Dille to introduce bill to discontinue PCR program

From an op-ed by Senator Dille in the McLeod County Chronicle.

I will introduce a bill to discontinue the Political Contributions Refund (PCR) Program this session, saving Minnesota approximately $12 million during the next biennium.

This program reimburses Minnesota citizens up to $50 per year who donate to political candidates running for governor, lieutenant governor, auditor, attorney general, secretary of state, state senator or state house of representatives. This reimbursement is also available for donations made to the Republican, DFL, Independent or Green Party.

This is the way it works: a Minnesota citizen sends $50 to a party or candidate. A receipt and special form are sent to the donor who fills out the form and sends both to the Minnesota Department of Revenue. In four to eight weeks, the donor receives a $50 check from the taxpayers of Minnesota.

This program was established in 1990 and also set campaign spending and donation limits. The goal was to decrease the influence of special interests.

Some believe campaigns should be funded entirely with public money. So far, no other state has established a similar program.

Minnesota is facing at least a $5 billion deficit in the biennium beginning July 1. Our state constitution requires a balanced budget. To accomplish this, many programs must end or be cut back.

This is one that should end. It is one $12 million step on the long road we will travel this session to balance the state's $35 billion biennial budget.

Interesting.

I'm not sure that I support this cut, but I suppose we should have everything open for a closer examination.

Cutting this program would ensure that career politicians are able to keep their "career" as a legislator. Senator Dille is an honorable man, but I'm not 100% certain that this cut will make things better. Incumbents are already tough enough to defeat.

For the most part, money in the Legislative races is pretty clean. We have limits on spending and individual contribution limits to level the playing field. The PCR program feeds off of this. Cutting the PCR program could taint the political contribution process in Minnesota.

That's not a good thing...

Send Dean Barkley Money!

Word on the street is that Dean Barkley raised a good amount of money yesterday.

Help Dean out, send him some campaign funds today! I'd love to see a Barkley commercial on TV soon!

Click here too to send money!

Barkley Unveils ‘Voter Empowerment’ Campaign Finance, Ethics Reform Proposal

The line of the press conference? I didn't have to fly in from New York to save the middle class.


Barkley Unveils 'Voter Empowerment' Campaign Finance, Ethics Reform Proposal
Big Interests Expect 'Something in Return' for Their Contributions

For Immediate Release
Contact: Christopher Truscott
ctruscott@senatorbarkley.com

ST. PAUL (Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008)—Dean Barkley, the Independence Party candidate for U.S. Senate, unveiled a new plan today to make elections funding more transparent and reduce the influence of special interest groups.

Dubbed the "Voter Empowerment Act," Barkley's plan would bar incumbent representatives and senators from taking money from industries they regulate and would give each registered voter a $100 voucher to be put toward the federal candidate(s) of his/her choosing.

"Political contributions can represent a huge conflict of interest for elected officials," Barkley said at a press conference at the State Capitol. "My goal is to simply remove this conflict by returning the power directly to the people."

Barkley, who served in the Senate following the death of Paul Wellstone in 2002, acknowledged his plan won't initially win him a lot of new friends on Capitol Hill.

"It's more important to do the right thing," Barkley said. "I don't imagine Amy Klobuchar was the most popular person in the Senate for introducing legislation to ban privately funded travel, but it's time for us to get our priorities in order. That's what I've been hearing over and over from people across the state."

Special interest contributions come at a high cost to American taxpayers. The recent Wall Street bailout, with a price tag of $700 billion, came after a decade in which both parties failed to exercise responsible oversight.

Finance, insurance, and real estate employees and political action committees have contributed more than $241 million to House and Senate candidates in this election cycle, including more than $180 million to incumbents.[1]

"This is exactly why the American people don't trust Congress," Barkley said. "These groups don't just give money out of the goodness of their hearts; they expect something in return."

In the Minnesota Senate race, Norm Coleman has received $3 million from finance, insurance, and real estate interests[2] and Al Franken has taken in $473,000 from these groups.[3]

"These large contributions send the wrong message to voters," Barkley said. "How can we trust these guys to provide effective oversight when they are being funded by the very industries they are supposed to regulate? We must do better than that if we're going to restore people's confidence in government."



