Category: Amy Klobuchar

by Dave Mindeman

I have to say that I find this pretty disturbing....

"I'm running the ad to make the case. There are allegations against Sen. Klobuchar. If true, they are pretty serious," said Mike Osskopp, Bills' campaign manager.

Osskopp, who is not one of the best political characters in Minnesota, is running an ad for Bills that brings up allegations that Amy Klobuchar passed on prosecuting Tom Petters when she was Hennepin County attorney.

Now, apparently there was some link to Petters via a different person that went through the County Attorney's office, but the idea of any massive Petters fraud was not conceivable at that time; and the idea that some obvious connection existed, is a stretch.

Yet without any proof, and based primarily on a blog posting that is throwing out any connection they can come up with to see if it sticks, Osskopp and the Bills campaign are running a TV commercial that acts as if it is all true.

And here is the really ugly part of this...

Osskopp said the campaign is running the ad because it wants the media to investigate the story.

So Osskopp, without any proof, without any actual paper trail, without any actual news organization backing the story....without any of that, Osskopp thinks it is OK to put an ad on television that can say something that might be without any merit whatsoever... or more bluntly - a complete lie.....and hopes the mainstream media will investigate because Osskopp puts it on TV.

Although this smacks of desperation, the larger issue is that we now have to wonder -- Can you say anything in a political ad? I know Cravaack and Nolan are having exchanges about the residency issues of the incumbent and questions have been raised. But at least they are arguing over something substantive. Osskopp is working with rumor and innuendo. Pulling it out of his you-know-what.

Mike Osskopp has stooped to the lowest level of the political basement. I hope this goes on his resume for future reference.

Category: Amy Klobuchar

by Dave Mindeman

On the Almanac couch last week, the question came up, "Is "Amy Klobuchar running for President?"

I had to smile. My wife and I have been speculating about that for months. We think she is. She is positioning herself into a 2016 run for all the marbles.

Here is why I think that. Take a look at Amy's commercials. She doesn't talk about big national Democratic issues. Nope. She is talking about Amy. Her work with veterans. Her help for local GM car dealerships. Nothing wrong with the issues but still ....self-promotion.

And she is extremely careful about how she associates her "brand". Oh, sure, she does the obligatory DFL fundraisers and smiles with local candidates. But when it comes to serious local politics, she is selective and careful. I know of one campaign where she refused to help or get involved. She doesn't like to get in the middle of district contests that may get controversial.

And Amy has been lucky. She has run two Senate campaigns and has had the fortune of getting 2 of the worst candidate opponents (Kennedy and Bills) in the history of the GOP selection process. She has been able to easily amass potent fund raising warchests. Her carefully crafted moderate image has served her well....as far as popularity goes.

To be honest, if Amy Klobuchar runs for President, I doubt that I could support her. And if Hillary Clinton decides to run and Amy throws her hat into the mix anyway?....well, let's just say that it would be more than a little upsetting.

I wouldn't presume to think that Klobuchar has enough of a national profile to be a top contender....yet. But she has a 6 year Senate term to work with (4 full years without an election) and plenty of opportunities to work those "Amy Issues" as I call them. The feel good, non-controversial type things that independent voters latch onto.

As a progressive, honestly, Amy has been a disappointment. She isn't a Wellstone firebrand or an Al Franken progressive workhorse. She avoids controversy and finds middle ground language.

But she will be able to point to some impressive Senate election victories. She tends to make safe, non-controversial votes. She stays clear of local issues that can drag her moderate image down.

It all points to a long term plan....a strategy that covets the Oval Office. President Klobuchar? Hmmmmm

Category: Amy Klobuchar

by Dave Mindeman

I think that if there was any doubt that Kurt Bills quixotic quest for the United States was over, campaign manager Mike Osskopp has removed any doubt.

Even Minnpost's David Brauer, who has no love for the Star Tribune, couldn't hold back on the ridiculous "Daddy's girl" comments from the former John Kline campaign staffer.

Not only did he make the sexist comments off the cuff, but he doubled down and put it into a fundraising letter.

Wow.

Kurt Bills is ultimately responsible for all of this and it verifies the ever present speculation that Bills is in over his head. Bills had one term as a Rosemount City Councilman and then moved up to be the state rep for Rosemount/Apple Valley. He was one of the House Reps for my own Senate District (the opposite House side of mine).

Since he was a school teacher in Rosemount, nobody understood the full ramifications of his Ron Paul politics. To a lot of people, he was the nice guy economics teacher.

I had an inkling that we were in trouble with this guy when I found out he was an early endorsee of the "Liberty Caucus" - the Minnesota Ron Paul wing of the party. He won that seat and was off to the races with his nutty currency ideas. And then he became a spokesperson for the Ron Paul campaign. One thing led to another and suddenly he is the US Senate nominee for the Grand Old Party.

He never had a clue.

He still hasn't figured out how to do a state wide race. Fundraising has been awful. He still thinks he can teach his class while campaigning. And he has to explain why he has ended up supporting Mitt Romney....after wavering for several months.

And now..."Daddy's girl"?????

And the reason this all comes up is that the Minnesota Poll shows a 29 point gap that Bills has to make up to catch Klobuchar. And somewhere in the deep recesses of their campaign strategy they feel that holding onto the perception of a polling spread of 15 points is important encough to risk sexist remarks.

Pretty bad when Minnesota Republicans are wishing for the good old days of the Mark Kennedy campaign.

Sheesh.