Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) has come under fire for his living arrangements. In an extensive interview in the National Journal, Norm defended the sweetheart apartment deal he received from Jeff Larson, a Republican activist and fundraiser. Norm denies any wrongdoing, using Norm-speakTM to attempt to claim that the apartment is cramped and a crash pad.
Local newspapers are burying this news in their back pages and I haven't checked out the television coverage, yet.
This revelation is going to make life very uncomfortable for Norm. Especially after the focus has been on Norm's opponent Al Franken's problems for so long.
I'm live-blogging this evening from the prestigious Heritage Foundation Annual Democrat Capitulator Awards in Washington, DC. Every year conservatives gather to heap praise upon those Democrats who are willing to compromise and work across the aisle with their fellow Republicans. Of course, the dirty little secret that everyone in the room knows is that conservatives never given in, it's the Democrats always who cave in.
This evening they are honoring Steny Hoyer, the Democrat Majority Leader in the House and Jay Rockefeller, lead Democrat who pushed hardest for Bush and Cheney's FISA bill.
President Bush's former speech writer Michael Gerson goes on attack on behalf of Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) today. Gerson is the man responsible for writing the speeches that lied us into the Iraq War. Now as a journalist, he's been a defender and advocate of all things Republican. From defending the lies he helped construct to lead us into war to beating the Iran war drum to now defending vulnerable Republicans, Gerson has a prominent location from which to expound ... The Washington Post.
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) claims to be a Senator who "brings people together to get things done." I discovered a perfect example of the kind of leader that Norm Coleman is, but it requires a bit of splainin' or back story so that you can understand the entire context in which Norm took this bold stand which I will eventually get to. I think after I am done explaining, you'll agree with me that Norm is a brave man who takes bold stands based on principles.
The Red Wing Republican Eagle's letters to the editor have seen a back and forth between supporters of Steve Sarvi (DFL) and John Kline (R) concerning the MN-02 race. On June 4th, Paul Drobs wrote a letter criticizing John Kline entitled "Kline’s credibility vanishes on war." So John Kline had a staffer respond. This next bit will surprise nobody.
Yelena Vaynberg, Legislative Director for John Kline, lied about John Kline's record.
and donate. I'll post other bloggers posts about Steve at my blog mnblue.com.
Steve Sarvi is the Kosovo and Iraq vet challenging Republican John Kline in MN-02. This district includes the southern Minneapolis and St. Paul suburbs, stretching from the Mississippi onto the plains southwest of the Twin Cities. This district has been turning blue. In 2006 Democrats took 6 state House seats to narrow our margin from 2 of 20 to 8 of 20 seats. After the special election victory for Kevin Dahle, Democrats now control 8 of the 12 Senate seats in the district.
Al Franken has been smeared by the Republicans, smeared by their minions and taken a tremendous amount of heat from just about everybody for his tax problems. Despite that, Norm hasn't taken a commanding lead. A 7% lead is not commanding. Not this far out from the election. And its not like Minnesotans suddenly like Norm a whole lot more.
However, the sidebars provide just a few crucial details that the Strib fails to mention. Such as 64% say that Al's tax problems don't matter to them. Funny how these interesting little bits don't get mentioned. Great picture of Norm with Dick Cheney, btw.
I've been following the Republican Party's woes. I've been enjoying the schadenfreude, too. For the most part, they don't seem to get it. They simply don't see the extent to which the Republican national leaders like George Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Tom Delay, Dennis Hastert, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell et al have been destroying their party. This is good news for we Democrats.
Now that Steve Sarvi has the DFL endorsement to run against John Kline in November for the MN-02 seat, I figured it was time to talk to him about his campaign again (I interviewed him last Dec). Steve was just leaving an event in Hastings and called me on the ride to his next event.
MN-02 is among the Minnesota quartet of races that could all swing blue.
His opponent is weakened. John Kline has supported the Bush Administration at every turn. He's been bad on Iraq, healthcare, transportation, representing his district, delivering anything for his district and he's fiscally irresponsible (as all Republicans are who vote for blank checks for Iraq yet borrow from China to pay for it). Steve is the perfect candidate to make him answer for his complicity.
He'll need your help to do it though ... so ... you know what to do ...
Late last week, the television station that Stan Hubbard owns ran push-polling against DFL US Senate candidate Al Franken. Tonight, KSTP reported on it. What is the significance of this push poll? Ron Stan Hubbard is a major donor to all things Republican and a major donor to Norm Coleman's reelection campaign. His station runs a factually incorrect poll then uses it to influence the US Senate race. Norm Coleman owes Ron Hubbard a big thanks for running this push poll and getting inaccurate information to the voters.