[1] Opensecrets.org (Finance/Insurance/Real Estate: Money to Congress page): http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary.php?cycle=2008&ind=F
[2] Opensecrets.org (Contributions by Industry page): http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/industries.php?cid=N00013870&cycle=2008 Note: Includes PAC and individual contributions.
[3] Opensecrets.org (Contributions by Industry page): http://www.opensecrets.org/races/indus.php?cycle=2008&id=MNS1

Tinklenberg has a great day!

First, a new ad hits the air. Quirky? Yes, but a very good ad. Seeing the fight between Franken and Coleman, this ad's lighter side makes it very effective.



Elwyn's FEC report was also posted.

$156,000 raised by Tinklenberg's Green Machine this past filing period, leaving about $204,000 cash on hand.

As someone who has been highly critical of Elwyn in the past, I admit that Tinklenberg and his team have been running a great campaign. As the campaign gears up the final weeks of this important race, we'll follow Elwyn a bit more closely...working with him to expose Congresswoman Bachmann for the fraud she is.

Great work Elwyn!

Barkley on Campaign Finance Reform

While Senator Coleman openly admitted that he "had no solution" to the issue while speaking at Game Fair, Dean Barkley was candid about campaign finance reform and stopping the revolving door of lobbyists.

My favorite line?

"If a police officer takes a bribe from a criminal, it's a crime," Barkley said. "When a representative or senator takes money from the groups he's supposed to regulate, it's called business as usual in Washington."

The Barkley campaign issued a press release Monday calling for a ban on PAC and lobbyist money.

Barkley Calls for Ban on PAC, Lobbyist Money
IP Candidate: 'The People of Minnesota Deserve a Senator of Their Own'
For Immediate Release
Contact: Christopher Truscott
ctruscott@senatorbarkley.com

Read more about Sen. Barkley's Campaign Finance plans: Click here.

PLYMOUTH, Minn.—Dean Barkley, an Independence Party Senate candidate, is calling on Congress to enact rules that prevent its members from accepting campaign contributions from political action committees and lobbyists.

"Every few years Congress fakes courage and addresses ethics reform," Barkley said. "But each and every time they ignore the most important aspect of the issue—the millions and millions of dollars special interests pump into the system."

In the 2008 election cycle, Republican Sen. Norm Coleman has accepted more than $2 million from PACs and DFLer Al Franken has taken in nearly $300,000. Over the same period of time, DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar has taken more than $280,000 from PACs even though she's not up for re-election until 2012.[1]

"If a police officer takes a bribe from a criminal, it's a crime," Barkley said. "When a representative or senator takes money from the groups he's supposed to regulate, it's called business as usual in Washington. When asked about this at Game Fair over the weekend, the best Sen. Coleman could do was tell us he had no answers—as if the oil companies contribute to him simply because he's a nice guy."

Barkley acknowledged that the Supreme Court has held that spending money on political activities is free speech protected by the First Amendment, but he said Congress does have the power to control how its members fund their campaigns.

"If PACs and lobbyists want to spend money to run commercials or register voters, that's fine. We can't stop that," Barkley said. "But we can and must bring to an end the long-running practice of allowing big special interests to buy or lease a member of Congress. Our country can no longer afford to pay for the IOUs these politicians are racking up in the name of funding their next campaign."

As Minnesota's next senator, Barkley will introduce campaign-finance legislation that will help the American people level the playing field against the special interests. Under Barkley's plan, each registered voter would receive a $100 voucher to designate to the candidate of his or her choice. This way, Barkley said, candidates could fund their elections "by working for their constituents rather than selling themselves to the robber barons of the 21st century."

Labor unions, corporations, lawyers, health care companies, oil companies and the defense industry are among the largest PAC contributors to the big party candidates in Minnesota.

"There's a direct connection between the people funding elections and the lack of progress on the critical issues facing our country," Barkley said. "So long as the oil industry or the unions or the big insurance companies are funding elections and writing legislation we're not going to see real progress on lowering gas prices or school accountability or health care. I'm in this race because I think the people of Minnesota deserve a senator of their own."

* * * * *

Barkley, 57, served as the director of the Minnesota Office of Strategic and Long Range Planning under Gov. Jesse Ventura. In November 2002, Ventura appointed Barkley to fill the final two months of the late Sen. Paul Wellstone's term.

The former governor said recently that Barkley is "measured minute by minute … the most effective U.S. senator in Minnesota history."

More information is available online at www.senatorbarkley.com.

Another look at CD 6 fundraising

I was having a conversation with an old friend yesterday when we began to talk about FEC reports and fundraising. I know, I have some pretty wild friends.

We were talking about the CD 6 fundraising numbers for Elwyn Tinklenberg this past quarter. This past quarter Tinklenberg raised nearly $272,000.

Itemized: $109,223.35

Unitemized: $53,843.93 (At least 269 individuals under $200).

Total individual contributions: $163,067.28

Political Party Committee's: $6500

PAC's: $102,350

Total so far...

Almost $324,000 in individual contributions and $201,550 in PAC money, or about $532,000 total thus far.

She asked, how did Patty Wetterling do in the quarter of the endorsement fight in 2006? The 2006 CD 6 DFL endorsement fight was at least as fierce as the 2008 endorsement and exponentially more competitive.

Wetterling's July 2006 FEC report lays out some pretty staggering numbers.

$309,030 in itemized contributions.

$239,315.63 in unitemized contributions. (At least 1466 individual contributions)

$548,345.63 in total individual contributions.

$6000.00 from Political Party Committee's.

$64,500.00 from PAC's.

About $619,000 raised in the quarter of the endorsement.

Granted, CD 6 was an open seat in 2006 which could explain a portion of the increase in donations. However, Minnesota also had a very expensive US Senate race, and every seat in the Minnesota Legislature was up for grabs. More candidates to send our hard earned money to.

In addition, Michele Bachmann is a more well known commodity across the 6th now than she was in 2006.

Has Elwyn bought Patty's contribution list or asked for it?

The purpose of this post? It's not to take a shot at Elwyn's fundraising. Quite the contrary, this past quarter was a respectable quarter for his fundraising.

However we really need to step it up! We've done it before and we can do it again.

Donate to Elwyn's campaign here.

The choice is ours. We endorsed Elwyn Tinklenberg to defeat Michele Bachmann.

It's time for Democrats, Independents, and sane Republicans across the 6th to help Elwyn out to send Bachmann packing...

Brian Davis Is A Mathematician Too? Who Knew!

Honestly...this is a Blueman first.

I have no idea where to begin here.

The trainwreck that is the Brian Davis for Congress campaign sent out a press release earlier today announcing their lead in "net fundraising" last quarter.

Today, the Brian Davis for Congress campaign announces that their second quarter net fundraising was the strongest of all candidates seeking election to Minnesota's First District in 2008. During the second quarter - April 1 to June 30 - Brian Davis for Congress had $391,601 in total receipts and a net gain in cash-on-hand of $326,273, compared to $186,584 for Congressman Walz.

Total contributions from individuals to the Davis campaign were over $268,000 with a net of $376,718 cash-on-hand. This difference in net fundraising is due to campaign expenses with the Davis campaign reporting $65,330 in disbursements compared to $251,502 for the Walz campaign.

So, if you don't spend money campaigning...you can CLAIM that you lead in "net fundraising"? Is this the philosophy of "he who dies with the most toys wins"?

Seriously, why issue a press release on this?

Ollie over at Bluestem took the first swipe at this idiotic press release.

Did we mention that Tim Walz's $97,617.24 from small itemized individual contributions nearly equals Davis's loan to his own ambition?

Even if everyone in that unitemized pool gave $199, that's still 490 individuals. We're guessing there were a lot more $25, $50, or $100 dollar contributors. Davis only had $29,709.55 in small unitemized individual contributions. As a percentage of their total fundraising (including loans) for the quarter, Walz's small contributions equal 22 percent of the swag, while Davis's small donors add up to a mere 7.6 percent of his haul. Subtract Davis's loan, and it's still only 10.2 percent of his new cash for the quarter.

Ollie is 100% correct. Davis has quickly become the biggest exaggerator in Minnesota politics. Perhaps he honed his awesome math skills over that vast amount of time he was a "nuclear engineer".

Lovely. I just can't wait for Brian Davis to exaggerate his phenomenal driving record...(hint look at #8.)

CD 6 Fundraising Numbers: A Quick Look

With Congresswoman Bachmann's numbers out now, we can start to decipher the fundraising the the 6th.

While Congresswoman Bachmann raised over $382,000 this quarter more than $193,000 came from PAC's and political party committees. More than half of Bachmann's contributions this quarter came from special interest groups.

Bachmann spent about $22,000 this quarter raising $189,000 in individual contributions and more than $12,000 to a Washington DC based PAC fundraising group.

Also of note...she paid Luke Hellier $200 this quarter as well.

Bachmann has nearly $1.3 million cash on hand at this point.

Tinklenberg hauled in about $163,000 in individual contributions this past quarter and about $109,000 from PAC's and political party committees.

Two days ago I talked about Elwyn's good fundraising numbers, they were good not great.

I had a conversation last night with my political Yoda, my mentor.

We had a good long talk about FEC reports and the fundraising trend or mirage activities across the state.

Ashwin Madia killed it this quarter. Anyone who has ever doubted whether or not he's the real deal or not knows better now. I knew it the first time I saw him.

Going into his endorsement in April, he had the support of one sitting Congressman and a strong grassroots support. Madia prevailed and has been running ever since. The endorsement in CD 3 was a tough fight.

Tinklenberg had a relatively easy endorsement fight in CD 6. Other than bloggers like myself asking some difficult questions and supporting "the other guy" for most of the race, the party was unified behind Elwyn with nearly every sitting member of Minnesota's Congressional delegation supporting him.

Why didn't their support bring more money in? Peterson and Oberstar don't have fights on their hands. Neither do Ellison and McCollum. Congressman Walz has significantly outraised his opponent and has a strong cash on hand advantage to go along with a record of constituent outreach that is unparalleled in Minnesota politics.

This is a big quarter for Elwyn Tinklenberg and Steve Sarvi. The incumbents in both races, especially John Kline, experienced lackluster fundraising this past quarter. One big quarter for Tinklenberg will close the cash on hand advantage and build some great momentum in the final days before the election.

But at this point, sadly enough, it's always about the Benjamins...

Elwyn has good fundraising numbers too!

On the heels of Ashwin Madia blowing Erik Paulsen's $600k fundraising figure out of the water today, DFL endorsed CD 6 candidate Elwyn Tinklenberg filed his FEC report today, showing he raised about $272,000 last quarter and has about $225,000 cash on hand.

The billboards up near Buffalo are looking good too!

Larry Schumacher at the SC Times, back after a nice vacation, has the scoop!

Welcome back Larry! I don't think we caused too much trouble while you were gone...

Bruce Anderson Skirting Minnesota Campaign Rules?

The story was broken by the Politcal Animal of the Pioneer Press.

Three Minnesota House members -- Rep. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka, Rep. Linda Slocum,
R-Bloomington, and Rep. Bruce Anderson, R-Buffalo -- have registered their
campaigns with the Minnesota Secretary of State's office and given their
official house email addresses on their candidate filings.

Big deal? Maybe not. If Anderson is using his official state email address to campaign, solicit donors and other campaign activities, this would be a significant problem.

Perhaps we should play the games the righties like to play with Mark Ritchie and others. Let's FOIA the email accounts of these legislators.

Did Brian Davis Lose $13,000 While Olmsted County GOP Treasurer?

Ollie Ox has an amazing scoop once again!

It's a pretty interesting story.

Brian Davis is working to "hold Tim Walz accountable" for gas prices and a slew of other things that take more than 18 months to fix.

Ollie uncovered a gold mine. It at least appears that Brian Davis, as treasurer of the Olmsted County Republicans, was...well...incompetent.

A $13,000 discrepancy for the county unit is pretty significant. He was only off by nearly 100%.

If this happened under the Brian Davis reign of terror, it not only serves as a significant disqualifier for Congress, but means Davis will never be the banker in Monopoly ever again.

End of Quarter Push!

The end of the FEC quarter means one thing...a mad dash for cash!

Remember the record breaking caucuses this past winter. The momentum is still there!

As the parade and door knocking season is now in full swing, it's time for all of us to step forward and help our candidates in any way we can.

They can't do this without money. Coleman, Bachmann, Kline and Paulsen have significant amounts of COH at this point and we need to step up and help turn Minnesota a very dark shade of blue this November.

Steve Sarvi, Ashwin Madia, Elwyn Tinklenberg and Al Franken provide us with a strong shot at making every federal seat blue come November.

In cahoots with other progressive bloggers across the state, MnPublius, Minnesota Campaign Report, Power Liberal, Christopher Truscott, and Centrisity, we are working to raise $1000 total by the end of the quarter.

An ActBlue page has been set up to take your contributions! Any amount you provide will assist our candidates in turning Minnesota a deeper shade of blue!

Please spread this message across all lists!

Brian Davis on Franking Privileges

Yesterday morning, before a round of golf, I caught CD 1 GOP Congressional Candidate Brian Davis on Between the Lines with Al Travis.

Many issues were discussed during the interview.

Travis asked Davis about the fundraising disparity between Congressman Walz and candidates Davis and Day.

9:00 into the video:

Davis: "Money doesn't buy elections. Ah, it does buy media coverage. But you know what, also, its a reflection on the fact that there is a lot of money coming outside, coming from outside of Minnesota and outside of the First District, to buy this seat.

"This seat is not for sale, they can see through a lot of this".

Take a look at Davis' FEC reports. In his 2007 Year End Report, about 25% of contributions for Davis for Congress came within the 1st CD. More than 50% of contributions came from outside of Minnesota.

In the most recent FEC report, Davis had a grand total of 3 contributors from the 1st CD, less than 19%.

The rhetoric from Davis falls short here.

The vast majority of Davis' contributions have come from outside the 1st CD and Minnesota.

10:30 into video:

Travis: I use mail envy, here...I got the Brian Davis flyer sent to my house, I'm a First District guy. But you're being outmailed my friend.

Davis: That's true, that's true you know, but you know where that mail comes from? That mail comes from the US taxpayers, its something a Congressman gets, its called a franking privilege. And that's hundreds of thousands of dollars. I think one of the first things I want to do when I get to Congress is to reevaluate that. Is that a wise use of taxpayer dollars? It comes across as though its public service but you know you see a lot of pictures of the person who is running. I'm not just saying its the current Congressman in our district, it happens all across the country. But is that a wise use of taxpayer dollars? I'm not sure about that.

Travis: So, you plan is to go up against the mailings, the million dollars, I mean, how do I put this...what's going to make you stand out? What's the thing that makes people say wow?

Davis: I'm going to work very hard, I have been working hard. We have all sorts of parades this summer...

Ok, enough! Check out the rest of the video here. We'll continue to fisk Davis' positions on oil prices, healthcare, education, immigration, etc.

Back to the "franking privilege" bit from Davis.

Karl Bremer wrote an interesting story about the franking privileges of Minnesota's Congressional delegation.

Based on those reports, the cost for Bachmann's first mass mailing last year was 46 cents apiece for printing and postage -- more than double the 22 cents apiece mailings for Walz and Ramstad cost and significantly higher than Ellison's per-piece cost of 28 cents.

The biggest difference was in the production costs of the mailings. Bachmann spent a total of $32,589 with The Franking Group for mass mailings totaling 136,465, for a production cost of 24 cents each -- far beyond what her colleagues in either party spent.

Ellison spent $31,358 with Gold Communications for mass mailings totaling 265,522 - a production cost of just 12 cents apiece.

Walz' figures show only $2,210 spent on printing production of 101,017 pieces for a meager production cost of two cents each.

Ramstad paid Catterton Printing $15,295 for mass mailings totaling 300,017 -- a production cost of only 5 cents each.

Did Davis take a shot at Congresswoman Bachmann? After she endorsed him?

Bachmann spent a lot of money on her Davis labeled "taxpayer funded" campaign lit pieces.

Walz actually returned $100,000 back to the US Treasury in unused funds for his Congressional office!

We're glad to see Davis running on issues he can win on though! Going after Congressman Walz's fundraising, when being out raised 10-1 is interesting. Attacking Walz when the majority of Davis' campaign funds come from outside of the "Fighting First" and CD 1 is desperation.

The use of franking privileges is a part of constituent outreach. For Congresswoman Bachmann, IT IS constituent outreach.

Congressman Walz has held committee meetings in the 1st, countless open forums, townhall meetings, and other visits across the 1st. He is a Congressman that is accessible to his constituents. Spending $2200 on mail back to the district, twice the amount Davis paid a liberal blogger, is far from wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars.

It's part of a comprehensive constituent outreach program.

That's not wasteful spending...

Ron Carey: The Hypocrite Edition

Ron Carey, Chair of the Minnesota Republican Party, has called on Al Franken to "lift the gag order on his CPA".

Today's Startribune featured a story on the financial miscues of the Minnesota Republican Party, under the leadership of Ron Carey.

A left-leaning blogger tried to ask Carey about the party’s FEC reports at a news conference the GOP called last week to highlight Franken’s problems. Carey dismissed him, saying the press briefing “is something for our credentialed media here.”

Carey did not respond this week to Star Tribune requests for an interview about the FEC filings.

When will the Ron Carey "gag order" be lifted?

This seems to be the status quo for the Minnesota GOP right now. Bachmann refused to comment post CD 6 endorsement. Kline refused comment after CD 2.

For the sake of fairness, we call on the Minnesota Republican Party to lift the "gag order" on Ron Carey.

Bakula letter: Annandale Advocate

Jim Bakula, DFL endorsed candidate running against Bruce Anderson, has a letter published in the Annandale Advocate.

As I shared the first principle that I based my campaign on (not to take any campaign funds from lobbyists or Political Action Committees) I was astounded by the number of people who made comments like it's easy to pledge that now, but we'll see what you do after you are elected.

Another person compared the legislators in St. Paul to the old beer commercial where one group yells "tastes great" and the other group yells "less filling." Lots of hollering and no problem solving.

As I reflected on these comments I thought of the way the Republican Party publicly rebuked their own party members and stripped them of leadership positions while pledging to withhold endorsements. This was punishment for representing their constituents' wishes by supporting the transportation bill. What has happened to civility and respect for divergent opinions? Obviously power can be abused.

Jim's stance on PAC"s and lobbyist money is noble. Most running for office or being elected to office take money from these groups. While in many cases, this money is not "tainted". However, it oftentimes leads to the elected official being put in a difficult situation. While it happens more often than not on the national level, putting one's contributors before their own constituents is one major reason people feel disenfranchised.

Bakula's old school values, subject matter expertise on education and health care, and a well organized campaign, make him well poised to send Bruce Anderson home after the 2008 elections.

AP story on CD 6 race

From the SC Times:

The delegate's minds are on beating Bachmann, which might involve overlooking their own strongly held beliefs on abortion and other social issues. Tinklenberg - who opposes legalized abortion but says he would not work against abortion rights - has the edge in delegates.

District DFL Chairwoman Nancy Schumacher, who based her count on subcaucus results, predicted a relatively quick endorsement. She hedged on who it would be. Olson, meanwhile, claimed that he is leading and said he expects multiple ballots.

Schumacher said Democrats want to focus on roads, jobs and housing - issues she said Bachmann has neglected.

"In many minds, Bachmann is an embarrassment in her voting record, and it doesn't seem she is doing anything - not only for the 6th District but also for the state of Minnesota," Schumacher said.

Will he or will he not abide by the DFL endorsement?

Both Tinklenberg and Olson say they are the best candidate to beat Bachmann, and both said they would do so by appealing to independents. Both promised to drop out if the other wins the endorsement, although Tinklenberg said his pledge might not apply if last-minute attacks sway the vote.

One of many reasons I do not trust Tinklenberg. At some meetings, he has said he would abide by the endorsement. Others, "if the process is fair and honorable". I'm not sure what the "last minute attacks" could be, we've already discussed his lobbying past and taconite on numerous occasions.

Since Tinklenberg might be ready to push the CD 6 race to a primary, Olson ought to threaten to do the same, IMHO.

On the lobbying issue(s):

Several letters circulated among activists have questioned Tinklenberg's work as a transportation consultant. One accused Tinklenberg of working as an unregistered lobbyist. But the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board found last week that Tinklenberg's consulting work on a commuter rail line did not trigger a requirement for him to file paperwork as a lobbyist.

To be clear, the Federal Lobbying issue remains relatively unresolved. The state issues were never a significant cause for concern for me. The Tinklenberg Campaign attempted to obfuscate the issue by comparing it to some of the lobbying of Senator Tarryl Clark, prior to her State Senate election.

The reality is that they were comparing apples and oranges. The Federal Lobbying issues are significantly greater than the issues before the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board. The state issues are more less resolved.

Speaking of campaign finance:

Bachmann, a Republican, has a commanding financial advantage over all comers.

At the end of March, she has more than $1 million in the bank, compared with $102,000 for Tinklenberg and $112,000 for Olson, who has loaned his campaign $182,000 since he started. The Independence Party candidate, John Brockberg, had not reported fundraising.

If we manage to avoid a primary, the money for Olson or Tinklenberg should start rolling in nicely after this weekend.

Brian Davis Hires Liberal Blogger As Consultant (Part II)

As we reported back in March, newly endorsed 1st CD GOP candidate Brian Davis, hired a liberal blogger for IT Consultant work.

My site traffic from Costa Rica was through the roof.

With the release of his FEC report yesterday Davis paid David Roberts (aka Evil Bobby) $250 on 1/1/08 (Happy New Year EB!) and another $250 on 2/1/08.

