It would be easy to demonstrate GOPer fiscal duplicity, starting with D*ck (cheneyin') Cheney's infamous quote: "Reagan proved that deficits don't matter." That, of course, was "then." Now that Democrats are in charge, well, it is - of course - "now" and to GOPers these days, Deficits Matter*.
Rather than go through all that GOPer duplicity, I'm going to focus on a race demonstrating not only today's GOPer race to illogical "ideological" purity, but fiscal irresponsibility as well - not to mention the DFL's best chance (IMNSHO) to turn a state senate seat from "red" to "blue." It is Minnesota Senate District 18; an open seat due to the "retirement" of longtime State Senator Steve Dille. Dille is one of a vanishing species - a "moderate" republican that today's GreedOverPrinciples types refer to as a "RINO" (Republican In Name Only) as clearly stated by GOP 2008 Candidate and current GOP State Exec Vice-Chair, Bill Jungbauer:
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
The Rino's among us
By Bill Jungbauer
Yesterdays vote on the bill containing a five cent gas tax increase was a disappointment because several Republicans voted yes.
In the Senate we have these RINO's,
Dille (Dassel) sen.steve.dille@senate.mn Frederickson (New Ulm) sen.dennis.frederickson@senate.mn
Gimse (Wilmar) sen.joe.gimse@senate.mn
Jungbauer (East Bethel) sen.mike.jungbauer@senate.mn
This last one causes me great shame. He is of no known relationship to me.
(emphasis added)
Dingbat demagogue talk-radio sideshow freak Michele Bachmann is America's funniest congresslady, but some people in her suburban Minnesota district don't love her enough. That's why the Republican party and its Alaskan anger muppet Sarah Palin have helped Bachmann raise more than $4 million for her re-election campaign and $1.7 million just in the second quarter of this year. That's patriotism. What is not patriotism is Bachmann's challenger, state senator Tarryl Clark, getting help from a "progressive women's group" that always leaves comments with the caps lock on called EMILY's list. Do these so-called "women" understand that being a woman means having/fostering up to 60 babies annually while screeching constantly about the president being a Muslim communist who shredded her Constitution with his scissorhands? Tarryl Clark raised $910,000 in the same quarter, which is okay, we guess, but that's not going to pay for all of our nation's kids to go to FEMA re-education camp. ALSO: Bachmann won last night's "floor vote" at the Weeping Eagle Awards, and now she's America's Worst Congress Creature in History, and the actual weeping eagle trophy/magnet is on Tucker Carlson's fridge at the Daily Caller.
Tarryl Clark reported her second quarter fundraising numbers today. As expected, her numbers kicked butt. She raised $910,000 from 24,000 individuals and has raised $2M so far. Clark faces Rep. Michele Bachmann in the MN-06 race.
Tarryl Clark's campaign for Congress today announced that it surpassed $2 million in fundraising in its efforts to unseat incumbent Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, having raised just over $910,000 in the 2nd quarter of 2010.
Today's announcement marks another record-setting quarter for Clark's challenger campaign. To date, the campaign has raised over $2 million from an incredible 24,000 donors contributing an average of just $54. Clark's thousands of low-dollar donors create a grassroots army that can continue to support Clark all the way through November, on the ground and with their checkbooks.
Clark continues to set an unprecedented pace in the 6th District race - no previous Minnesota congressional challenger had even topped the million-dollar mark by this point in the campaign.
(Clark campaign email press release)
I'm Lauren Beecham, Finance Director for Tarryl Clark's campaign for Congress.
We are now in the final 24 hours of a critical fundraising deadline -- and we need your help to send Congresswoman Michele Bachmann an unmistakable message: her days of standing up for BP, Wall Street and special interests are nearing a definitive end.
Let me bring you up to speed on this important race to take back Congress for all of us.
It's because of YOU -- the power of our online grassroots support -- that we just bought another week of airtime! And it's because of YOU that our campaign keeps breaking records.
