for president. This prescient move is likely to pay dividends throughout Rybak’s gubernatorial campaign, helping him to assemble the political machinery necessary to raise money and carry his message across the state.

“[Supporting Obama] certainly gave him exposure, because he traveled all over the state for him,” says Johnson. “That’s really important in a race for governor, because there is something going on in every corner of the state during a campaign and you’ve got to know people. In particular it was helpful because R.T. got to know some people in the [state DFL] party. Remember, he wasn’t a party guy. He wasn’t endorsed in his first two races. So that’s an important inside game that [his early Obama support] will help him play.”

It nonetheless remains a fact that no mayor of Minneapolis has ever been elected governor of Minnesota. But Rybak likes his chances against a Republican opponent. Reminded that his five-year plan of 8 percent annual property tax increases was bumped up to 11 percent this fiscal year, he was primed with a response.

“When we discovered we had a problem with the budget,” Rybak says, “I said I would cut spending and reform services but that I would also need more money to fix our long-term problems. Then we laid out a long-term plan that has paid down $116 million worth of our debt despite all the cuts the state has made to LGA [local government aid].

“By [increasing the tax hike] this year, we are making it so the burden is not as much on the taxpayers next year, because we have more tax capacity this year. But our [Minneapolis] budget has gone from $1.4 billion to $1.3 billion — we are doing this to fix our long-term problems. That isn’t happening at the state level. Tim Pawlenty and I both raised your taxes: I just told you the truth.”

But for now, Rybak’s opponents aren’t Republicans. Rybak has pledged to abide by the party’s endorsement at next April’s convention. His fiscal management and his signature programs, such as his recent initiatives to reduce juvenile crime, probably resonate better in a general election setting than in the delegate-wooing now taking place.

As another Democratic candidate for governor, State Sen. Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, says, “Right now it is a hunt for delegates, and with me and [Rep. Tom] Rukavina [DFL-Virginia] up here, I think the chances of [Rybak’s] getting many on the Range are difficult. Plus, Mark Dayton also does well in this part of the state.” As for Rybak’s home turf, no fewer than three DFL candidates — Rybak, House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher and Rep. Paul Thissen — hail from Minneapolis.

“The one thing I think may be a challenge for R.T. in this governor’s race is that he can be a little thin-skinned, and this will get harsher as it goes along,” notes Johnson. “The other thing is that there are two big fish who are going to a primary — [former Rep. Matt] Entenza and Dayton, and they have lots and lots of money.

“R.T. is very engaging. I’ve told him that the more people he meets, the more votes he’ll get — but I don’t think he understands the antipathy that people can have for big-city politicians. That’s where Margaret’s farm background really helps her.

“But now there is something the cities and the range really have in common — local government aid cuts. And I don’t think those in the Legislature have sung that song well enough. You read in these small-town papers, those layoffs really hurt. R.T. understands that and has done something about it here in Minneapolis.”

I first met the Mayor during the St Cloud special election in 2005. Governor Pawlenty called a special election for the seats vacated by Dave Kleis and Joe Opatz during the Christmas break at SCSU, in an attempt to stifle the college student vote.

As the student body President, I worked with a group of students to do some GOTV work around the campus. That's where I was able to meet R.T. Rybak. He came up to St Cloud to do GOTV work for the special election and he made a lasting impression on me.

When I ran for the State Senate out here in 2006, I recall numerous attempts to get other campaigns and groups to work with our local campaigns. Most looked at our conservative area and either paid lip service to us or simply didn't have the courtesy to even return a phone call or email.

Much like my support of Tarryl Clark in the 6th...Tarryl has been there for us.

I can say the same for R.T. Rybak.

Seeing him speak again at the Meeker County Chili Championship brought back a lot of strong, positive memories.

I am proud to support R.T Rybak in his bid for Governor in 2010!

Free Advice for the NRSC...

2009-11-13T06:59:00.002-06:00

...and Larry Jacobs.

Don't vote against legislation protecting the rights of a rape victim.

Just a thought.

Senator Franken didn't propose this legislation to "be the poster boy for a hard hitting campaign against the Republican Party".

He proposed it because it was the right thing to do.

So, instead of going after Senator Franken, maybe we should spend more time figuring out why 32 Republican Senators thought that the individuals that raped Jamie Leigh Jones needed protection.

Being an advocate on an issue like this does build the base...