Emmer and the GOP's frivolous lawsuit

My friends over at MNpublius hit this hard yesterday.  Apparently the whiners over on Park St don't have anything better to do.  Per the Startribune...

In St. Louis County, the request seeks: tape results, tally sheets, any result revisions, polling rosters, same day registration sign-ins, the number of accepted and rejected absentee ballots, copies of all absentee ballot envelopes, copies of all voter registration applications and absentee ballot applications, any communication with the Dayton campaign, names of election judges, Election Day incident reports and names of all people who applied for absentee ballots.

But county election officials are also required by law to update the rolls for voting history and same-day registered voters, which is priority No. 1 in most offices right now. 

Patricia Stolee, St. Louis County's Director of Elections, was unaware of the suit but said some requested items cannot be made public until the rolls are updated. She has a three-person staff working on that.

Minnesota law states: "No polling place roster may be inspected until the voting history for that precinct has been posted. No voter registration application may be inspected until the information on it has been entered into the statewide registration system."

Now I find this to be pretty interesting really.  Small government conservatives want to shrink government so that it can conveniently fit into our bedrooms.  With all of the cuts that counties and small local governments have been hit with the past 8 years, I wonder how this process has been slowed by these cuts.

So while Tony and his mob hurl frivolous lawsuits and rant incessantly about election integrity, our hard working public employee's work diligently to ensure we got it right.  I can't wait for another Brodkorb/Sutton/Emmer press conference!

Fortunately, we obtained footage of Tony Sutton preparing for his next press conference.




And it gets better.  Last night I saw the following tweet from Mitch Berg.

Say Dayton wins recount. What do we get? A mentally ill alcholic who's never fnished a job in his life. Thanks, DFL.#stribpol #mn2010

Hmm...interesting.


Two can play this game...


Say Emmer steals recount.  What do we get?  DUI's, doesn't pay his bills, 7 mortgages.  Fiscal conservative my ass...#stribpol #mn2010

Tom Emmer for Governor?

Caught a subtle change to the "Draft Tom Emmer for Governor 2010" facebook page...

It's now "Tom Emmer for MN Governor in 2010".

I left a note with Drew, hoping to hear back if something is official.

FYI, I still think he could be the GOP candidate for Attorney General but who knows?

We did hint at this back in April 2007...

SD 18/19 Legislative Update

We'll attempt to have a regular, possible weekly post on local happenings down in St Paul, following legislation sponsored by local legislators.

SD 18:

Senator Dille has sponsored two bills thus far, both being somewhat controversial.

We've posted about the Minnesota Political Contribution Refund Program legislation. Dille's legislation completely halts the PCR program. (SF 124)

The second bill stands to be more controversial. Senator Dille seeks to lift the moratorium on building new nuclear power plants in Minnesota. (SF 126)

Representatives Dean Urdahl, 18B and Ron Shimanski, 18A, have yet to author legislation in the House.

SD 19:

Senator Koch has offered Senate resolutions congratulation Eagle Scouts and sought to reduce the number of stamps used by Senate offices.

Bruce Anderson, 19A is carrying Dille's nuclear power plant bill in the House.

Tom Emmer, 19B has authored 2 bills.

HF 0057, Emmer's bill for voting ID.

HF 107, Emmer's bill allowing school boards to use staff development revenue on CPR and automatic external defibrillator training and first aid certification.

SC Times hits per diem and other compensation

Again!

Recall the posts on this last year.

According to a SC Times investigation, 18 legislators received more in per diem and other compensation than their annual salary, $31,140.

I opposed the sharp increases in per diem back in March 2007. I believe that our legislators are not properly compensated for the work that they do. However, the back door pay increases like raising per diem from $66 a day to $96 a day look like ways to skirt the system, especially since no receipts are required.

So, let's take another look at what our local leaders hauled in last year!

Bruce Anderson: $18,066. He's noted to be a "friend of the taxpayer".
Tom Emmer: $7,322.
Mark Olson: $13,794.
Ron Shimanski: $14,372.
Dean Urdahl: $19,793. How many church potlucks did he claim?

With more than $3.45 million spent on legislator per diem thus far in 2008 and the state facing a significant budget deficit, rumored to be in the $4-$6 Billion range, will our elected leaders do the right thing and reduce the spending on per diems?

Will they create a stronger system of accountability?

We'll go into a more detailed account of the per diem follies in a later post, just as we did last year.

Urdahl and Shimanski: Back on New New Taxes Pledge

Larry Schumacher has a post up about the pledge.

