Not even conservative media personality Tom Hauser of KSTP could find much wrong with Alliance for a Better Minnesota's Tom Emmer ad that's been on the airwaves this week. And this is really surprising considering Hauser's boss, station owner Stan Hubbard, is a major Republican donor and activist.
Hauser concedes that his candidate Emmer would really rather have the wage issue go away, but those pesky lefties won't let it.
Hauser's main complaint about the ad is that it exaggerates. Hauser claims that Emmer hasn't proposed what he calls a "tip credit" (which is a tip penalty for the servers) and this constitutes stretching the truth. Pretty weak sauce, Hauser. Emmer hasn't proposed anything at all so far in this campaign -- it's a completely substance-free campaign up to this point.
The rest of the ad consists of statements by Minnesotans who are clearly not fans of Emmer. They're all opinions, but one might go too far.
In the ad, one woman says, "I think for Tom Emmer to attack working-class Minnesotans in the middle of a recession is just criminal." It's a stretch to say either statement. 43 states use some form of a tip credit.
Despite some exaggerations, this ad is mostly based on facts. It gets a "B" on the Truth Test.
(KSTP)
His other complaint about the ad is pretty weak, too. Reducing server wages would do a massive amount of damage to people living paycheck to paycheck. Calling it criminal is mere semantics. But he's got to find something wrong with the ad ... he is a Republican after all.
(The tradMed has picked up on the name "Waitergate". Bravo! - promoted by Joe Bodell)
Tom Emmer would really like his plan to cut wages to fade away. I mean really, really would like it to go away, but we wont let it. Not even with corporate cash coming in to try and change the subject from his record of harmful votes against working class folks will this issue go away. Why? Because even after two weeks of criticism for his plan to slash workers wages, and every spin attempt he could think of, he still said he would still sign a minimum wage cut as governor. There isn't any way around it, Tom Emmer is just not on the side of working class Minnesotans.
That's why us folks over here at Alliance for a Better Minnesota Action Fund sent a camera crew to Tom Emmer's town hall meeting last week to get the reactions of local workers on how Tom Emmer's plan to cut their wages--by as much as three to four dollars an hour-- would impact their lives. That's why we're putting this ad, "Plan",on the air starting today.
You'll notice that none of these folks look to be raking in $100,000 a year. Certainly none of these folks played a part in creating our economic troubles, so why does Tom Emmer think that our way back to prosperity includes reaching into their pockets for their wages? Because, simply put, Tom Emmer cares more about a corporate bottom line than a family's. We've had eight years of a governor who has chosen big business over working families, and it's time for a new direction.
Visit TomEmmersMN.org or EmmerTruth.MN to learn more about how dangerous Tom Emmer's plan for Minnesota would be to working people across the state. Follow us on Twitter, or find us on Facebook, and together we can make sure we start buidling a Minnesota that works for all of us again.
In two weeks, progressives from across Minnesota will gather in St. Paul for a day and a half of panels, trainings, networking opportunities and keynotes--all in an effort to strategize and organize around progressive change.
Netroots Minnesota will be the premier kickoff to the critical conversations progressives will be having as we approach 2010, and today, Denise Cardinal, Executive Director at Alliance for a Better Minnesota, announced a forum for Netroots Minnesota attendees to start the conversation with the candidates running for governor.
The Minnesota 2010 gubernatorial race will be one of the most-watched in the nation.
What should the race be about? How can a progressive win? What role will the Netroots play in the campaign?
These vital questions will be answered by some of the gubernatorial candidates themselves at Netroots Minnesota.
On Friday evening, November 20, DFL candidates for governor will join us at Netroots Minnesota to take questions directly from you.
During a discussion moderated by Star Tribune writer Lori Sturdevant, the candidates will be asked questions solicited online via Twitter (using the hashtag #nmn09gov), Facebook, email, and in person.
This forum, sponsored by Alliance for a Better Minnesota Action Fund, is going to be one of the most interactive and engaging forums for the candidates to date -- be sure toregister for Netroots Minnesota to get a front-row seat at this must-see-for-yourself political event.
(I've posted previously about this upcoming event, but registration is now open -- This promises to be a fantastic two-day event, featuring some really great leaders in the progressive movement in Minnesota. Don't miss it. - promoted by Joe Bodell)
When we were at Netroots Nation in Pittsburgh this past summer, a group of Minnesotans, including MPP's very own Populista, The UpTake's Jason Barnett, Grassroots Solutions' Lindsay Hansen, and some of the Alliance for a Better Minnesota crew started talking about how great it would be if Netroots Nation came to Minnesota. Having a Netroots conference in Minnesota would give us the opportunity to enhance our tradition of grassroots organizing by offering trainings and panels on using technology to promote progressive ideas.
Fast forward a couple of months, after a lot of help from every segment of the progressive community in the state and the Netroots Nation team, and we're proud to be announcing the first-ever Netroots Minnesota, a regional conference of Netroots Nation, which will be held in St. Paul from November 20-21st.
From an email Denise Cardinal, ABM's Executive Director, sent to our list this morning:
Over the next 12 months, we will be working hard to advocate for progressive policies. But in order to be effective, we're going to need to get the progressive grassroots and Netroots together to network and organize.
Join us, along with progressives from all over Minnesota, in St. Paul on November 20th and 21st for the first ever Netroots Minnesota conference.
We'll have captivating panels led by national and state experts, practical training sessions and workshops, and a gubernatorial candidate forum. This conference is the premier kickoff to the critical conversations progressives will be having as we approach 2010.
The Netroots have played a critical role in helping shape a national progressive agenda over the last several years, and we hope to build on that same success here in Minnesota. We hope that Netroots Minnesota will provide a space where progressives from across the state could come together, network and organize, and to learn how we can more effectively use technology to strengthen our community.
There's a programming committee composed of bloggers, activists, and progressive organizations which will meet regularly between now and the conference to take your suggestions and create the best possible agenda we can.
This is only the beginning of the critical conversations progressives will be having as we approach 2010 and we think its a great way to get the entire community involved in this dialogue.
Disclosure: I'm the New Media Director for Alliance for a Better Minnesota
While I shouldn't be astounding with the Republicans propensity for lying, they've taken lying to a new level with healthcare reform that's alarming. The Republican members of our delegation to Washington, DC are no different. Michele Bachmann leads the way, but John Kline and Erik Paulsen are not far behind.
Wondering what you can do to help much-need health insurance reform get through Congress and on to the President's desk?
We have an answer -- tell the truth.
That's why we're launching Sick Scam, a website dedicated to telling the truth about how the big insurance companies and their allies in Minnesota are working together to block reform.
So please check out the site and tell your friends.
"If the partisan disease is what's tearing Washington apart, for years he was part of that," said Coleman, who officially launches his campaign Wednesday. "The talk radio culture, the Rush Limbaughs, the Ann Coulters, the Al Frankens. If that's the disease, I've tried to be the cure to that disease for a long time."
Since he can't win on the issues, the incumbent is trying to make the challenger seem like a Washington insider. This would be like John McCain saying Barack Obama is too unstable and out of touch to be President.
