I Don’t Hate America!

In the wake of both Allen Quist and Randy Demmer announcing their campaigns for Minnesota’s First Congressional District, another person has thrown his hat into the ring to face Tim Walz.

Jim Hagedorn announced today he is seeking the GOP nomination for congress.  As noted at Bluestem Prairie and Minnesota Independent, he has scrubbed some entries from his blog entitled Mr. Conservative.  Through these posts, Hagedorn shows his disdain for women, American Indians,  and gays.  While I can’t blame Hagedorn for scrubbing this content, one must ask how, by virtue of these writings, anyone can think he should be suitable for a lake advisory committee, let alone the United States Congress.

One post not displayed by Bluestem or MnIndy is so offensive it’s really difficult to read or write about, let alone comprehend how a person can be so full of hate toward another group of human beings.  Something which would be more expected on a bigoted hategroup’s website, not the blog of a candidate for Congress.

It was titled “Tolerance v. Acceptance: America Files for Divorce” and written July 13, 2004 in the wake of Massachusetts’s acceptance of marriage equality.  I don’t think I can do this any more justice with my own words (as I will likely become more ill the longer I think about how this clown is really running for congress) so below are some excerpts with screen shots. Google Cache here (for now):

And yes, they are EXTREMELY OFFENSIVE.

More so with each passing day, the June 28, 2003, Supreme Court decision in Lone Star Sodomites v. God and Country (Lawrence et al v. Texas) represents an abomination on par with the deviancy it attempted to condone.

Eighteen pages of spew, more resembling of encounter group notes than sound legal reasoning, injudiciously fisted two hundred and twenty-seven years of the Republic’s mores into the bowels of cultural debauchery.

Inexplicitly, Justices not named Rehnquist, Scalia and Thomas felt compelled to nullify a dwindling number of rarely enforced morals laws by which States, in essence, prohibited two-way traffic in tunnels constructed by God and marked by nature as “exit only.”

The now invalidated Texas statute had been applied in the prosecution of John Geddes Lawrence and Tyron Garner, “Salt and Pepper” Texans whose squealing renditions of the shocking side of AC/DC disturbed more than the peace.

The whole of the story is that barnyard noises incited Houston’s version of Mrs. Kravitz to summon authorities, presumably, so her neighbors could be hosed down by something other than each other. Police dutifully responded to the dispatcher’s call of “code 69…in progress.” In the end, the human erector set were arrested after cops, copped the copping couple “copulating” – weapons withdrawn, in hand, thankfully still loaded, regrettably cocked and primed to shoot.

Shortly after conviction, the assailants challenged the ruling, as well as the validity of laws that discouraged acts most suitably performed at a Ringling Brothers sexual version of the greatest show on earth.

[…]

Never was it imagined the nation’s highest judicial body would entertain such an open-n-shut case and then have the cheek to permit the guilty to come from behind and pull one out of their rears, to use a sports metaphor. Even though the defendant’s line-of-reasoning gave new meaning to the term “oral argument,” the ins-and-outs of the judicial process were exposed as penetratingly confounding. The case confirmed to experts and laymen alike that the “Law Is A Ass,” or as the legal letches of MANBLA now whisper to fresh meat: ass IS the law.

Butt (sic) never have winners lost so dearly. The Court’s voyage into uncharted, untreated cultural bathhouse waters was designed to offer a gentle push from behind…to generate a small skip forward for the pink triangle class…to throw them a bone, so to speak.

[…]

Yet, the sodomy upshot and subsequent Massachusetts ruling proclaiming the right of literally every Tom, Dick and Harry to marry has severely accelerated the battle of culmination that must be waged and won before homosexuals can achieve normalcy in our civilized society. A fight they will surely now lose, as the issue transitions from sexual adventures to the sacrament of marriage; and the field of battle shifts from the chambers of unelected judges appointed by the likes of Michael Dukakis to the halls of the United States Congress and State legislatures.

So, Mr. Hagedorn, First District GOP delegates have to decide now which is more offensive: the fact that you think this way about people, or that you think you should be able to run for the United States Congress thinking this way.  I don’t envy them.

[SHORT UPDATE] As Sally Jo just pointed out:

In an interview with MPR, Hagedorn cited his sense of humor as one of his assets in the campaign. Really?

