Yesterday afternoon, a kind friend explained to us why we should stop being so crabby about the state DFL. After a good night's sleep, we realized that his observations were right. This epiphany comes just in time for press release from the state party that a reader passed along to us.
The press release is prompted by Day's remarks at last night's debate as reported by the Post-Bulletin:
Day, an 18-year state senator, also said fiscal discipline would be a top priority and that he would shun earmarks.
"I'm a guy that says, 'no earmarks. We should cut out the earmarks,'" he said.
As we noted in our earlier post, we were struck by Senator Day's flip-flopping about the value of earmarks for the district. Day was for earmarks (and wanted Walz to fetch home more of them) before he was against them.
State DFL chair Brian Melendez saw Day's proclamation in another light:
“Senator Day’s declaration amounts to willingly marginalizing southern Minnesota in Congress,” said Brian Melendez, Minnesota DFL Chair. “We’ve already seen what dereliction of duty looks like in John Kline’s refusal to fight for Minnesotans in the Second District. Day’s announcement that he would make himself irrelevant in Congress is reason enough for First District voters to reject him outright.”
“Fortunately, the First District is represented by Tim Walz, who has already set a new standard for bold leadership and effective advocacy — including the strategic use of earmarks. He’s also put his money where his mouth is, by actively supporting earmark reform, unlike John Kline. If voters have to choose in November between someone who shrinks from a fight and someone who rises to a challenge, they will resoundingly send Tim Walz back to Congress,” Melendez concluded.
Melendez's statement came with a raft of documentation, much of which will be familiar to our long-term readers:
Day Would Shun Earmarks in Congress. At a January 10 debate in Rochester among Republican candidates for Congress, State Senator Day declared he would refuse to seek earmarks for the First District. “Day, an 18-year state senator, also said fiscal discipline would be a top priority and that he would shun earmarks. ‘I'm a guy that says, “no earmarks. We should cut out the earmarks,”’ he said.” [Rochester Post-Bulletin, 1/11/08]
In One of First Votes, Walz Supported Earmark Reform. Title IV of H.R. 6 passed by a margin of 280-152, with all House Democrats voting yes. Section 404 requires members to disclose their earmarks. [Vote #9, 1/5/07]
Walz Publicly Released Earmarks. In written statement, Walz said, “…[B]ecause the appropriations process has been abused in the past, I believe it is important for this system to be as open and transparent as possible.” Walz requested dollars for five southern Minnesota projects from the House Appropriations Committee. [Mankato Free Press, 6/22/07]
Freshman Representative Walz Secures Earmark Funding for 20 Urgent Projects in First District, Including U.S. Highway 14. Working with other federal elected officials from Minnesota, Representative Tim Walz earmarked funding for 20 critical projects in southern Minnesota, including a total $1 million for U.S. Highway 14. [Owatonna People’s Press, 12/27/07; Office of Representative Tim Walz press release, 11/14/07; House Amendments to Senate Amendment to H.R. 2764 from U.S. House Committee on Rules; . . .]
Day Acknowledges Walz’s Success in Earmarking Funds, Need to Fix Highway 14. “Sen. Dick Day, R-Owatonna, who wants to run for Walz's seat in 2008, said Wednesday that he'll take any money the district can get - especially when it comes to highway funding. ‘In the scheme of things, that's not a very big chunk of money,’ he said. ‘But overall, it's another piece of money, that at least someone knows that there's a highway [in the First District] and we're trying to get it done.’” [Owatonna People’s Press, 12/27/07]
Deadly Highway 14 called “Highway of Horrors.” A Star Tribune exposé wrote that U.S. 14 “may be the deadliest highway in the state. Since the mid-1980s, more than 145 people have been killed on the highway, which winds through 265 miles of farmland from Winona to the South Dakota border. On average, someone dies on the road every two months. And 75 percent of the deaths between 2000 and 2005 occurred on the two-lane stretches, state records show.” [Star Tribune, 12/18/07]
But Earlier, Day Claimed Highway 14 Not “In Jeopardy.” In an op-ed in the Winona Daily News, Day wrote, “The biggest problem in politics is people using pessimism to get headlines — instead of remaining optimistic and dedicated to actually getting things done. A recent editorial from Congressman Tim Walz and Mayor Tom Kuntz of Owatonna was a good example of this phenomenon. First off, no one has said that Highway 14 is in jeopardy at this point.” [Winona Daily News, 11/3/07]
The release's material about John Kline's about-face is below the fold.
Second District Representative Kline Refuses Earmarks for District, Claims to Oppose System. “Rep. John Kline is one of just a dozen House members to decline to accept congressional earmarks - also known as ‘pork-barrel’ spending - calling them a ‘corrupting’ influence in Congress.” [MPR (AP), 12/10/07]
But Kline Voted Against Democratic Reform Measure to Disclose Earmarks. All 152 opponents of the bill, including Sixth District Representative Michele Bachmann, were Republicans. [Vote #9, 1/5/07]
And When Republicans Controlled Congress, Kline Fought for Earmarks. Kline, R-Minn., didn't decline earmarks until Democrats took over the House this year…Before this year, he took credit for millions of dollars in projects in the district. But at the beginning of the year, Kline told local officials he wouldn't sponsor special spending requests for his district. [MPR (AP), 12/10/07]
Dakota County Commissioner Criticizes Kline for Marginalizing His District in Congress. Kline is one of only 12 members of the House of Representatives to refuse earmarks. “‘It's shocking and disturbing,’ said Dakota County Commissioner Will Branning, who heads a partnership working on the Cedar Avenue Cedar Avenue Transitway, which was seeking about $6 million from Congress this year. ‘For one congressman to do it, it puts us in a box.’” [MPR (AP), 12/10/07]
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