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

Saturday morning news digest:penny pinchers' edition

The Red Wing Republican Eagle reports Sarvi sets his sights on Congress.  Sarvi is compared to Walz by DFLers, and today marks his first day as a fulltime candidate.  Go over to Steve's site and show him some greenback love. Consider volunteering.

One of the things Steve will need in Washington D.C. is the ability to pinch pennies, since the cost of living is among the highest in the nation. MinnPost's feature Political penny pinchers: Minnesota's congressional delegation tries to cut living expenses takes a look at the situation:

. . .Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Reps. Tim Walz and Michele Bachmann say they were blown away by real estate prices in Washington, where one-bedroom apartments start at $250,000 and rent averages at $1,100 a month.. . .

. . .In 2006, it cost about $80,000 a year to live in the DC metro area, while the cost of living hovered around half that in Minneapolis.

(The cost of living in Mankato is close to the metro average, a union friend who negotiates contracts in both places tell us.)

Cost cutting
Certainly, members of Congress make plenty of money. The salary for rank-and-file members is $169,300 this year, and that sum is annually adjusted to match the cost of living in Washington. (According to the U.S. Census Bureau [PDF], the median household income in the United States was $48,201 in 2006.)

Walz returned his raise to the U.S. Treasury

While no member of Minnesota's freshman class is poor — Klobuchar, Ellison and Bachmann all have law degrees, while Walz was a high school teacher — they're not independently wealthy like former Sens. Rudy Boschwitz or Mark Dayton, whose net worth was nearly $4 million in 2003. . . .

. . . The Minnesota delegation has also cultivated their own money saving techniques for living in the city. Like Ellison, Walz moved to an efficiency apartment after sharing a place with another member of Congress that cost as much as his mortgage in Minnesota and provided about a quarter of the space.

"It was a hole in the wall," he said.

Walz's assessment?  Typical Tim:

Walz says that all the annoyances that go along with being a member of Congress are "just part of the job."

Speaking of pennies, legislation to change the composition of metals in them is making its way through Congress; the Bush administration isn't happy with the measure. In To coin a phrase, live with it, the Mankato Free Press board gives the administration a thumbs down:

Thumbs down

To the U.S. Mint and the Bush administration for yet another attempted executive-branch power grab.

Article 2, Section 8 of the Constitution explicitly gives Congress the power “to coin Money (and) regulate the value thereof.” Legislation that passed the House Thursday that would change the metallic composition of the penny and nickel — a measure intended to make it cheaper to make those small-denomination coins — is being opposed by the White House in part because it only allows the Treasury Department to suggest a specific composition rather than make the decision on its own.

The measure thus reserves to Congress a power the Constitution allots to Congress. The administration should live with that fact.

The Austin Daily News editorial board writes that The future of ethanol is more than just corn. The Fairmont Sentinel reports Coleman praises farm bill.

Speaking of the Farm Bill, our friend Bruce at the Minnesota Farmers Union (we're a member) sent us a press release praising the legislation:

Minnesota Farmers Union is pleased that the farm bill is moving forward.  It has been in the works for 2 years and on the verge of passing for over 7 months.  People from Farmers Union, in Minnesota and on the National level, have been fighting for our policies for a long time,” said Doug Peterson , Minnesota Farmers Union President.  “It is encouraging that items like Country-of-Origin-Labeling (COOL) implementation, and a funded permanent disaster assistance program, two Farmers Union priorities, are in the bill.”

“This is a great reform bill.  It offers balance on conservation and nutrition and reduces direct payments and offers better risk protection for farmers.  Real reform was achieved by eliminating the triple entity provision and requiring direct attribution for farm payments.”

“This bill also includes much needed funding for nutrition which was increased by $10.36 billion dollars. President Bush is still threatening a veto on this bill, however I think he would be hard-pressed to veto a reform bill that increases food and nutrition funding for the needy.”

Other Farmers Union policies included in the bill are:

$5 billion funded for a permanent disaster assistance program;

An increase of $10.3 billion for nutrition programs

Assistance to food banks increased by $1.25 billion

$365 million  for a fruit and vegetables program;

$1.1 billion for the renewable energy industry;

Creates a loan guarantee program to develop production of dedicated cellulosic energy crops;

Makes COOL implementation mandatory;

Imposes eligibility caps based on the level of farm income;

Increases funding for Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Conservation Stewardship Program to protect our natural resources;

$60 million to purchase food overseas to feed people in need;

For the first time there is a Livestock Title that includes non-binding arbitration, interstate shipment of meat, contract reforms and improvement of Packers & Stockyards Act;

Conservation funding increased by $6.6 billion;

7-state pilot program for fruits and vegetables directed at smaller farms and processors; and

Blenders credit for cellulosic ethanol from 51 cents to one dollar per gallon.

