Politics in Minnesota: The Weekly Report - Vol. 3, Issue 5 - 7/27/2007
Cave Canem
(Beware Of The Dog)
The dog days of summer. An evil time, "when
the seas boiled, wine turned sour,
dogs grew mad, and all creatures became
languid, causing to man burning
fevers, hysterics, and phrensies." At least
that's what
John
Brady wrote in 1813 in Clavis
Calendarium (A Compendious Analysis of
the Calendar).
At Politics
in Minnesota, things are a
bit simpler. The seas don't boil (we're
landlocked) and the wine is in the
fridge (a Sub-Zero one in GOP households).
The creatures, however, are languid
-- particularly the political ones. But dog
days do require a dog story, and
so we found one.
Recall that after a series of dog attacks
in the Twin Cities in the last year,
earlier this summer Rep. John Lesch
(DFL-St. Paul) announced that he was going
to introduce legislation that would
ban
several breeds of dogs in the state.
The breeds Lesch wants to ban include
Akitas, Chow Chows, Gray Wolves, Pit Bulls,
and Rottweilers (bet Lesch doesn't
know that former Vice President Walter
Mondale was the proud owner of a
Rott before the dog passed on to the
big kennel in the sky).
This past week St. Paul's District 7 Planning Council (the Summit-University and Frogtown neighborhoods) hosted a town meeting with Lesch about his proposal. Not that many people were expected, but the room was packed, including people from all over the metro area who were upset with the proposed breed ban. The meeting quickly got out of hand, and Lesch closed it down. Lesch was fondly reminded of some advice he received from former GOP Lakeville Rep. Steve Strachan, who left the House after one term to become Lakeville's chief of police and who is now doing the same job in Kent, Washington.
Strachan's friendly advice to Lesch upon
the latter's election was,
essentially, "Don't carry any animal
bills...there are always two strong sides
and they're both crazy." Turns out Strachan
has been following the Lesch-dog
debate from afar...and he's being proved
right.
Finally, why did Lesch offer his dog ban proposal this summer when the Legislature doesn't convene until February 2008?
He wanted to give people "something to chew
on."
[For the record, your publisher believes
bad dogs are about bad owners, not
bad dogs.]
Signs Of Litigious Times
One of the laws passed last session that got lost in the budget negotiations was one that adds three new judgeships to the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Most people don't realize that, for all intents and purposes, any person or entity that has a case in a lower Minnesota court has the right to an appeal from the Court of Appeals (murder in the first degree cases, however, go directly to the Minnesota Supreme Court).
As one might imagine, that creates an enormous caseload for that court. Last year, the Court heard about 2500 cases (in panels of three judges). The growing caseload can be attributed to increases in drug cases and family court matters. While Minnesota still ranks ahead of half the other states in terms of juggling caseloads, the Court asked for and the Legislature granted, three new judges. [The Court was established in 1983 and then had six judges. Over the years more were added to the current number of 16 before the new three are appointed.]
To weed through what are sure to be 100s of qualified lawyer-judge-wannebe's, Gov. Tim Pawlenty has designated a stellar seven-member ad hoc screening committee to review resumes and make recommendations. The committee includes chair Eric Magnuson (attorney with Briggs and Morgan in Minneapolis), Rene Diebold (attorney in private practice in Marshall), Karen Himle (vice president of external relations at the University of Minnesota), John Hultquist (Governor's director of judicial appointments), Karen Janisch (general counsel to the Governor), Bob Schroeder (Governor's deputy chief of staff) and Ronald Schutz (attorney with Robins, Kaplan, Miller and Ciresi in Minneapolis).
All three new judgeships are at large, meaning there is no geographical requirement. For more info, contact john.hultquist@state.mn.us.
Some additional court notes. The Legislature also added seven judges to the existing 280 or so trial court judges. The Minnesota Supremes are currently hearing about 120-130 cases a year out of about 700 filed. The Minnesota Supreme Court decides to hear cases much like the U.S. Supreme Court, taking those of first impression or where the statutes are muddled.
Park Or Pork?
