Senator Newman and the Senate Caucus

My good friend Eric Austin has a great post about the Republican Senate Caucus role in the whole Scott Newman tax on constituent work.

One point Eric made jarred my memory.

Given the dual role of “Executive Assistant to the Majority Caucus” and “Vice Chair of the Minnesota Republican Party“, has Michael Brodkorb been whispering in the ears of legislative assistants? Did those assistants take his advice a little too far?

I had a chat with a former GOP Senator last Spring before the end of the session.  While he named several reasons for leaving the Senate, he spent considerably more time discussing the efforts of Michael Brdkorb and Cullen Sheehan and the influence they had on Senators.

Legislators get a plethora of information before taking votes.  This specific retired Senator told me of a confrontation he had with Sheehan.  The confrontation centered over information the Senators were furnished with.  The data that had been provided the Senators wasn't accurate and he openly questioned the data.  He went on to state that a majority of the information he was receiving was heavily distorted, something he hadn't seen during his long service in the Senate.

It wouldn't be a surprise that Brodkorb and his crew are putting pressure on the legislative assistants.  Certainly they're working hard to blur the line between legitimate work on behalf of the state and shady partisan nonsense on the tax payers dime.

A Minnesota Data Practices Act request for correspondence between Newman and his LA and his LA and Brodkorb would probably provide the lefty blogosphere with weeks worth of fodder, and shed some much needed light into the workings of the Republican Senate Caucus.

Is Michael Brodkorb still running the show at MDE?

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...

Did Bachmann Violate More Ethics Rules?

MPP has a great story!

Muse posts about Reed

Good work Muse!

Here's a fun experiment for anyone listening out there...

Set up a Google alert for Maureen Reed, Tarryl Clark, and Michele Bachmann.

Monitor what kind of traffic these Google alerts get for an entire week.

You'll see that both Bachmann and Clark get some significant headlines and relevant stories via Google alert.

With Maureen Reed? Not so much. I actually recall a two week period of time, in which I received a Google alert once a day on each of these candidates. Reed didn't have a relevant link or story for two whole weeks.

So you tell me...is that campaign sizzling or what?! That tells me a lot about the Reed for Congress campaign.

BTW, you're welcome for the Google alert caused by this post....

Kiffmeyer Scandal on AM 950

I caught a bit of Two Putt Tommy, Tax Playing Liberal, and Dusty Trice talking about the Mary Kiffmeyer/banking scandal at AM 950 tonight! Great job guys!!!

So, while I was out today, others have joined our efforts!!


Who's holding who up here?

Eric Zaetsch has a great story up on the Kiffmeyer banking scandal, complete with a copy of the portrait from the bank. Yep, Jesus closing yet another banking deal for Kiffmeyer et al.

Two Putt Tommy gets the scoop that Kiffmeyer's name was pulled due to space considerations.

Space considerations? Really? The former Minnesota Secretary of State and current State Representative had her name scrubbed for space considerations? Hell, cut the Strib's prediction for the Gopher game. Just say they'll get throttled again.

But leaving Kiffmeyer's name out of the two largest daily publications in Minnesota is simply irresponsible journalism. Liberal bias my ass...

Integrity Counts

That's what Kiffmeyer ran on in 2008. We do remember WHY Kiffmeyer was running for the House in 2008 right?

Mark Olson

Yep, the dude who chucked a Bible at his wife and was convicted of misdemeanor assault. Post conviction, the House GOP Caucus kicked him out.

Folks were lining up and down Highway 10 for a shot at Mark Olson and the 16B seat. Kiffmeyer ran the Integrity Counts campaign at Olson and worked to "restore dignity to our party". So I find it rather ironic, the person running the "Integrity Counts" campaign just had her bank seized by the Feds this past Friday.

While regardless of Mark Olson's problems, this bank was going to fail under Mary Kiffmeyer's leadership, I do find it a bit humorous that 16B Republicans have some serious problems with those elected to represent them.

What's really interesting thus far, is the lack of big time mainstream media coverage of this event. No one's asking the real questions here.

Where is the oversight? How does a State Representative come to be the owner of a bank and thus on its Board of Directors under the state's regulation?

