MN-06 : GOP Platform is a Nightmare for Bachmann

For Congresswoman Michele Bachmann to control the Party’s agenda, the best way is to get involved in approval of the Party Platform. Thus far, the results may not be to her liking.

Bachmann is one of 112 Republican activists writing the planks for the RNC Platform. There are a number of key issues :
Drilling in ANWR
Cap and Trade legislation to curb greenhouse gas emission
Immigration
And even, gun ownership ( The Bush Administration wants background checks prior to someone on the Terrorist Watch List before being able to buy a gun. )

Surely, at the top of Bachmann’s list is Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

Of expanding oil drilling into ANWR, she recently said, "Currently, the U.S. is the only country in the world that discourages using its own energy resources. Our country imports 10 billion barrels of crude oil every day. And we are importing 1.3 million barrels of refined gasoline.”

But drilling in ANWR is not something that everyone agrees. Bachmann said in an interview with Townhall.com “It’s difficult when our nominee is not on the same page with us.”

CQ Politics reports the draft proposal unveiled Tuesday called for “accelerated exploration, drilling and development in America, from new oil fields off the nation’s coasts to onshore fields such as those in Montana, North Dakota and Alaska” but was silent on the specific issue of ANWR.

Additionally, from the CQ article “the platform committee also rejected a proposal to discourage the export of oil and gas garnered from any new leases.
Consider that DOE data revealed “A record 1.6 million barrels a day in U.S. refined petroleum products were exported during the first four months of this year, up 33 percent from 1.2 million barrels a day over the same period in 2007. Shipments this February topped 1.8 million barrels a day for the first time during any month. The surge in exports appears to contradict the pleas from the U.S. oil industry and the Bush administration for Congress to open more offshore waters and Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling. ”
Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA) protested this exporting practice to President Bush writing that projections from the Department of Energy for offshore drilling say that “at the height of production, in 2030, increased offshore drilling would produce only 200,000 barrels per day – one ninth the amount of oil we currently send to foreign countries every day.”

While the RNC Platform Committee may be rejecting her plea, she has offered a Discharge Petition on HR 6107 that would open ANWR for drilling. Thus far 90 Republicans have not signed her petition.

And as a side note, this platform plank is in direct opposition to the stated goals of Dr. Brian Davis, State Senator Dick Day, Congressman John Kline (R-02), and Ed Matthews (whose speech at the MN-GOP convention demanded drilling). But Erik Paulsen and Senator Norm Coleman do not support drilling in the ANWR.

So for voters that hear MN-GOP Party Chairman Ron Carey attempting to blame Congressman Tim Walz (D-MN-01) for the failing to open ANWR for drilling, they need to be reminded that the RNC is not committed to that goal.

On Immigration, the draft does not include stronger anti-amnesty language that some advocates wanted. It does not specifically oppose “comprehensive immigration reform” and is silent on a guest worker program, a policy that President Bush and McCain have both supported.

On Cap and Trade, the Platform Committee included no amendments to oppose cap-and-trade explicitly, in fact there were no amendments on climate change at all. By taking a heavy pen to the section that used to read “Global Warming and Environmental Protection”, they decided to strike the phrase “global warming” anywhere it appeared in the document, either replacing it with the more neutral “climate change,” or removing it altogether.
Ah, thus RNC answers the question – If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there does it make a sound?
If the RNC does not acknowledge “global warming”, then it must not be happening.

And on another annoyance for Bachmann, the Platform Committee voted down a proposal to call the opposition the "Democrat Party" in the 2008 platform. Instead, they'll go with the proper Democratic Party. "We probably should use what the actual name is," said Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, the panel's chairman. "At least in writing."
Bachmann, as evidenced by her appearance on television broadcasts has a tendency to use the “Democrat” term.

The decision on Gun Ownership has not been publicized yet.

Question for John Kline : Are Comic Books Pork Barrel Spending ?

Congressman John Kline (R-MN-02) is on a crusade against earmarks, yet the question needs to be asked if ”earmarks” are the problem or “pork-barrel spending” ?

