Jeff Anderson

Duluth City Councilor Jeff Anderson collected four more Iron Range backers in his bid to win the DFL endorsement to run against U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack in Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District.

Anderson was endorsed by former state Sen. Jerry Janezich, former St. Louis County Commissioner and lobbyist Gary Cerkvenik, former state Sen. Ron Dicklich and former candidate for Lieutenant Governor Kim Stokes.

Anderson is competing with former state Sen. Tarryl Clark and former U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan for the DFL endorsement to take on U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack.

“I’m very pleased with the endorsements that I’ve received so far from elected officials and former elected officials,” Anderson told the Minnesota Independent. “I’m excited to continue to earn the support of people around the district, elected officials, party officials and everyday folks.”

Anderson has already earned the support of state Reps. Carly Melin (DFL-Hibbing) and Roger Reinert (DFL-Duluth).

“I think it’s important to show people that not only do I represent 87,000 in the largest city in the district, I also have roots in the more rural parts of the district,” Anderson said.

Anderson told the Minnesota Independent that his candidacy could transcend the sometimes contentious relations between the Iron Range and Duluth.

“The people of Duluth and the people of the Iron Range are more similar than many people might think. When it comes to the economy, when the Range does well, Duluth does well,” Anderson said. “So I think it’s important that we have a regional perspective rather than just an us vs them sort of mentality.”

Anderson said he’s also been making inroads in the southern tip of the district, meeting with party leaders and activists. He said he hasn’t yet announced whether he plans to abide by the DFL endorsement, predicting a “hard-fought race.”

In 2010, almost all the spending in the race came from outside groups opposed to former U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar. Although Anderson said the expected influx of outside money into the region was concerning, he said the campaign was about “more than money.”

“We’re building these grassroots networks of support across the district and talking to people about the future of the Eighth, and talking about where we want this generation to be in the next generation or next decade,” Anderson said. “When it gets down to crunch time, I think whoever the Democrat is on the ballot in November 2012 is going to have a lot of support.”

U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack plans to move his family from Minnesota to New Hampshire to be closer to his kids while in Washington, which could hurt Cravaack in 2012 by bolstering criticism that his ties to the region are light.

The freshman congressman told the Duluth News Tribune Saturday that his official residence will remain in the 8th Congressional District, although he plans to sell his house in Lindstrom and buy another in North Branch.

Cravaack’s wife, Traci, works in a medical supply business in Boston part of each week. The move will allow both parents to spend more time with their kids, Cravaack told the Mesabi Daily News. He said he plans to spend Saturdays in Minnesota and Sundays in New Hampshire.

Aaron Brown, editor of Minnesota Brown, already weighed in on some of the possible implications for Cravaack:

While Jim Oberstar was gone a lot, maybe even more than Cravaack, the image he projected was that of traditional Range politics and no one questioned his knowledge of the region. A freshman, no matter the situation, does not have that goodwill built up yet. While politics might be practiced differently than in the past, I still estimate voters in this district to be mindful of a candidate’s roots and hometown.

Throughout the 2010 race, Cravaack was characterized by some as a “packsacker” the Iron Range term for carpetbagger. Cravaack’s home in Lindstrom is at the extreme southern end of the 8th District.

Brown told the Minnesota Independent that the move might not hurt Cravaack’s 2012 chances if former state Sen. Tarryl Clark, who moved to the district to run for the seat, gets the DFL nod. But Cravaack’s move could boost the campaigns of longtime residents former U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan and Duluth Council Member Jeff Anderson.

Although the move comes with risks, Cravaack still is leaving his DFL challengers in the dust in fundraising, according to the quarterly July reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Rep. Chip Cravaack is a top target of Democrats and reproductive rights advocates in 2012 even if the Republican freshman has yet to draw a challenger. Cravaack is one of 14 vulnerable Republicans the Democrats hope to unseat in 2012, and EMILY’s List has announced that Cravaack is one of its top five targets.