It will be interesting to look at Kiffmeyer's voting record in the Minnesota House on some of these issues...

Liberal Bias? Startribune Scrubs Kiffmeyer From Bank Failure Story

Tax Paying Liberal posted this over at the MPP.

Scrubbing at the Star and Tribune covers Kiffmeyer's bank
by: taxpayingliberal
Sat Oct 24, 2009 at 15:49:19 PM CDT

Scrubbing at the Star and Tribune covers Kiffmeyer's bank

Friday nights are when the FDIC does its work. It Friday nights when the FDIC moves in on banks that are no longer solvent and takes them over. They do this on Fridays for a reason, they know that that's when there's the least amount of reporters on duty and nobody watches the news on Friday nights. Friday nights are the night to revile stories that you don't want covered.

taxpayingliberal :: Scrubbing at the Star and Tribune covers Kiffmeyer's bank

The Star and Tribune was handed a story Friday night. It was handed the story that a bank in Ostego was being taken over by the FDIC.
This was no ordinary small bank. This was a special bank. This bank was featured in a NY times story when it opened. This bank was an example back then. This was a Christian bank and would adhere to Christian principals of doing business. People moved their hard earned savings into this bank because of that and the bank prospered.

Tellers prayed with depositors at the drive through window. People were healed in the lobby by the laying on of hands. Some 60 people were "born again" in this bank. Your loan officer prayed with you when you applied for a loan. We don't know how many non Christians got loans.

One of the banks owners was the embodiment of the conservative political Christian movement, The co-founder of the Minnesota Moral Majority, a former Secretary of State who often said that the 5 most dangerous words in the English language were "separation of church and State".

She became an owner while she held the Secretary of State office and after her defeat in her re-election bid for that office she successfully ran for the State House under the slogan "Integrity counts".

St. Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer is listed as a co owner of the Bank and is on the Board of Directors.

Last spring a small news story appeared in the Star and Trib sighting the fact that the bank was being investigated by the FDIC for shoddy banking practices. Amongst other things the FDIC said the bank had poor oversight by the board and a number of questionable loans. In other words they were running their bank like a club house and giving out loans based on faith not fact.

You and the customers of the bank probably didn't hear about this because it was a small story and nobody other than a few Bloggers followed up on it.

I personally contacted the local papers that cover that area to ask them if they were going to cover that story. I contacted the St. Cloud Times, The Elk River Star and the Sherburne County Citizen. After all a local small town bank that services their area being investigated by the FDIC for insolvency issues should at least get a mention. Nope, nada, nothing. "We're looking into it" was what they told me last spring.

When the Star and Tribune ran the story on its website Friday night they mentioned that Kiffmeyer was an owner of the bank. An Hour later they had scrubbed that version and Kiffmeyer's name was removed from the story.

20 million dollars of FDIC money will be required to bail out Kiffmeyers bank. It's one of only 6 banks in the state to fail.

It looks like the FDIC will save some of the people who put their faith in Kiffmeyers bank. And it looks like the Star and Tribune will save the owner by keeping her name out of this mess.

Can Hellier name a Bachmann accomplishment?

Since Brian Falldin's challenge has failed to generate any reasonable answer from Minnesota's Republicans, perhaps new MDE writer and CD 6 GOP hack Luke Hellier can name an accomplishment.

Well...

Maureen Reed Waffles

Nope, IHOP has not endorsed a new dish after Dr. Marueen Reed's performance in a recent Eric Black MinnPost interview.

The headline says enough...almost!

Maureen Reed offers vague positions on abiding and abortion

Bob Olson was many things, vague was not one of them.

I'll say this...based on my experiences in DFL endorsement races, being vague on issues is bad. The last thing we need is someone who cannot clearly articulate a rational position on the issues important to us. It doesn't matter that a member of Congress has little influence on the issue of choice, people want to know where they stand on the issue.

On the endorsement:

“We’re going to get the endorsement. That is the plan. That is what we’re aiming at and that is where we’re focused... You can say that we’re planning to get the endorsement. All of our efforts are focused on that.”

Awesome. Bob Olson said the same thing, although he used 4 times as many words.