Kline and many of his fellow Republicans have launched a media blitz challenging other Congressman not to request ”earmarks”. Obviously, it’s the basis of the November elections strategy when challengers like Dick Day, party managers like Ron Carey, and even President Bush will tell us that ”earmarks” are the problem. Politicians are salesmen – selling a message – and like any good snake oil salesman, beware of the claims. The implied target is the Democrats, yet for change to occur, Republicans can lead by example … if they are serious.

Not all ”earmarks” are pork barrel spending projects; “Earmarks” may be abused as pork barrel spending projects, but they essentially are instructions by Congress to ensure that monies are spent according to the peoples’ wishes. The Constitution under Article I Section 9 empowers Congress with the powers of appropriations.

One of the ways that the ”earmarks” campaign is being waged is through The Club for Growth RePORK Card of all members' votes on 50 anti-pork amendments. And based on that assessment, Second District Congressman Kline gets a perfect score at 100 % while First District Congressman Tim Walz fails with 0%. Ron Carey was quick to issue a Press Release to announce this meaningless assessment.

A couple of observations concerning this analysis.

First, by and large, Republicans are not so clear on this issue. In the old Tom DeLay days, the legislation moved if a Majority of the Majority (Republicans) wanted it … so if a majority in the Republican caucus approved it got put to a floor vote where the Democrats could participate. So based on that logic, how would these 50 anti-pork amendments have fared … 41 would have passed. And the votes were not overwhelming as a minimum of 80 Republicans approved of these amendments. Overall, only one anti-pork amendment did pass … it had a bare margin of 6 votes from Republicans but the Democrats had a 69 vote margin.
The GOP needs to change its act, before Ron Carey's MN-GOP should be so loudly congratulating one of its members.

Second, the RePORK Card seems to ignore the largest area of spending. The Defense Appropriation had 2,161 earmarks valued at $7.9 billion. Surely, there must be some “pork-barrel spending” in this appropriation .... I suspect that you could write a book about it … maybe even a COMIC BOOK [see below].

Now, John Kline has sworn off earmarks and has recently convinced Michele Bachmann to join him, while other members of Congress still request funding for various programs … albeit, the benefit may be for more than just the requestors home area. For example, First District Congressman Tim Walz has requested $125,000 for the Sheriffs Youth Program of Minnesota, Inver Grove Heights, MN for chemical dependency treatment services. The SHERIFFS YOUTH PROGRAMS OF MINNESOTA serves various locations throughout Minnesota (Austin, Hayward, Mankato, Isanti, Waverly, Winona, St. Cloud, and Rochester) which means they serve Bachmann, Oberstar and Walz districts.

Are programs that treat chemical dependency important ?
The day after Bush’s State of the Union (during which he complained about "earmarks"), he visited the Jericho Program,where he said, "Addiction is hard to overcome. As you might remember, I drank too much at one time in my life." The Jericho Program is part of Bush’s earmarked programs having received over $1.3 million in federal dollars.

So, is it okay for Bush to spend millions but Congressman Walz shouldn’t try to help people in our state ?

So, if funding may be a good idea for chemical dependency programs, are there any wasteful “pork-barrel” programs that should be eliminated ?
Of, course.
With all those earmarks in the DOD authorization, surely some programs should be questioned.

How about eliminating funding COMIC BOOKS ?

That’s right … the US Government is currently requesting bids - M68450-08-Q-0021 : The dollar value of the award is not anticipated to exceed $2,400,000.00. The resulting award will be a Firm Fixed Price contract. The detailed specifications for the twelve (12) issues of 6th Brigade Comic Book series are as follows: Requesting the design, production and distribution of 12 issues of 60,000 comic books per issue for a total of 720,000 comic books of the 6th Brigade Comic Book series to highlight the professionalism of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) and to enhance the public perception of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) as a capable, well-trained, and professional fighting force IAW Information Operations Objectives as outline in the Multi National Force West Operation Order MNF-W (OPORD) dated September 2007.
That's right, folks ... $2.4 million for COMIC BOOKS !

How long have we been in Iraq … and has our success been delayed because the Comic Books haven’t conveyed the proper message ?

It is commonly accepted that the resolution in Iraq is not a military solution but an economic and political solution. When former First District Congressman Gil Gutknecht returned from his only visit to Iraq, he said the key was economic and the need to get jobs for Iraqis.
So, if Comic Books are the key, why don’t the Iraqis produce them ?
Frankly, Americans don’t know the Iraqi culture much less the language … I suspect more cartoonist have read The Far Side then can read Farsi … or Arabic, Dari, Pashto, or any of the other languages spoken in the region.

Instead of John Mr. Earmark-Free Kline proclaiming a "pork-free diet" why doesn't he scrutinize the Bush budget and comment on the "necessity" of Bush's earmarks.
How hard can that be in a $3 trillion spending plan?
For example, Aircraft and weapons: $45.6 billion, a $4.9 billion increase, which would include purchases of fighter planes such as the F-22A. The F-22 was originally designed as an air superiority fighter for use against the Soviet Air Force. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) sent a 13-page letter on June 20, 2006 to then-House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman C.W. (Bill) Young urging Congress to stop funding this program due to its high cost and the fact that the aircraft is out of date. The GAO said, "DOD has not demonstrated the need or value for making further investments in the F-22A program." The GAO also noted that the F-22s "are not sufficient to be effective in the current and future national security environment." There are 22 test F-35 aircrafts that are more modern, effective, and cheaper. In 2003, Popular Science reported the F-22 had a price tag of $120 million each while the F-35 cost $35 million. In June 2006, the GAO report raised the F-22's numbers, concluding that the multi-year contract would drive per-plane costs up to $183 million from $166 million.

Sadly, Bush’s FY2009 does not adequately fund the on-going Global War on Terror … and before they authorize another supplemental spending bill, Congress first needs to look at other DOD spending.

The Republicans loudly protesting “earmarks” is strictly an election-year ploy when they --and the Democrats-- need to take a serious look all spending.

Don’t tell Ron Carey, but Norm Coleman leads Earmarks race

The Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) has evaluated the FY2008 appropriations bills and determined that Congress inserted 12,881 earmarks worth $18.3 billion into FY2008 spending bills. Congress also documented more than $20 billion in presidential earmarks.

Evaluating the Minnesota Congressional Delegation, Norm Coleman leads the list with $10,780,000 solo earmarks while Keith Ellison and John Kline have requested zero earmarks.

Solo earmarks may not tell the total story, since funding can also cross-district needs. Kline for example did not assign his name to any project while all of Ellison earmarks were ones that the President wanted. Looking at the delegation in this manner, Kline would be first followed by Bachmann at $3,787,600; Walz in third at $9,562,500, then Ramstad at $12,472,300, and on.

Not all earmarks are pork-barrel spending.
They can be good projects that “promote the general Welfare” for the citizens. Article I Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution is clear … Congress controls the purse .. (No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law).

Bush’s FY2009 budget is a sham.
Yet as TCS documents above, presidential earmarks outnumber Congressional earmarks.
For example, Bush knows that the continuation of the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System (and other similar projects) will be funded by Congress. By not including these dollars in his request, he understates what funding is required to make the fiscal imbalance not as large as it is. Water and other related projects requests totaling about $1.8 billion -- some date back to 2000 (or essentially throughout Mr. Bush's presidency) -- are awaiting funds.

South Dakota Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin [D], Iowa Congressman Steve King [R] and Minnesota Congressman Tim Walz [D] have issued a joint statement of support for the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System project that would serve the three states.

The Lewis & Clark Regional Water System will deliver safe drinking water from aquifers near Vermillion, S.D., to roughly 300,000 people in a 5,000 square mile area.
Lewis & Clark will be funded … and it will be an earmark in the budget … and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. This is not “pork-barrel” wasteful project.