I've been so busy with the MN-SEN and MN-03 races plus sneaking in my last vacation before the election, that I have neglected an important race: Steve Sarvi v. John Kline. Steve Sarvi is the National Guard Captain who led men in Kosovo and Iraq. He is also the former Mayor of Watertown as well as former city administrator for Lanesboro, Victoria and Watertown.
John Kline is the retired Marine Colonel who has an atrocious voting record on veteran's issues. Kline has also been a gung-ho cheerleader for the invasion of Iraq and the subsequent occupation. Kline has voted for all of Bush's tax breaks for the wealthy while at the same time borrowing money from China to finance the war.
This race is a great opportunity for a pick-up. The occupation that Kline unquestiningly supports is unpopular, the economy is in recession, the Republican brand is being trashed daily by the incompetence and corruption of the Bush Administration and the Republicans won't have much money to defend Kline's seat.
The final reason we have a chance is we have the perfect candidate. Sarvi can call Kline to task for neglecting the men and women who have so bravely served our country.
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) has been lousy on environmental issues. He's been lousy on global climate change. You name the specific environmental issue, Norm's been bad on it. The League of Conservation Voters gives him a 26.8% overall rating.
After the Republican electoral defeats in 2006, Norm realized he was in trouble and began moderating his conservative positions. The two main areas he began moderating was on the occupation of Iraq (he initially opposed the surge though by the time the first vote occurred, he was back in the stay-the-course fold) and environmental issues.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is getting behind Ashwin Madia. This is great news. It's not just that the demographics of MN-03 is trending Democratic. It's not just that the Republicans are trashing the Republican brand on an almost daily basis. It means that we have an added edge in the MN-03 race. Our dynamic, charismatic candidate who will have no problems raising money. The DCCC is kicking the RNC's butt in fundraising. Any fundraising deficit Ashwin has to Erik Paulsen will quickly be eliminated.
Chairman Chris Van Hollen announced today that Iraq war veteran, Ashwin Madia (MN-03) will immediately be added to the DCCC's Red to Blue program for open seats following his endorsement by the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party last Saturday. Democratic congressional candidates running in open seats earned a spot in the competitive program by surpassing demanding fundraising goals and by skillfully showing voters that they stand for change and will represent new priorities when elected to Congress. Madia is one of only 11 candidates in the Red to Blue program for open seats.
(DCCC Press release email)
Back in December, I interviewed all three candidates vying for the MN-03 DFL endorsement and hoping to replace the retiring Jim Ramstad. I was prepared to cut Edina Mayor Jim Hovland some slack because he had just abandoned the Republican Party for the DFL. I was surprised to find him remarkably progressive and very well positioned for the district. I was impressed with Terri Bonoff's endorsements and the staff she'd put together. I'd only heard good things about what she'd done in her short time in the Minnesota Senate. She sounded very confident and assured when I met her at her campaign headquarters. Ashwin Madia came across as smart and bold. A former Marine lawyer and Iraq Vet would play well in the third. He promised me that his campaign was going to surprise some people. On the afternoon of December 14th, I was planning on posting a comparison piece, complete with issue charts, giving Terri a clear lead and talking about her chances of beating the then rumored Republican candidate Erik Paulsen.
The MN-03 DFL Convention took place yesterday. Delegates gathered at the Wayzata High School to choose between Ashwin Madia and Terri Bonoff. Going in Ashwin had 84.5 delegates and Terri had 52. The sole reason that Terri is still in the race is because of the superdelegates. Terri has 15 superdelegates while Ashwin only has two.
While Ashwin's campaign is close to gaining the endorsement (59% without the supers, 53% with them), Terri's campaign must be hoping for a no endorsement result. She can only become the candidate to face Erik Paulsen if the race goes to the primary.
As I pulled into the parking lot, the Teamsters Local 120's tractor trailer was honking and supporters of both sides were chanting at the entrance.
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) has kicked off his reelection campaign and immediately began lying. I realize that this may sound like I'm just being hyperbolic. I'm not. I'll translate his statements from Norm-speakTM into standard American English and highlight a few choice nuggets so you can see for yourself.
Surrounded by Somali immigrants, veterans, his family and an array of Republican stalwarts, Sen. Norm Coleman formally launched his reelection bid in St. Paul on Wednesday, declaring himself to be a "voice of optimism in cynical times."
(Star Tribune)
Ashwin Madia has responded to Terri Bonoff's attack letter by restating the facts and reiterating that he believes in positive issue-driven politics. He won all those delegates by talking about the issues and he brings it right back to why he's winning -- he communicates what he believes so much better and so much more convincingly than the other candidates.
Now that 
