Tom Emmer and company, sticking it to small rural counties

From the article in today's St.Cloud Times:
http://www.sctimes.com/article/20101215/NEWS01/112150025/Emmer-campaign-stiffs-counties-for-recount-bills

Sam Modderman doesn’t know exactly how many hours he and his staff spent preparing a cache of documents requested by Tom Emmer during the governor’s recount. But he knows the county hasn’t been paid for the work.

“We completed all the requests, but no, we haven’t gotten paid for them all,” the Kandiyohi County Auditor (Willmar) said.

It’s a common story that’s been reported in other counties who rushed to prepare documents requested by the Emmer campaign but then didn’t get paid for the work.

Modderman said he spent more time at the office than with his family over Thanksgiving in order the meet the request for documents.

“They were a little demanding,” he said.

My comments: Swift County (Benson, western MN) used a different tactic with Emmer and his cronies. They said to Emmer, "Go ahead, sue us for the material if you want. We will not get stiffed!" Great job.

Tom Emmer - the dirtiest candidate for governor I've ever seen

Exiled from Lake Street:
Latino community forces cancellation of stealth Emmer rally

(Minneapolis)– Oscar Reyes, owner of the Las Mojarras restaurant on Lake Street in the heart of Minneapolis’s Latino community, was pleased to get a reservation for a Saturday morning “business meeting” on October 23.

He was less happy when calls came in from concerned community members asking why a campaign rally for anti-immigrant, anti-Latino Republican gubernatorial Tom Emmer was taking place in his popular business.

In a humiliating blow for the Emmer campaign, Reyes canceled the event and appeared as a guest on the Cara a Cara radio show on La Invasora 1400 to assure the Latino community that he was a victim of an attempt to stage a stealth rally in the Latino neighborhood prior to President Obama’s rally on behalf of DFL gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton.

The interview with host Alberto Monserrate has been posted online on the Cara a Cara web page and can be downloaded here.

Monserrate said that Reyes asked to be on the show in order to assure the community that he was not supporting Emmer’s campaign. While on air, Reyes said that he didn’t know that the event was part of a political campaign

The radio show host thought the secrecy was unusual, as political organizers are generally upfront with small business owners. “In all of the organizing I’ve observed, those setting up events let businesses know that it’s a campaign-related event because of the potential for customer disapproval. Those organizing this rally appear to have sought a meeting in the Latino community, but failed to tell the Latino small business owner that is was for Emmer.”

Reyes learned of the true nature of the event when calls started coming in after news of the event appeared in the Wednesday, October 20, 2010 “Morning Take,” published by Tunheim Partners public affairs firm; the event was also listed on a local conservative blog. Community organizers and activists spread the word via Facebook and Twitter, and curious activists called Reyes.

Reyes was angered to learn that the event was political and to discover Emmer’s record of supporting anti-immigrant measures like Arizona’s SB1070 bill and anti-Latino measures like an English-only bill, according to Monserrate.

My thoughts: Tom Emmer, you really have sunk to a new low, trying to hold a campaign rally at a privately-owned business without telling that business owner what was going on. By doing so, you are jeopardizing the image of that business without letting the owner decide whether or not he wants to risk losing business over your governor bid. I will safely say, you're the dirtiest candidate for governor I've seen in my lifetime.

Passing the word on two local political events

First, for those of you living in Pope County, a debate between District 13 candidates Joe Gimse and Larry Rice will be held at 2:30pm tomorrow (Tuesday, Oct 12) at 2:30pm at the Minnewaska Lutheran Home in Starbuck.

Beginning at 10am on Saturday (meeting at Lakeside Ballroom) a door knock on behalf of Larry Rice and Mark Dayton will be held in Glenwood. Also participating is Paul Thissen, one of the candidates who ran for the DFL endorsement last winter/spring.

So the Republican Party chair thinks that Republicans who support Tom Horner are going to hell...

