Minnesota Independent » Nancy Pelosi

Ellison, Pelosi speak on urgency and challenges of Somali famine relief

Jon Collins — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 13:33:36 +0000

In the last four months, more than 30,000 Somali children under the age of 5 have died during the worst drought in the area in 60 years, according to U.S. government statistics.

National political leaders, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), hosted a community forum Wednesday in Minneapolis—which has a large Somali community—to chart the relief efforts spearheaded by the U.S. government and whip up support for humanitarian aid spending.

“Famine isn’t defined as drought or defined as food access, it’s a definition of children dying,” USAID Administrator Raj Shah told the crowd, made up mostly of people from the University of Minnesota and Somali-American communities. “That number is likely go up significantly if we’re unable to dramatically expand our access to care for vulnerable populations in Somalia.”

USAID Administrator Raj Shah speaks to the crowd.

Shah announced another $23 million in grants and aid to provide some famine relief in Somalia and the surrounding region. The U.S. has already spent more than $580 million this year to combat the famine in East Africa, which Rah said accounts for half the funds being donated internationally to the effort.

The drought has also impacted Kenya and Ethiopia. In the entire region, up to 12 million people could be at risk, Shah said.

Much of the effort spearheaded by USAID focuses not just on food convoys, which have been hijacked in Somalia in the past, but on longer-term projects to develop drought-resistant crops and sustainable agriculture, Shah said. Relief efforts have also focused on medical care that can prevent children deaths, like cholera treatment centers.

But despite the urgency of the situation, lawmakers on the panel admitted they could run into roadblocks in attempting to fund more relief in a Congress fixated on budgetary issues. U.S. Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) said the most common constituent call to his office demanded an end to foreign aid.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)

Pelosi said security and humanitarian issues were related.

“Some in Congress believe that if people are starving in areas controlled by al-Shabab, that they should not be provided with food assistance,” Pelosi said, referring to the Islamic militant movement that still controls vast stretches of the country. ”Alleviation of poverty, eradication of disease, providing opportunity lessen the fury of despair, which is a recruiting ground for trouble, for violence.”

U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) said the United States’ history in the region, including the 1993 killings of 18 American soldiers in Mogadishu, gave some Americans pause about interacting with the region. But the international neglect of Somalia has led to a number of problems, from piracy to the famine to the al-Shabab movement, he said.

“The crisis in the horn [of Africa] and Somalia is all of our business,” Ellison said, calling for constituent pressure for humanitarian aid. “This world of ours can take care of its people but we have to have the political will to make it that way.”

But a lack of financial aid represents just one difficulty in staving off famine in East Africa. Complications in the region have led groups to approach the issue differently than past relief projects, with groups like the American Refugee Committee (ARC) working with the Somali-American community to help get aid to people who need it.

“I want to tell you with absolute certainty that the money you give, the support you put in, is and can be translated into lifesaving programs and it’s happening right now as we sit here,” said Daniel Wordsworth of ARC.

U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.)

The Somali-American community has been very active in organizing and supporting relief efforts, Wordsworth said.

“We want the Somali-American community, the American-Somali community to know how much we value your contributions to our country, your country, all of our country,” Pelosi told the audience. “I hope you know how deeply concerned we are on this issue that challenges the conscience of all humanity, and we must get the job done.”

Zainab Hassan said the forum was the sort of discussion the community needs to have to help spread peace and stability throughout the region.

“As world citizens we have to be involved in these issues and look at it in a positive and comprehensive way in terms of how do our policies impact other people in the region,” Hassan said. “How can we hold accountable our politicians to do the right thing and to adopt policies that would benefit not only Minnesotans but also internationally?”

Hassan said it didn’t seem that most Minnesotans were aware of what was going on in Somalia, but that programs like ARC’s Neighbors Initiative were changing that.

“A lot of effort is going on in Minnesota to bring together Minnesotan communities regardless of race, culture, countries of origin,” she said.

Ayan Abdinur said most people of Somali origin knew about the famine, but that other issues have sometimes distracted the broader community from learning about famine relief efforts.

“When you hear Somalia, it’s about the pirates, it’s still al-Shabab, there’s so much negative media that we really forget the issue that’s happening right now,” Abdinur said. “Yes, there is a security issue, but there is a bigger issue than al-Shabab and the pirates and anything that’s going on, but I wish that people would step away from that and open their heart to the people who are dying.”

Abdinur said she was proud to see how many people showed up for the forum.