And earth to Gregg Peppin: Really? This guy? Really???

[End Update]

What Bluestem Prairie first reported this weekend became official this morning: state Rep. Randy Demmer from Hayfield will once again seek the GOP nomination to take on Congressman Tim Walz.

For those of of you with short memories, he already tried this once and failed to secure the endorsement against (surpressing laughter) Brian (so hard not to laugh…) Davis (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!).

While we here at IDHA had a ton of fun with Davis that campaign, we did have some fun at the expense of Demmer as well.

Come on! Who doesn’t love Press Your Luck?!  Ah, the good ole days.

So, anyway, Demmer is giving it another shot, this time vying for the GOP nomination with Allen Quist.  While Demmer wasn’t sure if he would abide by the party endorsement, we can only hope that he and Quist will wage a bruising primary with each candidate trying to call for more expanded waterboarding than the other and calling for elimination of more government programs than the other, eventually resulting in one candidate proposing that we close all the federal highways and travel on horseback. Because that would be really following the constitution, right?

Well, we wish Rep. Demmer the best of luck.  Because after all, in this economy it’s tough to retire $135,150 in outstanding campaign debt from 2008 with a single happy hour, bean feed, hog roast, picnic in the park, weenie roast, chili cook-off, fish fry, mini-golf outing, spaghetti dinner, boat cruise, pancake breakfast or pizza party.

Yes, that figure is for real: $135,150; how’s that for deficit spending? Let’s hope Randy is able to use each of these venues to not only retire his debt, but wage a competitive endorsement campaign as well.

After viewing Bluestem Prairie’s coverage of Allen Quist’s announcement that he will be the GOP candidate for Congress against Tim Walz, I have one thing to say:

Sally Jo, you should know that Quist prefers “fisherman” to “angler.”

From a February 8, 1986 story in the Star Tribune about a bill on the horizon to modify state statues to be gender neutral:

Some critics are frowning because the changes occasionally twist normal usage. “My objection is that apparently the changes have not been based on usage,” said Rep. Allen Quist , IR-St. Peter. “You cannot change the language by authoritative decree.”

One that particularly irks Quist is “fisherman.” Said Quist : “I said, `Look, I’m an avid fisherman. I go to fishing clinics … and I’ve never in my whole life seen or heard the word `fisher.”‘ He said his office dictionary defines “fisher” as “an animal (with) four legs and a tail” that is related to the weasel and is found in North America.

“Angler” might be a good compromise if it weren’t for the fact that it means one who fishes with a hook - thereby not addressing those who fish with nets.

When the bill came to the floor just over two weeks later, instead of accepting that the times were-a-changin’, Quist took the logical route of being a pain in the ass by introducing countless tedious floor amendments. From the February 25, 1986 Strib:

For close to three hours Monday, the Minnesota House pondered whether “airman” should be “aviation worker.” It debated whether “repairman” should be “repairer.” It questioned whether “sportsman’s license” should be “sporting license.”

In the end, after wading through at least 20 proposed amendments, the House passed a bill that would eliminate sexual bias from the laws of Minnesota. The vote was 102 to 19.

“I didn’t expect anything near this,” said Rep. David Bishop, IR-Rochester, the author of the changes. “Nobody expected this to be boiled down to a floor fight with 20 amendments.”

[…]

Many of the amendments were offered by Rep. Allen Quist  , IR-St. Peter, who complained that the bill sacrificed normal word usage in order to make the changes. “The bill hits the common folk usage of language  right in the teeth,” he said.

The changes even brought in the profamily lobby. Quist , who said profamily supporters backed him on the issue, said the changes removed the words “father” and “mother” from the laws along with the words “husband” and “wife.”

Bishop said he knew of no instance where the words “father” and “mother” were changed and only two instances where “husband” and “wife” were changed. “This is not a profamily issue,” said Bishop. “This is not intended to be ideology changes.”

Quist said he found the words “husband” and “wife” deleted on one page alone. “What’s wrong with the word `husband’? What’s wrong with the word `wife’?” he asked.

As the House members favoring the amendment that restored “husband” and “wife” were asked to stand, Rep. K.J. McDonald, IR-Watertown, stood and turned to his colleagues and said: “Come on, you male chauvinists, get up.”

