An outraged Mike Parry campaign continues to beat up on Allen Quist in Minnesota's First Congressional District race, suggesting that both candidates are banking on some variation of the "rope-a-dope," strategies in which one party purposely puts itself in what appears to be a losing position, attempting thereby to become the eventual victor.
Both are looking pretty sorry right now. Morning Take's Blois Olson writes today:
WALZ: Either way, the winner of the harsh GOP primary that includes lackluster fundraising by both candidates is that Rep. Tim Walz will be well-positioned in November.
The New Ulm Journal's Josh Moniz reports in Parry, Quist race intensifies:
Parry's campaign sent out an e-mail accusing Quist of failing to admit to several controversial statements he made in the past. Parry statement in the e-mail asks Quist to "man up" and take responsibility for his prior statements.
The e-mail laid out four occasionally overlapping statements that were attributed to Quist. . . .
Quist fired back full-force to Parry's e-mail. He called the statements dishonest and intentionally twisted out of context.
"Parry has gone entirely negative this campaign. None of his attacks have been on the important issues," said Quist, "[His actions] are absolutely disgusting. Mike Parry is an embarrassment to the Republican Party." . . .
"He's helping Tim Walz by putting out cheap, misleading attacks," said Quist, "I suspect he's even hurting himself with these claims at some point."
However, Quist also stated he believes Walz would never use Parry's claims against him, claiming that Walz would recognize how easily they could be disproven. . . .
Read about the whole sorry mess at the New Ulm Journal. The Morning Take also points to a response from Quist, presumably published after the Journal went to bed. Quist notes that Parry's campaign is attacking his personal wealth (perhaps not the strongest argument on the right):
First, our end of the quarter fundraising total was good. It tells the public that we are able to run a very good campaign. Much of the fundraising was from my personal resources. I’ve worked hard all my life, and I’ve been successful. Now I’m willing to invest that personal success into making a difference in our country.
My opponent, on the other hand, attacks me for my success, as if, just as the political Left sees it, success is bad.
He says he’s a businessman, but either he’s not successful, or he’s unwilling to invest some of his success in this effort. Either way, he doesn’t have the resources to run a decent campaign. I believe in the American Dream, and I want to pass that freedom to succeed on to my children and grandchildren. I’m amazed that a so-called Republican would attack success.
The Emo Senator historically has some amnesia about his own business interests. Last summer as Bluestem noted in Suddenly socialist Mike Parry demands pay according to his needs, Parry claimed his only source of income during the session was his salary and per diem although Bluestem's friends in Waseca observed that his Godfather's Pizza place was still open for business.
Quist isn't just defending himself against Parry's jabs. Governor Dayton is a target for the Norseland farmer and retired college professor as well. The Winona Daily News reports in Quist: Medicaid audit not enough:
First District congressional candidate Allen Quist, who has called for an external audit of the state’s payments to HMOs for Medicaid services, said Tuesday that Dayton’s plan doesn’t go far enough.
“There have been numerous audits of spending related to Medicaid over the past few years, but none of them have gotten to the bottom of the matter,” Quist said said. “None of them have answered the question regarding whether or not there is fraud going on.
Kaiser Health News picks up MPR's independent audit story, Minnesota Wants Outside Audit Of Medicaid HMOs:
The Minnesota Department of Human Services announced Monday that it is seeking bids for an outside audit of Medicaid payment rates for fiscal years 2003 through 2011. The move follows months of controversy over whether the state’s contracts have been too generous.
The move means the administration of Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, is seeking an independent review of how the administration of his Republican predecessor, Tim Pawlenty, determined payments to HMOs providing services for the state’s Medicaid program.
State Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson said the Dayton administration has tried to improve how the state buys health care. But she said it is hard for officials to do that when questions persist about whether the state overpaid its Medicaid contractors in the past. . . .
Read the whole thing.
Finally, some lackwit has created a fake twitter account for Quist, @Runmanytimes. While a clever fake account can liven up the discourse (Charlie Quimby's Fake Brodkorb is sorely missed), the tweets so far from this one so far center on ageist observations and a mild variety of "joke" based on stereotypes about Native American naming.
While the jabs are in line with Ben Golnik's talking points, it's possible that the fake account is a black flag operation from a rather dim progressive (such dimwits like "The Snark" do have a short-lived history in Minnesota). The bogus account has targeted mostly CD1 media and bloggers with its follows, and unlike Quimby's brilliant parody, this anonymous account has no one taking credit. Not that Bluestem blames the author for that. Sad.
Screenshot: The fake Quist twitter account. Pathetic stuff. Bluestem has contacted cartoonist Ken Avidor to see if the fake account asked for permission to use the Quist cartoon, which was first posted on Bluestem during Quist's 2010 bid.
Related posts: UPDATED w/ more Golnik! Walz's vets jobs bill becomes law; Parry-Quist bickerfest continues
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