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POLITICAL AGENDA

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    No town halls, says Oberstar: They're too politicized

    By Joe Kimball | Published Fri, Aug 14 2009 9:39 am

    Now that Congressman Tim Walz in southern Minnesota seems to have buckled to the pressure to have a town hall meeting on health care reform, folks in the northern part of the state might be wondering if Congressman Jim Oberstar might have similar plans.  

    Nope, says the Duluth News Tribune.

    The paper reports:

    "[Oberstar] typically does not do townhalls per say [sic]," [said spokesman John Schadl.]

    Oberstar prefers forums with specific focus groups or interested parties, such as a forum he did last week in Pine City with farmers on dairy issues, Schadl said. "These town hall meetings have become so politicized, and he finds it so valuable to reach out to people when he travels, talk to them directly."

    Schadl said that Oberstar has had numerous meetings with constituency groups on health care reform in the past year.

    Of course, Oberstar is a 17-term DFLer in a DFL district, while Walz is a second-term DFLer in a traditionally Republican district.

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    Political Agenda is a place for quick-hit news about Minnesota's political scene and players. MinnPost's staff, including Joe Kimball and Doug Grow, will contribute items about local and state government, plus national political doings that have a Minnesota angle. Items will appear throughout the day, so check back often.

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