Added Rep. Ralph Kiffmeyer, IR-Big Lake: “These words are real crucial to the foundation of our society.” The House voted to restore “father” and “mother” to the statutes - although whether they were ever taken out remained unclear - and voted to replace “husband” and “wife” in the two instances.

Just another instance of why Allen Quist would be one stinky fish for the First District.

The folk from Minnesota Democrats Exposed posted a press release from former three-term MN state representative from the 80’s, Allen Quist, announcing his candidacy to challenge Tim Walz in the 1st district.  This 65-year old who should be retiring is now an ambitious McCain clone with views that actually hurt our senior’s healthcare (as a nurse, I’ll never understand that conservative viewpoint).  What is most interesting is Allen Quist’s lack of mentioning GOP efforts to support him, the Mayo Clinic (given the issue of healthcare and of course, the failure of Brian Davis to win in 2008), but instead mentions the Tea Party!  This is awesome (or blatantly stupid on his part) considering recent posts on Bluestem and here on IDHA about the tea baggers ridiculous anti-immigrant views.  Seriously, just watch the video from the two posted links above to see how proud they are of being “European Americans.”  Hell, if I was there they’d be hating me simply because I am of mixed blood of two of our enemies from WWII, Germany and Japan.  I’m guessing their ancestors at least have one of those two in them as well, yet they are clearly much better… sure.  I’m hoping for them to announce their public support for Allen Quist very soon, especially after Quist mentions them in his press release:

 “Southern Minnesota voters have been holding Tea Party rallies and contacting Congressman Walz’s office asking him not to support these wasteful government spending bills that force more government control of our lives,” said Quist.

DJ recently discussed Allen Quist’s horrible political ads when him and I were just youngin’s, but DJ’s incredible memory is relived through this post.  He also mentions Quist’s tendency to be a “super-mega-ultra right winger.”  If Brian Davis got a little over 30% of the vote in 2008, I’m guessing someone even more right-winged would likely get less of a turnout.  Again, let’s hope for a public endorsement from the Tea Party.

Here’s MDE’s posting of Allen Quist’s press release announcing his candidacy (credit must go where credit is due):

(St. Peter, MN) – Former State Representative Allen Quist has announced that he will run against U.S. Representative Tim Walz for the First District Congressional Seat.  Quist served three terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1982 to 1988, runs a family farm of 1200 acres with his son Andrew in rural St. Peter, and recently retired as a teacher at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato

Quist, a Republican, said his message will be simple and straightforward:  ”If people like what Congress is doing, they should vote for the incumbent,” Quist said.  ”But if they believe, as I do, that Congress is headed in the wrong direction, then I will be the alternative.”

According to Quist there have been three unusually important bills under consideration during this session of Congress: the $787 billion Stimulus bill, Cap and Trade, and the Health Care bill.  ”Representative Walz has been on the wrong side of all three,” said Quist.

Quist emphasizes that government spending is totally out of control.  ”Just the Stimulus bill by itself added over $10,000 of new government debt for every family of four in our nation,” he explained.  Quist also said that present Congressional spending trends will almost double our national debt-from 40% of GDP today to 87% of D+GDP by 2020.  Quist says this means, “continued high unemployment and burdening the next generation with a level of debt that will substantially reduce their quality of life.”

“The Cap and Trade bill will add $6,800 per year of higher energy costs for every family of four and the Health Care bill, which is supposed to reduce medical costs, will actually increase total costs by over $100 billion each year,” said Quist.

Quist added that the Health Care bill contains a huge hidden tax on the middle class and will substatnitally reduce the access senior citizens have to needed health care.  ”In terms of costs,” Quist said, “big business is the big winner and the middle class is the big loser.  American citizens of the middle class will be forced to pay the bills.”

“Southern Minnesota voters have been holding Tea Party rallies and contacting Congressman Walz’s office asking him not to support these wasteful government spending bills that force more government control of our lives,” said Quist.  ”Congressman Walz continually shows by his votes that he is out of step with the voters of the First District.

Not a real bad press release, despite the ugly spelling error of “substantially” (spell check anyone on a major release?) to try and emphasize his agenda.  In other news, I just finished my Master’s degree so I should have more time to post!  Woohoo!

[Update 11/19/09, 8:00 P.M.]

