Bluestem Prairie: news about Tim Walz (MN-1)

A look at energy research in Southern Minnesota

Yesterday, Congressman Walz was at Minnesota State in Mankato, following up an alternative energy grant, KEYC-TV reported last night:

Congressman Tim Walz met with university leaders at MSU today to get a look at their current biofuel research lab and to talk about why he continues to support this type of research. News 12's Betsy Gessell was there and has the story. This Toyota Prius is different from ones you can buy at the dealership. It runs on flex fuels and a higher charged battery. The technology is being pioneered here at MSU's Mankato's Center for Applied Bio Diesel Research... and First District congressman Tim Walz says the new Farm Bill will keep federal funds flowing to this kind of research.

Tim Walz says, ''For the farm bill there's a billion dollars put into that and those grants will be made available to things like this.''

MSU Provost Scott Olson says those funds are important for the University's efforts in the field of alternative energy. Scott Olson says, ''In the past research like this has been funded out of the farm bill and we'd certainly hope going forward that both energy and Ag would see this as a national priority and continue to fund this research.''

Last year Representative Walz secured 500 thousand dollars in federal funds for the center's renewable fuel research, and he says this year he's requested an additional 1 point 5 million dollars as well. Tim Walz says, ''One of the things I think is important to keep in mind, the vast majority of technological research comes out of our public institutions with federal investment. MSU plans to use that money for cellulosic research, which uses plentiful resources like grass and wood chips to make fuel. Olson says that could give Minnesota a prominent role in the pursuit of renewable forms of energy.

Scott Olson says, ''If southern Minnesota is thoughtful about this and invests in the right way, we could find ourselves being one of the global centers of the future energy economy in the same way the middle east might be the center of the current energy economy and that's an exciting thing to think about.'

The Mankato Free Press reports in  Walz follows up alternative energy grant: Congressman checks progress at MSU:

Tim Walz didn’t come to Minnesota State University Friday to hear them ask for more help getting federal money. Instead, he came to check out the progress of money already given.

The 1st District congressman from Mankato helped MSU get $493,000 to build a new auto emissions testing lab on campus. While that lab may not be built yet, the type of work that helped MSU get that money is going on.

The first-term Democrat also is requesting an additional $1.5 million to help MSU continue its research into biofuels.

Friday gave him a chance to tour MSU’s facilities and to talk with the university officials who oversee the work and research.

“It’s all part of that accountability piece,” Walz said after touring MSU’s Minnesota Center for Applied Biofuel Research.

Additional funding, Walz said, will allow the center to operate as an applied research consortium of business and industry partners, entrepreneurial leaders and college and university faculty.

Research into biofuels is a necessary part of a two-pronged approach to energy use, Walz said. One part is finding efficient ways to gradually wean America off its dependence on fossil fuels. The other is to encourage research into biofuels and to financially support places such as MSU where the ground-breaking work is being done.

MSU President Richard Davenport, in a statement issue Friday, said “Funding for renewable energy and emissions research at universities such as MSU is critical to the future of reducing global warming and to providing alternative fuels.” . . .

Yesterday, the paper reported that the candidates in the Republican primary in Minnesota's First were hawking ideas like drilling in ANWR.  The Senate rejected an amendment to open ANWR for oil drilling earlier this month.  Both Senator Klobuchar and  Senator Coleman voted against the proposal, we reported in McConnell Amendment to drill in ANWR defeated in Senate.

Photo: Walz looks at an Eride electric vehicle in MSU's lab. Photo from Mankato Free Press.

Sticking a fork in it: Rep. Connie Ruth will not seek re-election

Update: The OPP reports that Owatonna Mayor Tom Kuntz is seeking endorsement from the district's Republicans. Both Republican and DFL party local leaders believe the seat will competitive. If endorsed, Kuntz should be a strong candidate, given his leadership of the Highway 14 Partnership. [end update]

At the Capitol: Put a fork in it, an entertaining News Cut headline about a cake Connie Ruth brought to celebrate Minnesota's sesquicentennial, turns to have been an inadvertent harbinger for news from  Owatonna. 

The Owatonna People's Press reports that Ruth passes on re-election bid in November.

From the looks of the candidates in 26A who are registered with the Campaign Finance Board, the DFL has yet to endorse a candidate for this seat. Kathy Muellerleile challenged Ruth in 2004 and 2006. In the first contest, Ruth received 54.48 percent to Muelleleile's 45.29 percent. In 2006, Ruth did slightly better, garnering 56.37 percent versus her challenger's 43.43 percent.

