Political Party

Quist to make announcement tomorrow

Republican Allen Quist will make an announcement "regarding 1st Congressional District" tomorrow at 1p.m. in the Rochester City Council Chambers.

Quist has been considering running for the 1st District Congressional seat currently held by DFL Rep. Tim Walz. Quist, of St. Peter, served three terms in the Minnesota House from 1983 to 1988. He received the GOP gubernatorial endorsement for governor in 1994 but lost to Gov. Arne Carlson.

It certainly seems as though Quist is poised to jump in the race. He already has a "Quist for Congress" Web page and Facebook page.

Walz's campaign has already started mobilizing against Quist. In a fundraising letters to supporters, Walz links Quist to Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann writing that they "are two peas in a pod." He said they have a long history of working together adding that "It's clear from their extreme right-wing ideology that they are kindred political spirits."

Quist's wife Julie Quist currently serves as Bachmann's district director. 

Walz to have teletownhall with Sebelius

1st District Rep. Tim Walz will hold a teletownhall meeting tomorrow with special guest U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. The townhall can accommodate up to 1,000 callers..

To event will start at 5:30 p.m. Constituents are invited to call 1-888-356-3090 and enter the passcode 13244 to participate.

Walz also has a town hall event scheduled for Thursday in Mankato. An editorial by the Post-Bulletin that ran today is pushing for Walz to hold a public town hall in Rochester.

Franken tours Mayo Clinic today

Minnesota's newest senator will be in town today to tour the Mayo Clinic.

DFL Sen. Al Franken will be meeting with Mayo Clinic officials as he prepares to return to Washington D.C. to work on health care reform. Franken is a member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, a key committee in the crafting of health care reform.

With raucous town hall events dominating the headlines, Franken has opted not to have a town hall. He is planning to hold a brief media availability today to discuss his views on health care reform. I'll plan to cover that and have the latest.

In a press release, Franken is quoted as saying "Washington could learn a lot from the way we run things right here in Rochester. We know that quality, not quantity, deserves reward and that the best health care system is patient-centered, not-profit-centered. When I get back to Washington, I'm bringing the common-sense values of Mayo Clinic with me."

MN GOP chair to unveil TV ad against Walz

Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman Tony Sutton will be in Rochester on Tuesday afternoon to unveil a television ad campaign targeting DFL First District Congressman Tim Walz and his stance on health care reform.

The party is hosting a press conference at the Rochester Public Library at 1:30 p.m. The visit is part of a statewide media blitz by the Republicans. Sutton will also be holding a press event in Mankato on the ads. Meanwhile, Deputy Chair Michael Brodkorp will travel to Alexandria, Fargo/Moorhead and Fergus Falls to announce an ad targeted DFL Congressman Collin Peterson.

Health care debate gets heated

U.S. DFL Rep. Tim Walz is getting a taste of just how volatile the debate surrounding health care reform can be.

Janet Kubat Willette, a reporter from the Post-Bulletin-owned Agri-News paper, was in Redwood Falls yesterday when an audience member got the First District Congressman fired up. Walz and  Rep. Collin Peterson were answering questions during a farm policy forum when a woman stood up in the audience and said the proposed health care reform legislation was a "step toward communism."

The comment drew applause and a quick response from Walz. 

"I didn't spend 24 years in the military to be called a Communist, I can tell you that," Walz said.

The questioner would not let the congressmen explain their positions on health care requiring moderator Ken Thiesse to ask ther to let them answer.

She left and Walz and Peterson explained their stances on health care reform with Walz saying there needs to be market reform in health care because there is no price transparency and doctors are given incentives to do more tests.

"No market can function without referees," he said.

Walz is getting a boost of support courtesy of the Democratic National Committee. Starting today, radio ads will begin running in the districts of 23 House members — including Walz. The ad blitz funded by the committee applauds lawmakers for their support of health care reform. While the ad thanks Walz for his efforts, it takes aim at insurance companies.

"Health insurance companies have made record profits by doubling premiums and denying people coverage. And now, they and their lobbyists are fighting tooth and nail to stop reform and protect the status quo -—  and their profits — at the expense of affordable health care for families, small businesses and millions of Americans."

As I wrote about earlier, the Republican National Committee has already announced it has purchased ads in southern Minnesota criticizing Democrats and the health care reform proposals.

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.

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.

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.

Franken to be sworn in

Former Saturday Night Live Comedian Al Franken will be sworn in at 11: 15 a.m. central time in Washington, D.C. as the state's junior senator.

He is expected to be escorted to the Senate floor by fellow Minnesota DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former Vice President Walter Mondale. He will also be sworn in on former Sen. Paul Wellstone's family Bible. Franken has credited Wellstone with being an inspiration for him getting into politics. Wellstone died in 2002 in a plane crash.

Once he is sworn-in, Franken said he expects to be focusing on efforts to overhaul the nation's health care system. He said he will be looking to Mayo Clinic for some reform ideas. And while he said he is inclined to support a government-run public plan, he said he is more focused on looking at other reforms to help improve patient care.

"Mayo really is a leader in patient-centered care, and there is a lot of political discussion about the public option and things like that, but there is a lot of stuff in health care reform that has to do with creating the kind of model that Rochester has created," he said.

A quick political roundup

There's plenty of political news going on today,so I figured it's best just to roundup all that is happening.

At 3 p.m., the Legislative Advisory Committee led by DFLers will meet to discuss Gov. Tim Pawlenty's proposed budget cuts using unallotment. To watch live streaming coverage of the meeting, go here.

In advance of that meeting, House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher and Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller sent a letter to the governor with 10 questions about his plan. They include questions about how many public and private sector jobs would be lost and what sort of impact this could have on local taxpayers.

In the end, the commission has no authority to block the governor's actions. Asked about the meeting, Senate Minority Leader Dave Senjem, R-Rochester, said, "It will be a witch hunt for an hour and a half or two hours."

Minnesota Congressman Jim Oberstar is scheduled this afternoon to outline a $500 billion transportation proposal. Fellow PB reporter Jeff Pieters plans to watch the press conferences. 

Also, Second District Congressman John Kline was elected to serve as the lead Republican on the U.S. Education and Labor Committee. PB reporter Sarah Doty chatted with Kline. Here's a link to her story.

And there's another Republican jumping into the 2010 governor's race. Rep. Paul Kohls, 35, of Victoria, filed paperwork with the state today to establish a campaign committee. He joins a crowded field of Republicans considering a run for office.