(Somehow, I think Dusty might be bringing this up on the radio tonight, on AM950, at 6:00 pm.... - promoted by TwoPuttTommy)
I've got a bone to pick with Maureen Reed. Yesterday Maureen Reed's campaign sent out a really whiney email implying that people are trying to twist her campaign's record. I figured I should probably chime in, you know because I'm bored and whatnot.
In the email Reed sent out she says people are claiming that she'll run as an independent and corrects the record saying that she's running as a 'Proud DFLer'. Ok fine, she PREVIOUSLY ran as an independent and claims rather boldly that she can rally independents. The reality is that her 2006 run dramatically underperformed other independents who've run in CD6. I don't know who or what a Binkowski is, but it seems to know more about reaching independents in CD6 than Maureen Reed.
About that independent record of hers... It's probably the reason Tim Pawlenty is waltzing off into the 2012 Presidential campaign sunset right now. Sure T-Paw bested Mike Hatch by 21,108 votes, and much of the blame can be pinned on the Hatch campaign, BUT the 141,735 votes that Maureen Reed helped peel away certainly can't add much to her proud DFLer status. By my count that's 120,000 reasons for us to blame Maureen Reed for Pawlenty's re-election.
The emphasis is on how much time Bachmann spends out of the district (building a national base) instead of working for her constituents. And there are references to some of her wackier policy positions. Some of the stuff you'll see on this Clark site is the kind of stuff we anti-Bachmann types have been collecting all along. And that's just fine, more people need to know.
What has happened to the Democratic Party of Paul Wellstone? Where have all of the truly bold and visionary progressives gone? Are they hiding under a rock or does the Party Machine not let their voices be heard via the corporate media lest they piss off the corporate sponsors of the Democratic Party? Yes, that is correct, I said Corporate Sponsors of the Democratic Party. After reading the following article, http://www.salon.com/news/opin... I must say it only reinforces the beliefs I have had for the last 12 months.
The Democrats don't care about their base unless it is 9 months before the next election. Then, on cue, they start up with the populist and "working families" rhetoric. After the election is over and they have won, it is right back to "business as usual". They slide up to the lobbyists and continue to do the work of Big Business all the while giving us patronizing quips, gentle pats on the head, and nice, warm fuzzies.
Take, for example, the recent Al Franken rally in Minneapolis. The room was packed and people were cheering for a bill that FORCES PEOPLE TO BUY A PRODUCT THAT IS SO BAD, THE GOVERNMENT HAS TO FORCE PEOPLE TO BUY IT. Unfortunately, it is sadly ironic and masochistic. I am sure there were quite a few people who were questioning the bill, as am I, but you could tell the MoveOn.org, SEIU, HealthCareForAmericaNOW, TakeActionMN, and OFA people were all boldly and vigorously cheering for not only Al Franken but also the bill that the President and Congress will eventually pass.
How is that possible? Why have we, the people of the Democratic Party, become so gullible and misinformed that we are willing to become slaves to the medical insurance industry. If you question that statement, I ask you; what other option is there in the president's plan? How else do I obtain medical insurance except through a private medical insurance company?
I truly believe that if President Bush was offering this very plan the Democratic faithful would be up in arms and frothing at the mouth. However, since someone from our party is in power and is offering the plan, we sit back quietly and say while nodding our head, they must know better.
Bullshit! They don't know better because the facts show that they have sold us out for the campaign contributions by the medical insurance industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the medical device industry, and almost every other sector of health care. I can't believe I just said that. The Democratic Party has sold out the working people for Big Business. Disgusting and pathetic!
Therefore, I forewarn you with great respect and remorse before this legislation becomes law. KILL THE HEALTHCARE REFORM BILL!! KILL THE BILL!! Otherwise, the Democratic Party will no longer be the party of the People. Instead, they will join with the Republicans and be the party for the Power.
Ladies and Gentlemen, yours truly - the ol' TwoPutter - is hosting, as usual, the Friday Edition of "Minnesota Matters" on AM-950 KTNF, The Voice of Minnesota! The show runs from 6:00 to 7pm. So, tune in your radio today to AM-950, or listen live on your computer, here. Joining in-studio will be ace field reporter/political analyst Dusty Trice!
In addition to talking about news, we'll have the New Music Update, provided by David from The Electric Fetus - and I'd people to know that I'll be a Co-EmCee for tonight's Electric Fetus Reborn Concert, tonight after the show, at First Avenue And 7th Street Entry. Doors open at 7:00; I'll be there shortly after - get your tickets there!
In honor of the release of "False Witness! The Michele Bachmann Story (Volume 3)", we'll definitely play "False Or False Witness!" where one lucky caller will have to correctly identify if a quote I read was actually uttered by Michele Bachmann (answer "False Witness!") or if yours truly, the ol' TwoPutter, simply made it up (answer "false"). The fabulous prize awarded, courtesy of show sponsor Common Good Books, is one copy of Bill Prendergast's exceptional comic book: "False Witness! The Michele Bachmann Story (Volume 3)"!!!
So, again, tune in the radio today to AM-950, or listen live on your computer, here.
Tarryl Clark was endorsed by Take Action Minnesota today. Take Action screened Maureen Reed and Clark prior to their annual meeting in Brooklyn Center, MN. Members chose Clark with 89% on the first ballot.
This is significant as Take Action will actively support Clark's campaign. They'll encourage their membership base of activists to volunteer and provide strategic advice and tactical support in Clark's district conventions.
But most importantly, this solidifies Clark's credibility as the progressive candidate in this race.
In an email that went out on January 29, Maureen Reed Field Director Emma Olson responded to a question about whether Reed would ultimately abide by the party endorsement.
Olson stated the following:
Maureen will not be abiding by the endorsement. She respects the DFL endorsement process and the people involved, but believes democracy is better when more people are involved.
Bachmann Tops $1 Million With Strong Fourth Quarter
(Woodbury, MN) Sixth District Congresswoman Michele Bachmann announced today that her campaign for reelection ended 2009 with over $1 million cash on hand. The campaign raised $591,600 in the last quarter of 2009, bringing the total amount raised this election cycle to $1,552,864.
...all this, while liberals and progressives around the country are dismissing her as a "bad joke." That's been the hardest thing to explain to liberals and progressives over the past seven years:
the fact that Bachmann is an obvious nut, liar, and bigot, the fact that she is obviously all those things and keeps saying "embarrassingly crazy things year after year--does not mean that you can dismiss her as joke, it does not mean that she's irrelevant--*does not mean that we can safely ignore her because her career will soon be over.*
Because of the kind of backing that this particular politician had--mainly the national religious right--means she's invulnerable when she lies or make statements that would end the careers of other conservative politicians. And Bachmann's success galvanizes the hater-voters and thus opens the gateway for Bachmann imitators--hater Republican candidates who will attract the sort of voter that wants to hear the hatred passed off as patriotism.
I got an email late yesterday from the Dan Powers campaign. Powers is vying for the DFL endorsement against Shelley Madore and hopes to face John Kline this November in the MN-02 race. The email urges DFLers to attend their caucuses and support Dan.
Dan Powers is running for Congress in the Second Congressional District because he wants to bring real representation back to the district. The progress starts with electing a main street Democrat like Dan, because he shares the values and experiences of our community.
You can support Dan Powers by going to the precinct caucuses on Feb 2nd and becoming a delegate to your Senate District or County Unit convention, the first step to becoming a congressional delegate for Dan. You can find out more information about the DFL precinct caucus and find your location by visiting our website.
The next paragraph introduced the new staff they've hired. Now we know where Maureen Reed's finance director went.
Today we are proud to announce several additions to our team. Our Campaign Manager, Mary Breitenstein (Mary B), is well known in DFL politics for her work on winning campaigns and endorsements, including Mark Ritchie and Al Franken. Cathy Braaten, our new Finance Director, is an experienced fundraiser you may know from the campaigns of Steve Sarvi, Mark Dayton, and Maureen Reed. Joining our field team is Maya Shah, a strong campus organizer who headed the College Democrats efforts during the SD25 special election of State Senator Kevin Dahle.
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)
Tarryl Clark picked up another endorsement in her effort to unseat Rep. Michele Bachmann in the MN-06 race. This time it's EMILY's List. This is an important development as there are two woman vying for the DFL endorsement: Clark and Maureen Reed. EMILY's List usually endorses in situations like this 6th Congressional race when they see one Democrat as clearly leading for Democratic endorsement.
"EMILY's List is proud to support Tarryl Clark in her campaign for U.S. Congress," said Ellen R. Malcolm, President of EMILY's List. "As a State Senator, Tarryl spearheaded major bipartisan initiatives on a number of issues, including education, veterans' affairs, domestic violence, consumer protection, and affordable housing. Her strong reputation of getting things done for Minnesota families is what sets her apart from her opponents and has enabled her to be such a powerful voice for her constituents."
"Tarryl is a proven vote getter in what is traditionally rough territory for Democrats," continued Malcolm. "Her candidacy puts this district in play and gives Democrats the best shot at picking up this swing-seat in November." (EMILY's list email press release)
That should come as absolutely no surprise to those of us following the race to retire U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann.
And for those of us who think Tarryl Clark is the best candidate to take on Bachmann, this latest development isn't the end of the world.
Running a primary campaign next summer will force Clark to start spending serious money earlier than she would if Reed decided to honor the DFL endorsement. But so what? Sure, Clark will have to kick her already prolific fundraising efforts up to another level, but that's not going to be a problem for the leading candidate against a national joke.
So Clark raises a few extra bucks and she's on television a few months earlier. That means she's building district-wide name recognition earlier. That means she's inoculating herself against attacks earlier. That means she's telling her story earlier. And that means she's teeing off on Bachmann earlier.
Obviously, we'd rather have Reed just go away, but we have to play the hand we're dealt and this isn't a bad one.
Accounts had been fuzzy, but now it's official. From MPR Polinaut's Daily Digest:
Democrat Maureen Reed now says she won't abide by the DFL endorsement. CQ and MinnPost have stories. Side note, an official with SEIU says Reed did, in fact, screen with them as a part of a much larger screening process with several unions. Update: Reed's campaign takes issue with those comments.
Reed's objections to Tarryl Clark's lock on union endorsements had been "well, jeez, the unions didn't even screen me as a candidate, they just went straight to Clark and that's so unnnfaaairrr..."
But SEIU, the big service employee's union apparently says that's not so.
Is this really about creating a credible effort to beat Bachmann next year, or is Reed just jerking around with some weird, careerist splitter type thing that's guaranteed to keep Bachmann in, maybe even hand her with her first significant majority? Sometimes I feel so out of the loop.
Joe Bodell thinks a matchup between Clark and Reed prior to a head to head with Bachmann may be a good thing:
http://www.mnprogressiveprojec...
I don't, because any Dem opponent starts out a significant disadvantage in the Sixth, anyway--the Bachmann opposition vote is split all over the place, even without a Dem split. In my opinion, it's got to be a concerted, solid and sustained effort that focuses on how awful Bachmann is--not two Bachmann opponents calling each other this-and-that while Bachmann talks about national issues on TV.
Here is the link to the Polinaut item, which has links to the Reed items. It's about half-way down the Daily Digest under 2010 race for Congress:
http://minnesota.publicradio.o...
We used thoughtful consideration to reach this conclusion since I have such a great deal of respect for the dedicated individuals in the DFL who generously give their time working to improve our state and nation. However, the Sixth District is unique in that it is more moderate and independently minded in its political leanings than the state as a whole. In fact, we conducted a poll which showed that the profile of the Democratic primary voter is more diverse in political philosophy than those who participate in the conventions.
...
Democracy works best when more people are involved. We feel that the most democratic action we can take is to let Democrats of all stripes choose their general election candidate in a primary.
There are a few factors leading me to believe this is a good thing. First, it will be a tougher case for third-party candidates to make that the DFL nomination process resembled a railroad, regardless of how it shakes out. It will force both DFL candidates to work hard across the district, garnering support from, as Reed correctly says, a wide swath of the district's varied political spectrum, and they will in turn be expanding the vote base for whoever the eventual nominee is. On top of all of this, it's going to mean a lot more work for Michele Bachmann's campaign forces to research and oppose not one, but two candidates, both of whose main goals are defeating her.
I still think Clark will have the easier road to the nomination and will get considerable out-of-state support in her bid against Bachmann, but this could be a good thing.
"Made in Minnesota moderate" DFLer Maureen Reed says she'll bring Democrats, Republicans and independents together to topple U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann and that may be true, but she probably won't be doing it with the backing of the Independence Party -- a notion she had floated earlier in her campaign.
At its state convention today in Brooklyn Park, the IP voted to do away with cross-endorsements after a number of activists expressed disappointment over the way things played out in 2008 with Elwyn Tinklenberg, who won the IP endorsement a couple months after earning the DFL's backing in the 6th Congressional District.
"I'd much rather have an Independence Party candidate who will work with me rather than a Democrat who won't," Stephen Williams, the IP's endorsed candidate for U.S. Senate, said last summer. Today his message was along the lines of "I told you so," as he noted the next day's media coverage was all about Tinklenberg getting the cross-endorsement rather than Williams' own victory.
(Trivia: Williams lost the IP primary last September to former U.S. Sen. Dean Barkley. Extra credit to those who remember I worked for the senator.)
Speaking of the 6th District, Bob Anderson was at North View Junior High School this morning basking in the glow of the 40,643 votes he received last time around as the IP's non-endorsed candidate. As you may remember, Anderson lost the IP endorsement to Tinklenberg, but claimed the party's ballot line anyway because state law allows candidates to file under one party only and Tinklenberg was officially the DFL's candidate. Despite an under-the-radar campaign, Anderson claimed 10 percent of the vote while Bachmann eeked out a three-point win over Tinklenberg.
I didn't get a chance to speak with Anderson, but I heard him mention to several people that he'll have a vast "middle" to shoot for against ultra-conservative Republican Bachmann and liberal DFL State Sen. Tarryl Clark. Apparently Anderson isn't the only one writing off Reed's long-shot effort.
If I was advising Reed (and I'm not), I'd say "take your money and file as an IP candidate." Clark's going to win the endorsement on the first ballot and should cruise in the primary, too. But with some money in the bank, Reed, who ran for lieutenant governor on the IP ticket three years ago, could present a ton of problems for Clark and possibly Bachmann as a third-party candidate in the topsy-turvy 6th District.
Sometimes it's interesting to see how the media guys outside the state view the races here. Most of the time they don't really know what they're talking about, because to find out about a local race they just get on the phone and talk to some local professor or to a couple of local media knuckleheads.
That seems to be the extent of the research here. This is an article about "races around the country to watch" from Politico. I still read Politico sometimes, but it has been described to me as the acceptable face of "the GOP talking points" by an editor here in Minnesota.
Here's what their reporter had to say about Minnesota's 6th District: (continued)