“I want to thank both National Farmers Union President Tom Buis and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson for working and fighting so hard for family farmers. I am optimistic that their hard work will pay off and this farm bill gets passed and signed by the President,” said MFU President Doug Peterson .

The farm bill is scheduled to be on the House and Senate floor Wednesday, May 14^th. It is not clear whether or not President Bush will sign the bill.  More details about the provisions of the bill will be available as it moves through the process.

Minnesota Farmers Union is a membership based organization that works to protect and enhance the economic interests and quality of life of family farmers and rural communities.

 

Friday news digest: the Colbert Bump and other media effects

Could the Colbert Bump help Harriet the eagle? The Rochester Post Bulletin reports that Wabasha bald eagle does the Capitol, Comedy Central. So she's learned to fly again, albeit on commercial airliners. First class or coach?

Congress adjourned early this morning.  DFL activists and Walz volunteers will be in the Rochesterfest Parade tonight.  Will the Congressman join them?

The PB's Austin calendar notes the mobile office stop in Austin next Wednesday.

A West Central Tribune report mentions the All Healthy Children Act, of which Walz is a co-sponsor.

The Huffington Post suggests Adding to the ranks of Iraq and Afghanistan Vets in Congress. Wlaz, who served in Italy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, is mentioned.

The Mankato Free Press editorial board criticizes some House Democratic leaders for attempting to back pedal on promises to disclose earmarks, but notes that Walz will be disclosing his list of earmarks today.

Given that he has been citing projects he's requested for the First for several weeks now, in press calls and other venues,  there should be no big surprises in the list.

Pesky College Students Alert: MN students against Trustless Trustee for those concerned about the pending appointment of the student representative for 4-yr MnSCU colleges.

And IDHA is back! With a post about the heart of the matter.

Friday rare bird edition: spotting Walz in the news

It looks like it'll be another beautiful day in southern Minnesota, where the spring migration is well under way.  For our afternoon birding we're torn between going to Olmsted County, where a scissor-tailed flycatcher has been spotted, to Fairbault County for a glimpse of long-tailed ducks, or to a WMA in Watonwan County, where a birder saw big-tailed grackles, according to the MOU's weekly RBA.  There's also a Western Tanager in Freeborn County.

This morning, though, we've scoured news sources and blogs for tales of MN-01's own good bird, Congressman Tim Walz. Fortunately for a Bluestem Prairie, Walz sightings are common, however rare a talent Rep. Walz may be.

The Mankato Free Press contrasts Walz's views on the Iraq War funding bill with those held by Senator Coleman in Coleman, Walz: Revisit Iraq issue in future:

Democratic Congressman Tim Walz and Republican Sen. Norm Coleman were on opposite sides of legislation Wednesday night and Thursday morning setting a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, but they agreed that the issue needs to be revisited in coming months.

The legislation to continue funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which passed the House Wednesday and the Senate Thursday, is certain to be vetoed by President George W. Bush because of his objection to the requirement that a draw-down of troops from Iraq begin by Oct. 1 if certain benchmarks are not met.

Following the veto, Walz said he will push for a funding bill that takes care of the needs of the troops for 90 days — forcing a review of the status of the war this summer. That sort of oversight is a crucial responsibility for members of Congress, particularly when the majority of the public and many foreign policy and military experts believe the war is going badly.

“It’s an absolute sacred duty to ask those questions,” said Walz, the first-term lawmaker and retired National Guard soldier.

Unlike Walz, Coleman voted against the legislation. But Coleman said that shouldn’t be interpreted as blind support for Bush or for the war.

“I’m not for an open-ended commitment. I’m not for a blank check,” Coleman said. “... We’re going to have to have a Plan B.”

Coleman visited Iraq last weekend and said there is some indication that a surge in U.S. troops ordered by Bush is helping in some regions of the war-torn country. And the surge deserves to be fully implemented before judgments are made about whether it can be successful.

Coleman, who faces reelection next year, also said that Americans need to think about the outcome if the Iraq war is lost. He envisions an emboldened al-Qaida that will be able to spread its anti-American movement to other parts of the Islamic world.

“Part of our responsibility is to talk about the consequences,” he said.

Walz said the Iraq war isn’t about defeating al-Qaida — it's a sectarian civil war that’s distracting America from the battle against al-Qaida. The legislation passed by Congress would provide U.S. generals leverage with Iraqi leaders as they attempt to force Iraqis to take more responsibility for ending the violence between different religious sects.

“This gives our generals in the field the ability to tell the Iraqis this is not an open-ended commitment,” Walz said.

Walz said he is pessimistic Bush will ever admit the war has become a quagmire and will never voluntarily agree to any accountability benchmarks from Congress.

“The president just refuses to face the reality,” said Walz, who believes Congress has a constitutional duty to continue pressuring the president to reconsider his strategy. “... The beauty of the country is that there’s three branches.” . . .

