Home » Politics in Minnesota: Weekly Report: 2007 » Politics in Minnesota: The Weekly Report - Vol. 3, Issue 14 - 10/5/2007

Politics in Minnesota: The Weekly Report - Vol. 3, Issue 14 - 10/5/2007

In this issue: Publisher's Note; Greetings PIM Fans; The Number's Up; The Politics of Construction; Going to the Candidates' Debate; "Politically Connected" Gets Connected; Hausman Nails It; Poll Planet; The Big Ol' Norm Coleman Poll Chart; Bits & Pieces; Lobbyist Watch.

Publisher's Note

We're absolutely delighted to announce that Betty Folliard is joining the Politics In Minnesota team. For most of our readers, Betty needs no introduction (but just in case, here you go). For some time, we've been missing an "institutional DFL" voice, and we're confident Betty can provide that. We're also going to try new things in the coming weeks, like "Betty thinks" and "Sarah thinks." But, again, we will try to continue the rich PIM tradition of writing jointly...making PIM a bipartisan island in the vast sea of hot opinion on both sides rampant in the blogosphere. Special note to Democrats: Please do feed Betty stories and news from your side of the aisle. Send them to staff@politicsinminnesota.com and we'll make sure she gets them. Our more youthful DFL contingency remains intact, including Web Editor Dan Feidt and contributing writer Nick Lambert. We've just refreshed our website with up-to-date staff bios; we've also been adding political events and blogs, too.

This week, we'll start off with Betty's take on the Third.

Greetings PIM Fans...

Our distinguished GOP PIM Publisher/Editor, in the interest of fairness and balance, has offered this humble, seasoned DFL contender a word in edgewise. So here goes:

Recently a Republican acquaintance referred to me as a "known Democrat". "Known" sounds cold - usually accompanied with words like killer, sex offender, or drug addict. So I hereby replace that term with "renowned" Democrat– as in heart surgeon, artist, or Egyptologist. But years ago, before I was "known", this lifelong Democrat and budding School Board member mouthed off at Congressman Ramstad's Town Meeting, and he immediately recruited me onto his Education Task Force. From this came a marvelous memory where I and the chair from Bloomington School District performed surround-sound for Jim on the vouchers issue, an issue where he had heretofore been conflicted. Shortly after, he flew back to D.C. and voted against vouchers, much to the chagrin of his leadership. Jim is a Gentleman Congressman, listening and learning from folks on both sides of the aisle, working in a collaborative manner to do what is best for the citizens of his community. That is what we need from the 2008 election in the Third Congressional District.

In 2008, things look mighty rosy for Democrats in the Third. The DFL Party has picked up eight Legislative seats from Republicans since 2004, now holding over half the seats in CD3. Accomplishments include five seats in '04: Rep. Maria Ruud (DFL-Minnetonka), Rep. Steve Simon (DFL-St. Louis Park), Rep. Sandra Peterson (DFL-New Hope), Rep. Denise Dittrich (DFL-Champlin), and Rep. Melissa Hortman (DFL-Blaine); winning a special election in '05 with Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL- Minnetonka); and capturing the majority of seats in '06 with the addition of Sen. John Doll (DFL-Burnsville) and Rep. John Benson (DFL-Minnetonka). Despite heavy targeting by the Republicans, all '04/'05 winners were re-elected in '06.

The Third has also trended DFL in key statewide contests, with 48% going for John Kerry in '04 (he even took the Republican stronghold of Edina); then a whopping 55% voting for Amy Klobuchar in '06. These trends in the suburbs mirror national suburban trends. As E.J. Dionne wrote: "Outside the Deep South, Democrats are on the verge of becoming the dominant party in the suburbs and are pushing into the exurbs... Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, who headed the Democrats' 2006 effort in the House elections, regularly reminds his colleagues that 16 of the 31 Democratic pickups were in suburban or exurban areas... Safe, soothing and very suburban: These could be the characteristics of the new American majority. For now, Democrats have the better understanding of its rhythms."

Despite the early parade of names (with many like Rep. Hortman not running and Rep. Simon firmly on the fence), thus far CD3 is shaping up to be a battle between Sen. Terri Bonoff and Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Eden Prairie). Although Paulsen has longer legislative experience, he appears to have taken more extreme stances on issues under former Speaker Sviggum's tutelage, as compared to Bonoff's more moderate, open-door approach. Bottom line: Bonoff better fits the district.

