Politics in Minnesota: The Weekly Report - Vol. 3, Issue 25 - 1/4/2008
The 2007 Politics In Minnesota Politician Of The Year
Politics in Minnesota continues the rich tradition begun by now retired PIM editors D.J. Leary and Wy Spano 24 years ago in PIM The Newsletter: Naming a "PIM Politician Of The Year." 2007 was the third year your publisher has named a Politician Of The Year in PIM The Weekly Report. In 2005 we chose Mark Dayton, a man who spent years and millions of his own money to become a U.S. Senator only to walk away after one term because he concluded that Washington was a "cesspool." In 2006, there was no clear Politician Of The Year so we stole from Time which named "You" as the magazine's Man of the Year. PIM named the rise of all the Minnesota elected women as the Politicians Of The Year, and we singled out DFL U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher (DFL-Minneapolis), GOP U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, DFL Attorney General Lori Swanson and all the frosh women in the Legislature in 2006 (42.9% of that year's freshmen class). [The complete list of PIM Politicians Of The Year is at the end of this issue.]
There's nothing more gratifying in naming the Politics In Minnesota Politician Of The Year than being so sure of the decision. 2007 is one of those years.
In recent times it's become fashionable for politicians to want to avoid being called politicians. That there was something sordid about being one. Maybe it's time to revisit the definition of "politician." According to Merriam Webster, a politician is "a person experienced in the art or science of government; especially : one actively engaged in conducting the business of a government [and/or] a person engaged in party politics as a profession [and/or] a person primarily interested in political office for selfish or other narrow usually short-sighted reasons."
This year's choice meets the first three of those definitions while at the same time spectacularly avoiding that fourth, "selfish" and "short-sighted" definition.
The Politics in Minnesota Politician Of The Year is Senate Tax Chair Senator Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook).
Bakk was first elected to the House in 1994 after winning a hotly contested 11-person primary. A journeyman carpenter, he has served as a labor representative for the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. When the legendary DFL Senate Tax Chair Doug Johnson (also from Cook) retired, Bakk moved to the Senate and also became Tax Chair (is there something taxing about Cook County?!).
Certainly Bakk is a good partisan Democrat, in the rich tradition of union Iron Range Democrats. But in these highly partisan times between a GOP Governor and DFL majorities, where tabling the partisanship to avoid government shutdowns and vetoed tax bills doesn't happen, Bakk is a stand out. Ask anyone who worked in the Senate Tax Committee and then the conference committee, and you'll get the universal opinion that Bakk worked hard to achieve consensus on key provisions in bills, and he included GOP initiatives in them, as well. After the session ended without a tax bill, Bakk worked all the angles trying to revive the noncontroversial parts of the bill. Anyone paying close attention to these efforts couldn't help but notice that Bakk always talked about what's good for the state, not what's good for the DFL.
"One actively engaged in conducting the business of government" ... That's Tom Bakk.
On to the spectacular avoidance of the "selfish" and "short-sighted" definition of politician that Bakk has judiciously avoided.
To be blunt, Sen. Maj. Leader Larry Pogemiller (DFL-Minneapolis), in his quixotic quest to "get" Governor Tim Pawlenty, seriously screwed Bakk and all his hard work. Bakk did not do the selfish and short-sighted thing which would have been to publicly place the blame for the vetoed tax bill where it belongs, on Pogemiller's back.
Let's revisit why there was no tax bill in 2007. The final tax bill included a controversial provision to add inflation back into state economic forecasting. [A change that was highly desired by both Pawlenty and then-DFL Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe when they were both running for Governor in 2002). How did that happen?
As Bakk wrote in a letter begging Pawlenty to sign the tax bill, "This provision was never discussed at any meeting of the conference committee." But it wasn't the conference committee report that the Senate voted on. Rather, the tax bill was added to a House file pending on the Senate floor. During that floor discussion, Bakk was asked by another member whether the inflation provision was in there. Bakk said it was not, which was what he believed because the game plan was to attach the conference committee report to the House bill. This was important, because Pawlenty had written a letter to the Senate saying he would veto a bill that included the inflation provision.
Some time between passing the bill on the Senate floor and before the House took it up for a floor vote, someone discovered that the inflation provision, was indeed, in the bill.
How did that happen? We've heard from several DFL Senators that a freshmen asked Pogemiller at a DFL Senate Caucus meeting last week the same question. Pogemiller said staff did it. That is a ludicrous answer because Senate staff would never do that unless Pogemiller told them to. Staff know that putting anything in a bill is a policy decision, not a staff one.
To rephrase and be clear: Pogemiller added the inflation provision to the tax bill and did not tell Tax Committee Chair Bakk he did that. That is simply unheard of in the Minnesota legislative process, which is avoiding calling it for what it truly is, which is unethical BS.
Then there's Pogemiller's hypocrisy. In our book, Politics in Minnesota: The Directory, we wrote how Pogemiller wanted to be described, "Pogemiller emphasizes the importance of a collaborative and open style of legislating to bring accountability to the process. He is an advocate of the committee process and strong committee chairs."
We were wrong, spectacularly wrong and we regret the error.
MinnPoster Doug Grow talked to some DFL Senators this week about Pogemiller, "That's not to say they've developed fondness for the Minneapolis DFLer, who has been described as condescending, arrogant, rude and manipulative. (And that's just what DFLers say about their leader.)"
Back to Bakk. He ran against Pogemiller for Senate Majority Leader and actually tied him on one ballot, but lost the final contest on the sixth ballot by only a few votes. The "selfish politician" would have called Pogemiller to task.
Bakk did not. Most likely for the good of the DFL Senate Caucus. Now that's class and that's a PIM Politician Of The Year.
A Significant Senate Victory
Congratulations to just-elected Sen. Kevin Dahle (DFL-Northfield). The conventional wisdom, including ours, was that former GOP Rep. Ray Cox was going to win.
Dahle's victory in Senate District 25 has two major implications for the Senate DFL Caucus. First, the well-publicized fact that the Senate now has veto-override powers. [The House, however, making the Senate's achievement a hollow victory.]
The second implication has the potential to become a serious political showdown. At 45 members, the Senate DFL caucus has gained the needed 2/3 concurrence of the Senate required by the Minnesota constitution to impeach a state officer, including Lt. Governor Carol Molnau (see Molnau Must Go: Sonia Pitt Edition from our 11/29/2007 Weekly Report).
We checked in with the always enormously helpful Director of Senate Information Scott Magnuson. This is not the first time the DFL has reached the 45 member benchmark. When the 1977 Senate convened, the Dems had 48 members to the Republicans 18. They held on to their 2/3 power until 1981, when Democratic Senator Jim Nichols from Senate District 20 resigned and was replaced by Independent Republican Randy Kamrath in a special election. The 1986 elections thrust the DFL into 2/3 majority yet again, with 47 members to the Republicans 20, when again a DFL Senator (this time Tad Jude from District 48, who was elected to Hennepin County Commissioner) resigned and was replaced by the opposition (Independent Republican Pat McGowan). A brief 2/3 majority was attained after the elections of '90, but was lost in a flurry of special elections in 1994 (the deciding race was in district 19, with Democrat Betty Atkin's retirement and replacement by Independent Republican Mark Ourada). Click here for the complete party control document from the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.
Senate staffers do not recall any prior impeachment activity, but 2008 might make history. The Minnesota constitution dictates that the House needs only a majority of members to bring impeachment charges (which the DFL obviously has), and that 2/3 concurrence of the Senate is needed for conviction (which the DFL also has...).
As stated in the previous PIM article, according to GOP sources, Governor Tim Pawlenty wants Molnau gone but prefers to have the Senate do the dirty deed. The special election results in Senate District 25 could get Pawlenty out of his aforementioned sticky situation, albeit at the expense of a public, messy impeachment process.
What The Huck?
It's Huck? For Minnesota Republicans, so what?
Hillary finishing third? Not so good for the state GOP.
Because Minnesota is a non-factor in choosing the GOP nominee, at this point in the presidential candidate selection cycle, all Minnesota Republicans can do is watch and hope that the candidates chosen will have the right impact on Minnesota races.
What impact? The Minnesota Senate is not up for re-election this year, so all the action will be in the house. Up until 2006, Minnesota legislative contests exemplified Tip O'Neill's "All politics is local." But the anti-war, anti-Bush sentiment in 2006 changed all that. While there aren't any hard scientific data, key party leaders on both sides of the aisle will tell you anecdotally that Bush was a huge factor in many contests.
The Senate went from 35 DFLers to 44, and the GOP, from 31 to 23 members. Thursday's special election in Senate District 25 increased DFL ranks to 45, a veto-proof majority the DFL hasn't enjoyed since 1992.
The 2006 House races were much more dramatic. Not only did the GOP lose the majority, but its numbers dropped from 68 to 49, while the DFL grew from 66 to 85 members. That's five seats shy of a 90-member veto-proof majority. The Democrats haven't reached that number since 1976, when the party boasted an astonishing 103 members.
One of the most interesting, yet largely unknown, phenomena in Minnesota legislative races is that in presidential years, the DFL averages about 5 percent more voters in each district. So, right off the bat, the 2008 races are a challenge for Minnesota House Republicans.
For the top of their ticket, the best the GOP can hope for is a galvanizing figure. Mike Huckabee? Probably not. From what we know so far about Iowa, evangelical Christians turned out en masse for Huckabee -- a fete unlikely to be replicated in other states in the coming weeks. "Huckabee was the ice cream flavor of the day," says House Minority Leader Marty Seifert (R-Marshall). "First it was Fred Thompson; then it was Mitt Romney," said Seifert, who is state campaign chair for Thompson. He also noted that Huckabee has no campaign organization in Minnesota thus far.
The Minnesota Republicans also hope for a not-so-galvanizing figure at the top of the Democratic ticket. Think Walter Mondale in 1984, the so-called "Minnesota Massacre" year when the GOP grew from 57 members to 69 members. (Sorry, Walter, about that characterization.) This year, the House Republicans actually are hoping for a polarizing figure, and Seifert believes Hillary Rodham Clinton would best help his troops.
But for the Minnesota GOP, perhaps the most significant thing that happened in Iowa was the record turn out. Projections showed a turnout of 220,588 for Democrats compared with 124,000 in 2004. Most projections had estimated turnout would hit about 150,000.
Notes House Speaker Rep. Margaret Kelliher (DFL-Minneapolis): "The large turnout in Iowa makes it clear that Democrats and Independents are energized and excited about their candidates. Thousands of people went to caucus for the first time. We also saw a strong DFL turnout in the Senate District 25 race... I think [the Iowa turnout] will help Democratic candidates around the state and country."
For the Minnesota GOP, the Iowa caucus turnout could be the new fear factor.
Bits & Pieces
What a coup for Joel Kramer's MinnPost. Kramer is sending Pulitzer prize winning journalist and mega-huge bestselling author John Camp to Iraq. Read more about it, here. We can't help but note that's something Lucas Davenport would do. Don't know who Davenport is? Check out one of Camp's novels (he writes under John Sandford).
Talk about a quick trip to the top. Steve Knuth has vaulted his highly respected public relations firm, Public Affairs Company, to number five on Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal's annual Top 25 PR Firms list. Knuth's billings surpass pass those of our other friends at Himle Horner, Tunheim Partners and ASI Communications. Congratulations, Steve and team!
Today the Obama for America Campaign announced a 63-member "State Leadership Committee." Chairing the effort is Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak with co-chairs U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN 4), U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN 5) and DFL Duluth Mayor-Elect Don Ness.
DFL activist Clint Faust is tossing his hat into the ring in the race for HD 43A. He will be up against freshman incumbent Sarah Anderson (R-Plymouth) who won 52.5% of the popular vote in '06. Clint is the brother of Rep. Tim Faust (DFL-Mora) who represents House District 8B.
Governor Tim Pawlenty (R) is having his Winter PAC fundraiser on January 7th at O'Gara's Bar & Grill in St. Paul. Hurry, because today is the last day to RSVP. If you have any questions please call 651-905-0555. There is a suggested contribution of $250.
Minnesota College Republicans will be holding their annual State Convention to elect their new leadership and kick-off the '08 election cycle February 29th - March 1st. The event will be help at the Bloomington Sheraton located at 7800 Normandale Boulevard, Minneapolis. For more information and prices call 651-842-0111 or email bmd@mngop.com.
Genius in marketing. Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP is sponsoring the the regional 2008 Spelling Bee, which is part of the national Scripps Spelling Bee held annually in Washington, D.C. The prominent firm, which has offices both here and in D.C. is taking the sponsorship reigns from the Star Tribune which had been the Bee's sponsor since 2004. The firm does not anticipate the costs to exceed $15,000 and hope this will draw positive attention to its Washington Lobbying office. In unrelated to Bee news Lockridge also announced that starting January 1, 2008, Robert C. Long will be added as partner practicing in the field of commercial litigation. Long, a 6 year St. Paul City council member brings experience from all sorts of projects ranging from the Midtown Market to complicated immigration litigation.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton will be the keynote speaker at the Center of the American Experiment's annual Dinner on May 15th. For ticket and reservation information you can call Devin Foley at 612-338-3606 or visit the website here. The Center for the American Experiment will also be holding a luncheon featuring Professor Wilfred M. McClay. Professor McClay will be discussing the idea of America as an experiment and revitalizing conservatism in Minnesota. The lunch will be held January 17th from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Metropolitan Ballroom and Club room in Wayzata. For more information including directions and ticket prices click here.
Ashwin Madia won the endorsement of the DFL Veterans Caucus. Madia, who is running for the DFL endorsement in Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District, is a Iraq Veteran and a native of the district.
Jeff Davidman, former Director of State and Government Affairs for Northwest Airlines has taken a job with Best & Flanagan LLP's Government Relations Practice Group. Davidman's duties will include transportation, transit, public safety, and general business issues. Davidman has over a decade of Government and lobbying experience, including serving as a policy advisor to Governor Tim Pawlenty.
Dan Feidt, PIM's web guy, took a break and independently went down to the Iowa caucuses this week with a couple buddies and got lots of grainy videos. The rugged team's first video, "Iowa Caucus 2008: Ron Paul attacks War on Drugs" has already gotten 1500 views on YouTube in just 24 hours. Check youtube.com/hongpong or hongpong.com for more videos this weekend!
Past PIM Politicians Of The Year
|
1982 |
Gov. Al Quie (GOP) | Had a thoughtful and decent career both in Washington and as Governor. |
|
1983 |
Gov. Rudy Perpich (DFL) | Stabilized both his administration and the State. |
|
1984 |
U.S. Rep. Vin Weber (GOP) | The young dynamic Congressman made a name for himself and his party with his unwavering conservative ideals. |
|
1985 |
Rep. David Jennings (GOP) | Highly impressive results as a rookie Speaker of the House. |
|
1986 |
Gov. Rudy Perpich (DFL) | Stood up to labor, politicians, and big business. |
|
1987 |
State Auditor Arne Carlson (GOP) | His sharp tone revitalized his political career. |
|
1988 |
U.S. Sen. Dave Durenberger (GOP) | Survived numerous challenges while maintaining an approval rating close to that of Hubert Humphrey. |
|
1989 |
Sen. Duane Benson (GOP) | Through his laid back style was able to point out the DFL faults to the delight of those covering him. |
|
1990 |
U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone (DFL) | The political surprise of the year when the firebrand defeated Rudy Boschwitz. |
|
1991 |
U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar (DFL) | Brought airbus bases to the Iron Range through the Northwest Airlines loan. |
|
1992 |
Sen. Roger Moe (DFL) | Showed an incredible ability to both lead and coordinate as Senate Majority Leader. |
|
1993 |
U.S. Rep. Tim Penny (DFL) | Made deficit trimming Democrats a viable option and had more impact on the country than any other member of the House. |
|
1994 |
Ramsey County Commissioner Ruby Hunt (DFL) | A career devoted to dignified, selfless public service. |
|
1995 |
St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman (DFL) | Didn't tow the party line and really tried to make St. Paul a better place. |
|
1996 |
Sen. Maj. Leader Sen. Roger Moe (DFL) |
Managed to do a great job while fending off the adventurous Ramsey County Attorney. |
|
1996 |
House Speaker Rep. Dee Long (DFL) | Served with class and dignity in the face of great adversity. |
|
1997 |
St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman (GOP) | Maintained popularity after switching parties in heavily DFL St. Paul. |
|
1998 |
Gov. Jesse Ventura (I) | Acts as the anti-politician and finds the perfect balance between listening to the people and providing solutions to real problems. |
|
1999 |
Gov. Jesse Ventura (I) | For his attention grabbing style and his ability to keep the people of Minnesota from becoming complacent about government. |
|
2001 |
Sen. Sam Solon (DFL) | For a lifetime of service to the state and his desire to always help the people, not his reelection chances. |
|
2004 |
Gov. Tim Pawlenty (GOP) | Passed his agenda and solved the $4.2 billion budget deficit with "no new taxes." |
|
2005 |
U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton (DFL) | Refused to play the "Washington game" and was honest about his desire to legislate and not spend all his time raising money. |
|
2006 |
All the elected Women | A big year for women candidates led to Minnesota being ranked 3rd nationally in female elected officials. |
Lobbyist Watch
From the Minnesota Campaign Finance & Public Disclosure Board:
Morning Reports