“It was a really great way to show that Somali-Americans, other Americans, that everybody cares about the issues going on in Somalia and that we come together as a community and try to make an effort to help the people in Somalia,” Abdinur said. ”I was really happy, touched, by how the community could come together for one issue outside our country.”

Franken contributes to ‘It Gets Better’ book

Andy Birkey — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 19:41:57 +0000

Sen. Al Franken is a contributor to a book urging LGBT youth not to commit suicide because of bullying. “It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living,” by columnist Dan Savage contains an essay by Franken as well as fellow politicians President Obama, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, British Prime Minister David Cameron and celebrities Perez Hilton, Ellen Degeneres and Suze Orman. The book is based on a video project of the same name in which thousands of people have lent their voice in support of LGBT youth.

Franken isn’t the only Minnesotan to appear in the book. Mark Hanson, the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is also a contributor.

According to a press release from the ELCA, “Hanson’s essay was selected for inclusion by Dan Savage and Terry Miller, the founders of the project and the editors of the book. The two men launched the “It Gets Better” project when they created a YouTube video that reached out to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth facing harassment and bullying.”

In the U.S. Senate, Franken is the lead author of several pieces of legislation that would beef up national standards around bullying and include LGBT youth in bullying policies at the federal level.

Last week, Savage suggested that Republican politicians, such as former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, should participate.

“Who hasn’t made a video yet that you hope will?” TIME magazine asked Savage.

“Rick Santorum. Tim Pawlenty. Sarah Palin. Glenn Beck. The Minister of Britain, who leads the Conservative Party there, made a video, and we haven’t seen one from anyone on the right in the U.S. to even say, You’re 14 and gay. Don’t kill yourself,” Savage said.

Here’s video of Franken’s message to LGBT youth:

Here’s Bishop Hanson’s video:

Bachmann offers everyone at CPAC a free drink

Andy Birkey — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:22:06 +0000

If there one way to win the coveted presidential straw poll at CPAC, it’s to offer everyone in attendance a free drink. Rep. Michele Bachmann, who’s rumored to be running in 2012, kicked off the conservative gathering on Thursday with a rousing speech bashing “Obamacare” and Rep. Nancy Pelosi that included an announcement that she was hosting a party Thursday evening — and the bar tab was on her.

To Saturday Night Live fans, Bachmann joked, “Someone told me I need to find the right camera,” alluding to criticism of her tea party response to President Obama’s State of the Union address by the sketch comedy show.

“It’s a new day in Washington, D.C. We have so much to be grateful for,” Bachmann said. She talked about the three-legged stool of the movement which includes fiscal conservatives, social conservatives and security hawks.

“You have been part of the down payment on bringing back liberty to America,” she said. “You helped pry that gavel out of Speaker Pelosi’s hands. She wasn’t really willing to let John Boehner have it, but he got it.”

Bachmann praised the election of Republican governors and state legislatures across the country in 2010 because they will control the redistricting process.

“The political lines will be drawn with these new governors and representatives controlling the chambers across the country. If there was ever a time to make a change, this was it,” she said. “This was a historic change election and this was the change we were hoping for.”

Then she offered a free drink to those in attendance as thanks for their work.

“I think after all that work, I think it’s proper and fitting that we throw ourselves a big party,” she said. “At 5:30 pm, I’m throwing a party, the bar tab is mine, so let’s party hardy tonight. And the bar tab is on me!”

She threw the activists plenty of red meat as well. “If President Obama wins another term… we will be in debt to the tune of $21 trillion. That’s six years from now.”

She continued, “The president of China is named Hu [Jintao]. With all the money we owe China, I think we might rightly say Hu’s your daddy!”

Bachmann: Time to end Obama’s ‘reign of error’

Andy Birkey — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 14:30:56 +0000

Rep. Michele Bachmann was in Montana over the weekend raising money for Rep. Denny Rehberg, who announced his bid to challenge Democratic Sen. Jon Tester. Bachmann said that Republicans need to take over the United States Senate in order to shut down Obama’s “reign of error,” and she also said she’s become obsessed with repealing “Obamacare.”

“I take my first political breath every morning with one thought in mind — repeal Obamacare,” Bachmann said, according to the Missoulian. “That’s my motivation in life. … This bill is something else. It is the crown jewel of socialism. President Obama, and I’m willing to say it, ushered in socialism under his watch.”

“My opinion is we can’t shut this president down fast enough,” Bachmann said.

