Category: World Politics

by Dave Mindeman

Another foreign policy failure. The Bush administration shows their incompetency, yet again. Decades of delicate negotiations with the Middle East players is completely unraveling at the hands of George W. Bush.

Several previous Presidents, including his father, have always maintained a policy of public, unqualified support for Israel while using a hard leash on their interventionist tendencies, privately. Bush II seems to have forgotten the second part.

Yesterday's unconscionable bombing in Qana may be the single most disastrous Israeli mistake to date. Listening to the Israeli UN ambassador on Meet the Press this morning, they seem to be testing the lame excuse that the bombing can still be blamed on Hezballoh, because they control the area and Israel must attack them where they are. It rang hollow.... it was awful.

The damage done here is enormous. The Arab world, our European allies, and even third world countries are unanimous in their condemnation. Israel and its US support is becoming furthur isolated. The time to stop this is now.

A competent President would find a way to condemn the act while defending our Israeli ally. A competent President would force the Israeli military to pull back, maintain a buffer zone, and begin diplomatic negotiations. A competent President would have diplmatic credibility to bring all sides to the table and use our universal good will to forge an agreement.

But, the truth is, we don't have any of that. We don't have the trust and good will of the world....and we certainly don't have a competent President.

We are at the mercy of random acts of violence.

Category: Minnesota Politics

by PDW58

Minnesota Democrats and the DCCC are missing an opportunity in the 2nd District. There has been so much attention placed on the unorthodox nature of the Rowley campaign that the potential for turning this seat over may be squandered.

Let's sort this out. First of all, there is John Kline. Of all the incumbents in Minnesota, John Kline is the most ardent supporter of the Iraq War....even Gutknecht has started to back off. His voting record is atrocious -- he supported CAFTA at the expense of the beet farmers; he voted against stem cell research; he votes lock step with Bush on foreign policy; and he has supported the House leadership on virtually every major initiative -- leading to incredible deficits. He has 0% ratings from several major interest groups... he is just walking, talking bad public policy.

So why is his seat considered safe? Because he sticks with what works... he makes each election all about his opponent instead of himself. In every race he has had, he manages to drum up a bogus issue, distort it, and repeat it so often that the public soon decides that it is the only thing that matters.

With Bill Luther, it was the Sam Garst/No New Taxes Party fiasco. Granted, it was not a smart political move by Luther's campaign but with Kline it became a mantra throughout the campaign. He was the "victim" and he made sure the press heard it with each press release he put out.

With Teresa Daly, it was her "focus" on a political job that "paid" better. An obvious distortion of what she meant, but by getting surrogates to push it to the point of absurdity, it put his opponent on the defensive -- even though he was the one with the record.

This time around it was the "Nazi" image on the Rowley website. Again, this is ridiculous -- comparing the image of Colonel Klink to a Nazi is like comparing Gilligan to a competent seaman....yet, with the help of the blogosphere and what was, at the time, a competitive, potential endorsement battle, the Kline interpretation managed to stick again. You will notice that each time Kline responds to an assertion about his voting record, the "Nazi" thing keeps coming back.

In each race, his record gets pushed to the background -- he finds a way to distort something about his opponent; he quietly plays the victim who is "unfairly" attacked.

What's worse about all this is that the DCCC, led by Rahm Emmanuel, has bought into the write-off too. Coleen Rowley's reluctance to go after PAC money doesn't sit well with Democratic leadership obsessed with stuffed bank accounts.... so they conveniently blame the candidate and move on.

The reality is that Kline's negatives in this district are climbing. Kline has been safe in the past because administration policy was acceptable.... that is no longer true. There are doubts all over Minnesota and a Congressman as tightly bound to the President as John Kline is vulnerable.

Rowley's campaign is certainly not conventional but with some real support from her own party, this is winnable. Coleen Rowley, the candidate, is willing to do the work -- she has never stopped the meet and greets, the parades, the road trips. She has gotten better and better with issues.... linking the Iraq War to a host of neglected domestic policies. She has positioned herself as a clear alternative to the hard line Kline.

She is the type of candidate that can win in this type of district. She can make a case for independent thinking. Something that undecided voters will look for.

It is unfortunate that the Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee believes that independent thinking means she is off their list. They could regret this in November.....

Category: Minnesota Politics

by Dave Mindeman

You know, this "klinefan" thing from the "Dump John Kline" blog has some curious elements to it.

Here is what we know about Mr. Marcus Esmay:

According to the Congressional contact information from the Chiropractic Action Center, Mr. Marcus Esmay is an Outreach Coordinator for the Congressional Office.

Yet a recent item with the Chamber of Commerce quotes Mr. Esmay with the title of "spokesman for Kline's campaign".

Call the Congressional District office in Burnsville and ask for Marcus Esmay and the receptionist says, "would you like his voice mail?" Call the Kline for Congress office and ask for Marcus Esmay and the receptionist there says the same thing.

Now, let's take a quote from the Congressional Ethics Handbook:

..... it is permissible for House employees to do campaign work, but only outside of congressional space, without the use of any House resources, and on their own time (as opposed to "official" time for which they are compensated by the House). Accordingly, any House employee who does campaign work must ensure that the work – including any telephone conversations or other communications on campaign business – is performed strictly in compliance with these limitations.
In a Dear Colleague of October 22, 1999, the House Administration Committee announced the adoption of a policy allowing certain minor, incidental non-official use of House equipment and supplies. However, the Standards Committee understands that the policy applies only to incidental personal use of those resources, and not to their use for campaign or political purposes.

Now.... what is Marcus Esmay's position??? When he sends replies to blog entries is he a private citizen, campaign operative, or congressional staffer??? If he is sending them from the Kline for Congress office -- I guess he is working for the campaign.... and it is probably OK.

But how does he keep it straight? When is he working for the Kline Campaign and when is he working for the citizens of the 2nd Congressional District?

These are the type of ethical problems that continue to plague this Congress. This is the careless attitude of Republican leadership regarding their constituents needs vs. their own personal ambition.

This is what is wrong with how this country is run and why it is time to look for an "agent for change"!