Politics In Minnesota: The Weekly Report - Vol. 4, Issue 2 - 6/27/2008

In this issue: Happy Fourth Of July & Publisher's Notes; Top House Districts To Watch In 2008: Part I; Pelowski's Particulars: The Anti-Committee Committee Soldiers On; Retirees Recount Plans For Post-Capitol Pastimes; Beltway Bandits Bundle Bucks In Brave Blast Of Bloviations; Bitter Internet Inspectors Break Down Boffo Babble Intrigue; Sixth District: El Vs. Michele; Bits & Pieces; Lobbyist Watch.

Happy Fourth Of July & Publisher's Notes

We're thrilled by the number of emails we've received about the Politics in Minnesota 2008 Minnesota House District Campaign Pages. Please keep those email updates coming and do, please, post any news or comments you have about each race on that race's page. Kudos for this 2008 election resource go not to PIM Publisher Sarah Janecek, but rather to PIM staffers Peter Bartz-Gallagher and Dan Feidt.

Also, a reminder that we won't be publishing a Weekly Report next week (and we won't publish a Morning Report on Friday, July 4). Everyone at PIM wishes all our readers a happy, patriotic and safe Fourth of July holiday with family and friends.

Top House Districts To Watch In 2008: Part I

As we built our 2008 legislative campaign pages, we couldn't help but start to seriously consider how the races might shake out.

This last biennium, Democrats held a daunting 36-vote margin in the House, 85 Democrats to 49 Republicans. After this year's high profile transportation funding veto override (all 85 House Democrats plus six Republicans voted to override), the DFL House caucus has not been shy about letting everyone know the group wants DFL-proof veto-override powers. The magic number for the constitutionally required veto override vote is 90, two-thirds of the 134 House seats, which is only five more seats. House Democrats think they can pick up those seats this year, because of prevailing anti-GOP winds and the fact that in presidential years, Democrats do a terrific job of turning out the vote.

But Ben Golnik, political consultant to the House Republican Campaign Committee, vehemently disagrees. He is confident this season will bring gains for the GOP (perhaps even double-digit gains), citing vulnerable DFL freshman as prize GOP targets. A 19-seat gain would bring back the majority, and while it sounds unlikely, one need only look back to 2006 when the DFL gained 19 seats to steal the majority away. It can be done, says Golnik.

Ten seats which will receive considerable attention this year are the same House District races that were close in 2006. The tightest races were upsets of 8-termers Rep. Phil Krinkie (R-Shoreview) and Rep. Greg Davids (R-Preston), whose races were ultimately decided by 26 voters. Krinkie, now President of the Taxpayers League of Minnesota, did not pursue endorsement at the caucus earlier this year. In fact, a primary is expected between endorsed candidate John Kappler [campaign site] and former two-term Senator Mady Reiter [campaign site] (R-Shoreview). Reiter lost to Sen. Sandy Rummel (DFL-White Bear Lake) in 2006 by 2,265 votes, however in the 53A side of her district Reiter only lost by 179 votes.

Davids is gearing up for a rematch with freshman Rep. Ken Tschumper [campaign site] (DFL-La Crescent). Mid-week, Tschumper still had not updated his website from 2006, but one assumes his message of, "We are not going to solve our problems if we keep re-electing the people already in office," will likely be tweaked a bit. [The fact that Davids doesn't have a website prompts the question: Which is worse? A website that is outdated, or no website at all?]

In 38A, Freshman Rep. Sandra Masin [campaign site] (DFL-Eagan) will be holding her ground against endorsed GOP candidate Diane Anderson [campaign site]. Masin ran against then-GOP incumbent Tim Wilkin in 1998 and lost by 2,176 votes. But every year since, Wilkin's DFL opponent closed the gap. Wilkin garnered 54.3% of the vote against Tom Weisbecker in 2000, 53.8% against DFL-endorsed Meg Tilley and Independence Party candidate Art Seaberg in 2002 and 52.4% against Christine Harbron in 2004.

This year will be the first time since 2000 that voters in district 25B will not see a Bly vs. Cox ticket. Rep. David Bly (DFL-Northfield), after two unsuccessful attempts, finally took out Rep. Ray Cox (R-Northfield). In 2002 Cox won by 46 votes, and in 2004 he won by a much more comfortable spread of 586 votes. Cox ran unsuccessfully against Sen. Kevin Dahle (DFL-Northfield) in a January 2008 special election for the seat left vacant when Sen. Neuville (R-Northfield) was appointed to the Rice County bench. Cox's website says he has, "grown weary of the spirit of politics that has developed in Northfield," and thus chose not to run for the House seat this year. Data from the special election likely influenced his decision as well: while he lost to Dahle by a total of 1,577 votes, he lost in HD 25B by 1,606 votes.

In 29B, Rep. Kim Norton [campaign site] (DFL-Rochester) will be defending her seat against Jason Johnson [campaign site]. As the chart shows, pro-DFL interests spent over four times as much as Norton's campaign itself spent, with the GOP interests not far behind. In 2004, Norton trailed Rep. Fran Bradley (R-Rochester) by only 311 votes. When Bradley retired in 2006 after 12 years of service, Norton squeaked ahead of Rich Decker to earn a seat in the 2007-08 Legislature. Johnson is a Ron Paulite and his recent post on a Ron Paul web forum detailing his need for funds can be found here. His campaign website shares that his August wedding will now be postponed - not due to the campaign, but to his wife-to-be's need for a kidney transplant.

We'll have more on the top House races in our issue after the Fourth of July holiday, but meanwhile, check out the table below detailing 2006's closest House races (victors are underlined, "Inc." stands for Incumbent).

Pelowski's Particulars: The Anti-Committee Committee Soldiers On

Rep. Gene Pelowski (DFL-Winona) has invited all House members to join his interim summer hearings on legislative reform, as we detailed last week.

Charley Shaw, from our sister publication, the Saint Paul Legal Ledger Capitol Report, covered Monday's hearing, which featured Geoff Bartsh, president of the Minnesota Governmental Relations Council and lobbyist for HealthPartners. Pelowski said that the MGRC's website was "very helpful," and he's interested in their suggestions about committee structure.

Retired judge and former state Sen. Jack Davies also testified, offering a "blanket endorsement" of the committee's work. Pelowski praised Davies' book, Legislative Law and Process in a Nutshell, and said the committee has a couple extra copies on hand. Davies said "I made a mistake 37 years ago" by installing the limit of 120 legislative days into the state Constitution. There was an unintended consequence: it creates a "pointless limitation" on legislative activity, by preventing the House from being able to hold "ghost sessions" that redirect bills and carry out housekeeping maneuvers without consuming one of the precious 120 days. Things would be much better "had it not been for this stupid constitutional provision which I am responsible for!"

Volunteer lobbyist and privacy super-guru Rich Neumeister also put his two cents in, and pointed out that putting bill activity on the Internet still leaves it out of reach for "a lot of folks." He pointed out the committee responsibility for issues like data practices are kind of fragmented, and often the institutional knowledge about the issues doesn't quite catch up. Thus, it's better to have a standing committee for data practices which can catch things "across the spectrum" of legislative activity.

The discussion among legislators about the process was interesting. Rep. Phyllis Kahn (DFL-Minneapolis) pointed out that appropriations items shouldn't have to be introduced as bills, since they never go through the process, individually anyway. Kahn later added that creating a giant omnibus bill gave the leadership an "illusion of control" but ultimately slowed the process down. She supported adding some items in conference committees, saying that a plan for Dutch elm disease materialized "de novo" via conference back in the day.

Rep. Steve Simon (DFL-St. Louis Park) agreed with Bartsh that stricter deadlines should be enforced for informing the public of committee agendas and amendments. Simon also supported referring bills directly to divisions. While the idea of requiring at least a day between the publication of amendments prior to committee hearings was popular, some criticized the idea because, as Neumeister put it, citizens often come "out of the woodwork" to provide useful amendments at hearings, and crucial flexibility would suffer if there had to be a day-long lag before voting upon these ad-hoc changes.

Rep. Diane Loeffler (DFL-Minneapolis) suggested that committees should plan years in advance to focus on certain issue areas, so that a committee can narrow its focus and rotate among key issues. This would also help lobbyists narrow their focus and curtail their "panicking" when they get overloaded. Rep. Sarah Anderson (R-Plymouth) advocated publishing all agendas on Thursday, which was how it was done in years past. Rep. Mark Olson (R-Big Lake) was concerned that adding rules would "stifle the will of the body" at times, and floor amendments were a key part of ensuring that didn't happen. Rep. Jean Poppe (DFL-Austin) wanted to know "when do we act?" After all, "we like to listen to ourselves talk" and she feared it wouldn't be done before Christmas. Rep. Neil Peterson (R-Bloomington) appreciated going through everything step-by-step, but he doesn't understand why policy and finance committees ever got separated in the first place. Rep. Mindy Greiling (DFL-Roseville) felt that many problems would "dissolve" if there were fewer committees, and felt the policy/finance split often resulted in a "waste of time" for both legislators and testifiers.

Rep. Pat Garofalo (R-Farmington) praised Pelowski, saying he "would choose you" to undertake these reforms, and got a big laugh by claiming he's "not just saying that" because he wanted that day's per diem! Garofalo saliently added that "we're frozen" until the budget forecasts come out in February, and that release date really ought to be changed.

Pelowski's next interim meeting will be on Thursday, July 10th, and it will focus on floor procedures; thus, it ought to be a fairly interesting dance between perceptions - and realities - of minority and majority powers.

Pelowski's committee administrator, Mark Mallander, helpfully provided us with digital copies of the testimony and outlines they're working from. Download the whole package as a 147 KB ZIP, or get your svelte PDFs here: Legislative process changes; committee structure and procedures; Bartsh's testimony; MGRC's Phil Griffin's testimony; House Research director Patrick McCormack's testimony. The online video of the committee hearings is archived here.

Retirees Recount Plans For Post-Capitol Pastimes

[This continues PIM's look at retiring legislators, which started last week]. Rep. Bud Heidgerken (R-Freeport) has decided to step out, and he's pleased with his accomplishments, after returning for a final term with the highest plurality vote of any House Republican. (GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty had to ride his coattails in the district, and not vice versa, he says.)

He has "a lot of things" to do, including helping run Charlie's Cafe in Freeport and visiting towns and "good customers" around the district. He has offers from lobby groups and a possible newspaper option, while talk of going for mayor or county commissioner has circulated a bit.

He's keeping his "options open" for the year, and playing fast pitch softball a couple nights a week, as well as coaching for high school. (The fast pitch booster has helped build up the largest fast pitch league in the Midwest.) Of course, Heidgerken made big headlines when he voted to override Gov. Tim Pawlenty's transportation bill, but Heidgerken says this gave him the "opportunity" to get either the DFL or GOP House endorsements.

Even after his vote, Heidgerken says he got a "standing ovation" before area Republicans, once he explained it was a good bill for rural Minnesota. They "almost made a martyr out of me," he says, but he saw the bill as "a big winner for us," in particular citing how it measures investment by road miles rather than lane miles. (The Taxpayer's League wanted it done in lane miles, which would have benefited the suburbs much more.) He says he would vote for it again tomorrow, and voting the other way would have been a "hard time." He has to "live with the people, not politicians," he says.

Sadly, Heidgerken had to recently say farewell to a brother brought down by Lou Gehrig's disease, and thus, now was a good time to take a break and catch up with the lives of his extended family.

Heidgerken enjoyed House floor debates, and points out that he never took a computer down there. Computers cause distraction and too much "chit chat" among the members, so they're not listening to the floor. It's "very important" to consider, and even "disrespectful" when the computers are on, he says. Nonetheless, it was an "honor and privilege" to be down there in the House floor fights, and a kind of fun he wishes "everyone could have."

DFLers Larry Mareck and Bruce Shuck have filed to run in Heidgerken's district; while some Republicans have gotten interested, no others have filed as of press time. Heidgerken points out the area can easily support DFL aspirations, as former Sen. Dean Johnson and "the Bertram boys" (Jeff and Joe) have represented the area for long stretches.

Reached via email, retiring Rep. Frank Moe (DFL-Bemidji) is working at his flower/gift shop in Walker with his wife, Sherri. "No, I don't have a clue about arranging flowers, but the lawn needs mowing, the plumbing fixing, etc." He's also working on a garden at the house and taking care of the sled dogs: "In fact we've recently added four pups: Cola, Kimi, Bear and Wolf." This fall, Moe begins a Bush Fellowship completing his Ph.D. at the U of M, and he'll continue with his state Rep. obligations until his replacement is sworn in, and "trying to help out constituents when they need a hand."

As we noted last week, Moe criticized the power some committee chairs have over their purviews. Here are his remarks in full:

...My second greatest concern [is] the concentration of power that exists in the Legislature, probably more in the Senate than the House. Some Chairs have almost dictatorial control over their budget and policy area and will go to any bullying or bribing ends in order to get their way. One blatant example is the Senate Transportation Chair [Sen. Steve Murphy (DFL-Red Wing)]. Because we were able to defeat the primary seat belt bill in the House, for reasons explained above, the chair sent a letter to my home paper claiming my legislative legacy is "traffic deaths." I attached part of it below.

This just reaffirms that it's time for me to move on and hope that some others follow my lead. New enthusiasm and talent are needed. I'm personally going to enjoy spending this fall and winter with my wife, going fishing and training our dogs. Oh yea, and going to school.

As sent, Murphy's letter titled "Moe disservice to primary seat belt law," published May 23rd, 2008 in the Bemidji Pioneer:

...is a misdirection of law enforcement priorities especially in rural areas. Each year more than 200 Minnesotans are killed and 500 are seriously injured because they were not buckled up. ...It’s unfortunate that rather than responsibly supporting life and cost-saving policies his legislative legacy will be forever linked with traffic deaths.

DFLer John Persell and GOP contenders John Carlson and Anthony "Tony" Williams are contending for the seat. Carlson is the GOP's endorsed candidate.

Beltway Bandits Bundle Bucks In Brave Blast Of Bloviations; Bitter Internet Inspectors Break Down Boffo Babble Intrigue

Washington Post columnist David Broder, widely considered to be the embodiment of the standard Beltway pundit, got himself in trouble recently when Ken Silverstein at Harper's Magazine publicized in his Washington Babylon column how Broder has made quite a bit of money lately speaking to corporate lobbying groups and got handsomely paid in 2006 by our very own Minnesota League of Cities.

Silverstein nailed the conflict of interest by quoting Broder's own reactions to a similar paid gig flap in the mid-1990s. Liberal blog FireDogLake photo shopped Broder clutching stacks of cash. When Broder appeared on Frontline in 1996, he said:

It’s clear that some journalists now are in a market category where the amount of money that they can make on extracurricular activities raises, in my mind, exactly, and, clearly, in the public’s mind, exactly the same kind of conflict-of-interest questions that we are constantly raising with people in public life...

People think that we are part of the establishment and therefore part of the problem. I mean, what bothers me is the notion that journalists believe, or some journalists believe, that they can have their cake and eat it too, that you can have all of the special privileges, access and extraordinary freedom that you have because you are a journalist operating in a society which protects journalism to a greater degree than any other country in the world, and at the same time you can be a policy advocate. You can be a public performer on the lecture circuit or television. I think that’s greedy.

Silverstein pointed out that Broder took $12,000 to speak to the League of Minnesota Cities meeting, an 2007 Annual Convention Survey for the National League of Cities revealed (see the PDF here - Broder's on PDF page 8). According to the chart, Broder was "excellent."

The League, of course, lobbies the Legislature on behalf of city government interests. A representative of the League told us that their annual speaker's budget is about $15,000 to $20,000, "pretty much only" for speakers at their annual conference. The League rep said that speaking funds vary depending on state size, and the National League of Cities helps municipal leagues evaluate their conferences. Broder was seen as a good speaker because they sometimes obtain big national speakers, and in this case, the climactic 2006 election was nearly at hand.

In 2004, the League had Gwen Ifill speak, after she hosted a key debate between the vice presidential candidates. A couple weeks ago, former Twins manager Tom Kelly spoke at their conference, and last year, Paul Loeb, an organizer in Seattle, spoke; both got paid. In 2005, a youth programs expert from Pittsburgh, Bill Strickland, spoke to the League. They told us that their speaker's committee, consisting of about a dozen local officials, goes over a variety of topics, and tries to select an expert on an appropriate, different subject each time around. TPT's Mary Lahammer delivered remarks this year, as well, but was not compensated. Dave Ivan, a "frequent guest speaker" on economic development from Michigan State University, was paid by the League to the tune of a few thousand recently.

At a conference the League held last spring, Kathy Tunheim of Tunheim Partners spoke but did not collect any compensation. Carl Neu of the appropriately titled "The Center for the Future of Local Governance" spoke to newly elected city officials early this year, and was compensated.

Broder and Bob Woodward earned a rare rebuke from WaPo ombudsman (and former St. Paul Pioneer Press editor) Deborah Howell, though Broder seems quite reluctant to criticize this practice like he did 12 years ago (he apparently failed to notify his editors, let alone his readers, what he was up to). (See also Silverstein's reaction to Howell's slap on the wrist. Later, FOX News anchor Greta van Susteren helpfully suggests a website wherein all these speaking fees can be disclosed). The League of Minnesota Cities is a more benign lobbying group than the typical Beltway trade association, but the point stands: how can a reader judge an analyst's objectivity when interest groups are throwing them bundles of cash? (And will the WaPo bother to reprimand anyone? We're not holding our breath.)

Sixth District: El Vs. Michele

To say the 2006 race for Congress in the 6th Congressional District was hard fought is like saying Minnesota has a lot of mosquitoes...it just doesn't do it justice. The two rival camps, Patty Wetterling and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN6) fought hard for the open seat spending nearly $5.5 million (that was just what the campaign spent) combined in a race that saw Bachmann win by 8 points, 50.1% to 42.1%. If history repeats itself, the upcoming election will be of great interest to the state and the nation as a whole. The 2008 race features incumbent Bachmann defending her seat against Elwyn Tinklenberg, President of the Tinklenberg Group, a consulting firm specializing in transportation, and the former Commissioner of Transportation under Gov. Jesse Ventura. National interest has already begun for this seat, with the DCCC beginning to put Bachmann in their crosshairs, and the Rothenberg Political Report rating the race as "Republican favored."

Michelle Presson, a 16-year Washington pro is heading the Bachmann campaign. Presson has been active in Republican politics for some time -- she has worked field operations for the RNC and has been on Bachmann's Congressional staff for the last five months. She "likes working for a woman" and sees "importance in women being in the House." Presson pointed to Bachmann's knowledge of the issues and speaking ability as some of the reasons Presson has been so taken by the Congresswoman. These were on display earlier this week when she debated Rep. Chuck Rangel (NY-15) on CNBC.

Presson is very pleased with the direction in which the campaign is heading and is very excited about the new website the campaign will soon be releasing. The website will have a more honed message, one which Presson believes will resonate strongly with the voters of the 6th. "Michele is an incredibly dynamic member of Congress," Presson said, alluding to the huge fundraising advantage Bachmann currently maintains (she's raised over $1.5 million to date). Presson also credits the active grassroots base for the success she's had in the district. The campaign is still small, only three paid staffers, but plans to expand are already in the works. Presson said that without a primary challenger the need for more paid staff won't come until later in the election season.

With support from the RNC, the RCCC and Mitt Romney's Free and Strong America PAC, Presson is confident Bachmann will win in November. When asked about Bachmann's attachment to the widely unpopular President, she pointed to Michele's "image as a reformer" and her willingness to break from Bush on issues like global warming and immigration, adding "It will be hard to pin her a Bush's girl."

Elwyn Tinklenberg is in his second run for Congress. He lost the DFL endorsement in 2006 to Patty Wetterling and looks to upset Michele--who has really caught the ire of liberals in the 6th. Anna Ritchie, who grew up in Blaine, has been working on campaigns since she was 10 years old. She phone banked for Wellstone when she was 14, volunteered for the Kerry campaign in 2004, worked for Tinklenberg in '06 and helped run the SD 51 legislative races after Tinklenberg failed to capture the DFL endorsement. She joined the campaign because of her experience with the area and the candidate, and assured PIM it has nothing to do with being Tinklenberg's step-daughter.

Ritchie recognizes the inherent difficulty in defeating an incumbent but sees the foundation for change in the 6th's changing demographics. Noting a shift from 2006, she calls the district "younger, with...new families moving in." She also credits the excitement over Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama as a major plus in mobilizing Democratic voters throughout the district. She hopes that if Tinklenberg gets his name recognition up and can "get credit for the centrist he is," victory will be attainable.

Citing U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar's (D-MN) victory here in '06 and the 42% base of voters, Ritchie is confident that "a lot of Dems and Independents will be looking for something different." With the Independence Party endorsement, an emerging force of college-age interns, plus a dedicated volunteer base of over 400, Ritchie is looking forward to the summer, when the campaign can get out in the field and door knock and hit the parade circuit.

Although national attention on this race will probably not be what it was in '06, the election is far from a sure thing for Bachmann. She's favored at this point, but the increased interest in the presidential election plus the huge turnout in the Democratic caucuses this past February could prove problematic for a first term Congresswoman--particularly one closely linked with the current administration. Tinklenberg certainly has a steep road to climb, but is hoping his "centrist" nature will play well in one of Minnesota's "redder" districts.

As an aside, Bachmann may be the only Congressional GOP incumbent who doesn't try to distance herself from Bush. That would be tough to do, given that high profile Presidential grab of hers after the State of the State speech in 2007! Here at PIM, we're betting that once both campaigns get geared up the footage of Bachmann and the President from the 2007 State of the Union will be used more than once.

Bits & Pieces

What a coup for Weber Shandwick! The firm has hired the super-competent Jeff Falk to work in the corporate, community and public affairs practice. Falk was hired away from the office of State Auditor Rebecca Otto, where he worked as communications director. We've heard that his former position has not yet been filled.

Environmentally conscious golfers will be pleased to learn that Hennepin County Environmental Services has worked with the USGA to make this weekend's U.S. Women's Open the most ecologically low-impact golf event ever. Organic waste bins will collect all food scraps and paper items such as cups, wrappers and restroom towels for composting at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. These will supplement recycling bins for bottles and cans as well as other waste. The Recycling Association of Minnesota along with Allied Waste joined with USGA and tournament vendors to set up the receptacles.

Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty made a flurry of new appointments this week. Douglas Klemenhagen, of Farmington was reappointed to the Board of Barber and Cosmetologists Examiners. William Hoskin, of Caledonia, was appointed to the Board of Electricity, replacing Jay Lewis. Polly Peterson Bowles, of Edina, was appointed to an unscheduled vacancy on the Met Council in District 5, replacing Russell Susag who resigned this past March. Mario Santos Vargas of St. Paul was appointed and Maricruz Hill of Chaska, Nicholas Juarez of West St. Paul and Edgardo Rodriguez of Minneapolis were reappointed to the Chicano-Latino Affairs Council.