[So why did Rep. Melissa Hortman, a seemingly great candidate for CD3, decide not to run? Two reasons: First, for nearly ten years Hortman’s #1 issue has been Transportation - properly funding a Minnesota transportation system that is seamless and functional. Now, with the I-35W bridge collapse raising the curtain on our failing infrastructure, transportation has finally risen to the top, and she is in a position to positively impact that issue. Sure, she could make a little difference in D.C. as one of 435 congress people, but her leadership in the DFL House gives her far more influence in directly impacting Minnesotans' lives. Second, parting from her children for eleven months of the year had no counterbalancing up-side. She loves waking them up in the morning, saying good-bye as they leave for school, listening to their gossip and going to school football games. Her heart is in Minnesota and the rigors of Congress ultimately were not enough to make her want to leave here. Good decision, Melissa.]

The Number's Up

Much hullabaloo has been raised about the total cost of the I-35W bridge. The number is now closer to $400 million as opposed to the $250 million number that was, as St. Paul Pioneer Press columnist Joe Soucheray put it, "originally advertised." That begs the question, where did the $250 million number come from?

Recall that the bridge fell on August 1. On August 2, Congress was set to adjourn and the Minnesota delegation desperately wanted to put a federal appropriation in place. With the best of intentions and previous bridge constructions as guides, U.S. House Transportation Committee Chair Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN 8) came up with the number. At a time when the state was in shock and rescue efforts were still underway. No one should be surprised at the new $400 million number, given there was no way to immediately understand let alone calculate the added costs of environmental mitigation, right-of-way and easement agreements or how traffic would be rerouted (Highway 280). 

As an aside, your GOP editor remains puzzled that there isn't more of a public outcry over Congress not doling out the dough. Granted the federal budget process is complicated, but it does seem odd that not a single member of the Minnesota delegation is making funding the bridge his or her cause célèbre. Put partisanly and crassly, the Senate seems to have more important things to do like trash Rush Limbaugh.

The Politics Of Construction

At first blush, like everyone else we were surprised that MnDOT awarded the contract for the reconstruction of the I-35W bridge to Colorado-based Flatiron Construction. Not only had Flatiron not ever done any business in Minnesota, but two of the other rejected contenders are well-known, well-respected, politically connected Minnesota-based companies, Ames Construction (Burnsville) and C.S. McCrossan (Maple Grove). Another contender, Lunda Construction, while based in Wisconsin, has done a ton of work here.

Perhaps even more puzzling is that Flatiron's bid, at $233 million, was $57 million more than the next closest bid, McCrossan's.

Procedurally, Flatiron hasn't officially been awarded the contract because the three companies not chosen have filed a complaint with the Minnesota Department of Administration (DoA). That department will make a ruling any day now, which goes directly to MnDOT. Given the news reports, we think it's highly improbable that DoA will find anything wrong with the bid selection process, and that Flatiron will be our bridge builder.

What all we're buying with that extra $57 million we won't know until the bid is officially awarded and then opened to the public. But here's what we can surmise. This week's Star Tribune article left the impression that Flatiron only recently hired highly respected PR firm Himle Horner to help with the bid. Actually, that's not the case. Flatiron (smartly, as it turns out) hired Himle Horner the second week of August when the company began to contemplate submitting a bid (in a process that at time, had yet to be determined). In fact, Himle Horner's Todd Rapp is officially the "public affairs coordinator" for the bridge.

Since Flatiron won the bid in this extraordinary competition, we're betting that Rapp was instrumental in making that happen. Nobody can better understand all the complicated politics better than the former DFL staffer, Rapp. Designing and building this bridge is a political minefield, unique to Minnesota. There are the myriad community groups, the politics of the Minneapolis City Council (and the city's mayor), which are dramatically different than those of the GOP administration, which, of course, has been at war with the DFL Legislature over transportation funding, etc. Never mind how to incorporate transit options, along with a proper memorial to remember the 13 lives lost on the bridge. A skilled Minnesota native like Rapp understands the complications and can figure this out.

And lots of the "figuring this out" is yet to come. The actual design of the bridge isn't finished. All the above named groups and others (including the public) will get to weigh in. This design process is called a Charette and has been used elsewhere in the country. Here's to hoping that two years hence, we will have a bridge we all love, and in the words of the lead designer, a model bridge for America."

Going To The Candidates' Debate

Kudos to all three candidates vying for the DFL endorsement to challenge U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman (R). The three, Mike Ciresi, Jim Cohen and Al Franken, appeared before the unlikely venue of the TwinWest Chamber of Commerce for a debate this morning moderated by KSTP's Tom Hauser. We'll set aside a discussion about issues and talk about our impressions, instead. Besides, for all intents and purposes, and as much as each candidate and campaign tries to distinguish their guy on specific issues, as best we can tell, they all have the same positions: Not Coleman's. 

