The Daily Digest: 7-17-07
The Pi Press says local governments are requesting $1.2 billion in construction projects.
GOP Rep. Mark Olson of Big Lake may face discipline from the House but his BPOU Chair says he may support Olson if he decides to run again.
National Guard troops return and leave for Kosovo.
A complaint has been filed over MNGOP finances.
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Congress
Senate Democrats are planning an all nighter on Iraq.
The L.A. Times says GOP candidates fear an Iraq war fallout. GOP Sen. Norm Coleman is mentioned.
The Christian Science Monitor says anti-war groups will keep the pressure on Coleman and others.
Coleman visits troops at Camp Ripley.
CQ says DFL Rep. Tim Walz may join forces with President Bush on reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind law.
He also secured grants for airports in his district.
GOP Rep. John Kline joins the House Missile Defense Caucus.
He will also offer an amendment that will increase funding for the Office of Labor Management Standards.
The New York Post picks up on Keith Ellison's Nazi comments.
Ellison will also meet with Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights.
DFL Rep. Jim Oberstar secures grants for airports in Orr and Cook.
Oberstar also supports a thruway in Pennsylvania.
2008
GOP Sen. Norm Coleman tells Politico that President Bush will raise money for him in Minnesota. The story focuses on the difficult decisions some GOP candidates are having balancing the president's fundraising strength with his unpopularity. Coleman said the criticism is coming so he might as well cash in:
From Minnesota, though, came a different kind of yes, one that followed a debate along these lines, according to two strategists: Democrats plan to wrap Bush around Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) no matter what, so he might as well get something out of it.
Naturally, Coleman, who declined to say when the fundraiser would take place but said it would be in Minnesota, was more diplomatic.
"I am running against two guys who are millionaires, and one of them has access to an unlimited countrywide liberal base," Coleman said of comedian Al Franken, a Democrat.
The fundraising pattern fits for those running for U.S. Senate (guess who got entertainment money, business money and trial lawyer money).
Give up? AP says Franken relied on entertainers for a chunk of his cash and Coleman is using that fundraising to help him.
CQ and AP have a breakdown of the fundraising in Minnesota's 1st and 6th.
The Rochester Post Bulletin says Walz outpaced his GOP opponents in fundraising.
The Star Tribune says Minnesotans gave most to Clinton and McCain.
KARE-11 keeps up the Pawlenty for VP show even though McCain is struggling. He does some word play at the end of the story comparing gov and gop. The problem is it also works for Haley Barbour and Sonny Perdue.
Governing.com releases which GOP governors support which presidential candidates.