In regards to the Republicans who are publicly supporting Tom Horner for governor, the chair of the Minnesota Republican Party, Tony Sutton, was quoted as saying "there's a special place in hell for these quislings."

Classy.

Here is the response from two of the gentleman attacked by that comment, George Pillsbury and Bill Belanger.

October 7, 2010 
To: Tony Sutton Chairman, Republican Party of Minnesota
525 Park Street, Suite 250
St. Paul, MN 55103 

Mr. Sutton:  As veterans of the United States military and former state legislators, we were highly offended to pick up our morning Star Tribune newspaper and read that you were accusing us of being traitors to our country for supporting Tom Horner for governor. (“There’s a special place in hell for these quislings.”) Those of us who support Horner and his centrist view of governance have nothing in common with Norwegian politician Vidkun Quisling, a Nazi sympathizer who collaborated with the Germans to enslave millions of his countrymen during the Second World War.  We proudly wore the uniforms of our nation, one of us as a Marine Lieutenant in the Philippines during World War II, one of us a few years later in Korea as an Army Corporal. For you to besmirch that service is demeaning. We support Tom Horner for governor precisely because we care so much about our state and our nation. We sought elective office after our years of military service because we care about our country and its future. We did not believe our service ended when we were discharged. For decades, we have continued to volunteer in our communities to make our society stronger. We are supporting Tom Horner for governor because we believe his moderate, centrist view of government is precisely what Minnesota needs right now. We are concerned that Sutton’s candidate, Tom Emmer, is too far to the right, and that Mark Dayton, the Democrat, is too far to the left. We believe it is best for all concerned to have a governor who can work with both political parties, to do what’s right and not worry about who gets the credit. We went to war to defend the Constitution, which included fighting for your right of free speech, so you are free to say whatever you want. We would appreciate it if, in the future, you were more careful not to criticize American veterans just because you disagree with our choice of candidates.

Sincerely, George Pillsbury First Lieutenant, United States Marine Corp (ret)Veteran of World War II, former State Senator, Wayzata 

Bill Belanger Corporal, United States Army (ret)Veteran of the Korean War, former State Senator, Bloomington.

Republican-leaning Minnesota Forward airs a blatantly false TV ad on Mark Dayton's tax proposals

First of all, I do not agree with Dayton's tax proposal, I feel it goes too far in raising income taxes and his budget ideas do not include enough spending cuts. That, along with Dayton's idea to build a state-sponsored casino at the Mall of America have led me to lean to Tom Horner for the governor race.

With that said, the group Minnesota Forward lies blatantly in a new TV ad. Follow this link to see what Minnesota Public Radio's Poligraph says in a truth test.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/polinaut/archive/2010/10/poligraph_mn_fo.shtml

A word to the Republicans - try using the truth when you're campaigning, it would be nice to see you turn over a new leaf. If you used the truth, you'd still have plenty of ammunition to battle Mark Dayton in the governor race.

I won't hold my breath, the Republican Party is full of liars who would rather fall over dead than tell the truth in a political debate.

Democracy isn't easy

I just got back from the Tom Emmer rally at the Douglas County Republican headquarters in Alexandria, held at 3:30 today.

I showed up about 10 minutes late (typical) but had plenty to take in when I arrived. On the other side of the street was a young man with a megaphone. A loud one. Even though it was quite windy, it wasn't hard to hear what he was saying.

His mom and sister are both former waitresses; his wife is a waitress. (Guess what he was upset about) I won't be adding much more than that, because I'm in the process of finding out what, if any, laws he broke while protesting. Apparently, the cops were called on a complaint either about what he was doing or what he was saying.

Last I checked, though, this wasn't Nazi Germany. Hopefully we can keep it that way.

**Update at 8:30pm...the gentleman who was protesting gave me a call tonight and reported that he, in fact, was not breaking any laws, and had a nice conversation with a police officer with the Alexandria P.D. about what he was doing. After reviewing the city's noise ordinance, it was determined that he was not breaking any laws.