. . . .[Coleman] expects honest answers from Petraeus, who promised to provide an update for Congress in September, including a candid admission that the war is no longer winnable if he believes that.

Walz doesn’t expect to hear it if Petraeus ever reaches that conclusion.

“When the president disagrees with generals,” Walz said, “he just removes them.”

Our friends who are more politically connected than we are insist that articles pairing Walz and Coleman made the Senator nervous before speculation ended on a potential Walz bid for Senate.  Perhaps that's why Norm is now stressing nuance.

Norm wants to listen to the generals; the Washington Post reports that Army Officer Accuses Generals of 'Failures':

An active-duty Army officer is publishing a blistering attack on U.S. generals, saying they have botched the war in Iraq and misled Congress about the situation there.

"America's generals have repeated the mistakes of Vietnam in Iraq," charges Lt. Col. Paul Yingling, an Iraq veteran who is deputy commander of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. "The intellectual and moral failures . . . constitute a crisis in American generals."

Yingling's comments are especially striking because his unit's performance in securing the northwestern Iraqi city of Tall Afar was cited by President Bush in a March 2006 speech and provided the model for the new security plan underway in Baghdad.

He also holds a high profile for a lieutenant colonel: He attended the Army's elite School for Advanced Military Studies and has written for one of the Army's top professional journals, Military Review.

The article, "General Failure," is to be published today in Armed Forces Journal and is posted at http://www.armedforcesjournal.com. Its appearance signals the public emergence of a split inside the military between younger, mid-career officers and the top brass.

Many majors and lieutenant colonels have privately expressed anger and frustration with the performance of Gen. Tommy R. Franks, Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno and other top commanders in the war, calling them slow to grasp the realities of the war and overly optimistic in their assessments.

Meanwhile Fox News carries an Associated Press articles that is anything but nuanced in  New Congress: Campaigning Never Stops.  The article centers on Walz's DC roommate, iraq War vet Patrick Murphy. Walz gets a mention:

Recognizing both the vulnerabilities of the freshmen class and the freshness they brought to Washington as part of a new class, party leaders have put them out front on key issues. Murphy, along with Minnesota Rep. Tim Walz, another freshman military veteran, have helped lead the fight to withdraw troops from Iraq.  

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee put a link on its Web site targeting six "Republican reruns" that press reports have indicated could be back in the race. Among them is former Republican Rep. Mike Sodrel in Indiana, who nearly beat Rep. Baron Hill in 2002, beat Hill in 2004, then lost to him in 2006.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who chairs the Democrats' campaign committee, said Republican challengers will have their work cut out for them.

"If the last election sent one clear message, it was people were tired, they were sick and tired of the Republican Congress and where they'd taken the country," he said.

The Republicans, who lost control of the House for the first time in 12 years, are already trying to shape their message for 2008 _ telling voters that Democrats have quickly shown they are not agents of change. They've sent out 1 million e-mails to 11 congressional districts to tell what they say is "The Real Democrat Story."

We're not sure which to appreciate more-- the GOP's misuse of adjectives as a campaign strategy,  or  Tim Walz's absence from that list of eleven targets. Oddly enough, given Fox News report's focus,  Patrick Murphy isn't on the list either.

In the New Ulm Journal, we spot Walz seeks incentives   for science, math teachers:

First District Congressman Tim Walz is going to push for passage of two bills that will not only try to get the “best and brightest” teaching mathematics and the sciences but also help young researchers make their marks early on.

Walz told Minnesota reporters during his weekly “call-in” news conference Thursday that the two bills “are important to me because they deal with teaching and innovation.”

The Democratic Congressman taught at Mankato West High School before being elected to Congress last November.

The bills are HR 362, “10,000 Teachers, 10 Million Minds Science and Math Scholarship Act,” and HR 363, “Sowing the Seeds Through Science and Engineering Research Act, and both are fresh out of the U.S. House of Representatives’ science committee, Walz said.

Walz thinks there's a special place for science and technology learning in the First, according to the Journal:

Walz sees the alternative energy source arena as a beneficiary of this effort to spur on scientific research, particularly among young researchers.

“I’m most proud that I see the First District of Minnesota playing a key role in this. We have, for example, the City of Austin [with its] new slogan which is ‘Grow Science, Grow Austin.’ Everyone is focusing on the things they can do in Austin to bring high-tech industry in to replace some of the industries that we’ve lost,” Walz explained.

“Things like the Hormel Institute and the world-leading research of cancer that is happening down in Austin are absolutely something we need to be incredibly proud of, and I’m hoping that both of these acts will continue to do that,” Walz said.

“I’m also seeing the renewable energy, of course. We’ve been a leader in that. We are the fourth largest wind-power producing Congressional district in America, and we’ve got sights on growing that significantly.”

