A reader in the Red Wing area called Bluestem's attention to an item published Tuesday in a longer article, Audience brings rural focus back to bus tour, in the Fargo Forum:
Republican excited
State Sen. John Howe, R-Red Wing, may hold a different political stance from Democrat Obama, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t excited to hear him speak in Cannon Falls.
“It’s an honor and a privilege that the president has selected my district,” Howe said.
In a five-minute meeting with Obama, Howe said he asked for a blue-ribbon panel to study nuclear waste storage. As former Red Wing mayor, Howe dealt with that issue from the nearby nuclear power plant for years.
Prior to the president’s speech, Howe said he thought most people would be interested in hearing him talk about tax reform.
“But I also hope the president is coming to listen to rural America,” Howe added.
And that’s exactly what Obama did, spending a majority of his time at the event holding a question-and-answer session and hearing from all different ages in the crowd.
Howe said Obama brought a lot of energy to his state Senate district.
Senate Majority Leader and Deputy Chair Mike Brodkorb can't be pleased with that message, which showed up in the Red Wing Eagle under the subheading "Howe's five minutes." The Eagle reported on the GOP press conference--that morphed into a tea party rally--in Republicans rally to make Obama “one-term president."
According to AP reporter Brian Bakst, Howe had received an invitation to the creekside town hall from the White House.
It's hard to say just how upset the Republican Party really can be, however, since Howe expressed his devotion to the GOP through a heartfelt fundraising letter this June. As readers may remember from Amid failed burrito baron's promises to pay counties, state senator rattles a tip jar, Howe did some of FBB and GOP chair Sutton's rainmaking for him when the freshman state senator wrote in his Epistle to the Deadbeats: news of MNGOP debt "spreading through the political blogs."
Hower does appear to like meeting with Democratic leaders. In a column, Senators eschew party favor for local values, Winona Daily News editor Darrell Ehrlick noted that Governor Dayton ad had Howe to lunch:
Howe said the lunch was a great, honest conversation about the budget and priorities.
He said they talked about what was possible - and impossible. For example, Howe, along with the party, seems to be toeing a hard line against increasing income tax.
"With the population getting older, income tax isn't stable," Howe said. "But I think we can look at broadening sales tax to raise some funds, as well as keeping things like food, medicine and clothing tax-free."
Howe also expressed some discomfort about the GOP's $34 billion budget. The keyword contained within, of course, being "budge."
Republican legislators say they're unwilling to consider a budget that is more than $34 billion. Howe can't help but wonder if it was a good strategy to draw a $34 billion line in the sand.
"We boxed ourselves in," Howe said.
The Post Bulletin has more on how the meal came to pass. It also notes that during the session, the Red Wing senator push[ed a] rail funding compromise.
It wasn't the last time headlines like that appeared for stories in which Howe played a role. The Star Tribune reported in In GOP, a deep divide over hard line on budget:
Republican leaders across Minnesota aren't just locked in an intense budget struggle with DFL Gov. Mark Dayton. They are tussling with each other, too.
Before and since the state government shutdown began, GOP leaders have insisted that rank-and-file legislators not give an inch on new government spending. Lined up behind the leadership is a fervent group of freshmen lawmakers emboldened by the fact that their party is in the majority at the Capitol for the first time in decades.
But others in the Republican ranks are arguing quietly for ways to reach a budget agreement with the governor -- partly out of fear that a rigid stand could cost them their newfound political clout as early as next year's elections.
"There's no question there's a clash of political cultures between many of the Tea Party members and the old guard," said former Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad. . . .
. . .In March, state party chairman Tony Sutton told party leaders that Republicans would pass a balanced budget "and put the shutdown on the shoulders of Governor Dayton."
However, a handful of Republican legislators are continuing to toss around ideas like expanded gambling, cigarette fee hikes and other forms of non-tax revenue to edge closer to a budget deal.
Sen. John Howe, R-Red Wing, continues to meet with Dayton and some state commissioners, as he has for weeks, talking about tax reform. He said he doesn't want to increase the tax burden or grow the government.
But, Howe said, "I would hope that we could operate and represent our constituents in an atmosphere that is free from intimidation and bullying." Asked if he thought lawmakers were being intimidated or bullied, he said: "I will leave that up to others to judge." . . .
What form could that intimidation and bullying take? Bluestem is tracking down a fairly tip from within Howe's district.
Howe seems to have developed a reputation as a moderate Republican in his first term. In recent Minnesota pachyderm politics, this might be fatal for him, but Bluestem believes that he's holding a get-out-of-being-primaried-free card.
Jon Collins reports in Kiffmeyer: 30 Minnesota legislators are ALEC members that Howe answered a citizen email that he is a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council, and he's got an ALEC-y bill on VoterID he introduced.
He also supports ALEC's approach to nuclear energy, but some of that can be attributed to local politics. The Star Tribune reported:
Sen. John Howe, R-Red Wing, said he had gotten a brief meeting with Obama earlier in the day that he described as "very personal. He makes you feel real good."
Howe said he asked Obama to send a blue-ribbon panel to the area to study nuclear storage. Red Wing officials have sought for years to lift the nuclear moratorium in the state but those efforts vaporized after the Japanese nuclear disaster. . . .
In short, Bluestem concludes that Howe's a made man as far as the corporate bill factory crowd goes. A little face time with the president or lunch with the governor probably won't erase that saving grace.
Photo: Senator John Howe.
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