Showing posts with label Collin Peterson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Collin Peterson. Show all posts

Dear Tony Sutton, You Make Me Giggle...
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12:22 AM | Posted in , ,
I haven't paid a lot of attention to the rantings and ravings of Minnesota Republican Party Chair Tony Sutton but when I heard about THIS, my only response was to giggle. Yes, that's right, giggle!

Being born and raised in the 7th District (Northwestern Minnesota) I can tell you without a lot of exaggeration that I have NEVER heard an unkind word spoken about Representative Peterson. My father, a middle of the road conservative, who rails against EVERY politician regardless of their party affiliation likes Peterson. My rather large number of farming relatives speak of Collin as if he were their neighbor (I am not exaggerating). In all my years that Representative Peterson has represented the district I have yet to hear anyone speak even the slightest ill of him. As liberal as I may be or may appear, I think Representative Peterson is great and wish he were still my representation.

Now by all means, spend lots and lots of your twin cities money trying to attack Collin Peterson for an innocuous comment and see where it gets you but as my father always told me, "you can sh*t in one hand and hope in the other and we will see which hand gets filled first".

Oh, and given that your friends at MDE screamed out about some article in the Grand Forks Herald, I would like to offer my own:

BEMIDJI PIONEER: PETERSON WRONG, BUT GOP WORSE...

And now the state Republicans smell blood, and are waiting to pounce what they think is carrion bait.

Well, they’re wrong and it won’t work.

...

The Minnesota GOP, under new Chairman Tony Sutton, has taken a decidedly negative bend of recent, attacking Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, practically claiming the U.S. Senate election was stolen from Norm Coleman despite a Minnesota Supreme Court decision.

Those tactics won’t work in the 7th District.

Sorry Tony, but the 7th District doesn't work that way...
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The Reddening Of CD 7: Not So Fast...
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5:24 PM | Posted in ,
An article at The Hill has the blogosphere all abuzz about the congressional district of my birth and its representative, Collin Peterson (DFL). It appears as though Peterson is being considered for the Agriculture Secretary spot in the Obama Adminsitration.

According to reports, Obama is considering Reps. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.) for the USDA post. His transition team declined to comment on Cabinet speculation.

Both members have agriculture experience, but they also come from GOP-leaning districts.

Peterson’s rural western Minnesota district has trended red in recent years and it went for President Bush in both the 2000 and 2004 elections. It took Peterson four attempts before he was finally elected in 1990. With a large wheat-farming industry in his district, he moved quickly up the ladder of the House Agriculture Committee and became its chairman in the Democratic takeover.

Michael Brodkorb took time out of his Norm Coleman lovefest to highlight the potential for a Republican pick up in Minnesota and the Dailykos is buying into the argument that this seat is automatically a Republican favored district. However, I would caution people about automatically assuming anything about the district.

Anecdotally, after living in this district for the vast majority of my life I would say that this area is one of the least ideological districts in Minnesota. The culture of this area does not lend well to ideology as politics is generally considered a topic that is not discussed in polite conversation. As I have said before, I cannot recall growing up seeing or hearing about politics. While people have their opinions, they are kept to themselves and they are practical in nature.

This evidence is borne out by the analysis of Jeff Rosenberg at Twin Cities Daily Liberal. At the end of July he did a voting analysis of the district and found that the district contains a large percentage of voters in the district that are ticket splitters:

However, nothing is guaranteed in the 7th, where voters are far more likely to split their tickets than the typical Minnesotan. Volatility is a measure of variation across races, and precincts with high volatility are those that see a lot of ticket-splitters.

The 7th District covers most of the western half of the state down to Marshall, Minnesota.

Maps courtesy of the Star Tribune website.

In 2004, the district went heavily for George W. Bush which gives it the appearance of a heavily Republican district.

It is important to remember though that the district also went to Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996. If you take a look at the results of the 2008 election you will find that Barack Obama did remarkably well in the district.

What does that mean for the probability of a win in the 7th District? First, neither candidate can be an ideologue. If the Republican Party or the Democratic Party believe they can bring in an ideologue and win the district they will find themselves sadly mistaken. Second, that candidate must be a friend to the agriculture community. Peterson figured this out and has thrived to the point that he won this past election with a wider margin than any other federal candidate in Minnesota.

So, if Democrats continue with their plan to find a candidate that fits the district they stand an excellent chance of retaining the district. That candidate should be at the very least socially moderate and should quickly prove himself or herself as a defender of farmers in the area.
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MNMuseTube: Peterson Updates...
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5:39 PM | Posted in ,
Collin Peterson was on the floor trying once again to pass the Commodity Markets Transparency and Accountability Act of 2008 (HR 6604). The bill had been brought up in late July but failed to gain the 2/3 vote needed to pass.

To begin with, Peterson exchanged some words with Republican Pete Sessions over the bill and its passage. Apparently, Sessions wasn't happy that the minority isn't getting the attention he believes they deserve. It sucks to be in the minority, doesn't it Mr. Sessions?



After those words, Peterson continued to address the bill:


This is a continued effort to highlight the floor speeches of Minnesota's Democratic delegation in Congress. For more floor speeches, visit the MNMuseTube Page.
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MNMuseTube Update: The Farm Bill OR Take Your Veto Threat & Shove It Mr. President
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10:13 PM | Posted in ,
With the Farm Bill veto threat essentially neutered by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, Minnesota Congressman Collin Peterson can claim victory. The obstructionist wing of the Republican Party led by Jeff Flake did everything they could to derail the bill but was given a significant smack down from both Peterson and a majority of their Republican colleagues.