2008 Challengers
One of Tim Walz's declared opponents, Dick Day, tells the Owatonna People's Press that he is simply against the idea of a minimum wage itself, period, in an article about the Ruby Tuesday franchise seeking a tip credit provision in Minnesota's state wage laws. 

Wings on the Prairie
Back to the rare birds. Windom's Cottonwood County Citizen reports that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will release Trumpeter Swans at the Wolf Lake WMA on May 5.

Hurried Thursday news digest

It's a busy day at work, so we'll post a few quick hits and be on our way. The Strib reports on yesterday's Iraq War vote in House: Begin troop pullout by Oct. 1 and Minnesota Democrats for, Republicans against pullout plan.  From the former article:

The House Wednesday night brushed aside weeks of angry White House rhetoric and veto threats to narrowly approve a $124 billion war spending bill that requires troop withdrawal from Iraq to begin by Oct. 1 with a goal of ending U.S. combat operations there by next March.

The Senate is expected to follow the House's 218-208 vote with final passage today, completing work on the rarest of bills: legislation to try to end a major war as fighting still rages. Democrats hope to send the measure to the White House on Monday, almost exactly four years after Bush declared an end to major combat. . . .

The West Central Tribune reports on the vote in Minnesota lawmakers divided on Iraq troop withdrawal.  Walz quoted in the Forum chain's article

The bill would hold both Bush and Iraqi leaders accountable and prevent the war from turning into an “open-ended commitment of American troops caught in the middle of a civil war,” said Rep. Tim Walz, a Democrat from southern Minnesota’s 1st District.

“The Bush administration has failed both to take care of our veterans and to hold the Iraqi government to the benchmarks it previously set,” Walz said Wednesday in a statement. “So today, Congress will ask the president to uphold his end of the bargain.”

The Washington Post reports Iraqi Divisions Stall Political Aims:

Officials see little or no progress in achieving three key benchmarks set by the Bush administration.

An Armenian news source notes Walz's presence at a ceremony remembering the Armenian Genocide in the early 20th century.

Netroots: Minnesota's progressive bloggers respond to the New York Times article
Walz Right at Home in Times -- and Mankato (MNCR), NYTimes to Walz: You’re Awesome (MnPublius), Washington Walz In The New York Times (Mn GOP Watch), New York Times on Tim Walz the Educator (Vox Verax), politics { Walz (Cube Zoo), and Authenticity, links, and subpoenas (Norwegianity).  The Wege  adds:

And speaking of Bluestem, my understanding is they were strongly considered for a City Pages' blog award, but were just too far outside the metro area to win. Not to detract from Spotty, who puts a lot of work into his mixed doggy bag of a blog, but as a reminder that there are no shortage of quality lefty blogs around, even if we don't all have the Mr. Roboto audiences the wingnuts give to Powerblinders and the other big readership Minnesota rightwing blogs.

We'd have gone with the dalmatian, too, but what do hick bovine bloggers know?  (We'll buy the Wege ale, even if he did vote for Nader in 2000. Nobody's perfect).

MNspeak notes the NYT article in Walz: Better Debates in High School than Congress.

Cube Zoo publishes a note about civil liberties from the representative  in response/politics { Tim Walz responds to my email.

PBS Newshour: Senate vote on the war bill

Not much news about Congressman Walz today; the PBS Newshour with Jim Lehrer did feature this exchange between the host and Mark Shields on March 23:

JIM LEHRER: Is the Senate -- now, the Senate is going to take this thing up, Mark.

MARK SHIELDS: OK.

JIM LEHRER: And if -- the Senate doesn't even have -- as I understand it, their resolution isn't even as binding as the House, right? In other words, isn't there...

MARK SHIELDS: No, that's right. They have a goal.

JIM LEHRER: They have a goal, not a binding date, and all that sort of stuff.

MARK SHIELDS: Rather than a timetable.

JIM LEHRER: So, where -- what does all this mean?

MARK SHIELDS: Well, what it means, Jim, is, for example, every freshman in the House of Representatives, Democrat, voted for it, OK? That's significant. That -- the election...

JIM LEHRER: Voted for the -- today's...

MARK SHIELDS: That's right.

JIM LEHRER: Yes. OK.

MARK SHIELDS: The election last week -- the election last November...

JIM LEHRER: Had consequences.

MARK SHIELDS: ... had consequences.

JIM LEHRER: All right.

MARK SHIELDS: There are five freshman who really played a prominent role in this, all of whom were military veterans, including Patrick Murphy, who was with the 82nd Airborne in Iraq. I mean, these were all -- Joe Sestak, a three-star admiral, freshman Democrat.

I mean all of them stood up. The highest ranked -- Tim Walz, the highest ranking enlisted man in the Congress ever, I mean a command sergeant major, I mean, they all stood up and made the case that, from the units with whom they have served, their colleagues, that they were doing the right thing.

