Clark, Horner pick up ECM endorsements

As the weekend goes, so goes the week: Democrat Tarryl Clark followed up her St. Cloud Times endorsement of Sunday with a nod today from ECM Publishers, Inc., while gubernatorial candidate Tom Horner gains the same newspaper chain’s endorsement after his weekend endorsement flurry. What may come as a surprise: That company was founded by former Republican Gov. Elmer Andersen.

OK, maybe it’s not all that surprising. As David Brauer notes, “Like Horner, Andersen drifted away from the party, endorsing Democrat John Kerry for President in 2004.” Still, the suburban chain’s endorsement seems to show momentum building for the Independence Party’s Horner and, perhaps to a lesser degree, DFLer Clark. On Sunday, Horner got endorsements from a slew of Forum Communications–owned papers, including those in Duluth and Bemidji, as well as the backing of the state’s biggest paper, the Star Tribune.

Horner “best possesses the abilities and the ideas to lead Minnesota through these uncertain times,” ECM’s editorial board writes. “We support the fact that he says he will build his cabinet with individuals brought in for their expertise rather than because they were owed a political favor. And we agree with him that members of either political party will be more apt to work with him than they would their polar opposite.”

It continues:

When it comes to the budget, Horner favors a balanced approach. He supports tax reduction for businesses to allow Minnesota’s companies to invest in research and development, setting up the building blocks for future success. And he favors lowering the sales tax one percent but expanding the tax base to include more items such as clothing. We agree with this plan supporting an expert-endorsed stable revenue tax rather than a system that relies increasingly on a regressive property tax with declining property values.

In the Sixth Congressional District race, ECM’s editorial spends an awful lot of ink on Bachmann’s failings, running down “countless” instances where Bachmann “has turned her attention to national interests and paid little interest, at least on the surface, to what is happening in her district” and noting that Bachmann has accomplished little during her tenure in the House of Representatives:

We understand that Rep. Bachmann has been part of the House minority, Still, in the four years that she has served in Congress she has authored only one piece of legislation that became law. Still worse, she has not supported important construction projects in St. Cloud and Stillwater — projects of great value in this district.

Of Clark’s candidacy, the chain writes:

To her credit, Clark is no rookie to the legislative process and has been willing to work in a bipartisan arena for the betterment of the state. Sen. Clark’s life experiences in teen counseling, parenting, senior citizen advocacy and work with groups like Habitat for Humanity and the Minnesota Community Action Program give her a solid foundation that will help her succeed in Washington.

She demonstrated deep understanding and knowledge of national and international issues. Raised in a conservative Republican family, she has matured to form a philosophical view that draws on her upbringing and world views today.