It’s a game. And part of the game may be who will sign their name to the earmark ?

I question how John Kline can say that he serves the people when he does not support any earmarks. I am proud that Tim Walz is fighting for our well being.

Why do I mention Ron Carey ? When The Club For Growth issued their RePork Card on House of Representatives votes on earmarks, Carey was quick to issue a press release condemning Walz. Will he be so quick now to acknowledge Coleman’s use of earmarks ? (More on the RePork Card in a future commentary.)

We can debate about what is wasteful spending … I question $97,000 to continue the "Lighten Up, Iowa" anti-obesity initiative, but believe that is in the country’s best interest to have a clean water supply. It will be easy for people to denounce earmarks, but we need a serious discussion about what the projects are.

Is a Liberal Minnesota Congressman Electable?

Dick Day has described current First District Congressman Tim Walz as “the most liberal" while Minnesota GOP Party chairman Ron Carey issued a press release stating : "Walz's out-of-touch, left-wing agenda is wrong for the First District."

That got me thinking.

Assuming that Democrats would vote for their party’s nominee, would Independents and for that matter Republicans embrace a candidate who voted :

- FOR : Implement the 9/11 Commission recommendations including creating an independent civil liberties watchdog group within the executive branch Roll Call Vote #15
- FOR : Increasing the federal minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour over two years 18
- FOR : Allowing the government to negotiate directly with drug makers for lower prescription drug prices for individuals using Medicare. 23
- FOR : Assist in the provision of affordable housing to low-income families affected by Hurricane Katrina. 172
- FOR : A resolution to improve the management of medical care, personnel actions, and quality of life issues for members of the Armed Forces who are receiving medical care in an outpatient status.(aka the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act ) 204
- FOR : Ensuring the independence of United States attorneys 397
- FOR : Protecting consumers from price-gouging of gasoline (aka Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act) 404
- FOR : College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 link
- FOR : Approving funding for Transportation projects 715
- FOR : Moving the United States toward greater energy independence and security, developing innovative new technologies, reducing carbon emissions, creating green jobs, protecting consumers, increasing clean renewable energy production, and modernizing our energy infrastructure (aka New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act) 832
- FOR : Expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program 906
- FOR : To restore the financial solvency of the national flood insurance program and to provide for such program to make available multiperil coverage for damage resulting from windstorms and floods, etc. (aka Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2007) 921
- FOR : To establish the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund in the Treasury of the United States to provide for the construction, rehabilitation, and preservation of decent, safe, and affordable housing for low-income families 958

I should mention that all these roll call votes were opposed by a majority of Republicans (although many did have a significant number of supporters.)
Therefore, I would presume that these votes would indicate that rank-and-file Republicans would not support this Congressman for re-election.
As an Independent voter, I would support this Congressman after all he has been called “a true giant on behalf of all Minnesotans.”
The votes cited are the votes of Jim Ramstad – Minnesota’s Congressman for the Third District.

Are these the votes of a Liberal?
And For Dick Day and Ron Carey’s Information, Ramstad's votes were joined in the affirmative with First District Congressman Tim Walz.

When politicians, like Day, use the term Liberal it really is to denigrate their opponent … its childish characterization and illustrates the weakness of their own inability to articulate their own positions. Name calling may excite the Republican base, but it does not tell Independent voters the positions that the candidate would embrace. Looking at the Roll Call votes, it is pretty easy to see that MN-03 voters can look at the issues and know where Ramstad stands ... and the results is 65% of the voters embracing Ramstad.

Regarding Congressman Ramstad, who has announced that he will not seek reelection, he may be reconsidering that decision.
That would be welcome news not only for MN-03 but for the country.
Ramstad is currently the fourth ranking Republican on the Ways and Means Committee (which I consider to be the most powerful committee in Congress.) Jim McCrery, the ranking Republican, announced that he will not seek re-election.

Considering the need to address the exploding national debt and inequity of the current tax system, Congress will need to level-headed leaders like Jim Ramstad.