'Politically Shrewd and Naturally Likable'

Wow, Tim Pawlenty either has some really good friends at the Star Tribune or he's a lot better liked than I thought. Via Politics in Minnesota, check out this screen capture (left) of the sidebar the Strib has in their "Politically Connected" part of the website.

I knew that Pawlenty was probably positioning himself for a 2012 run, but I had no idea his influence was so great.

Minnesota's 3rd

Today the Washington Post has a rundown of Minnesota's congressional 3rd district. It's significant because it's an open seat, one of the top races to watch, in the wake of moderate Republican Jim Ramstad's retirement. Iraq war veteran Ashwin Madia is running on his student government experience at the University of Minnesota, my alma matter, against a fiscal conservative Erik Paulson that tries to paint himself as the next Ramstad -- except he has a high rating from Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life.

If Madia manages to win, he's slightly ahead of Paulson in the most recent poll, this would signify a major shift for the district that's dominated by one of Minneapolis' most wealth suburbs, Edina. The suburb is home to many of the wealthiest Minnesotans, so someone like Ramstad, who built himself as a socially liberal but fiscally conservative Republican, represented the district well. Some of the national momentum, and the fact that the DCCC can sink more money into downticket races thanks to Obama's ability to raise money on his own, means that weirdly enough, this district may end up going blue this election season.

"Radical Moderates" in Minnesota

Yesterday morning I went to an event sponsored by Growth and Justice, a think tank in Minnesota that takes a more moderate pro-business view than other conservative groups. The event highlighted former Minnesota Governors Al Quie and Arnie Carlson, as well as retiring Congressman Jim Ramstead. The idea was to highlight how these were Republicans who were committed to social justice as well as promoting business growth.

The group's president, Dane Smith, opened the event by saying, "It's good to see so many fire-breathing radical moderates in one room." He noted that Minnesota was among the top ten states in economic growth at the same time it was one of the top ten most heavily taxed states--that is, "until recently." He talked of the state's tradition in investing in education and health care. Of the speakers, many are known for being moderate Republicans, and each has a crowning social justice achievement.

Ramstead has co-sponsored the Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act, something that Paul Wellstone pushed for during his time in the Senate. Ramstead said he expects the bill to be passed and signed into law this September.

Quie inherited a budget crisis while governor, and is often hailed for his fiscal responsibility. Lately, he has devoted himself to social justice causes such as the prison crisis and education for children with disabilities.

Much like Quie, Arnie Carlson's role as governor was highlighted by tackling a budgetary crisis. He established what's now known as Minnesota Care, a program that provides health insurance to low-income families. He also pushed for the anti-discrimination laws in Minnesota to include gays and lesbians--a move so controversial that Republicans didn't endorse him for his re-election campaign in 1994, when he won the majority of the vote, something that hasn't happened in a gubernatorial election since.

The significant thing about this event is that the moderate Republicans on the panel criticized the "no new taxes" and caps on tax increases that have been common with conservatives in recent years. These moderates favored a balanced budget and social programs for the poor over voting "no" on tax increases at every opportunity. Smith pointed out that in 2006, during Governor Tim Pawlenty's re-election campaign, 200 of Minnesota's wealthiest individuals took out a full-page ad in Star Tribune to declare that they could afford to pay more in taxes.

But looking around the room of "radical moderates," many of them fell on the later side of life. Fewer than half a dozen people in the room were under 30, and of those many were reporters or staffing the event. Whether that means that young people today are more extreme than in the past or that moderates are having a harder time reaching out to young people it's hard to say. But it's interesting how such moderate voices are rarely reflected in the political debate today.

Cross posted at Pushback.

Minneapolis

Minneapolis is a great city. They're beginning to build a public wireless network that's available in parks downtown (although you still have to pay for it). They tend to have outdoor music festivals every weekend in the summer (because it's so cold the rest of the year). There's a great exhibit at the Walker Art Center about the great suburbia with a fake basement (complete with wood paneling, green shag carpet, and bean bags) that features the following video, a tribute to a Minnesota suburb known as West St. Paul which I find both brilliant and hilarious:

I do have one complaint, though. Minneapolis is no different than any other city in this one regard: street harassment is just as rampant. This morning as I walked down the streets of downtown Minneapolis two men stopped as I walked by to stare and then asked both "What's your name?" and "Do you want to make some money?" Gross.

Friday Minnesota Senate Horserace Blogging

Al Franken has been out-fundraising Norm Coleman this quarter. What the debate is quickly shaping up around, though is the source of those funds. Coleman is boasting about 16,000 "Minnesota donors," and the Strib article quotes this line from Coleman, "It's difficult to compete with the checkbooks of the Hollywood elite."

Franken right now is positioning himself as the anti-Coleman -- people are sick of the war, so they should be sick of Coleman, too. While that's all useful, he should also be positioning himself as a true progressive, one in the vein of Paul Wellstone. That name still carries a lot of weight with Minnesotans, so carrying on the tradition begun by him would be a good thing.