Looking at the website, "Live Within Our Means", local Reps Urdahl, Shimanski, and Emmer have signed onto the pledge.

I hope everyone remembers what happened the last time our beloved local officials took the vow to not raise taxes! Big cuts to higher education, health and human services, and other vital areas had an adverse impact on working and middle class Minnesotans.

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!

Tom Emmer votes against "Cyber Bullying" bill...

... and his uncle Drew Emmer becomes a "cyber bully".

Nephew Tom voted against HF 504, a bill that forced school boards to adopt a written policy prohibiting intimidation and bullying of any student. The policy shall address intimidation and bullying in all forms, including, but not limited to, electronic forms and forms involving Internet use.

Yeah, I know, the bill deals with cyber bullying in schools. Drew, to the best of our knowledge, has not engaged in cyber bullying of high school students or teens.

However his recent cyber bullying acts against Karl Bremer and those who opposed the use of Forest Lake High School for a recent political forum bring this all to light.

Especially after the fact that Drew went crazy after the "Stillwater Infidel" posted public information of those who opposed the local levy.

Looks like the apple does not fall far from the tree after all.

Wright Republican: Emmer Hypocrisy At Its Finest

Drew Emmer's latest actions against Karl Bremer are a case of hypocrisy at its finest, Wright County Republican style.

Anyone remember the Stillwater levy mess this past fall?


Drew Emmer went after an anonymous blogger who posted personal info of those who opposed the levy.

The organized effort to systematically harass, intimidate and retaliate against citizens who oppose the Stillwater ISD 834 tax levy began during the Summer of 2007.

An anonymous blogger known only as "Stillwater Infidel aka NSA" posted personal information about folks who publicly spoke out against the tax levies at School Board meetings, Open Forums, in Letters to the Editor, and/or posted campaign signs on their private property.

Emmer ends his rant by saying;

There is a lingering sense of hope that the entire story will be thoroughly investigated by local, county, state and federal law enforcement and ultimately reported by other ethical news sources going forward.

In case anyone has forgotten:

Intimidation is against the law.
Harrassment is against the law.
Trespassing is against the law.
Defamation is against the law.
Bombing a mailbox is against the law.
Stealing is against the law.
Attempting to restrict a person's right to express their political views is a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

For the record, I agreed with Drew on this. Personally attacking those who oppose a school levy or other political endeavor is reprehesible. Politicians are fair game. Those private citizens who work in the trenches on these issues, in support of or opposition to are "hands off".



I listened to Jason Lews of KTLK infamy attack Karl Bremer last week for his opposition to the Veterans for Freedom event at Forest Lake High School. The event was later moved to a local VFW.


The venom Lewis and other conservatives had for those who opposed this event and specifically Karl Bremer was shocking.


Minnesota Monitor has a detailed post.


Dump Bachmann covers it here.


It was Minnesota Monitor's mention of Minnesota Majority that caught my eye.


"Isn't Drew Emmer a part of that group?"


He sure is!


Minnesota Monitor captured a screen shot of Drew Emmer's frantic plea for the Minnesota Majority community to personally contact Karl Bremer.

Note that Emmer posted Bremer's complete address and phone number, which was redacted by Minnesota Monitor. While Emmer's post was changed later, the damage was done.

Emmer's work here is as reprehensible as the anonymous Stillwater blogger. Drew Emmer spent at least 30 posts on the anonymous Stillwater blogger, labeling him an "infidel".

Drew Emmer has become the known infidel now in exposing the personal information on Karl Bremer.

I know, we should get his nephew, State Rep Tom Emmer, and Rep Laura Brod to launch another wasteful inquiry to the Office of the Legislative Auditor or another state agency they'd love to gut fiscally once again!

Emmer posed the question on his own blog, "Did the Stillwater Infidel Break the Law?"

There's more to this story. And I suspect there are more folks involved. It will do us all a lot of good to first isolate the possible legal ramifications associated with the Stillwater Infidel. We need to thoroughly clean this up and outline the specifics as to what is acceptable and unacceptable political speech on the blogosphere.

Ask yourself how this issue would have been handled if SI was a republican.

We know how it's being handled since Emmer is a Republican. The Conservative radio waves and blogosphere will protect him.

KSTP should do a story on Drew's hypocrisy. His attempts to stifle Mr. Bremer violate his constitutional right to express his own political view, as previously stated by Emmer during the Stillwater Infidel rant.

So this is who Republican's treat a military veteran?

Local DFL endorsements: Chris Brazelton 19B

As we work to focus on local races, our next installment brings us out to Delano and DFL endorsed candidate for HD 19B, Chris Brazelton.