In a press release sent out by the Tim Walz camp, they responded to Allen Quist’s announcement of his candidacy by mentioning the Tea Party connection as well.  Check out this excerpt:

Today, the right-wing tea party Republicans announced their plans to run long-time politician and former State Representative Allen Quist from St. Peter. 

I really hope the tea baggers and Quist work closely together in this race as a simple google search (”tea party rally”) of the group portrays their not so patriotic movement.  A substantial amount of the news and blog links focus on the groups attacks on protesters at Tea Party rallies across the country while they appear impervious to expressing racism.

Here are some excerpts from the Christian Science Monitor about Tea Party violence around the country.  Visit the aforementioned link for the entire article.

“At one anti-Obama protest in Arizona this summer, a protester carried a rifle slung over his shoulder. “[Tea-partiers] bringing weapons does suggest a stronger degree of alienation and threat,” he says.

Conservatives place the blame at Mr. Obama’s feet, saying his liberal leadership has made “union thugs” comfortable enough to confront conservatives in the streets.”

“The first spark of violence connected to the Tea Party movement came in St. Louis Aug. 6 when a Tea Party protester named Ken Gladney was injured after a confrontation with Service Employees International Union protesters.”

“A second scuffle also broke out last Saturday when Tea Party protesters in Phoenix attempted to evict a group of neo-Nazis trying to join their protest.”

Since these guys continue to be buzzworthy, IDHA will continue exposing connections between this radical conservative group and their support of candidates seeking positions in a government representing the great freedoms in our country.  More to come later!

This week, the Georgia gubernatorial race brings us an internet advertisement which is going viral and potentially will end up as the worst political ad of all time.  Currently, the “Willie Horton” ad from the 1988 Presidential election is widely believed to hold that title.  Floyd Brown, the man responsible for this ad which aided in bringing down Michael Dukakis, has been hanging out with our own absentee Gov. Tim Pawlenty, but that is neither here nor there.

This brings me to the ad which I consider to be the worst I have ever seen. Let’s rewind to 1994, when super-mega-ultra right winger Allen Quist was endorsed by the Independent Republican party for governor over incumbent Arne Carlson.   The primary would prove to be a no-holds-barred affair, which featured Quist in his attempt to use his brand of conservativsm to “retake” the party (which would in the not-too-distant future after that shed the word “independent” from its name) by taking down Gov. Carlson, generally judged to be a centrist.

Quist lost to the popular Carlson in a landslide.

I was only the age of 10, however one advertisment from that bloody primary struck me as particularly farcical despite my young age. In fact, I still remember it to this day in all of its inflammatory glory.

Here’s how Dane Smith explained it in a September 3, 1994 story in the Star Tribune:

Video and audio (Ad  1): Throughout this 30-second ad, a man wearing a suit and a President Clinton  mask dances with another suited man, who has his back to the camera and is supposed to be Gov. Arne Carlson.  Their dance opens with children’s voices singing to the tune of “Love and Marriage.”  The lyrics are: Clinton  and Carlson, Carlson and Clinton, go together on a lot of issues.”  As the men dance on, a narrator says: “They’ve raised your taxes.  They support government-run health care that will lead to rationing.  They support gun control as an answer to crime.  They favor legalized abortion into the ninth month.  And neither Clinton nor Carlson has ever been endorsed for governor by the Independent-Republican Party.  On Sept. 13, elect the real Republican.  Vote for Allen Quist.”

Bill Clinton: never endorsed by the IR party for Governor.  That might have been the most obviously absurd assertion in the ad, but Smith’s analysis shows it wasn’t the only one:

But the ad ’s claims on gun control and ninth-month abortions have been criticized as distortions by IR Party chairman Chris Georgacas. Carlson and Clinton did raise taxes, but Carlson also cut spending programs and balanced the state budget. And although Hillary Rodham Clinton lavishly praised the MinnesotaCare program, which Carlson helped initiate, Carlson has been critical of Clinton ’s health care proposal. The ad is supposed to be humorous and light, but the Clinton mask, the shadowy background and the disembodied dancing shoes give this ad a strange and ominous quality. Quist’s campaign manager, Leon Oistad, offered the unsolicited disclaimer that the dancing has nothing to do with the gay rights issue, which has become a symbolic dividing point between Carlson and Quist.

