Strib: Walz backs Democrats pullout plan
by 11:30 p.m. last night, the Star Tribune figured out what the Mankato Free Press already knew:
Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., said Friday that he would vote for the House Democratic leadership's proposal to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq if the measure stays in its current form. . . .
. . ."It would sure be easier, and I think a lot of people think it would be easier if you didn't have to cast this vote," Walz said. "Well, you do. You're in charge, and you got to prove that you can govern. I'm totally comfortable casting that vote."
The withdrawal proposal would be attached to legislation providing nearly $100 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and for some other programs. Walz said he preferred a cleaner bill with funding only for the war and veterans' affairs.
Preston-Fillmore County Journal: It's time for Cheney to resign
Editor John Torgrimson writes in his weekly column that It's time for Cheney to resign. Torgrimson concludes:
Some will argue that Cheney is a patriot by doing whatever it takes to defeat those who would harm us.
I would argue otherwise. Cheney is a thug in the Slobodan Milosivic mold - willing to use his power to serve his own views and biases, believing that the end justifies the means, even if it means trying to smear another American in an effort to alter the truth.
Dick Cheney's actions have discredited the office of the vice president. It is time for him to step down.
Owatonna People's Press: Keep Combat Pay
The Owatonna People's Press keeps its copy behind a subscription firewall and demands permission for all quoted material, so we'll paraphrase yesterday's editorial here. Basically, the paper's editors concur with the consensus that troops being deployed to Kosovo receive combat pay and benefits.
One claim in the final paragraph of the editorial does stick out, however. The editorial praises members of Minnesota's congressional delegation for speaking out against Defense Department plans to downgrade the mission status in Kosovo. The paper notes that the protests are bipartisan.
For the Republican voices in Minnesota's delegation, the editors must be thinking of Senator Coleman, as we could find no record of Representatives Kline, Ramstad and Bachmann speaking to this issue, either in a Google News search (which yielded press accounts of Klobuchar, Coleman and Walz speaking up), or their web sites, or in Lexis Nexis's Acaddemic or Congressional database. We'll continue to look, but are surprised that they have been silent about this issue.
Representatives McCollum, Ellison, Oberstar and Peterson signed the letter Representative Walz sent to Secretary Gates about the matter.
Rochester Post Bulletin: Coleman to talk DM&E Saturday in Rochester
We weren't able to attend this event but will share reports from our friends in Rochester as they come in:
Sen. Norm Coleman is scheduled to join representatives of the Rochester Coalition in downtown Rochester on Saturday for what is billed as an open forum to discuss the future of the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern railroad expansion project.
. . .Friedrich said the event is not intended for Coleman to claim credit for the recent rejection of the $2.3 billion federal construction loan sought by the DM&E. Rather, the Senator planned a southeastern Minnesota schedule this weekend and sought to meet with the coalition and the public on the project, which could still go forward if the railroad can raise funds privately.
Was Representative Walz invited to this open forum, coordinated by the Rochester Coalition and its public relations firm with Coleman's office?
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