Dean Urdhal's Nightmare

Darrin Anderson will send Dean Urdahl home in 2010.



We'll work on the volume/quality stuff later...

Urdahl stands behind Pawlenty on Unallotment

I've been looking for this footage for awhile now!

Time to make Representative Urdahl wear this badge of dishonor, his support for Governor Pawlenty and unallotment. Why else would he be standing with Marty Seifert, Randy Demmer, and Juilianne Ortman at the Governor's unallotment press conference?

It's been awhile since Urdahl represented the interests of 18B and rural Minnesota and not the interests of his political party...


Governor uses the "nuclear option" on Minnesota budget

Who is Darrin Anderson?

His first piece of literature!

Darrin Anderson (18B, Litchfield, DFL): Urdahl has a challenger

This is the image that Dean Urdahl will wake up in a cold sweat to for the next 16 months...

Darrin Anderson from Litchfield formally announced his run for the State Legislature today, opposing current Rep Dean Urdahl.

I met Darrin at the Meeker County Fair about 3 years ago, winning a candidate seed spitting contest. I expect an intense and strong challenge to Rep Urdahl...it will be a very fun race to work on and follow.

We'll have more on Anderson's run for the legislature soon.

A new opponent for Urdahl

Caught this over at the Minnesota Campaign Finance website.

Darrin Anderson of Litchfield is planning a run at Representative Urdahl!

More to follow...

Bachmann gets free ride from Urdahl?

Made it to the Cokato Corn Carnival parade last night!

Despite the rain, the turnout was great.

I've got some fun video that we'll try to post later in the day.

I always watch the politicians in parades. We caught Dean Urdahl last night at the parade, with a light amount of support. Michele Bachmann's parade group, maybe 5 people was on the heels of the Urdahl group.

David Detert, DFL candidate in 18B had a strong contingent of volunteers and Elwyn Tinklenberg was impressive as well. He was working the crowd on my side of the street and I was impressed.

Back to Bachmann...

I've been in the Cokato Corn Carnival parade as a candidate. One steadfast rule of the Cokato Corn Carnival parade is that the candidate must be with the parade group.

Bachmann was AWOL.

Theories as to Bachmann's absence were abundant...

Perhaps the rain would have made her melt?

Perhaps the Congresswoman doesn't quite have this "vacation" thing down yet?

Who knows why Congresswoman Bachmann allowed her campaign to piggyback off the Urdahl campaign for the parade.

This past week, right wing bloggers came after Steve Sarvi for apparent "free rides" in parades. In reality, the right wing bloggers have nothing on Sarvi. Just like the attacks on his military record...the attacks lack any substance whatsoever.

To adapt the rhetoric from SCSU Scholars...

"Stiffing local parade organizers over registration fees indicates irresponsibility on the part of a candidate. It raises the question: How many times this season has Bachmann just bummed a ride from some other candidate? Do we want to even consider someone who mooches like this to represent us in Congress?"

*Update* Word on the street, from an informed Cokato history reader, while my assertion that candidates must be with the group for the Cokato Corn Carnival parade, Bachmann's group asked for permission to join Urdahl since they knew Michele would be AWOL.

The Ticket Is Complete

SD 19 has had endorsed candidates for quite some time now.

Jim Bakula is challenging Bruce Anderson in 19A and is off to a rousing start.

Chris Brazelton is running hard against Tom Emmer again in 19B.

With last nights endorsement of Eric Angvall in 18A and Dr. David Detert in 18B, the ticket for our area is complete.

Angvall v. Shimanski will be an interesting race. Shimanski has shown zero ability to advocate for the interests of his district, siding with an extreme partisan agenda, which earned him a 100% rating from the Taxpayers League.

Dr. David Detert is back for his third run at Dean Urdahl. Urdahl won by a wide margin in 2004 and Detert closed this gap significantly in 2006. With Urdahl's ineffectiveness at the capitol, combined with a strong year for Democrats, Detert stands poised to defeat Urdahl in 2008.

Coverage at Blueman will now shift into working to promote the great candidates we have in Wright, Meeker, and McLeod Counties.

We're poised to have a great year in the coming elections. It sure would be nice running for State Senate in 2010 with two DFL House Reps in the district!

BREAKING!! DR DAVID DETERT Endorsed in 18B: Urdahl cries a bit....:)

Tonight delegates from across Wright, Meeker, and McLeod counties endorsed candidate for House seats.