The District includes parts of Steele and Waseca Counties, including Owatonna and Waseca. Senator Dick Day, who is running for the nomination for Congress in the Republican primary, represents Senate District 26. Should he win the primary endorsement, he won't be home in Owatonna to help whomever ends up being the Republican state house candidate in the open seat.

Two Degrees of Jon Stewart: "The Change You Deserve" on the Daily Show

Last night, the Daily Show satirized the NRCC's "new" slogan, "The Change You Deserve," citing the Huffington Post.  Since the Huffington Post credits Bluestem with the discovery, if one adapts the metric established by the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game, we've scored a Stewart 2 on this one. First Steny Hoyer, now this:

Update: More serious news venues have taken up the anti-depressant slogan angle. The New York Times editorializes:

Just talking about change is not enough. Look at the Republican Party’s witless attempt to repackage itself with a new Barack Obama-like sound bite, only to find that “The Change You Deserve” was the ad slogan for an antidepressant.

Fox News's Political Wire reported House GOP’s ‘Change’ Slogan Not First of Its Kind.  Scripps News suggests a complete makeover, not just rebranding. The TNR's plank considers Republicans' Message Nightmare

Reuters reports House Republicans won’t change ‘Change’ slogan. The lead:

House of Representatives Republican Leader John Boehner says he has no plans to alter a new campaign slogan — “Change you deserve” — that has been widely mocked since the phrase is used to market the anti-depressant drug Effexor.

“I think it’s working out just fine,” a smiling Boehner told reporters when asked about the slogan that has become the butt of jokes on Capitol Hill.

Keep smiling, John. In the Wall Street Journal, we've found this fun spin in House Republicans Brace For November:

Others are grumbling that Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio has not done enough to hone the party’s message and to keep members on it. The latest Republican campaign slogan unveiled this week, “Change You Deserve,” also happens to be the marketing slogan of the anti-depressant Effexor. One Republican House source tried to put a positive spin on it: “Well, it’s an effective anti-depressant, isn’t it?”

But the NRCC isn't being entirely honest here. In this morning's CQPolitics article, Rocked by Recent Losses House Republicans Struggle to Reframe Message, we learn that the slogan is actually being tweaked:

In a move widely derided for its timing and labeling, GOP leaders on Wednesday unveiled the first part of a new “Change You Deserve” agenda, a package of proposals aimed at women and families. The effect was spoiled both by Democrat Travis W. Childers’ victory a day earlier in Mississippi’s 1st District and by media reports that the new slogan has been used by Effexor, a prescription antidepressant drug.        

‘Change America Deserves’       

A news release the caucus issued Thursday tweaked that slogan ever so slightly with a headline about “the change America deserves.” . . .

The first thing to roll off the message assembly line? Energy.  Looks like the contenders in the Republican primary in Minnesota's First are already going down that road.

Walz votes for GI Bill expansion

We were out working in our vegetable garden (finally!) and come home to find this press release from Congressman Walz's office in our inbox:

WALZ VOTES FOR HISTORIC EXPANSION OF GI BILL

Says legislation will give today's service members benefits on par with those WWII veterans received

(Washington, D.C.) - Today, Congressman Tim Walz announced that he voted to support an emergency spending bill to provide funding for on-going military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, which includes a historic expansion of the GI Bill. 

Walz said that the spending bill, which provides funding to meet the needs of soldiers serving in Iraq as well as Americans hit hardest by the recent economic downturn, incorporates what is commonly called the "21st Century GI Bill," which will offer the 1.7 million brave men and women who have served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan educational benefits on par with those provided to veterans of the World War II era.

"The legislation will give our returning troops the tools they need to continue their success in their civilian lives, will make military service more attractive, and will pay future dividends as it strengthens our sagging economy," said Rep. Tim Walz.  "I think it is fitting that this restoration of GI Bill benefits is included in a supplemental war spending bill because we often forget that caring for our soldiers and veterans after they return from the battlefield is a real, measurable cost of war."

Under the new GI Bill, qualified service members returning from Iraq or Afghanistan, who have served 3 years on active duty, would receive benefits to cover the costs of a four-year education up to the level of the most expensive in-state public school, along with a stipend for housing, books and other expenses.  Education benefits would be available to troops who have served at least 3 months of active duty service since September 11, 2001, including members of the National Guard and Reserve.  Right now, veterans' education benefits cover only about 60 percent of the cost of a public-school education.

The supplemental spending bill was considered as three separate amendments:

Amendment #1: Provides $162.5 billion for the Department of Defense, funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through the summer of 2009. Congressman Walz voted in favor of this amendment, which was not adopted.

