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

Mankato Free Press: Local Republican activist channels basic cable

The Mankato Free Press takes a look at local reaction to Tim Pawlenty's observations at a GOP governors' meeting:

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, speaking to fellow Republican governors in Florida last week, said the Republican Party is in deep trouble, losing its ability to compete in large swaths of America and ceding key blocs of voters to the Democrats. . .

. . .Area Republicans, however, aren’t as gloomy as some of the GOP’s national leaders...

In GOP: The party's not over, we found this gem:

[Paul] Bade considers Obama’s rise to be similar to that of Adolph Hitler’s in the 1930s, and he believes there’s an outside chance that America is headed for a dictatorship. More likely is a slide to socialism or, perhaps, just an inept presidency, he said.

“I’m almost expecting the Obama administration to make a botch of things,” Bade said. “They’re too ideologically socialist, and a lot of their ideas are impractical. They just don’t add up.”

Now where have we heard this before?  Oh yeah:

The Atlanta Constitution wrote At times, you wonder how ‘Comedy Central’ could survive without Georgia. We think there'd would always be Southern Minnesota's GOP true believers like Bade in case the Daily Show comes up short for material. At least Georgia  Congressman Paul Broun is a Lawmaker sorry about Obama slam. (And the meme isn't original to Broun nor recent, as this February 2008 post by David Neiwert demonstates). Bade explains his own take on "Ultimate Security" elsewhere online

It's telling for the fortunes of First District Republicans when Senator Dick Day is the voice of reason:

State Sen. Dick Day ran for Congress this year but saw his party opt for a more socially conservative Republican, who lost badly to Democratic Congressman Tim Walz. Day said the GOP needs to stand first for responsible governing — particularly in spending.

The budget deficits run up by the Republican-controlled federal government “drove me crazy,” Day said. And he thought his party’s focus on abortion, gay marriage bans and other social issues — at a time when Americans were losing their jobs and homes — didn’t sit well with voters.

“Hey, I don’t blame people,” he said of those who chose to punish the GOP in federal elections. . . .

. . .Day thinks there may be a backlash when the cost of Obama’s spending proposals begin to add up. At the same time, he doesn’t rule out the possibility that Democrats — with universal health care, tax cuts and programs aimed at helping the middle class, more regulation on corporate America — are offering what voters genuinely want.

“Maybe people want more government,” Day said. “I could be on the wrong side. I’m smart enough to realize it.”

Day lost September's Republican primary by a slightly less embarrassing margin than that enjoyed by the far more socially conservative candidate in the general election.

Saturday morning digest: plumb line whispers edition

The Washington Post reports GOP Strategists Whisper Fears Of Greater Losses in November. We're hearing some whispers about Brian Davis's chances--and cut backs on media buys--in Minnesota's First, and it doesn't look pretty for the GOP challenger.

Some tidbits from the WaPo's article:

The pessimism in the GOP ranks reflects a striking shift in momentum in the four weeks since the Republican National Convention , when Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin made her national debut and rallied conservatives, helping to fuel the perception that longer-shot Democratic targets [in the Senate] were drifting out of reach .. . .

. . .The picture in the House is similar. The generic ballot test -- a traditional measure of broad voter attitudes -- has also moved decisively in Democrats' direction in recent days. The latest NBS-Wall Street Journal  and Associated Press polls showed voters favoring a generic Democratic candidate for Congress over a generic Republican by 13 points, while a recent Time magazine poll gave Democrats a 46 percent to 36 percent edge.

GOP operatives said the party's declining fortunes are rooted in a series of events over the past two weeks, including McCain's decision to suspend his campaign in order to help broker a deal on the rescue plan and Republican opposition that doomed the bill in a House vote on Monday. Those incidents helped reinforce voter impressions that Washington is broken and that Republicans bear the brunt of the blame, the party insiders said. . . .

. . .Compounding Republican problems is a continued fundraising deficit that has left the party largely powerless to defend its congressional candidates against a televised Democratic onslaught. At the start of September -- the last time financial figures were available -- the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee   held a $40 million cash-on-hand edge over its GOP counterpart and was advertising in 41 House districts, compared with just two districts in which the National Republican Campaign Committee  was on the air.

An interesting column about Sarah Palin's fading star in the Fillmore County Journal.John Torgrimson writes:

Well, after the party comes the hangover. . . .

. . .Don't take it from me, take it from conservative columnists and pundits who support McCain's candidacy, but find Palin's nomination an embarrassment to the Republican party and the McCain campaign for president. . . .

Read the rest in the FCJ.

Speaking of embarrassments, we don't think that the NRCC will be wasting any money in MN-01. It's our understanding that Brian Davis's television ads will begin airing next week on Rochester and Mankato stations, but the start-up was pushed back a day. More details about his media buys as we confirm information. Davis has not aired an ad on cable or television since the September 9 primary.

In the comments section of the Star Tribune story, Davis paid taxes late on home in Wisconsin, we paused at this remark:

It's sad that First District Republicans nominated such an irresponsible candidate. State Senator Dick Day was not only a leader in our state and a good citizen, he actually had a chance at beating Walz. Brian Davis has single handedly taken out the Republican hopes in the First District.

While Davis is taking nearly a month to get on air after the primary, Walz has four positive ads running as well as an army of volunteers working on the ground.  A Walz phone bank volunteer in Rochester told us that she frequently receives compliments for the positive, "he works for us" message in the congressman's ads. And Walz has done this while facing significant votes in Washington.

One significant vote came this week with the bailout bill. Walz lists drawbacks of bailout to the Post Bulletin, which has published his statement about his second "No" vote.  Via the New Ulm Journal, the Associated Press reports in Peterson, Walz, Bachmann stay 'no' on bailout:

Walz said he had been hopeful the Senate would make improvements to the bill that was defeated in the House.

"I'm disappointed that instead the Senate sent this bill back to the House with $100 billion in unpaid for additional spending that will be added directly to the national debt," he said.

Edward Felker reports about the content of  Barack Obama's calls to Democratic congressmen in the Times, the Post Bulletin's sister paper in Illinois:

Obama returned to the campaign trail after the vote, but continued to work the phones Thursday. In a call to House Democratic freshmen, he asked them to vote for the bailout bill while also promising to pursue more broad financial restructuring if elected president, according to Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., one of the Democratic freshmen leaders and an opponent of the plan.

We hope Obama will follow through on that if elected; we're betting Congressman Walz will remind him of the pledge. Walz wasn't swayed by promises of future revisions.

Dale at Corner House Comments is happy that the Wellstone Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Is Finally Law, though he's not especially pleased that it was folded into the bailout bill. Such is the nature of all silver linings.

A letter at the Post Bulletin, CRA not responsible for crisis, takes on the new/old urban legend that blames the poor for the failings of the wealthy and powerful. It's enough to make us re-read the Book of Amos.  

The Owatonna People's Press reports $400000 earmarked for local flood projects on Owatonna. The city still has to meet certain criteria to secure the money.

KAAL reports Senator Amy Klobuchar Visits Extreme Makeover. Nice hat.

Image: Are Republicans beginning to panic?

Early afternoon netroots digest: reflections on the primary

Minnesota Central looks at Tuesday's primary in MN-01 : Walz Challenger Proves Strong in Primary, posted yesterday. We hope that today's news about the Walz campaign  noted here in Mankato Free Press: wind at Walz's back in post-primary stretch) helps reassure the independent moderate blogger.

Blueman Hal Kimball has a different take as he writes up  the TOTAL EMBARRASSMENT FOR BRIAN DAVIS:  1/3 OF REPUBLICANS REJECT DAVIS:

Brian Davis defeated Dick Day Tuesday evening with Day capturing 33% of the vote. 1/3 of CD 1 Republicans rejected Brian Davis and his campaign of exaggerations and attacks on Congressman Walz.

Some say that 35% of DFL voters not voting for Franken is a problem. Surely then, 33% of GOP voters rejecting Brian Davis is equally problematic, probably more so for Davis since...well...dude has no money (other than his revolving loan) and no one knows who he is.

Davis is a failure...

*Update*  Thanks Aaron...

Adding to the Lipstick on a Pig edition of BMRD, Brian Davis lost as many counties in CD 1 as Al Franken did statewide. Davis lost Steele, Dodge, LeSueur and Waseca Counties to Dick Day.

Wherever did Hal get the idea that was an embarrassment? Hmm. There's evidence of that disunity in today's Winona Daily News. Day campaign staffer  Chris Giesen calls out Steve Drazkowski on his double standards about the Republican endorsement in Two sides of an endorsement?:

. I thought Rep. Steve Drazkowski’s recent letter was very interesting; Drazkowski asked all of the Republicans to support the endorsed candidate for Congress.

Two years ago, Drazkowski himself told the very same Republicans that their endorsement of somebody else wasn’t any good, and he ran against that endorsed candidate in a primary. I guess Drazkowski only likes endorsements when he agrees with them.

E. Nelson at OpEdNews notes Minnesota Democrats and Al Franken Have Better Night than Republicans and Norm Coleman.

The Gun Owners Home Page notes the NRA-PAF endorsement of  2nd Amendment Supporter Tim Walz.

The Rochester Democrat looks at Tim Walz's request the national security concerns be honored in lifting the drilling ban in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. A portion of the Eastern Gulf is offlimits in part because of military concerns.

At MNCR, Joe Bodell writes:

In the First congressional district, GOP-endorsed Brian Davis turned back a challenge from State Sen. Dick Day by a 2-to-1 margin. Davis now goes to the political slaughterhouse against first-term Rep. Tim Walz, who had no opponent and is leading the money and airwave races by considerable margins.

Help make sure Walz's campaign has the resources to get his message out by contributing here or volunteering.

OPP: Day will remember RPM snub "for years to come"

The Owatonna People's Press has more on the primary in Dick Day  wins in Steele County but is defeated in other  First District counties.  Some snippets:

. . .But Day said he was proud of the campaign he ran and proud to give voters a chance to vote in the election.

“It’s hard when you’re running and the turnout is so small,” Day said. “The Republican Party also didn’t treat me too well, which I’ll remember for years to come.” . . .

. . .Walz campaign manager Chris Schmitter said Tuesday they’re ready for the challenge and plan to run a positive campaign.

“The people of southern Minnesota already realize that millionaire Dr. Brian Davis is not for us,” Schmitter said in a statement.

Davis wouldn’t characterize his ads and his campaign style as negative attacks against Walz and encouraged the news media to scrutinize votes that have been taken in Congress. . . .

Fifty-five days remain until the election.

After the wreckage, Day going to Alabama with a primary defeat on his knee

More primary coverage has been published while we slept. The Mankato Free Press says in Davis tops Day in GOP primary:

Making his first run for public office, Davis used superior fundraising, a larger campaign organization and the advantages that come with being the Republican Party’s endorsed candidate to win by a two-to-one margin. . . .

. . .Davis is hoping to come up with one more victory over a sitting lawmaker on Nov. 4.

“We are certainly working hard toward that goal,” he said Tuesday night, crediting his primary victory to a hard-earned bond with the Republican Party base. . . .

Senator Day sees the effort to cement that bond as a problem in the general:

Day said he has concerns that Davis’ attempt to win over the GOP base will make it harder for him to compete with Walz when Democrats, independents and moderate Republicans show up on Nov. 4.

“I tried to just hold on to being an ordinary guy in the middle and Brian just went to the right and the right and the right,” Day said. “I don’t know how he’s going to get out of being way over there and then come back (to the middle).”

Nor will Day be helping him. But don't cry for Day--he's heading to Alabama for some hot NASCAR action:

“No, no, no, no,” Day said. “I don’t have so much trouble with him as I do with the party. They said some pretty nasty things. ...”

Instead, Day said he will be doing what he likes at least as much as politics — heading to Alabama for a stock car race.

“I’m probably going to go to Talladega and see a car race and enjoy my fall,” he said.

KTTC captures all the excitement at Davis headquarters.

The Winona Daily News reports:

With about three-quarters of the precincts reporting at 11 p.m., Brian Davis was leading Dick Day by about 30 percentage points, 15,188 votes to 7,879.

Davis, a political newcomer, buried Day in Winona County, collecting 1,328 votes, or 76 percent, to Day’s 409 votes, or 24 percent, with all Winona County votes counted.

Davis staked out staunchly conservative positions in his first run for office to earn the Republican endorsement in March against Rep. Randy Demmer of Hayfield.

Day, a self-described political maverick, shunned what he called a noninclusive nomination process and skipped the GOP endorsing convention, taking his case directly to voters in Tuesday’s primary.

In No primary surprises, the Worthington Globe reports:

Three endorsed Republican candidates for Congress each faced a primary. Brian Davis was declared the winner in southern Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District GOP contest, where he held a 62 percent to 38 percent advantage over Dick Day with more than half of precincts reporting.

CQ Politics writes:

In the 1st Congressional District, which takes in Rochester and other southern Minnesota areas, oncologist Brian Davis led state Sen. Dick Day by 62 percent to 38 percent in the primary to decide the challenger to freshman Democratic Rep. Tim Walz , who scored an upset in 2006 over Republican Rep. Gil Gutknecht. Davis ran with the endorsement of the district’s Republican Party organization. CQ rates the general election race as Leans Democratic.

Politics1 says of Minnesota:

In  the US House race, no particularly competitive primary races.  In the CD-1 primary , physician Brian Davis defeated State Senator Dick Day by a 2-to-1 margin. Freshman Congressman Tim Walz (D)  is favored over Davis in November.