Dr. David Detert, from Litchfield, has ran against Dean Urdahl a few times and while being defeated, Dr. Detert has been able to secure Meeker County as a democratic stronghold.

Urdahl ought to be very scared right now. Detert is a campaign professional and will run a well thought out campaign plan. Constituents in Wright County are excited to door knock for Dave!

We'll be working closely with the Deterts to ensure we can coordinate doorknocks all throughout Wright County.

Deterts calm cool and collected demeanor and experience as a physician make him a great candidate to defeat Urdahl.

We'll post more on the Detert Urdahl race in the coming days.

Everyone needs to thank Sharon for being so generous with Davids time for the race!

Dean Urdahl has been poking his stick into a lions cage for quite some time now...he's about to get bit!

Newest Urdahl Mailer Filled With Distortions

I got the newest Dean Urdahl mailer yesterday. Nicely disguised as an official piece of legislative mail.

We'll have a couple of posts up later picking the piece apart, with some lovely screenshots as well.

Here's the teaser...

I swear this picture of Dean Urdahl was taken in Hutchinson where he was still a little agitated over his transportation bill flip flop. The scowl on his face and the finger pointing in my face bring back great memories.

"You don't have a clue what I do down in St Paul. My wife doesn't even understand what I do".

Arrogance like that cannot be rewarded!

His words, not mine...but I'll never forget the scowl and finger wag...

Dean Urdahl Is Vulnerable

Contrary to what Representative Dean Urdahl believes, he is vulnerable in the upcoming fall elections.

Word on the street is that Rep Urdahl has been saying "Democrats are scared to run against him" and that "no one is running against him because he does such a great job".

As a friend of mine put it, "no one in the minority does a good job".

Urdahl held a "forum" recently in Annandale. Because only 4 people showed up, Urdahl suggests that people are satisfied.

Only four constituents attended the informal gathering that he scheduled Saturday morning, June 14, at a downtown restaurant to discuss issues including the just-completed legislative session.

The small turnout was "probably indicative of the mood of the people," the Republican lawmaker from Grove City said.

"I think that they have been fairly satisfied with the session. I think this is indicative of that."

Or, could it be that it was a very nice weekend and no one wanted to spend time with an elected leader difficult to trust? I was in Fargo last weekend, but I hear that it was beautiful down here last weekend.

Let's be clear here.

A. Democrats are not scared of Dean Urdahl.

Urdahl, in Bachmann like fashion, loses his hometown of Grove City every election. They know him best. Meeker County has turned "blue" as well. They vote for Democrats and Urdahl has lost Meeker County as well. Wright County saves Dean Urdahl every election. If people in Wright County knew Urdahl like the people in Grove City, he'd be off to an early retirement, that's for sure.

As Yoda would say...Dean Urdahl, we fear not.

B. Rep Urdahl is not doing a good job.

One example, constituent outreach. Urdahl in the majority issued 69 press releases over the last 2 years of his term in the majority.

His first term in the minority? 16

While in the minority, Urdahl was known as a moderate Republican. I lobbied Dean on many occasions and I found him to be a fairly moderate guy. Once he moved into the minority though, something changed. Perhaps it was being in close proximity to the Emmers, Paulsens, Seiferts and such, but Urdahl in the minority has become less and less moderate.

Or maybe his moderate label wasn't earned, but merely bestowed upon him.

Some key Urdahl votes

Troubling to me are Urdahl's votes for stadiums for both the Twins and Gophers but against key issues like renewable energy standards, health care, and an Iron Range miner cancer study.

His transportation record is nothing to be proud of either.

Recall that during the 06 cycle, Urdahl stated at a Litchfield forum that he would support a gas tax increase. He voted for an increase, and only after his party reigned him in, he voted to sustain the Governor's veto, voting against the transportation interests in the area.

County Commissioners were not pleased at all with Representative Urdahl. He played politics again, put his own aspirations before the people of the district.

Word on the street was that Urdahl was told by the Meeker County Republicans that if he supported the gas tax increase, they would not endorse him this year.

So, instead of voting for his constituents, he chose the easy way out.

He continued his loyalty this session and after the "Override six" were dismissed from caucus leadership positions, Urdahl seized the reigns of one of his fallen comrades. While he stated he was disappointed in what had happened, real political courage would have been exemplified by standing up for/with the "Override six" BEFORE they were effectively fired by their party.

