Economy

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has launched new ads in the 6th Congressional district as promised, but, like Democratic candidate El Tinklenberg, they avoid mentioning Rep. Michele Bachmann’s gaffe that brought money and attention to the race in the first place.
The DCCC’s new ad targets Bachmann’s statements concerning the collapse of U.S. financial markets. The [...]

Remember the second questioner from the second presidential debate? His name was Oliver Clark. Remember how John McCain answered Clark’s bailout question? He said lots of things, but you’ll remember this zinger: “The match that lit this fire was Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I’ll betcha you may never have even heard of them before [...]

Republican incumbent Rep. Michele Bachmann and two challengers who hope to unseat her to represent Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District in Washington met in Stillwater Wednesday evening for the first candidates’ forum. In front of a standing-room-only crowd, Bachmann, DFL-endorsed El Tinklenberg and Bob Anderson, the unendorsed Independence Party candidate, sparred mainly over the economy, although energy, the war in Iraq and the Stillwater lift bridge each garnered some attention.

The best line of the night came when Tinklenberg criticized Bachmann on her offshore and ANWR drilling proposals: “The strategy that she has proposed of ‘Drain America First’ is a bad strategy.”

Here’s five minutes of video from a press conference held today by Ashwin Madia, DFL candidate for U.S. Congress in Minnesota’s 3rd district. In this clip, Madia addresses the economy; Republican characterizations of his background as less well suited to the district than that of his opponent, state Rep. Erik Paulsen; ads by outside groups attacking Paulsen that have been called inaccurate; and an incident in which a Madia campaign volunteer removed Paulsen signs from a public right-of-way. Also: six-minute clip of GOP response.

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman went after Minnesota conservative blog Powerline for criticizing Krugman’s 2005 column warning of a housing bubble that was about to burst.
Powerline’s John Hinderaker wrote at the time: “[T]here is little reason to fear a catastrophic collapse in home prices. Krugman will have to come up with something much better, [...]

In this week’s religious right watch: Social conservatives blame purportedly gay-friendly companies for the troubles on Wall Street, a southern mayor can’t decide whether Obama is the anti-Christ and a Minnesota man lectures community on the evils of drag queens.

The House rejected a $700 billion bailout of Wall Street on Monday, sending the Dow plunging 777 points, and Republican leaders blamed a speech by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for the rejection. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., roundly rejected that notion on Monday afternoon, having apparently left her talking points at home.

As Barack Obama rejects John McCain’s call for canceling Friday’s debate, our sister site in Colorado gets a hold of talking points accidentally sent out by a GOP spokesperson on how to discuss the suspension of McCain’s campaign. The memo, titled “TALKING POINTS: SUSPENDING THE CAMPAIGN,” was sent out in error to the entire Colorado media list by McCain represenative Tom Kise. It includes his warning: “Please do not proactively reach out to the media on this.”

“On the issues you talk about at your kitchen table… John is profoundly, profoundly out of touch. John McCain has confessed, and I quote, ‘It’s easier for me to be in Washington, and frankly, be somewhat divorced from the day-to-day challenges people have.’ Well, he’s right. If all you do is walk the halls of [...]