Last night challengers Tarryl Clark (DFL) and Bob Anderson (I) participated in a debate in Stillwater.
Where was Michele Bachmann??
I assume this will become a major talking point in the Clark and Anderson campaigns in these last few weeks leading up to election day.
Showing posts with label 6th District. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 6th District. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Taking a Hard Turn to the Right
Today I came across an election report card of sorts from the Republican National Coalition For Life PAC. Yeah, I had never heard of them before either. Their primary goal is to support Republican candidates who are "pro-life without discrimination." What does that mean? In their own words, it means that they support candidates who "do not justify abortion for babies who are conceived through rape or incest, have a handicap, or a genetic defect." And although it doesn't specifically say so, the other language they use as well as their survey questions seem to indicate that they also do not support abortion in instances where the mother's life is in danger.
I grew up with a father who works with the developmentally disabled. So I can agree with them on the issue of aborting a baby who is likely to be developmentally disabled. I get that. But the part where they veer away from most people in the mainstream, even Conservatives, is their firm opposition to abortion in cases of rape or incest. This is a controversial stance even among many Republicans. Although I personally believe we should continually work to reduce the number of abortions, I can't imagine looking a teenage girl in the eye and saying "Sorry. You're just going to have to carry your father's baby to term." The thought horrifies me.
I point out this report card, because there are three candidates for congress in the state of Minnesota that received the highest mark from RNC/Life PAC by stating that they too are "pro-life without discrimination."
Those candidates are Teresa Collett who is running against DFL incumbent Betty McCollum in CD-04, CD-06 incumbent Michele Bachmann who is facing challenger Tarryl Clark this fall, and Lee Byberg who is challenging Colin Peterson for the CD-07 seat in western Minnesota. All three have been endorsed by and will receive funds from this group. (A group that also opposes the Women's Equality Amendment.)
I just thought this ranking and the subsequent endorsements would be of interest those who live in their districts.
I grew up with a father who works with the developmentally disabled. So I can agree with them on the issue of aborting a baby who is likely to be developmentally disabled. I get that. But the part where they veer away from most people in the mainstream, even Conservatives, is their firm opposition to abortion in cases of rape or incest. This is a controversial stance even among many Republicans. Although I personally believe we should continually work to reduce the number of abortions, I can't imagine looking a teenage girl in the eye and saying "Sorry. You're just going to have to carry your father's baby to term." The thought horrifies me.
I point out this report card, because there are three candidates for congress in the state of Minnesota that received the highest mark from RNC/Life PAC by stating that they too are "pro-life without discrimination."
Those candidates are Teresa Collett who is running against DFL incumbent Betty McCollum in CD-04, CD-06 incumbent Michele Bachmann who is facing challenger Tarryl Clark this fall, and Lee Byberg who is challenging Colin Peterson for the CD-07 seat in western Minnesota. All three have been endorsed by and will receive funds from this group. (A group that also opposes the Women's Equality Amendment.)
I just thought this ranking and the subsequent endorsements would be of interest those who live in their districts.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Jim the Election Guy Revealed!
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a fan of Jim the Election Guy. I was baffled by that ad strategy from the first time I saw him appear in Michele Bachmann's first ad of the election season. I mean, what type of credentials does it take to become an election guy? Frankly, it sounds like one of those programs where you can print your degree and license right off the internet.
Thanks to MinnPost's Derek Wallbank, we now know exactly what type of credentials you need in order for Michele Bachmann to knight you "the Election Guy." Because who would know better about Minnesota elections and the needs of the 6th district than an actor from Maryland now living in California?
I found a video of one item on Beau Peregino's acting resume. Check out this episode of "A Haunting." Recognize that stranger with a wide stance who enters the picture at about 5:40? Yep, that's our 6th district election expert.
Michele Bachmann's camp has been quick to defend the use of the actor stating that who he is isn't important but rather his message. But Bachmann's camp should have bigger concerns. It's true that in the state of Minnesota for a candidate to use a paid actor in his/her commericals is rare. (The last instance I can think of offhand would likely be Mark Kennedy. He lost that race to Sen. Amy Klobuchar.) However, what is even more rare is for a candidate to use an actor who does not live in Minnesota and has no known ties to our state. The reason that should concern the Bachmann campaign is because one of the most frequent attacks on her is that she is out of touch with her district and prefers to spend her time on a national stage courting Fox News and the Tea Party rather than more frequently be seen around the 6th district. This only reinforces that argument.
It looks like Tarryl Clark hit the nail on the head when she assumed that this "Jim" was likely an actor without ties to the district. Her "Real Jim" ads have proved to be one of my favorite political responses of the season:
Minnesotans don't take kindly to outsiders telling us what to do. If you consider us to be "fly over country" we don't believe that you know what is best for our state. We like to hear real stories from real people about the people seeking to represent us. This is reflected in the latest ad from Tim Walz, Tom Emmer's first ad, and the ads Amy Klobuchar ran during her Senate campaign. It's a strategy that is generally well received in a state where we still expect to know our neighbors and help one another out.