According to KRTV, Bachmann is still targeting Rep. Nancy Pelosi whom she still calls Speaker. “But to Speaker Pelosi, it’s 6 trillion more, so what, you’re gonna pay for it. That’s her attitude, and that is President Obama’s attitude. And for some reason we’re not compassionate if we’re not spending that kind of money. The compassionate people, I would submit, are those who are enough for the next 21 generations,” Bachmann said.

Bachmann’s trip to Montana comes on the heels of a visit to Hawaii earlier in the week. In two weeks, on Feb. 19, Bachmann will be heading to the early primary state of South Carolina for a fundraiser.

Lame duck preview: The last hurrah for a Democratic Congress

Staff Report — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 14:42:47 +0000

The midterm hangover having finally worn off, the 111th Congress returns Monday to kick off the lame-duck session, its last hurrah before its successor takes over. And the 112th Congress will look radically different, with Republicans in control of the House and the Democratic majority in the Senate significantly reduced. These next few weeks, then, could be the last chance for major Democratic initiatives. But the hurdles are high, and Republicans see no reason to grant Democrats any victories after the populace voiced its discontent with the policies of the past two years.

The battle lines are drawn; here are the fields on which they’ll be fought.

Bush tax cuts:

The biggest question before the Senate — and the one that will likely receive the most attention — is the expiration of the 2001 tax cuts signed into law by President Bush. Facing Democratic resistance in the Senate at the time, Republicans set up the cuts to sunset after ten years. Now that they’re set to expire, however, GOP lawmakers have lined up shoulder to shoulder to make them permanent.

President Obama, on the other hand, ran for office on a pledge to extend the existing tax rates for families making less than $250,000 a year, while letting the tax cuts for those making over that number expire. But as the economy continued to falter and Democratic re-election prospects began looking bleak, Democrats in Congress put off addressing issues related to the tax code until after the midterm elections. Now that Republicans have made big gains in both chambers of Congress, Democrats find their confidence further weakened.

Following the midterms, the White House has signalled that Democrats might be willing to compromise on the idea of a permanent extension of tax cuts for middle-class families and a temporary extension of cuts for the two percent of Americans families making more than $250,000, but it won’t stomach the approximately $700 billion in additional debt that would be required to extend those cuts permanently. Republicans, on the other hand, haven’t deviated from their position that the tax cuts for all Americans be kept together as a package deal.

If neither side blinks, taxes are set to rise for all Americans effective January 1. Neither party wants to be seen as responsible for a tax hike during difficult economic times, but Democrats have appeared far more worried at the prospect of getting blamed should negotiations break down. Polls favor the Democrats’ position that the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans should be allowed to expire, but without the votes of at least two Republicans in the Senate, the proposal is likely to fail. Barring momentum in Congress for the creation of a new tax bracket — for people making half a million dollars or a million dollars per year — in order to better rhetorically define the class of folks for whom Republicans are advocating tax relief, the easiest and most likely outcome will be a bill that temporarily extends all the tax cuts, simply kicking the decision of what to do to some point farther down the road.

Unemployment insurance benefits

As Congress frets over whether the marginal tax rate for incomes over $200,000 should be raised three percentage points, the Senate is also on the verge of allowing federal unemployment benefits to lapse — again. Extending the benefits before they expire on November 30 might seem like a no-brainer: It would prevent somewhere between 1.2 and 2 million unemployed Americans from having their subsistence checks cut off just in time for Christmas and would reduce the risk of a drop in consumer spending and economic growth as high as 0.4 percentage points from December to February.

Republicans might have trouble arguing that deficit reduction trumps other priorities, including unemployment benefits, when the only major initiative the GOP is pushing — extending the Bush tax cuts for the upper 2 percent of wage earners — would increase the deficit by $700 billion over ten years. That said, Republicans in the Senate, along with Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), are likely to vote against any extension of unemployment insurance benefits unless Democrats can come up with ways to offset their cost.

The last time unemployment benefits were set to lapse, back in early June, the Senate was unable to muster enough votes to renew an extension for 51 days. With Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine joining Democrats to vote for cloture, and Nelson joining with Republicans to vote against debate, Democrats had no choice but to wait for Sen. Carte Goodwin (D-W.Va.) to be sworn in as a replacement for the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D- W.Va.) in order to garner a 60th vote.

This time, assuming all the senators maintain their positions in the debate, the hurdle will be that much higher for Democrats after Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) takes the seat of Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) on Nov. 29. With one fewer assured vote, Democrats would either have to come up with a package of equivalent spending cuts that satisfies Republicans’ demands or persuade one more Republican to join their cause. Neither scenario appears particularly likely, however, which is why many unemployed Americans are bracing for the worst come Nov. 30.

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

A long-awaited Pentagon study on ending the practice of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the 17-year-old law that requires military service members to keep their sexual orientation secret, isn’t due to President Obama until December 1, but early media reports indicate that it will buttress gay rights advocates’ arguments to repeal the law. More than 70 percent of the respondents in the Pentagon survey indicated that repeal would have either positive, mixed or nonexistent effects, leading the authors to conclude that the military can lift its ban on gay and lesbian Americans serving openly in uniform while incurring minimal risk in its current war efforts.

If the study brings good news to those hoping to repeal the law, however, the current situation in the Senate should not. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) attempted to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” before the midterm elections, tacking the provision onto a defense reauthorization bill that failed to overcome a Republican-led filibuster in the Senate. The bill was weighed down by many add-ons — including the DREAM Act, which seeks to extend a path to citizenship to some undocumented immigrants who attend college or serve in the military — giving too many senators excuses to vote against it, but advocates remained hopeful that repeal could pass along with the defense bill when Congress resumed for its lame-duck session.

Now Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, is said to be negotiating with Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), the committee chairman, to remove the DADT repeal provision from the defense bill. McCain had previously voiced openness to authorizing a repeal of the law following the Pentagon’s review, but since that time his views have hardened. During his re-election battle earlier this year, McCain faced a primary challenger from the right and promised during his campaign to preserve the law.

In the absence of support from McCain, advocacy groups have identified 10 senators who have indicated in the past that they’d like to see the Pentagon’s study before deciding on whether to lift the military’s policy. The list includes Sens. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), Oympia Snowe (R-Maine), George Voinovich (R-Ohio) and Jim Webb (D-Va.). Once the results of the study are known, gay rights groups hope these senators will take them to heart and vote for repeal. If they follow McCain’s lead and renege on their previous openness to getting rid of the law, however, it may be a long time before Congress can muster sufficient votes to repeal the policy.

Campaign finance reform

Following an election season that saw record amounts of cash — including a fair chunk from undisclosed sources — spent on political advertising by outside groups, campaign finance reform advocates are still hoping that Democrats in Congress might take advantage of their remaining time in charge of both chambers to pass legislation to shore up the loophole-ridden landscape of campaign finance law. The most popular effort, by far, during the last year has been a bill called the DISCLOSE Act, which would require all groups spending money on electioneering activities in future elections to disclose their major donors.

While premised on a fairly bipartisan concept of full disclosure, the bill soon ran into trouble in the Senate over additional components that had been added on to it. Measures to prohibit campaign spending by companies holding government contracts or those exceeding a certain threshold of foreign ownership were read by Senate Republicans as an attempt to privilege union speech over that of corporations. Traditional campaign finance reform advocates like Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) held onto such objections and voted against cloture for the bill when Democrats declined to take them out.

Now Democrats in the Senate are contemplating one last attempt to pass a stripped-down version of the DISCLOSE Act — one that sticks strictly to the principle of transparency that Republicans once advocated as their gold standard for effective campaign finance legislation. But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a staunch opponent of nearly all campaign finance legislation, might prove an even biggest obstacle to the bill’s passage than any single aspect of the legislation. While Snowe or Collins, or even Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) or Senator-elect Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), might prove receptive to the measure in principle, it appears highly unlikely that any of them are willing to buck their party leadership for the cause.

Energy/environment

Even if the lame-duck session likely represents the best opportunity for Democrats to pass key pieces of energy legislation before a more Republican Congress comes to town, it seems unlikely that anything significant will move.

The House, for its part, has already passed a cap-and-trade bill and an oil spill response bill, and all eyes are now on the Senate. But it looks like major energy action in the chamber will have to wait until next year, if it happens at all.

One clean energy advocate with close ties to Congress downplayed the likelihood that energy legislation will pass during the lame duck. “Little will happen, probably,” he said.

The only energy-related bill that is likely to see the light of day during the lame-duck session is a proposal to encourage the production of electric and natural gas vehicles. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has scheduled a cloture vote for Wednesday on the bill, the Promoting Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles Act of 2010. The bill has bipartisan support.

Asked about the prospects for energy legislation during the lame duck in the Senate, Regan Lachapelle, a spokeswoman for Reid, said, “We filed cloture on a motion to proceed to a natural gas bill before we left. Other than that, we have many items that are possible for consideration during the lame duck.” Lachapelle did not elaborate on the pieces of legislation to which she was referring.

Backers of a renewable energy standard, which would require that a certain percentage of the country’s electricity come from renewable sources like wind and solar, are keeping their fingers crossed that such a proposal can move in the lame-duck session. “We’re optimistic about the lame duck,” said one RES proponent who was not authorized to talk on the record.

Reid and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) spoke on the phone Tuesday about the possibility of moving an RES during the lame duck. Bingaman’s spokesman, Bill Wicker, would not discuss the call. “This was a private conversation between two Members, so I have to respect that,” he said in an email. “But we all should know more about the lame duck before much longer.”

But a senior Senate aide with knowledge of the conversation downplayed the possibility that an RES would be brought up for a vote during the lame-duck session. “They had a good conversation and agreed it will be challenging to get 60 votes for expedited consideration of an RES during the limited time left in the session,” the aide said of discussion between Reid and Bingaman. Indeed, RES supporters would need to secure the support of two to four Republicans in addition to the four who already support the bill in order to get 60 votes.

An oil spill response bill and various pieces of legislation to promote energy efficiency and home weatherization are all pending in the Senate. But it looks like consideration of those bills will have to wait until next year.

DREAM Act

Reid and Pelosi have vowed to push for a lame-duck vote on the DREAM Act, a bill that would allow some undocumented young people who came to the United States as children to gain legal status for attending college or serving in the military.

In the House, the vote could come as early as this week, Democrat sources told Politico. Reps. George Miller (D-Calif.) and Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) were reportedly tasked by Pelosi with determining whether the caucus would be able to pass the bill.

If the act does not pass in the lame-duck session, it has very little chance of passage before 2013. Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), who is expected to head the House subcommittee on immigration, refers to the DREAM Act as “amnesty” and promised he would use his authority in the GOP-led House to block the act. GOP gains in the Senate also lessen the likelihood of passing the bill next session.

Reid recently said he would need support from “a handful of Republicans” to pass the bill during the lame duck, echoing estimates by bill sponsor Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) that at least five Republicans would need to support the bill for it to pass. A spokesman for Reid confirmed last week that he plans to bring up the DREAM Act for a vote during the lame-duck session, although it is still unclear whether it would be as a standalone measure or as an attachment to another bill.

The problem is that Reid doesn’t have much time — or sure support for the DREAM Act from his caucus. The act last came up for a vote in 2007, and seven of the eight Democrats who voted against it then are still in the Senate. While a few might support the bill this time around, five told The Hill in September they are still undecided on the DREAM Act.

Complicating matters, Mark Kirk’s assumption of Roland Burris’ seat in the Senate turns a sure “yes” vote into a likely “no.” Kirk has been lobbied heavily by DREAM Act supporters, but said before the election that he would vote against the act unless border security measures were pushed first. “It’s not time for the DREAM Act right now,” he told reporters in October. “If the DREAM Act came up for a vote right now, I would vote ‘no.’”

All current Republican senators voted in September to filibuster the defense authorization bill after Reid announced plans to attach the DREAM Act. But given the additional controversy over that bill — it included a repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and would have allowed for only limited changes from Republicans — it’s tough to extrapolate much from it about how senators would vote on the DREAM Act as a standalone bill.

Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) said he would support the bill if it were brought to the floor on its own, even though he opposed it as part of the defense authorization bill. Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), who co-sponsored the bill, would also almost certainly vote for it if it comes up in the lame-duck session.

Several other Republicans voted for the DREAM Act in 2007, but their support this year remains uncertain because of rightward shifts on immigration policy and the possibility of the bill again being attached to other legislation. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) was an original sponsor of the bill when it was first introduced in 2001 and voted for it in 2007. This year, he said the government should secure the borders before it focuses on the DREAM Act.

Written by Jesse Zwick, Andrew Restuccia and Elise Foley.

Slideshow: President Obama rallies for Dayton, DFL at university

Paul Schmelzer — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 10:00:18 +0000

“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.

Bachmann’s new ad ditches ‘Jim the Election Guy’

Andy Birkey — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 17:20:47 +0000

Rep. Michele Bachmann released a new campaign ad late last week that attempts to tie DFL opponent Tarryl Clark to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The ad is Bachmann’s fourth, and is the first ad to forgo “Jim the Election Guy.” Titled “Your Team,” the ad says Clark cast a tie-breaking vote for a tax increase in the Minnesota Legislature this spring. In addition to Pelosi, the ad also tried to tie Clark to President Obama.