New Ulm Journal editorial: Gonzales should resign
The Journal's editorial board looks at the United States attorney firings and concludes:

The whole affair has been handled stupidly. Gonzales should admit he has handled it badly, and resign.

Talk of the Nation: Tim Walz's DC roommate on Kosovo deployment

Tim Walz's DC roommate, Pennsylvania Representative Patrick Murphy, was a guest on NPR's "Talk of the Nation" on March 8; the focus was on Murphy's experience as a former soldier who had just been to Iraq:

Freshman Congressman Patrick Murphy has been on the job just two months, yet he's just back from a trip to Iraq to visit U.S. troops. It was a homecoming of sorts. Back in 2003-04 the Pennsylvania Democrat was a captain in the 82nd Airborne Division based in Baghdad. He's the only Iraq war veteran in Congress and a vocal opponent of President Bush's troop build up.

A question came in:

CONAN: All right. Find the right button, there we go. All right, we're talking with Congressman Patrick Murphy, the only Iraq war veteran currently serving in Congress. I should point also, at the age of 33, the youngest member of Congress. You're listening to TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.

And let's see if we can get another caller on the line, and this is John(ph), John's with us from Salt Lake City.

JOHN (Caller): How are you doing?

CONAN: Very well, thanks.

JOHN: Good. In the past, the rules for deployments of National Guard required that National Guard soldiers not be deployed more than two years out of a five year period. Now, that was recently changed by Congress so that everybody's National Guard clock has been reset.

Anybody, regardless of how many times they've deployed, can now be called up again.

CONAN: Right.

JOHN: So as a National Guard soldier who's been over there twice already, two years since the war began, I'm a little disappointed to find out that my part- time job could jump up on me again.

CONAN: Yeah, the rules are being changed after you signed up.

JOHN: Exactly.

CONAN: Is that fair, Congressman Murphy?

Rep. MURPHY: I think that's absolutely [not] fair. John, you and I, you know, obviously served in the same military, same - we're both proud of our service. It's as if you're doing a physical training fitness test, and you're supposed to run two miles, and then you're getting to the two-mile marker, and they say now you need to run another mile, another three or four miles. And to say it's disheartening to you and to the families back home is really - it's crippling.

And John, I would like to mention my roommate here in Washington - I, you know, I live in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, but I have a very, very small apartment here in Washington with a guy, Tim Walz, Congressman Tim Walz from the state of Minnesota. He was a command sergeant major in the Minnesota National Guard. And just yesterday, John, you wouldn't believe that a unit out of the Minnesota National Guard, who just came back from Iraq, got order[s] and said you are now going to Kosovo.

And not only were they going to Kosovo, but they're going to Kosovo and now not getting the combat, the deployment pay, that everyone else gets. And you look at what the State Department is doing, the State Department has people in Kosovo, they give combat pay, and they don't even give our own soldiers now combat pay. You know, it's kind of doing it on the cheap.

Now, I came down here to Congress to make sure that we're protecting troops, to make sure that we're doing everything possible to support the troops and being smart about things. And what's not being smart about it is saying to some private in the Minnesota National Guard: Thanks for your service in Iraq. You're [now] going to Kosovo, and even though you're only making $19,000 a year, and when you get deployed you get at least tax-free benefits - now we're going to tax your pay, you know, probably a third, where you're going to make now about $14,000 a year, serving in a place like Kosovo where you can't walk on the grass because there are still mines - but our military will say it's not a combat to where it's not really a deployment anymore.

That's what's wrong with the current policies that are in effect right now. And guys like Tim Walz and myself will go to the mat for every single soldier, whether they're active duty, National Guard or reservists - every single day when we're down here.

CONAN: John, thanks very much for the call. Good luck to you.

JOHN: Thank you.

Source: Nexis News Transcripts.

Friday morning digest: "I didn't come to sit on the back bench of Congress"

Winona Daily News: Not sitting on the back bench
The Winona Daily News' Brian Voerding reports that Walz looks for Iraq answers:

Rep. Tim Walz has no illusions that a simple resolution could end the Iraq war, a conflict nearing the start of its fifth year.

Still, he says, it’s a long overdue and necessary first step toward Congress asserting its power in governing the conflict, and toward allowing soldiers to return home.

The freshman Democrat who represents southern Minnesota is one of hundreds of House members backing a resolution that opposes President George W. Bush’s choice to send additional troops to Iraq. The House began debating the resolution this week and is scheduled to vote on it sometime today. . . .

The article notes Walz's leadership in Washington:

. . . Walz, a former command sergeant major in the National Guard, used the war in Iraq as a defining wedge issue in last year’s campaign in which he defeated six-term Republican incumbent Gil Gutknecht. He delivered three speeches on the House floor this week and has been a leading Democrat in pushing the resolution.