Chalk one up for the little guy.

• Visit the Herman-Hoffman Tribune website videos page to see a clip of Emmer speaking to his supporters at the headquarters. I just uploaded and edited the taglines at 9:00 tonight.

http://www.hermanhoffmantribune.com/?page_id=432

Tomorrow I'll talk a little bit about what Emmer was saying inside headquarters. Most of it will be on the videos page. I have one of the two clips already loaded. I will give all sorts of credit to the Emmer campaign, his speaking style has gotten very refined and polished. He gave many valid points in what I heard him say.

He still can't shake what he said last July, though. (About cheating restaurant servers out of their wages with a tip credit.)

Tom Emmer will be in Morris and Alexandria for campaign stops tomorrow, Wednesday, Sept. 29

Republican governor candidate Tom Emmer will visit the heart of west central Minnesota on Wednesday, September 29th, 2010. Emmer will spend the day getting to know the voters and discussing the issues of this economical diverse region of Minnesota.

10-11 am, Willmar GOP Rally, Willmar BPOU Office, 1704 South First South, Willmar MN.

1-2 pm, Morris GOP Rally, Eastside Park, 202 East Seventh Street, Morris MN.

3:30-4:30 pm, Alexandria GOP Rally, Douglas County MnGOP Victory Office, 304 Irving Street, Alexandria MN.

There's a chance I'll see his stop in Willmar in the morning, but I plan for sure to be in Alexandria at 3:30.

Mark your calendars - Governor candidates coming to Alexandria for a debate on Monday, Oct. 4

The governor candidates Mark Dayton, Tom Emmer, and Tom Horner will be debating in our area, coming up on Monday, Oct. 4 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at the Alexandria Technical College. The event will take place at ATC's Room 743, the Information and Technology Building.

The event is free of charge, although only the first 200 people will be admitted due to fire marshal limits on how many the room will hold.

Below, the leading candidate for my endorsement

My comments: The Tom Horner/Jim Mulder ticket is the only team in the race stressing the need for more parent involvement in our children's education. Until we stress that point, everything else is meaningless. We need a governor who will focus on the correct issues, instead of one who will cut education into oblivion or spend our state into a bottomless hole.

Mark Dayton's campaign fails to contact the Herman-Hoffman Tribune regarding his campaign stop in Alexandria today

I am very disappointed that none of Mark Dayton's staffers found time to e-mail me back or give me a call yesterday or today regarding their stop in Alexandria.

I'll continue trying to contact the Dayton campaign, to let them know that my small towns exist too.

Stay tuned.

Come meet one of our governor candidates tomorrow (Thursday) in Alexandria

Mark Dayton will be stopping in Alexandria for a brief period of time from 5:00pm to 5:30pm on Thursday, September 16. He will be passing through town to another campaign stop in Alexandria. Dayton is shown in the photo speaking at Farmfest on August 4.

A great editorial in the Grand Forks Herald

Click here to read it: http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/174765/group/Opinion/

Ok, Republicans, it's time to put up or shut up on small town budget issues

Many Republicans in Minnesota continue to use intellectually dishonest debating points when blaming small towns for small towns' budget woes.

I DARE any Republican to drive out to Hoffman, MN, population 674, and tell us where to cut spending in our city budget. We spend money on police, road fixes, snow plowing, a part-time city clerk, and a part-time economic development authority director who actually brings in grant funding larger than her actual office budget.

Where do we cut?

Here it is folks, your local primary voting results!

So I couldn't resist staying up a little longer tonight and going to the Secretary of State's website and tallying local primary vote results. In no particular order, here's what I came up with...

Grant County primary vote results

Mark Dayton wins the city of Hoffman's DFL primary vote, followed by Margaret Anderson Kelliher. Results from Hoffman's precinct: Dayton 29, Kelliher 17, Entenza 7. Just to the west in Herman, Dayton also won. Results from Herman's precinct: Dayton 14, Anderson Kelliher 11, Entenza 5.

Republican primary in the 7th Congressional District: Lee Byberg loses to Alan Roebke by a 10 to 6 margin in Hoffman. Byberg wins over Roebke in Herman by a 5 to 2 margin.

Also interesting in Herman...the Republican endorsed candidate for Attorney General, Chris Barden, lost to perennial Republican candidate Sharon Anderson by a 4 to 3 margin.

In Elk Lake Township, Alan Roebke defeated Republican-endorsed Lee Byberg by a 6 to 5 margin. In the DFL governor primary, Anderson Kelliher defeated Dayton with 56% of the vote. Elk Lake Township precinct results: Anderson Kelliher 14, Dayton 9, Entenza 2.

In Land Township, Lee Byberg defeated Roebke 3 to 2 in the 7th Congressional District Republican primary. Anderson Kelliher defeated Dayton in Land Township with 52% of the vote. Land Township precinct results: Anderson Kelliher 15, Dayton 11, Entenza 3.

In the city of Norcross, Alan Roebke won the only Republican vote cast in the 7th Congressional District primary. Byberg was skunked. By the same token, Dayton took all four DFL votes in the governor race primary, with Anderson Kelliher and Entenza getting no votes in Norcross.

Now a look at Douglas County

In Holmes City Township, Alan Roebke and Lee Byberg ended up at a tie, with a 14-14 vote margin, in the Republican primary for the 7th Congressional District. In the DFL governor primary, Dayton won with 49% of the vote. Holmes City Township precinct results: Dayton 33, Anderson Kelliher 23, Entenza 11.

In Solem Township, Dayton won with 61% of the vote (13 total votes)...Final results in the DFL governor primary in the Solem Township precinct: Dayton 8, Anderson Kelliher 4, Entenza 1.

In Urness Township, the Republican-endorsed candidate Lee Byberg is defeated by Alan Roebke by a 9 to 5 vote margin. In the DFL governor primary, Anderson Kelliher scored a victory with 46% of the vote. Solem Township precinct results: Anderson Kelliher 11, Dayton 8, Entenza 5.

Finally, in the city of Kensington, Alan Roebke defeated Lee Byberg in a barn burner of a race, winning by a 2 to 1 margin in the 7th Congressional District Republican primary. In the DFL primary for the governor race, Dayton won with 40% of the vote. Final results from Kensington in the DFL governor primary: Dayton 12, Anderson Kelliher 11, Entenza 6.

Over in Pope County

In the 7th Congressional District Republican primary, again we had a tie. Byberg 2, Roebke 2. In the race for the Republican Attorney General nod, the party-endorsed Chris Barden was left in a tie with Sharon Anderson by a 2 to 2 vote margin.

In the DFL primary for governor in Farwell, Anderson Kelliher won 56% of the vote. Final precinct results from the city of Farwell: Anderson Kelliher 5, Dayton 3, Entenza 1.

In Nora Township, Alan Roebke scored a win over Lee Byberg in the 7th Congressional District Republican primary, winning by a 6 to 4 vote margin. In Nora's results for the DFL governor nomination, Anderson Kelliher won with 42% of the vote. Final results from Nora Township in the DFL governor primary: Anderson Keilliher 14, Dayton 12, Entenza 6.

A bigger look at the 7th Congressional District primary on the Republican side...

With 69% of precincts reporting (as of 23:36 hours on Tuesday night), Lee Byberg is sweating out a tough primary battle with Alan Roebke. The current tally has Byberg at 8,427 votes (63.83%) and Roebke with 4,776 votes (36.17%).

**Update on Wednesday morning at 7:30am... As a whole, Pope County Republican voters sent a negative signal to Lee Byberg, as Roebke defeated him by a 370 to 317 vote margin.

