Minnesota Representation at the Federal Level

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MNdible
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Minnesota Representation at the Federal Level

Postby MNdible » March 14th, 2016, 12:23 pm

Noted elsewhere, but Sabo passed away this weekend. I wasn't happy with his apparently parochial take on the SWLRT project, but, as Doug Grow notes in his MinnPost column:
There’s hardly a bus, a light rail car, road, bike path, or bridge in the Twin Cities that doesn't have his fingerprints on it. When the late Jim Oberstar was representing the 8th District and Sabo the 5th, the cash flow from Washington to Minnesota was at a level that likely will never be seen again.
Which reminds us that Minnesota is taking in far less in federal expenditures than it kicks out in federal taxes. A large part of this is that we have no military bases or major federal contractors, and also that we're a fairly prosperous state taking in a smaller share of safety net funding.

It's probably also partially a result of Dem's being in the minority in the House (and probably stuck there for the foreseeable future), partially the general dysfunction of Washington, and partially the inevitable turnover of senior membership. But I'd argue that part of it is that the people who have replaced the Oberstars, Sabos, and Ventos have tended to be more interested in ideology than in effectively governing.

These days, if you took a clear-eyed look at who the most effective member of Minnesota's house delegation is, you'd probably have to tab Erik Paulsen.

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Re: Minnesota Representation at the Federal Level

Postby mattaudio » March 14th, 2016, 12:30 pm

There are many ways to define "effective."

MNdible
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Re: Minnesota Representation at the Federal Level

Postby MNdible » March 14th, 2016, 12:48 pm

Sure. In this case, since a legislator's job is to "make laws especially for a political unit," I'd define effective as marshalling the passage of bills. Peterson gets props because he occasionally passes one really big and locally important bill, and Walz seems to have some success on VA items, and Klein may yet get an Education bill passed, but the rest of them? Not much they can point to.

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Re: Minnesota Representation at the Federal Level

Postby mplsjaromir » March 14th, 2016, 12:53 pm

I would put my money on Keith Ellison.

Keith Ellison has his job for life if he wants to have it. He has the best chance of holding onto his office for a long time thus becoming a very senior member. The National GOP usually spends less than $500 on the 5th district campaign. While Erik Paulsen could be swept away in an anti-GOP fervor, Keith Ellison was never really challenged in 2010 or 2014. It would pretty easy for him to serve more than fourteen terms. Although not on the Ways and Means Committee, Ellison is still on the top tier Committee on Financial Services.

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Re: Minnesota Representation at the Federal Level

Postby EOst » March 14th, 2016, 12:59 pm

Your take ignores one critical thing, which is that Oberstar, Sabo, and Vento served in a world with earmarks, and our current reps don't. Ellison couldn't win specific money for Minnesota through the legislative process even if he wanted to.

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Re: Minnesota Representation at the Federal Level

Postby MNdible » March 14th, 2016, 1:08 pm

EOst, your note about earmarks definitely plays into it, although determined legislators seem to find ways to work around this apparent ban.

And just because Ellison (and McCollum) have easy paths to seniority does not mean that they will become effective, which was sort of the point of my original post.

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Re: Minnesota Representation at the Federal Level

Postby mplsjaromir » March 14th, 2016, 1:13 pm

I guess I don't really see how Paulsen has really been effective above replacement level. He is on a good committee, but maybe I do not pay close enough attention.

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Re: Minnesota Representation at the Federal Level

Postby acs » March 14th, 2016, 1:18 pm

I'd also put money on Emmer. He has made it no secret that he's unhappy with his current assignment to the financial institutions committee and was hoping for the transportation committee specifically so he could get more money flowing to MN. And his seat is pretty safe too. Also lets not forget the senate here as Klobuchar is pretty important.

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Re: Minnesota Representation at the Federal Level

Postby MNdible » March 14th, 2016, 1:24 pm

Also lets not forget the senate here as Klobuchar is pretty important.
Yes, I'd agree that both Franken and Klobuchar both do well for the state, and with a bit more seniority and maybe some better committee assignments, that should help. And obviously, the Dems retaking the Senate would help an awful lot on that front.

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Re: Minnesota Representation at the Federal Level

Postby Mcgizz » March 14th, 2016, 1:56 pm

Let us not forget that Collin Peterson is the Ranking Member and former Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture. That has in the past provided Minnesota with tons of Agriculture subsidies. The sugar beet, corn/ethanol, and flood abatement industries can thank Collin Peterson for their federal subsidies. Also important to remember that he also works hard to bring federal dollars to clean the Minnesota River in Western Minnesota.

