Category: GOP Politics

by Dave Mindeman

On Saturday the Minnesota Republicans hold their convention in St. Cloud and the atmosphere would seem to be a bit apprehensive.

I was at the GOP convention 4 years ago and got to sit in on the "outside" the convention speech from Ron Paul at the Mayo Civic Center. Forced to the convention grounds because Ron Carey told them no speeches without endorsing McCain. I remember thinking at the time that these characters aren't going to just go away quietly.

And if you think about the 4 years that followed....Ron Carey is gone, Michael Brodkorb is gone, Tony Sutton is gone. John McCain is an after thought and the delegate talk centers around....Ron Paul, instead of Mitt Romney.

Oh, true,....the Republican Party has had success in those 4 ensuing years. They managed to take control of both Houses of the Legislature. But they saw Al Franken become Senator, Mark Dayton become Governor, and all the Constitutional offices stay Democratic. And although Chip Cravaack pulled off a huge upset in Congress, the Congressional personalities have held to a status quo.

What has changed is that the MN Republicans are deep in debt; could do little with their legislative majorities; and seem to be dissatisfied with their own leadership. Not to mention a seriously spendy Vikings stadium passed through their midst with token resistance and a bonding bill got passed against the majority GOP wishes via a Democratic push.

When Pat Shortridge heads to the podium, will he actually give an honest assessment of the state of his Party, or will he try to get a high five on his negotiated non-eviction status for GOP digs?

The other main curiousity will be the endorsement for a Senate opponent against Amy Klobuchar. The strength of the Ron Paul faction in the party will center around what happens with Kurt Bills. Has the traditional MN GOP retained enough of its power to ward off a Paulite endorsement? Probably not.

Not that it really matters. It is hard to imagine any of the 3 candidates for Senate endorsement making a serious race against a popular and well funded candidate like Klobuchar.

Still, they need to at least keep up appearances. And how the Republicans make this all work will say a lot about the progress they are making to keep the elephants happy.

Forget any idea of a "big tent" for the MN GOP. They'll be lucky to get a few covering blankets to ride out the storm.

Category: Economy

by Dave Mindeman

Norm Coleman's American Action Network doesn't have a big donor base. They don't have to. It helps when one person writes out a check for $7 million. That's a lot of $200 and under donations.

We don't know who wrote that check and we never will. Norm's big polticial financing project was set up to take in those super secret donations. A pact for free anonymous speech.

Norm raises millions but as to numbers of people....

That single donation accounts for 25% of the nearly $27.5 million raised by the group between July 1, 2010, and June 30, 2011. The organization, which touts its grass-roots advocacy efforts, showed contributions from just 34 donors during that period. Eight contributors accounted for nearly 90% of the group's revenue.

Grass roots advocacy? When its 34 people that's more like an unwanted dandelion patch.

But hey, free speech is free speech. If somebody wants to toss in $7 million in pocket change to promote Norm's right wing friends, its certainly their choice.

But why anonymously? If you feel strongly enough about an issue to spend $7 million on it, why not be up front about it? Show your feelings publicly. When you withhold your name, it raises suspicions and puts a cloud over everything.

Norm, and Karl Rove for that matter, set up their money funnelling PACs to allow for anonymity. They deal in the shadows. It is political money laundering and its ridiculous to call this grass roots advocacy.

And the money gets shuffled around where its needed...

The group also distributed money to six other conservative groups, including nearly $500,000 to American Crossroads, a super PAC linked to Republican strategist Karl Rove.

Legitimate groups and campaigns are not allowed to coordinate but these shadow groups can distribute money anywhere they want in a massive coordination of big money national lobbying.

If I want to write a letter to the editor at a newsapaper, they require my name and address. Blogs that write anonymously are derided and ultimately exposed. Newspaper reporters sign their bylines and editorial boards are clear about where they stand.

Yet, big money can advocate in secret. They can buy advertising, pay for issue ads, and essentially threaten candidates with huge media buys. All in the dark. All without consequence.

Money buys off accountability and the US Supreme Court has signed off on elections for sale.

Norm Coleman has always been a sellout, but the price tag has never been so high.

Category: Economy

by Dave Mindeman

I guess when you are a governor in the throes of a recall election you can do this sort of thing.....

Wisconsin lost 23,900 jobs between March 2011 and March 2012. Of this, 17,800 were government jobs. The 23,900 loss was the largest among all states. No other state lost more than 3,500 for the period. But the plan to focus on a different set of numbers shows Walker is seeking a new way to look at the economy. He has agreed in the past that the monthly jobs numbers are an appropriate yardstick to judge his success at job creation.

So Walker's dismal jobs record is apparently an accounting error. Just not using the right data...

Walker's spokesman, Cullen Werwie, said state officials will use more detailed data - actual job counts from about 160,000 employers provided to the state Department of Workforce Development.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who is Walker's opponent in the recall election, indicates what is really going on:

"Scott Walker cannot defend his record on jobs, using the same measure that is being used by every state in the country," Barrett said. "So they are going to write their own report and he hopes that the media and the state will believe his numbers."

Maybe President Obama should take note here. It is an old Republican trick anyway....when the data doesn't show what you want...change the data.

You would think Wisconsin voters would be a little skeptical. After all, Walker has a history of changing things around to suit his purposes.

The unchangable fact is that Scott Walker's Wisconsin economy, when compared with the same data of other states, is the worst performing economy for jobs in the entire nation.

Numbers can be changed....but facts are still facts.