Click here to find the results at the SOS website: http://electionresults.sos.state.mn.us/20100810/

Video clip of Tom Horner talking about his opposition to ethanol subsidies has been added to the Tribune's website videos page

The link to view the video clip is:

http://www.hermanhoffmantribune.com/?page_id=432

Three video clips from Wednesday's governor candidate forum at Farmfest

I'll be adding more on Friday - right now I'm labeling the ones that I've uploaded.

You can view them at the Herman-Hoffman Tribune website's videos page.

http://www.hermanhoffmantribune.com

Part of the governor candidate debate below - more will be uploaded over the next day

I've got all my photos from Farmfest uploaded to the Herman-Hoffman Tribune's online Dotphoto gallery. Look under "2010 Rural Minnesota events" and you will find two Farmfest photo albums, one from the governor candidate debate and another including general pictures from the farm show.

Click here to follow through to the photo gallery:
www.hermanhoffmantribune.com

Candidate forums highlight Farmfest next week near Redwood Falls

Note: I will be attending 1 or 2 days of Farmfest - for sure Wednesday (governor candiate forum) and possibly Tuesday (Congressional candidate forum).

Candidate Forums have been a feature at FARMFEST in every even numbered year for two decades, and 2010 will be no exception, according to Kent Thiesse, FARMFEST Forum Coordinator. Thiesse said that FARMFEST has hosted Candidate Forums for every statewide race for Governor and U.S. Senate since 1990, as well as holding a Congressional Candidate Forum every two years for potential Congressional Candidates in Minnesota Districts that have a major emphasis on the agriculture industry, and a significant rural population.

The focus of past Candidate Forums has been on agriculture and rural issues, and that emphasis will continue again in 2010. Thiesse points out that many Forums during the length of the campaign season cover the vast breadth of issues facing candidates, but the FARMFEST Forums are one time when the focus is much more “fine-tuned” on the issues that are critical to farm families, small businesses, and rural communities.

The "Governor Candidate’s Forum on Rural Minnesota", which will be held at FARMFEST on Wednesday, August 4, at 10:30 AM, has garnered considerable statewide attention, and even some national focus. All five of the major Candidates for Governor of Minnesota have confirmed to participate in the FARMFEST Forum. This includes Tom Emmer, Republican candidate, Tom Horner and Rob Hahn, Independent Party candidates, and DFL candidates Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Mark Dayton, and Matt Entenza. A panel of Minnesota agricultural and rural leaders will pose questions to the Gubernatorial Candidates on a variety of issues affecting farm families and rural communities. The statewide Primary Election is on August 10, and the General Election is on November 2.

The "Congressional Candidate’s Forum on Agriculture and Rural Issues" will be held on the first day of FARMFEST, which is Tuesday, August 3, at 10:30 AM. All Congressional Candidates from Minnesota’s First, Second, Sixth, and Seventh Congressional Districts have been invited to participate in the Forum. Thus far, Congressman Collin Peterson (D) and Lee Byberg (R), his opponent in the Seventh District; Congressman Tim Walz (D), along with Randy Demmer (R) and Steven Wilson (I), his opponents in the First District; and Tarryl Clark (D), who is challenging Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R) in the Sixth District, have confirmed to participate in the FARMFEST Forum. A panel of agriculture reporters for radio and newspaper will pose questions to the U.S. House Candidates on a variety of issues affecting agriculture and rural communities.

Ideas for questions may be submitted via e-mail to Kent Thiesse, FARMFEST Forum Coordinator, at kent.thiesse@minnstarbank.com. That information will then be forwarded to the panel members that will be posing the questions to the candidates during FARMFEST.

FARMFEST Forums will be held throughout the day on August 3, 4, and 5, in the Forum Tent on the FARMFEST Site, which is located at the Gilfillan Estate, 7 miles southeast of Redwood Falls, Minnesota. In addition to the two Candidate Forums, the 2010 edition of FARMFEST will include special forums ranging from ideas for Minnesota’s next Governor, to understanding carbon credits, to the future of the livestock industry, and strategies for agricultural education. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty will be the keynote speaker at the Forum on Thursday, August 5, at 10:30 AM. All of the Forums will provide ample time for questions, and follow-up discussion by Panel members.