Yes, in perhaps an unprecedented move, the state chair of the IR party publicly criticized his own endorsed candidate in a separate Strib story saying the ad “stretches the truth to the edge of credibility” and could cause the losing side in the primary to “sit on its hands, won’t vote, or worst of all, support Democrats.”

Now it’s developing that, having already registered a domain name, Allen Quist is a likely candidate for congress against Rep. Tim Walz.

If Quist ultimately decides to run, my only hope is that he will run ridiculous, off-the-wall TV ads again.  We can never have enough whacky spots like Quist’s from 1994, especially in this age of YouTube and viral video.

Oh, and seeing Walz win with 70 percent of the vote would be cool too, I suppose.

By the way, does anyone have video of the “Dancing Carlson and Clinton” ad? If so, please upload it to YouTube immediately; the “new generation” must see it!

Rep. Tim Walz sent out a mailing today applauding the expansion of the list of diseases that the harmful chemical Agent Orange has had on many of our Vietnam Veterans.  With a family member awaiting a heart due to this serious threat, I am glad to see this step forward by VA Secretary Eric Shinseki.  As a cardiac nurse, I feel adding ischemic heart disease is a major win for Vets given the time frame this specific illness affects the population and the current age of the Vietnam Veteran cohort.

From the VA:

“VA presumes that all military personnel who served in Vietnam were exposed to Agent Orange, and federal law presumes that certain illnesses are a result of that exposure.”

Their current list of diseases include:

acute and subacute peripheral neuropathy, porphyria cutanea tarda, chloracne, prostate cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, respiratory cancers (lung, bronchus, larynx and trachea), Hodgkin’s disease, multiple myeloma, soft-tissue sarcoma, acute; non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Type II diabetes mellitus

From the Walz mailing:

I am writing to inform you that Veterans’ Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki has made the important decision to add Parkinson’s disease, ischemic heart disease and hairy cell leukemia to the list of presumptive illnesses related to Agent Orange exposure for Vietnam veterans. I applaud Secretary Shinseki for making this decision, which will have a positive impact on thousands of America’s veterans.

VA presumes that all military personnel who served in Vietnam were exposed to Agent Orange, and federal law presumes that certain illnesses are a result of that exposure. This “presumptive policy” simplifies the process of receiving compensation for these diseases since VA foregoes the normal requirements of proving that an illness began or was worsened during military service.

The decision announced this week expanded the list of presumed illnesses to include ischemic heart disease, hairy cell leukemia and Parkinson’s disease. This policy change means that all service members who served in Vietnam and are suffering from these illnesses will no longer have the additional burden of proving their illness is connected to their service to our country.

I am happy the VA made this decision today, and I want to thank Secretary Shinseki for moving us in the right direction. When our warriors return home, they should always be given the benefit of the doubt, and we have an obligation to ensure that they receive the care and benefits they earned. This decision helps us fulfill the moral responsibility we owe to the men and women who have served this country.

I would also like to thank the U.S. Military Veterans with Parkinson’s (USMVP) for their untiring efforts. Their advocacy and research helped VA make this important decision and their efforts will have lasting impacts on the lives of Vietnam veterans. I appreciate the close partnership and assistance they continue to give us as they advocate for our nation’s veterans.

For more information about Agent Orange and VA compensation eligibility, please see http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/benefits/herbicide/aono1.htm. To file a compensation claim for a current disability related to Agent Orange, veterans can call 1-800-827-1000 for an application form or visit VA’s Web site at: http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov.

For more information about my activities representing southern Minnesota in Congress, please visit http://walz.house.gov and sign up for my e-newsletter.

Sincerely,

Tim Walz
Member of Congress

(cross-posted at Bluestem Prairie)

In the midst of the media’s coverage of health care “town hall” style meetings and the hysteria from conservative activists over the reluctance (or in some cases, refusal) of some Members of Congress to participate in such forums, at least one Republican congressman’s refusal to hold one has, until recently, been virtually ignored.

Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., has largely gone under the radar despite not only failing to host a forum about health care so far during Congress’s summer recess, but hosting only one forum at all since his election to the House in 2002. Kline serves Minnesota’s Second Congressional District, which, while containing suburbs in Carver, Scott, Dakota and Washington counties, is largely rural.

This stubbornness has been an ongoing frustration for Kline’s constituents, but his emergence into the broader discussion about health care town halls only occurred when he turned down Rep. Tim Walz’s invitation to appear at a forum in Walz’s First District. In return, the invitation said, Walz would have appeared at a town hall with Kline in the Second District.