Chris ran in the 06 election cycle against Tom Emmer. I met Chris at the Wright County Fair, during that hottest stretch of the summer.

Chris and I had some wonderful discussions, frozen water bottle in hand, over health care, domestic violence, and the adverse impact cuts to social service programs have had on Minnesotans.

This will be even more profound based on the increase in foreclosures across Wright County and the growing need felt at food shelves across the county.

Chris Brazelton, HD 19B:

Chris Brazelton has been endorsed by the DFL to run for the Minnesota House of Representatives seat now held by Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Delano.

The district, 19B, covers a number of cities and townships in Wright County, including Otsego, Albertville and St. Michael.

Brazelton, of Delano, and Dennis Sucik of St. Michael sought the DFL endorsement for the seat.Brazelton received just over 70 percent of the vote on the first ballot to win the endorsement Saturday at the DFL Senate District 19 convention, held at Buffalo Community Middle School.

"I was thrilled to have such a strong showing of support among the delegates," Brazelton said Monday.

"Several of them volunteered on the spot to work on the campaign, many wrote checks to contribute."

She believes she can be a more effective advocate for people's issues at the Legislature than Emmer.

Brazelton describes him as "a man with a confrontational and combative style that is not serving us well."

Brazelton also ran against Emmer in 2006.

Both Brazelton and Sucik, meanwhile, addressed delegates and answered questions before the endorsement vote.

Brazelton is a child support officer with Wright County Human Services.

She graduated from Brady High School (a Catholic school that is now closed) and from Metro State University with high honors with a degree in social science (anthropology, sociology and political science).

She worked as sales coordinator for a housewares manufacturer, a paralegal, an advocate in a domestic violence agency and a waivered service coordinator for children with special needs before becoming a child support officer.

A native of central Minnesota, Brazelton is one of 11 children. She is married to Larry and has two adult children and one grandchild.

Brazelton and her husband have been doing foster care for the past several years and are currently caring for a child with special needs.

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.

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 dines with Speaker Kelliher?

When will Minority Leader Seifert, Rep Emmer, and Governor Pawlenty let Rep Urdahl have it?

AAA at Residual Forces reports that Reps Urdahl and Heidgerken dined with Speaker Kelliher at the swanky Monte Carlo last night in Minneapolis. I wonder if Urdahl went to have a mojito at Cafe Havana afterwards, since it is in close proximity?

I wonder if she promised to not target Dean Urdahl's seat in 2008?

More on Meeker County Republican's "hanging chads"

MDE has a post up about a Minnesota Republican Party email claiming "the DFL did not hold a true caucus."

"Our participation represents people who actually caucused and want to be more intimately involved; the DFL conducted a quasi-primary under the broad umbrella of the word 'caucus'. Their 'quantity' is no match for our 'quality' of participation."

Lovely...excpet if you were a Meeker County Minnesota Republican!

Recall my post on the mess created by Meeker County Republican leadership.

I questioned what was going on in Meeker County. When I checked the Secretary of State site this morning, the only precinct that reported numbers was Cedar Mills, where Ron Paul beat Mike Huckabee 83-67. Romney finished with 55 votes, McCain 43, and Alan Keyes 7.

It remains the only precinct in Meeker County to have results posted at the SOS site. Interesting. Ron Paul won Meeker County and the "Republican Leadership" in Meeker County decided to not send in the proper election results? They reported zero's to their party and to the Secretary of State!

It's been said that "the revolution will not be televised". The "Ron Paul Revolution" swept through Meeker County Tuesday night yet the votes weren't even reported properly. It's been reported through the Litchfield Independent Review and other sources that Ron Paul won Litchfield as well, soundly defeating Huckabee, Romney, Keyes, and McCain. Yet, the SOS has no results up?

Isn't this the same party that's looking to change the way Minnesotan's vote? We know these cats are drinking the same kool-aid Tom Emmer and Dean Urdahl are drinking. Yet, they voted and the votes were not recorded?

I'd say integrity of the process was lacking in Meeker County. While the Minnesota Republican Party labels the DFL process as a "quasi-primary" the Meeker County GOP particpated in an attempted coup.

More on the Governor's bonding proposal

Pawlenty outlined the need to fund roads and bridges in his bonding proposal. By vetoing the 2007 Transportation Bill that would have funded a majority of these project by increasing the gas tax, Pawlenty is keeping important bonding bill money from areas that really need it and have no other rational source for funding.

We have a funding mechanism in place to assist in maintaining our state's infrastructure, specifically our states roads and bridges. Raise the gas tax. According to Article 14, Section 10 of the Minnesota Constitution, all proceeds of the gas tax go to our state's roads.