“I didn’t come to sit on the back bench of Congress,” he said in a conference call Thursday. “I came to speak where I saw it necessary. Minnesota doesn’t want a follower or a sheep; they want a leader.”

Still, he said, he hasn’t spent much time calculating the politics or possible risks of publicity. Instead, he went to Walter Reed Army Medical Center Wednesday to visit two soldiers from his former unit who were injured in Iraq and are getting fitted for prosthetic limbs.

“I don’t know and I don’t care about their political ideology, and I only care that this nation honors its commitment by providing everything possible for these brave Americans,” Walz said of them in his Thursday floor speech. “Today is the day we tell Tony and John that we will always support you and we will provide this nation true security.“ . . .

Voerding notes Walz's response to questions about Al Franken's U.S. Senate bid:

. . .“I’ve seen him in the unguarded moments, and I see that Al cares about the things that Minnesotans care about,” Walz said, referring to early opposition that has described Franken as a media darling who isn’t tuned into voter concerns. “You’ll see a very energetic, caring guy who really wants this job for the right reasons.”

Franken was a valuable part of Walz’s Congressional bid, appearing several times in Winona and other cities last year for fundraisers and stump speeches and donating more than $18,000 to the campaign.

“He was there many, many times at the time when no one else believed,” Walz said.

Walz stopped short of endorsing Franken; he said he would hedge his decision until the Democratic primary and let “people of my district make up their mind.”  . . .

Ollie Ox Update: Minnesota Max's diary about the article at Minnesota Campaign Report.  Max is a college student from Winona. [/update]

Star Tribune: Minnesota's 3 newcomers speak up
The Strib's Brady Averill looks at yesterday's speeches by Ellison, Bachmann, and Walz.  Excerpt from Walz's speech:

Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., said he has taken two oaths in his life -- one as a 17-year-old when he joined the Army National Guard and one as a 42-year-old when he became a congressman. "I swore only to uphold the laws of this great land and protect with my life if necessary the liberties and freedoms we so dearly cherish," he said. "This debate today is exactly about that."

Minnesota's three newcomers spoke on the House floor Thursday to argue their positions on the Iraq resolution, which expresses disapproval with President Bush's plan to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq.

The resolution is expected to pass the House today with support from some Republicans, including Minnesota Rep. Jim Ramstad.

Averill notes' Walz's response to those who fret about sending the wrong message to America's enemies:

Walz said he agrees with some lawmakers who have said the debate sends a message to enemies: "The message our enemy is hearing this week is that this nation is able and willing to adjust its tactics to focus on the true threats of our security, which come from Al-Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan, and by securing our ports and borders."

Walz also appeared Thursday at a news conference with like-minded lawmakers and VoteVets.org, a political action committee whose goal is to elect to Congress war veterans who are critical of the war in Iraq.

New York Times' The Caucus: The Senate Set for War on Saturday
Tim Walz is quoted in the House side of the entry about the Senate vote scheduled for Saturday:

In addition, at another news conference today — yes, yes, it’s all war all the time — the VoteVets.org contingent, a largely Democrat-based group of veterans, joined with several lawmakers to talk about the House resolution.

Representative Tim Walz hailed the measure’s “historical significance.” It would be the “most important vote in the House since the vote for use of force,” said Jon Soltz, the cofounder and chairman of VoteVets, which has been working with MoveOn and the Center for American Progress.

O.K., so it’s a big deal. But would it actually make a difference?

“We expect from this vote a change in the policy,” declared Representative Tom Lantos, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the only non-veteran at the presser. He bristled at a question referring to the “nonbinding resolution.”

“Nothing could be more binding than the solemn vote of the entire House of Representatives,” Mr. Lantos said. “I am tired of this adjective.”

Mr. Walz and Representative Patrick Murphy, a Democrat and a veteran elected in November, would not say whether they supported some of Mr. Murtha’s possible conditions, such as attaching to spending bills requirements for requiring certain armor and equipment for the troops.

They said they were focusing on the next day’s vote and that other questions were a distraction.

“I believe they will be conditions that the majority of the House will support,” Mr. Lantos said. But, “we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” He said he would hold a full day of hearings about other Iraq-related measures during the first week of March.

City Pages Blotter: Walz raises concerns about funding for VA medical care
Corey Anderson takes a look at Walz's testimon about veterans' issues before the Budget Committee in Congressman Walz raises concerns about funding for VA medical care:

Freshman Congressman Tim Walz from the First District yesterday delivered testimony in front of the House Budget Committee regarding the Bush Administration's budget proposals on veterans' programs. The 24-year veteran of the Army National Guard and son of a Korean War veteran, Walz raised numerous concerns about the shortfalls he sees in the funding of VA clinics and hospitals and the proposed enrollment fees that would affect those most in need of care. . . .

The text of the testimony is included in the article.