With a town hall even being held by DFL Seventh Congressional District Rep. Collin Peterson, who previously had a hands-off attitude toward such forums, a few of us from the Second District DFL thought was time to request that Kline hold one.

So, about a half-dozen of us went off to Kline’s district office in Burnsville yesterday. No video cameras. No ambushing. No hostility. No inflammatory rhetoric. Just a simple request that Congressman Kline hold a town hall forum on health care.

We were kindly greeted by congressional staff including District Director Mike Osskopp who invited us into a conference room to discuss our request. When Kline’s rejection of Walz’s invitation was brought up, Osskopp strongly reiterated that it was their opinion that the invitation was nothing more than a “publicity stunt.” Due to the relatively close relationship both congressmen share (he mentioned that they often travel together), if the invitation was in good faith Walz would have picked up the phone and called Kline as opposed to sending a letter, Osskopp said.

After some discussion of concerns with the current health care system, we were joined somewhat unexpectedly by Rep. Kline himself. After briefly mentioning his frustration with the road map to a health care reform bill used by President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Majority Leader Reid, Kline gave his reasoning for refusing to hold a town hall forum, with or without Walz.

“They are a circus,” the congressman said. “They have been a circus for our side, and a nightmare for my Democrat friends, as you’ve seen.”

This position is in stark contrast with that of other Repbulican activists who were outraged at Peterson’s previous lack of town halls. Among them is Minnesota GOP Deputy Chair Michael Brodkorb, who said “If you don’t want to meet with people, then don’t run for Congress.”

While he refuses to hold a traditional town hall forum, Kline did express willingness to meet with a smaller group, 50 to 100, from the DFL side to discuss health care.

He explained that he felt the current “auditorium style” town halls have “gotten so far away from their original purpose” and only enable “each side to shout over each other.”

“It shouldn’t be about looking to get on YouTube; it shouldn’t be about getting on Channel 9,” Osskopp added.

Soon, the subject was changed to Kline’s use of “tele-town halls,” which Kline characterized as “successful” and led Osskopp to mention that “even Tim Walz is having one.”

I pointed out that the Walz telephone town hall, held last night, would feature a pre-announced dial-in number enabling all constituents and the media to “attend.” I added my position that this method enables greater constituent participation and transparency, as opposed to the method used by Kline and other members, like Michele Bachmann, which “auto dial” 40,000 constituents at random with no advance notice of the “event.”

Osskopp explained that since Kline usually hosts the telephone town halls from Washington, and the voting schedule changes “by the hour,” it would be difficult to offer advance notice. He went on to express willingness to email a couple of members of our group in advance when he becomes aware of the forums, however

Another DFLer at the table expressed greater concerns about the “auto dial” method of telephone town halls, particularly the potential for participants to be cherry picked based on party identification and for only friendly softball questions to be taken. Kline, Osskopp and Communications Director Troy Young (in the room taking photos) all explained that there are strict laws which would prohibit such behavior and that the House Ethics Committee has strict oversight over telephone town halls which would prevent it. Kline further explained that he indiscriminately goes “down the sheet one by one” taking questions during a forum. Young further explained that if a constituent opts-in to participate in the telephone town halls on Kline’s official website, the office is “required” to call the constituent when one occurs. We were all encouraged to take such a step.

Soon after, with his scheduler hovering in the hallway, it was time for Kline to move on to the next task on his schedule. He closed by mentioning that the subject of town hall meetings was one about which he agrees with his “friends Collin Peterson and Jim Oberstar.” Before his exit I quickly mentioned how Peterson recently had a town hall in Willmar which was widely reported as civil and productive. The congressman’s response: “Well, that’s great. Thanks guys.”

Kline mentioned a couple of times during the conversation that he is “not afraid of Democrats.” Since he spent time meeting with our small group, along with his willingness to meet with a larger group of us and his district director’s willingness to try giving advanced notice for telephone town halls, I would like to take him at his word. Considering the collegiality of our meeting yesterday (for which Kline, Osskopp and other staff should be commended) I see no reason for such a fear.

Hopefully there can be follow-through on both sides so we can continue our dialog about not just the process surrounding Kline’s constituent outreach but the subject on so many of our minds: health care.