I'd love to take a shot at running against Rep Urdahl. I'm confident I'd beat him. If some personal family issues were not in play right now, Urdahl wouldn't be as arrogant as he is right now. It would be one helluva race!

Truth be told, Urdahl is a lot more vulnerable than he believes. A strong grass roots effort with a hard working candidate would put Urdahl on the defensive real quick. He survived a few good runs by David Detert, but the Urdahl brand has gone rancid in Meeker County and the odor is beginning to permeate into Wright County.

My suggestion to Rep Urdahl?

Keep your fingers out of the lions cage. The more you poke at the animals, the more apt you are to lose your whole hand...

Dille on the Transportation Bill

Wright County: $2.7 million more per year.
Meeker County: $700,000 more per year.
McLeod County: $1.1 million more per year.

Urdahl voted no.

From Senator Dille:

I voted for the transportation bill that was vetoed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty and then overridden by the House of Representatives on a 91 to 44 vote and by the Senate on a 47 to 20 vote. I would like to take the opportunity to explain why I supported this legislation.

This bill will provide an additional $660 million per year for 10 years to help catch up on delayed maintenance and reinvestment in our transportation infrastructure. Some of this money will be used by cities, counties and townships and decrease the need to increase property taxes. For example, Wright County will receive an average of $2.7 million more per year, Meeker County will receive $700,000 more per year, and McLeod County will receive $1.1 million more per year.

The lack of action to improve roads and transit is costing us all real money as the cost of construction continues to increase and we lose out on potential federal funds. Investing in transportation will create jobs and boost economic activity. Also, we can make improvements to the safety of our roads and bridges and reduce fatalities and injuries.

The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce supported this bill and stated in their support letter that "Transportation is a critical issue for Minnesota businesses. Chamber members are users of the system -- they recognized that it is important for businesses to move freight and other goods efficiently and safely, and for employees to get to work in a timely and safe manner."

Over a 140 organizations and many individual citizens supported this bill including the Minnesota Truckers Association, Minnesota Farm Bureau, and Minnesota Farmers Union. This bill was supported by almost all of the farm commodity organizations including Minnesota Corn Producers, Minnesota Soybean Producers, Minnesota Wheat Producers, Minnesota Potato Producers, Minnesota Sugar Beet Producers, and Minnesota Pork Producers. In addition, this bill was supported by 21 environmental protection organizations and many local government organizations such as the Minnesota Association of Counties, Minnesota Association of Townships, and the League of Minnesota Cities. The transportation bill was opposed by two organizations, the Republican Party and the Taxpayer League, as well as, many individual citizens.

The final bill summary contains the following:
• 5 cent per gallon increase in gas tax.
• 3.5 cent per gallon surcharge on gas for servicing the trunk highway bond debt.
• $1.8 billion in trunk highway bonds over 10 years.
• Eliminating caps on license tab fees and changing the depreciation schedule.
• Dedicating sales tax on leased vehicles to greater Minnesota transit and local roads.
• Providing a $25 tax credit for low-income residents.
• Authorizing metropolitan area counties to impose a 0.25 percent sales tax for transit without a referendum.
• Authorizing counties in greater Minnesota to levy a sales tax of up to 0.50 percent for transportation purposes with a referendum.
• Increased authorization for MnDOT to spend trunk highway funds in FY08 and FY09 to reflect federal emergency funding related to the I-35W bridge project.
• $60M in general obligation bonds for local roads and bridges.

This increase in revenue may sound like a lot but it is only 1/3 as much as Governor Pawlenty's own Department of Transportation estimated is needed which is $1.7B more per year for 10 years. Also, if you calculate the increased revenue against the state and local units of governments' annual budgets, it comes to only a 1.5% annual increase in government spending.

In most years, budgets increase much more than that.

Many opponents claim this bill is the largest tax increase in state history, which isn't true. The fiscal analysts from the non-partisan Senate Counsel identifies the Minnesota Miracle of the early 1970s that reformed K-12 education funding as the largest tax increase in recent state history. State and local taxes went up 16 percent. Adjusted for inflation, this would be a $3 billion annual increase in 2008 dollars.