Perhaps Jason Lewis, Marty Seifert, Tom Emmer, Dean Urdahl and others ought to read this document. Instead, they perpetuate the myth that the gas tax proceeds will be eaten up by mass transit.

So Pawlenty's plan to bond for our state's roads and bridges takes needed money from higher education. It takes money away from public safety. It takes money away from our state's environmental needs.

It represents Governor Pawlenty trying to make up for a bridge that collapsed on his watch, while he ignores other areas of need in Minnesota.

Senator Tarryl Clark gets it.

But local governments might not have the money available to match funds for so many projects at once, or have the planning work ready, said Sen. Tarryl Clark, DFL-St. Cloud.

"We need to look at projects that can get under way quickly and can jump-start the economy, and while I agree that roads and bridges are important, I'm not sure it's practical to put three times as much money into them as what locals have requested."

A comprehensive transportation funding bill is needed to make progress on the state's infrastructure, Clark said.

And the news today got even better!

"Minnesota is in a recession." Minnesota state economist Tom Stinson.

Live from Hutchinson: Urdahl / Shimanski townhall meeting

Update: Per a request from my former campaign manager...I put the blog post from start to finish. When I liveblogged it, I posted the most recent actions at the beginning.

Your welcome Nolan...

Live from the Ridgewater College Commons area in Hutchinson. FYI, we have video of this event too!

Special thanks to Ollie for allowing me to use her Aircard to blog the event, and not utilize state resources for political purposes...

Sure are a lot of Republican's here. Good Democrats like Kevin Johnson and John Hassinger are here though!

Format for the townhall meeting.
Intro from Urdahl and Shimanski
Introduction of the panel, 5 minutes per panel member
Q&A with audiences and Representatives 10 minutes per issue.

Dean says hi...hoping this thing will start soon.

Scott Newman's here, looks like he does not like me liveblogging the event.

7:03 Rep Seifert is here along with Tom Emmer, Dean Urdahl, Ron Shimanski and Michael Barrett.

7:08 Rep Shimanski introduces panel.

7:10 Rep. Urdahl is discussing rural development, education, transportation, health care and other issues and the disparity in funding between metro and Greater Minnesota areas. Marty Seifert is talking to the crowd, doesn't say too much, introduces Mike Boehme, Dean at Ridgewater College.

7:15 Discussion of the importance of Ridgewater in the area, providing seamless service to both the business industry and from the local high schools.

Ridgewater Dean talked about importance of funding higher education and keeping tuition affordable.

7:18 Jack Geller from the Minnesota Center for Rural Economic Policy is discussing the differences within Greater Minnesota. Talks regional economies versus community economies. Talks about the need for small business development in rural Minnesota, working in conjunction with higher education opportunities.

7:24 Mark Loftus, Department of Employment and Economic Development, talking about the SEED program. Governor Pawlenty's plan sounds a lot like MN 2020's plan for small business development. Hmmmm

7:29 Bill Ward, Dassel Lakeside Nursing Home speaks about the impact of nursing homes have on the small community economy. In most towns, the nursing homes are the largest employers. His challenge: You cannot recruit more nursing homes and when a community loses one, it will never come back. Talks about ads for education shortfalls and nothing for the nursing homes. The stat, nursing home funding is $25 less than the actual cost of care.

Urdhal is talking reimbursement rate disparties for the nursing homes. They fund through historical trends, which causes McLeod and Meeker Counties to receive less. He says Seifert, Emmer, Shimanski and himself are working on this...

7:51 Connie Leis, City Council Member from Litchfield. Lithcfield was the dryest place in the state in 2007. LGA cuts eliminated tree program, the draught stricken trees stand diseased because they cannot afford to cut them down, at $3,000 per tree. City running at a break even, cannot create development.

Fire Hall stores some equipment outside of city limits? 1900 Fire Hall should be condemned!

Explains the problems small cities face, no one claps...I think Republican's hate LGA.

Urdahl: Cities face challenges and I hope we can do something about it next session.

7:38 Dave Johnson, MnDOT. Talks about the challenges in MnDOT now. Gave props to the Transportation Commissioner.

Funding has eroded. Area 8, Willmar was receiving 6% of states funding, now down to 5.4%.

Editorial note: Urdahl voted against the Gas Tax.

7:42 Siefert and Emmer are now on stage, Glenn Gruenhagen, Glencoe is asking about Light Rail. McLeod GOP Chair and Scott Newman are chuckling about this.