“While Minnesota families struggle in the tough economy, what’s Cong. Cravaack’s first priority after taking office?” EMILY’s List wrote on Tuesday. “Forget job creation – it was redefining rape. Cravaack was an original co-sponsor of H.R. 3, which actually attempted to redefine rape and led to incredible outrage over such a crass, inhumane act toward survivors of sexual assault.”

The group has added Cravaack to its “You’re on notice” list.

Meanwhile, Cravaack represents one of 14 district that went for both John Kerry and President Obama in past presidential contests, and those are ones that Democrats are making a strong play for in 2012.

“The Kerry-Obama districts should be at the top of any Democratic target list because they are historically Democratic seats,” Mark Putnam, a Democratic strategist, told Politico. “Those seats should turn Democratic.”

Politico notes that Democratic strategists are waiting to see how lines are drawn in redistricting before making any serious moves in those 14 districts.

Though Cravaack is seen as vulnerable — he defeated Rep. Jim Oberstar by just 4,200 votes — he has yet to draw any challengers.

“Hello, Minnesota! Hello, Gophers! Oh, it is good to be back in Minnesota!” So began President Barack Obama Saturday, rousing a crowd of 11,000 at the University of Minnesota. In town at the tail end of a four-state campaign swing intended to bridge an “enthusiasm gap” among Democrats, the president hailed DFL gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton as “the only candidate who can actually deliver change, who’s actually delivered change before.”

In the presence of Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar, Reps. Keith Ellison, James Oberstar and Betty McCollum, former Vice President Walter Mondale and state auditor Rebecca Otto, Obama laid into Republicans who he says sat idly by as the middle class was “getting pounded” in recent years.

“[Republicans'] basic theory was they looked around and said, ‘Boy, we really made a big mess, we really screwed up.  It’s going to take a long time to get those 8 million jobs back. People are going to be angry and frustrated. It’s better if we refuse to cooperate, we say no to everything, we try to gum up the works in Congress, and we may be able to deflect the blame come the next election,’” he said to boos from the crowd. “‘We’ll just pretend like we had nothing to do it, and we’ll point our fingers at the Democrats.’”

“In other words, the other side was betting on amnesia,” he said, drawing laughter. “They’re betting that you’ll forget who caused this mess in the first place.”

A moment later, he said, “If you think somehow there’s a new and improved Republican Party out there, let me be clear:  The chair of the Republican campaign committee was asked, well, what are you going to do if you take over Congress.  He said, we’ll pursue the ‘exact same agenda’ as we did before Obama took office.”

Obama’s efforts appear to be having some success, according to a Newsweek poll taken last Thursday and Friday. His own approval rating jumped to 54 percent, up from 48 percent a month ago. And slightly more poll respondents — 48 percent — said they’d be more likely to vote for Democrats, compared to 42 percent saying they’d be more likely to vote for Republicans on election day.

Still, as the New York Times reported Sunday, there are 28 Democratic House seats that are leaning Republican or considered losses for Democrats, while 40 Democratic seats are tossups. Republicans will need to win a net of 39 seats to win the majority in the House. In the Senate, the prognosis isn’t quite as grim, with Democrats still holding onto a slight lead.

Photojournalist Kathy Easthagen, who covered Obama’s September 2009 healthcare rally for the Minnesota Independent, was on hand at the rally to capture Obama’s visit in pictures. Click here to view the full-sized slideshow or here to read the full text of Obama’s speech.

Rep. Jim Oberstar released a new ad on Tuesday that focuses on the American Recovery Act, saying that it resulted in new jobs for Minnesotans. The ad, Oberstar’s second this campaign, features a truck driver named Joyce who says the act put her back to work.

“When my family needed help, Jim Oberstar was there for us,” Joyce said in a statement accompanying the new ad. “There was a sense of relief going back to work. I’m glad we have Jim Oberstar fighting for jobs and working families here in Minnesota.”

Oberstar’s first ad featured endorsements by the mayors of Cambridge, Duluth, Hoyt Lakes and Wadena.

Oberstar’s opponent, Chip Cravaack, released a poll by Republican polling firm Public Opinion Strategies on Monday showing a tight race. Oberstar’s campaign dismissed the results, calling it a push poll.

Here’s the new ad:

MnIndy file photo

Al Franken joined 12 other Democratic senators and one Republican in asking Senate leaders to act fast on Haiti.

“Robust and immediate U.S. assistance to Haiti in the wake of this catastrophe is vital to support stability in that fragile country, and is in our own national security interest,” read the senators’ message to both parties’ leaders.

Franken was one of several of Minnesota’s congressional delegation who had not issued statements on the earthquake in Haiti as of Wednesday night. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Reps. Jim Oberstar and Keith Ellison were quick out of the gate with press releases on the disaster.

Franken was wrapping up a trip to Afghanistan when the earthquake struck.

This is how the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) describes the project: “PolyMet Mining, Inc. proposes to develop an open pit mine and to refurbish and modify the former LTV Steel Mining taconite ore processing facility to extract copper metal and precipitates of nickel, cobalt and precious metals near Babbitt and Hoyt Lakes in northeastern Minnesota.”

The project promises 400 jobs lasting 20 years. The impact on the environment could be more permanent.

“It would be the largest single wetlands impact that the St. Paul office has permitted,” said U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project manager Jon Ahlness, according to the Tower Timberjay News. He was referring to the Corps’ St. Paul District, which covers 139,000 square miles including most of Minnesota, western Wisconsin, northeastern North Dakota, and small parts of South Dakota and Iowa.

The project has major political backing from U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken and U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, as well as state Sens. David Tomassoni and Tom Bakk and state Rep. Tom Rukavina, who gave speeches at the meetings. (Rukavina and Bakk are candidates for governor.)

PolyMet also enjoys paid help from people who have held state posts, including former state Pollution Control Agency (PCA) commissioner Brad Moore and former deputy PCA commissioner Ann Glumac.

But with that much political weight on one side, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Corps opted to hold the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) meetings without an exchange of views.

“To have a public meeting where the public doesn’t get to comment is really a boneheaded move,” Rukavina said, according to the Duluth News Tribune. The Timberjay News quoted Rukavina as telling the crowd in Aurora, ”That decision was a screw-up on somebody’s part. … If I was governor, people would have been able to talk tonight.”

Alan Muller, writing at the Twin Cities Daily Planet’s Free Speech Zone, names a couple responsible parties:

More and more, agencies tend to use consultants to structure meetings to get the results they want.  The consultant in this case is Mariann Johnson of MT Johnson Associates of Minneapolis. Ms. Johnson works in the field of “conflict resolution.” She didn’t want to discuss details, but said “we proposed a number of options,” and the decision was made by senior DNR leadership. Maybe the clearest explanation came from Corps. project manager Jon Ahlness: “The purpose of the meetings is for the public to give comments to the agencies, not for the public to give comments to each other.”

The public comment period on PolyMet’s EIS ends Feb. 3; mining could begin within months.

Photo: Minnesota Independent

Michele Bachmann speaks to national TV audiences an average of once every nine days, but the Minnesota congresswoman makes extra-sure that voters in her district hear from her directly: She sent more than 1 million email messages or print mailings to them last quarter using her congressional franking privilege.

Only six others in the 435-member U.S. House of Representatives can make that claim.

The million-franking club is exclusively Republican and mostly Southern, including (besides Bachmann) two representatives from Florida (Vern Buchanan and Ginny Brown-Waite), and one each from Georgia (John Barrow), Texas (Pete Olson), Oklahoma (Tom Cole) and California (Dan Lungren).

The rest of Minnesota’s U.S. House delegation wasn’t nearly as moved to communicate. Freshman Republican Erik Paulsen led the pack with 463,607 messages sent from July through September – not even half Bachmann’s 1,000,534. His GOP colleague, John Kline, sent 280,115. Among Democrats, Betty McCollum led with 119,380. Tim Walz sent 105,174, Jim Oberstar sent 1,595, and Keith Ellison and Collin Peterson tallied zero: neither sent any one communication to more than 500 people, the minimum tally to qualify for the House’s recordkeeping.