Bachmann’s “Jim” ads, which featured Maryland actor Beau Peregrino, got Bachmann in trouble with the Minnesota State Fair (for using its name and logo without permission) and fact-checkers (who found her claims about Clark to be lacking).

Here’s Bachmann’s latest ad:

Bachmann: Tea partiers need to ‘literally start banging garbage lids’ to defeat health care reform

Andy Birkey — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:18:33 +0000

During Monday’s Hot Tea Radio Show U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann told listeners that she’s “fighting for my political life,” called for a repeal of the separation of church and state, and said that tea partiers need to “literally start banging garbage lids together” to defeat health care reform.

Right off the bat, Bachmann offered a refrain often made in her media appearances, that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is personally targeting her in the 2010 election (last month she went so far as to say Pelosi “hates” her). It’s a claim that was recently proven misleading by the Star Tribune, and even Bachmann’s handlers say it’s not quite true. She told listeners:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made me her number-one target for defeat politically this November at the ballot box, and trust me, she has all the money and all the volunteer power to make that happen. So, I am in the process of fighting for my political life so that I’m not defeated. She knows it’s vulnerable for me to speak out and take a very strong stand against this leap toward socialism but my opinion is I was sent to DC to do a job, and I’m going to do it.

Bachmann was asked what religious leaders can do to help get conservatives elected. She responded that Congress should repeal the ban that prevents 501(c)3 nonprofits and churches from endorsing candidates. (In Bachmann’s first run for Congress, Living Word Christian Center Pastor Mac Hammond got into hot water for endorsing Bachmann from the pulpit.)

The reason why clergy are afraid to be involved is because of an amendment that former President Lyndon Johnson passed when he was a senator from Texas… that stops 501(3)c [sic] organizations from saying anything political from the pulpit. Now, churches can be political from the pulpit. They can talk about issues all they want. What they can’t do is endorse a candidate from the pulpit. But the ACLU has been all over the backs of churches… Christian and Jews and people of faith are not second class citizens… but these radical leftist organizations have been intimidating Christians for so long and pastors don’t generally now that they do have the right to speak out from the pulpit. Congress should repeal that amendment from Lyndon Johnson… We need to repeal that and give Christians back their first amendment rights to free speech in the church.

Bachmann wrapped the appearance up by saying Tea Partiers need to make even more noise:

That’s why with everything within us we need to literally start banging garbage lids together to create enough noise so that our neighbors and our co-workers realize where the time clock is at this point because the second hand is literally banging up against 11:59 on the clock of freedom when it comes to health care… we cannot rest; we can’t take our marbles and go home.

Bachmann: Nancy Pelosi hates me

Andy Birkey — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:50:57 +0000

Rep. Michele Bachmann appeared on Michael Savage’s radio program on Monday to make her case that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is personally attacking her. Bachmann didn’t respond when asked whether she was interested in seeking higher office.

Savage asked, “Why does Nancy Pelosi hate about you?”

“I think the main thing she hates is that I take her on and President Obama and Harry Reid and their agenda,” Bachmann replied.

Savage said, “I would endorse a Bachmann-Romney ticket… would you be interested in a higher office?”

“You know, right now Nancy Pelosi has made me her number-one target to get rid of in the United States Congress,” she said. “She is raising money against me at a lightning clip. Every day the media hate machine is on my case daily in Minnesota in my state. She has recruited her candidate. This is extremely nasty and these people play for keeps.”

Klobuchar, Oberstar en route to Haiti

Paul Schmelzer — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:20:37 +0000

As I write this, a delegation including Minnesota Rep. Jim Oberstar and Sen. Amy Klobuchar is en route to Haiti. According to an Oberstar staffer, the bipartisan group lands at around 11:00 and will pay respects to those who died in the aftermath of the earthquake that struck 30 days ago. Today is a national day of mourning for victims of the quake.

Klobuchar and Oberstar are part of a 12-member delegation of House and Senate members that will be assessing the damage and the U.S. government’s response to the tragedy. Led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the group will meet with Haitian President Rene Preval and Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive as well as with members of the U.S. military, the UN, NGOs and USAID.

“In the spirit of President Obama, we go to demonstrate the ongoing American commitment to the Haitian people – that they will not be forsaken or forgotten,” said Pelosi in a statement this morning.

The members of the delegation:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL)
Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Senator George LeMieux (R-FL)
Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), Chairman, House Judiciary Committee
Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY), Chairman, House Ways and Means Committee
Congressman James Oberstar (D-MN), Chairman, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)
Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
Congresswoman Donna Christensen (D-V.I.)