Rep. John Kline (R-MN) wants to start the whole healthcare reform debate all over again. He whines in Roll Call that the Democrats have "no intention of bipartisanship." Kline apparently resides in an alternate universe. He has been given his talking points and is going to stick to them, damn reality.
Obama has reached out on several occasions and the Republican reply has been death panels, birthers, tenthers, rudely interrupting his State of the Union to call him a liar, Obama is a nazi, Obama is a socialist and portrayed Obama as Heath Ledger's The Joker from the latest Batman movie. They have all but spit in his face. Yet, Kline has the temerity to call for a "do over."
Elections have consequences and now that the Republicans are losing, they want to start all over. How is this different than any of the obstructionist crap they've pulled before?
You can read his whining and lies after the break...
As promised, here are the delegate chase totals from our Delegate Tracker:
MN-03 (I'm missing a couple pledged dels here)
Maureen Hackett: 27
Jim Meffert: 15
MN-06
Tarryl Clark: 53
Maureen Reed: 22
The race in my Third congressional district is witnessing a bit more contention around these delegate totals: the Hackett campaign has crowed about their lead in pledged delegates (their published margin is 30-15) while Team Meffert has -- correctly, in my estimation -- responded that there is a huge number of uncommitted delegates in the race. More than one close observer of the race has told me that Meffert is doing just fine among those delegates, who at this rate will outnumber their pledged counterparts approximately 3:1 at the CD3 convention on April 10th.
In the Sixth, the picture is a bit more clear: Tarryl Clark opened up a big lead in this past weekend's conventions, which appear to have included more subcaucuses named for the congressional candidate than those in CD3 did. But some of the same caveats apply: there's still a large number of uncommitted delegates out there, by virtue of there being a competitive race higher on the ballot than this one.
Here's the full spreadsheet, cut down to include only those subcaucuses that include one of these candidates' names. Trying to break out all the uncommitted subcaucuses by CD would be a disaster, as there are several conventions that cross CD lines had to split up along those lines to complete their business.
Rep. John Kline (R-MN) was elevated to the top minority spot on the House Education and Labor Committee not because he has any expertise in education or much knowledge about economics and labor. No, he was the highest ranking available Republican not tainted by scandals involving prostitutes, diapers, corruption or some combination thereof.
So consider this little snippet of Kline displaying his ignorance in a New Hampshire newspaper:
Voting yes: Reps. Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes, both Democrats.
Abusive student discipline: Voting 262 for and 153 against, the House on Wednesday passed a bill (HR 4247) setting federal standards and authorizing grants to states to curb the abusive discipline of K-12 students in public and private schools. Now before the Senate, the bill addresses practices such as duct-taping and other forcible restraints that inflict harm, seclusion in locked rooms and the application of drugs not prescribed by the student's doctor. The bill would extend to schools the same federal protection against physical abuse that applies to hospitals and other community institutions receiving federal funds.
Rep. George Miller, a Democrat from California, said: "When these abuses occur, it isn't just the individual victim who suffers. It hurts their classmates who witness these traumatizing events. It undermines the vast majority of teachers and staff who are trying to give students a quality education. It's a nightmare for everyone involved."
Rep. John Kline, a Republican from Minnesota, said the bill infringes on state authority and is "an invitation to trial lawyers who will eagerly take every opportunity to sue school districts. . . . In fact, there's a very real danger that schools will stop addressing safety issues entirely out of fear they could be sued."
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
This bill is to prevent restraining kids with duct tape, locking in closets or restraining kids in ways that torture or even lead to killing children.
Kline is more concerned about trial attorneys than he is with the safety of our nation's children.
Rep. John Kline (R-MN) is a retired Marine. His claim to fame is he carried the "nuclear football" for Ronald Reagan. His expertise does not extend to economics, education or healthcare. Not that ignorance stops him. Conveniently, the Republican Party gives him handy talking points to repeat.
At a Lakeville Area Chamber of Commerce meeting on Feb. 22, U.S. Rep. John Kline, R-Lakeville, addressed employment, education and health care issues.
"There is a lot of turmoil in Washington and America," Kline said. "We're running deficits that were unimaginable two, three, four years ago."
Kline blamed Democrats for running up the deficit.
Kline said he opposes several current proposals in the House such as the Cap and Trade bill and the Employee Free Choice Act.
Kline said he also opposes the current health-care proposals.
(Thisweek Live)
Kline never met a George W. Bush budget or spending bill which he didn't rubber stamp. Kline wants you to forget that he and Bush turned a Clinton surplus into the largest deficit in history. Kline voted for the spending for two wars and for cutting taxes at the same time.
Kline helped Bush drive our economy of a cliff.
Now Kline would like you to forget that recent history and listen to him now when he says it's all the Democrats fault.
With the gubernatorial race at the top of this year's ticket, it's generally pretty easy to see where things stand on the pledged delegate chase for that race.