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Re: Minneapolis Mayoral Election 2017

Postby matt91486 » December 4th, 2016, 4:10 pm

Ellison has given *zero* indication that he would be resigning from the House if he became DNC Chair and has dismissed all people who have suggested that the position should be done by a full time chair.

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Re: Minneapolis Mayoral Election 2017

Postby Scottie » December 4th, 2016, 5:29 pm

Ellison has started saying he is open to possibly leaving his seat over the last couple days.

http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/30 ... -dnc-chair

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Re: Minneapolis Mayoral Election 2017

Postby matt91486 » December 5th, 2016, 4:41 am

I stand corrected; I listened to his pretty long interview on Keeping it 1600, and he seemed especially dismissive of the notion, so I'm surprised by the backtrack.

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Re: Minnesota Representation at the Federal Level

Postby twincitizen » December 5th, 2016, 1:27 pm

Dibble says he would run for US House if Keith Ellison becomes DNC Chair and steps down from Congress.

http://www.startribune.com/state-sen-sc ... 404816326/

I am extremely hopeful that this sequence of events plays out. Scott Dibble is obviously an amazing person and legislator and would be a shoo-in for that seat in Congress. With Democrats currently in the wilderness at the federal level, he could move up the ranks pretty quickly by 2020-2022ish when Dems would have their first shot of retaking the chamber. Or he could get in line for Amy or Al's Senate seat, should either of them not run again (and in 2020, I think there's at least a fair chance that Al Franken will not...he'll be 69 then).

One small downside is that Scott won't be running for Governor... Not that he ever even hinted at it, but I have been hoping for years that he would run. Lotta people were hoping he had ran for Mayor in 2013, but he endorsed Betsy right away. The biggest downside is the loss of his leadership (esp. on transit funding) in the state senate. Who runs for Dibble's Senate seat? Hornstein? Someone else? Probably not Thissen as he's probably running for Governor (he stepped down as House Minority Leader). While I'm sure Dibble's replacement would be a very progressive person, that's no guarantee that they'll be as knowledgeable about transit/urban issues as Scott. We could easily end up with another dead weight do-nothing like far too many of Minneapolis' current reps in the state legislature.

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Re: Minnesota Representation at the Federal Level

Postby MNdible » December 5th, 2016, 3:54 pm

While Dibble would certainly be qualified and be an attractive candidate, I wouldn't say that he's a shoo-in. A lot of people thought the same thing about Mike Erlandson back in 2006, but Ellison won the party endorsement and the rest is history.

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Re: Minnesota Representation at the Federal Level

Postby David Greene » December 5th, 2016, 4:18 pm

Scott could not win a Gubernatorial race in today's climate, unfortunately. I would really miss him in the legislature. Maybe Glidden could move into the district.

I'm not sure Frank would run for the seat. He has seniority in the House and that's where tax proposals need to originate. He's more powerful there and it's not like his seat is in danger.

Thissen would be a disaster as a gubernatorial candidate and, I think, as a governor.

Lisa Bender would be amazing in the seat.

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Re: Minnesota Representation at the Federal Level

Postby FISHMANPET » December 5th, 2016, 4:21 pm

We're talking about 5th district house, not governor.

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Re: Minnesota Representation at the Federal Level

Postby twincitizen » December 5th, 2016, 6:00 pm

In my previous post, I mentioned Dibble as a potential governor candidate. Not based on any actual rumors or anything, just something I've thought for a few years now. He'd be great. But that's neither here nor there, as he's unlikely to run for that office regardless of what happens with the 5th district.

EDIT: Senator Torres Ray is also interested in Ellison's seat. If Keith actually vacates his seat, I think we'll hear from several more state legislators and local officials. An off-season special election affords a unique opportunity to run for Congress without vacating their current seats, so it should lead to a wider field than a regular election would.

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Re: Minnesota Representation at the Federal Level

Postby matt91486 » December 7th, 2016, 10:53 am

Do we think this is a potentially comfortable place for Rybak to resurface politically?

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Re: Minnesota Representation at the Federal Level

Postby twincitizen » December 7th, 2016, 11:08 am

Hmmm...it's possible. He is supporting Keith's DNC bid, correct?

He just started that Minneapolis Foundation gig this year though. And while he's long signaled interest in DC, I'd be really surprised if, at age 61, he's interested in spending several years being in the minority party in Congress. I don't think Congress is where RT wants to be or even where his strengths lie. RT was supposed to be Governor in 2010. If he is going to run for anything, my money is still on Governor. I'll be a little surprised if he doesn't at least explore a run.


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