‘Inappropriate relationship’ reportedly led to Koch exit

AFTERNOON EDITION

WCCO’s Pat Kessler set the state Capitol and Minnesota’s political community abuzz this afternoon with his report about events leading up to Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch’s abrupt decision Thursday to step down as leader and not seek re-election. Reports Kessler: “Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch resigned her post Thursday after she was confronted by GOP Senate leaders about allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a Senate staffer, according to high level State Capitol sources. Those sources confirmed that four Republican Senators held an emergency meeting with Koch Wednesday night, after multiple Senate staffers reported the possible improper conduct.”

The last Ford Ranger, and the last vehicle of any kind, rolled off the company’s St. Paul assembly line today. At MPR, Matt Sepic files a farewell piece: “In the mid 1920s, the St. Paul Ford plant had all the latest industrial technology. But the jobs still required a lot of muscle, and managers pushed employees to work faster and faster. ‘The line kept going no matter what,’ said the late Ken Muxlow, in a recorded interview with [historian Brian] McMahon, who started working at the Twin Cities Assembly Plant in 1929 tacking seat cushions on Model As. ‘If you had to go to the bathroom, you had to go, and you had to catch up your job when you got back, and that was it,’ Muxlow said. ‘They didn’t give you any time.’ Labor leaders once lauded Henry Ford for his revolutionary $5-a-day wage. But as the century progressed and working conditions got more difficult, employees wanted to organize. McMahon said Ford stopped at nothing to prevent workers from forming a union. ‘For many, many years in the late ’30s, the company was more intent on waging war on its workers than making cars,’ said McMahon. ‘And 10 percent of the workforce were basically spies trying to weed out potential union organizers.’ The United Auto Workers finally organized Ford plants nationwide during World War II, when President Franklin Roosevelt threatened to cut off defense contracts. In St. Paul, newly unionized workers built tanks, armored cars, and aircraft engine parts. And for a time women were a major part of the workforce.”

Speaking of … The always quotable Eliot Seide, local director of AFSCME, lays into Strib regular Jason Lewis on the value of unions: “If every worker belonged to a union, America would be a place where labor was rewarded with respect on the job, wages that could raise a family, health care if people got sick, and a dignified retirement. Lewis also uses his bullhorn to blame public employees for deficits and debt. The working class shouldn’t be fooled by his attempt to distract and divide us. Public workers teach our kids, heal the sick, protect our communities, plow our roads, clean our water and much more. Erasing all of us wouldn’t begin to erase our state or federal deficits. … The real culprits are the political and economic elites who keep getting richer by putting corporate greed ahead of public need. They excused Wall Street for gambling away our 401(k) savings. They let predatory lenders foreclose on our homes. They helped insurance companies put profits ahead of patients. And they helped corporations ship our jobs overseas. Now Lewis and the elites want to give Minnesotans the right to work for less money.”

Aaron Sinner of the Matt Entenza Minnesota 2020 think tank offers a bit more clarity on health insurance exchanges: “Pop Quiz! Identify which of the following elements were and were not included in the final health reform package President Obama signed into law:
a. A new government-run insurance plan
b. Subsidies to help individuals pay for health insurance
c. Tax credits for small businesses
d. A ban on co-pays for preventive care
e. A government panel that makes decisions about end-of-life care for Medicare recipients

The Affordable Care Act crossed the President’s desk in March 2010 — just over a year and a half ago. Yet even today, most Americans don’t know much about what’s in the law. (Quiz answers: b, c, and d are all actual components of the law.) … The exchange plays a crucial role in health reform going forward. Minnesota 2020 has previously detailed how the Affordable Care Act will impact Minnesota (see here and here), but it’s worth noting that the exchange plays a central role by (1) providing a one-stop shop for purchasing insurance on the individual marketplace, a previously-difficult way to buy insurance, and (2) offering an easy access point to determine one’s eligibility for health insurance subsidies. The law makes health insurance affordable like never before by expanding Medicaid up to 133% of the federal poverty line—an annual income of $29,000 for a family of four—and by offering graduated subsidies for households making up to four times the poverty  line—$88,000 for that same family of four.”

The AP covers the List of the Day, this time “the most secure cities in America.” Happily for us, when we tire of dodging the constant gunfire, natural disasters and terrorism in Edina and North Oaks, we can move to … Moorhead: “The Farmers Insurance Group of Companies says if you want to live in a secure place, the Dakotas are a good place to be. Fargo, N.D., and neighboring Moorhead, Minn., is No. 3 on the Farmers Insurance annual list of most-secure midsize cities in the U.S. Sioux Falls, S.D., is No. 6. The category includes cities that have between 150,000 and 500,000 residents. Bismarck, N.D., is No. 3 on that list, and Rapid City, S.D., is thirteenth. The rankings take into account numerous factors, from crime and weather to the risk of natural disasters and terrorism.”

Over in Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker may need to add a little octane to his “It’s working” theme. Covering the latest unemployment figures, Mike Ivey of the Capital Times writes: “Wisconsin lost another 14,600 jobs in November, the fifth straight month of declines, even though the unemployment rate here fell to 7.3 percent, the lowest level in a year. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ preliminary employment report released Thursday showed Wisconsin with 14,600 fewer non-farm positions in November compared to October. That figure includes 11,700 fewer private sector positions. Nationally, there were 120,000 jobs added in November, according to the BLS report. Illinois added 600 jobs while Minnesota lost 13,700 positions. But Wisconsin officials caution the BLS has badly overestimated previous job declines, including last month when the preliminary figures showed Wisconsin losing 9,700 positions. That figure was revised to show the state actually losing 2,400 jobs in October — a difference of 7,300.” OK, so “it is working” … except where it’s not.

Today in Bachmannia: If you’re into the whole twisty theory wherein Our Gal has a secret pact with Mitt Romney, maybe in exchange for The Mittster appointing her secretary of state, you’ll like this analysis of last night’s debate from CBS News: “Romney … benefited from his opponent’s side skirmishes. Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann attacked Gingrich about the $1.6 million he received from Freddie Mac. ‘The speaker had his hand out and he was taking $1.6 million to influence senior Republicans to keep the scam going in Washington,’ said Bachmann. Gingrich was not at his best in defending himself. He kept having to insist that he never lobbied. His effort to argue a distinction between consulting and lobbying was probably lost on most people. He said he was a private citizen operating in the free enterprise system.  … Bachmann was relentless saying that conservatives couldn’t be weak on the issue of abortion. And she hit hard when Gingrich questioned her facts yet again. ‘I think it’s outrageous to continue to say over and over through the debate that I don’t have my facts right. When as a matter of fact, I do. I’m a serious candidate for president of the United States. And my facts are accurate.’ This was a very good moment for Bachmann. Unfortunately, Gingrich was validated by the fact checkers. Bachmann, in defending herself, said that Polifact had come out and said that everything she had said was true. Politifact labeled that claim as “pants on fire,” its most negative rating.”  

The controversial decision to overrule the FDA on the so-called “morning after” pill sparks a commentary at MPR from Sarah Stoez of the regional Planned Parenthood chapter: “[A]t Planned Parenthood we know and care for teens every day who find themselves in a desperate situation with no one to turn to. Whether it is a teen who needs a reliable, long-term contraceptive or emergency contraception, our moral compass tells us that everyone deserves the chance to prevent unintended pregnancy. No matter what her age. Every day in Minnesota, 19 teens become pregnant and 13 become moms. When a girl enters motherhood before she’s ready, there are serious health risks for both mom and baby. Pregnant teens are at higher risk for premature labor, anemia and preeclampsia. And babies of teen mothers stand a higher chance of being born prematurely, posing very serious risks to the child’s health and life. Beyond this, becoming a parent as a teen has been closely linked to poverty, putting both the parent and the child at risk for a lifetime of struggle. Birth control is no stranger to controversy, but we must keep the facts front and center. The decision to maintain the status quo on emergency contraception won’t prevent teens from becoming sexually active and it won’t help parents keep their kids safe.”