U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., was hesitant to support anything yet.
“Until
we see details about an assistance package for the auto industry, we’re
just speculating about what might be included," Walz said. "But I would
be very hesitant about any package that does not include strong
protections for the taxpayers who are being asked to foot the bill.”
The Globe also reports on the first wind-to-battery test project in the United States. In Capturing wind:
Roughly the size of two semi trailers and weighing nearly 80 tons,
groundbreaking wind-to-battery technology was unveiled in the middle of
farm fields northwest of Beaver Creek Monday morning.
The battery,
the first of its kind to be tested in the United States, will help
partners Xcel Energy and Luverne-based Minwind Energy capture and store
power produced by the 11.5-megawatt Minwind Energy wind farm. . . .
. . . Minwind Energy is comprised of 360 local investors who raised the
capital to construct the wind farm. They each have a stake in the
ownership of the turbines. Willers said the group is “very interested”
in what’s going on in regard to energy production.
Minwind
recently completed a two-year test project with Xcel Energy on a
biodiesel peaking plant, in which a 99 percent blend of biofuels was
used to power the wind turbines when Mother Nature didn’t provide
enough wind for them to operate.
“We’re locally owned and we
understand what energy is,” said Willers. “As Minnesotans, we want to
have an understanding of where our energy dollars are going and coming
from. Being an agricultural community, we’re always on the forefront of
environmental issues.” . . .
The 2008 Southern Minnesota Federal Grants Workshop connects local
government and non profit leaders to federal grant opportunities with
the goal of enhancing opportunity and prosperity. Come hear from
experts from federal agencies and local foundations about how to
research grant opportunities, review best practices in grant writing,
and discover current trends in funding priority projects in southern
Minnesota.
The Lakefield Standard reports dire need in Lakefield, Jackson and Heron Lake in Food shelf shortage: ‘Not nearly enough’. Demoand is up and giving is down. How far down? The Jackson County Pilot reports contributions are off by 50 percent.
The Rochester Democrat has posted Tim Walz's letter asking Democrats to volunteer to help with the recount in the U.S. Senate race.
Salon analyzes the pathos of lolcats, while it's International Laugh at Lieberman Day. Personally, we're fluffing up our Droopy Dog routine in Joe's honor. For now, here's the first Tex Avery cartoon in the Droopy series, since the Democratic leadership doesn't want to shake this guy:
Congressman Walz visited a class of meddling kids (his favorite kind) on Wednesday, according the Austin version of the Post Bulletin in Students grill their Congressman:
Congressman Tim Walz, who last week was re-elected to the U.S. House
of Representatives for a second term, faced tough questions Wednesday
from some of his biggest critics: students at Grand Meadow High School
who wanted to know what he was going to do to secure their futures.
Walz,
DFL-Mankato, spoke to students about his role in Congress, and about
their own roles in the country's future. Students asked a range of
questions, from where Walz lives when he spends his weeks in
Washington, D.C., to what he plans to do about the national debt,
failing economy and job losses. Many of Walz's responses emphasized the
importance of education.
The version posted under a tamer headline, Students quiz Walz, includes an interesting Q & A session. Our friends who speculate about a potential gubernatorial bid may latch on to this item:
Walz also remained mum on whether he plans to run for governor in 2010.
"Right now I'm focusing on getting through this re-election, so no decision yet," said Walz.
Mostly, Minnesotans can't help but think about last week's election because of the Senate recount. The Mankato Free Press editorial board notes that the Acrimony over Senate race grows. Conclusion:
Voters and average citizens probably thought the
political fighting and acrimony should have ended Nov. 4.
Unfortunately, there appears to be a few more weeks or months of
political nastiness they will have to endure.
Discourse simply isn't what it used to be in the Key City. The Free Press has shut down its online forum, the paper reports in Forum shut down after users go too far. Money quote:
“I don’t want to tell people they don’t have a right to
swear — they do. Just not at my party.” — Free Press Publisher Jim
Santori, explaining the reasons behind the decision to shut down the
forum on this Web site.
We'll miss the insanity.
Coleman supporters often imply that only Franken can benefit from the recount. Not all votes will go Al's way; some shifts occurred in the recent pre-recount audit. The Cottonwood County Citizen reports in Routine audit yields extra vote for Coleman in county:
After a few
days of seeing vote corrections land on the Franken side, Republican
Senate Candidate Norm Coleman received some good news from Cottonwood
County--he gained one vote.
The error was found during a routine
audit of county scanning equipment on Wednesday. Cottonwood County
Auditor Jan Johnson said a voter used a pencil (instead of a pen) and
didn't mark the ballot dark enough.
Consequently, the vote was not read by the scanner. Only two of the county's 28 precincts were tested on Wednesday.
However, Johnson says the public should not expect a major change, once next week's local recount is complete. . . .
Since election night, [Nobles County Auditor Sharon] Balster has had to meet special requests from
both the Coleman and Franken campaigns — including making copies of all
of the tapes from the counting machines, providing information on the
number of absentee ballots mailed out, returned, accepted and rejected.
Both political parties had representatives present at last Friday’s
board of canvass meeting and Monday’s post-election review.
“My list of things to do is enormous,” Balster said.
Newly elected GOP state rep Greg Davids puts his narrow rematch victory over Ken Tschumper into perspective for the Rushford Tri-County Record:
"We
feel very fortunate (to win) because the congressional candidate
(Republican Brian Davis) got 33 percent in the district, the
presidential candidate (Republican John McCain) got 42 percent, and I
got 51 percent. So we're excited."
The 2006 margin was so close that it triggered an automatic recount in the state house district. A
Republican friend in the First shared news that Davids has been mentioned as
a potential candidate to run for the congressional seat in 2010, but
we've heard no more about this rumor. Since Davids retains his
seniority in the Minnesota House after sitting out a term, it is likely
that he will garner his share of earned media.
The 2008 GOP congresssional candidate in the First questioned the emergency food shelf aid in the Farm Bill; this may not have been the cycle to challenge such programs. Federal aid to food pantries is not enough to meet the need and is intended to be a supplement to private support. The unfortunate need for emergency food assistance is clear as we read the district's papers.
The Owatonna Peoples Press notes that about ten percent of Steele County's population is getting helping from the food shelf in Boy Scout food drive kicks off this weekend. Steele County residents should give what they can:
On Saturday, Boy Scout troops from all over Steele County will be out
in the county collecting food donations from people’s door steps
beginning at 9:30 a.m. All donated food will be sent to the Steele
County Food Shelf.
Tom Barry, district executive for the Game
Haven Council (which oversees Steele, Dodge and Goodhue counties), said
they are looking for a variety of different foods, including canned
fruits and vegetables, soup, pasta and flour, to name a few.
“We hope that people have their food out by about 9 a.m. this weekend,” Barry said. . . .
. . .If people miss putting out the food for Boy Scouts on Saturday, there
will be two other drop-off sites. They include the Steele County Food
Shelf or at the old Century 21 Building at 1836 Cedar Ave., located
next to Godfather’s Pizza. Both drop-off sites will be open from 10
a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.
Trom added they are looking for
additional volunteers to help sort food donations at the old Century 21
building and then bring it to the Steele County Food Shelf.
If
people don’t have food to donate, Trom also said monetary donations
help. Because the food shelf is a non-profit, Trom said the
organization is able to pay for more items at a store compared to the
average dollar.
Photo: Walz returning to his Mankato West classroom in his first term. Washington's got nothing on the tough crowd in the public schools. Photo cribbed from the NYTimes.
Update: We have no idea what G.R. Anderson was smoking when he wrote his Minnpost article which posits this race as a model of civility. Sounds like neither he nor Hamline prof David Schlutz has ever seen a Davis television ad or press release or read any of the district dailies
Since Davis doesn't have any money to advertise in Twin Cities' media markets, it's quite likely neither has. Trust them: they're experts. Joel Kramer pays good money for this tripe? [end update]
After months of preparation — both in and out of the
classroom — Dakota Meadows and Mankato East hosted mock elections on
Thursday. Dakota Meadows’ election, coordinated through National
Student/Parent Mock Election, was decidedly in favor of Obama, who
garnered 347 votes to McCain’s 153. In the U.S. Senate race, Franken
won by just eight votes while Tim Walz, in the U.S. House race, won in
a landslide with 75 percent of the vote. Results from Mankato East’s
mock election, through the Youth Leadership Initiative, weren’t
announced until this morning.
Al Franken made a campaign stop in Mankato today.The senate candidate
was joined by Congressman Tim Walz and Senator Amy Klobuchar at
MSU.During ''For the Middle Class, For a Change'' rally, Franken said
he plans on helping Minnesotans and Americans reach for what he called
the ''promise of America,'' something he says has become a distant
reality over the last 8 years.Al Franken says, ''What I believe is that
what this election is about and what the next 4-8 years are gonna be
about is bridging that chasm and fulfilling once and for all the
promise of America.''The team started their campaign earlier in the day
with stops in Rochester, Owatonna, and Faribault.
He’s an opponent of abortion and gay marriage, is
doubtful that fossil fuel consumption is the primary reason for global
climate change and opposes embryonic stem cell research. He wants to
make the Bush tax cuts permanent, would like to eliminate the estate
tax and would be interested in studying a nationwide sales tax as a
replacement for income taxes.
Davis's pivot makes this statement in the MFP profile all the more ironic:
“Minnesota is a great place, and a lot of people look
at the candidates for who they are,” he said. “And they may not agree
with them on every issue, but they feel they can trust that person to
be straight with them
And we suspect that those in Southern Minnesota's renewable energy industry will raise their eyebrows at this, given the importance of the production tax credit:
He also said he’s opposed
on principle to the numerous tax credits available to individuals and
businesses, something he considers government micro-managing of the
economy.
And when it comes to PAYGO, in Brian Davis's world, evasive is the new straight shooting:
Davis also doesn’t say whether he would
support the pay-as-you-go budget rules — a strategy to reduce budget
deficits by requiring that any new spending increases or tax cuts be
offset with spending cuts or tax increases in other parts of the
budget: “That’s one strategy.”
The companion profile for Walz, Walz hasn't slowed down, was published in yesterday's Free Press
. . .In his first term in the
United States Congress, Minnesota’s First District Representative Tim
Walz has earned the support of two nonpartisan environmental groups,
the League of Conservative Voters and the Sierra Club. Both
organizations are endorsing Walz for a second term.
LCV President Gene Karpinski said,
“Congressman Walz has done a great job of reaching across the aisle and
working with other freshmen members of congress to promote bi-partisan
legislation that will make a real impact on the environment and the
economy. He has bright new ideas for his next term and will continue to
be a strong ally for clean energy in Congress. He has supported
groundbreaking initiatives that will end our addiction to oil, invest
in renewable energy sources and create jobs right here at home.”
I hope others will join me in voting for Walz so that he can continue this good work.
The
Republican Party’s endorsed candidate, oncologist and neophyte
politician Brian Davis, has not gained much traction against freshman
Walz. The incumbent has a serious financial lead in the district, which
runs the width of the southern part of the state.
The 2008 race stands in sharp contrast with that of 2006. CQPolitics and other political handicappers have moved their predictions steadily toward the incumbent as this year's Election Day draws near. Two years ago, the race was red hot, with media and third party groups drawn to the district as Gutknecht and Walz duked it out. This year? Barely on the radar.
In the netroots, Jeff Rosenberg revives his analysis From the archives: Walz’s secret to success in CD1. It's a solid piece, though we tend to shun labeling anything about successful campaigns as "secret." It's no secret that the Walz camapign is smart, strategic, well-funded and firmly planted in the grassroots.
Alex Knutsen has been hard at work for months working to re-elect Congressman Tim Walz
in the first district. He considered jobs in the corporate sector, but
is confident that his choice to work for a campaign following
graduation was the right decision. He says this job has taught him
that, "compensation for the effort you put in comes in many forms."
Between the long hours and grueling schedule, especially as
campaigns make their last push before voters hit the polls, Knutsen
finds many aspects of his work rewarding. "[The knowledge that] the
work I do directly contributes to the encouragement of ideas, to the
empowerment of others, and to the process of making laws work for
people, means more to me than the sort of rewards I saw myself earning
in any number of positions," Knutsen said. He says he receives
intangible rewards from his daily work all the time. "In this job," he
said, "those rewards greatly out-value anything money can buy."
Looks like Congressman Walz is helping to grow the bench of positive, progressive political talent in Southern Minnesota.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced Thursday that 399
Southern Minnesotans have not yet claimed their economic stimulus or
regular refund checks.
First District Congressman Tim Walz urged
taxpayers still waiting for IRS checks to update their addresses so the
IRS can send them out.
"If you haven't gotten your check yet, the
time to act is now - the IRS needs your updated address by Friday, Nov.
28," Walz stated in a press release.
Brown County residents who
have not yet claimed stimulus or refund checks include Sleepy Eye
residents Waldemar and Jean Harmening, James J. Hernandez and Garrett
M. Meyer; plus Springfield resident Cory B. Prescott.
Addresses can be updated with the "Where's My Refund?" tool at IRS.gov.
It enables taxpayers to check the status of their refunds.
Taxpayers must submit their Social Security number, filing status and amount of refund shown their 2007 return.
The tool will provide the status of their refund and in some cases, provide instructions on how to resolve delivery problems.
Taxpayers without internet access should call 1-866-234-2942.
In Minnesota, the average economic stimulus check was $560.
Taxpayers
who continue to have trouble receiving their checks or have other
outstanding issues with the IRS should contact Walz's Rochester office
at 507-206-0643.
Through September 2008, the government
distributed 116 million economic stimulus payments. About 279,000
checks remain undeliverable across the country.
The Waseca County News reports that convicted Enron exec Jeffrey Skilling has left the building and has been transferred to a correctional facility in Colorado. FCI Waseca is converting to an all-women's prison by the end of the year.
And in honor of those middle school kids, here's a Walz ad about "Lessons":
Photo: Congressman Walz visits his old classroom; photo credit New York Times.
Two years
ago, Tim Walz surprised many Washington insiders by knocking off
incumbent Rep. Gil Gutknecht. Today, Walz has established himself as
one of the up-and-coming stars of Congress because of his plainspoken
and down-to-earth politics that have served the 1st District and the
country well. [emphasis added]
Walz wasn’t afraid to break with his party to vote
against the bailout package. He worked hard for a new farm bill. When
the Winona bridge was shut down, he brought the chairman of the U.S.
House Transportation Committee to Winona. And, when southern Minnesota
flooded, he rushed to do what he could to help.
While Walz has
more than earned another trip to Washington on our behalf, we would
also be unfair by not pointing out that Walz’s opponent, Dr. Brian
Davis, is certainly one of the sharpest, most insightful candidates
we’ve seen in quite awhile, and we hope that he continues to campaign
to use his formidable intellect on the public’s behalf.
Another
good measure of Walz’s character happens rather quietly, yet it hasn’t
gone unnoticed. Walz continues to send staff into the field several
times a month in a mobile unit to meet with constituents — where they
are, in their hometown. This isn’t just some gesture, it’s politics at
the most local and most effective level.
The paper also endorsed Barack Obama and Al Franken, while urging a "No" vote on the Clean Amendment. Read the entire piece here.
Candidates vying to represent Minnesotans in the U.S. Senate and
U.S. House of Representatives were given the opportunity to complete an
agricultural survey from The Land.
Candidates were asked
to respond to a series of questions, on topics such as ethanol
subsidies, illegal immigration, agricultural trade policy,
environmental quality issues and how Minnesota can keep young people in
farming.