Minnesota currently ranks 30th among the 50 states in the amount they tax gas. When the 5 cents per gallon gas tax takes affect in October of this year and assuming no other states increase their gas tax, Minnesota will rank 20th among the 50 states.

Some argue we should fix our roads by selling bonds or, in other words, borrow the money instead of increasing our taxes. The bill that passed includes some bond sales, but the debt must be paid back so a surcharge was added of 3.5 cents per gallon of fuel to service this debt.

CD 3 stuff today

Well, I'm off to help Ashwin Madia in the 3rd at a convention down in Eden Prairie today. It ought to be an interesting time to say the least.

While I'm out, check out some other great stuff on the blogs.

Ollie's work on the CD 1 GOP race.

Elwyn Tinklenberg racking up $840,000 from the city of Ramsey since 2003. Don't worry though, its probably not a big deal, the Republicans would never use that against him in a General Election...

Larry Schumacher on Dean Urdahl.

Political Muse's work on Bachmann's O'Reilly chat.

Urdahl still feeling the heat

Thanks to a Ollie for pointing this out to me.

Urdahl, R-Grove City, accepted the position offered by House Minority Leader Marty Seifert of Marshall, but said he then had second thoughts. While he voted against the transportation spending package, Urdahl said he did not think the six House Republicans who helped put it into law should be punished. Seifert removed those six from committee and leadership positions.

Larry Schumacher reports a strange exchange between himself and Urdahl this week as well.

Apparently, Urdahl handed Schumacher his own press release stating "Urdahl Reconsiders Lead Position".

Urdahl's press release also posed the question "Wouldn't a retraction be in order?"

Schumacher posts:

Upon closer reading of the press release, however, things became even more confusing. A quote I'll reproduce below describes what Urdahl meant by "reconsiders."

"Today I announced to the committee that I view my new position as a caretaker role," Urdahl said. "It is my belief that Rep. Hamilton should not have resigned the position and that he should be reinstated. I do not condone any consequences for members based upon their votes of conscience."

So I called Urdahl to ask him to clarify. Was he resigning his seniority position?

"No," he said. "But I wanted to make it clear that I'm only holding it real temporarily."

So why the call for a retraction of a story or editorial that only pointed out he had taken the lead Republican spot on the committee?

Urdahl said the request for a retraction, which he no longer wanted, was based on a second-hand recounting to him of what was in the editorial. Upon reading it, he decided it wasn't so bad after all.

And why the press release if he's not resigning the position?

"I didn't want to condone what was happening and the consequences of it," Urdahl told me. "I regret what leadership's doing, but I felt obligated to take the position when Hamilton resigned."

Did I mention that Urdahl and Heidgerken share both an office wall and a legislative assistant? Or that his counterpart in the Senate, Steve Dille, R-Dassel, voted for both the bill and the override?

And did I mention that Urdahl voted for a similar transportation bill last year, but then voted against that year's override?

Pretty odd behavior.

Is he feeling the pressure of someone running against him? The Meeker County DFL convention is today and I am quite sure a strong candidate will emerge today to challenge Urdahl. Dean's lucky I've decided I will not run against him this year. It would be a fun race.

It's easy to take the high road on Seifert's demotions after the fact, after you've been rewarded for toeing the party line. As Schumacher points out, Urdahl has voted for a similar transportation bill before, only to flip flop under the pressure of Marty Seifert and Governor Pawlenty.

Urdahl had political cover in the district with the highly popular Senator Dille voting for the Transportation Bill and voting to override the Governor's veto. His flip flop last year blew some of that political cover, but Dille has always had a great explanation for his transportation vote.

Urdahl makes excuses.

Schumacher's post is very interesting. Urdahl's acting awfully odd right now.

SC Times does not heart Pawlenty

After being duped by Pawlenty in 2006, the SC Times is fighting back...hard.

In 2006, when Gov. Tim Pawlenty was seeking this board's endorsement for a second term, he was asked specifically what he'd do different if re-elected.

Coming off several very partisan sessions, he earnestly responded that he'd wished he had "kept a few pitches in the glove" when it came to partisan bickering preventing progress. Duly impressed, this board took him at his word and endorsed him.

Based on his reaction to the House overriding his transportation veto Monday, we obviously misunderstood him. He wanted to keep those pitches so he could throw high hard fastballs directly at the heads of anybody who disagreed with him.