Community vitality - the Horner plan to create jobs and strong local economies

On July 15, Tom Horner and Jim Mulder, Independence Party candidate for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively, announced the first of three Horner-Mulder proposals to revitalize Minnesota communities. Today's proposal focuses on economic development; in the future, they will bring forward specific proposals on investments in human capital and strengthening local decision-making.

"We can't fix Minnesota's problems if we don't have healthy communities. To revitalize communities, we need to give them the tools and resources to compete,” said Horner. “The proposals offer a balanced approach of state and local investment, planning and support for rebuilding the economic development foundation of Minnesota’s communities.”

According to Minnesota's Labor Market Information office, some 128,000 Minnesotans have lost jobs since 2008. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics; the unemployment and underemployment rate is 7% and 14.2%, respectively. The number of Minnesotans underemployed is 423,713.8, which -- in terms of our Minnesota cities -- is more than the population of Brooklyn Park, Bloomington, Duluth, Rochester, and Plymouth combined.

Just for perspective, the unemployment rate in 2000 was just 3%.

The economy has made it a difficult time for all Minnesotans, and the policies of Democrats and Republicans -- including the budget passed by the 2010 Legislature -- are forcing school districts into four-day school weeks and communities into cutting or eliminating vital services, including public safety. Minnesota needs the next governor to take on the state's big challenges and craft strategies and principles that lead the entire state into the future.

The overall goals of the Horner-Mulder proposal are to invigorate local economies and create a mix of jobs, including good career jobs in cutting edge industries. We will accomplish this through three broad legislative areas:

* Creating Jobs: To spur economic growth, we will propose: funding applied research at the University of Minnesota and other higher education institutions that open doors to new industries; promoting innovation and new technologies that come from our educational institutions and add value to the entire state; and exempting businesses from the state sales tax on capital purchases.

* Improving Infrastructure: The proposal assures that local communities have the infrastructure that businesses need to grow, compete and prosper, especially in the areas of transportation and technology. Examples include expanding the state broadband backbone to ensure that each Minnesota community, business and citizen has access to the next generation’s super highway and moving forward on a strong transportation network that can move product to markets and support worker access to jobs.

* Investing in knowledge: Minnesota needs to be known as the knowledge state, and we achieve this through a trained work force. A vital element of a solid economic development plan is to coordinate state supported education and training programs that meet the needs of expanding businesses in every community.

“As a state we must recognize that for many communities adding one job to a local manufacturer or to the construction a new home, which keeps local carpenters, plumbers and electricians working, is economic development,” Mulder said. “And lasting and thriving economic development calls for forward and independent thinking that brings new types of jobs and technology to people in every corner of the state.”

For more information regarding Horner’s campaign, log on to Horner's website: www.horner2010.com.

Tom Emmer would sign a cut to the minimum wage, if the Legislature approved it - One restaurant worker labels Emmer's comments "abhorrent"

More breaking news...

From Minnesota Public Radio today:

Ann Potter, who works at a downtown Minneapolis restaurant, said Emmer is attacking those who earn the minimum wage.

"We work so hard. Most of us don't have health insurance. Most of us don't have 401(k)s. Most of us don't have any type of financial protection," Potter told Emmer. "I am just absolutely enraged with what you had to say. I find it to be abhorrent."

Wait, wait! It gets even better! Read this...Tom Emmer would sign a CUT to the minimum wage!

Again, from MPR:
He refused to tell reporters what he meant when he initially said a tip credit had to be considered.

But in a phone interview earlier this week he said he would cut the minimum wage if the Legislature approves.

"If somebody is going to pass that through the Legislature, we would absolutely sign it," he said.

So, rural Minnesota, how does all this smell to you?