Photo: bobmcdonnell.com

The national Democratic Party joined forces with two of its state organizations to tar Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty with a hard-right social “manifesto” — a 1989 master’s-degree thesis by Bob McDonnell, Republican candidate for governor in Virginia. As Pawlenty crossed the Old Dominion on Wednesday campaigning for McDonnell, Democrats held a teleconference with national reporters and Minnesota media. Why pick on T-Paw? Because, said Richard Cranwell, chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia, “he’s the first superstar we’ve had out here since the manifesto manifested itself.”

McDonnell’s thesis sets a course for the GOP against contraception for married couples, in opposition to working mothers, and in favor of discrimination against gay people.

Cranwell said he’d served in the state legislature with McDonnell and saw firsthand the “plague” that came out of the Republican’s prescription of positions for his party. He denied that the tele-press conference was part of a strategy to extend the damage to McDonnell that began with an Aug. 30 article in the Washington Post, where the story continues to develop.

“I don’t see it as a strategy,” Cranwell said, calling McDonnell “an individual at the extreme spectrum [sic] on some very basic, fundamental issues.” Based on McDonnell’s 1989 thesis and later actions in public life, Cranwell said those issues included access to abortion for victims of rape and women’s rights to work.

Cranwell discounted disavowals by McDonnell: “Your actions speak louder than words.”

Donna Cassutt, associate chair of the Minnesota DFL Party, accused Pawlenty of “trying to cull favor with the extreme right wing” of the national party in recent weeks to secure his chances as a Republican candidate for president.

Calling Pawlenty “comparable to Michele Bachmann,” Cassutt sought to link what she termed Pawlenty’s “Bachmann-esque” statements to McDonnell’s views, citing the Minnesotan’s worries about President Obama’s back-to-school speech and so-called health-reform “death panels.”

Asked about the DFL’s rallying behind Al Franken for U.S. Senate despite complaints from elected officials within the party about his past writings that some deemed demeaning to women, Cassutt called that a “completely different situation” and said she “never took offense” at Franken’s “satirical” pieces.

Democratic National Committee press secretary Hari Sevugan added that McDonnell “hasn’t just spoken, hasn’t just used words. He followed that up with action.”

The Democrats said they wanted to know if Pawlenty — who speaks frequently to audiences around the country about the Republican Party’s future direction — supported McDonnell’s ideas for the party.

Pawlenty is also vice chairman of the Republican Governors Association. Virginia is one of two states with gubernatorial elections this year — the other being New Jersey, where Pawlenty stumped for Republican Chris Christie last week.

How is the thesis brouhaha playing among everyday Virginians? When he’s “getting ice tea in the morning,” Cranwell said, “people are getting a view of who the real Bob McDonnell is.”

A “GOP Newsline” email sent Wednesday carried the subject line “Avoid the DFL Donut Booth.” The reason, as the email puts it: “This mini-donut stand does not inform patrons that their money is going towards the DFL party, so be careful.” Attached to the email was a movie file of a KSTP report about how the stand is run by a DFL political action committee, a fact that wasn’t apparent to mini-donut afficionados. The Ramsey County group that runs the booth gave $40,000 to support DFL candidates in 2007 and $45,000 in 2006, the station reported. According to John Treadwell, treasurer of the PAC, several other Fair booths are likewise run by organizations whose names don’t appear on signage, although to his knowledge Grandstand is the only political one.

The KSTP report is a year old — as the date on the GOP’s video, as well as the YouTube video below show — but the 2009 State Fair map shows Grandstand Donuts will again be selling from their location on the southwest end of the plaza outside the Grandstand.

KSTP’s video:

The entire GOP email, sent by party chair Tony Sutton and deputy chair Michael Brodkorb:

State Sen. Tom Bakk, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner,  House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher and state Rep. Paul Thissen have made “firm drop-dead commitments” to stick to the DFL’s nominating process. That is, if any of them doesn’t get the official nod from the party, they won’t run.

Four others — former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, former House DFL Leader Matt Entenza, former state Sen. Steve Kelley and state Sen. John Marty — won’t make any such pledge, although Black points out that Dayton “isn’t seriously seeking the DFL endorsement.” (He couldn’t get through to Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak.)

Since Entenza has said he’d abide by the party’s process only if all “serious” candidates do as well, Black surmises that, since Dayton likely won’t abide, Entenza won’t either.

Will it matter? Black concludes:

Lastly, it should be noted that the value of the DFL endorsee isn’t what it used to be. For decades, anyone who defied the endorsement process and risked party unity by mounting a primary challenge would be shunned. But that is no longer true. The last two gubernatorial endorsees did win nomination without serious primary challenges, but before that, primary battles were more common than uncommon and several challengers won the nomination. This year will be another test of the value of the endorsement.

Photo: MnIndy

Two outside organizations and Norm Coleman’s re-election campaign illegally coordinated advertising that aided Coleman via a political consultant they all shared, the Minnesota DFL Party charged in a complaint to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC).

No, they didn’t, the FEC has ruled.

The DFL complaint (pdf) goes back almost a year, to an August 2008 television ad from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce attacking Franken’s position on the Employee Free Choice Act. A month later, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) SAFE Trust paid for a full-page ad in Twin Cities daily newspapers claiming Franken would raise taxes.

FLS Connect, a political consulting firm owned by Coleman pal Jeff Larson, counted both groups as clients, along with Coleman. The DFL asked the FEC to investigate whether Larson acted as linchpin in a secret scheme that gave Coleman a role in the three Chamber commercials and the NFIB’s ad, in violation of federal law.

Every election season brings a wave of complaints to the FEC, some of which get dismissed without further inquiry, a commission spokesman told the Minnesota Independent today. The FEC investigated the DFL’s suspicions but found nothing to support them, releasing findings to the parties in May (pdf) before commissioners certified the results last month on a 5-0 vote (pdf).

The FEC found that the two groups and Coleman did share Larson as a vendor — but no evidence that Larson worked on the advertisements.

Larson figured in another controversy that dogged Coleman during the campaign, also the subject of a DFL complaint: the low rate at which Larson leased a basement apartment in Washington, D.C. to Coleman.

Here are two of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce TV ads attacking Franken. First, on the Employee Free Choice Act:

On taxes:

Image: Minnesota Independent

Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s recently announced plans to axe state refunds for political contributions of $50 or less has set off an email stampede, as candidates urge donors to give before the program dies July 1.

In the $2.7 billion of unallotments he unveiled on Tuesday, Pawlenty included a complete cutoff of $10 million in state funding for the cash-back campaign donation program. The program has no official name in state law, but the state Department of Revenue calls it the Political Contribution Refund Program.

Republicans get more money through the program than their rivals, but Pawlenty still dissed it as welfare for politicians. On his WCCO-AM radio program this morning Pawlenty allowed, “It’s a nice program,” but he said it was a lower priority than schools and health care.

A growing number of candidates and both other major parties have jumped on the short-notice deadline to make pitches via the Internet for refundable donations. (UPDATE: Republicans, remarkably, have joined them.)

In a Web solicitation, Independence Party Chair Jack Uldrich characterized the cut as hacking off the IP’s arm.

Democrats have used less vivid imagery but are communicating urgency all the same, with email subject lines like “Time is running out,” “Just 14 days to  get your refund” and “Campaign Alert!”

In particular, those aiming to replace Pawlenty made sure to whack him as they made their appeals for fast cash. Here’s former State Sen. Steve Kelley:

By cutting off the Political Contribution Refund Program, Tim Pawlenty is impacting your voice in the governor’s race.  Over 90,000 Minnesotans use the PCR program annually to make a refundable contribution to the candidate of their choice. … Before the program expires, make a refundable $50 contribution (or $100 for couples) to a Governor who will put education first!

Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner was even more pointed in her email plea:

In addition to making cuts that will disproportionately affect the poor, children and the elderly, the Governor also proposed eliminating a program that helps ordinary Minnesotans participate financially in the campaigns of their choice. … While Tim Pawlenty and other Republicans can afford to run their campaigns with large donations from PACs and wealthy individuals, we would prefer to run ours with money donated from all levels of givers.