Ultimately, it came down to one final question for
all the candidates: “Why should a rural Minnesota voter cast their
ballot for you?”
Surveys were mailed in late September to
Republican, DFL and Independence Party candidates for U.S. Senate and
Minnesota’s eight congressional districts. Due to constraints of space,
some responses were edited for length.
Presented here are responses from U.S. Senate candidates Norm Coleman and Al Franken (PDF download), 1st District candidates Tim Walz and Greg Mikkelson (PDF download) . . .
Open the pdf file for the First, and you'll see a note saying:
Republican challenger Brian Davis did not respond in time to be included in The Land’s election guide.
Seniors and ag issues are pretty important in Minnesota's First and both seniors and farmers may notice these lapses. Davis also couldn't think of any way to improve educational and medical benefits for vets.
Whatever does the Davis campaign spend its time doing? Whatever it is, preparing issue briefs, answering surveys and briefing the candidate for debates don't seem to be priority items.
Congressman Tim Walz joins a group of sportsmen from around southern
Minnesota to kick off "Sportsmen for Walz."
The congressman, an avid
hunter, is releasing a new radio advertisement to tout his endorsement
by the National Rifle Association.Sportsman for Walz includes hunters,
anglers and others committed to habitat preservation and outdoor
recreation.
Chris Cox, of the NRA, gives Walz an "A-rating" for his
strong support of second amendment freedoms and hunting heritage.
We just posted a comment on last night's live blogging that left by moderate blogger McPherson Hall at Minnesota Central--here's most of it:
I
wish that was a debate ... what I heard was Davis saying that he didn't
have any ideas ... about Higher Education funding ... about Health Care
coverage. I tried to go in with an open mind, but Davis is so
unqualified and slanted that he is an embarrassment for the Republican
Party. . . .
. . .I found Davis closing comments most revealing. He championed
conservative values while challenging Walz that he was not the
Independent Voice that he promised to be ... so he wants us to vote for
somebody that will never compromise from conservative principles ? Walz
has bucked the Party so many times on important issues --- FISA, Iraq
war funding, AMT, the bailout, etc. -- would Davis ever bolt from the
Republican Study Committee ... NO.
His comments about public education were most interesting. Parents
trump teachers ... and discipline is a problem ... but didn't he start
off telling us that his own daughter wouldn't vote for him ... talk
about challenging parental authority !
Given the spanking he's heading for at the polls in November, we think Davis is most sincere in his concerns for discipline, however much his daughter talks back to him. But we digress from our friend's points:
Walz best line (besides not have discipline problems in his
classroom) was about his bipartisan work on Veterans issues. Easily, if
he can do it on Veterans issues, he can do it on energy issues ... if
the Republicans will play ball.
It is pretty easy to see why Walz would want to debate this guy ...
its probably the best way to showcase how effective, intelligent and
caring he is.
This statement just came in from the Walz campaign:
Tim Walz Scores Huge Victory in Final
Debate
Opponent Brian Davis Puts
Special Interests Over Middle-Class Families
(Mankato, Minnesota) Last night, Tim Walz won his final
debate of the campaign season. In a
debate sponsored by Debate Minnesota, Walz focused on the
change he’s brought to Washington,
as an ordinary Minnesotan who puts middle-class families over partisan politics
and special interests.
Walz Campaign Manager Chris Schmitter said, “Once
again, Tim Walz articulated his positive vision of bringing change to
Washington . As a teacher, National
Guard veteran and football coach, Tim is an ordinary
Minnesota who understands the
needs of middle-class families.”
Schmitter said that the debate showed a sharp
contrast between Walz and his opponent, Dr. Brian Davis, whose positions show
he’s putting partisan politics and special interests over the needs of
middle-class families.
“Minnesotans have known for a while that Dr. Davis puts the Republican
Party platform and the special interests over the needs of middle-class
families,” Schmitter said. “But his comments tonight were still shocking: he
wants to continue the Bush Administration’s failed polices, keep the Bush tax
cuts for millionaires and gamble away Social Security on the stock market. He
even wants to abolish the Department of Education. That’s not what
Minnesota ’s middle-class families
need.”
The [image below] includes some of the
positions Dr. Davis laid out during last night’s debate.
From the sounds of the press release, Walz's work on energy policy led to the endorsement:
Today the League of Conservation Voters endorsed Tim Walz for re-election to Minnesota’s first congressional district.
“Tim
Walz took great initiative during his first term in office, helping
push through important environmental legislation and fighting for clean
energy,” LCV President Gene Karpinski said. “He has supported
groundbreaking initiatives that will end our addiction to oil, invest
in renewable energy sources, and create jobs right here at home.”
“I
am honored by this endorsement and will keep working with LCV and
members of both parties to create clean, renewable energy jobs here in
Minnesota,” Congressman Walz said.
Representative Walz earned
an 85% on LCV’s National Environmental Scorecard in his first year in
congress, voting in favor of clean, renewable energy, reducing global
warming pollution, and clean air and water. Walz has supported
measures to protect consumers by limiting price gouging and suspending
purchases for America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve. He voted in favor
of the CLEAN Energy Act, which rolled back $14 billion in taxpayer-paid
subsides and tax breaks for Big Oil companies, and redirected the money
to renewable energy tax incentives.
Walz cosponsored several
key bills that have promoted the clean energy debate, including the
Fuel Economy Reform Act, the Safe Climate Act, and the Udall-Platts
bill, which requires that 20% of America’s energy come from clean,
renewable sources by 2020. Walz promises to continue his support for
clean energy in his next term by investing in energy conservation
programs, environment restoration, and carbon capture and sequestration
efforts.
“Congressman Walz has done a great job of reaching
across the aisle and working with other Freshmen members of congress to
promote bi-partisan legislation that will make a real impact on the
environment and the economy,” said Karpinski. “He has bright new ideas
for his next term, and will continue to be a strong ally for clean
energy in Congress.”
Lots of MN-01 material was published while we drove to Rochester and listened to the deb
ate. The RACOC is to be congratulated for the debate, which truly was a debate, with rebuttals allowed. A good show. The Uptake will be archiving raw footage of the event on its site. Thanks to Noah and the Uptake.
Mikkelson "has been both all over the political map – and nowhere as well -- since 2002."
Jeepers. The Walz feature,
Walz campaigns as coalition builder, is a solid feature that mentions Davis "complaining." That's about right. The final piece, Davis campaigns as a conservative, believes "radical environmentalists" control Tim Walz. Didn't we hear that sort of thing from Gil Gutknecht in the OWatonna debate in 2006?
The House on Tuesday night approved a measure that would ease a
longstanding ban on offshore oil drilling and try to spur greater use
of alternative fuels as Democrats and Republicans engaged in a bitter
pre-election clash over America’s energy future.
Under the Democratic legislation, adopted by a vote of 236 to 189,
oil companies would lose some tax benefits, utilities would be required
to produce 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by
2020 and a ban on developing fuel from Rocky Mountain shale would be
lifted [see section 171].
The legislation, which faces significant hurdles to
becoming law before Congress breaks at the end of the month, would
allow drilling as close as 50 miles from the coastline if adjacent
states agree and 100 miles out no matter a state’s position. It would
impose stricter oversight on the agency that handles oil leasing and
royalty payments after recent disclosures of improper relationships
between its employees and oil industry representatives.
As we were writing this, a press release came in from the Walz campaign:
Davis Plan Favors Big Oil
Companies
Davis Again Distorts the Walz Record on
Energy
( Southern Minnesota )
– At a press conference on Tuesday, Dr. Brian Davis again rejected the Walz
Bipartisan energy plan and pushed his plan, which favors the Big Oil
companies.
Walz Campaign Manager Chris Schmitter said, “Dr.
Brian Davis offers partisan sound bites, not a comprehensive energy plan. Dr.