Newsflash to the Reed for Congress Campaign:

Senator Clark gaining the support of AFSCME and the SCSU College Democrats is merely the tip of the iceberg. I predict Clark will secure every labor endorsement available.

I admit to be impressed with Dr. Reeds fundraising figures. However...

I see this all the time at my work. A new salesperson comes in and cleans house for the first month or so, completely destroying their quota and quickly becoming the newest Tom Hopkins in our area. I always suggest that we check out the sales figures AFTER they've finished selling stuff to their friends and family. 9 times out of 10, the third and subsequent months are dismal.

I want to see Reed do that at least one more quarter before I believe it to be an actual movement and not the personal Rolodex, impressive as that may be.

"In terms of whether or not she will abide -- this is being pushed by supporters of Clark and Tinklenberg who want Maureen to make a statement on abiding by the endorsement. Why? Well, only they can really answer that question, but we believe the fact that Maureen has raised funds far north of $230,000 has made the other campaigns stop and realize she is an extremely viable candidate."

When you put this quote with the following quote, things get really interesting.

“I would not run on the IP line. I’m DFL. And that’s the line that I’ll be on.”

Wow! Paxil Bob just breathed a sigh of relief.

Having been the IP Lt Gov candidate in 2006, the IP ticket would have been a great fall back position.

Seriously.

If I were a woman, running for Congress in the 6th, and running against Senator Tarryl Clark and Congresswoman Bachmann, the middle ground of the IP would seemingly be the BEST place for me, wouldn't it?

And with $230,000 to spend in the 6th? Perhaps the ability to tap into some Ron Paul supporters and raise a cool $500k for the race?

Keep in mind, I bet the DFL candidate will need in excess of $4 million for this race, and with all due respect to Reed's folks, Clark will have an easier time approaching this number with the support of labor and a strong netroots presence.

But most disturbing to me is Dr. Reed's lack of an answer on the biggest issue facing us today, health care.

I know it's pretty complicated, BUT if I were a health care professional AND had this as a hallmark of MY campaign...my answer would be anything but non-committal.

“The goals that I would have are that we have to get expenses under control, cut the cost of administration and care. And we have to cover everybody. We need universal coverage and we need lower costs. And there are a lot of ways to accomplish those goals.

"People get so wedded to a particular method that they forget about the goal that we’re trying to achieve. People wind up with their feet in wet cement on their method, that my method trumps your method. To me the only thing that counts is that we fix it.”

It's not like asking Bob Olson about taxes...

Or is it?

Schumacher reports SCSU Democrats Endorse Senator Tarryl Clark

Originally posted over at MPP, Larry Schumacher reports on the SCSU College Democrats endorsement of Senator Tarryl Clark.

St. Cloud State University College Democrats endorsed state Sen. Tarryl Clark, DFL-St. Cloud, in her bid to become the DFL's 6th Congressional District candidate in 2010.

A news release from the campus organization says that Clark, who represents the university population within her Senate District, has "shown exceptional interest and concern for issues affect SCSU college students, such as education, health care and job growth," board member Michael Rosenow said.

Clark is seeking the DFL endorsement to take on U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., next year. 2008 DFL congressional candidate Elwyn Tinklenberg and 2006 Independence Party Lt. Gov. candidate Maureen Reed are also seeking the endorsement.

We've seen Team Tinklenberg take a much different stance on blogs for the 2010 race than in the 2008 race, notably after the hire of Kos blogger Dana Houle.

A comment over at MPP caught my eye...in response to Houle calling on Clark to denounce the endorsement of a community that helped her win her State Senate seat.

Really Dana? (0.00 / 0)
First, welcome to Minnesota. It is great to know that you have come here to help defeat Michelle Bachmann. That is a goal we can all agree on.
But seriously, is this the best use of your time? Smacking down a blog posts about college Democrats?

It seems perhaps the SCSU Dems may have jumped the gun with this one. Is school even in session? But they do have a long long history with Senator Clark.

I have been attending SCSU Dems meetings on behalf of political campaigns and causes for over seven years. In fact, I was there the day they were chartered. Senator Clark has been a mentor to these students. They have interned with her and knocked on doors for her in the dead of winter.

