See you in '08?

Here is an article from the STrib about the possibility of having the Democratic National Convention in Minneapolis in 2008. It would sure be fun, but I'm thinking it'll be in more of a swing state. (Maybe if we reelect T-Paw and Mark "Suckling from the teet of Bush" Kennedy, then we'll be considered a swing state!)

ALSO-Don't forget to show up to our gubernatorial candidate forum this evening! Check the last post for more details!

GOVERNOR DFL CANDIDATE DEBATE

Be there tonight (Feb 28th) from 7-9 pm in the Great Hall of Coffman Memorial Union. Will be a different format, and you can see 3 of the 4 candidates for the DFL Endorsement slug it out. Bring friends, doors open at 6:30.

Who: Becky Lourey, Steve Kelley, Kelly Doran
What: Debating for students
Where: Great Hall Coffman Memorial Union
When: Tuesday Feb 28th 7-9 pm
Why: To inform the voting electorate

Ladies and Gentlemen, your U-DFL endorsed candidates!

U-DFL President Max Page and Treasurer Monica Heth, candidates for MSA President and Vice President, respectively, were endorsed by the U-DFL Monday evening. They hope to be the second U-DFL endorsed ticket in a rowto win the MSA presidency.

The following slate was also endorsed by the U-DFL this evening. Please support them in the All Campus Elections on April 11 and 12:

President and Vice President

Max Page and Monica Heth

CLA Senate
Nic Allyn
Mark Lewandowski
Paige Hanson
Nathan Olson
Adam Engleman
Julia Krieger
Shea Lavalier
Sean Olson
Megan Kosse

IT Senate
Will Kusch

At-Large Representative
Shannon Mitchell
Pat Smith
Michelle Hogler
Emma Olson
Sam McCabe
Steve Mullaney
Noah Seligman
Michael Azen
Rachel Nearhood

Endorsement Meeting Tonight!

Just a reminder!

Learn

Interesting article for the New York Times regarding some competative reaces for governor in 2006. Note that there is great momentum on our side, but the article DID NOT think it was likely for a Democrat to win in Minnesota.

Remember this guy? He was once the head of a major energy corporation. Ken Lay, affectionately called "Kenny Boy" by President Bush. According to today's New York Times, his financial status has seriously declined. There is a great campaign finance website you can look at to find out more about Enron's donation.

A hilarious website shows the financial backbone of the Texas Republican Party belongs to Enron.

Governor's Debate Clarification

There has been some confusion about the specifics behind the Governor's Debate that's going on Tuesday night. Here are the final details:

• Gubernatorial Debate with Steve Kelley, Kelly Doran, and Becky Lourey
• Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2006
• 7-9pm
• Coffman Memorial Union Great Hall
• contact for more info: Noah Seligman seli0052@umn.edu

Photo Collage of DFL Fundraiser

Max and Monica

For those of you interested, MSA Candidates Max Page and Monica Heth will be having their kickoff event at Annie's Parlor from 7-9 pm Feb. 24th in Dinkytown. You can call Max at 612-916-5965 for more information.

Rock!

Here is our Rock the Cauc poster. Feel free to download it and distribute it to everyone you know! Or post it on your blog, and spread the good word to the fellow bloggers!

I'll post it on the right side bar as well until next Friday.

Hot Senate Action!

So I am working at the Capitol in St. Paul, and I just discovered this neat little feature from the Minnesota State Senate web site. You can watch the Senate in session when it starts on March 1st by clicking HERE. Bookmark it, and watch when the fun starts in March!

U-DFL Endorsements for MSA

The endorsement process for MSA Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates will be at our next meeting. All who are interested in seeking the endorsement for this position are encouraged to attend.

Kerry on Soldiers, Kerry on

Just got an email from the House DFL Caucus about a vounteering opportunity. There is a fundraiser THIS THURSDAY for the House and Senate DFL Caucus downtown. The one and only John Kerry will be the headliner, so there is the likely chance to meet him. Dress code is no jeans, but khakis and a button down are fine (this is for guys, I'm not sure what the female equivalent is)

Below is the information passed along from Lindsey at the House Caucus:

We need people to arrive at the Four Points Sheraton in Mpls between 4 and 4:30pm, and then folks can expect to stick around until 8pm or so. There will be a whole variety of needs for volunteers, so I can't quite say what you'll be doing. Some folks will be leading guests through the picture line, others will be helping with crowd control between rooms, others with sign in, etc... There will be food, refreshments, and of course, the Senator.

I will be driving and have room for 4 others, but they need as many people as possible. Let me know, 608-215-9370 seli0052@umn.edu

Against My Better Judgement

Normally I find these type of computer games in poor taste and inappropriate. And this one is no exception. The idea is that you're Dick Cheney on a rampage set out to destroy anyone who would get in your way in your goal of world domination.

