Thursday, December 2, 2010

Andrew Pooch and Tara Hjermstad

Final Research Project

Political Journalism

Bemidji State University

Fall 2010

Media Influence on the 2010 Minnesota Governor Race

The 2010 Minnesota Governor Race was anticipated to be a tight race with an outcome of a new face in office. In the beginning of 2009, candidates began to surface with no clear choice for each side. Dayton said early on that he would not run. Emmer was not considered to be the republican choice. Both ended up representing their parties on the ballot in November.

The media coverage for the 2010 Minnesota governor election was focused on the economy, education and social issues. The national and state medias are expected to present issues they feel important to the public. The media creates interest in the issues and requires the candidates to express their views. The media then informed the public what these opinions were.

The main sources that presented the major issues were newspapers, blogs, online media sources, television ads and debates. To understand the stances of each candidate, a current evaluation of the economy, education and social issues needed to be done. Once that was completed, the candidates’ opinions were located in multiple forms of media.

Just like the federal government, the Minnesota government is faced with a large debt. The state has an unemployment rate around 7%, which is less than the national rate, but still an issue. This issue is number one for discussion in the election. People are losing their savings, their homes and even marriages over this crisis (iStockAnalyst, 2010). Each candidate claimed to have a way to fix the situation.

Dayton plans to pass a 2011 “Bond’s Bow” bill, which would start more construction in Minnesota, offering jobs to hundreds of men and women in the state. Next, he will ensure an “Energy Saving Fund” that will use alternate energy in every public building across MN over the next decade. It will first invest in state government, college and university buildings, then onto public school and local government buildings. This fund will produce thousands of jobs for workers in building trades, reduce our state’s energy consumption, save millions of taxpayers’ money on energy costs and make us a leader in alternate energy innovation (Dayton, 2010).

He will use the “GARVEE Bonds” to increase federal highway funds, so the state can issue much larger highway construction, thus making thousands of jobs as well as making MN “21^st century”-ready. He promises to revitalize the “Star Cities for Economic Development” program for effective business recruitment and strategizing ways to make more jobs. He will work closely with Mayors, City Councils, Chambers of Commences and other civil leaders for new ways of job expansion (Dayton, 2010).

Dayton will work hard in the tourism department, making sure that it expands, thus expanding money back into our state. He will build a “Buy Minnesotan” preference for state contracts, making sure to keep all money spent in Minnesota. Dayton also plans to establish a micro-lending fund that will guarantee access to capital, giving small businesses the chance at the small loans needed to ignite big business.

Instead of ignoring the Women-owned, Minority-owned and Veteran-owned business laws, he will honor them. He will do the same with the minority set-aside requirements for contracts by DOT and Administration (Dayton 2010).

With the promise of helping businesses across the state, Dayton will do his best to make sure that there is reliable cell phone and high-speed Internet coverage from border-to-border, even if it means changing rules that are already in place. He will cut out unimportant tasks and paperwork that take away from businesses expanding, as they should. If these small, low-priority tasks are taken out, businesses will prosper, along with our state’s economy. The last promise from Dayton is to raise the state’s funding for education. This is important in making sure our generation’s children are prepared to keep up, so we don’t go through this economic downfall again (Dayton 2010).

Emmer’s plan for job creation is to first provide tax relief and raise business investment. He wants the current rate of corporate business tax of 9.8% to continually be lowered each year until it is eventually reversed. In order to reform state regulation, Emmer says procedures must be handled with three things: common sense, consistency and timelines. He will have a review of all the state’s agencies to make sure that anything blocking the way for expansion and job creation is abolished. Although the positive changes in the state’s education may not be immediate, Emmer believes that they will pay off in the long run, putting our economy ahead. These things, along with reprioritizing state spending, will boost our state’s economy back where it needs to be (Emmer, 2010).