Calls light rail a big "boondoggle".

MnDOT answer, road building is not a feasible option for the congestion problem in the metro area.

Urdahl responds: Expense of transit is in question, need to explore possiblities of rail but maybe not the direction we are headed now. Efficiency and cost is problematic.

Greunhagen: Companies like 3M are looking at moving out of Minnesota because of light rail, lower tax rates and allow companies to compete globally.

Glencoe man question: Why did MnDOT take the high bid on the 35W bridge?

MnDOT: They use a combo of bid price and skill. They do it on all specialty contracts.

Seifert: It's flawed policy. Criteria such as asthetics and public relations are in the "best value law". Move back to "lowest responsible bidder" laws. We'll have to fight unions!

7:56 College Small Business Management program instructor pleads for support for SEED program, which is strikingly similar to the MN 2020 proposal.

8:00 Dean Mahlstadt, from Cokato talks about Cokato creating a 7 member Ecomomic Development Commitee. He's not happy he has to compete. Complains that government seems to be geared towards single mothers, welfare families, and the such.

Where is the hope for his family who has been in the Cokato area before it was Cokato. What is the hope for his 6 kids...

Emmer: Thank you. I call what Geller called, redistrubtuion of income. We need to work together to ensure that Minnesota is not the largest employer in Minnesota, but get back to 3M and other large businesses being the largest employer.

8:08 Republican House Tax man is speaking: Government is the largest employer.
Urdahl: $5 billion in tax raises proposed. Veto's and the Republican House Caucus held the line. The mood is to not raise taxes. Raise someone elses taxes but not mine. $7800 per person in taxes, are we getting are money's worth? No one raises their hand...I'm blogging.

Seifert: Governor was right in vetoing, media and willing allies call it shameful. It was shameful that it was ever passed. It's bout keeping Government in check. State of Minnesota is the 4th largest land owner in Minnesota.

1972, largest employers were 3M, Daytons, etc.
2007: State of Minnesota, U of M, Federal government

Government has too much of our money. People create jobs, not government. Government's at all levels need to reign in spending.

Shimanski: Adequate transportation funding? A lot more than a 5 cent gas tax increase.
Top tier of income, more than $250,000. Will run their buisness with wireless phone and internet and live outside of Minnesota for more than 6 months.

Can't strangle the golden goose. Can't steal the golden eggs.

Connie Leis: Tax fast food? Smoke less, drink less, eat more.

John Hassinger: Criteria for a Return on Investment in the State. We work so hard in the State Park system, suddenly, one shows up in Lake Vermillion?

Urdahl: Where do I begin? He's been working on Greenleaf. 4 branches of Government, Legislative, Judicial, Executive, and the DNR.

8:19 Tom Emmer just told me to make sure the photo of Shimanski I just took does not get tampered with. Avidor, you there?

8:28: Russ Goldstein: We don't wanna raise taxes. State uses law enforcement stings to ensure that underage people are not allowed to buy.

We have welfare benefits, WIC benefits, etc. Do we ever do stings to ensure that illegal aliens have not come to Minnesota for benefits? Many of the checks and dollars go to people who do not need them. Send in enforcement agents and fine the agency $300 and the seller $300 each.

Urdahl: Senator Gimse has announced he will bring forth a bill to do most of that.

Greunhagen: Prevailing wages laws should be struck down. Open up the process and repeal the prevailing wages laws. It makes our businesses and school more expensive. Workman's Comp rates are too high.

Urdahl: JOBZ had to be cancelled at a Litchfield business because the prevailing wages would have driven up their costs by $400,ooo. We could not do it when we were in the majority...it's much tougher now that we are in the minority.

8:35: Healthcare Constitutional Amendment for Health Care? Kelliher has the same sense of clock management as Denny Green. Healthcare dude thinks he's funny...

Minnesota has been first 6 of the last 8 years. 93% of Minnesotan's have health care coverage.

Seifert: Welfare people moving to Minnesota to take advantage of our benefits. 7 working groups under the current regime, over 20 meetings between now and Halloween.

He is not taking per diem tonight.

*Editors note: Marty must read Blueman!

Crushing health care costs: Marty's plan

1. Monopolistic Control: 4 non-profits provide 80% of the HMO insurance. Open up competition, prices go down.

2. More mandates on private health care. Allow for cafeteria plans.

3. MN Care tax repealed.

4. Reform welfare system. 4-6,000 people move to the state every year to take advantage of Minnesota's benefits. EFC cards: You can take them to an ATM and get cash for the casino, 6 pack of beer and smokes.