Davis rejects the Walz Bipartisan Energy Plan, which 178 Republican Members of
Congress voted for on
September 16, 2008 . While Tim Walz helped write a
bipartisan plan without the input of special interest oil lobbyists, Dr. Davis
wants to bring Big Oil back to the table.”
Schmitter continued, “And today, Dr. Davis has
again distorted the Walz record on energy, claiming that Tim Walz voted against
offshore drilling. Twice on Tuesday night, September 16, Tim Walz voted to
expand offshore drilling. However, Tim Walz has consistently opposed blank
checks to the oil companies, which Dr. Davis clearly supports.”
At Tuesday’s press conference, Dr. Davis
criticized the Walz Bipartisan Energy Plan for requiring Big Oil companies to
pay royalties for offshore drilling. Oil companies pay these royalties to drill
and sell
America ’s
offshore oil, which the American people own.
He also said that Big Oil special interests should
have a seat at the table for any new energy plan.
Tim Walz worked with 20 Members of Congress from
both parties to write the House Bipartisan Working Group’s energy plan, without
the input of special interest lobbyists from Big Oil. The plan calls for $1
trillion in royalty payments from new offshore drilling to be invested in
renewable energy.
Davis
Supports Bringing Big Oil Into Energy Policy Discussions: At a recent
press conference, Brian Davis said he supported bringing big oil to the table to
discuss future energy policy. He said, “Why don’t we have people from the
American companies sitting at the table saying what is the best thing that you
can do for us to have drilling opened up.”
[ Davis Campaign Press Conference,
9/16/08 ]
Davis Opposes Making the Oil Companies Pay Royalties
to Use Oil the American People Own, Wants to Give them American Oil for
Free: At a recent press conference, Dr. Davis said, “Well what we’re talking
about is a $1 trillion tax. We don’t know where that $1 trillion is going to
come from, those numbers don’t add up. But if there is some incentives for the
states, that would be acceptable, but not on the government suggesting where it
will come from.” [ Davis Campaign
Press Conference,
9/16/08 ]
Davis Said He Opposes Subsidies for Renewable Sources
of Energy: Dr. Davis recently stated he would cut subsidies for renewable
sources of energy like biofuels and wind energy [Minnesota Public Radio,
7/20/08 ] and would
have opposed the 2007 Energy Bill, which received bipartisan support and
increased fuel efficiency standards for cars and funding for research into
renewable fuels [Farm Fest Forum, 2008].
Yesterday, 178 Republicans Voted For Energy Policy
Legislation: Yesterday, 178 Republicans voted for energy policy legislation
to repeal the oil and gas exploration moratorium and allow states to opt-out of
oil and gas production within a year of enactment. Motion rejected by a
vote of 191-226; Republicans 178-10; Democrats 13-216 [HR 6899, Vote #598,
9/16/08 ]
Yesterday, Walz Voted Twice For Energy Legislation
That Allowed For Increased Off-Shore Drilling. [HR 6899, Vote #598,
9/16/08 ; HR 6899,
Vote #599,
9/16/08 ]
We do wonder where Davis comes up with some of the things he says about Walz. His statement on the bill passed by the House last night claims, for instance, that oil shale is not included, despite what the Times and the text of the bill states. Likewise, Davis must not consider carbon sequestration or coal gasification projects to be forms of "clean coal," even though they're a part of the standard discourse about the concept.
Update: We contacted Congressman Walz's office to see if the just passed bill put Alaskan waters off-limits to drilling. Communication director Meredith Salsbery checked on the issue with the appropriate committee and returned this statement in an e-mail:
There were no restrictions placed on any Alaskan waters. All of the Alaska OCS are currently open for leasing, and nothing in the bill changes that.
Davis claimed in his statement today that the legislation places Alaskan waters off limits. No news venue that we know of has reported that this is a provision in the bill nor have we identified language in the bill that would make it so.
In Minnesotans concerned about bailout, the Worthington Globe reports:
