Politics in Minnesota: The Weekly Report - Vol. 3, Issue 12 - 9/21/2007
Note from the Publisher:
Thanks...I think...to Dan Feidt, Tracey Howell and Nick Lambert for holding down the Politics In Minnesota fort while I tramped through Egypt and Jordan. And many thanks to readers who let us know they liked (or hated) what happened in my absence. For the record, any time we get complaints from both the right and the left, we figure we're hitting the right ideological stride.
Lots of thoughts about the trip as they relate to politics, but I'll impart just one, for now. Egypt is a corrupt place where no one has any confidence in government. Just outside of Cairo in Giza where the pyramids stand, (the only one of the seven ancient wonders of the world still in existence) the garbage sits in 10-foot stacks on the along the sides of the streets.
While some partisans may have lost confidence in our government, we're not Egypt.
Insha'Allah.
The 3rd: Ramstad Retires
In re U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-MN 3) and his retirement announcement this week, D.J. Leary, one of Politics In Minnesota's founders and editors (now retired) perfectly captured our thoughts and thus we'll repeat verbatim his letter published this week in the Star Tribune:
One of the tiny slivers of civility remaining in American politics is leaving with U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad's retirement from the U.S. House. He was an extraordinary example of public restraint and personal responsibility when it came to partisan matters. Sadly, there are very few similar gentle people in the public arena today and Ramstad's departure is truly a loss for those of us longing for common decency in a world of public policy overrun with verbal thugs.While we're extremely happy for Jim, his wife, Kathryn Ramstad and their daughter, in their newly found and well-earned freedom post-Congress, we're sad for the political process. An era in Minnesota politics, if not American politics, is over. That era was one in which Democrats routinely publicly outed themselves as having voted for Ramstad over the DFL sacrificial lamb candidate du jour, and perhaps more significantly, an era in which hard core conservatives also touted themselves as Ramstad supporters -- without reservation or fear of retribution from other conservative Republicans.
Ramstad, of course, is one of the soon-to-be extinct elected Republicans who consider themselves fiscally conservative and socially moderate (read: pro choice on abortion).
Ain't no way around it: As Ramstad retires, so does, in D.J.'s words, a "tiny sliver of civility remaining in American politics."
A sliver of that sliver of civility gets obliterated by national forces. National Democrats and liberal groups will now descend en masse...what could be better than taking a seat the Republicans have held for decades? Likewise, national Republicans and conservative groups will descend en masse...what could be worse than losing a seat the Republicans have held for decades?
But we're betting the bulk of the sliver of civility gets wiped out by Minnesota Republicans, themselves.
The 3rd: The 1990 Ramstad GOP Endorsement Victory Redux
At first blush, the 2008 GOP endorsing contest will appear to be a replay of the 1990 contest in which then-State Sen. Jim Ramstad bested a field of four candidates. The dynamic was much the same: Moderate Ramstad was running to replace retiring moderate GOPer U.S. Rep. Bill Frenzel. The latter served 20 years, and Ramstad will have served 18 when he retires. In 1990, Ramstad was deemed "moderate" because he was the only pro choice GOPer in the race. The other candidates vying for the endorsement were pro life: Then-former Rep. Chuck Halberg of Burnsville, then-Rep. K.J. McDonald of Watertown, then-Rep. Sally Olsen of St. Louis Park.
However, to the Republicans we talked to who were involved at the time (which does include your publisher who was at that convention helping Ramstad), abortion wasn't necessarily the defining issue. Rather, it was how people were treating the so-called Christian Right takeover of the party. Some of the supposedly conservative candidates in the race had bad-mouthed the Christian activists, and it was this issue--much more than abortion--that defined the race. Ramstad never had (and never did) violate Reagan's 11th Commandment, "Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican." Also, greatly helping Ramstad was the fact that the enormously popular K.J. McDonald got into the race too late. Finally, Ramstad had the good sense to woo and win over key GOP conservatives like the late, great Mike Cavanaugh and his wife, Margaret Cavanaugh (who, by the way, works in Ramstad's Minnesota state office).