5. Reform torts. Avg cost of malpractice is $100,000-200,000 per doctor. $11-1200 per baby pays for the malpractice insurance. Trial lawyer lobby...take on the Army of Lobbyists, the Welfare Rights people, trial lawyers. Rise up...

6. Pass tax credits to get Government out of Health care and allow the people to choose your doctor and hospital.

Crowd: It's perfect! HHS and illegals. Is it legal to get health care for illegals?

Seifert: For neo-natal care only.

8:59: GOP Tax guy: Gas Tax would only pay for the equivalent of a 35W bridge. Supports bonding for bridges.

Education taxes: Complex formula that provides the metro area more money than rural areas. All children are created equal until the legislature acts.

Seifert: More money is needed for roads and bridges. Should we take 1/2 of the bonding bill and put towards roads and bridges? How does that compare to the gas tax? Bigger better, more efficient.

Take MVST money and do trunk highway bonding, pay for state road expansions with that. Stillwater Bridge should have been done 15 years ago! Seifert wants to bond for bills.

First two tax increases: Gas tax, constitutional amendment for arts crafts, etc. They'll hurt average Joe by the DFL more.

9:06: Urdahl is on the bonding committee. He got cookies at each project. $4 billion requested in bonding bill, wants money in roads bridges and water infrastructure.

Question from the audience. Is $500 million really enough? We have a $1.8 billion shortfall on Transportation funding in the state, annually. In order to be a world class economy, we must have a highly efficient transportation system.

Urdahl: $500 million is only one component. Final package uncertain. Strong believer in local government, get money to counties and townships. Work in a bipartisan manner to get some money to rural Minnesota.

9:15: Gruenhagen: Cut government employee's wages and benefits and do this together. Pay additional taxes if government employee's take a cut.

9:25: Republican Guy, I think he's the SD 18 GOP Chair and a Local 49er are aguing about transportation funding...

Seifert abruptly ends the forum that is now 25 minutes past its close and missing the discussion on education.

How much did your "fiscal conservative" haul in? Part II

A deeper look into the numbers provided by the SC Times.

The Minnesota Legislature was in session from January 3 to May 21, 2007, a total of 139 days, 75 of which were legislative days.

Early in the session, Rep Marty Seifert took a shot at Democrats saying we "spend money like drunken sailors".

Here's a closer look at what our local "fiscal conservatives" got for per diem.

In the House, you can get $77 a day for per diem. The Senate rate is $96.

Bruce Anderson, took $10,472 in Session per diem, or took it on 136 of 139 session days. $6,230 in lodging expenses.

Laura Brod (not local but a strong fiscal conservative) took per diem on 102 of 139 session days and nothing in lodging expenses.

Tom Emmer took per diem on 119 of 139 session days and nothing in lodging expenses.

Sondra Erickson took took per diem on all 139 session days (including weekends and holidays) and $8,714 in lodging expenses.

Steve Gottwalt took per diem on 119 of 139 session days and $5580 in lodging expenses.

Mark Olson took per diem on 119 of 139 session days and $6716 in lodging expenses.

Joyce Peppin took per diem on about 117 of 139 session days and nothing in lodging expenses.

Marty Seifert took per diem on all 139 days of session and over $7600 in lodging expenses. Wow, talk about spending like a "drunken sailor"!

Dan Severson took per diem on 119 of 139 session days and $11,802 in lodging expenses.

Ron Shimanski took per diem on 119 of 139 session days and $4020 in lodging expenses.

Dean Urdahl took per diem on 135 of 139 session days and $5621 in lodging expenses.

On the Senate side...

Steve Dille took per diem on all 139 session days and $7325 in lodging expenses.

Michele Fischbach took per diem on all 139 session days and $10,176 in lodging expenses.

Joe Gimse took per diem on all 139 session days and $8487 in lodging expenses.

Bill Ingebrigtsen took per diem on 110 of 139 session days and $9586 in lodging expenses.

Mike Jungbauer took per diem on all 139 session days but nothing in lodging expenses.

Amy Koch took per diem on 119 of 139 session days and $8954 in lodging expenses.

Betsy Wergin took per diem on all 139 session days and $8535 in lodging expenses.

It's pretty interesting once you dig a bit deeper into the numbers. Most of these fiscally conservative legislators took per diem on weekends and on holidays. They also spared no expense for lodging as well.

It sure is nice that they are fiscally conservative on education and veterans benefits but rake in the big bucks on weekends and holidays at tax payers expense.

I wonder how many of these elected leaders will remain "friends of the tax payer".

Hey Marty, that's 3 bottles of Crown Royal a day! Holy drunken sailor Marty!