I'm curious to see if the "Jim the Election Guy" ads keep coming or if Bachmann will seek out a new strategy. I'm wondering if this ad choice will backfire at all. The question is, does she think that she is politically invincible enough to further the perception of being so far out of touch with her district and still think a win is in the bag? The even bigger question is, will the voters of the 6th district continue to be willing to reelect someone who seems to keep putting her national agenda ahead of their local one?
Thanks to MinnPost's Derek Wallbank, we now know exactly what type of credentials you need in order for Michele Bachmann to knight you "the Election Guy." Because who would know better about Minnesota elections and the needs of the 6th district than an actor from Maryland now living in California?
I found a video of one item on Beau Peregino's acting resume. Check out this episode of "A Haunting." Recognize that stranger with a wide stance who enters the picture at about 5:40? Yep, that's our 6th district election expert.
Michele Bachmann's camp has been quick to defend the use of the actor stating that who he is isn't important but rather his message. But Bachmann's camp should have bigger concerns. It's true that in the state of Minnesota for a candidate to use a paid actor in his/her commericals is rare. (The last instance I can think of offhand would likely be Mark Kennedy. He lost that race to Sen. Amy Klobuchar.) However, what is even more rare is for a candidate to use an actor who does not live in Minnesota and has no known ties to our state. The reason that should concern the Bachmann campaign is because one of the most frequent attacks on her is that she is out of touch with her district and prefers to spend her time on a national stage courting Fox News and the Tea Party rather than more frequently be seen around the 6th district. This only reinforces that argument.
It looks like Tarryl Clark hit the nail on the head when she assumed that this "Jim" was likely an actor without ties to the district. Her "Real Jim" ads have proved to be one of my favorite political responses of the season:
Minnesotans don't take kindly to outsiders telling us what to do. If you consider us to be "fly over country" we don't believe that you know what is best for our state. We like to hear real stories from real people about the people seeking to represent us. This is reflected in the latest ad from Tim Walz, Tom Emmer's first ad, and the ads Amy Klobuchar ran during her Senate campaign. It's a strategy that is generally well received in a state where we still expect to know our neighbors and help one another out.
I'm curious to see if the "Jim the Election Guy" ads keep coming or if Bachmann will seek out a new strategy. I'm wondering if this ad choice will backfire at all. The question is, does she think that she is politically invincible enough to further the perception of being so far out of touch with her district and still think a win is in the bag? The even bigger question is, will the voters of the 6th district continue to be willing to reelect someone who seems to keep putting her national agenda ahead of their local one?
Monday, September 6, 2010
Taxing Your Corndogs (Posted by Request)
Recently someone requested that I write a post to address the latest claims by Michele Bachmann (via "Jim the Election Guy") that Tarryl Clark voted to "tax your corndog." This has already been addressed by a number of sources, but I'll give a quick run down here.
If you haven't seen the ad in question, this is it:
Lucky for us, we don't even need to speculate exactly what tax vote the Bachmann campaign is referring to when they mention bacon and corndogs. They provide us the source on their website. The main source listed says that Tarryl "Voted FOR a constitutional amendment which raised the state sales tax by 3/8 of one percent. (Minnesota Senate, S.F. 2734, SJ4525, April 3, 2006)" I know what you must be thinking..."Huh, I don't remember a constitutional amendment about corndogs ever being on my ballot." The constitutional amendment cited here is actually the legacy amendment. It was a constitutional amendment that was on the ballot to let Minnesotans vote to decide whether or not to approve a 3/8 of one percent tax increase to go towards dedicated funding for the Minnesota environment, arts, and culture. Tarryl Clark did not vote implement this tax. She voted to allow Minnesotans to decide whether or not they wanted to approve such an amendment. They did. The amendment passed and taxes went up because the majority of Minnesotans decided to raise them. It was the voters' final decision and not a decision of congress.
The bottom line is that Bachmann's ad could have just as well said "While you're the fair, ask yourself: 'What's up with taxing my own corndog?'"
If you haven't seen the ad in question, this is it:
Lucky for us, we don't even need to speculate exactly what tax vote the Bachmann campaign is referring to when they mention bacon and corndogs. They provide us the source on their website. The main source listed says that Tarryl "Voted FOR a constitutional amendment which raised the state sales tax by 3/8 of one percent. (Minnesota Senate, S.F. 2734, SJ4525, April 3, 2006)" I know what you must be thinking..."Huh, I don't remember a constitutional amendment about corndogs ever being on my ballot." The constitutional amendment cited here is actually the legacy amendment. It was a constitutional amendment that was on the ballot to let Minnesotans vote to decide whether or not to approve a 3/8 of one percent tax increase to go towards dedicated funding for the Minnesota environment, arts, and culture. Tarryl Clark did not vote implement this tax. She voted to allow Minnesotans to decide whether or not they wanted to approve such an amendment. They did. The amendment passed and taxes went up because the majority of Minnesotans decided to raise them. It was the voters' final decision and not a decision of congress.
The bottom line is that Bachmann's ad could have just as well said "While you're the fair, ask yourself: 'What's up with taxing my own corndog?'"
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