Amendment #2: This amendment includes restrictions on the deployment of our Armed Forces in Iraq, by requiring that American troops begin to redeploy within 30 days, with the redeployment completed by December of 2009.  It also requires that Iraqis match US reconstruction funding dollar for dollar and that the President reach an agreement with Iraq to subsidize fuel costs for the US Armed Forces so that our military pays what the Iraqis pay for their fuel.  The amendment also prohibits torture and the construction of permanent military bases in Iraq.  The House passed this amendment 227 - 196.  Congressman Walz voted in favor.

Amendment #3: This amendment restores GI Bill benefits for veterans to WWII levels, extends unemployment benefits for workers who've exhausted their benefits and funds efforts to strengthen New Orleans levees. Amendment #3 passed with a vote of 256 - 166.  Congressman Walz voted in favor.

Elephant Stampede; or, panic in pachyderm park

How worried are House Republicans? In today's New York Times, Adam Nagourney and Carl Hulse report in Republican Election Losses Stir Fall Fears. Some choice passages: 

. . . Representative Tom Davis, Republican of Virginia and former leader of his party’s Congressional campaign committee, issued a dire warning that the Republican Party had been severely damaged, in no small part because of its identification with President Bush. Mr. Davis said that, unless Republican candidates changed course, they could lose 20 seats in the House and 6 in the Senate.

  “They are canaries in the coal mine, warning of far greater losses in the fall, if steps are not taken to remedy the current climate,” Mr. Davis said in a memorandum. “The political atmosphere facing House Republicans this November is the worst since Watergate and is far more toxic than it was in 2006.”

                   * * * *
Scott Reed, a former chief of staff to the Republican National Committee, said the defeat would dampen fund-raising. “Republican leadership needs to really take a good look in the mirror,” Mr. Reed said. “They’re taking the party off the cliff.”  

. . .One House Republican rated the panic expressed at the meeting as a 7 on a scale of 10. . . .

The news isn't any more encouraging at CQ Politics or  Politico. CQ Politics reports in GOP Seeks to Rebrand After Childers Victory:

[Steny] Hoyer noted that the new GOP slogan is also the slogan for Effexor, a prescription antidepressant drug, and said the drug’s listed side effects could be tied to those of the policies of what Hoyer now calls the “Bush-Boehner administration.”

“They blamed their earlier losses on flawed Republican candidates. But now they have to look in the mirror,” said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., the Democrats’ counterpart to Cole.           

A last-minute visit to Mississippi by Vice President Dick Cheney only reminded voters what they don’t like about the Bush administration, Van Hollen said, quipping, “Cheney is just as dangerous to Republican candidates as he is to his hunting partners.”

In Politico's GOP cancer: Party could lose 20 more seats, we read:

For the past 18 months, ever since the 2006 elections, congressional Republicans have been like a hospital patient trying to convince visitors that he is not really all that sick: a bit under the weather; actually feel better than I sound; should be up and about any day; thanks for asking.

Suddenly — belatedly — all pretense is gone.

The Republican defeat in Tuesday’s special election in Mississippi, in a deeply conservative district where, in an average year, Democrats cannot even compete, was a clear sign that the GOP has the political equivalent of cancer that has spread throughout the body. Many House GOP operatives are privately predicting that the party could easily lose up to 20 seats this fall. . . .

Not everybody has gotten the picture; in Minnesota's First,  the endorsed GOP candidate is  waving around a quote from NRCC chair Tom Cole, extracted from a week-old letter dated May 7, 2008:

"With outstanding candidates like you, we are fully confident that in November we will begin the steady climb toward reclaiming the majority in Congress." Congressman Cole added, "We will do all we can to assist you in your race!"

That Republican primary race with Senator Day should be one heckova contest! We certainly wait with bated breath for the release of the NRCC's May monthly report in mid-June to see the actual dollar amount on the check .

The Politico article concludes:

Heading for the hills: Plainly, there are large headwinds blowing that no operative or party leader, no matter how skilled, could counteract. But this fact does not mean that Cole and his team have not made matters worse through what many Republican members see as poor fundraising and candidate recruitment, as well as faulty judgments about message and resource allocation.

The second-guessing on the Republican side is going to make it virtually impossible for leaders to impose any kind of discipline on their caucus when it comes to showdown votes in 2008 or to running on a unified message. At times such as this, it is every man and woman for themselves — plainly the smartest move for individuals but not necessarily for the party as a whole. . . .

The online journal also reports GOP can't rely on money advantage now and John Boehner is whining about the coverage, saying we do too have an agenda.*

Photo: Tom Cole in Politico.

* See below the fold for the moment in British cinema that Boehner's remarks brought to mind.

