Minnesota Independent

Franken, Klobuchar among signers of deficit-reduction letter to Obama

By Andy Birkey | 03.22.11 | 8:26 am

Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar are among 62 U.S. Senators — 32 Republicans and 32 Democrats — who’ve signed a letter urging President Obama to do more to reduce the federal deficit. Drafted by Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado and Republican Mike Johanns of Nebraska, the letter left many pundits scratching their heads: If so many senators are pushing Obama to engage in deficit reduction ideas, why haven’t they done it themselves?

GOP offers ‘no-tax’ pledge, DFL cries foul

By Andy Birkey | 02.25.11 | 12:39 pm

Senate Republicans sent a letter to Gov. Mark Dayton Thursday stating that all 37 members of the GOP caucus have taken a “no-tax pledge” in response to the governor’s proposed budget which would increases taxes for the wealthiest Minnesotans. Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk responded with a letter of his own questioning the pledge and its implications, while Dayton told the GOP to stop “the game-playing” and come up with a budget of their own.

Gov. Mark Dayton. Photo: Kathy Easthagen, Minnesota Independent

Dayton vetoes $1 billion budget cut bill

By Andy Birkey | 02.11.11 | 7:00 am

Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed a bill to cut $1 billion from the state budget Thursday evening saying the bill was unconstitutional and would result in higher property taxes. To bolster his argument, Dayton turned to an unlikely source — former Gov. Tim Pawlenty. At a press conference, Dayton said it was the earliest veto a governor has made during a legislative session since 1939.

Dayton renews call for higher taxes on the wealthy

By Andy Birkey | 02.09.11 | 1:02 pm

During his State of the State address on Wednesday, Gov. Mark Dayton renewed his call for higher taxes on wealthy Minnesotans, a central position of his successful campaign for governor in 2010. He quoted the Bible in urging the rich to support his proposal for more progressive taxation.

Kristol criticizes Bachmann’s ‘silly’ petition to stop raising of debt ceiling

By Andy Birkey | 01.06.11 | 9:57 am

William Kristol, prominent neoconservative columnist, said he was disappointed in Rep. Michele Bachmann’s campaign to prevent Congress from raising the debt ceiling to avoid the United States from defaulting on its debt. Writing in the Weekly Standard, Kristol noted his general praise for Bachmann but called her plan “silly” and “irresponsible.”

Walz donates part of salary to the deficit

By Andy Birkey | 12.28.10 | 1:53 pm

Rep. Tim Walz is one of three members of Congress to return his congressional pay raise to the U.S. Treasury, ABC News reported Tuesday. According to quarterly disbursement reports, Walz has returned his raises to the treasury each year since he came to Washington. Walz, along with Republican Reps. Spencer Bachus of Alabama and Frank Lobiondo of New York, are the only ones who have rejected raises in Congress despite intense rhetoric from tea partiers and Republicans regarding the growing national debt.

What programs would Bachmann cut? Not many

By Andy Birkey | 11.23.10 | 8:30 am

Rep. Michele Bachmann appeared on CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer on Saturday to talk about the tea party and cutting the nation’s budget. Blitzer pressed Bachmann to name programs that could be cut to bring down the federal budget deficit, but she declined, saying only that spending levels should be rolled back to 2008 levels.

Reid Delays Vote On Offshore Drilling Reforms

Lame duck preview: The last hurrah for a Democratic Congress

By Staff Report | 11.15.10 | 8:42 am

Congress returns to the nation’s capital Monday to kick off its lame-duck session. Here’s a rundown of the legislative battles to come.

Meffert files ethics complaint against Paulsen

By Andy Birkey | 09.22.10 | 7:09 am

DFL candidate Jim Meffert filed an ethics complaint with the House Ethics Committee on Tuesday charging that Rep. Erik Paulsen, his Republican opponent, falsified information in an official House communication with district residents. The Meffert campaign is taking issue with a tax-payer funded mailer that shows a graph of the national deficit, claiming that the graph is purposefully distorted.

Political maneuvering begins in budget battle

By Andy Birkey | 01.12.09 | 9:59 pm

As the budget battle at the Capitol gets going, Republicans are promising to obstruct efforts to both cut expenses and raise taxes. DFLers are looking at a pending stimulus plan from the White House in February in order to guide how the budget session takes place. And at least one DFLer thinks that Pawlenty might change his stance on taxes (or “revenue enhancements”) to help fill the historic $4.8 billion deficit.