Bottom line? Ramstad won the endorsement after five ballots largely because of his personality and relationships with endorsing delegates, not because or despite his political mantle as a GOP moderate.
The 3rd: The 2008 GOP Endorsing Contest
While the Democrats are proceeding more slowly (see next story), possible GOP contenders are off to the races, and their phones. We hear more than one candidate is already calling delegates. One is proffering that he/she is the "most conservative" in the race. Others are saying that "big hitter so-and-so" is supporting his/her candidacy (according to our sources, no one with a big check book has committed to anyone, yet).
First, here's our list of who is not running:
- Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Delano).
- Former Pawlenty chief of staff and former Sen. David Gaither.
- Sen. David Hann (R-Eden Prairie). Businessman/legislator with good conservative credentials.
- Sen. Geoff Michel (R-Edina). Michel is the only heir-apparent to the "fiscal conservative/social moderate" tradition of Republicans representing the 3rd. What consideration the 3rd District Republicans give that ideology is the million dollar question.
- Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Eden Prairie). Former House Majority Leader. Ran for House Minority Leader against current House Minority Leader Rep. Marty Seifert (R-Marshall). This is significant because Paulsen didn't espouse sour grapes after losing that contest. Also significant is that Paulsen worked for Ramstad both in D.C. and in Minnesota as his state director.
- Rep. Joyce Peppin (R-Maple Grove). Knocked off former GOP Rep. Arlon Lindner and may be the only woman in the GOP contest. Conservative credentials.
- Businessman Brian Sullivan. Currently the GOP's National Committeeman and former candidate for governor. Although he lost the GOP endorsement to Tim Pawlenty in 2002, Sullivan has earned high marks since then for representing the GOP well in various media. Sullivan has the potential to be the powerhouse in the race. Not only does he have his own checkbook, but also presumably the checkbooks of bigwig Freedom Club contributors. [Obviously, Sullivan has impeccable conservative credentials, although he's the only conservative guy we know who can pull off not wearing socks on Almanac.]
- Rep. Kurt Zellers (R-Maple Grove). Young and affable, with conservative credentials.
- Former Rep. and GOP AG candidate Jeff Johnson.
- Former GOP AG candidate Tom Kelly.
- Sen. Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove).
- Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek. [We didn't connect with Stanek but presume he's a highly unlikely candidate.]
[One funny aside: On Monday when the Ramstad retirement news broke, Michel, Paulsen, Peppin and Zellers were all on a golf course for a House GOP fundraiser. Great merriment was had by lobbyists watching the four work their cell phones during the game.]
The 3rd: The DFL Endorsing Contest
As noted above, Democrats are proceeding more slowly, and they have a built-in easy reason to do so. The next round of Federal Election Committee reports is due September 30. That means that anyone who formally declares and forms a committee before that date must file a report. In a competitive field, the only thing worth noting in early FEC reports is how much money is raised. Democrats interested in the race have smartly decided to skip that kind of pressure...who can raise consequential dough in 10 days or so anyway?
Last night on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, guest Bill Clinton talked about how difficult it is for members of Congress to raise cash constantly [video] and fly around the country. The testy, edgy attitude of Washington could partly be attributed to "chronic" sleep deprivation and "sheer physical strain," Clinton said. We suspect that Ramstad would agree, and that it will be an important subject around the kitchen tables of prospective candidates this weekend.
Another big factor will be the tidal waves of outside money. More than one potential candidate told PIM they felt like they wouldn't recognize themselves at the end, after all the negative independent expenditures. EMILY's List, which backs liberal female candidates, could be a critical factor. Also, reportedly 3rd District DFL caucuses tend to have more women.
In alphabetical order, here's who is out:
- Rep. Denise Dittrich (DFL-Champlain). She could have kick-started a campaign by self-financing, which is perhaps why her name popped up in a Washington Post blog (more below on that).
-
Former DFL Party Chair Mike Erlandson said he is not running,
according
to the Pioneer Press.
- Former U.S. Attorney David Lillehaug said he would not run if Andy Luger runs (more below on Luger), according to the Pioneer Press.
- Former congressman Bill Luther is out, but would have been formidable. He got the boot from the Beltway in 2002, losing to U.S. Rep. John Kline. His last run was for attorney general in 2006.
- Rep. Maria Ruud (DFL-Minnetonka). This nurse practitioner is regarded as solid in ostensibly hard-right turf: She boosted her reelection percentage to 55-45 in 2006.
- Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL-Minnetonka) defeated the GOP, in the supposed GOP Minnetonka-Plymouth stronghold, in an special open-seat election in 2005, and won reelection 52%-48%, just a hair higher than Pawlenty's results there that year. She would have a good network of local activists behind her. Bonoff spoke at this week's 3rd District DFL meeting.
- Former SD41 candidate Andrew Borene was speculated about by MPR's Bob Collins. Borene, a veteran, had to withdraw from challenging GOP Sen. Geoff Michel (R-Edina) in 2006 after a domestic assault incident, after which he said he would receive treatment for chemical dependency. The former Marine intelligence officer is a prosecutor with Anoka County and has a blog.
- Former state senator, gubernatorial and attorney general candidate Steve Kelley is also considering running. Kelley has a positive aura from his respectable strategy during the contentious DFL nominating battle in Rochester last year, and he is certainly not regarded as a divisive Democrat. Though Kelley would have to move into the district.
- Andy Luger is considering a run after his unsuccessful bid for Hennepin County Attorney against Mike Freeman. Two positive points: he just campaigned in nearly the same geographic area as the 3rd District, and was able to raise serious dough. On the other hand, previously losing as the more liberal candidate makes positioning harder in this truly purple district. [Not inconsequential was Freeman's margin of victory over Lugar, which was 59%-41%.]
- Hubert Horatio "Buck" Humphrey IV, scion of Minnesota's greatest political family, is considering running, with unparalleled name ID. However, with few public policy notches on his belt, he might not be able to get enough buzz. Humphrey attended this week's 3rd District DFL meeting.
- Rep. Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park) is in her 2nd term and already an Assistant Majority Leader. However, she has two young children, a difficult load to handle while working in D.C. Hortman gets bonus points, for she's the only one already gratuitously attacked by Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh this year, merely for remarking that our hot summer could have affected the bridge's integrity (which we noted last month). In a typical move, those attack dogs inflated this common-sense idea into claiming she was blaming global warming. Hortman attended the 3rd District DFL meeting.
-
Ember Reichgott Junge was
speculated
about by the Minneapolis Observer, but lives outside the
district, an awkward position for the former state senate majority leader.
- Lawyer and lobbyist Michael Rothman of Winthrop & Weinstine announced his interest at the 3rd C.D. meeting.
- Rep. Steve Simon (DFL-St. Louis Park) is considering a run. A young, single lawyer with no children (he works at Mike Ciresi's law firm), Simon's in his 2nd term and also already an Assistant Majority Leader (As part of the same class and region, Simon and Hortman are friends). He grew up in the 3rd in Hopkins, but unfortunately he lives slightly outside the 3rd and would have to move a short distance to compete. His legislative district spans the 3rd and 5th districts. Simon also spoke at the 3rd District DFL meeting this week. [By the way, we think Simon currently living outside the present boundaries of the 3rd is irrelevant.]
Rep. Dittrich caught some notice after getting mentioned in Washington Post reporter Chris Cillizza's blog The Fix, alongside Bonoff and Luger. Cillizza speculated that the 3rd C.D. battle is "almost certain to be among the top 20" races nationwide.
Finally, with all due respect for Yom Kippur, which starts this evening, the funniest Third District line we heard was a clever, tongue-in-cheek suggestion: Since Bonoff, Rothman, Simon and Luger are all members of Minneapolis' Temple Israel, it could all be settled with a "Jew-off." Mazel tov!
The 3rd: Who Wins?
To understand the partisan ramifications of who wins the 3rd District in 2008, consider this: The last Democrat to represent the area (despite redistricting, the 3rd has roughly stayed the western metro/suburban/rural area) was Democratic U.S. Rep. Roy Weir, who held the seat from 1948-1960. The seat was then held by Republican U.S. Reps. Clark MacGregor (1960-1970), Bill Frenzel (1970-1990) and Jim Ramstad (1990-2008).
So, which party is better positioned to take a GOP seat held for almost five decades? Certainly Ramstad's wide margins of victory over the years aren't much help, given the DFL has basically conceded the seat as GOP turf. Over the years, the best Rammer did was in 2002 when he got 72.0% of the vote (against DFLer Darryl Stanton) to 2004 when he earned 64.6% (against DFLer Deborah Watts).
Better numbers as possible predictors of 2008 might be the aggregate totals for legislative candidates in 2006. They are:
Senate GOP candidates in the 3rd: 51.7%
Senate DFL candidates in the 3rd: 47.5%
Senate IND candidates in the 3rd: 00.8%
House GOP candidates in the 3rd: 52.4%
House DFL candidates in the 3rd: 47.2%
House IND candidates in the 3rd: 00.4%
Most Republicans think 2006 was the best year Democrats are likely to have in a long time. So, even if 2008 is a great DFL year, any DFL Congressional candidate is going to have to sway four to five percent of the Republicans. But some Democrats think 2008 will be even better for their party, meaning the longstanding GOP advantage in the district has evaporated.
Our first prediction? Despite the numbers, the momentum is with the Democrats. They control the Congress, they'll be hungrier to win after almost 50 years. Perhaps most significant of all, this will be the first time the Democrats will put up a candidate they truly think can win. We think the most interesting aspect to watch will be whether the long-standing "fiscal conservative/social moderate" ideology long attributed to the district still matters, and if it does still matter, does it hold?
MnDOT's Travelin' Gal
Great work by the Star Tribune's Paul McEnroe and Tony Kennedy on their story about the "working" traveling adventures of Sonia Pitt, who is director of MnDOT's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. If you didn't read the story, here's all you need to know: The I-35W Bridge collapsed August 1, but Pitt didn't return to Minnesota from her East Coast business trip for another ten days. Turns out Pitt enjoys her MnDOT "business" travel. She's taken 11 trips so far to the tune of more than $26K. Pitt is currently on leave pending an investigation by State Legislative Auditor James Nobles.
While Pitt is a classified employee and thus beyond the political purview of Gov. Tim Pawlenty, we wish Pawlenty had immediately called for her resignation, anyway. At a time when MnDOT is under serious scrutiny, Pawlenty should call the clear spades, spades. Pitt gets paid some $85K a year to manage MnDOT emergencies and she didn't come back immediately after the bridge fell? Should have been an immediate, "See ya later."
We hear that the Star Tribune has flooded MnDOT with data practices requests. Good for the paper...and good for MnDOT.
Media Machinations
First, great move for both our friends Brian Lambert and Deborah Rybak. As most of our readers know, former St. Paul Pioneer Press media critic Lambert has been running a wildly successful media criticism blog, "Lambert to the Slaughter," at the Rake Magazine's web site. His former competitor/arch rival at the Star Tribune for many years was Deborah Rybak. Now that she's recently separated from her former employer, Rybak will be joining Lambert in "a bigger, far better, far hipper Slaughter."
Second, Par Ridder. The news that Ramsey County Judge David Higgs removed Ridder as publisher of the Star Tribune came as no surprise. Neither did the announcement that the paper won't be hiring him back after his court-enforced year on the sidelines. The funniest take on the Ridder affair comes from Steve Perry, the ex-City Pages editor who is now working on launching an online alternative publication, The Daily Mole. Here's the "letter" Perry penned to Ridder on behalf of his new publication:
Dear Par,The judgmental judges and laptop references are priceless... and are no doubt great indicators of the high-caliber wit and satire we can look forward to in Perry's Daily Mole. Check out Perry's site, and do sign up for the beta version, which is set to launch in the next week or two. The Par Ridder fake satire blog, Par Excellence, has been a very popular link in PIM's Morning Report.We at the Daily Mole were saddened to hear of your abrupt exit from the Newspaper of the Twin Cities this morning. We can only hope it spells an end to the scorn and mockery you have endured in your time of trial. People can be so judgmental. Especially judges.
As your friends have no doubt pointed out, sometimes the best thing one can do with such adversity is to turn the page. In that spirit, we want to be the first to offer you a chance at clearing the slate and earning back your good name. (And make no mistake: Ridder, under normal circumstances, is a very good name.)
We're talking work. A job. And by "job," I mean unpaid internship. If you will agree to sell advertising for the Daily Mole for a period of six months, gratis, we will pledge to consider hiring you full-time.
As a Daily Mole intern, your perks would include a desk (with chair), access to a telephone, and a whole box of business cards. You would need a laptop computer of your own, but we assume that's not an issue.
Courage!
Best wishes,
The Mole People
Back in Black: Blogger With PR Machine
Eric Black, now Minnesota Monitor blogger and Senior Fellow with the Center for Independent Media, struck gold this week. His online story, "Paulose under investigation by feds," was absorbed and repeated almost verbatim by the Star Tribune (his former employer), the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Minnesota Public Radio and many other media. Interestingly, most of these media repeated the information in Black's story that was not attributable to identified sources. Working mainstream journalists we know groused that they would never have been able to write that story with the same unnamed sources. Also noteworthy is that Black had some help shopping his story. Like many others, we received an email from David Ruth touting the story. We caught up with Ruth this week in Texas. Turns out he has a contract with the Center for Independent Media to shop stories generated by their writers. Looks like it's working: The Center touts the bounce the story got on their front page, reposting the Minnesota Monitor's summary.
Some of our readers may recognize the name of David Ruth. Yes, it's that David Ruth, the one who was on former Gov. Jesse Ventura's communications staff and who then helped Ventura try to get a cable TV show on MSNBC off the ground (which didn't happen). Ruth and his family moved to Texas so that Ruth could work with Linda Thrane, Rice University's vice president of public affairs (Thrane held the same job at the University of Minnesota). Ruth is in charge of national media and broadcast relations for Rice.
Tunheim Acquires New School
Congratulations to both Kathy Tunheim, founder of PR firm Tunheim Partners, and New School Communications founder (and former PIM colleague) Blois Olson. New School is being acquired by Tunheim. Olson will become an executive vice president and shareholder at Tunheim, and the New School team will move from their offices on University Avenue in St. Paul to Tunheim's Bloomington offices in October. The combination has the potential to change the landscape of public affairs and crisis communications in the region.
Politics in Minnesota: Bits & Pieces
Gov. Tim Pawlenty's big loss is Target's big gain. Mike Krueger, who headed the Governor's political operation, is leaving that job for a new position in internal communications at Target. Trisha Hamm will be the Governor's new political person, for media and scheduling purposes. Hamm has been the Governor's finance coordinator for the last two years and can now be reached at thamm@timpawlenty.com. You can send Krueger congrats and farewell to krueger.michael@gmail.com.
After the bridge collapsed, we cheekily wrote that while Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek did a fabulous job, we wish he'd lose the goatee facial hair. We completely missed the St. Paul Pioneer Press story about a month ago explaining l'affair du hair. Stanek's 12-year-old daughter, Jennifer, had a teacher who had a goatee and she asked her father why he didn't have one. So, Stanek grew the goatee while on vacation. Then the bridge collapsed and Stanek returned to work immediately...and the national spotlight. Stanek wanted to shave the beard at that point, but couldn't, because he had a chemical burn underneath from dying the thing to conceal the gray. Stanek reportedly is keeping the goatee...but letting it turn gray.
[Wish we could have linked to Pioneer Press reporter Mara Gottfried's story, but 10 minutes of looking for it online is all the time we'll spend.]
John Helland, an environmental legislative analyst for the House Research Department will retire at the end of October. An avid advocate of conservation and environmental protection, Helland plans to complete a video documentary on Willard Munger and write an environmental history of Minnesota. Munger, of course, was Minnesota's longest serving legislator (43 years) who was also one of the state's (and the nation's) first and most prominent leading environmentalists.
Congratulations to Ted Grindal and the rest of the Lockridge Grindal Nauen lobbying team for picking up two great additions, Elizabeth Emerson and Brian McDaniel. Emerson joins the firm in November as she wraps up her current job as committee administrator to the House Commerce & Labor Committee chaired by Rep. Joe Atkins (DFL-South St. Paul). She will continue to serve on the St. Paul Human Rights Commission. McDaniel assumes the Lockridge job in October. He is currently the director of legislative affairs for the Department of Employment and Economic Development and has worked as the legislative director for the House Republicans when they held the majority and as director of fiscal policy for the Minnesota Business Partnership. McDaniel will continue to serve as a Pawlenty appointee on the Metropolitan Council.
Minneapolis-St. Paul got ranked by MarketWatch as the best metro area for business in America, because of its mixture of small and large, established and new, and privately and publicly owned businesses, along with a low unemployment rate. With 32 Fortune 1000 companies and the fourth-highest concentration of small businesses, the metro area was the only one to rank in the top 12 across all five categories. The metro got 329 points in the study; Denver placed 38 points lower. Check out the report here.
More Web Media Is Good Web Media
Localtone Interactive, a Minneapolis-based Internet application development company, recently set up a Localtone interactive streaming music service (or 'user contributed radio station') to promote local bands. Visitors can vote for favorites; bands get in rotation for $2/track. Localtone previously developed the useful 'CIDRAP Business Source' portal for the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, which helps train non-profits and business executives planning for potential fallout from outbreaks of disease.
There's an Internet consolidation among GOP backers underway: Marshaling the resources of more than a dozen conservative bloggers, True North (located at LookTrueNorth.com) will offer the fairly well-known usual suspects a central spot to cross-post from their solo operations. The clean website layout graphics were designed by Derek Brigham. (Brigham has also recently done the visual trimmings for David Strom's Free Market Institute and Michael Brodkorb's Minnesota Democrats Exposed.)
Stillwater Levy Blog Wars Get Way Too Personal
We think it would be a good time of the year to remind everyone to try and be decent on their blogs. We over at PIM have started to notice the emergence of a trend that could only be called BSAD, or Blogger Seasonal Affective Disorder. As the sunlight quickly wanes, it seems that blog tempers fray, shifting from the indifference of August towards the anger of November and, at the darkest time, the paranoia of January.
Already someone in Stillwater who dubbed themselves "Stillwater Infidel" on Heavy Levy 834 is going off the deep end, posting license plates, the names and schools of the children of people involved with a website critical of school spending dubbed "Citizens for Responsible Spending - 834". The Infidel was quite pleased with him/herself, saying "Point made: Thanks for participating in this exercise. In some form you have shown anger, rage, denial, fear and a sense of exposure. Those are some of the same feelings that others on the opposite side of this issue have felt with CRS."
Stephen Colbert nailed it Wednesday night on the Colbert Report. "Solitarity," the word of the day, coined in reference to the indifferent Florida college students who barely reacted when an over-eager student questioner, Andrew Meyer, got severely tasered [video]. Colbert suggested they were saving their energy to blog about it later, from the safety of their computers; this generation's style is not marching on Washington, but just making websites about marching on Washington. If 'Stillwater Infidel' would engage in person, rather than in the safe anonymity of the Internet, they wouldn't feel like firing off intrusive personal attacks. (The Infidel apparently felt that the largely anonymous people running CRS-834 were sort of doing the same thing.)
Politics in Minnesota: Lobbyist Watch
--Who is working which issues--
From the Minnesota Campaign Finance & Public Disclosure Board:
Morning Reports