Thanks Ollie for the tip!

How much did your "fiscal conservative" haul in?

The SC Times has a great piece up today about how much in per diem and other forms of compensation legislators can take home.

Note I was strongly opposed to the Senate raising the per diem rate.

So, how did our local "fiscal conservatives" do?

Rep Sondra Erickson $24,521
Rep Mark Olson $19,414
Rep Bruce Anderson $20,402
Rep Tom Emmer $11,711
Rep Ron Shimanski $17,135
Rep Dean Urdahl $19,971
Rep Dan Severson $25,126
Rep Laura Brod $10,256
Senator Steve Dille $24,694
Senator Amy Koch $22,172
Senator Betsy Wergin $24,158
Senator Michelle Fischbach $27,162
Senator Joe Gimse $27,801
Senator Bill Ingebrigtsen $30,619

And two of our favorite conservatives..."Friend's of the Taxpayer"...
Rep Randy Demmer $23,627
Rep Marty Seifert $28,038

All that from "fiscal conservatives"! At least Emmer and Brod held true to their "fiscal conservative" values, the others, including Dean Urdahl, Marty Seifert, Randy Demmer, and Amy Koch, sold out for a few more bucks a day.

A few observations as the Special Election looms...

H/T to Bluestem Prairie for finding this.

While Korb from the "King and the Korb Weekly Lovefest" goes after Linda Pfeilsticker for being vague in answering questions, the same holds true for her Republican opponent Steve Drazkowski.

Look Drazkowski's "answers" to some questions put forth by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.

In order to strengthen Minnesota's economy, strategic investment in transportation infrastructure is necessary. How do you propose to fund Minnesota's transportation infrastructure to assure the safest, most cost effective transportation system that will meet the economic and quality-of-life needs of our state?

Draz states:

There is enough money for transportation projects in Minnesota, we just need be more efficient and prioritize our spending on transportation projects.

Really? Is he serious? While I do not claim to be an expert on the road infrastructure in 28B, I do travel Greater Minnesota on a pretty regular basis, and know that the roads are in need of significant repair.

Seems like Draz is following the mantra of Seifert, Urdahl, Emmer, and Shimanski.

Cut, cut, cut
Borrow, borrow, borrow
Blame, blame, blame

Phoenix Woman posts about Pawlenty playing good cop to Molnau and Seifert's bad cop regarding transportation funding.

Bluestem Prairie covers transportation issues as well! Note that Draz wants to bond for roads! Build now, pay later!

While the transportation question has caught the eye of many, Drazkowski's lack of a response on the education question is what concerns me most.

Minnesota has adopted grade-level standards that describe what all students in Minnesota should know and be able to do by the time they graduate from high school. Minnesota administers statewide tests to measure student progress against those standards and to enable the public to easily compare student achievement in different schools. Which of the following statements is closest to your opinion about testing in Minnesota?

Testing background: Many employers report that high school graduates are unprepared for the demands of the workplace. And about 30 percent of first year students in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system (MnSCU) take at least one remedial course. To improve student achievement and increase accountability in our public education system, Minnesota, after more than a decade of debate and experimentation, adopted a set of statewide standards and a corresponding set of tests to measure students against those standards. Minnesota's efforts predated the federal No Child Left Behind Act, but the overall goal is consistent.

Steve Drazkowski: Has not yet responded.

He simply avoided the question. Students coming to MnSCU institutions unprepared for core level courses is rising. It has been rising for years and is a strain on limited resources on our college campuses.

Pfeilsticker is dead on in her response.

State testing can be appropriate for the measurement of student achievement if used to help schools address areas of concern. There can be such a thing as too much testing. Too many school days are consumed doing standardized tests which are very costly to administer. We need to minimize the number of testing days and use the test results as guides for overall curriculum development.

Why did Drazkowski dodge this question? What does he have to hide?

It's the status quo with Republican candidates, avoid the tough questions and provide bland answers with no vision for the future.

No answer on the education question and no vision on the transportation question.

Is this really what the voters in 28B want? An elected official with no vision for our future? We do not need more Dean Urdahl's, Tom Emmer's, Marty Seifert's, Ron Shimanski's, or Steve Drazkowski's. We need leaders who will lead in difficult situations, make the tough decision and not ride the party line to mediocrity.

The Wright County Fair with "the Bob's"

What a great day!

I just got back from spending about 8 hours at the Wright County Fair in Howard Lake and it was a great day!