At the congressional endorsement level, it's a bit different. With so many delegates in Gubernatorial-candidate subcaucuses and so few in Congressional-candidate subcaucuses, there's a lot of room for strong supporters to hide in "uncommitted" subcaucuses and for the campaigns to press the flesh among those delegates that are actually uncommitted in their races.
With all that being said, here's what we have so far, with the same caveats (86% statewide coverage) that apply in the gubernatorial race:
CD2 Shelley Madore: 4
Dan Powers: 0
CD3 Maureen Hackett: 12
Jim Meffert: 9
CD6 Tarryl Clark: 16
Maureen Reed: 11
CD2 is missing numbers and still has a few conventions to go. In the case of CD3, both campaigns are starting to snipe about the delegate totals -- Team Hackett has been making public statements declaring a "clear lead" in the delegate chase while sources close to the Meffert effort have noted that their candidate is picking up greater support from uncommitted delegates.
So who knows.
Clark vs. Reed is an interesting case -- alternately, I've received reports that Clark wrecked Reed at local conventions and that Reed's supporters out-organized Clark's by a big margin. My impression is that Clark is winning, but Reed is not going away quietly.
Fantastic day of result-reporting yesterday -- we are now tracking about 60% of the pledged delegate totals. I'll post the full numbers tomorrow once Wild Weekend is complete, but here's the topline in the gubernatorial race:
Uncommitted is winning, but not by as much as it was last week.
Today's conventions include the following:
Beltrami CU
Faribault CU
Freeborn CU
Mower CU
And we're still looking for results from the following districts:
SD5
SD43
SD46
SD63
Aitkin
Blue Earth
Chisago
Goodhue
Isanti
Kandiyohi
Lac
Qui Parle
Steele
Yellow Medicine
As you'll see when I post the data on Monday, there are still some discrepancies and missing delegates from previously held conventions as well -- if you were in attendance at any of them or know someone who was, let us know.
I can't stress enough how great the MPP community has been on this project -- we're going to be providing some real substantive data on the makeup of the field for all to see before the convention, and I'm pretty sure we're the only ones doing this. We also couldn't do it without you folks out there, so thank you.
Today's local conventions -- where state convention delegates will be elected -- include the following locations:
SD 5 (Hibbing)
SD 16 (Milaca) (CD6)
SD 37 (Rosemount) (CD2)
SD 39 (Mendota Heights)
SD 43 (Plymouth) (CD3)
SD 46 (Brooklyn Center) (CD3)
SD 47 (Coon Rapids) (CD3/CD6)
SD 58 (Minneapolis)
SD 59 (Minneapolis)
SD 60 (Minneapolis)
SD 61 (Minneapolis)
SD 63 (Bloomington) (CD3)
SD 66 (St. Paul)
Atkin CU
Blue Earth CU
Chisago CU
Goodhue CU
Isanti CU
Kandiyohi CU
Lac Qui Parle CU
Steele CU
Waseca CU
Winona CU
Yellow Medicine CU
Along with tomorrow's conventions, more than 300 state convention delegates will be elected -- that's about 25% of the entire elected delegate universe. Obviously, this weekend is a big time for congressional and gubernatorial campaigns.
As previously noted, if you're attending one of these conventions as a delegate or an observer, please try to let us know the full subcaucus names and their delegate totals. We need to know everything about the subcaucuses -- candidate pledges, issues, organizations, etc, and how many delegates each subcaucus gets. Leave the reports in the comments or email us, and we'll track the totals as well as possible.
The following senate district and county unit conventions are taking place this weekend. This group represents a "Wild Weekend" of sorts, with a very large number of delegates getting elected all at once -- the best-organized campaign will have a big advantage in these locations.
Saturday:
SD 5 (Hibbing)
SD 16 (Milaca) (CD6)
SD 37 (Rosemount) (CD2)
SD 39 (Mendota Heights)
SD 43 (Plymouth) (CD3)
SD 46 (Brooklyn Center) (CD3)
SD 47 (Coon Rapids) (CD3/CD6)
SD 58 (Minneapolis)
SD 59 (Minneapolis)
SD 60 (Minneapolis)
SD 61 (Minneapolis)
SD 63 (Bloomington) (CD3)
SD 66 (St. Paul)
Atkin CU
Blue Earth CU
Chisago CU
Goodhue CU
Isanti CU
Kandiyohi CU
Lac Qui Parle CU
Steele CU
Waseca CU
Winona CU
Yellow Medicine CU
Sunday:
Beltrami CU
Faribault CU
Freeborn CU
Mower CU
If you can attend any of these conventions and provide us with the exact subcaucus/delegate totals, let us know!
And even if you're unable to attend, feel free to discuss the upcoming weekend in the comments.
Given the electoral experience brought to the table by his opponent for the DFL endorsement in the 2nd Congressional district, I thought Dan Powers would be in trouble.