One piece of history: Senator Clark was elected on December 27th, 2005. Governor Pawlenty deliberately scheduled the election on that date to disenfranchise students at SCSU.

Senator Clark and her campaign went out of their way to involve students in their campaign and do everything thing possible to help them vote.

So Dana, this is the most important thing you have to do today? Really?

And we're what...7-8 months before the endorsement (that only Clark will abide by)?

Minnesota GOP Steps Up to Defend Far Left Conspiracy Theories

Just when you think the Minnesota Republican Party couldn't be in any worse shape...

I mean really, we're talking about following in the footsteps of Ron Carey and his press release templates.

I honestly didn't think things could get much worse under the dynamic duo of Tony Sutton and Michael Brodkorb...

Oh how I was wrong!

In very calculated and well thought out act of strategery, Sutton and Brodkorb launched an ad campaign in Minnesota's 7th Congressional District, taking shots at Congressman Peterson for his remarks on 9-11 conspiracy theories and constituent outreach.

Now, when you hear folks saying Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the Government were behind the attacks on 9-11, what do you thing of?

I think of left-wing...well...wacko's. I do.

So, in a district that Peterson won by more than 40% in 2008 and probably the third most conservative district in the State, Sutton and Brodkorb decide to come to the defense of left wing wackos?

Brilliant!

Didn't Seifert and other House Republicans try to get rid of RINO's the past few years? I guess they're really stretching that big tent concept...

I'm waiting for Ashton Kutcher to show up anytime now...

I like Congressman Peterson, and while he's too conservative at times for my tastes, he represents the enormous 7th CD well. In fact, the GOP attacks on Peterson's comments may actually serve to prove to those on the right that Peterson IS a better representative for them, after all his dissing of those damn left wing wackos.

Peterson may end up in better shape after the 5 figure ad buy! I can see the McLeod County GOP folks lining up to support Peterson now, especially after Peterson came out against those damn liberals!

But it gets better.

Ryan Flynn and the clowns at MDE think they're having a field day with Congressman Peterson's statements.

Once again, this has been a great week for the MNGOP putting pressure on Congressman Peterson.

While part of me didn't want to create this post and allow the MN GOP to continue their nonsense, my zeal for going after the MN GOP surpassed that.

So, anyone else feel better about the new direction of the Minnesota GOP?

More on the race in CD 6

Muse has an excellent post up!

I would have to agree with Muse's analysis of the situation as it stands now.

Reed: I'm waiting to see more. Seems to me I've seen a group of focused web savvy people keep a Congressional campaign afloat for months merely though its web presence. Ah....yep. Bob Olson, 2006.

Tinklenberg: Are we going to have to launch Tinklenberg 3.0? Not a Blue Dog? Really? A debate between Tinklenberg 2006, Tinklenberg 2008, and Tinklenberg 2010 would be a thrilling debate. One candidate a socially conservative, fiscally conservative Democrat. Another a socially moderate, fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrat. The latter a Wellstone Democrat.

I'd love to see that debate, but I am sure we can pull up the quotes at a later time...

Despite my criticism of Tinklenberg, I gave him money in 2008 and supported him post endorsement.

Clark: Once she formally announces, she becomes the immediate frontrunner. At her announcement, all she needs to say is that "I will abide by the DFL endorsement, as I am a Democrat".

Labeling Clark as too liberal for the 6th is ludicrous. Remember, back in 2006 Amy Klobuchar defeated Mark Kennedy in Kennedy's home district.

As I stated in a post yesterday, Tarryl Clark has been party building in the 6th for quite some time, whether it's providing support to candidates or attending fundraisers in the conservative hot bed of Wright County, Tarryl Clark has been building party infrastructure and a solid base for years. Her name recognition is as solid as her credentials.

She is at a disadvantage initially due to the enormous fundraising by Reed, but that can be overcome. Reed will need to raise a lot more money to obtain a fraction of the name recogntion Clark and Tinklenberg have.

That said, I'd have to rank the candidates Clark, Reed, Tinklenberg, and I will support the endorsed candidate, although I strongly support Tarryl Clark.

MN GOP to go after Congressman Peterson

So apparently, they're going to unveil a new ad campaign against the Congressman?