It was great seeing Chris Brazelton from Delano interacting with people about the issues that matter to them. Whether it was transportation, health care, or education, more and more people were sharing their displeasure with elected obstructionists like Tom Emmer and Dean Urdahl.

The booth had a high level of activity throughout the day, people coming by for the free balloons and Ciresi bumper stickers! Even more came by for some engaging conversations.

In my opinion, we had more activity this year than last year, although it was about 15 degrees cooler this year as well.

The highlight of the day was my "meeting with the Bob's". Bob Hill and Bob Olson, both candidates to unseat Congresswoman Bachmann and send her back to her IRS Tax Enforcement Agent days.

Both campaigns had staff members their for the majority of the day, which was highly appreciated!

Both Hill and Olson came in from the Stearns County Fair in Sauk Centre to visit with people sweating it out in Howard Lake.

One of Hill's biggest strengths is his ability to put people at ease with a bit of humor mixed with a powerful and positive message of hope. I witnessed several conversations where Hill mixed a dose of humor with solid public policy discussion while engaging voters.

Giving kids kazoo's with the Bob Hill for Congress logo didn't hurt either! While meant for the kids, I can't even begin to count how many parents were playing with those things all throughout the fairgrounds!

Olson was impressive as well. I will cover a discussion I had with Olson in another dairy on the blog.

Olson and I had a lengthy discussion about Iraq and the issues behind the Military Industrial Complex and how groups like Vinnell, DynaCorps, Blackwater, United Defense and others, are profiting over this quagmire in Iraq, paying their workers 4-10 times what a typical enlisted soldier performing the same duties would earn, and sleeping every night under that same soldier's protection.

With all of the talk of Linda Pfeilsticker "dodging a debate" in Southern MN, I wonder how the righties will react when Bachmann, Kline, and Coleman duck forums this summer set up to discuss the quagmire in Iraq.

More to follow on those...

Olson left to go to the Anoka County Fair as well, Hill stayed a few more hours and chatted with more and more people. It was great that I was able to chat with Hill in between visitors to the booth and Hill's time spent walking amongst the fairgoers, finding out what was on their minds. Whether it was a discussion of health care, transportation, or Veterans issues, Hill was well versed and had strong positions on all of these issues.

It was a great opportunity for the voters in Wright County and the 6th CD to meet both Hill and Olson, as well as engaging Chris Brazelton, candidate for the House Seat in 19B. While Olson made at least one trip to the fair, and Hill at least two, Bachmann was notably AWOL.

More local musings

In my notable absence fighting neo-conservative political operatives, this story flew under my radar.

Thank goodness for great minds like Chris Truscott and Dave Mindeman at mnpACT!.

Rep Ron Shimanski takes pride in his first year at the capitol as an obstructionist.

House members held the line against over $5 billion in new, job-killing tax
increases. In cooperation with the governor, who made very clear from the
beginning that there were some initiatives that would be "poison pills" - making
an entire bill unsignable - House members promoted the values that Minnesotans
hold dear.

It's the same rant he sent out in his constituent email as well.

Thankfully, Dave was around to set Shimanski straight.

$5 billion...wow..sounds like a lot. But, a lot of that money was offset by property tax relief. New taxes on the wealthy to give a break to property owners already hit by a slumping housing market. That particular bill had a net increase in taxes of zero.

And one of the poison pills alluded to by Rep. Shimanski is an effort to take inflation into account for state budgeting. Most of you understand inflation... you know... the thing that made the Crosstown Project cost an additional 30% during a 3 year delay in execution. The thing consumers are noticing in the produce aisles. The increases the state takes into account on the revenue side of things but pretends doesn't exist for spending purposes.

In his hometown of Silver Lake, the top issue people talked to me about last year was property taxes. Shimanski failed his constituents and his hometown.

Another issue Shimanski failed to address deals with the Koch Industry / MinnCan pipeline debacle. Shimanski, a small farmer himself, failed to act to protect farmers near Lester Prairie and Plato, as pipeline representatives used coercive tactics in order to obtain permission to run the pipeline through their property.

The SC Times published a story today about the pipeline problems as well.

The owners of about 85 percent of those parcels have signed agreements giving Minnesota Pipe Line an easement across their property in exchange for a payment, company spokeswoman Patty Dunn said.

The owners of the remaining 15 percent haven't signed either because they haven't reached a financial agreement or because of objections to the project. The company filed petitions in 13 counties this week seeking condemnation of the easement tracts, Dunn said.

A blatant assault of property owners rights. Where are the conservatives on this? Tom Emmer? Ron Shimanski? Dean Urdahl? Why are you not protecting the private property rights of Minnesota's farmers?