“In the last analysis, politics is not predictions and politics is
not observations. Politics is what we do, politics is what we
create, by what we work for, by what we hope for and what we dare to
imagine" -Paul Wellstone
Minnesota
Democratic-Farmer-Labor(DFL)
Second Congressional District
Congratulations Senator Al
Franken!
A unanimous Minnesota Supreme
Court(5-0) ruled Tuesday that Democrat Al
Franken should be certified the winner of
the state's long-running Senate race, paving
the way for the former Saturday Night Live
comedian to be seated after an almost
eight-month fight.more
President nominates
federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor to fill Supreme
Court seat vacated by Justice David Souter
Obama said
Sotomayor "is an inspiring woman who I believe will make a
great justice." She would be the first Hispanic U.S. Supreme
Court justice if confirmed and the third female U.S. Supreme
Court Justice.
....for conversation, delicious food and
a garden patio specializing in hydrangeas at this
fundraiser for
Senator Jim Carlson. Please
stop by and visit with Senator Carlson and invited DFL
dignitaries. If you can not attend, please contribute
on line at
www.carlsonforsenate.org.
You may also contribute in advance. We will help you
prepare your refund forms at the fundraiser. We
appreciate your help as Senator Carlson prepares for his
2010 re-election
Rain or Shine! For
directions call 651-269-4378.
Donations of any size are appreciated and up to $50 per
voter may be reimbursable. Credit card donations are
accepted at any time at
www.carlsonforsenate.org/donate.
The 2009 contribution limit is $100 per
person. The MN Refund program provides a refund for the
first $50 in political contributions you make each
year. This refund program is intended to encourage
citizens to contribute to MN political parties and
candidates for State offices who have agreed to observe
the state campaign spending limit laws. Please note
– the refund program may be an unallotment target. Do
not delay in making a contribution and applying for your
refund.
Al and Franni
visited the White House for a
meeting with Vice President Joe
Biden, where Al and the Vice
President discussed the Obama
administration’s agenda and how it
can help the people of Minnesota -
from investments in alternative
energy to the expansion of
high-speed rail to the Twin Cities.
Al also updated the Vice President
on the situation with Minnesota’s
2nd Senate seat.
Read Vice President Biden’s
statement on the White House blog,
or
read Al’s statement here.
The Star Tribune
spent a morning with Al through two
meetings with folks of very
different perspectives and some
excellent blueberry pancakes.
On Minnesota’s diverse Congressional
delegation, Al said “I’m going to
work with all of them. I think
my actions will speak louder than my
words.”
Check out the full article on the
Star Tribune’s website.
Recent polls have
shown that Minnesotans believe that
Al Franken was fairly elected and
should be seated so he can get to
work for the people of Minnesota.
Read more.
*******
Governor
Pawlenty Says
Lone Rep. in
Senate is
Hurting
Minnesota
On C-SPAN,
Minnesota’s Gov.
Tim Pawlenty (R)
said that the
lone
representation
in the senate is
hurting the
state:
HOST: [H]as it
hurt the state
not having a
senator, a
second senator
available? […]
PAWLENTY:
Yes, it has put
Minnesota at a
disadvantage
when there’s
only 100
senators total
and you are
missing one and
it is one of two
from your state,
that puts you at
a disadvantage.
When you have
big legislation
being decided
and you are
trying to fight
for your
perspective, or
your influence
on a piece of
legislation it
puts our state
at a
disadvantage
Coming soon to a property
tax statement near you: Governor Tim Pawlenty's 2010
property tax increases! The governor, who already took
$110 million in revenue from counties and cities in December
of 2008, has made clear that many of his future unallotments
will be even more cuts to Minnesota communities. Those
cuts will translate into nearly a quarter billion dollars in
property taxes next year
Visit www.mn2020.org today to find out more.
Every weekday,
Minnesota 2020 explores progressive ideas, analysis, and
news. Visit us at
www.mn2020.org daily for fresh ideas and commentary on
education, health care, transportation, and economic
development perspectives, for the issues that really matter.
Minnesota Health Cuts Defy All Logic
If you live in Minnesota and have listened to the radio,
seen a television, or passed by a newspaper in the past
week, you may have noticed blaring headlines. Something
along the lines of "Budget Cuts" and "The End of Minnesota".
Ok, maybe you haven't see that headline, but for many people
in Minnesota, it will feel that way. For those of you who
may be television, radio, or print media free, let's recap.