Bachmann’s voice will ring out Monday at a rally under the Minnesota State Capitol dome for a constitutional cap on state government spending. But the U.S. government has spent more on her franking privilege so far this year than for any other Minnesotan in the U.S. House: $105,581, or nearly 10 percent of her office’s total expenses — a proportion that’s also tops in the state’s House delegation.

Bachmann’s pedal-to-the-metal franking has attracted scrutiny since arrival in Congress in 2006. Communications from her office that push limits of one kind or another continue to draw complaints.

Last month, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) complained to the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) that Bachmann used her congressional website to draw people to a rally against health-care reform on the U.S. Capitol steps, in violation of House rules. (CREW’s complaint didn’t include the revelation in a Minnesota newspaper that Bachmann’s office steered callers to buses to attend the rally.)

In July, local bloggers filed a complaint over Bachmann’s use of government email to benefit a political organization, in this case the National Automotive Dealers Association (NADA). The OCE referred the matter to the authority that governs franking, the Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards.

By the end of her first six months in Congress, Bachmann already led the Minnesota delegation in spending on constituent communications, with a cost per mailing of 46 cents per piece — about twice the price others from the state were spending.

This year’s third-quarter report, the first to be made available online, shows a cost of less than 18 cents per household for franked communication. Bachmann has been using an alternative to traditional mailings for reaching people in her district — so-called “tele-townhalls.”

Production costs for glossy mailings that once dominated her expense reports have been partly replaced by spending on mass-dialing telephone technology. From July through September, Bachmann paid tele-townhall vendor Citizen Dialog $21,500. That’s $10,000 more than she paid the U.S. Postal Service over the same period for franked mailings.

In using tele-townhall calls largely in lieu of holding actual townhall meetings, Bachmann follows the lead of Kline, who was on the first call by tele-townhall pioneer Lungren in 2006.

“Tarryl is a winner — she’s already won in this district,” Oberstar says in a video at Clarks’ campaign website.

Franken, Bachmann, Walz and Ellison "Bobble Reps"

Asked at Saturday’s Netroots Minnesota conference what blogs he follows, Rep. Tim Walz pulled out his iPhone and rattled off a few sites: Talking Points Memo, Bluestem Prairie, MN Publius and others. Then he showed off his favorite iPhone app — a new one that features his likeness and that of every other member of the House and Senate as shakeable cartoon bobbleheads.

The 99-cent “Bobble Rep” app helps users find out who represents them in Congress, either through a direct search or by using the iPhone’s GPS locator. The caricatures — heads for each of 540 legislators put on one of 12 bodies — were drawn by MAD Magazine artist Tom Richmond to be fun and nonpartisan. But Apple didn’t see it that way: it rejected the application claiming “it ridicules public figures.”

Richmond wrote:

This is truly ridiculous. These caricatures aren’t mean or very exaggerated. They are simple, fun cartoon likenesses of the politicians and the purpose of the app is an informational database. There is no editorial commentary involved at all.

Indeed, related projects, while likewise tame, could probably be construed as far more “offensive,” to use Apple’s word. Sen. Franken, for instance, was rendered as a 3D vampire bobblehead, “The Count,” (along with Norm Coleman) by the St. Paul Saints baseball team in March. And earlier this month, Franken and Coleman were given the MAD Magazine treatment in a spoof ad for “Democra-cialis, ” a cure for the kind of “electile dysfunction” that plagued their 2008 Senate battle, in MAD’s list of “dumbest people, events and things” of 2009.

But last Monday, Apple reversed its decision, green-lighting the app that made its way to Walz’s cellphone.

Walz’s wielded smartphone could’ve been a good prop for another question he answered — about net neutrality. He said he’s “absolutely convinced that we must keep net neutrality,” and thanks to his resolve, “AT&T doesn’t even come to my office anymore” to lobby against it, he added. He said he’s surprised that conservatives aren’t more concerned about the freedom issues surrounding the possibility of corporations controlling what internet users can and can’t access.

“If you want to wave the patriot banner,” he said, “wave it on net neutrality.”

Here’s how each of Minnesota’s Bobble Reps look: