Podcast: A Republican View

Inside Minnesota Politics offers a Republican take on the Governor Tim Pawlenty's choices. Even the Republicans say Gov. Fee-lenty has worked himself into a corner.

Podcast:The Loophole That Ate The Budget

On This Week's Podcast:A New Budget Hole And A Grass Roots Story

Acourt ruling will cost Minnesota $300 million in tax revenue from
companies that call Minnesota home, but do their business elsewhere.
Who knew about this loophole? Everyone in State government. Who wanted
to fix it, but was blocked? You'll need to listen to find out.

Plus
-- a story about how one person quickly got thousands of people to back
her up. It's a "Grass Roots Story" -- a semi-regular new feature of our
podcast.

To listen to the show, visit
www.insideminnesotapolitics.com

To download the show to a podcast receiver, paste this url into your software: http://feeds.feedburner.com/InsideMinnesotaPoliticsWithPeterIdusogie

For more information, email insidemnpolitics@mac.com

Republican Blogger shuts down after "facts" questioned

"DP" -- the blogger who ran "Tim Pawlenty vs. The DFL" blog has decided it's easier to ditch the blog entirely rather reveal the source of his poll numbers that reportedly show 70% of Minnesotans oppose a tax increase. Several bloggers called his bluff and asked him how that could be when the latest Star Tribune Poll showed only 30% of Minnesotans thought lawmakers should keep their "no tax" pledge and the rest either thought there should be a solution using budget cuts and raising taxes or just raising taxes.

"DP" will probably sprout up again somewhere with a new identity to spread more lies...or at least poll numbers without a source. Please be vigilant and challenge him if he does so. Lies tend to curl up and vanish when the bright spotlight of truth is turned on them.

New Republican Blogger Makes Up Poll Numbers

A new Republican blog claims 70% of Minnesotans oppose a tax increase. The Star Tribune poll shows that only 30% oppose a tax increase.

Is this new blogger deliberately trying to put misinformation out there? Or is he/she just incompetent? Either way it's a big credibility problem and as of 9pm there's no correction on the site. Visit and let him/her know you don't appreciate people who lie or are very careless with the facts.

UPDATE: After several comments questioned this new bloggers unnamed poll source and his/her credibility the page was taken down. Visit his/her site and ask why it was removed and is he/she going to issue a correction?

Podcast:Republican "Payback Time" & Patty Wetterling

On this week's "Inside Minnesota Politics" podcast Peter Idusogie says it may have been payback from a Republican former U.S. Senator that was behind the ouster of the Republican State Party Chair.

He also has an interview with U.S. Senate Candidate Patty Wetterling. She really rips into Governor Pawlenty and talks about what the message of the DFL should be.

Republican State Chair Booted

Ron Carey is the new Republican State Chair. Here's the report from a Republican blogger at the State Central Committee meeting today:

Its a bloody mutiny.
Ron Carey 196
Eibensteiner 151

I am worried about the party. Some one wise here just told me to be careful what I post. Damn that. We made a huge mistake today. Hostile take overs never go well. We have elected a guy who has insulted every elected Republican that matters. He refused to mention Mark Kennedy by name as the Senate Candidate. Sure the grassroolts is happy, but the elected ones now have an enemy at the helm.

Read it before you vote on it next time Norm

Senator Norm Coleman is busy trying to change the passport provisions of the National Intelligence Reform Act Congress passed in December. The act requires US citizens coming in from Canada to have a passport. Senator Coleman says this will impact tourism between US and Canada because you'll need a passport to go fishing in Canada.

What's sad is Senator Coleman voted FOR the final passage of this legislation. Now so did 91 other Senators. Then why did Senator Coleman do that? Because he (and a lot of other Senators) DIDN'T READ THE LEGISLATION which weighed in at 3,000 pages.

This is the same way the "Patriot Act" passed. Nobody read the damn thing. It's time Senator Coleman (and a lot of others) stop spending some much time on partisan bickering and showboating (such as going to New York during the Democratic Convention to be the mouthpiece for the Republican agenda) and spend some time DOING THEIR JOB.

What's really sad is we've grown so used to this type of partisanship before citizenship that the media doesn't ask Senator Coleman why he voted for this in the first place.

Bad Faith Bargaining

House Republicans appear to be the roadblock on reaching a state budget compromise.
From the Star Tribune:

House Republicans appeared to reject the DFL offer even before it was tendered, passing out a press release moments before the DFL news conference that predicted the "lack of a serious response by the DFL will lead to a government shutdown."

Perhaps voters should make up their mind now about voting the GOP out of office instead of waiting to hear what the candidates have to say. After all, turnabout is fair play.

No New Taxes Myth Exploded

Gubernatorial candidate Steve Kelley tells "Inside Minnesota Politics" how Governor Tim Pawlenty has made Minnesota's tax system even more unfair. Also on the podcast -- President Bush's responds to the leaked "Downing Street Memo" . Did the President say more than he realized he did?

Wetterling Office Burglarized

KSTP-TV reports that US Senate Candidate Patty Wetterling's office in St. Cloud was burglarized early Sunday morning. Several computers were taken. Police say they have no suspects and no witnesses.

Insert your own Watergate break-in innuendo here.

DFL can win First Congressional District

Listen as DFL candidate Tim Walz outlines how he's going to do it and why 6-termer Gil Gutknecht is vulnerable in 2006. From "Inside Minnesota Politics with Peter Idusogie".