Lack of Education Policy Vision Plays Out In Rural Minnesota
Minnesota's state education policy lacks vision. While
educators across the nation and around the globe prepare
students for both the workforce and to be competent
citizens, Minnesota's educators remain saddled with unfunded
mandates, a regressive state funding policy, and a set of
education policies the state has neither the labor nor
willpower to enforce.
What Informs Minnesota's Economic Policy Decisions?
Throughout this recession, national media and other research
groups have been reporting higher rates of job loss among
males than females. Here in Minnesota, we have proudly
sustained the highest percentage of women in the workforce
for nearly a decade. But, with more men filing for
unemployment nationally than women, what might this mean in
Minnesota?
MN2020 Journal: The Progressive Path Forward
Personal responsibility is a progressive value. It is,
perhaps, the key progressive value, followed closely by
community and accountability. Over the next couple of years,
our values will be put to the test.
Time to Review Tools for Minnesotans to Own, Manage Business
With companies facing shutdowns and whole industries
contracting and consolidating, Minnesota lawmakers should
look at tools the state has for helping workers and
community stakeholders start, purchase and retain
businesses.
Visit
www.mn2020.org and our blog at
www.mn2020hindsight.org every weekday for more news and
ideas. Thanks again for supporting Minnesota 2020 as
we focus on the issues that really matter.
Any member of this list can
post to it with the above email address (including
campaign representatives paid or volunteered). This list
can generate several emails a day.
To subscribe go to
https://warecorp.com/mailman/listinfo/cd2.
When Andrew Jackson ran for
President in 1828, his opponents tried to label him a
“Jackass” for his populist views and his slogan, “Let the
people rule”. Jackson, however, picked up on their name
calling and turned it to his own advantage by using the
donkey on his campaign posters. During his presidency, the
donkey was used to represent Jackson’s stubbornness when he
vetoed re-chartering the National Bank.
The
first time the donkey was used in a political cartoon to
represent the Democratic Party was, again, in conjunction
with Jackson. Although in 1837 Jackson was retired, he still
thought of himself as the Party’s leader and was shown
trying to get the donkey to go where he wanted it to go. The
cartoon was titled “A Modern Baalim and his Ass”.
Interestingly enough, the
person credited with getting the donkey widely accepted as
the Democratic Party’s symbol probably had no knowledge of
the prior associations.
Thomas
Nast, a famous political cartoonist, came to the United
States with his parents in 1840 when he was six. He first
used the donkey in the 1870 Harper’s Weekly cartoon to
represent the “Copperhead Press” kicking a dead lion,
symbolizing Lincoln’s Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, who
had recently died. Nast intended the donkey to represent an
anti-war faction with whom he disagreed, but the symbol
caught the public’s fancy and the cartoonist continued using
it to indicate some Democratic editors and newspapers.
Later, Nast used the donkey
to portray what he called “Caesarism” showing the alleged
Democratic uneasiness over a possible third term for Ulysses
S. Grant. In conjunction with this issue, Nast helped
associate the elephant with the Republican Party.
Although
the elephant had been connected with the Republican Party in
cartoons that appeared in 1872, it was Nast’s Cartoon in
1874 published by Harper’s Weekly that made the pachyderm
stick as the Republican’s symbol.
By 1880 the donkey was
well-established as a mascot for the Democratic Party. A
Cartoon about the Garfield-Hancock campaign in the New York
Daily Graphic showed the Democratic candidate mounted on a
donkey, leading a procession of crusaders.
Over
the years, the donkey and elephant have become the
acceptedsymbols of the Democratic and Republican parties.
Although the Democrats have never officially adopted the
donkey as a party symbol, we have used various donkey
designs on publications over the years. The republicans have
actually adopted the elephant as their official symbol and
use the design widely.
Adlai Stevenson provided
one of the most clever descriptions of the Republican’s
symbol when he said, “The elephant has a thick skin, a head
full of ivory, and as everyone who has seen a circus parade
knows, proceeds best by grasping the tail of its
predecessor”.
Although
the elephant had been connected with the Republican Party in
cartoons that appeared in 1872, it was Nast’s Cartoon in
1874 published by Harper’s Weekly that made the pachyderm
stick as the Republican’s symbol.
Over
the years, the donkey and elephant have become the
acceptedsymbols of the Democratic and Republican parties.
Although the Democrats have never officially adopted the
donkey as a party symbol, we have used various donkey
designs on publications over the years. The republicans have
actually adopted the elephant as their official symbol and
use the design widely.