But the race is getting interesting.
His campaign announced endorsements today from State Rep. Will Morgan (D-Burnsville) and from retired FBI agent Coleen Rowley, who knows a thing or two about running against John Kline in the Second (and has been known to frequent MPP from time to time).
Sez Morgan:
"Dan has been working diligently throughout the community with activists and community groups engaging them in the issues that matter in the Second District; jobs, the economy, transportation, and healthcare, said Representative Morgan. I have known Dan for quite some time, he fits the district and he knows that people have gone far too long without a voice from the community in Washington DC." He is the best candidate to represent us in Washington and I proudly stand with him."
Powers has been working the activist base for some time now, and Mary Breitenstein is a rock-solid organizer at the helm of his effort.
Former State Rep. Shelley Madore probably still has an edge among the party leadership and her former colleagues in the Legislature, but this doesn't look like it will be a steamrolling at the CD convention either way.
As in the CD6 race between Tarryl Clark and Maureen Reed, a competitive race at this phase is a good thing -- it will help hone candidates' skills and ensure that the eventual endorsee/nominee is the best candidate he (or she) can be.
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.
Dan Powers wants your support to become the DFL candidate to face Rep. John Kline in the MN-02 race. Powers is a small business owner who has become sick of politicians who don't listen. Kline is one of those politicians who doesn't have to listen because he's easily won reelection year after year.
Powers is building a grassroots campaign based upon healthcare reform, building a green economy and fiscal responsibility. He's started by hiring Mary Breitenstein ("MaryB"), a veteran of countless campaigns including Franken, and told me he will soon have a Finance Director.
"The deal is that I was a project manager for construction companies," Powers told me. "My job with those companies, and then running my own, was to listen and do what's best for the customer." An attitude like this would be drastically different than the rude and indifferent Kline. Read more about Power's background here
Powers supports a public option, wants to lure companies to build wind turbines and solar panels in his district and work hard for the people of his district. In contrast, Kline always toes the Republican party line.
Kline's main campaign theme is to ban "pork." Pork is earmarks. Earmarks are federal money to build local projects. Kline has repeatedly stated that fixing earmarks is his top priority. Kline neglects to mention that earmarks are less then 0.5% of the federal budget.
"I think that fixing the bridge in Hastings is really important," Powers said. "What Kline is doing is raising taxes locally because he won't work hard for his district. Somebody's got to pay for this so we don't have another bridge fall down. Since Kline won't even try to help, local taxpayers foot more of the bill."
I haven't had time to post the full audio of my interview with former State Rep. Shelley Madore, who announced Monday that she'll challenge John Kline in CD2 this year, but I wanted to post something on the announcement.
Madore has a tough road ahead of her in this race. She told me that she's been considering a run at this seat for the better part of a year, since soon after a loss in her '08 reelection bid. But while she might have the support of her former colleagues, she faces an incumbent who has demonstrated that he knows how to throw political punches at his opponents and will have plenty of money in the bank to do so.
Madore speaks passionately about the issues, especially health care, and it's no secret that the Republican Party of Minnesota dislikes her intensely -- they sent a tracker to the announcement event, and when I noted that video of Madore walking out the room with me in tow (the room was fairly noisy, and I was trying to get a good audio recording) might show up under an MDE headline of "CANDIDATE WALKS AWAY FROM ANNOUNCEMENT WITH LIBERAL BLOGGER ZOMGZ", we both had a good laugh.
Within the health care tangle, Madore specifically cites the financial planning aspect of the current health care system as an area that needs dramatic improvement, and the various pitfalls awaiting families who try to plan their finances around disabilities or disease.
But as I said above, it's going to be a hard slog in the Second district -- in a down economy, raising money will be hard anyway, and with the DCCC engaged elsewhere, it will take a LOT of grassroots support to make the race competitive.
There were a couple of MPP community members in attendance at the announcement (hi jnleareth!), so I hope some will chime in with their thoughts as well while I putter around and try to get the audio converted.
This week's poll; which competitive race requires the most attention from progressive activists? Which is the most important for us to make sure we win?
Rep. John Kline (R-MN) released a press release the Friday before last that I didn't notice until now. First of all, this is understandable. It's not like Kline is bat**** crazy like Michele Bachmann -- His eye's don't burn with an unquenchable fire and he doesn't say demonstrably insane things. It's just that he never does anything or stand for anything. When he does he's just regurgitating the same old Republican lies you'd expect him to spray.
But this one takes the cake. It takes a couple of digs at the Dems without providing anything substantive. Like what he and his Republican colleagues would do. Completely and utterly vapid.
Today I'm headed to former State Rep. Shelley Madore's kickoff event for her race against John Kline in the Second congressional district -- the event is at the Eagan Community Center, if you're there and see someone who looks like me, say hi!
I'll post photos and a brief interview with Madore later today.