After his refusal to stop lying about Rep. Tim Walz’s representation of the congressman’s own military record, Steele County GOP Chair Dave Thul is being less than truthful once again.

From his blog today:

So Congressman Walz tried to tie his sinking ship to Congressman Kline by publicly inviting him to a town hall meeting. It was actually a lose-lose situation for Walz. If Kline showed up, he would have had the crowd on his side (assuming the crowd isn’t packed by the unions) and Kline could have taken shots at Walz directly in a public forum. If Kline turns down the request (which he did), he can simply point out that Walz asked for help talking to his district but didn’t offer any such help in Kline’s district.

Didn’t offer any help in Kline’s district? Reeealllllllly?

From Rep. Walz’s invitation to Rep. Kline:

I would like to invite you to participate in a town hall with me here in Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District on Thursday August 20th at 6:00 pm.  In return, I would be happy to join you at a town hall in your district next week or in September. [emphasis mine]

Not only is it important to dispel myths, half-truths and lies concerning the current health care reform proposals, it’s important to dispel lies concerning the process of planning these town halls as well.

I’ll have more on the latter subject later.

Hi everyone.  Remember me?  Well, if you don’t, it’s okay.  I logged into this site for the first time in a about a year-and-a-half a few days ago.  Tonight, I saw something on Facebook which told me “Gosh darnit’ DJ, you should resume blogging.” Especially in an age of “new media” and “Web 2.0″ I had to mention it here.

Inserted below is that image:

Yes, Facebook, via automated suggestion, thinks I should add the man who brought me arguably more fun and enjoyment than any other subject during my time blogging here at IDHA! as a friend.

If you need a refresher, Dr. Brian Davis was the Republican nominee for Congress from Minnesota’s First District in 2008.  He went on a remarkable roller coaster of a race from political neophyte/Olmsted County GOP officer to credible candidate against a supposed vulnerable incumbent to competitive candidate for the GOP endorsement to GOP endorsed candidate to GOP front runner in a heated primary to fledgling nominee following said primary to struggling for dollars and hope to, finally, what I considered him as all along since my first introduction to the man: sacrificial lamb.

After all was said and done, Dr. Davis lost by nearly 30 points to the very capable Congressman Tim Walz.  Throughout the campaign, while recognizing why the CD1 GOP needed to nominate him, I still regarded Dr. Davis as someone who would lose with the incumbent getting 60% of the vote.  I regarded him as a sacrificial lamb running too ineffective of a campaign to beat a very effective federal legislator.

By individuals involved in important campaigns, activists in CD1, and informed, interested observers, I was told I was crazy.  I was told that as a freshman, Rep. Walz had no ability to win by such a large margin.  The district, I was told, was much too conservative.

“Nonsense,” I continued to say.  In response, I would point to very ominous underwhelming performances/mistakes throughout calendar year 2007 Jason B. and I documented on this very blog.  Here are some examples:

http://idonthateamerica.com/2007/08/16/dr-brian-davis-candidate-against-walz-is-questioned/

http://idonthateamerica.com/2007/10/30/do-southern-minnesota-republicans-support-brian-davis/

http://idonthateamerica.com/2007/11/03/brian-davis-goes-trick-or-treating/

http://idonthateamerica.com/2007/11/05/of-tricks-and-treats-but-mostly-tricks-brian-davis-for-congress-math-struggles-for-the-doc/

http://idonthateamerica.com/2007/11/07/breaking-news-davis-shows-chuckle-impressive-chuckle-fourth-quarter-in-state-fundraising/

http://idonthateamerica.com/2007/11/08/brian-davis-negative-toward-gop-opponents-already/

http://idonthateamerica.com/2007/11/14/dfl-senate-debate-observations-dj-meets-davis/

http://idonthateamerica.com/2008/01/11/team-3-d-debate-in-rochester-day-demmer-davis-try-to-pull-away-from-pack/

In fact, while trying not to sound too arrogant, Jason and I absolutely destroyed Dr. Davis in this series of political wrestling matches.

Okay, too arrogant?  Sorry, there’s no way to sugarcoat it.  When he engaged us in battle, we destroyed him.

The end of the election would see Walz winning handily on election night with 62.5 percent to Davis’s 32.9 percent, while taking every single county.

The purpose of this post is to say this:

Dr. Davis, if you are in ear shot of this message, I kindly give you the encouragement to run a second time for Congress.  In a midterm cycle with only the constitutional officers as statewide candidates on the ballot, your effort would provide a much needed occasional laugh in the realm of electoral politics.  Please, I beg you: run again.  Also, if you feel the need to engage lefty bloggers for Round 2, Uncle DJ will be right here waiting.

As far a taking up Facebook on the friend suggestion? Ah, shucks, I already hit the X button.  Oh well, there is one politician whos friendship I have requested that has continued to ignore me:

Following up from our previous post, our MN leaders successfully received disaster declaration for southern MN.

Via press release:

WALZ, COLEMAN, KLOBUCHAR ANNOUNCE PRESIDENTIAL DISASTER DELCARATION FOR MN COUNTIES

Washington, D.C.—After sending a letter to President Bush supporting a Presidential Disaster Declaration for four southern Minnesota counties severely damaged by recent flooding, Senators Norm Coleman, Amy Klobuchar and Congressman Tim Walz announced today the President has responded and a declared major disaster for Fillmore, Freeborn, Houston, and Mower Counties. The four counties sustained an estimated $8.3 million in damage due to the flooding. These counties are now eligible to receive aid through FEMA’s Public Assistance Program. Public Assistance is oriented to public entities and can fund the repair, restoration, reconstruction, or replace­ment of a public facility or infrastructure, which is damaged or destroyed by a disaster. State officials, assisted by FEMA, will conduct Applicant Briefings for State, local and PNP officials to inform them about the assistance available and how to apply for it.

“All four of these counties have experienced their second serious flood in just a few short years. This presidential declaration allows affected cities to obtain hazard mitigation funding that can help prevent flooding in the future,” said Congressman Walz. “Businesses like Austin Packaging Company are counting on federal dollars to help make it possible for them to continue operations in our area. I believe this declaration will make the difference for APC and others who are trying to recover and plan for the future.”

“These communities have shown tremendous courage and resilience since the floods hit,’’ Klobuchar said. “But at a time like this local communities should not be expected to fend for themselves. The federal government has an essential role to support communities as they recover and rebuild, and I’m proud that we will be able to deliver help quickly.’’

“Southeastern Minnesota is in need of assistance right now, and this disaster declaration will help the region recover,” said Coleman. “After visiting the flood-stricken areas, I saw firsthand the toll the storms took on these communities. A Presidential Disaster Declaration will deliver the assistance these counties need to rebuild their communities and their lives. I applaud the President for this decision — it will make all the difference for an area of the state that has endured great hardship.”

The support letter sent by Coleman, Klobuchar, and Walz, followed an official submission for assistance by Governor Pawlenty who requested federal assistance to help respond to the flooding of June 7-8th and 11-12th that severely impacted Houston, Fillmore, Mower and Freeborn counties.

The text of the letter follows:

Dear President Bush:

As representatives of communities devastated by last week’s flooding throughout the Midwest, we are writing to request your assistance as residents of southern Minnesota begin to recover.

On June 7-8, 2008, up to 10 inches of rain fell across southern Minnesota, causing flash floods, mudslides, evacuations, power outages, and numerous injuries. Just three days later, severe weather, including several tornado touchdowns, again developed over southern Minnesota. These storms dropped even more rain on already saturated ground and caused creeks and rivers to overflow their banks. This too resulted in devastation and one fatality.

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has declared a State of Emergency in Freeborn, Fillmore, Houston, and Mower Counties. Additionally, he has determined that this incident is of such severity that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State, and to that end, he has requested a Presidential Disaster Declaration for these areas as well.

Given the degree of damage to the region, we strongly encourage you to issue such a declaration and allow FEMA to begin to supplement state and local recovery efforts in these flood-stricken areas.

Tragically, Minnesotans have faced several disasters in the past year, and nowhere has this been truer than in Southeastern Minnesota where less than a year after historic flash flooding, they have been hit yet again with massive rainfalls which have tested their ability to recover. We are confident that, just as they did with the floods of last August, the residents of southeast Minnesota will recover and rebuild, and we urge you to make the federal government a full partner in that effort.

Thank you for your consideration of this request and for your assistance in helping the recovery and rebuilding effort in southern Minnesota.