CQPolitics: DCCC Announces Its 'Frontline' Seats for 2008
CQPolitics' Marie Horrigan examines the list in DCCC Announces Its 'Frontline' Seats for 2008:

Given the frantic pace at which presidential and congressional campaigning has taken off in the earliest weeks of the 2007-08 cycle, it comes as no surprise that Democratic strategists are front-loading their program as well.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on Thursday — just a little less than 21 months from Election Day in November 2008 — announced the names of the first 29 House Democrats who will benefit from the program, which steers additional financial and logistical resources to incumbents viewed as potentially vulnerable to serious Republican challenges.

The group of 29 includes 24 freshman members of the Democrats’ sizable House Class of 2006. Second-term Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, a rising star in House Democratic ranks who is chairing the

program for this election cycle, referred to the beneficiaries as “majority-makers” — a reference to their contribution to the 30-seat gain that gave the party control of the House after a dozen years in the minority. Wasserman-Schultz said the program would provide “the money, message and strategy they need to successfully position themselves for re-election in 2008.”

The candidates include 18 freshmen members of Congress who unseated Republicans (including two former House members making comebacks after losing their seats under differing circumstances in 2004); six Democrats who won open-seat races in districts formerly covered by Republicans (including two more returning members who bounced back from 2004 losses); and five Democratic incumbents who won re-election last year by varying margins. . . .               

Go read the rest. Tim Walz is included in the group.

Netroots response at the Swing State Project, Jonathan Singer at MyDD, and KTatActBlue at DailyKos. Act Blue has set up a DCCC Frontline Democrats 2008 page for contributions that will go directly to the candidates of the contributor's choice. We will add the link to our ActBlue section in the menu on the right.  The DCCC's Stakeholder writeup here.

Chris Cillizza discusses the program at the WaPo's The Fix in House Democrats Reveal Their "Frontline":

In the 2006 election, Democrats didn't lose a single House member to defeat, an unblemished record that was credited to a program aimed at funneling funds to endangered incumbents early and often.

Known as "Frontline," the program was so effective at helping otherwise endangered incumbents that is allowed the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to play offense in a number of GOP-held seats that wound up turning over. Pennsylvania's 4th District, New Hampshire's 2nd District and Minnesota's 1st District jump to mind.

Given the successes of Frontline in 2006, it's not surprising that Democrats are quickly reviving the program for 2008. Today the DCCC released the names of the 29 lawmakers who are on the Frontline list -- a first glance at the lawmakers considered by their own party to be most at-risk of losing next year. . . .

 

Tim Walz's February 15, 2007 statement

As part of the ongoing floor debate on the Iraq War resolution, Rep. Tim Walz delivered the following statement on the floor of the House of Representatives:

"No debate in this house has been longer overdue.  This debate has been going on for nearly four years in homes, work places, grocery stores, and houses of worship all over America.  No greater responsibility rests with us, the people's representatives, than debating the decisions involved in waging a war. The decision to send our brave women and men into combat is not the end of our responsibility, but rather the beginning of it. This body has a sacred duty to protect this nation, our citizens, and especially those we send into combat in our name.  Constant vigilance, questioning, and adjustments to courses of action are our number one priority and this newly elected Congress intends to do just that.

Some have said that this debate "sends a message to our enemies", and I would agree.  The message they are hearing this week is that democracy in America is alive and well.  The message they are hearing is that this nation will not live in fear of its own shadow and blindly give away those precious liberties that make this the greatest nation the world has ever known.  The message they are hearing is that this nation is able and willing to adjust its tactics to focus on the true threats to our security which come from al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and by securing our ports and borders.  The message they are hearing is that this nation is no longer willing to wage war based on ideology and failed policy, but will now wage it based on facts and reality.

Many of my colleagues have spoken of the need to support our troops.  On this point you will get no debate from me or any other American citizen.  By implying that some don't support the troops based on nothing more than political posturing is cynical and divisive.  For more than two decades I served in our Armed Forces and worked with soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines from all walks of life.  Not once did I see these brave men and women as anything but patriots.  Not once did I view them as Democrat, Republican, Independent, Libertarian, or any other political name nor did they view me as anything other than a soldier. 

The issue we are debating this week is the execution of this war and the failure of this administration to provide a realistic plan for success.  From the start of this war up to this recent plan to send more Americans into Baghdad this administration has miscalculated, poorly planned, shifted blame, and failed to couple our military policies with diplomatic, economic, and the long range strategic planning that would have given our brave soldiers a plan for success. Had the previous Congress done its constitutional duty of oversight and accountability there is a strong likelihood we would be in much better position than we are today.  Even as foreign policy experts, military experts, Congress, and the American public show an overwhelming desire to change course and oppose this escalation, this administration ignores all evidence and stumbles on.  This debate marks the beginning of this new Congresses acceptance of our duty to provide that oversight and bring about policy changes based in reality, facts, and long range security needs of this nation.