On Wisconsin

For all you badger natives out there, the Wisconsin Democratic Party will be hosting a Democratic Leadership Institute the last weekend in April. DLI is for future candidates, campaign managers, legislative staff, or volunteers. It provides leadership and activism training. Click here to download the PDF Application. It's a great chance to network and learn vital political skills too. So every Wisconsin kid should apply.

T-Shirts

Hey folks,

So nobody contacted me with neat shirts or slogans, so I'll just put up my favorites from Cafe Press. Just so you know, these are ones I hadn't really seen before, but if you go to Cafe Press' web site, they have all the classics:
(Vote for your favorite in the comments section, or post links to other shirts!)

Conspiracy Much?

I recently spoke with my former journalism professor Chris Ison. Professor Ison worked (he may still) as an investigative journalist for the Star Tribune. We were talking about Vice President Cheney (he recently shot an old man in the face). Ison mentioned that initially it was reported that Cheney had drank Dr. Pepper at lunch before the "hunt." Yesterday, in his tearful mea culpa Cheney admitted to drinking a beer at lunch. So why would they lie about what he was drinking? Does this at all relate to the incredible time delay before the story was reported? Ison said it's not uncommon for people to wait reporting crimes or accidents, to authorities if they've been drinking. In the time elapsed, Cheney's BAC would have gone down. If he had a beer (possibly more) at lunch, shot the guy, and immediately reported it, police would have discovered traces of alcohol in his system. The delay occurs, and we don't know. Far be it from me to suggest that Dick Cheney would do something underhanded, mischevious, or dishonest (even illegal), but just that you should know. Perhaps that sterling public image of Mr. Cheney is misguided a trifle.

Riding the Poll

Interesting news on the public opinion. Apparently there are a lot of gloomy gus's in America. A new poll reported by CNN shows the public unhappy about stuff, generally favoring Democrats, but not on account of vision.

More bad news out of Iraq. A report by a NGO does not square with what the Administration is telling us about the "success" in Iraq.

By the way, has anyone else seen those new ads from a Republican 527, about Iraq. In the ad, they exploit American servicemen and women by placing the blame for Iraq problems right where it belongs: on the media.

Meanwhile, if you search for South Carolina House candidate Bakari Sellers on Google, the U-DFL post is the number entry!

The Platform

I thought that since we're in the Democratic party, we should probably know what we stand for. After all, aren't you sick of the Republicans always saying the Democrats don't stand for anything? Well, here is the 2004 platform as agreed to at the National Convention two years ago.

Also, thanks to this Dick Cheney shooting a 78-year-old man in the face debacle, we are going to have a weekly Wednesday feature from now on. It is called the OUT OF CONTEXT QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

"What time on Sunday morning did you learn that Dick Cheney was the shooter?"

Check back next Wednesday for the next OUT OF CONTEXT QUOTE OF THE WEEK.

Finally, I think it's kind of funny that if you type in "Republican" into a Google image search, this is the first picture that comes up:


ONE MORE THING: Remember to submit your favorite t-shirt slogans for our Saturday display of the best!

Anyone else want to call wiretapping illegal?!?!

Here is a list of jokes put together by politicalhumor.com. Believe it or not, they have an entire page dedicated to Dick Cheney jokes! At the top are the latest ones about shooting someone in the face. Read away! Put ones you've heard that aren't on the page in the comment section. (Above is my favorite picture of our Vice President.)

Bad to Worse

With all the other scandals, and failures of leadership the Bush Administration has been responsibile for, it's easy to lose track of some of them. But keep an eye on this story: the federal "response" to Hurricane Katrina. CNN reports today on some of the latest revelations about the corruption surrounding the response.

Another story cites problems regarding some important people, and what they did not do.
This is pretty significant because it pokes holes in the Republican facade of strong defense.

T-shirts

While we have not quite gotten on the t-shirt game yet, there are a number of great political t-shirts out there. I am compiling a list of the best I've seen and I will do a special post on Saturday with pictures of the best political t-shirts. If you see any on the internet, or if you have any pictures on your computer, e-mail the link or photo to me or post it in the comments section. I'll combine my list with whatever is submitted and we'll have a big fun post on Saturday.

To clarify a bit, this has nothing to do with our t-shirt order. It's just a fun little game we're doing.

Also, I've added a new feature over to the right-hand sidebar. Towards the bottom are blogs written by members of the U-DFL. So far there are only two that I know about, so if you have one and want it posted to increase traffic, let me know!

Finally, sorry about the lack of audio post yesterday. I'll try to get to one soon.

--Max

Trickier Dick

Vice President Cheney accidentally shot a member of his hunting party. I know what you're thinking, and it WAS an accident. Still, kind of an embarrassing scandal. My contention is, if that's the WORST thing Cheney has done lately, consider it a mitzvah. Imagine if his hunting buddy had been Antonin Scalia again.

Volleyball Tonight!

Just a reminder to all interested that we have volleyball tonight at 8:15. Last week we only had 5 of us, so it would be nice to have others there. And hopefully we'll win again!

Also, check back later for the new feature: AUDIO POSTS!

There's that man again.....

Perhaps an elephant isn't the most appropriate symbol for the Republican Party. Because the head of the party does FORGET, like say meeting with Jack Abramoff and joking about his kids. Read about the meeting the President claims he didn't recall.

A Scott McClellan Tribute Extravaganza!

Some of the best video clips of Scotty:

• Helen Thomas poking a stick at Scotty, He replies by saying that she is "against the broader war on terrorism," Terry Moran sticks up for Helen
• Here Scotty has to defend President Bush calling Tom DeLay innocent after months and months of not commenting on the "ongoing Fitzgerald investigation"
• Poor Scotty, Here he tries to defend VP Cheney's quote of the Iraqi insurgency being in its "last throes"
• In an example of what he should've been doing all along, Scotty literally does not respond and simply calls for the next question
• The Press Corp snoops around for Rove, while Scotty denies knowing anything about anything going on in the White House
• Scotty "appreciates" the curiosity of the White House Press Corp, but just doesn't want to answer their questions about Karl Rove, Joseph Wilson, Valerie Plame, the RNC, etc...
• How much does this Watergate piece sound like the previous clip?
• Scotty, in a reaction to Katrina avoids his usual probing by not taking questions
• Even though he seems to have none, Scotty tries to define what a "friend" is (in context of the relationship between Tom DeLay and President Bush
• In some of his most artful dodging and a display of utter contempt for the White House press corp, Scotty Uses the Term "Blame Game" 5 times!!! (Imus rips into him pretty hard after the clip)
• The Daily Show rips into Scotty about his...what did we call this in 2004? Oh yeah, flip-flopping
  

Wikipedia's biography of Scotty
Scotty's mom, Carole Keeton Strayhorn, is running for Governor of Texas
See all of Scotty's press briefings

--Max

Somebody is Lying

Wow, just when you want to forget about past GOP ethical and legal violations, those skeltons won't stay in the closet. Check out the latest on the CIA leak scandal. Warning: your opinion of Vice President Cheney may not be particularly approved upon.

Audio Post experiment

This is a new feature offered by blogger...the audio post!

Go to the DFL State Convention!

Here is our college version of the DFL Call, a caucus guide. It has steps to get to the DFL State Convention June 9-11. I will also put it up as a permanent link on the right hand side of the page.

AND CHECK BACK TOMORROW FOR THE SCOTT MCCLELLAN TRIBUTE POST!!!

--Max

Mark Your Calendars

THE DFL CANDIDATE DEBATE WILL BE HELD TUESDAY FEB 28TH AT 7:00 IN THE GREAT HALL IN COFFMAN MEMORIAL UNION. THERE IS SPACE FOR 250 PEOPLE SO START INVITING FOLKS TO BOOK THE DATE.

-Noah

"No politics...just public service"

Such is the slogan displayed on Bakari Sellers' web site in his run for the South Carolina state house. Some may ask why the U-DFL, a blog for the college Democrats in a northern blue state are promoting a candidate for the state legislature in a southern red state.

The answer: Julia Krieger. U-DFL freshman Krieger met Sellers on a recent trip to Washington D.C for an AIPAC conference. She was inspired and requested that his information be posted on the blog. So, in a nutshell...

This is the man who currently represents the 90th South Carolina House District:

His name is Thomas N. Rhoad. He is 83 years old. Of his 13 bills proposed in the 2005-2006 legislative session, a whopping 9 were congratulatory bills to local sports teams. While Mr. Rhoad is a Democrat and has put in his time, both in public service, the armed forces, and as a rural mail carrier, his time in the House is up.





vs.

The Democratic challenger is Bakari Sellers. He is a young vibrant candidate whose goals are slightly larger than congratulating their young local athletes. Like many Democrats, he names economic development, health care, and education as his top priorities. Read more about him on his web site or contribute to his campaign. If you are interested in becoming involved further, contact Julia.

Terrorism for Dummies

Aaron Eisenberg sent me the link to this interesting article on Bush's dependence on terrorism for success.

Here's what I don't understand:

After September 11th, President Bush declared this new war against the Al Qaeda network a "new kind of war" against a "new kind of enemy." And I agreed with him. We were not fighting the traditional battle, nation-against-nation. There were no clear boundaries or geographic locations of our enemy. Instead, it was, and still is, a network of terrorists spread throughout many countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, and even the United States.

The problem is, President Bush and his war hawk administration decided to fight this war in a old-war kind of way. In waging war on one country that had no ties to September 11th (remember-Saddam and Osama couldn't stand one another), we wasted the incredible resources of the wealthiest nation in the world on an expensive and ineffective war. The tactic of invading Iraq is like trying to kill a swarm of gnats with a cannonball.

If we had put the $200 billion we've spent on the war thus far (with another few hundred billion likely to follow) into partnerships with other countries in cover operations to destroy the terrorist network, I think we would all be much safer right now. We could likely have caught Osama bin Laden by now as well as his many deputies. Instead, we are fighting the Iraq War and are no safer than before Sept. 11.

--Max

ALSO-remember to check back on Saturday for our Scott McClellan tribute!

Jack Abramoff, I Wish I Knew How To Quit You...

Rove's Pressure

According to one article from Inside Magazine, Karl Rove has been putting pressure on senators in the judiciary committee to not vote against Bush in the wiretap hearings. According to the magazine, any senator who does will be put on a "blacklist" and will not receive any help on legislative projects nor on reelection campaigns.

If this is how our government is working, I consider it sickening. I understand the "I scratch your back, you scratch mine" mentality, but blacklisting? This is reminiscint of the McCarthy days. I think a good way to pay this administration back for disloyalty is to elect Democrats in the House and Senate in 2006.

Check out coverage of the hearings on C-Span or see selected clips HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Also, on the point of wiretapping:
Scott McClellan comments
Dick Durbing Comments

ALSO! Check back on Saturday for a full smorgasbord of the best Scott McClellan clips from 2003-present!

In one final note, recent U-DFL guest Steve Kelley will be hosted by the U of M Laws School Dems on Tuesday from 5-7pm at the Town Hall Brewery located at Seven Corners. Stop by to schmooze with some politicians.

Deficit Spending

CNN reports on the latest Bush budgeting debacle. Not surprising, military is jacked up, you have to flex your muscle for the midterm elections. Noticfe the massive cuts to education and Social Security and Medicare. "Compassionate Conservative" indeed....

D for Dreadful

Great exhaustive piece from the New York Times regarding changes to Medicare, specifically Part D, which deals with prescription drug coverage. The plan is essentially corporate, and in my view represents the problem with the Republican Party. They take a serious problem that needs a solution, and squander a chance for actual improvement by serving corporate America, and screwing over the people who need help. They pass the measure by arm twisting, and by witholding important fact/truth in an effort to deceive the public so they can claim mission accomplished.

Becky Lourey at the U-DFL

Becky Lourey will be attending our Feb. 13th meeting. Like this week's attendee, Steve Kelley, she is a State Senator (DFL-Kerrick) and a candidate for governor. I hope everyone can come hear Becky speak!

In other news, our volleyball won by forfeit tonight, so we are officially 1-0 (though we did kind of lose the scrimmage thing we played in place of our official game). Everyone who was not able to make it should come next week. We play weekly at 8:15.

Volleyball Tonight!

Just a reminder to everyone that Volleyball will be going on tonight at 8:15 at the Cooke Gym. To get there, just go into the Rec Center, go up the stairs, then cross the skyway over into the gym. I hope everyone can come! And bring a few dollars to cover the cost of registering the team. See you there!

I need my oil fix!

Just one day after President Bush announced that the United States has "addiction to oil" that needs to be kicked, his own administration said this wasn't meant to be taken "literally." What did he mean? Figuratively? That we should just talk about losing this depedence on foreign oil? Jeepers.

Also, see the U-DFL response to the State of the Union in the Minnesota Daily.

DEBATE

So our best option was to have the debate the 28th, unfortunately, the only space in Coffman that would work is the President's Room starting at 8 pm. We have the room reserved for Tuesday February 28th from 8-10 pm.

Lame Groundhog Joke

Here's a lame joke about Groundhog Day, a hilarious subject as is.

"This year, Groundhog Day and the State of the Union address occur within a few days of each other. As Air America Radio pointed out, "It is an ironic juxtaposition of events: one involves a meaningless ritual in which we look to a creature of little intelligence for prognostication, while the other involves a groundhog."

By the way, anybody know what the two said today. I trust the one from Wisconsin.

Murtha's Letter

John Murtha has written a pretty scathing letter to the Bush administration regarding the Iraq War. I recommend the read. It's interesting and has a lot of merit at the very least. This issue is here to stay. Get used to it.

Dolla' Dolla' Bill Ya'll

Good news on the money front for Senate Democrats. The Senate Democrats outraised the Senate Republicans in the last year. The DNC did get destroyed by the RNC in overall fundraising, but it's still a good sign, that the Democrats are picking up money at a steady clip. It's a sign people and interest groups aren't confident in continued GOP control.