Here's an update on a national trend that will impact Minnesota races. The Republican National Committee (RNC) is hurting for cash. The RNC will need to spend money to help protect Michele Bachmann and keep the Minnesota Governor's seat in Republican hands. They don't have it and under Michael Steele, they aren't likely to get it. The Mooney Times has the details:
Just months before critical midterm elections, the Republican National Committee is hurting for cash more than at any similar period in memory, according to figures reported this week to the Federal Election Commission.
Next month's shortfall is shaping up to be as bad or even worse, a senior official with knowledge of committee's financial status told The Washington Times.
The RNC under Michael Steele has been a disaster and fundraising has suffered. Republicans ability to take back the House and win a few Senate seats will be affected because typically the RNC has used their warchest to fund attack ads in key races.
In addition, the RNC under Chairman Michael S. Steele spent some $12 million to help win the off-year gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia last fall, and spent an additional $500,000 on the unsuccessful bid to win a special congressional election in Pennsylvania.
"All that could have boosted our cash on hand to $29 million," [RNC spokesman Doug] Heye said.
Nonetheless, the RNC's total for May of this year is well below the average cash on hand of $35,434,123.45 that the RNC reported each May between 2002 and 2009.
Plus, they incurred their first debt since 1994.
The NRCC reports having $12 million in cash for May - on paper $600,000 less than the RNC. But the RNC is carrying over from April unpaid bills to the tune of $760,141, which should be subtracted from its $12.6 million cash on hand for May. That leaves the RNC with slightly less cash than even the NRCC.
The RNC debt is the first reported to the FEC for any one-month period since then-RNC Chairman Haley Barbour - now governor of Mississippi and head of the Republican Governors Association (RGA) - borrowed funds to help finance what was to be the 1994 GOP electoral sweep of both houses of Congress.
As everyone knows, Erik Paulsen has been making a lot of new friends from Wall Street, the big credit card companies, and many other corporations by siding with them instead of the residents of the 3rd District time and time again. Using his seat on the Financial Services Committee, he has been able to raise a lot of money from the groups he has been assigned to oversee.
As Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington said in a study on members of the Financial Services Committee's fundraising:
The facts of CREW's study are clear: freshmen members serving on the House Financial Services Committee raise significantly more money than their colleagues. They raise a significant portion of that money from the industries they oversee. And those industries disproportionately invest in them.
Team Meffert knows that the only way to combat that is through an organized, grassroots operation that brings as many people as possible into the fold. We launched two exciting new online tools to get people involved.
First, you can engage your networks support our campaign financially by creating a personal fundraising page. When you create your own fundraising page, you will be able to set your own goal and send a personal message to your friends, family and coworkers, asking them to contribute. When they give, whether online or by mail, you'll get the credit. Your personal fundraising page also lets you track your progress toward the goal you've set. It is an easy way to engage new supporters and encourage donations in any amount.
Secondly, we are now accepting contributions through our Facebook fan page. In addition to adding a secure Donate tab, we have added tabs for our YouTube channel and our volunteer signup page. Now you can share YouTube clips, photos, and press releases from Team Meffert, and encourage people to donate or volunteer, all from Facebook.
We know that Paulsen can be beat, but it's going to take hundreds of small donations from people like you. We want to engage as many donors as we possibly can, and setting up these personal fundraising pages is the first step. Check out the page set up by our campaign manager, Alex Falconer:
Also, if you really feel like getting engaged, follow the link and start your own! You can set any goal you want, and whether it's $20 or $2,000, it all helps.
This campaign is going to be successful if people get engaged and get involved. We have set a goal of raising $25,000 online by June 30th, and with your help, we can take the first big step toward reclaiming a true swing District and replacing Erik Paulsen with someone who will truly represent the interests of his constituents, Jim Meffert.
Once again, here's the "money quote" from that editorial:
The idea that a representative would use as much as one third of his office budget, money meant to be spent in ways that benefit constituents, on thinly veiled re-election entreaties, is unconscionable. It's an inappropriate use of the funds, and it presents an unfair advantage for incumbents.
Such spending should be eliminated. If politicians want to send glossy, self-promoting pamphlets about themselves, they can pay for them themselves.
Well, according to a report today from Tom Scheck of Minnesota Public Radio, Paulsen's re-election committee has more than $1 million in the bank. So, certainly - Paulsen can afford to pay for his "thinly veiled re-election entreaties" himself, through his campaign war chest.
But, what did one dedicated reader claim to get in the ol' mailbox, just the other day?
ANOTHER taxpayer-paid mailer - on Health Care Reform!!!
40 days from today - on May 18 - we will see two HUGE primaries for U.S. Senate. Even though these races aren't in Minnesota, they impact Democrats across the country and, well, the entire country as a whole.
In Pennsylvania, Democratic Congressman Joe Sestak will try to upset Republican-for-decades Arlen Specter.
In Arkansas, Democratic Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter will try to upset corporate lackey Blanche Lincoln.
These two races are tremendously important to defining who and what the Democratic Party is and what we will be fighting for.
If you can volunteer for these candidates (or encourage friends and family in Pennsylvania and Arkansas to do so), that would be amazing.
Of course, if you can help with a contribution to either or both via the Expand the Map! ActBlue page as soon as possible, it will make a big impact.
Polling shows that both Specter and Lincoln are at risk of - if not likely to - hand these Senate seats over to far-right-wing Republicans. (And, even if these two retain the seats, that's not much better on many key issues.)
Congressman Sestak and Lieutenant Governor Halter winning these primaries are critical to keeping these seats in truly Democratic hands. Your support can help make that happen! Please hop over to the Expand the Map! ActBlue page right away to make a contribution - an investment in the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party to pull out an old expression - and show your support.
Thanks SO much for any support you can provide. 40 Days.
Just one week after the endorsement, State Senator Tarryl Clark has now raised over $1.1 million to best Michele Bachmann in the 6th district. Even more compelling is that this came from over 12,000 supporters, meaning that if these folks are willing to give again, there is already depth to the fundraising. In the first quarter, more than 8,700 people contributed an average of $54, so I am thinking there is a strong possibility of more giving. Above all, I like how Tarryl Clark sent out the video below to financial supporters. I salute the whole Tarryl Clark campaign and all the supporters with a standing ovation!
As we await the historic vote on health care reform, it's important to remember that we're just ten days away from the end of the first fundraising quarter of 2010. The fundraising totals reported in this quarter will be pivotal to determining the tenor of many races for the rest of the year. If there is any time to contribute, now is the time!
Please head over to the Expand the Map! ActBlue page and contribute whatever you are able to these terrific Democratic candidates for Senate.
Democrat
Currently At
End-of-Quarter Goal
Distance to Goal
Kendrick Meek
$25
$300
$275
Bill Halter
$445
$750
$305
Joe Sestak
$1,320
$1,600
$280
Paul Hodes
$1,447
$1,700
$253
Robin Carnahan
$1,163
$1,400
$237
Remember, the contribution you can make isn't just a donation to a single candidate or political campaign. It's an investment against Republican obstruction (and conservaDem enabling) and an investment toward achieving that more perfect union.
Here's an update to the Apples-to-Apples fundraising comparison, powered by today's 2009 reporting deadline enforced by the state Campaign Finance Board. Click on the image for a full-size version.
Steve Kelley's final numbers have been updated, and some specifics on Matt Entenza's line have been updated as well. We've also added in R.T. Rybak's totals, which bend the curve a bit -- he raised a bunch of money extremely quickly, but as noted in the previous post, this was somewhat expected.
Update: according to a source on Tom Bakk's campaign, his dollars/donor number listed above is a bit high -- it should actually be around $163. This is a result of listing on 2009 donors, but using the total fundraising to date number in the numerator.
There have been lots of fundraising numbers flying around in the past couple of weeks as gubernatorial candidates look to spin their prowess on the donor circuit into positive press and grassroots support. But can we compare their numbers on an apples-to-apples basis?
Sure. Here's how (and a big thanks goes to Robin Marty for helping me assemble these numbers).
This might be a little difficult to read, so let's break it down: the columns you'll want to watch closely are all the way to the right, in Dollars Per Month and Dollars Per Donor.
The idea here is that candidates started raising money at different times from different people, so we want to get an idea of how quickly they're raising it and from whom -- a higher Dollars Per Donor figure means the candidate is hitting up fewer donors for higher amounts, and a lower figure means the campaign can go back to those same donors repeatedly for more donations.
Dollars Per Month can tell us how quickly a candidate taps out their fundraising "base" -- if the candidate has only been in the race for a few months but has raised a bunch of money, there's a decent chance this rate will fall off quickly as they get into tougher-to-get dollars. The same thing happened to Paul Thissen after he pulled in "low-hanging fruit" in 2008.
So with Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Matt Entenza, and Paul Thissen all bunched up around $182-$184 per donor, we don't know a whole lot about their takes other than that MAK has raised money faster than the other two (by virtue of being an official candidate for less time than the others. Steve Kelley -- whose totals here are accurate, as confirmed by his campaign this week, btw -- has a lower dollars-per-donor figure, so on average he can hit those same donors up for more money this year than the others can. Ditto Tom Rukavina.
On the GOP side, it's tough to do any kind of comparison, since at last check we still don't know how many individual donors Tom Emmer had in 2009.
Update: R.T. Rybak just reported a total fundraising take of $278,000 since November of last year -- breaking down the numbers as accurately as possible leaves Rybak with $92,667/month for his gubernatorial committee, and a dollars-per-donor figure of $200. Rybak is in a unique position in that he spent all of last year campaigning for reelection, so he had a custom-build fundraising call list waiting for him last November. Rybak reported having $25,000 cash-on-hand at the end of 2009 -- but a big fundraising push at the beginning of this year as well. His fundraising came from a total of 691 donors.
Metro-vs-Greater Minnesota comparisons would be quite interesting for Rybak.
Tarryl Clark has raised more than $600,000 in 22 weeks since joining the race to unseat Michele Bachmann (MN-06). Her fourth quarter (Q4) report will show almost $300,000 raised. With solid fundraising like this and a rumor that her opponent in the DFL endorsement race, Maureen Reed, has lost her finance director, this is very good news indeed.
Senator Tarryl Clark, candidate for Congress in Minnesota's 6th Congresional District, today announced that her campaign ended 2009 having raised more than $600,000 from a grassroots network of more than 5,000 individual donors in just 22 weeks.
While national fundraising reports are still coming in, Clark's 4th Quarter fundraising puts her once again among the top-fundraising challengers in the country. In the 4th Quarter alone, Clark's campaign raised $293,953 from an incredible 2906 donors - including 2622 new donors.
"Our thousands of small-dollar donors are a testament to the enthusiasm for Tarryl's campaign, and a clear demonstration of the kind of grassroots network we're building to win this election," said campaign manager Zach Rodvold. "Minnesotans are excited about Tarryl's agenda of standing up for them to create jobs and deliver results, and tired of Michele Bachmann's relentless pursuit of her own agenda."
Clark ended the year with just under $389,000 cash on hand.
(Clark campaign email press release)
The Minnesota Governor campaigns are beginning to release their fundraising numbers for 2009. There is one thing that is becoming increasingly clear, we DFLers are kicking butt and the Republicans really should be releasing their numbers late on a Friday afternoon so that nobody notices.
Let's begin with numbers that aren't really all that impressive. Tom Emmer's numbers are not very good. You can read his press release here. He sure does spin it so it sounds better than it is.
Compare that with Matt Entenza reeling in $300,000 in 2009, Paul Thissen raising $370,000 since November '08 ($253K in 2009), and even Tom Rukavina beat Emmer, raking in $135,000. Even Rukavina beat Emmer. Repeat that to yourselves a few times. Wow.
For those of you who have never tried going to a stranger's house, just to join a "meet and greet" party for a candidate, I urge you to try it. It took me a long time before I did.
In a "meet and greet" party, there is time to just socialize with a candidate. There is time just to know the person before evaluating the candidate. And especially with local candidates, there is a feeling of just being with neighbors.
This video is taken in very low light, so I apologize for the clarity. I think you get the feeling of the close knit comfort of a small living room, filled with people. Although this is edited for time constraints, people do have the time to ask questions and then to ask follow-up questions. No debate timer is about to go off! I really like that relaxed atmosphere compared to debates.
Matt Bostrom is running for Ramsey County Sheriff, and here is his social introduction and background, at a "meet and greet" party:
