Political Notebook

GOP bus tour makes stop in Roch today

Several Republican candidates — including gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer and 1st Congressional District candidate Randy Demmer — will make a stop in Rochester this afternoon as part of a three-day statewide bus tour.

The Freedom & Prosperity Bus Tour will roll into Rochester at 1 p.m. at the Ramada Hotel and Conference Center. Candidates going along for the ride include Emmer's running mate Annette Meeks, Minnesota attorney general candidate Chris Barden, state auditor candidate Pat Anderson and secretary of state candidate Dan Severson. The tour was expected to make a stop this morning at 9 a.m. in Red Wing and at 11:15 a.m. in Winona.

Walz praises ruling affirming gun rights

1st District DFL Rep. Tim Walz praised the U.S. Supreme Court's 5 to 4 ruling on Monday that opens to the door to overturning a handgun ban in the Chicago area.The court held that Americans have the right to own a gun for self-defense no matter where they live. It requires a federal appeals court to reconsider its ruling in McDonald vs. City of Chicago. Walz joined several other members of Congress in signing on to a friend-of-the-court brief in the case supporting the plaintiff's effort to overturn Chicago's nearly 30-year handgun ban. He issued the following statement regarding the court's decision:

"This decision upholds Americans' rights under the Second Amendment no matter where they live and I was proud to stand in defense of these Constitutional rights with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle."

A fiscal wake-up call

The Citizens League Rochester is sponsoring a forum this evening to talk about the state's looming $6 billion budget deficit and gather ideas on how to fix it.

Called "Minnesota's Fiscal Wake-up Call: Planning for 2011 and beyond," the event will feature a round table discussion with area state lawmakers on how to solve the massive budget gap. It kicks off with a budget overview provided by Bill Marx, chief fiscal analyst for the Minnesota House. A video from the Concord Solution, a nonprofit organization committed to solving the federal deficit, will also be shown.

This is part of the Coffee & Conversations series with free coffee provided by Dunn Bros. The event kicks off at 7 p.m. at the Heintz Center on the RCTC Campus, 1926 Collegeview Dr. S.E. in Rochester.

Walz fires back at Demmer on Disclose Act

Earlier today, 1st Congressional District Republican candidate Randy Demmer's campaign issued a press release calling on DFL Congressman Tim Walz to oppose the Disclose Act. That bill would require corporations and unions to reveal their top donors for campaign ads. This follows a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said corporations and unions have the right to spend an unlimited amount of money on campaigns. Demmer argued that the bill would end up limiting free-speech. Here's the link.

Walz responded by blasting Demmer for opposing the bill, which he said promotes transparency.

"Rep. Randy Demmer made it clear today he would stand on the side of Wall Street corporations that caused our economic collapse with their reckless decisions instead of standing up for southern Minnesotans," Walz is quoted as saying.

Walz goes on to say, "Instead of standing up for the right of citizens to know who is spending money in elections, Rep. Demmer is standing up for corporate interests who want to keep that information secret. Instead of standing up for taxpayers, Rep. Demmer is standing up for big banks who want to use your taxpayer dollars they received in the bailout to influence elections and defeat those who are holding them accountable."

Demmer calls on Walz to oppose campaign finance reform bill

1st Congressional District Republican candidate Randy Demmer called on Democratic Congressman Tim Walz to oppose the Disclose Act, a piece of campaign finance reform legislation being pushed by Democrats. In a press release, Demmer said the bill would "restrict free speech by placing onerous and costly regulations on industry groups, membership associations and individual companies."

The Disclose Act comes after a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that allows corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts in campaigns. The bill would require corporations and unions to release information about top donors for their campaign ads. The bill has the support of a few Republicans and most Democrats. A vote on the bill could come as earlier as tomorrow.

"This administration and the Congressional leadership that Tim Walz supports are attempting to legislate around the Constitution and selectively benefit their friends and muzzle their opposition with the mid-term elections just ahead," Demmer is quoted as saying.

The Hill reports that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has launched an advertising campaign against the bill saying it will limit business groups' free speech while giving unions a pass. Union officials and Democrats dispute that assertion.

Pawlenty officials opts out of Medicaid expansion

Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty made it official today that his administration will not opt-in to an early expansion of Medicaid in order to tap into federal dollars. In an eight-page letter to the state's Health and Human Services Commissioner, Pawlenty said would cost the state's general fund $430 million over the next three years. In exchange the state would qualify for $1.4 billion in federal funds.

But Pawlenty said in the letter he is concerned about whether those federal dollars will materialize.

"Our state budget is balanced, but next year there will be some tough choices to match expenditures and revenues for the next budget period," Pawlenty said. "The last thing we should do is add another $430 million in costs to the bottom line and enmesh the state in an expansive federal health care program that does nothing to control costs or impose reform."

Mayo Clinic had been pushing hard for the early Medicaid expansion, which would have spared the clinic from sharp cuts in provider payments as part of the revamped General Assistance Medical Care program for low-income Minnesotans. Mayo Clinic and Mayo Health System expect to lose $20 million to $25 million. As part of the final budget deal hashed out between Pawlenty and the DFL-led Legislature, the next governor will have the authority to opt-in to the Medicaid expansion if he or she chooses to.

Click here to Download Pawlenty Medicaid letter

Walz opts out of Austin Tea Party forum

1st District DFL Rep. Tim Walz will not be participating in a candidate forum tonight put on by the Austin Tea Party group. Walz's Campaign Manager Richard Carlbom issued the following statement regarding the forum.

"Tim Walz will participate in forums organized by independent, non-partisan organizations. Today's debate, organized by the Austin Tea Party, is nothing more than a partisan political stunt."

The three other candidate's for Walz's seat are all planning to participate. They are Republican-endorsed candidate Randy Demmer, Independence Party-endorsed candidate Steven Wilson and non-party candidate Lars Johnson. The forum runs from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Mower County Senior Center in Austin. Forum organizer Cindy Stevens said participants will have the chance to write down questions on note cards. Three individuals — each representing one of the three major parties — will be on hand to ask the questions.

In an interview, Carlbom said that this same group had once had an empty chair at the front of the room with Walz's name on it when he did not come to an event while he was in Washington, D.C. voting.

"They have a history of trying to take potshots and gimmicks and we don't expect anything less tonight," he said.

Stevens said she had not heard from the campaign about whether Walz would participate.

"I am very disappointed that he couldn't bother to call me back and let me know, she said.

GOP Lt. Gov. candidate Meeks in town to talk jobs

 GOP Lieutenant Governor candidate Annette Meeks will be in Rochester tomorrow to talk about business and jobs. Meeks is the running mate of gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer.

Emmer campaign Press Secretary Chris Van Guilder said the visit is part of a statewide listening tour dubbed the "Freedom & Prosperity Project." The campaign is seeking voter input on a variety of topics. The Rochester event will be at noon at the Ramada Inn. Joining Meeks at the event will be Emmer's campaign manager, GOP state Rep. Mark Buesgens of Jordan. 

Also attending the event will be Rep. Steve Drazkowski of Mazeppa, and former state Rep. Fran Bradley of Rochester.

Invitations were sent out for the event but Van Guilder said the general public is welcome to attend. Meeks is the founder and CEO of the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota, a conservative think tank. She is also former deputy chief of staff for former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.

Murphy endorses Fricke for his seat

Veteran DFL state Sen. Steve Murphy said he is backing recent law school graduate Joe Fricke  for his seat. Murphy is retiring after 18 years in the legislature.

Two Democrats are vying for the endorsement. They are Fricke and retiring Lewiston-Altura Superintendent Bruce Montplaisir. Fricke has said he will emphasize creating jobs and rural development. Montplaisir said his biggest concern is education and making sure that schools have stable, reliable funding.

The endorsing convention will be June 19 at Red Wing Public Library.
Murphy said he has tremendous respect for Montplaisir and his knowledge of school funding. But he said he is throwing his support behind Fricke because he believes Fricke has the time and energy needed to be a successful lawmaker.

"Joe is a recent graduate of law school and has a tremendous work ethic behind him," he said. "People want real leaders, and I believe we've got a leader in the making."

Whoever wins the DFL primary in August will face Republican-endorsed candidate John Howe, the mayor of Red Wing. Howe is already campaigning and announced that he has distributed 40,000 copies of a six-question survey to voters in the district. Topics include the state budget, taxes, job creation, education, transportation and the Prairie Island nuclear plant.

DFL delegates will also endorse a candidate for the House District 28A and 28B seats. The DFLers in each of these races do not face a primary challenger. Running for District 28A is Jerry Roth, a multi-machine operator at Cannon Equipment in Cannon Falls. He will take on GOP Rep. Tim Kelly of Red Wing. The District 28B DFL candidate is Plainview Area Chamber of Commerce director and farmer Mark A. Schneider. He is challenging incumbent GOP Rep. Steve Drazkowski of Mazeppa.

Sebelius' visit reignites health care debate

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius came to Mayo Clinic in Rochester this morning to tour the facility and talk about the new federal health care reform law. She was joined by congessional Democrats — 1st District Rep. Tim Walz, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Sen. Al Franken. The visit gave Democrats a chance to tout the new law. Post-Bulletin health reporter Jeff Hansel covered the event and said at one point both Franken and Walz said they had a late-night phone call about the bill after Republican Scott Brown won the Massachusetts election. Walz said Franken told him that "politics be damned" the bill needed to pass. Franken said Walz had told him that he would support the bill even if it cost him his seat because he believed in its importance.

Republicans are already jumping on the visit. Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman Tony Sutton issued a statement saying the secretary's visit is "all about election year politics." He went on to say, "But no amount of discredited Obama administration spin can change the fact that Tim Walz is in deep trouble with Southern Minnesota after voting for the nearly trillion dollar health care spending bill that increases premiums, raises taxes by $500 billion and cuts Medicare by over $470 billion."

Republican Randy Demmer, who is running against Walz, has scheduled a press conference for this afternoon to talk about the secretary's visit. 

Demmer's opposition to the federal health care law puts him at odds with Mayo Clinic, which has been supportive of several elements in the law. A new post on the Mayo Clinic Health Policy Blog states that the clinic does want to see more aggressive pay-for-value provisions in the bill.  But it adds that several provisions in the bill "are aligned with our principles for reform and will begin to move us toward a system that provides all Americans with quality care at affordable costs."

Those provisions cited include prohibiting insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, creating an insurance exchange instead of a government-run public option, and providing subsidies to help people pay for health insurance.