A Strib political reporter has actually travelled to (or should we say through?) Southern Minnesota, rather than just relying on GOP press releases for story ideas. However, the published report ends up covering perceptions of the Presidential race in the Iowa caucuses, rather than the Congressional contest in the First.
Pat Lopez drives down I-35, visits a donut shop in Albert Lea, and turns in Ringside seats to Iowa campaigns. Meanwhile, the House sections headlines in Political Connected are still all-GOP. We suspect Lopez was just stopping for coffee on the way to Iowa.
The Rochester post Bulletin looks at local DFL and Republican efforts to send volunteers into Iowa in Area residents aim to influence caucus results. Matt Stolle reports:
Lynn Wilson, chairwoman of the Olmsted County DFL Party, said most people make up their minds about who they will vote for within the last 72 hours of a campaign, thus making the final week important for get-out-the-vote efforts.
"People have been planning for weeks. They've been lining up their work schedules, taking vacations or taking days off from work, so that they can travel to Iowa," said Wilson, who, along with a dozen Rochester residents, is heading south this weekend to support Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Volunteers in Iowa
Rochester volunteers for the various Republican and Democratic presidential candidates are making phone calls and canvassing neighborhoods in Iowa. And even if they don't make the trip south, they are lending support by making calls from Rochester, urging Iowans to support their candidates. . ..
. . .On Jan. 1, a bus occupied by supporters of GOP candidate Mitt Romney will leave Rochester for Iowa and three days of volunteering. Duane Quam, GOP chairman of the 1st Congressional District, said three or four Republican candidates have "fairly representative support in the area."
In the PB's Political Party blog, Stolle mentions Ron Paul's supporters heading south as well.
Since the editorial is about earmarks, we had to smile at the headline for the latest Mankato Free Press editorial: Our View: For fiscal fix, eliminate bookmarks. They *heart* Obey.
Via Lexis-Nexis, we read a profile of Randy Demmer from Finance and Commerce (subscription required). We've joked about Demmer's backbench status, and it's named as a liability in the article:
Whether the low-profile Demmer has a legit chance to become a congressman remains an open question, even among Republicans.
Sarah Janecek, a GOP analyst and publisher of Politics in Minnesota, believes Walz may be beatable due to a few "lefty votes" and recent revelations that he asked for babysitting reimbursements from Congress.
Janecek must have the fact retention of a gnat: the reimbursements, which totalled less than $600 and were okayed by the FEC, were campaign-related expenses covered by the Walz campaign committee rather than Congress. If this is what the GOP thinks it's got on Walz, it's thin gruel indeed. She continues:
She's not sure Demmer, however, is the candidate to beat Walz. Two other GOP candidates, state Sen. Dick Day of Owatonna and Mayo Clinic physician Brian Davis carry big names and big war chests, she says.
Davis, in particular, has garnered the influential support of former GOP U.S. Sen. Rudy Boschwitz. (The fourth and least prominent contender, Mark Meyer, works as an employee benefits consultant and serves on the Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial school board.)
Meyer has since dropped out and endorsed Demmer.
"It's a strange race," she says. "Demmer's a nice guy and a good legislator, but it's going to be hard for him to distinguish himself from Dick Day and Brian Davis. "
State Sen. Dave Senjem, GOP minority leader from Rochester, praises Demmer's "character" and "quality" but points out it will be a tough race because Demmer has held no leadership posts in the party. Senjem finds himself in a hard place, as a friend to both Day and Demmer. With that in mind, he has endorsed neither candidate. "Randy's a good guy," Senjem adds.
One sitting Minnesota House members--Rod Hamilton--and one retired member--Fran Bradley--have endorsed Demmer.
Sara Janacek knows she can lie and smear and get away with it. She was one of the prime vectors of the "applause signs at the Wellstone memorial event" garbage, and the only time she was ever called on it was when she recited the lie on MPR's Mid-Morning program the day after the event; right after she did so, the phone lines were jammed with dozens of people who were actually there calling up to say that the "applause signs" were in reality the closed-captioning TVs used in Williams Arena and pretty much every sporting bar and many restauraunts. Janacek was forced to back down -- then.
Posted by: Phoenix Woman | December 16, 2007 at 09:20 AM