13 were named to the State Advisory Council on Mental Health. The new appointments are: Michelle Frauenshuh, Patty Holycross, Renee Jensen, Thomas Johnson, Kenneth Moorman, Jennifer Padelford and Annie Pierre. Those whom the Governor reappointed are: Theresa Carufel, Dr. Troy Hanson, Dr. Harriet Copher Hayes, Nicole Lynch, Wendy Rea and Patricia Siebert. Seven were named to the Statewide Independent Living Council. Those appointed were Jeffrey Nurick of Bloomington and James O'Neill of Minneapolis, the reappointments were Connie Lee Berg of Red Lake, Victoria Dalle Molle of Rochester, Ann Roscoe of Columbia Heights, Judith Sanders of Minneapolis and Ann Zick of Osage. Finally three were named to the Center for Arts Education Board. Susan Mackert of St. Cloud, Virginia Katz of Duluth and Kaimay Terry of Edina.

In legal appointments, Louise Bjorkman of Roseville, Michele Larkin of Big Lake and Lawrence Stauber, Jr. of Duluth we all named to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

The University of Minnesota has appointed a new dean at the College of Veterinary Medicine. Trevor Ames, D.V.M., who had been serving as interim dean was appointed by the Board of Regents June 18th.

The Association of Minnesota Counties is looking for a full-time policy analyst to work with their intergovernmental services team. Check out mncounties.org for info or email your resume to simmons@mncounties.org.

Kudos to Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, who just got elected Vice President for Communications of the National Conference of Democratic Mayors, which will put him out front promoting the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama, and in particular Obama's urban agenda. According to the press release, much promotion will occur around the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Denver; can Rybak land himself a prime-time speech?

It's that time again: some of the Legislature's new laws take effect July 1st. There are plenty of tweaks and twists kicking into executive action in just a matter of hours. So read up because as a citizen, it's your responsibility to know the law! [Plus, PIM staff recommends giving a pop quiz on the changes to any legislator you find at 4th of July parades! Do they know all the details of what they hath wrought?]

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) may attract some negative attention from antiwar stalwarts in the DFL after she dipped her toe in the traditional Washington saber-rattling kiddie pool this summer. Klobuchar signed onto the latest project of Beltway hawks, who are promoting hardliner-friendly Sen. Evan Bayh's (D-IN) S. Res. 580, a "Sense of the Senate" resolution that "demands" the President implement measures to block petroleum imports to Iran, while the House version also "demands" forced inspections of everything coming and going from the large Shiite republic. (U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman (D-MN) also joined, and U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-MN3) signed onto the House version, H. Con. Res. 362.) It isn't touted on her official website. While the resolution concludes that nothing "shall be construed to authorize the use of force," the ominous reality is that forced inspections amount to supporting a naval blockade, which is an act of war. Klobuchar rode high against former U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy by railing on the war, and she still says it's time to bring the troops home. But where's the accountability for demanding acts of war from President Bush?! Sorry, but the cool kids in this summer pool look like they're swimming towards the deep end of perpetual land wars in Asia.

The Center of the American Experiment will hold a luncheon forum as a lead-up to the Republican National Convention. On July 16th, from noon to 1:30 p.m., Joseph Fornieri will present a talk titled "Lincoln's Political Faith - Does It Still Have A Place in Presidential Leadership?" The event will be held at the Metropolitan Ballroom and Clubroom at 5418 Wayzata Boulevard. The cost is $25 for CAE members and $30 for non-members. Register online at americanexperiment.org.

The Republican National Convention Host Committee is still in need of volunteers for convention events, logistics, security and transportation. Interested parties can apply at msp2008.com/volunteer. The latest turn: a new array of baubles and incentives are being rolled out to encourage recruiting. [Perhaps it might be better to wait until they throw in some gift cards?]

State Auditor Rebecca Otto (DFL), released the City Summary Budget Report on Tuesday. The report describes 2007 and 2008 budget data for all Minnesota cities. The budget represents a plan, reported by the city, for the coming year—which may not match actual revenues and expenditures. The complete report from the Auditor's office can be found here.

Lobbyist Watch

From the Minnesota Campaign Finance & Public Disclosure Board:

• Recently Registered Lobbyists
• Recently Terminated Lobbyists