Surprisingly, the seemingly most Senatorial of the bunch is the unknown and unlikely DFL endorsement winner, attorney and activist Jim Cohen. Billing himself as a "pragmatic progressive," Cohen comes across as passionate and articulate. Mike Ciresi seems to be hitting his stride. Unlike Al Franken, Ciresi didn't read his opening statement and spoke confidently and directly to the crowd. Ciresi seems to have upped his energy quotient, and now seems to be enjoying the classic trial lawyer advantage (seasoned, ardent advocacy before juries).

Franken came across weakly on domestic issues (an off-the-cuff remark about needing to figure out unfunded mandates didn't help). However, Franken wins hands-down when it comes to discussing foreign policy, particularly the war in Iraq. Certainly the fact that he's been to Iraq and Afghanistan four times each helps.  Franken has a built-in level of confidence that comes from firsthand knowledge that neither Cohen nor Ciresi can match. If you think about it, Minnesota has never had a first-time federal candidate with any personal overseas experience to draw from. For example, in 2006 both winner U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) and GOP candidate former U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy stumbled, bumbled and came across as highly tentative when discussing foreign affairs.

Who's ahead? The best barometers of DFL endorsing opinion were the former and current DFL legislators at the debate. All seemed to think Franken is ahead, given his involvement in legislative contests all over the state in 2006. However, the recent Star Tribune poll showing Franken with a 27% unfavorable rating might dissuade some people who are undecided, particularly given all concerned know that Coleman and his supporters think Franken is the weakest DFL contender.

"Politically Connected" Gets Connected

The Star Tribune launched "Politically Connected," its new political web site this week with a bang, publishing poll numbers online the day before they appeared in the print-published version. Kudos to everyone involved, but in particular, to Dennis McGrath, the guy in charge of the site and the state politics and government editor. Long-time Capitol habitués will recognize that name. McGrath has covered Minnesota politics for more than 20 years (he co-wrote the book, "Professor Wellstone Goes to Washington" with former Strib reporter Dane Smith) and has also been the national and international news editor at the paper.

Our first impression, after touring the site for a few hours, is that it's extremely ambitious. For example, for each presidential candidate, the site provides campaign finance information, a biography, links to stories from other news sources, links to recent blog posts, links to candidate-generated material, "what he's said," "how he's voted," and "prominent Minnesota supporters." The last item is the kind of information that gives us great pause...for many of the candidates, there isn't a list, for some candidates, some names are listed and others are not. On the U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) page we learn that auto dealer Denny Hecker supports Obama, as do "Members of the Dayton, Pohlad and Cowles families." Hmmm. The point is that the lists are incomplete, and there's something weird about the Star Tribune "officially" naming some names and not others. 

In our minds, this flags a larger issue and a massive problem that Politics In Minnesota is glad it doesn't have: Once you've made the decision to build a Cadillac political site, how far can you and should you go? As anyone who's done it knows, building a web site is a monumental task and always a work in progress. In an era of so many media choices, it will be fascinating to see if "Politically Connected" becomes a one-stop everything reliable shop. It could well be that such a thing can no longer be done. We'd love to know what our readers think, so please send your thoughts to staff@politicsinminnesota.com.

Finally, we've done more than our share of Star Tribune owner Avista Capital bashing. "Politically Connected" was and will continue to be an enormous investment of people and resources (including the building of a new soundproof booth for podcasts). Several months ago, we lamented the demise of the Minnesota Poll, and look what the paper delivered this week: Tons of numbers to crunch and chew on. All of this bodes extremely well for the state of Minnesota public affairs. Way to go, Avista.

[By the way, look for help in how best use the site at McGrath's blog.]

Hausman Nails It

Both Democrats in the Legislature and Republicans in the Pawlenty Administration and the Legislature are still talking about Rep. Alice Hausman's (DFL-St. Paul) sentiments captured by Star Tribune political columnist Lori Sturdevant. Sayeth Hausman (who chairs the House Capital Investment Finance Division), "The day of three leaders sitting in a room making decisions for us is over. We will not let gridlock between three leaders be the defining point of government in Minnesota. We all represent our constituents. We don't represent our leaders."