Education in the state of Minnesota is begging for improvements. Teachers want smaller class sizes with more money to be distributed per student. They also want better health care and a higher standard for teachers (Education Minnesota, 2010). The state of Minnesota education is seeing budget cuts. The economy of Minnesota is suffering through a major budget deficit and this problem is affecting the schools.

Mark Dayton believes that education is the basis of making jobs grow, keeping our middle class strong and to keep MN strong in global economics. As governor, he plans to increase our state’s investment in public education so that we can have smaller class sizes, all day kindergarten and whatever else it takes to ensure that our children are getting the best education possible. His promises are to: lower class sizes; many public school he has visited around the state have had 40-50 students, and he promises this will not be happening any longer (Dayton, 2010).

Next, he’s going to make sure that Early Childhood Education is available to all young children, because he knows that this is critical in a child’s learning in the future. Dayton promises to make sure every school district is offering an all-day kindergarten program, and in return he will free up property tax money for the schools. He will end the four-day school week, along with any ineffective teachers and principals. He promises to reduce high-stakes testing, instead put the focus on constructive diagnostic tests. He wants to close the achievement gap and offer more education to pre-school age children (Dayton, 2010).

Dayton will test the Minnesota Department of Education to make sure they are doing everything they can to give our children the education they need. He will equip every school with modern day technology, such as computers, and make sure every student has access to them everyday. Lastly, he will place additional emphasis on Science, Math, Engineering and Technology. He will work with small, private businesses making private-public partnerships so he can get students the experience that they need in these departments (Dayton 2010).

“In the next few years, we need to make 50 years progress in reform, we need a 21^st century education model for a 21^st century economy. The challenge we face today isn’t about accounting or dollars spent; it’s a challenge to fundamentally change how we teach our kids to succeed in the modern world. I want to outline a vision for how to move Minnesota back on top not just in the U.S., but internationally. We have one goal in our reform plan: improving educational outcomes for our students,” said Emmer through his Web site.

Emmer has three main areas of focus in the education system right now: improve teacher and school accountability, address teacher ineffectiveness and to facilitate innovation within our current system. He believes our children deserve to be fully prepared for the real world and the challenges that come with it. It is everyone's responsibility to give him or her the skills and knowledge needed to create their own “bright futures.” His belief is that if they’re given the opportunity to, they will seek a bright future (Emmer, 2010).

Emmer’s budget plan for improving education: Hold k-12 education funding harmless in the next biennium. The state fund for 2010-11 is set at $13.8 billion; Emmer is committed to making sure that this is not changed. Next, reprioritize some existing k-12 funding to address critical needs by: reducing state mandates in all school districts, create urban school district empowerment zones and allow school districts to have greater authority to operate their districts and to take the funding from existing state childcare and the basic sliding fee program and put it towards early childhood education, ensuring that the children are prepared for kindergarten (Emmer, 2010).

Emmer also insists on reforming classroom instruction and learning by raising the current academic standards; ensures positive results by rewarding them and ensuring that we have effective teachers in every classroom. And lastly, by enacting the Emmer Job Reform, pay back the education-funding shift of $1.4 billion dollars starting in 2014. This is to give Minnesotans jobs, resulting in more money being put into the economy, thus paying off the current debt (Emmer, 2010).

Currently in Minnesota, the state is battling the decision to give marriage rights to gays. They are also having problems tending to the homeless and making abortion laws. The social issue stir heated up this fall when Target made a donation to MN Forward. MN forward is an organization that is working towards creating jobs. They also endorsed Tom Emmer. Target was criticized for this donation and it led to a boycott of Target. Best Buy was another Minnesota based corporation that made a donation to MN Forward (Condon, 2010).

Target has defended its donation of $150,000 to MN Forward, saying the Minnesota-based discount retailer remains committed to the gay community. Target chief executive Gregg Steinhafel said its political donations are intended to support business objectives such as job creation (MPR News, 2010).

This series of events catapulted gay rights into the main topics of discussion for the election. This issue runs deeper than just a Target and Best Buy donation. The activists for gay marriage in Minnesota see that Dayton could be a positive light for their rights, but republicans just took over the state legislature. This is anticipated to keep their wheels spinning as they work for their rights (MPR News, 2010).

Dayton voted against a constitutional ban to end same-sex marriage in 2006, and supports civil marriage equality. Emmer does not support gay marriage. In fact, he has tried to change the wording on bills from things like “parents” to “mother and father,” when dealing with surrogate motherhood. He has gone through many of the bills that would offer benefits to same-sex partners. “I believe that marriage is a union between one man and one woman. As a legislator, I have consistently supported the constitutional marriage amendments that protect traditional marriage,” said Emmer on his Web site.

Another social issue that gained attention in the election was the homeless situation in Minnesota. Pawlenty was unsuccessful in mending the situation and the candidates had nonexistent plans for the future (iStockAnalyst, 2010).

Dayton does not have a plan to end homelessness. He looks for help from St. Stephen’s Human Services and other experts, saying that they know what’s most effective. He said that he will reverse Pawlenty’s funding cuts to group residential housing, county mental health services, the renters’ credit and chemical dependency agencies. However, he has not given a dollar amount on a plan to reduce or remove homelessness (Baran, 2010).

Emmer said, "If you can find a place that has solved the homeless problem, I'll go there and copy it." He has not committed to anything as far as restoring Pawlenty’s cuts to group housing programs or any other housing program. “As a governor, I would love to solve homelessness, but government has not found solution to doing so,” (Baran, 2010).

As of July 2010, Minnesota has seen a fall in the number of abortions. This was the third straight year the numbers have fallen. This can be largely credited to the Positive Awareness program that helps pregnent women who are in need. Positive Alternatives is one of several pro-life legislative efforts by Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL) to offer women life-affirming alternatives to abortion and to significantly reduce the number of unborn babies aborted each year. The 2009 total was the lowest the state has seen since 1975 (Ertelt, 2010).

Dayton has both voted for and against pro-life, which includes: abortion in military facilties, endorsing Roe vs. Wade, partial-birth abortion, funding overseas abortion and also embryo-destructive research. He has opposed Women’s Right to Know, which is information given to pregnant woman about alternatives to and risks of abortion, as well as laws requiring notification of parents before a minor girl has an abortion. Along with opposing any help of pregnant women, he has openly criticized pregnancy help clinics, saying that they discourage women to have abortions. In 2004, Dayton co-sponsored the Freedom of Choice Act, and was openly endorsed by Planned Parenthood in August for governor (Dayton, 2010).

Republican Tom Emmer opposes abortion on demand and is in favor of the human life at every stage. He voted in favor of the pro-life position 49 out of 49 times; also including the Unborn Child Pain Prevention Act, which requires the abortionist to have hospital admitting privileges, and banning taxpayer funding of saline, sex-selection, RU486 abortions (a pill taken to cause abortion), coerced abortion and health care rationing (Emmer, 2010).

Emmer co-authored the Positive Alternatives Act, which provides help and alternative options to pregnant women in need. He voted against embryo-destructive research and also co-authored legislation to ban taxpayer funding of abortion in Minnesota (Emmer, 2010).

The media used platforms of newspapers, blogs, online news, advertisements and videos to highlight the issues the public should be concerned with. Jobs and the economy are the most popular, because they are affecting everyone. Then the education was a big issue followed by the controversial social issues. The media brought focus to these issues, and then needed the candidates to voice their opinions.

The outcome led to a close 2010 governor race in Minnesota. Dayton came out the victory, but since it was a victory of half a percent, it triggered a recount. The new governor won't claim his place in office until the votes have been recounted. In a year when the Republicans made a charge to take over state and federal governments, they failed to capitalize in close Minnesota governor race.

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Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Story #12

November 16, 2010

Lame-duck session to begin

Few Democrats, Confident Republicans arrive

By: Andrew Pooch

The scene at Capitol Hill will see many politicians hobbling in after their defeats in the November election to clean out their offices. Mostly democrats, those politicians have one session left before their term comes to an end.

The term “lame-duck” was created to label the politicians that returned after losing elections to participate in the post-election session. They would ultimately carry no power in conversation and provide little help, thus sticking them with the term “lame-duck” is fitting (Harwood, 2010).

Congress experienced a shift in party majority after the election and there are many new faces in D.C. The newly elected positions are being sworn in; learning the rules of decorum and being instructed how to run a congressional office.

The problem may arise this year as it did in 2006, when there was a shift in party power in Congress. In these instances, political tempers already running hot, the temptation for lame duck members to vent their frustrations by working to stall good bills, while turning bad bills into worse laws, becomes even greater.

The main focus on the lame-duck session agenda includes: Bush tax cuts, Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) as well as a repeal for Form 1099 income reporting requirement for small businesses.

Republican John Boehner is in line to become the new speaker when Congress assembles in January. He told the Associated Press that, “The American people are sick and tired of the ‘Washington knows best’ mentality. All the power in this town is on loan from the people.”

The people were “sick and tired,” and they acted on their emotion. The new Congress will move to make changes to large taxes and try to find the country more jobs. Not much was done in October when the elections were inching closer; this lame-duck session has an opportunity to get the ball rolling for the January session (Harwood, 2010).

"[Republicans are] still flush with victory, having run a strategy that was all about saying no. But I am very confident that the American people were not issuing a mandate for gridlock," said newly elected Republican Senator Mark Kirk to the LA Times. "So my expectation is … that there are a set of things that need to get done during the lame-duck, and that they are not going to want to just obstruct, that they're going to want to engage constructively."

In the election year, the scene on Capitol Hill is effortless. The agenda is slow to move and votes lay in a standstill. The time before and after the elections are futile – stuck in a slump until January, when the newly elected politicians arrive and fulfill their new duties.

Works Cited
Associated Press
LA Times
NY Times article November 7, 2010

November 16, 2010

Study Guide- Conclusion to Daniel Book

The conclusion to Scandal and Civility highlights the victory of Thomas Jefferson and the revolution of democracy in politics. Jefferson was able to trump his Federalist counterparts and establish the Republicans at the top of American politics for an important revolution years after the Revolutionary War had ended. Political and Religious ideologies were present during this time. Thinking like the monarchy we had freed ourselves from was a scary thought. Creative minds such as Fenno, Freneau and Bache played key roles in publishing print works during this time that shaped politics for our nation.

Before we were even a country, the press has had the power to inform us and misinform us. The print during the late 1700’s shaped partisan politics. Today, Internet, television and print news is carrying on the tradition. The reporting tries to be objective, but never is with politics. The press leaves little room for rational thinking and that is what is missing from the media of today.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Governor’s race demands recount

Pawlenty extents stay in mansion

By Andrew Pooch

The results came in tallying close to two million and the result left Mark Dayton with a 10,000-vote lead over Tom Emmer that accounted for less than one percent difference. This automatically triggered a recount.

Polling since the primaries has displayed a toss-up between Emmer and Dayton. This only predicted that there would be no heavy favorite entering the election. Nate Silver, creator of the popular poll FiveThirtyEight, predicted the race to be very tight, but Dayton had a large percentage chance of winning. Now Dayton is reported to have 43.7 percent and Emmer 43.3 percent.

The close vote will initiate a recount, which is very recent in the memories of Minnesotans. In 2008, the Senator race was close enough to have a hand-tallying recount which left the senate seat unoccupied for eight months.

With such a tight margin of victory, many analysts have been pondering if Dayton won the election by accomplishments or had Emmer lost from campaign blunders.

This election bucked the trend throughout the nation. Many races saw republicans bump off democratic candidates. The change was seen coming since this summer, when Obama’s approval rating fell. Around the nation, democrats were blamed for his failures and sought republican replacements hoping for change.

Politics in Minnesota reported that many political observers attribute the outcome to Emmer’s weaknesses as a candidate. “I’m sure there’s a lot of second-guessing among Republican leaders about Emmer’s candidacy,” said Dan Hofrenning, a professor of political science at St. Olaf College. “In such a Republican year, I’m sure they’re kicking themselves.”

Steven Schier, a political science professor at Carleton College, sees the results similarly. “You had a historical Republican sweep here on a lot of levels of the ballot, but not the governor’s race,” Schier said. “It really indicates a tremendous lost opportunity for the Republicans.”

Media outlets throughout Minnesota chose not to endorse Dayton or Emmer. This focus took votes away from the republicans and the democrats. Tom Horner, the independent candidate accounted for nearly 12 percent of the vote according to FiveThirtyEight poll. This took many votes away from the two dominant parties.

Currently Dayton has been declared the winner. After the recount, Minnesotans will know who the next governor will be. If Dayton comes out victorious, Minnesota will have its first DFL governor in 24 years.

“The voters have spoken,” said Rep. Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley to Politics in Minnesota. “I just wish someone could tell me what they said.”

http://elections.nytimes.com/2010/results/governor

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

STUDY GUIDE FOR WEEK 11

Political Journalism

Read one essay in the Flippin book from either the “Economy in Crisis” section or “The New New Presidency”

I am not making individual study guides for each section, so here is a generic one:

1. Please discuss the significance of the title of the essay. The title of the essay is “Obama’s Bailout,” by Paul Krugman. The significance is his interpretation of how Obama handled the stimulus package and bank bailout. Then he looked ahead at the future and how these decisions would pan out.

2. What is the writer’s point in 50 words or less. The writers point is that Obama has just begun his work as president. He has made an early attempt at the stimulus, and hasn’t made a move toward the bank situation yet because of the difficulty.

3. Who is the writer’s audience? (You may consider the venue in which the essay was published.) This article was written in the Rolling Stone. The audience is uninformed readers. The article is written in a way that anyone reading can learn about the state of the economy.

4. Do you think the writer does a good job making his/her point? Explain. Yes, the writer does an excellent job of getting his point across. The facts are laid out in an organized manner and then he lists his solutions with little confusion of where he stands.

5. These essays were all written in 2009. Do you know anything now in 2010 that sheds new light on the writer’s observations? How might that change the essay? As far as 2010, we are still in an economic recession and Obama is losing approval ratings. He has not made a move to bailout the banks yet, and the stimulus is still keeping the housing market in trouble.

6. Please discuss at two new things you learned from the essay. I learned how fast Obama acted once he became president to help our economy. His actions were quick, but not enough to make a huge difference. He just did enough to keep the economy from getting worse.

7. What do you think was most interesting about the essay? Why? The most interesting piece of the essay was his referral to the Swedish bank dilemma in the 1990’s. Many feel like this might solve the solution in the U.S. but on the other hand many see it as a socialism act.

8. Google the writer. Tell me more about him/her. Cite your sources. Paul Krugman is a political writer who has a blog on the NY Times Web site. He is also a Professor of Economics at Princeton University. He has also won a Nobel Prize.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/

http://www.princeton.edu/~pkrugman/

Democrat Faithful Fading

Republicans Gaining Different Following

By Andrew Pooch

When Obama won the presidential election in 2008, he managed to persuade most women, Roman Catholics, less affluent Americans and independents to vote Democrat. The latest New York Times/CBS News Poll has Republicans gaining those votes in this election.

The result of this situation is a concern for the condition of the nation after the 2008 election. Many voters that are on the fence about their votes are voting for the less experienced candidate or one with extreme views, because they do not want to continue with what is happening in Congress. The nation once again wants change.

Democrats have been known as the party that plans to create jobs, but they have failed to follow through. The economy has been the biggest issue this fall and since the public is noticing the failures of the President’s plan, people are turning to candidates that can create a new majority in Congress.

Many voted for Obama based on his change, including Judy Berg, an independent from Illinois that was interviewed by the New York Times after a polling session. “I was looking for a change,” said Berg. “The change that ensued was not the change I was looking for but something totally out of left field.”

Since then, Ms. Berg will be changing her vote to Republican. “I’m pro-life and I am also looking at the immigration issues and the tax issues,” she said. “I like the Republican agenda on these issues better than the Democratic agenda.”

This poll is designed to be an accumulation of exit polls from 2008, 2006 and early polling in 2010. The poll is measuring the elections that are not for U.S senate considering there are fourteen seats not up for election and Democrats seem to continue their control of the Senate.

These results are similar to the middle of Clinton’s second term in office. He was under investigation and the voters swung Congress to Republicans and then Bush came in. According to the poll, most of the disproval rating is contributed to Congress. Obama has a decent backing, because many still feel that the problems he is facing are temporary. The reasons they are here in the first place are because of George Bush and Wall Street.

The speaker of the house is Nancy Pelosi and she has become a liability for the Democratic Party. According to the fivethirtyeight, she has a large chance of winning her election, but will face a loss of her title as House speaker come Wednesday.

This election will represent the emotions of the voters. Frustrated with the current state of our economy – they will once again be looking for change.

Friday, October 29, 2010

STUDY GUIDE FOR “Noah Webster and the Demoralization of the Body Politic”

Ch. 4 in Scandal and Civility, by Marcus Daniel

Due 10/28

1. What is the significance of the title of this chapter? Webster brought the word “demoralize” to the English language. It reflects his attitude to the French Revolution and American politics.

2. Discuss Noah Webster’s attitudes toward the relationship between religion and politics. Religion was a huge part of Webster’s life. He recalled an early he could remember being taught religion. It was a way of life for him growing up. Politics was his motivation to start the national language.

3. How did Webster’s opinions about the French Revolution change over time? Moral order and religious belief has been shattered. He thought that when he lost his faith with the French Revolution, it was also the changing point for him and American Politics.

4. We know Webster for his work as a lexicographer. What was Webster’s goal in publishing children’s spelling books and in writing dictionaries? The speller was supposed to lay the basis for a distinctively American Literary culture – and moral order – independent of European cultural influence, and its appeal was explicitly nationalistic and propagandistic.

5. Google the following terms and discuss their relevance to this chapter: Calvinism, The Enlightenment, Samuel Johnson, primogeniture, xenophobia, Minerva, Alien and Sedition Acts, Great Awakening and Second Great Awakening. During Webster’s youth, he was raised under a Calvinistic lifestyle. The Enlightenment was a focus on reason to make decisions. He was exposed to this at college. Samuel Johnson was a lexicographer, much like Webster. Primogeniture is the inheritance of the estate by the oldest sibling, most of time male. Webster fought to abolish this tradition. Xenophobia is an attitude that Webster had. He wanted American to be free of foreign influence. Minerva was a publication that Webster read. The Alien and Sedition acts were created to protect the Americans from foreign interference with governmental affairs. The Awakenings were reconstructions of the Protestant faith. Webster was always teetering on whether religion should be factor in government.

6. Discuss Webster’s attitude towards political parties. How are his ideas relevant today? What’s your attitude toward parties? Do you think Webster was right? He believed in a central government. All power should be vested in the people. The greatest number of people are in control of creating the laws and number control their execution. My attitude is that we need parties. Not too many of nothing would get done, just enough to keep the others in check.

7. How did Webster’s political ideas change over the course of his life? He used religion to guide his feelings, then he saw the collapse of the French Revolution and the struggle of American politics and lost his faith.

8. Discuss one of these quotable quotes from the book:

“Men were innately corrupt and self-interested, he believed, and consequently it was absurd to make their political virtue the basis for political institutions.” (149) This theory uses his view on The Enlightenment. He developed this was of thinking when he was a student at Yale. He continued this practice of reasonable thinking when he made his way in publishing and expressing his political views.