Political Notebook

GOP gubernatorial candidates headed to Rochester

Local Republicans will be able to scope out the many candidates looking to run for governor in 2010 at an upcoming forum.

The Republican Party of Olmsted County is sponsoring a candidate forum on Thursday, Aug. 6. So far, seven GOP candidates have signed up to participate. They include: former State Auditor Pat Anderson, state Rep. Tom Emmer, state Sen. David Hann, Philip Herwig, state Sen. Paul Koering, state Rep. Paul Kohls and former House Minority Leader Marty Seifert.

The event kicks off at 5: 30 p.m. at the Ramada Inn and Conference Center with participants having a chance to chat with the candidates. At 7 p.m. the forum will start. The event is a fundraiser for local Republicans. The cost is $25 per person in advance or $30 at the door.

To buy tickets online, go to this link. Checks can also be mailed to Gubernatorial Forum, c/o David Sovinski, 9377 130th Ave. S.E., Chatfield, MN 55923. Checks must be mailed and postmarked by Aug. 4.

Pawlenty urges Congressional delegates to scrap health plan

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is weighing in on the health care debate raging on Capitol Hill. In a letter sent to all the members of Minnesota's Congressional delegation, the Republican urges them to ditch the current health care reform plan.

"This flawed attempt at health care reform would do little to solve the health care cost crisis facing our nation. I encourage you to abandon this legislation and instead evaluate what states have done to improve health care quality and make health care more accessible and affordable," Pawlenty writes.

He goes on to write, "Health care reform must address all three key aspects of the system: cost, quality and access. Focusing on access while neglecting cost and quality would be a dramatic mistake."
Here's Pawlenty's letter

Republican Congressman John Kline joined in the criticism of the health care reform proposals on the House floor today raising the question of whether it would lead to a complete government takeover of health care. Here's a link to that speech.

Roch bypass plan complicates high-speed rail effort

Fellow Post-Bulletin reporter Jeff Pieters has a story today about a memorandum from the Minnesota Department of Transportation that casts some cold water on the city's high-speed rail hopes because of its bypass plan. Mayo Clinic, the city of Rochester, Olmsted County and the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce as part of the Southern Minnesota Rail Alliance have been pushing hard to get Rochester considered for a stop on a high-speed rail line from Chicago to the Twin Cities.

According to the story, a memorandum from the Minnesota Department of Transportation concludes that the bypass would dissuade some riders in Illinois and Wisconsin from taking the train because it would add to the riding time.

The memo also states that Rochester's proposed Southern Rail Corridor "degrades the convenience factor
for passengers. And also, it takes you out of downtown Rochester, which would seem to be the logical place for a passenger station."

There is some good news in the report for Rochester. It notes that a route that includes the Med City would have 35 percent higher ridership than the existing river route, which runs through Winona up to St. Paul. But the report does say it is "natural" to start with the existing river route.

Walz targeted in Republican radio ads

The Hill reports today that DFL Congressman Tim Walz is among 60 centrist Democrats being targeted by a new radio ad campaign sponsored by the Republican National Committee.

The RNC is spending $1 million on the radio ad blitz that criticizes the health care reform plan being put forward by President Obama and Democrats. The ad is running in 33 states including Minnesota. The ad states that, "If Barack Obama and the Democrats get their way, the federal government will make the decisions about your health care."

The Hill quotes RNC spokeswoman Gail Gitcho as saying, "The Democrats targeted by the RNC radio ad have campaigned on fiscal responsibility, and now these Democrats are being held accountable to their campaign promises as they prepare to vote on a government-run health care bill that will cost American taxpayers $1.6 trillion, add to the record budget deficit and burden American families and small businesses with higher taxes,"

The ads come as the debate over health care reform intensifies on Capitol Hill in the lead up to Congress' August recess.

DFL gov candidates headed to pumpkin patch

Ten Democrats who are all eyeing a run for governor in 2010 will be in Freeborn County today for "Politics in the Pumpkin Patch." It is a fundraiser for DFL Senate District 27, which covers Freeborn, Mower and the western edge of Fillmore county.

This appears to be the largest gathering of gubernatorial hopefuls so far in southeast Minnesota. The list includes the following DFLers who have either announced a run or are considering it:
-- State Sen. Tom Bakk
-- St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman
-- Former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton
-- Former State Rep. Matt Entenza
-- Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner
-- Former State Rep. Steve Kelley
-- State Sen. John Marty
-- State Rep. Tom Rukavina
-- Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak
-- State Rep. Paul Thissen

The event runs from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. tonight at Farmer John's Pumpkin Patch near the intersection of Hwy. 218 and Hwy 36 -- just north of Austin. The event will include a straw poll for governor along with plenty of country-themed entertainment including horse-drawn wagon rides. I'm planning to cover it and will have a story for Monday's paper.