Another veto-proof majority: Farm Bill passes overwhelmingly in the Senate

In Defying President Bush, Senate Passes Farm Bill, the New York Times reports:

The Senate voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to approve a five-year, $307 billion farm bill, sending it to President Bush for what is expected to be his futile veto.

The 81-to-15 Senate vote, like the 318-to-106 House vote on Wednesday, attracted broad bipartisan support and received far more than the two-thirds that would be needed to override Mr. Bush’s veto, should he keep his pledge to wield his pen.

And as with much of the news about the Farm Bill, we find this paragraph in the article:

The willingness of so many Republicans to break with the White House reflected both the strong support for the bill and a growing alarm among many lawmakers about their election prospects in November.

Our next post will look at reports of that alarm.

 

      

More coverage of the veto-proof Farm Bill vote

State and district media are beginning to report on yesterday's Farm Bill vote. The Post Bulletin headline tells an interesting story: Reps. Walz, Kline help push Farm Bill to veto-proof margin in Congress. The lead:

Reps. Tim Walz, D-Mankato, and John Kline, R-Lakeville, helped push passage of the Farm Bill to a veto-proof margin on Wednesday.

More than half the Republican caucus, 100 members in all, joined 218 Democrats in support of the bill on a 318-106 roll call vote. . . .

With a lead like that, the usual conservative commenters who regularly trash Walz in the Post-Bulletin's discussions are unusually silent.  Maybe it's the two sidebar articles beside Edward Felker's report, Most Minnesota lawmakers vote for farm bill and Republicans abandon Bush on new farm bill.

The Star Tribune reports House sends veto-proof farm measure to Senate.

At the Wall Street Journal, Katherine Rizzo is pretty snarky about rural America, but we rather like the sound of the headline for her post, The Farm Bill: A Testament to the Power of Rural Voters. The description of Southern Minnesota also warms the heart of this old heifer, "Tim Walz, from seriously agricultural southern Minnesota," but we're not sure where she got the idea that there's a tight race going on in the district.

Rizzo must mean the Republican primary.

Sports buffs: Walz resolution on WSU B-ball

This one is for those pesky WSU alums at IDHA:

WALZ RESOLUTION PRAISING WSU WARRIORS PASSES HOUSE
Winona State University Men's Basketball Team Recognized for Second National Championship in Three Years

(Washington, D.C.) - Last night, in a unanimous vote, the House of Representatives passed a resolution congratulating the Winona State University Warriors for winning the 2008 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship.  Rep. Tim Walz sponsored the resolution, which was co-sponsored by fellow Midwestern Representatives Ellison, McCollum, Ramstad, Oberstar, Peterson, Bachmann, Kline, Kind and Obey.

"I'm immensely proud of these young men," said Congressman Tim Walz. "This team boasts a long list of accomplishments, including the NCAA record for the most victories in a season by a men's basketball team. The Warriors should not only be proud of their 38-1 season record, but also their unbelievable 105-6 record over the course of the last three seasons."

"Teams like this one bring our communities together and help us remember that we share not only a common interest in athletic activities, but also the tendency to dream big and the will to achieve those big
dreams," concluded Walz.

The resolution formally recognizes Bryce Welch, Brad Meyer, Travis Whipple, Quincy Henderson, Curtrel Robinson, Ben Fischer, Brent Riese, Jonte Flowers, David Johnson, Jon Walburg, Luke Doedens, Max Hintz, Josh Korth, Matt Smith, Shane Neiss, Ryan Gargaro, John Smith, Mike Muller, head coach Mike Leaf and all other coaches and support staff who were instrumental in the pursuit of the NCAA national championship.

We're told that in his floor statement about the resolution, Walz figuratively reached across the aisle and mentioned that Representative Bachmann is a WSU alum.

Agitated? Irritable? Hostile?: WaPo's Milbank on Election Anxiety Disorder

The passive construction "was discovered" doesn't let on about the blog where this connection was first posted, but whatever.

Agitated? Irritable? Hostile? Aggressive? Impulsive? Restless?, Dana Milbank's piece about the House's reaction to the connection between NRCC's "Change You Deserve" and Wyeth's Effexor, is pretty doggone funny.

A hoot, as we say on the prairies. The slideshow is highly entertaining, too.

Milbank writes about episodes triggered by the news:

House Republicans may be heading off a cliff in November, but give them credit for perseverance. Even after the new slogan they floated -- "The Change You Deserve" -- was discovered to be trademarked ad copy for the antidepressant drug Effexor, GOP leaders decided to go with the rollout anyway.

"The Republican agenda, 'The Change You Deserve,' is directed at America's families," Rep. Kay Granger (R-Tex.) announced at a televised news conference with House Republican leaders yesterday morning. "And you may be a little surprised at this agenda."