Several House Republicans we talked to this week are worried about GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty's expensive proposal to create the first new state park in decades. Unclear at this point is what dollar figure the Governor would ask for in the 2008 bonding bill, but it's sure to be a big one. Plus, to get DFL support, the Gov. would likely have to back several expensive DFL projects in the bill as a trade off. [Some powerful Iron Range legislators like Rep. Tony Sertich (DFL-Chisholm) are on record opposing the park project.] The way the House GOP figures the calculation, bonding bill negotiations between "pork-hungry DFLers and a Green Governor" would leave legislative Republicans out of the loop -- and out of other projects.
Legislators in both parties think the Star Tribune's outdoors columnist, Dennis Anderson, makes a great point: "In a state that boasts one of the best, and certainly the most diverse, state park systems - and whose citizenry enthusiastically utilizes that system..[why have] a discussion about funding a new park with hardly a mention of operations and maintenance funding shortfalls that plague the state's present parks, all 72 of them"In a state that boasts one of the best, and certainly the most diverse, state park systems - and whose citizenry enthusiastically utilizes that system..[why have] a discussion about funding a new park with hardly a mention of operations and maintenance funding shortfalls that plague the state's present parks, all 72 of them."
Finally, back to that not-yet-known new park price tag. The state thinks the land is worth between $40-50 million. U.S. Steel, which owns the land, thinks it can develop it to value about $150 million. That's a huge difference, with the here-to-fore unanswered question that should dictate the land value: Why does U.S. Steel want to sell the land in the first place?
Session Speculation
The odds of a special session are growing dimmer and dimmer. The conventional wisdom is that by calling one, GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty has nothing to gain--there's nothing he really needs or is being pressured to deliver, and a lot to lose--once in session who knows what chicanery super DFL majorities in both houses (and their wayward) members might create even if there is some universal agreement at the beginning.
That said, now the chatter turns to what's on the table for the 2008 session. A bonding bill, for sure (see previous story). Depending on revenue forecasts and unexpected events, there will likely be some sort of supplemental spending bill. Another likely agenda item is some type of big transportation bill. The interesting angle in the transportation funding game is whether Democrats will send the Governor an unsignable package full of tax increases or whether they'll try to sit down with Pawlenty and find something palatable.
2008, of course, is an election year in which only the House is up. It's a big election for the House DFL. Was the massive win in 2006 an Iraq War fluke or was it a vote for Democrats..and increasing taxes?
Paper Essays
For Star Tribune "meltdown" observers, two meaty things to read. First, "Star Tribulations" in American Journalism Review, where we learn that former Strib reporter and now Minnesota Monitor blogger Eric Black has a new business card on which he dubs himself, "Historical Context Reporter" (he's somewhat right about that, by the way). Also, the always pithy New York Times' David Carr weighs in. He calls the effort by daily papers like the Star Tribune to offer more local news, "Good luck trying to elbow the [suburban local] weeklies aside. This behemoth rebuilt on the foundation of local news is the Loch Ness monster. Everyone's heard of it, but nobody's seen it."
Second, Gerry Anderson and Paul Demko, the remaining two of the once strong stable of highly respected reporters (and editors) at City Pages, write this week's cover story, "Trials and Stribulations."
As an aside, and we're just as guilty as everyone else, can we call a moratorium on clever ways (and mostly presumably clever ways) to twist and pun the name of the paper along with its on-the-sidelines-pending litigation publisher, Par Ridder?!
Minnesotans Shine In First Ever YouTube Debate
Two Young Minnesotans used an unusual spokesperson, the snowman and father "Billiam," to pose a global warming question to the Democratic candidates during the "CNN YouTube Debate." The two twenty-somethings, Nathan and Greg Hamel in an interview with the Star Tribune said "Rep. Dennis Kucinich was the only candidate who responded directly to Billiam's question" and he "would have liked to hear from some of the others, particularly Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton." The video, like global warming itself, is highly controversial, with comments ranging from praise for creativity to those deeming global warming as nothing more then a pseudo-science. If you want to see some great American discourse, check out the comments listed below the video.