Seriously, the immature reactions of Pawlenty and the punishments delivered by the Republican Party to six House members who broke ranks with their peers to support the override are inexcusable.

They even evoked the memory of Jesse Ventura!

It's hard to remember a governor providing a better example of not just politically embarrassing behavior, but flat-out bullying. And remember, this state experienced four years of Jesse Ventura.

And to be honest, they aren't too happy with the Marty Seifert's, Tom Emmer's and Dean Urdahl's either.

Speaking of the Republican Party, its leaders at the Capitol and statewide not only showed the same immaturity as Pawlenty, but they gave fair-minded voters ample reason to doubt their own credibility by demoting those who opposed the governor.

Just look at Central Minnesota House Republican Reps. Bud Heidgerken and Dean Urdahl. Heidgerken voted against the governor and lost his post as senior Republican on the House K-12 Finance Division. Urdahl, also a potential swing vote, backed the governor. He's now lead Republican on the House Agricultural, Rural Economies and Veterans Affairs Committee. (He replaced Rep. Rod Hamilton, R-Mountain Lake, who voted with Heidgerken.)

What else can be deduced from such moves other than the Republican Party wants key leadership spots filled not by the most qualified members, but members who put party loyalty first and all other concerns second?

This scathing opinion in the SC Times is the tip of the iceberg for House Republicans. With major bills still looming on the horizon, the obstructionists in the House will be under greater scrutiny. The Times points out that nearly 70% of legislators have supported similar transportation bills for years. Ignoring that political will, democracy in action, will have negative consequences for the GOP in November.

Urdahl moves up

Thou shalt not go against our Republican Governor.

Courage has left Minnesota's Republican party. Cronyism is alive and well. Great job Marty Seifert!

I guess that was the lesson doled out to 6 GOP legislators who supported a landmark transportation bill on Monday.

"We expect Republicans to follow other Republicans, and there is obviously a mixed message with what happened yesterday," Seifert said at a news conference Tuesday. "We're not taking anyone's secretary away. I'm not throwing their computers down the Capitol steps. I'm not severing their phone lines."

No, he just removed them from any leadership positions.

• Rep. Rod Hamilton, R-Mountain Lake, replaced by Rep. Dean Urdahl, R-Grove City, in the Agriculture, Rural Economies & Veterans Affairs Committee.

• Rep. Kathy Tingelstad, R-Andover, replaced by Rep. Larry Howes, R-Walker, in the Capital Investment Committee.

• Rep. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka, replaced by Rep. Matt Dean, R-Dellwood, in the Health Care and Human Services Committee.

• Heidgerken, R-Freeport, replaced by Rep. Sondra Erickson, R-Princeton, in the K-12 Finance Committee.

• Erhardt, R-Edina, replaced by Rep. Morrie Lanning, R-Moorhead, in the Property Tax Relief & Local Sales Taxes Committee.

• In addition, Rep. Neil Peterson, R-Bloomington, was removed as an assistant minority whip and replaced by Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington.

Punish courage, reward cowardice. Good work!

While Rep Urdahl was quick to report "threats", it would appear he was a bit slower to report that he would be "promoted" for toeing the GOP party line, while at the same time, throwing his constituents under the bus.

Anyone ever read Wright County Republican?

Why did Drew Emmer remove the name of a legislator who supposedly "threatened" Rep Urdahl? Yesterday morning, he specifically named a legislator in his smear job. Now, the name is suddenly removed, although Urdahl was still "threatened".

Interesting...

So, having the courage to buck one's party and vote in line with one's constituents gets you removed from leadership positions.

The SC Times has an opinion on this as well today.

Most troubling, though, are the aftershocks emanating from the Republican Party and Pawlenty.

Within hours of the override, it became clear the party expects to punish Heidgerken and the other five House members for breaking ranks with the party and instead voting for what they believed was best for their constituents and all Minnesotans.

Heidgerken said he will lose his post as lead Republican on the House K-12 Finance Committee. News reports indicate other consequences could include others resigning similar posts, losing staff and research services, or not getting party support in re-election bids.

The Pioneer Press quoted Pawlenty as follows on this issue: "If you are going to be a team, you know, then there are going to be some team rules and team expectations, and I'll leave that up to the caucus leaders how they are going to address this further."

We expected a lot of things in the wake of this transportation bill passing — safer bridges, higher taxes and, yes, some Election Day changes. We didn't expect our governor and his political party to take such a low road in response to six votes cast for Team Minnesota, for once, instead of Team GOP.

Well said...I agree.

Transportation Bill Override Thoughts

As a guy who drives about 1,000 miles and fills my gas tank 4-5 times per week, I think it's about time we raised the gas tax. While I fully understand that it is a regressive tax and it will have an impact on my pocketbook, I'm more than willing to do my share to fix our roads and bridges. The time to "red pen" every piece of sensible and responsible legislation has come and gone.

I've read the right wing blogs and listened to Jason Lewis on my way home tonight. I'm not surprised in the least at their outrage.

I'm proud of Senator Dille. Campaigning against him in 2006, I saw firsthand his support for a gas tax increase and reasonable transportation solutions. He's a man of his word. He said he'd support it and did.

While the right wing bloggers and Jason Lewis condemn legislators like Senator Dille, those in the House and Senate Republican minority, who opposed sensible transportation solutions, should be commended for putting their political allegiances ahead of what is right for the safety and economic security of Minnesota.

This override vote proves that inaction on transportation was no longer an option. A bipartisan coalition of legislators decided that safe roads and bridges and job creation were too important to be waylaid by the Governor's unwillingness to make this investment.

The Startribune had a LTE in this morning talking about the state's need for investment.

This transportation funding bill is a compromise and reflects the legislative process at its best. This compromise has the support of not only the Itasca Project and its 45 CEOs of the state's largest companies, but it has the support of virtually all of the state's major business and trade organizations.

45 CEO's of the state's largest companies supported this measure. Don't Lewis and the other right wingers talk about how these tax increases will push business out of the state? It's interesting that 45 CEO's clearly dispute that rhetoric.

Dean Urdahl chose to vote with the minority. He chose to side with the obstructionists. Once again, he put politics before the people.

Hats off to Senator Dille and the other GOP members that came across the aisle to vote for a sensible transportation package!

Urdahl threatened?

AAA at Residual Forces has a post up about Dean Urdahl's tough weekend prior to the veto override vote expected early this week.

The West Central Tribune has been covering the story all weekend long.

Urdahl said he’s being pulled in different directions by local government officials, taxpayers and his own party in how he should vote on the veto override, which could come as early as Monday.“It’s like a chess match,” he said.

Sounding weary from the ordeal, Urdahl said in a telephone interview Friday that he’s been told if he doesn’t vote to override, a funding request for Litchfield’s wastewater treatment facility could be blocked. The project is crucial for an expansion of the First District Association, a dairy processing plant in Litchfield.

“Certainly I’m being lobbied, threatened. All sorts of neat things,” Urdahl said.

At this point, Urdahl said he intends to “support the governor” but “will continue to talk to people about the issue” over the weekend and will review amendments made to the bill.

To be completely honest, I'm not sure what to think about the "threats". Being threatened over his vote crosses a line for me. Litchfield and Meeker County have moved DFL the past two elections, Dean Urdahl has won because of Wright County. Eliminating a project in Litchfield could hurt DFL chances in this area in 2008. Could Urdahl be simply throwing this out there as a political ploy? We all recall his failed Dairy Tax Bill in 2006 and who he blamed that on.

Urdahl has had multiple opportunities to do the right thing here. He stated his support for a gas tax increase in the 06 election cycle, voted for it last May, and only after being called to the carpet by Governor Pawlenty, voted to uphold his veto.

I've heard a lot of excuses from him since then. Senator Dille, my opponent in 2006, has supported this gas tax increase from the start, just like he said he would.

Urdahl said the “government-type” people and those in the road construction business are telling him to override the veto while the “regular working guy taxpayer” doesn’t want to pay a higher gas tax and would rather pay higher property taxes to deal with transportation.

Who was he listening to when he supported the gas tax increase in 2007?

What category do I fit in? Does Urdahl see Blueman as a "government type"? Does he see me as a "regular working guy taxpayer"?

Considering I drive about 1000 miles a week for work, and that Michele Bachmann is proud of me and my 2 jobs, I would hope it would be the latter...

A side note...Political Muse over at Liberal in the Land of Conservative has posted my Tarryl Clark You Tube, only to piss off more conservative bloggers.

Muse, did you ever get an opinion on where they stand on Molnau now, after we find out she got $3.3 million for a shady land deal in Chaska?