After the March report exposing Davis' payment of the liberal blogger Evil Bobby for IT Consultant work, according to the FEC report, payments ceased.

Interesting...

By the way, Davis raised about $34,500 in the first quarter. When compared to Olson's haul in the 6th, Davis looks like a fundraising machine.

Update: Only $6500 in individual contributions came in after his endorsement, $5000 in PAC money.

Olson essentially spent $1 for every $1 he raised.

Brian Davis?

He spent over $17,000 in fundraising consultants in the 1st Quarter.

That $17,000 got him $15,843 in individual contributions and $10,000 in PAC money. I would assume that his fundraising consultants did not have to prod Davis for the $8649 he gave himself.

Wow, that's some pretty bad fundraising.

I know two local DFL House candidates, running against long time staunch conservatives in Central Minnesota.

After looking at these numbers again, Davis' fundraising may in fact be worse than Bob Olson, but we'll let you be the judge of that...

Tinklenberg raises $127,000 is First Quarter

Elwyn Tinklenberg's FEC report was posted yesterday.

He collected just over $99,000 in individual contributions and almost $28,000 from PAC's. About 20% of his contributions came from PAC's.

For comparison, in first quarter 2006 Tinklenberg hauled in about $39,500 in individual contributions and $23,000 from PAC's. Apples and Oranges, I know, since in 06 Tinklenberg was running against a formidable candidate in Patty Wetterling and the Congressional seat was open.

Honestly, it's not as bad as I had heard. Although with just over $100,000 cash on hand at the end of the quarter, the fundraising pace must pick up. I wonder if he'll start calling in some of the fundraising "big guns"?

Anyone see the Tinklenberg vehicle repair reimbursement on 1/21/08 of $1190.36? I'd like to hear the story behind that...

Were anxiously awaiting the release of Olson's FEC report. 2007, 4th Quarter, Olson had just over $92,000 cash on hand, with $119,000 in loans.

At the close of 07, Bachmann had nearly $800,000 cash on hand.

Kiffmeyer Campaign Finance Problems?

Poltical Muse has an excellent post up!

Media bias in campaign contributions

Brodkorb got me thinking a bit on his recent post about Alix Kendall, Fox 9 News Morning co-anchor.

Apparently she did not know that her contribution to the Franken campaign would be public knowledge. Fair enough. While MSNBC is concerned about who is reporting the news and their political leanings, I am more concerned with the ownership of mainstream media and their political leanings.

Enter Stanley Hubbard.

Hubbard started Hubbard Broadcasting Corporation and owns television and radio stations across 4 states.

In Minnesota his company owns KSTP Channel 5 in the Twin Cities, KSAX Channel 42 in Alexandria, KRWF Channel 43 in Redwood Falls, KAAL Channel 6 in Austin/Mason City, Iowa, WDIO Channel 10 in Duluth, WIRT Channel 13 in Hibbing, and KSTC Channel 45 in the Twin Cities.

Radio stations owned by Hubbard Broadcasting Corp include local talk radio giant AM 1500 KSTP St. Paul, Minnesota, KS95, an adult contemporary FM station, WFMP 107.1 FM – Coon Rapids, Minnesota/Twin Cities, talk radio for women and WIXK 1590 AM, New Richmond, Wisconsin, Country music.

As the President for Hubbard Broadcasting Inc, Hubbard has been a large political campaign contributor. While he has given to Senator Klobuchar, Jim Oberstar and others, the vast amount of Hubbards contributions go to Republicans.

Since 2002, Hubbard has given at least:

$50,250 to the National Republican Congressional Committee

$42,500 to the National Republican Senate Committee

$15,800 to Congressman John Kline

$15,100 to Congressman Mark Kennedy

$11,200 to Senator Norm Coleman (not including $18,000 to Coleman's Victory Committee non-federal account)

$10,900 to Congressman Gil Gutenecht

$4250 to Congressman Jim Ramstad

$4600 to Rudy Giulani

and

$6,600 to Congresswoman Bachmann.

No wonder KSTP was all over the Hatch comments before the 06 elections!

So, while some may worry about how newscasters such as Alix Kendall, and whether or not she has the ability to remain impartial (which I believe), I am more concerned with those at the top, and their influence over Minnesota's political scene.

The numbers do not lie, Stanley Hubbard has significant influence, over both the media, and the political scene in Minnesota.