Hausman goes on to say that she hopes committee chairs will cross chambers and party lines to develop good bills, rather than having the three major players, Gov. Pawlenty, Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller (DFL-Minneapolis) and House Speaker Margaret Kelliher (DFL-Minneapolis) try to reach deals at the end of a session. That's a great idea. Those high profile end-of-session meetings in the Governor's office have become unproductive, if not silly, given the media have no other option but to stake them out and wait for edicts from leadership. As Sturdevant concludes in her column, on major contentious issues, the result has been the "[s]ame old story at the Capitol: Lots of finger-pointing. No action."

Poll Planet

Perhaps polls are taken far too seriously these days. (And, indeed, seasoned observers would point out that the magnitude of poll result shifts from month to month are worth more than the actual numbers themselves.) Nonetheless, a new wave of polls has altered perceptions about everything from Al Franken's likability to Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau's hovering cloud of doom. An interesting poll out Tuesday showed U.S. Sens. John McCain and Hillary Clinton ahead in Minnesota. Hillary's 3rd quarter cash lead is impressive.


This week we're mainly looking at the U.S. Senate faceoff, but we'll pull together other polls in the future. (If we missed any, let us know.) Here are the poll links:

The Big Ol' Norm Coleman Poll Chart

The Polls
 GQR/ DSCC Jan.
 SurveyUSA/ KSTP 7/25
 SurveyUSA/ KSTP 7/30
 GQR/ DSCC 8/16
 Rasmussen
9/6
 SurveyUSA/ KSTP 9/25
 MNPoll 10/1
Norm: Approve
43


46
Norm: Disapprove
48


45
Coleman vs.

49
61

Franken

42
41

Coleman vs.

48
46

Ciresi

42
42

Coleman vs.
 40

37


Someone new
 46

49


Norm: Excellent
 12

6


Norm: Good
 36

35


Norm: Fair
 35

35


Norm: Poor
 15

23


Warm to Norm
 41

41


Cool to Norm
 36

40


Norm favorable



54
52
Norm unfavorable



46
35
Norm unknown



1
4
Franken favorable



46
27
Franken unfavorable



47
34
Franken unknown



7
29
Ciresi unfavorable



40
20
Ciresi favorable



45
15
Ciresi unknown



17
51

BETTY SAYS: For most politicians, polls mean the world when they’re up and are irrelevant when they're down. This week’s polls were surprising in a couple of ways: First, after a bridge catastrophe which killed and injured dozens of Minnesotans and exposed deeply underfunded infrastructure, our no-new-taxes Governor Tim Pawlenty can still come out smelling like a rose. The buck should stop with him. (It’s no surprise that the vast majority of Minnesotans want Lt. Gov/Transportation Commissioner Carol Molnau out. It was wrong in the first place to put a political appointee in a professional job, and she's made a terrible muck of it). Second, that by a 2-1 margin, Minnesota Democrats overwhelmingly prefer Sen. Hillary Clinton for President; and that her lead among Democrats mirrors that of G.O.P.’s Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain combined.

SARAH SAYS: By far the most stunning number this week was Pawlenty's 59% approval rating. Wow.To those who say that Molnau has to go, Pawlenty can say 59% of Minnesotans don't think so. To those who say that the gas tax (and other taxes) should be raised, Pawlenty can say 59% of Minnesotans don't think so. Is it just me or has anyone else noticed a direct correlation between high approval ratings for Pawlenty and anti-Pawlenty columns by the Star Tribune's Nick Coleman?! Also noteworthy is Giuliani's first place among GOP voters. Giuliani is pro-choice. More to follow on this issue in the coming weeks. 

DAN SAYS: The only really interesting thing discovered in cross-tabs for the U.S. Senate race was the pronounced female tilt towards the DFL candidates. In each of the KSTP/SurveyUSA polls, the pattern remains. (On the 7/30 poll: males favor Coleman 56-34, females favor Franken 50-42. Males favored Coleman over Ciresi 57-33, but females favored Ciresi 50-38.) Coleman's approval ratings had a similar profile. Maybe it's the Klobuchar halo effect. Who knows? As always, cross-tabs are wonky fun to test your conventional wisdom against. Political gurus should be careful vesting so much trust in polls: Howard Dean got crowned the frontrunner based on early polling! Also, the KSTP poll showed that more than 60% of Minnesotans would put up with at least a $.05 gas tax hike, but they still don't want it.

Bits & Pieces

Hard to believe, but the Taxpayers League of Minnesota is only 10 years old as of November 1. The group is planning a 10-year anniversary for November 11. The gameplan so far is to roast Taxpayers League founder and chairman Mike Wigley.The only confirmed roasters we know so far are Gov. Tim Pawlenty, the Free Market Institute's David Strom and your GOP publisher (who is soliciting all good Wigley material at staff@politicsinminnesota.com). Details to follow in future weeks. 