From ABC News:

The bill also would:
  • Boost nutrition programs, including food stamps and emergency domestic food aid, by more than $10 billion over 10 years. It would expand a program to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to schoolchildren.
  • Increase subsidies for certain crops, including fruits and vegetables excluded from previous farm bills.
  • Extend and expand dairy programs.
  • Increase loan rates for sugar producers.
  • Urge the government to buy surplus sugar and sell it to ethanol producers for use in a mixture with corn.
  • Cut a per-gallon ethanol tax credit for refiners from 51 cents to 45 cents. The credit supports the blending of fuel with the corn-based additive. More money would go to cellulosic ethanol, made from plant matter.
  • Require that meats and other fresh foods carry labels with their country of origin.
  • Stop allowing farmers to collect subsidies for multiple farm businesses.
  • Reopen a major discrimination case against the Agriculture Department. Thousands of black farmers who missed a deadline would get a chance to file claims alleging they were denied loans or other subsidies.
  • Pay farmers for weather-related farm losses from a new $3.8 billion disaster relief fund.
  • Provide the first-ever infusion of federal farm dollars - more than $400 million - to clean up the Chesapeake Bay.
On the floor of the House of Representatives, Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson criticized Jeff Flake (you know, the guy who says he knows agriculture because one time he got the tip of his finger chopped off) for demagoguing earmarks and paygo.

Peterson Beats Down Flake


Peterson Dismisses Obstructionist Paygo Argument


Throughout the rest of the process of debating the Farm Bill, Peterson offers a few other moments of explaining both the process and point of this legislation (Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5). Given that Collin Peterson is my former Congressman and I long for the days that I was represented by a beacon of sanity, there will always be a soft spot in my heart for this guy. Also, having relatives in the business of farming who have nothing but good things to say about the man I can only assume that he is serving his constituency well. His Blue Dog status makes him more conservative than I but he fits his district well.
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MNMuseTube Update: Collin Peterson Educates Jeff Flake
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5:49 PM | Posted in ,
Congressman Collin Peterson (D) took Jeff Flake (R) and others to task this last week about demagoguing the Farm Bill now making its way through conference committee. At issue is the payments made to farmers by the federal government that some deem unnecessary. Peterson, as head of the Agriculture Committee, has been trying to get the Farm Bill through conference committee for some time now and has been forced to get extensions (see here and here) to the current farm bill in order to complete the task.


A Message from Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin C. Peterson

The first formal Farm Bill conference meeting between House and Senate members took place on April, 10, 2008. The conference committee will work out the differences between the bill that passed the House on July 27, 2007, and the bill that passed the Senate on December 14, 2007. Staff members from both committees have been working since early January on many of the differences between the House and Senate bills.

You can read the House Agriculture Committee's news release about House passage along with a list of the bill's main provisions here. Fact sheets on the titles of the House Farm Bill, along with all of the information available from the Agriculture Committee that is related to this year’s Farm Bill process can be found on our Farm Bill homepage here.

I encourage the public to follow the development of the Farm Bill. Every American who eats should recognize the importance of farm and nutrition policy in everyday life. The Farm Bill ensures that all Americans have access to a safe, secure and inexpensive food supply and provides a safety net for farmers and ranchers. It also authorizes important nutrition programs, encourages environmentally friendly conservation programs, and supports the development of agriculturally based renewable energy, which will help to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.





After this lengthy explanation of farm policy and his history of federal payments, the best that Jeff Flake can come up with is to make the claim that he understands agriculture and farming because at the age of five years he lost the tip of his finger.



Sorry, Mr. Flake, that doesn't make you a farmer or an expert in agriculture any more than the summers I spent helping relatives butcher chickens make me a farmer. If Mr. Flake would like to challenge one of the most knowledgeable members of Congress on farm policy, he is going to have to do a whole lot better than staking his knowledge of farming to an accident he had when he was five years old.
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MNMuseTube Update: Collin Peterson On The Farm Bill Extension (4/16/08)
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7:22 PM | Posted in ,
Collin Peterson was on the floor of the House of Representatives last week to once again seek an extension to the Farm Bill so that he and the rest of the conference committee can work out the final details of the legislation. Over at Minnesota Monitor there is an interesting story about some harsh words spoken by Mr. Peterson about the Farm Bill and its extension.

While some Democrats dismiss Peterson as little more than a conservative in Democrat clothing, I would argue that he represents exactly what the Democratic Party should represent. A diversity of opinion with ostensibly common goals for the future of this country. He is the perfect fit for his district and does amazing work for those constituents. I recall the floods in the Red River Valley in 1997 as Governor Arne Carlson was consumed by fishing rights on Lake Mille Lacs, Collin Peterson was springing to action to help the people affected by the disaster.



The farm bill maintains and strengthens the safety net that helps farmers and ranchers stay productive and competitive. It also includes important new investments including $9.5 billion for nutrition programs that are even more important today as food prices continue to climb. It contains $4 billion for conservation programs that will help protect our land, even as crop reduction soars; $1.2 billion for renewable energy programs that will help us address the rising cost of gasoline and help us get independent of foreign oil; and $1.3 billion for new initiatives and programs to support fruit and vegetable producers, including new programs to help socially disadvantaged and beginning farmers and ranchers.

All these important investments will be lost if we don't have time to finish this conference. This short extension will allow us to finish our work and bring back to the House a conference report that meets the needs of all of American agriculture and the consumers.


Cross Posted on St. Cloud Times
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