I say go for...in fact, the Minnesota GOP should spend every penny they have going after Congressman Peterson on this.

We won't tell them that Congressman Peterson hasn't gotten less than 65% of the vote in the 7th since 1996.

He won't lose on this issue...but if the Minnesota GOP wants to waste money on this (post PCR), go for it.

MDE HYPOCRISY AT ITS FINEST

Yesterday, the kids over at MDE decided to attack Veteran Two-Putt Tommy, calling him a hypocrite for calling out Dave Thul's poorly thought out and executed attack on Congressman Walz.

In fact, they titled their right wing hate fest as "HYPOCRISY NOW GOES BY THE NAME OF TOMMY “TWO-PUTT” JOHNSON OF THE SD 42 DFL".

MDE stood up to defend Dave Thul, his hate filled attack on Congressman Walz, and the inappropriate use of official government email.

Remember when Mr. Brodkorb attacked Al Franken on email's that were sent via the U of M's Humphrey Institute.

I'm not attacking the Humphrey Institute, but rather Franken thinking he can use the public/taxpayer resources of the Humphrey Institute like he used the private resources of Harvard University.

Brodkorb also turned his rage towards Secretary of State Mark Ritchie for use of his state email for campaign solicitation.

So, when Dave Thul uses his official us.army.mil email address to take pot shots at President Obama and to launch his tirades against Congressman Walz and other political leaders he opposes, we hear silence from the MDE crowd.

If they feign outrage over the use of email by Franken supporters at the U of M and SOS Ritchie, shouldn't they be equally as outraged over the potential problems faced by Thul's use of his official us.army.mil email address?

A VETERAN ATTACKS MDE FOR ATTACKING A VETERAN, ATTACKING A VETERAN WHO WRONGFULLY ATTACKED A VETERAN

(ALL CAPS HEADLINES ARE RESERVED FOR RIDICULOUS MDE POST RESPONSES)

I'm just curious here...which one of those MDE clowns served a day in our nations military?

So Ryan Flynn (not the Ryan Flynn, just that Ryan Flynn) and his merry men at MDE took a shot at the ole Two Putter...

All in the defense of Dave Thul, an Iraq War Vet. While I appreciate and am grateful for Thul's service to this great nation, I think he's severely misguided and over his head on his recent witch hunt of Congressman Walz.

That said, Thul has some explaining to do.

Why didn't Thul identify himself as the Co-Chair of the Steele County Republican Party? He spent time identifying himself as a blogger, a constituent, a Veteran, but failed to identify himself by his partisan title, Co-Chair of the Steele County Republicans.

In 2006, Walz lost Steele County to Gil Gutenecht 8,166-7,006.

In 2008, Tim Walz PWNED Brian Davis in Steele County 11,994-6,146.

Come to think of it...I wouldn't admit if I were the Steele County Republican Co-Chair either...not after getting beat 2-1 by Walz in my own county.

The premise of Thul's attack on Congressman Walz is that he hasn't been honest. Thul's own omission of his partisan position was an intentional lie, he served to deceive the Walz staffers and try to embarrass them.

He only succeeded in embarrassing himself...

And then there is Thul's abuse of offical military email to disparage The President of the United States and a member of Congress.

As Muse points out, Thul has been asked about his abuse of his @us.army.mil email address, consistently trying to change the subject.

Back in the day, when I was an active duty Infantryman, we had a soldier in our company that was called before our Commander for some President Clinton and oral sex jokes.

Once a Commander allows a soldier, especially a Non-Commissioned Officer like Sergeant Thul, to abuse his power and act in an insubordinate manner towards his Commander in Chief, unit discipline slips, morale and esprit de corps fall apart.

Perhaps Sergeant Thul should take a refresher course of PLDC or maybe spend a few hours remembering his creed, the Creed of the Non-Commissioned Officer.

No one is more professional than I. I am a Noncommissioned Officer, a leader of soldiers. As a Noncommissioned Officer, I realize that I am a member of a time honored corps, which is known as "The Backbone of the Army". I am proud of the Corps of Noncommissioned Officers and will at all times conduct myself so as to bring credit upon the Corps, the Military Service and my country regardless of the situation in which I find myself. I will not use my grade or position to attain pleasure, profit, or personal safety.

Competence is my watchword. My two basic responsibilities will always be uppermost in my mind -- accomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my soldiers. I will strive to remain technically and tactically proficient. I am aware of my role as a Noncommissioned Officer. I will fulfill my responsibilities inherent in that role. All soldiers are entitled to outstanding leadership; I will provide that leadership. I know my soldiers and I will always place their needs above my own. I will communicate consistently with my soldiers and never leave them uninformed. I will be fair and impartial when recommending both rewards and punishment.

Officers of my unit will have maximum time to accomplish their duties; they will not have to accomplish mine. I will earn their respect and confidence as well as that of my soldiers. I will be loyal to those with whom I serve; seniors, peers, and subordinates alike. I will exercise initiative by taking appropriate action in the absence of orders. I will not compromise my integrity, nor my moral courage. I will not forget, nor will I allow my comrades to forget that we are professionals, Noncommissioned Officers, leaders!

These are not merely words...they serve as the backbone of what Sergeant's and NCO's do. In my humble opinion, the 10 most important words of this creed are: "I will not compromise my integrity, nor my moral courage".

Well Mr. Thul...one out of two ain't bad. Right?

Notice to the NARN crowd.

Golf weekend is this weekend (Wed-Sun), so don't expect Blueman to interrupt 18 holes at Sugarbrooke to "appear" on the 10,000 watt flamethrower, 1280 The Patriot...we wouldn't want our favorite NARN folks to have another hissy fit, like in 2007.

On the ridiculous attacks on Congressman Walz

NEWS FLASH: Republican operatives cannot understand what "in support of" means.

The attacks on Congressman Walz have started again. This time, a tool named Thul is attacking the Congressman on his military record, saying that Walz did not serve "in support of" Operation Enduring Freedom.

Yep, we went through this stuff back in 2006 too...and the response is the same.

Congressman Walz has never given the impression that he served in Iraq or Afghanistan. His service "in support of" an important mission was important and the fact that some cannot fully understand the terminology of "in support of" saddens me.

When 3/4 of our Infantry Battalion deployed from Germany to Macedonia for Operation Able Sentry, there were people back in the rear "in support of" our mission in Macedonia. They didn't get to add the fancy UN ribbon to their chest of medals. It didn't devalue their service to the 3rd Battalion 5th Cavalry "Black Knights" either.

Congressman Walz and his unit were called to active duty, sent to Italy "in support of " Operation Enduring Freedom. Their lack of a service ribbon does not diminish the importance of their service.

It's not an exaggeration of one's service record.

So instead of attacking Congressman Walz, who has been nothing short of amazing on Veterans issues, perhaps Thul and his thugs should focus on helping CD 1 GOP candidates understand Veterans issues.

Anyone remember that Walz opponent, Brian Davis (a Mayo Doctor) could not "identify any specific areas where we would improve the educational or healthcare methods for veterans"?

After watching the Thul video, I actually couldn't be happier with Congressman Walz and his staff. It shows the level of constituent outreach and his level of service to the 1st CD.

Tarryl Clark Drafted?

Muse has an interesting take on the race in the 6th CD and Tarryl Clark's rumored entry.

I agree with Muse. This isn't 2008 where Bob Olson's challenge...well...despite 128 blog posts here about him...was futile at best.

I know Bob Olson, and Reed is definitely not a Bob Olson clone...did you hear me?

The 6th Congressional District is better served by having a good, open, and honest endorsement battle.

Enter Senator Tarryl Clark.

I've been hemming and hawing at this one for more than a week. Should Clark get into a large but shallow Gubernatorial pool? Or would Clark and Minnesota be better served by her running in the uber competitive 6th?

After Speaker of the House Margaret Anderson Kelliher announced that Jaime Tincher is her campaign manager, I changed my mind on where Clark should run. Through my eyes, after working with Jaime as a State Senate candidate in 2006, MAK made the best hire of the 2010 election cycle.

Getting into the race in the 6th makes sense now. It immediately hurts both Tinklenberg and Reed.

Back in 2006, Tinklenberg received no less than $36,000 from labor PAC's before his failed endorsement run against Patty Wetterling. Post endorsement, labor wrote more checks to Patty Wetterling.