Gaertner had a ready metaphor for donors unfamiliar with the soon-to-be-eliminated program:  ”Think of your contribution as a temporary loan to the campaign.”

State Auditor Rebecca Otto, also a DFLer, curiously made a pitch for donations of as little as $5 rather than the maximum refundable amount of $50: “Can you afford to support my work with a monthly donation of $5, $10 or $15?” her email asked.

Gary Goldsmith, executive director of the state Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board, told the Minnesota Independent that his department doesn’t recognize pledges or plans as “contributions” under the refund program. He said donors or candidates with questions about the program’s phase-out should consult online memos from the campaign-finance board (pdf) and the Department of Revenue (pdf).

Pawlenty told his radio audience today that he’s heard more guff from legislators on the donation-refund program than any other unallotment item. Maybe that’s because it’s the one they can still do something about.

Here are some samples of appeals from candidates and parties, including those mentioned above plus state Rep. Paul Thissen and state Sen. John Marty (both gubernatorial candidates), and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie. Click on an image to enlarge. If you have seen or received other similar communications from candidates, please forward them to MnIndy.

Susan Gaertner

Steve Kelley

John Marty

Rebecca Otto

Mark Ritchie

Paul Thissen

Independence Party

DFL Party

Victory for Rybak the Younger was especially sweet for Norwegians as it came the day before Syttende Mai, Norway’s National Day. (The day was marred by suppression of gay-rights demonstration in Moscow, host city for the Eurovision finals.)

Victory for Rybak the Elder came the day before his departure for China on a trip to raise Minneapolis’ profile for trade and tourism — and possibly to find a place on the other side of the planet where he might hope to be the main man named Rybak.

Here is the performance of “Fairytale” that earned Rybak the Younger the top prize at Eurovision 2009 — a contest that is something like “American Idol” and the Olympics rolled into one:

And here is Rybak the Elder, who sometimes gets tagged as a showboat, onstage in Minneapolis after his endorsement:

“When you win an election by 312 votes, there’s not a lot of effort that goes to waste,” Al Franken told Minneapolis Democrats Saturday. “We ran a very efficient campaign.” Franken nominated R.T. Rybak for endorsement for a third term as mayor at the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party’s city convention.

Outside of his own race for U.S. Senate, Franken has the magic touch, apparently: Rybak’s endorsement by the party, though a foregone conclusion this time around, is actually his first. Here is a minute-long video clip (via wr3n) of Franken’s remarks:

A lot of people here have been asking me, “What do I call you?” And the answer to that is: Al. There is only one person in the state who will have to call me senator and that, of course, is [his wife] Franni. I want to thank you all. You know, when you win an election by 312 votes, there’s not a lot of effort that goes to waste. We ran a very efficient campaign. And I want to thank each and every one of you who made our victory possible, and just let you know that I can’t wait to get to Washington and start working on behalf of all of [you? unintelligible].

Franken spoke as a delegate from Ward 7, Precint 9, and received a standing ovation more rousing than the crowd’s response to Rybak. That’s according to Aaron Landry, who also reported via Twitter:

Mayor: Rybak received 75 percent of delegates’ votes on the first ballot.

Park Board at-large (three seats): Mary Merrill Anderson, Tom Nordyke and John Erwin won endorsements by acclamation. (Anderson and Nordyke are one-term incumbents; Erwin previously served as a single term as at-large commissioner from 2002–06.)

Park Board, District Five: No endorsement for Jason Stone, Martin Demgen or Steve Barland to replace incumbent Carol Kummer — amid “chaos.”

Board of Estimate and Taxation: Carol Becker, an incumbent, got the only endorsement for two seats that voters will fill in the fall.

More results:

Park Board, District Two: No endorsement in contest between incumbent Jon Olson and Natalie Collins. (At lloydletta, you can see videos of candidate statements, questions-and-answers and balloting; Eva Young’s commentary here.)

Park Board, District Four: Newcomer Anita Tabb, the only candidate, won endorsement to replace Tracy Nordstrom, who is retiring as commissioner after one term.

Park Board, District Six: Challenger Brad Bourn beat out incumbent Bob Fine. (Via tweets by Downtown Journal’s Cristof Traudes)

Park Board, District One: Liz Wielinski won endorsement with 72 percent of the vote over Michael Rainville, for a seat being vacated by longtime city official Walt Dziedzic.

Park Board, District Three: One-term incumbent Scott Vreeland gained  endorsement again. (Via Steve Brandt, Star Tribune.)

Video after the jump.

DFL chair Brian Melendez’s assessment of Coleman’s chances on appeal before the Minnesota Supreme Court came after he critiqued the arguments in a preliminary filing yesterday.

Repeating a line of a attack made by Franken attorney Marc Elias, Melendez pointed out that only one of five Coleman claims would add rather than remove votes from last fall’s election — hardly the enfranchisement Coleman’s camp is espousing.

Melendez disputed the notion that the post-election drama has become a “debacle.” The system is working well, he said — it’s just that people in “the Coleman campaign are exercising bad judgment in how far to push their rights.”

Still, Coleman can litigate “to his heart’s content,” said Melendez — as long as Minnesota’s second U.S. Senator gets seated in the meantime.

The DFL is hoping to stir such sentiments with its “Give It Up, Norm” campaign. Melendez unveiled the campaign’s second Web video (see below) at a State Capitol press conference today.

Melendez claimed to have received “a significant blip” of e-mails from “Coleman voters out there who are tired of the litigation.” When pressed, he said that by “blip” he meant a dozen.

Asked about Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s role, Melendez also said “the state executive branch has nothing to do with this” beyond the “ministerial” task of issuing an election certificate. Melendez also said instant runoff voting would have broken Franken-Coleman logjam by distributing ballots for Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley between the two leading vote-getters.

Here’s the DFL’s new Web ad, titled “Norm Would Step Back.”

Last November I began a campaign for Minneapolis Mayor by raising issues that are important to the future of our City. I wanted to bring a point of view to this election that wasn’t even being considered at City Hall. I wanted to focus attention on helping homeowners before they became victims of foreclosure, addressing the causes of crime, continuing to invest in improving our neighborhoods, providing pre-school education to every Minneapolis child, and improving the financial management of our city.

Although I would have liked to vigorously continue this effort, changes in my family situation have made it impossible for me to put forth the time and effort that this campaign deserves. I am, therefore, immediately suspending my campaign.

I’d like to thank those who supported me financially, at the caucuses, and with their volunteer hours. Your efforts have been greatly appreciated and helped to bring my message of resident empowerment coupled with responsible and responsive government to the Minneapolis electorate.

Sincerely,
Bob

In response to an interview request shortly before the DFL caucuses in Minneapolis early this month, Miller’s campaign staff told the Minnesota Independent that Miller’s availability was restricted due to a family medical situation.

Competition to represent the area around the University of Minnesota campus has been hot since the 2001 primary loss by longtime incumbent Joan Campbell:  The 2005 contest to replace Campbell’s retiring successor, Paul Zerby, attracted four DFL rivals who battled for three ballots at the party’s endorsing convention   — has cooled off considerably.

“There obviously must be confidence” in the job he’s doing, Gordon said of his vanishing opposition, though he admitted he could improve and said he looks forward to suggestions from voters when he knocks on doors this year.

Coming from the Green Party, which unlike the city’s dominant DFL often takes a pass on endorsing in local races, Gordon said “it wouldn’t seem strange and unusual to me” for there to be no DFL endorsement in his race.

The lack of a credible DFL opponent “is a testament to Cam’s hard work and the fact that he represents the values and needs of the Second Ward,” says Michael Guest, a political consultant and campaign manager (most notably for DFL incumbent Don Samuels in the city’s Fifth Ward). But Guest (who I asked to comment after running into him just as I started to write this post) downplayed the differences between the two parties: “What DFLers are not [also] Green?”

One way the parties differ is the process by which they select candidates. While the DFL holds precinct caucuses to elect delegates to ward and city endorsing conventions, the Green Party gathers for citywide meetings on March 22 and again in April to discuss city election endorsements they’ll finalize at a May 9 meeting.