Congressional delegation urges changes to Medicare system

The entire Minnesota Congressional delegation sent a letter to President Obama today urging him to address inequities in Medicare payments and reward states like Minnesota that provide quality care at a lower cost than other states.

According to a press release from DFL Congresswoman Betty McCollum, of St. Paul, she helped get all members of the delegation from both sides of the aisle to sign on to the letter. The letter also voices opposition to a public plan that would be based on the current Medicare reimbursement system. The letter states that "any public insurance option that is based on Medicare's current reimbursement formula would only further penalize Minnesota and undermine the very success our state has attained in delivering efficient, quality care."

Mayo Clinic has long voiced concern about the current Medicare system arguing it fails to take quality into account. Here is a link to the letter.

Dems to tour local colleges, talk unallotment

Members of the House Higher Education committee, led by its Iron Range DFL Chair Tom Rukavina, will be visting eight colleges and universities in southern Minnesota over the next two days to discuss the impact of $100 million in cuts as part of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's unallotment.

Here is the intinerary for Thursday.

9:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at Southeast Technical College in Red Wing
11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. in 106 Maxwell Hall at Winona State University
2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Rochester Community and Technical College
3:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. at Riverland Community College in Austin

Some local DFL lawmakers are planning to join in the discussions at the schools within their districts. They include Rep. Gene Pelowski of Winona, Sen. Ann Lynch and Rep. Tina Liebling both of Rochester, and Rep. Jeanne Poppe and Sen. Dan Sparks, both of Austin.

It should be noted that Rukavina is among about a dozen Democrats considering a run for governor in 2010. The colorful lawmaker has developed a reputation over the years for outspokeness. Politics in Minnesota recently reported that Rukavina had a campaign slogan suggestion for Gov. Tim Pawlenty in 2012 if he runs for president — "Let me screw up the country like I screwed up Minnesota." Hmmm....somehow I don't think that slogan will win T-Paw's favor.

Mayo Clinic in spotlight after health reform criticism

Mayo Clinic is getting plenty of ink after criticizing the U.S. House's health care reform bill. A post on the clinic's health policy blog takes aim at the bill saying it "misses the opportunity to help create higher-quality, more affordable health care for patients. In fact, it will do the opposite."

Here is a recent New York Times article noting the clinic's criticism of the plan that is being held up as a model of reform by President Obama and legislative leaders. The Washington Times has an article with the headline "Mayo Clinic calls House plan bad medicine."

So just what are Mayo Clinic's concerns?

"In general, the proposals under discussion are not patient focused or results oriented. Lawmakers have failed to use a fundamental lever – a change in Medicare payment policy – to help drive necessary improvements in American health care. Unless legislators create payment systems that pay for good patient results at reasonable costs, the promise of transformation in American health care will wither. The real losers will be the citizens of the United States."

The clinic does, however, have praise for one of President Obama's proposals — creating an Independent Medicare Advisory Council that would set doctor, hospital and other provider payments under Medicare. The clinic's reaction? Good idea but would like to see it happen sooner than the current 2014 timeline.

"An independent Medicare advisory commission focused on defining value, measuring it, and finding ways to pay for value could have significant, positive impact on health care for the long term."

Here is a link to Mayo's public policy blog.

Don't count Sviggum out yet

Republican Steve Sviggum's hopes of running for governor may have hit a snag, but that does not mean he is shutting to the door to a possible run.

The Kenyon resident had planned to announce he was running for governor by the end of the month. Then three weeks ago he found out that his current job as Minnesota's Commissioner of Labor and Industry might pose a big problem. Since his office oversees OSHA, he could be classified as a federal employee. And that would prohibit him for running for partisan office while keeping his job.

While Sviggum said he does not want to step down from his job right away, he is open to the possibility of stepping down in 5 to 7 months to run.

"I fully expected that at some time in the future, I would separate from my position here and campaign full time," he said. "I hadn't thought about it being 16 months ahead of the election -- that's a long time."

Meanwhile, he is waiting for an advisory opinion from the U.S. Office of the Solicitor General on the matter. Here's the story I wrote for today's paper.

Is wind key to powering Minn out of recession?

Representatives with progressive think tank Minnesota 2020 traveled to Rochester this morning to tout a new report that says wind energy production has the potential to create 3,000 jobs and boost the state's lagging manufacturing sector.

Rochester Mayor Ardell Brede joined the Minnesota 2020 folks at a press conference this morning in front of City Hall. While talking about the benefits of wind power, the speakers struggled to keep poster boards from falling down due to a brisk breeze.

Minnesota's renewable energy standard will require utilities to purchase or generate 25 percent of their energy from natural resources by 2025 (30 percent for Xcel Energy). The report estimates that will mean 4,000 megawatts -- enough energy to power 1 million homes -- will be needed to meet that goal.

The report concludes that if Minnesota takes advantage of this wind energy boom, it could create more than 3,000 jobs and pump up to $8 billion into the economy over the next 20 years. You can view the report here.