2008 was a smoother run for Tinklenberg as he garnered every major labor endorsement...and for that matter...every endorsement in the district in his bid to unseat Congresswoman Bachmann.

Clark's entry into the race changes that dynamic. Labor will not be so quick to give Elwyn boatloads of money with a candidate of Senator Clark's profile. It also neutralizes the strengths of Tinklenberg's new campaign manager.

Some argue that a woman will be the logical choice to beat Bachmann. While Reed shares the same chromosomes and has a strong background on health care and higher education, she lacks the strong name recognition and political guile possessed by Senator Clark.

Clark has been all over the 6th in the past, helping candidates at all levels, party building and being a leader. That will go a long way in a long endorsement fight.

So with that said...if Senator Tarryl Clark has not been drafted yet...then lets just get it on and get it done!

A new blog to follow

Gotta go check out Nolan's newest blog, he'll focus a lot on Minneapolis Ward 1 issues, but I bet he'll venture out into other areas that pique his interest!

Go check him out and add him to your blogrolls!

Reed for Congress: Warp Factor 5?

Hold up now...you mean to tell me there's ANOTHER person running around the 6th with a video camera?

What the hell...

Anyway...

Muse has the scoop on Dr. Reed's first big event in the 6th.

I agree with Muse's astute assessment.

Reed has zero web/technology presence other than a few of us posting on our blogs. Reed needs to harness the power of the Internet in this race. The fact that I cannot even donate to her campaign on line at this point leaves me wondering what's going on here.

No website.

No Facebook.

No Twitter.

No online presence at all.

Hopefully, Reed has people behind the scenes now getting this stuff squared away.

More Wonkette and Bachmann

Caught this early this morning during my bout with insomnia!

Surely it's a photoshop job, but funny nonetheless.

$100 that Bachmann didn't use Scotch tape from 3M on it! She bought some cheap Wal-Mart stuff or tape she stole from church.

From the comments section at the Wonkette post.

No shit there’s a dog inside. A bad, crazy dog. Bad dog!

And what kind of canine would she have? Something loud, scary, and constantly yapping.
Also stupid. Suggestions?

Enjoy the day of teabagging...

Why Journalism Is Dying: Bachmann lies go untold in Startribune

In case you missed it, Congresswoman Bachmann had her first townhall forums since she was first elected in 2006, some 27 months ago. We can debate later on whether or not these were actual forums or just fact free taxpayer paid re-education events.

The Big E over at MPP contacted the Startribune writer for the Bachmann "coverage".

"This was a breaking story," he told me. "This was not the place of analysis of the scholarship of what they said or lack thereof. We don't have the space to do that kind of analysis."

"Analysis of the truth of what they are saying would make a tedious article," he continued.

So the Startribune doesn't have the time nor the space to report the truth?

They have plenty of time and space to talk about cleaning cabins, ridding them of mice and getting them ready for the upcoming cabin season but no time or space to expose a member of Congress with a fetish for lying?

What's the role of a newspaper then? What should a real journalist be doing?

Fortunately, Google gave me a few ideas on what the role of a newspaper is.

Newspapers keep the people informed about the political activities of their government. They give in detail the statements of speeches made by the rulers at public meetings of on the radio of television. They also report the activities of political parties and leaders. Standard newspapers criticize the policies and statements of the government or of the political parties in a fair (just) way.

But according to Bill McAuliffe, the coverage of Bachmann's first townhall forum in 27 months in office, was not worthy of the time or the space to actually fact check her and her taxpayer funded speakers statements. It would be too tedious?

I'd expect a journalist like Bill McAuliffe to expose a lie by any member of our Congressional delegation, Democrat or Republican.

It's not like were asking him to fact check a city council budget discussion in Maple Lake. This is a member of Congress, one of 435 elected leaders in the House. What these people say carries a lot of weight, people listen to members of Congress.

Honestly, I'm more ticked off about what Big E reported than the fact that Bill McAuliffe failed the readers of the Startribune. It's the nonchalant attitude of it all that really pisses me off.

Consider my dead tree subscription to the Startribune cancelled.