Not surprisingly, the Minnesota Women's Campaign Fund, now called Women Winning, has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. Founded in 1982, the group has directed almost $2 million to pro choice women candidates from all parties and for all levels of office (but in recent years, there haven't been very many, if any, pro- choice GOP candidates to help).

Need low-cost technology for your non-profit? The Twin Cities Area NonProfit Tech Meet Up is on its way, set for Oct. 19th at 9 A.M., at the Emma B. Howe Learning Center at the intersection of Franklin and Chicago Aves. Call (612) 455-5300 for more, or join the mailing list via Tctechmeetup@lists.cruiskeenconsulting.com.

Looks like DFL U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken is running the college circuit next week. Speaking of Franken, he's apparently bowed out of a debate that was set for October 22 at Carleton College that was being billed as a "Wellstone Memorial" debate.

The buzz is former President Bill Clinton is coming to Minnesota for low, medium, and high-dollar events at the University of Minnesota on October 23rd. The low dollar ticket entitled "Conversation with President Clinton", will be $25 per ticket for students, $50 for general admission, and $100 for preferred seating. 

DNC Chair Howard Dean is coming on Tuesday afternoon, October 16th, to rev the troops for the task ahead. Along with a rally for DFLers, rumor has it a couple of fundraisers are planned where he will detail the DNC national strategy for '08. More later...

The Minnesota GOP is hosting a values conference on Saturday at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Minneapolis. U.S. Rep. Ron Paul supporters are planning to rally via their MeetUp group. Come say 'hi' to the Politics in Minnesota staff: we'll have a table, where we'll be selling the 2007-2008 PIM Directories!

A quick web tech tip: If you find, for example, a website story recently deleted or put in the paid archives, the Internet Wayback Machine may have an archived copy of it; you can add a bookmarklet from there to your browser's toolbar (scroll down to find it). When you hit a missing page, just click the bookmarklet, and the Wayback Machine checks its archives for you. It works in IE or Firefox. (Combined with BugMeNot.com's free newspaper registration logins, your online paper hassles could be at an end.)

Our front-runner for most esoterically titled research seminar this year must be "TH 241 Column-Supported Embankment" presented by Joe Labuz, which are "relatively novel structures employed largely at bridge approaches and highway expansions where soft soils would otherwise lead to unacceptably large differential settlements. The structure typically consists of a number of capped piles, well–compacted gravel, and one or more layers of geogrid reinforcement above the piles." The fate of an embankment built near St. Michael will be discussed Thurs. Oct. 16th in the Mechanical Engineering Building on the U of M East Bank. The Center for Transportation Studies is combining its offerings to present the CTS Fall Transportation Seminar Series. It's free and broadcast live on the web. The sixth James L. Oberstar Forum on Transportation Policy and Technology will be held at the Radisson University Hotel on Monday, October 8th, beginning at 12:30. Sen. Klobuchar and former U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta will both speak. For more info contact Chad Rathmann @ the CTS.


The Center of the American Experiment will host Prof. W. Bradford Wilcox for "Living and Loving 'Decent': Religion and Marriage in Urban America" on Thursday, October 18th at the downtown Hilton. It's $25 for CAE members or $30 for non-members. Basically it looks at how urban families, and churches, cope with the retreat from marriage. For RSVP contact Peter Zeller @ the CAE or at (612) 338-3605.

The Experimental College (or EXCO) is an organization growing a network of free schools and a community around education for social change. EXCO is committed to developing community, experimental, and social change based classes--anyone can teach and take classes and all classes are free. They're looking for teachers for next February. Want to create a space to talk about community needs or get more people involved or taking a lead on an issue of social justice? Good at a skill and want to teach it to the world? Learn more about EXCO at excotc.org or contact David Boehnke at 651-212-0727 or dboehnke@gmail.com.

Want to resist the 2008 Republican National Convention? Wondering what the neighbors are going to think? You'll probably want to see what happens at "Resisting the RNC: Minnesota Town Hall Organizing Meeting #2" held by the RNC Welcoming Committee, "whether you’re already organizing, wanting to start, or just curious as to what’s out there." It's tomorrow at 2 P.M. at the Weyerhauser Chapel on the campus of Macalester College at 1600 Grand Ave. in St. Paul, near the campus center.

Lobbyist Watch

From the Minnesota Campaign Finance & Public Disclosure Board: