MORNING EDITION

Freshman Congressman Chip Cravaack already has serious competition. John Lundy of the Duluth News Tribune wrote over the weekend: “Tarryl Clark, who tried to unseat Michele Bachmann from Congress in 2010, wants to take on Chip Cravaack in 2012. Clark told the News Tribune on Saturday that she is filing papers with the Federal Elections Commission to seek the Democratic nomination for the 8th District seat and will send an e-mail and video to supporters on Monday announcing her intentions. Clark and her husband, Doug, have purchased a condominium in Duluth where she will spend “a good chunk” of her time during the campaign, she said. They will maintain their residence in St. Cloud, Minn. ... Clark, a former state senator, noted that redistricting is under way, and it’s possible St. Cloud and Duluth would be part of the same district.”

Here, our Derek Wallbank adds: “Clark's entrance in this race has been somewhat expected since EMILY's List, a group that only backs pro-choice Democratic women for office, put Cravaack on its top target list in April, before a candidate had emerged. At the time, the only two major Democratic women mentioned as mulling the run were Clark and Lt. Gov. Yvonne Prettner Solon, though Prettner Solon ruled herself out at the time when asked by MPR. Cravaack instantly became a top national target after just knocking off long-time Rep. Jim Oberstar by less than 5,000 votes in a district that had previously been represented by a Democrat since 1947. Since January 1, more than $160,000 in outside money has been spent on political advertising in the district. Clark is unlikely to have a solo run at Cravaack, as several others are considering runs. She is, however, the first to announce.”

House (DFL) Minority Leader Paul Thissen writes a commentary for the Strib, and no surprise, it is not flattering to the GOP: “The Republican majorities this year seem to have borrowed Pawlenty's cement and to have happily jumped in with both feet. More than copying his negotiating style, the Republican majority seems to have adopted Pawlenty's budgeting techniques. The Republican budget is missing more than $1 billion.Beyond that, it looks eerily similar to Pawlenty's gimmick-filled budgets, simply cut-and-pasted into this year's session. It is filled with the same kind of fund raids, shifts and shell games that have led to unending state budget deficits. In fact, the current House Republican budget leaves our state with a whopping $3.5 billion debt just two years from now. In addition to continuing massive state deficits, the Republican budget continues the backward, job-killing, all-cuts approach that squeezes middle class families in our state.” Heh. He said “job-killing.”

Marshall Independent Editor Per Peterson writes an editorial about gambling expansion in Minnesota from the point of view of a tribal casino employee: “[Richard] Hermanson is one of many casino employees concerned about the aftershock that could be created if expanded gambling proposals pass this session. Opponents say expanding gambling would be a huge blow to tribal casinos in terms of jobs lost and profits.And it's not just racino and enhanced gambling legislation that these casinos need to worry about. It was reported Wednesday that developers have plans for a gambling and entertainment hub in downtown Minneapolis' Block E that they say could draw tourists from across the Upper Midwest. The plans call for a Las Vegas-style casino, restaurant and retail complex. The state would run the casino, which would require a minimum private investment of $200 million.”

Good piece over the weekend from Eric Wieffering of the Strib on the state’s various gambling dreams: “If maximizing tax revenue is what this is all about, the Block E casino should be privately owned and operated. Let's leave it to the pros, not the Minnesota State Lottery Board, to assume the risk and rewards of bringing glitz and gambling to downtown Minneapolis. Besides, do we really want the state to officially be in business against Minnesota tribes? Minnesota can still regulate the casino. Minnesota can still make a fortune from the casino. Going private will mean getting realistic about the state's fair share of the proceeds. In Detroit, the city gets 12.1 percent and the state gets 8.1 percent. The combined tax rate in Missouri is 21 percent, with a share of that going to local jurisdictions where the casinos are located.”

And then there’s the polling by the Strib that shows Minnesotans are kinda bored with that exclusive gambling deal we gave the Indians. The survey shows virtually no shift in attitudes across all the usual age, gender, income and ideological groups.

Today in Bachmannia: The lefty blog Media Matters for America notes a bit of discrepancy in reporting from FoxNews and our Fox9 news on the size of our favorite congresswoman’s anti-tax rally Saturday: “Fox & Friends Sunday repeatedly touted the ‘thousands’ that attended a tax cut rally where Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) spoke, going so far as to make the rally's supposedly large turnout one of their top headlines today. Yet according to Fox's local affiliate, reporting from St. Paul, Minnesota, it was the rally's low turnout that made it newsworthy. In an article titled, ‘Hundreds Attend Anti-Tax Hike Rally At Capitol: Turnout Significantly Smaller Than Last Year's,’ Fox 9 News reported:

Hundreds gathered at the Minnesota Capitol to rally against a possible tax hike, but though it attracted the attention of some prominent lawmakers, the turnout didn't meet expectations. ... Organizers said that about 6,000 people turned out for last year's event, but this year the headcount may have only touched 1,000.’ ”

Technically speaking, the Dalai Lama urging his listeners to develop more compassion in their lives does not quite qualify as “news.” But he was in Minnesota saying it. Will Assenmacher of the PiPress writes: “Beaming in scarlet and saffron robes, the 75-year-old spiritual leader of Tibet stressed over the course of a 75-minute speech on the University of Minnesota campus that ‘mentally, emotionally and physically, we are the same’ and will do better, both personally and as a culture, if we treat each other with more tenderness and humanity. ‘Compassion is the key factor for good health. ... It is not money or materialistic concerns, it is compassion and also education,’ he said. ‘If you do bad things for people, you get negative consequences. But if you do good things for people, you get good consequences.' "

As if anyone asked the business community in Mankato ... Free Press reporter Mark Fishenich writes: “City leaders have traditionally been the strongest voice for LGA, which uses state tax dollars to keep property taxes lower in inner cities and rural towns in Minnesota. But 69 percent of 124 business owners responding to a survey by Greater Mankato Growth support maintaining or expanding the program and 60 percent agreed that the funding is ‘very important and critical to business vitality.’ That position puts those business owners at odds with the Republican-led Legislature, which is seeking to continue steep reductions in LGA put in place by then-Gov. Tim Pawlenty, also a Republican. ... ‘Without LGA my business taxes would almost double’, one local business owner wrote in the comments section of the survey. ‘This program makes it affordable to conduct business in Mankato. Without it, I would reduce staff and consider reducing the hours of operation.’ ”

Smalltown paper editorials are notoriously reluctant to put too sharp an edge on their opinions. (Ditto some big-town papers.) But apparently Darrell Ehrlick, editor of The Winona Daily News, has about had it with the drift of this legislative session: “Chicken. It’s not nice to call names, but what other word is there that describes it? Spineless? Pandering? Mean? Are those any better? Reps. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, and Greg Davids, R-Preston, as well as Sen. Jeremy Miller, R-Winona, are chickens. They’ve ducked any responsibility for terrible legislation and tried pinning it on the voters of Minnesota. The issue: Writing an amendment into the Minnesota Constitution that would define marriage as only between a man and a woman. In other words, a ban on gay marriage. These weak Republican politicians have tried to convince constituents that they’re merely trying to let the voters decide the question. But the voters weren’t asking for this question. Where’s the outcry for the voters to decide this issue? (Insert silence here.) We’d suggest the only people clamoring to settle the gay-marriage issue are the fringe conservatives who would rather cloak their bigotry by self righteousness, making the bogus argument that two people marrying somehow threatens the institution marriage itself.” I think someone said, “To hell with the de-caf.”