Whomever Laughs Last....
Well it looks like the U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman/British Member of Parliament George Galloway saga may becoming to an end. The possible final blow, an editorial in the Wall Street Journal, was published Tuesday. Obviously the report from the House of Commons's Committee on Standards and Privileges, which was extremely harsh regarding MP Galloway's conduct, galvanized Coleman to author the scathing editorial. Galloway, to no one's surprise, maintains his innocence. Before Coleman declares victory it should be noted that his popularity in Minnesota is now at an all time low. His approval ratings, now hovering around 43%, seem to be showing Minnesotans' frustration with Bush's Iraq Policy and Coleman's ties to him. Republicans, however, remain unconcerned about the latest poll, given that, to date, a couple of million dollar DFL U.S. Senate candidates and outside groups have owned the field in bad-mouthing Coleman.
DFLers Taking Sides In Senate Race
Fifteen months before the election, the two major contenders for the DFL endorsement for the 2008 U.S. Senate race, Mike Ciresi and Al Franken, are out and about slugging it out for "big name" endorsements for their respective candidacies. The Ciresi campaign has its interesting list of name on the website:
Rep. Karla
Bigham (DFL-Cottage Grove)
Sen. Dick
Cohen (DFL-St. Paul)
Kelly
Doran, President of Doran
Companies, former DFL U.S. Senate and
gubernatorial candidate
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman
(DFL)
Jim
Gilbert, former Minnesota Supreme
Court Justice
Todd
Jones, former U.S. Attorney
Hubert H.
"Buck" Humphrey
Lee
Humphrey
Ember
Reichgott Junge, former
DFL Senate
Assistant Majority Leader and former AG
and Congressional candidate
Steve
Kelley, Senior Fellow at Humphrey
Institute, former State Senator and 2006
candidate for Governor
George
Latimer, former St. Paul Mayor
Roger
Moe, former Senate Majority
Leader
Vance
Opperman, President &
CEO Key
Investment, Inc.
Rep. Mike
Paymar (DFL-St. Paul)
Kathleen
Flynn Peterson, President Elect
of American Association for Justice
Rick
Stafford,
Democratic National
Committee Member, Chair of the
DNC's LGBT
Caucus, former chair of the Minnesota DFL
Party
Ruth B.
Usem,
CEO of New
Sidelines, Inc.
Michael
Walsh,
CEO of DeCare
Franken's campaign has not yet supplied
PIM
with a list. When we get it, we'll
publish it. Whether or not these
endorsements matter has been the subject of
contention over the years, but in
a heated contest like this one, anything to
create momentum helps.
Bits & Pieces
"Babe" gets a tummy tuck...Babe the Blue Ox, Paul Bunyan's faithful companion and icon of the north central Minnesota tourism industry, received some cosmetic surgery this summer.
In the race to succeed former Kenyon Rep. Steve Sviggum, Republicans are becoming concerned that the race may turn out to be another referendum on President George Bush and the war in Iraq, meaning: The GOP could be in trouble in this long-time southern MN GOP stronghold. Turning out voters will be the key for both parties. Early indications are that turnout will be extremely low. In the DFL primary this week, a mere 1,127 people turned out. DFL-endorsee and high school social studies teacher Linda Pfeilsticker handily defeated DFL activist and retired Pine Island teacher Wes Moreland. Pfeilsticker faces GOP-endorsed Steve Drazkowski in the special general election to be held August 7.
The Star Tribune's Sunday front page profile of U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN 6) got mixed reviews. Republican aficionados were delighted with the flattering profile of their "chic congresswoman," complete with a big photo of Bachmann on a power walk as the sun came up over the mall. Democrats, thought it was a puff piece without substance. The most interesting buzz about it came out of the Star Tribune newsroom. The story was the second in a newly instituted series,"The Minnesota Profile." [The first Profile was about Will Steger.] The story, written by Kim Ode, was in the works for months. As one Strib insider put it, "the only 'new news' in there was that Bachmann had a bunionectomy after the election."
Congratulations to both Minnesota Chamber of Commerce President David Olson and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) on the latter's board naming the former to chair the MnSCU board.
University of Minnesota President Bob Bruininks' naming of Dr. Stephen Lehmkuhle to be the first chancellor of the newly (formally) created University of Minnesota Rochester campus is a reminder of the enormous political power and clout of Rochester. The city collectively lobbied for a U campus for decades, and overcame the reality that Minnesota has too much bricks and mortar in education (although closing any campus is still politically taboo talk) and an increasingly online world makes new bricks and mortar almost superfluous.
Your publisher has had the opportunity to speak to several groups of Latin American college student in the last month. Most striking to the students--and something they did not know--is the degree to which abortion has dominated American and Minnesota politics since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973. Here's an interesting piece in the LA Times about how Congressional Democrats have begun to adopt some of the language and policy goals of the antiabortion movement.
Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota,
South Dakota will soon be
launching a new action fund website and the
group wants input on what to name
the site, which will feature Planned
Parenthood news and activities from all
three states along with a blog and lots of
multimedia. Suggestions should be
sent to Sally Hassell at
shassell@ppmns.org. The only rule is that
the name of the site must include
Planned Parenthood in the name. The person
whose name is chosen will receive a
"FABULOUS goodie basket."
Good for the St. Paul Pioneer
Press'
Rachel
Stassen-Berger for
pointing
out fairly early in her story about the
Center for Public Integrity's
ranking
of gubernatorial financial disclosure
laws that Louisiana and New Jersey
supposedly rank ahead of Minnesota, which
came in 38th. This particular
ranking by the Center is like many others
it has conducted: Grossly
misconstrued rankings that may reflect
what's on the statute books and in the
rules but not the actual practices or the
laws and rules as applied in the
states.
The Star Tribune has reinvoked the paid firewall. That's a retro step for the once much heralded newspaper of record in Minnesota. People have voted with their keyboards and won't bother citing Strib articles they have to pay for. The only reason the New York Times keeps its paid firewall (Times Select) is a feeble attempt to hang onto remaining print subscribers.
The latest edition of the St. Paul monthly community newspaper, Avenues, includes a delightful profile of former Star Tribune reporter and now Growth & Justice think tank exec Dane Smith. About his time at the paper, Smith confesses, "I always tried not to be cynical. But in writing what politicians had to say, I sometimes found myself transmitting bald-faced lies to the public." Bet Smith never IDs those "bald-faced" liars.The piece also includes a photo of Smith, with a wrinkled brow and hand in thinking position while holding a copy of the think tank's latest newsletter which features a cover story title=".*"d, "There's a Whole Lot of Thinking Going On." The paper isn't online but you can find out where to pick up a copy here.
By the way, that's the last edition of Avenues. Owner Villager Communications is merging the paper into an expanded Villager.
The Minnesota House GOP Caucus has lined up KTLK conservative talk show host Jason Lewis to broadcast live from its Republican Presidential Straw Poll / Fundraiser to be held August 22. Several conservatives also plan to live blog the event. For $100 anyone may attend and cast a vote for one of the GOP Presidential contenders. More information, here. So far, attendance is expected to be good, although none of the GOP Presidential candidates has yet to confirm attendance.
We're hearing some pols won't run in this year's Twin Cities marathon because organizers have banned iPods.
Sen. Kathy Saltzman (DFL-Woodbury) is reportedly being lobbied to run for Congress against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN 6). Also, reportedly, she's not interested.
WCCO reported Monday on Minneapolis Police using traffic tickets and other fines to make up for a $6 million budgetary gap. Well the city and the writers at Minnesota Monitor think WCCO got it all wrong. The news worthiness of this story seems lie in the fact that it is but another battle in the constant fight between traditional and new-age media.
Keith Ellison shared his views on his Muslim faith with the Washington Post Friday. The Forum, "On Faith" is a discussion on religion in our society promoted by The Washington Post and Newsweek with a goal of creating greater understanding about this complicated issue.
Condolences to U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman (R) and his family on the loss of his father, Norman Coleman, Sr.
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