Why, yes, we are. And Democrats are manic over the medicinal mantra.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) called reporters into his office. "Democrats, not drugs, is what the American people need," he said. He flashed the Effexor side effects on a large flat-screen television. "Nausea, up to 58 percent," Hoyer said. "Actually it's higher than that for Republicans."

"Are depression symptoms keeping you from where you want to be?" Effexor's maker, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, asks in its promotions. "Not feeling as good as you used to?"

For House Republicans, the diagnosis is obvious: They are suffering from Election Anxiety Disorder. Tuesday night, they lost the third special election in a row to Democrats in heavily Republican congressional districts. Eighty-two percent of Americans say the country is on the wrong track, and they're largely holding President Bush and his party responsible. This week, panicked House Republicans defied Bush and voted with Democrats to pass a farm bill and to divert oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Reports are also coming in about other public outbursts in Minnesota, though the primary cause of that behavior is most likely found here. The DFL offered a second opinion  more in line with Milbank's diagnosis. The Post's columnist concludes:

But Election Anxiety Disorder is a serious ailment, and only about two dozen Republican members had the courage to show up for the rollout. Fortunately for the rest of the GOP caucus, the change they deserve is within reach: The recommended starting dosage of Effexor is 75 milligrams a day.

As we noted earlier, Democrats aren't the only ones to notice Election Anxiety Disorder in the NRCC. America's leading authority on stupid Michelle Malkin felt embarrassment, while Rush Limbaugh finally met a drug he'd never heard of.  Now that's breaking news.

Update: Eric Pfeiffer's Ground Game at CQPolitics experienced no anxiety about using active verbs.

Veto-proof majority: House passes Farm Bill with key Walz initiatives

We just returned from a day in the Cities to find the following press release from Congressman Walz in our inbox:

HOUSE PASSES FARM BILL  WITH KEY WALZ INITIATIVES
Conference report passes House with veto-proof, bipartisan majority

(Washington D.C.) - Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the final version of the new Farm Bill with an overwhelming bipartisan majority.  The Conference Report to the "The Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008," otherwise known as the new Farm Bill passed by a margin of 318 to 106 votes, demonstrating more than enough support to override a threatened Presidential veto.

Congressman Walz said that the legislation includes several major initiatives he championed, which will make it easier for southern Minnesota's farmers to enroll in conservation programs, give farmers more flexibility to determine the crops they plant, and several provisions which will help beginning farmers and ranchers get their start in agriculture. 

"I'm pleased that the House has, at long last, finished its work on the farm bill," said Walz.  "The Farm Bill will provide stability to our rural communities and agricultural producers, as well as ensuring a safe, affordable food supply for Americans and the world."

"And I am especially pleased that the Farm Bill includes several key provisions I authored.  This bill will provide more flexibility for Minnesota's farmers, who will be able to plant more fruits and vegetables, instead of being locked into planting what the government requires."

"This Farm Bill includes a section I added which will make it easier for southeastern Minnesota's organic producers to participate in the Farm Bill's conservation programs.  And I am especially proud that the farm bill includes half-a-dozen important changes I pushed for which will help beginning farmers and ranchers get their start on the land."

"Finally, the Farm Bill includes a provision I wrote which requires USDA to study the impact of rail service on rural America and report to Congress on whether additional competition is needed in the rail industry to protect our grain elevators and other agricultural shippersfrom abusive rail rates," said Walz. 

Despite its name, nearly three-quarters of the Farm Bill's funding goes to USDA nutrition programs like the Food Stamp Program and the School Lunch Program.  Walz said the new Farm Bill provides an additional $10.4 billion for these nutrition programs, which help 38 million American families secure access to healthy food.  During this time of high food prices, the Farm Bill also provides much-needed support to hungry Americans through food banks, food pantries and soup kitchens, by increasing funding for the Emergency Food Assistance Program by $1.25 billion.

Additionally, the Farm Bill takes a critical step in transitioning biofuels beyond corn, by reducing the current tax credit for corn-based ethanol and creating a new tax credit to promote the production of cellulosic biofuels. The legislation invests $1 billion in renewable energy, including $320 million in loan guarantees for biorefineries that produce advanced biofuels and a new program to encourage the production of new biomass for cellulosic ethanol and other energy production. 

The Farm Bill also reforms traditional agriculture programs, by phasing out help to farmers who don't need assistance.

The roll call vote on the bill is here.  With the exception of Michele Bachmann and Jim Ramstad, all of Minnesota representatives voted for the bill.

Our friends at the Farmers Union (we're a member) also sent a press release praising the passage of the bill. Read what