I have taken two oaths in my life.  The first was as a 17 year old young man and that was the oath taken as I joined the Army National Guard.  The second was as a 42 year older man and that was when I became a United States Congressman.  In both cases I solemnly swore my allegiance to protect and defend the U.S. Constitution.  I swore no allegiance to any man.  I swore no allegiance to any political ideology.  I swore only to uphold the laws of this great land and protect with my life the liberties and freedoms we so dearly cherish. This debate today is about exactly that oath.  Previous congresses gave the president the authority to conduct this war in Iraq, not the authority to disregard expert advice, not the authority to take civil liberties from American citizens, not the authority to disregard our constitutional right as a co-equal branch of government.  I, like all Americans, wish that this president had made good decisions and that the situation in Iraq was better.  Unfortunately, wishful thinking does not make good foreign policy.  Fortunately the genius of our founders is once again on display in this debate.  This congress, by taking this first step of oversight and accountability and passing this resolution, will begin to right the ship and take this country on a path that will lead to greater security and begin to return our brave men and women back to their families.

Yesterday I visited with two soldiers from my old unit, The 34^th Red Bull Division.  These two young men are at Walter Reed Army Hospital.  Both John and Tony are being fitted with prosthetic limbs for those that they left behind in Iraq.  We spoke of everything from how they were injured, to football, and their desire to ski again.  I don't know and I don't care about their political ideology and I only care that this nation honors its commitment by providing everything possible for these brave Americans.  Today is the day we tell Tony and John that we will always support you and we will provide this nation true security."

The Hill: Walz and Murphy, roommates trying to find a balance

The Hill has published a human interest story about Pennsylvania's freshman congressman Pat Murphy, who says ‘I am still trying to find a balance.     Murphy and Walz are roommates:

House Democratic leaders Tuesday turned to a group of lawmakers with military experience to start debate on the Iraq resolution, including Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.).The toughest part about being in Congress for most members is the constant travel away from home. During the campaign, Murphy married his girlfriend, Jennifer. They had a baby girl, Maggie, on Nov. 24, 2006.

Referencing his experience as an Army captain serving with the 82nd Airborne Division in Baghdad for six months in 2003, the 33-year-old lawmaker nodded toward the Vietnam Memorial.

“[Half] of the soldiers listed on that wall died after America’s leaders knew our strategy wouldn’t work,” Murphy said on the House floor. “It was immoral then and it would be immoral now to engage in the same delusion … sending more troops into a civil war is the wrong strategy.”

Murphy’s remarks were showcased Tuesday in network evening news broadcasts and above the fold in his hometown newspaper.

The narrative arc of Murphy’s rise from obscure candidate to prominent freshman Democrat has been swift. He started as an unknown candidate, cold-calling Philadelphia Democratic Party barons to get their support.

He overcame disorganization among his campaign staff and a GOP-backed, $1 million negative advertising campaign. While many Democrats with military backgrounds lost in 2006, Murphy won in the most competitive area in the country. . . ..

. . . “It’s the little things like that. I miss my dog,” he said. “I’m lucky that my wife and daughter can come down here and that I’m only three hours away.”

In Washington, he rents a room from Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) on D Street near the Capitol. Walz, like Murphy, has a new baby, a boy named Gus.

They first met last August at a fundraiser for veterans on Long Island. Walz had heard about Murphy, who organized veterans for Sen. John Kerry’s (D-Mass.) presidential campaign.

“Man, this guy is young and he looks young, too,” Walz remembered thinking. “But he’s older than his years [because] he’s got that real steady, piercing gaze.”

Walz, a National Guardsman and high school teacher, does not cook; Murphy keeps a stocked kitchen. Over Super Bowl weekend, Walz raided Murphy’s stock of Hot Pockets.

Both men speak highly of each other, but they rarely cross paths. Walz said he is out the door at 6 a.m. to hit the gym; Murphy keeps promising to tag along but keeps later hours and sleeps in.

“I was there once, late at night,” Murphy said. “I am still trying to find a balance.”

Hot Pockets?  Well, nobody's perfect.

Rep. Patrick Murphy in The Hill Blog: Veterans Open Iraq Debate

On The Hill Blog, Pennsylvania Representative Pat Murphy blogs about the Iraq resolution debate:

I was honored to be part of the opening statements. The Rules Committee asked three of us to speak, and three veterans. I think it is important to note that there are forty nine new faces in Congress, but there are five new veterans. Every single one of the veterans that are new to Congress is a Democrat.

I stood there with two other ones: Joe Sestak from Pennsylvania—Admiral Sestak—a guy who was responsible for thirty ships and fifteen thousand salaries of marines, and Sgt. Major Tim Walz from the Army National Guard in Minnesota for 24 years, the backbone of the Army. That was the opening statement to make sure we were clear on how important this was.