SC Times Op Ed: Gas Tax & Transportation

In a nut shell, get off your butt Rep Urdahl and other obstructionists in the House, vote for a compromise on Transportation, and quit playing politics.

The SC Times lists some local legislators who need a little more influence on this important issue.

Mary Ellen Otremba, District 11B, DFL, 651-296-3201, 800-709-0796, rep.maryellen.otremba@house.mn, Room 445, State Office Building.

Sondra Erickson, District 16A, Republican, 651-296-6746, 800-709-0578, rep.sondra.erickson@house.mn, Room 279, State Office Building.

Dan Severson, District 14A, Republican, 651-296-7808, 800-920-9984, rep.dan.severson@house.mn, Room 233, State Office Building.

Steve Gottwalt, District 15A, Republican, 651-296-6316, 800-683-0886, rep.steve.gottwalt@house.mn, Room 231, State Office Building.

Mark Olson, District 16B, Independent Republican, 651-296-4237, 800-920-5875, rep.mark.olson@house.mn, Room 301, State Office Building.

Dean Urdahl, District 18B, Republican, 651-296-4344, 800-920-5861 rep.dean.urdahl@house.mn, Room 239, State Office Building.

Bruce Anderson, District 19A, Republican, 651-296-5063,
rep.bruce.anderson@house.mn, Room 201, State Office Building.

For more Bruce Anderson info, check out Jim Bakula's video!

Tops on our list of weakest reasons are blanket opposition to tax increases and opposition rooted in a lack of compromise, also known as preaching idealism at a time when common sense and common ground are needed.

The reality is this bill is an acceptable compromise considering the state's transportation, political and economic climates. It won't solve all the challenges, but it will finally start to push the state toward modernizing its transportation system.

All that stands in the way are two political roadblocks. Contact the House members listed above and ask them to steer the state around those obstacles.

It appears as though Urdahl has sided with the blanket opposition to tax increases folks. It's sad that he follows Marty Seifert and Tom Emmer while throwing his own constituents under the bus.

Senator Steve Murhpy opines on the Governor's Transportation Veto.

This veto clearly demonstrates that the governor has no plan for transportation in our state. If he's not willing to support a reasonable compromise between a bipartisan coalition of legislators and the business community to move our state forward, what will he support?

If he won't support an investment in the economic vitality of our state in the wake of a recession, when will he support one? The answer is the governor will never come on board and will continue to ignore the real and growing needs of our transportation system.

Have you called your State Rep yet? Have you told them to support Transportation solutions in Minnesota?

Urdahl and Shimanski called out for Transportation vote

West Central Tribune's Op-ed section praised some local legislators, including Senator Steve Dille for his vote to support Transportation in Minnesota.

Dean Urdahl and Ron Shimanski were two Representatives that drew their ire for their lackluster support for Transportation.

It is shameful that these lawmakers talk on their campaigns about the importance of transportation to west central Minnesota and then stick their head in the sand when a key vote comes up.

Minnesota has not made a significant transportation investment for two decades — except to borrow funding by bonding which requires future repayment.

Where do Urdahl and Gimse expect to generate funding for U.S. Highway 12 upgrades?

Indeed, they spend a lot of time talking about what they want to do, but do nothing to support Transportation solutions. The Urdahl case is more shocking than Shimanski. Shimanski has been at the end of the Seifert / Emmer leash since his 06 election.

Urdahl is different. He has stated openly he would support a gas tax increase. He voted for it last May. Only after Governor Pawlenty called him to the carpet did Urdahl suddenly not support a gas tax increase and Transportation.

His vote Thursday in support of Governor Pawlenty's "Red Pen Plan" shows his allegiance to the Governor, while pushing his constituents "under the bus".

We call on Reps. Urdahl, Shimanski, Seifert, and Westrom and Sen. Gimse and Fischbach to put west central Minnesota first before the politics of their party. We ask for their vote as well to override Pawlenty’s political veto on this bill.

Urdahl and Shimanski putting the people before politics? We'll see again as the veto override comes soon.

Urdahl abused on Jason Lewis show

Anyone catch Jason Lewis tonight? Tonight, Representatives Heidgerken and Urdahl took some abuse from Lewis and his listeners. It was interesting to say the least.

We'll soon see what Urdahl will do.