Update: MPR reports in Davis beats Day for Republican endorsement:

Political analysts offer a variety of reasons that Walz would be hard to beat, beyond his record and name recognition: he's widely regarded as a centrist, the National Rifle Association endorses him and he's open to drilling for oil in Alaska. [ Ollie's note: Walz doesn't support drilling in ANWR, but wants more drilling in other areas of the state; Walz supports expanding offshore drilling]

Walz's campaign spokesperson Chris Schmitter said he congratulates Davis on his win, but added this:

"Dr. Davis has shown in just the last two weeks he's run a negative TV ad that several newspapers have called misleading. And he's trying to adhere to his party's platform and use that Washington negative party playbook and it's just not going to resonate with the people in southern Minnesota."

Photo: NASCAR action like this wreck at Talladega probably helped Dick Day get through his primary defeat last night. While we're more of a fan of combine demolition derbies, we do have a couple of friends working on campaigns who will be jealous of the senator's trip to the track. They know who they are.

Walz campaign statement on Davis primary win

This just in from the Walz campaign:

Walz Campaign Manager Chris Schmitter released the following statement regarding Tuesday night’s primary election results, “What’s clear about millionaire Dr. Brian Davis, is that he’s a Republican Party insider using the same-old Washington playbook, putting partisan politics and special interests over the needs of middle-class Minnesotans.”

“While Tim Walz continues to forge common-sense solutions to the problems facing everyday Americans, Brian Davis just doesn’t get it. He called the Walz Bipartisan Energy Plan, supported by Democrats, Republicans and the Chamber of Commerce, ‘too complicated.’ And two of the district’s newspapers say his attacks are ‘misleading.’ The people of southern Minnesota already realize that millionaire Dr. Brian Davis is not for us.”

Onward to November. 

The Pioneer Press reports Day loses 1st District GOP challenge and The Hill says in Franken and Davis sail in Minnesota:

[Davis] will now face freshman Rep. Tim Walz (D), who began the cycle as a top GOP target. Davis has seen an uptick in his fundraising since notching the party endorsement, but Walz had $1.3 million cash on hand in mid-August, compared to Davis’s $310,000.

The Strib says Davis whips Day, will face Walz in First:

Davis will face a formidable opponent in Walz, who has about $1.2 million in cash on hand and a fleet of volunteers.

Note: The post was updated as news reports came in.

With 83% of the precincts in....

WCCO declares Davis the winner:

Total Reporting:83%

                             

	Name	Votes	Pct.
	Brian Davis	14,094	66%
	Dick Day	7,147	34%

Day took Steele and Waseca Counties and is leading narrowly in Dodge County, though that may change as the three remaining precincts report.

With 50% of the precincts in....

WCCO reports a 64%--36% split in Davis's favor, while the SOS office has these figures:

Republican	Candidate	Totals	Pct	Graph
	DICK DAY	5176	38.53
	BRIAN J. DAVIS	8259	61.47

We're surprised that the station hasn't called the primary for Davis.

And up in the Seventh, this count with 44% of the precincts in is just plain scary:

Precincts Reporting: 44.22% (551 of 1246)

Last update was: 9/9/2008 9:42:18 PM

# Registered Voters as of 7AM 09-09-08: 361489

Results from Congressional District 07

US REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT 07
Republican	Candidate	Totals	Pct	Graph
	GLEN MENZE	3065	51.11
	ALAN ROEBKE	2932	48.89

This shouldn't even be close. Menze is a respectable citizen who has a good grasp of issues, while Roebke is a convicted felon.

With 32.18% percent of precincts reporting...

Most of Senator Day's home county, Steele, has reported in.  He led Davis by 75.85%--24.15%.The results below are for the entire First. Update: WCCO is reporting that with 35 percent of the precincts in, Davis leads 68%-32%.

Precincts Reporting: 32.18% (241 of 749)

Last update was: 9/9/2008 9:26:54 PM

# Registered Voters as of 7AM 09-09-08: 375177

Results from Congressional District 01

US REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT 01
Independence	Candidate	Totals	Pct	Graph
	GREGORY MIKKELSON	291	100.00
US REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT 01
Republican	Candidate	Totals	Pct	Graph
	DICK DAY	2631	43.60
	BRIAN J. DAVIS	3403	56.40
US REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT 01
Democratic-Farmer-Labor	Candidate	Totals	Pct	Graph
	TIM WALZ	4841	100.00

With six percent of the precincts reporting...

Results from Congressional District 01

US REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT 01
Independence	Candidate	Totals	Pct	Graph
	GREGORY MIKKELSON	108	100.00
US REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT 01
Republican	Candidate	Totals	Pct	Graph
	DICK DAY	508	43.01
	BRIAN J. DAVIS	673	56.99
US REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT 01
Democratic-Farmer-Labor	Candidate	Totals	Pct	Graph
	TIM WALZ	1368	100.00