Minnesota Democrats yesterday swiped at two Republicans for voting against a $105.6 billion bill that included funding for the I-35W bridge.

The Republicans — U.S. Reps. John Kline and Michele Bachmann — said they voted “no” because the bill contains excessive spending, which President Bush has threatened to veto.

Rep. John Kline

Is the Democrats’ criticism fair? Are Kline and Bachmann guilty of failing to deliver on their pledges to ensure rapid federal assistance for the bridge reconstruction, as Democrats allege?

Or are Kline and Bachmann showing strong spines — standing on the principle of containing federal spending, while knowing that their votes would open them to easy criticism?

Here’s Washington correspondent Kevin Diaz’s story. Among other things, it points out that Kline and Bachmann have signed onto a separate bill for the bridge funding.

Here’s what the DFL chair, Brian Melendez, said in a press release:
“We’ve gotten pretty used to Michele Bachmann and John Kline putting President Bush and special interests ahead of our state’s most urgent needs, but this vote goes beyond ridiculous — it’s callous. After all the lip service they’ve given to those projects, including the Northstar rail line in Bachmann’s own district, you’ve got to be kidding.
“Their mindless, lock-step partisanship and blind loyalty to a failed president is breathtaking. There’s no other way to put this: Michele Bachmann’s and John Kline’s hypocrisy is an embarrassment to Minnesota.”

Rep. Michele Bachmann

Here are some other things to consider. In voting “no,” Bachmann not only voted against the bridge funding, but also against funding for a couple projects in her own district — for the Northstar commuter line and for a bus system. Does that give her immunity to the DFL charges?

For another perspective, here are some of the things that Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., celebrated in the bill — some in his First District, some nationwide:

First Distrtict
$500,000 for Hwy. 14 from Waseca to Owatonna.
$350,000 for Hwy. 14 from North Mankato to New Ulm.
$300,000 for a MnDOT garage facility in Albert Lea.

Nationwide
$40.2 billion for maintaining or improving highways.
$9.65 billion for commuter or light rail.
$65 million above the president’s request for next-generation air traffic control technology.
$10 million to help small communities attract commercial air service.

Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., says the bill is not a budget-buster, because the Democratic Congress is adhering to the pay-as-you go rule — offsetting spending increases in one area with spending cuts in another.

But the Wall Street Journal reports in this story today about the spending battle between Bush and the Democrats: “The measure, which adds $3 billion in discretionary appropriations above President Bush’s budget requests, reflects a 6% increase in overall spending for the new fiscal year that began Oct. 1.”

So, who do you think is playing politics here?

On today’s Pig’s Eye Podcast, we talk with Ashwin Madia, an ex-Marine who served in Iraq and who’s running as a Democrat for Jim Ramstad’s congressional seat.

Madia, a 29-year-old lawyer from Plymouth, says his military experience makes him immune to “the first line of attack” in the Republican playbook, which he said was to cast Democratic candidates as soft on terror and unpatriotic.

Ashwin Madia

“They can’t play that card with me. I’m a Marine, I served in the Corps for four years, and I’ve been to Iraq. If they try anything like that with me, I think they’re going to be very, very sorry, because I’m not going to put up with it.”

To hear more from Madia, including his views on gay marriage, health care and the federal budget, go to Pig’s Eye Podcast here.

And here’s our story when he announced his candidacy.

To learn more about him, here’s the link to his website.

State Sen. Terri Bonoff is announcing her candidacy today for Rep. Jim Ramstad’s congressional seat. We talked with Sen. Bonoff, a DFLer from Minnetonka, this morning on Pig’s Eye Podcast about why she’s running, her stance on Iraq and Iran and other issues closer to home.

State Sen. Terri Bonoff

To learn more about her…

Here’s her campaign website: www.terribonoff.com.

Here’s her legislative website.

Other candidates for the Third Congressional District include:

Republican Erik Paulsen, a former Minnesota House Majority Leader from Eden Prairie, has said he’s running, but hasn’t held his official kick-off event yet. Here’s his website, although there’s not much more than a couple of photos and contact info, so far.

Ashwin Madia, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, is running for the Democratic endorsement. He’s a lawyer from Plymouth. Here’s his website.

Edina Mayor Jim Hovland, who recently switched from the Republican to the Democratic Party, is considering running.

Check back later today for reporter Mark Brunswick’s story about Bonoff’s official launch of her campaign.

We’ve posted a new Pig’s Eye Podcast this morning, which you can listen to here.

Bachmann on Election Night

In this podcast, we discuss:

Mike Ciresi escalating his criticism of Al Franken for being a late convert to opposing the Iraq war. You can read Pat Lopez’s story about this change of tone in the U.S. Senate race here. And you can join a discussion on the issue at The Big Question blog here.

Whether Michele Bachmann made a strategic error by asking TV stations to pull an ad critical of her over the children’s health insurance program. Here’s Kevin Diaz’s story about the flap. Also, there’s been a lively discussion in a posting I did on the controversy last week, asking whether the ad was fair or not. Here’s the post.

Iowa Republicans’ decision to move their caucuses up to Jan. 3, when voters will have barely recovered from New Years Eve celebrations, and when the campaigns will have to find a way to get people’s attention during the holiday season. Here’s our story when the new date was announced.

The TV ad running against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, and her efforts to get it yanked, raise a number of issues that will become increasingly familiar over the next 12 months.

Let’s start with the content of the ad. You can see it here. And here is Kevin Diaz’s story about the flap.

It’s a cookie-cutter ad — the same images and script running in a number of congressional districts, with just the photos and names of the local target spliced in. Because they’re one-size-fits-all, these types of ads tend to level broad criticisms, rather than deal with a lot of specifics.

Generally, they go light on facts and heavy on conclusions. The facts usually are accurate — mostly because the organization behind the ads can cite a select few votes or a handful of donations from interest groups that they claim prove their point.

In this case, the underlying fact is true — that Bachmann opposed the Democratic plan to increase funding for the State Childrens Health Insurance Program. She voted against it.

But the ad says that Bush vetoed the bill (true) and then says that Bachmann “voted with him.” Is that misleading? Does it imply that Bachmann voted to uphold the president’s veto? The attempt to override the veto hasn’t happened yet.

The ad states that Bachmann “would rather send half a trillion to Iraq than spend a fraction of that here at home to keep our kids healthy.”

Since she’s been in Congress, Bachmann has supported the war funding. But as she points out, she’s voted for only a small part of the “half a trillion” mentioned in the ad.

Do you think that statement about what she “would rather” do is fair?

All of that, of course, leads to the next issue: What role should the TV stations — and other media — play in deciding whether this, or any other ad, is accepted?

Bachmann is, essentially, asking the stations to referee the dispute. Should they? If there is no verifiable fact that’s wrong, should the stations rule on the fairness of the arguments in the ad?

What do you think stations should do in general in these circumstances? And what do you think they should do with the ad against Bachmann?

Rep. John Kline

We’ll be recording a new Pig’s Eye Podcast this morning. We hope to have it posted by about 10 a.m. Once we get in front of the microphones, anything is possible, but here’s what we expect to be talking about.

A fugitive on the lam takes the time — bless his felonious little heart — to post a comment on Politically Connected about our podcast.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s enviable 59% job approval rating.

More stirrings in the Minnesota congressional races, including an intriguing Democrat stepping forward to run against John Kline.

The U.S. Senate race, where Al Franken edged out Sen. Norm Coleman in the third-quarter money race.

By the way, if you have a question for the Pig’s Eye Podcast crew — Doug Tice, Lori Sturdevant and me — or want us to address a certain topic, leave a post here, or send an e-mail to politicallyconnected@startribune.com.

Today

Sen. Norm Coleman testifies before a Committee on Environment and Public Works oversight hearing on the condition of the nation’s bridges. 9 a.m. (CDT). Webcast available on Coleman’s website: http://coleman.senate.gov/ 

Public hearing on new I-35W bridge, 5:30 p.m.,Thrivent Financial Auditorium, 625 4th Ave. S., Minneapolis 

Democratic presidential candidates debate live in Davenport, Iowa, 7-8:30 p.m., TPT Ch. 17.

Sunday

U.S. Reps. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., and John Conyers, D-Mich., hold a health care forum at the Historic Heights Theatre, 3951 Central Ave, N.E., Columbia Heights, at 1 p.m. 

U.S. Rep Jim Ramstad proved he can keep a secret. There wasn’t a whiff about the possibility of his retiring until his campaign issued an alert shortly before noon, saying that the congressman would be making a major announcement about his future. The release didn’t say what Ramstad would announce, but the Microsoft Word attachment detailing the time and location of the press conference had this name: “retire_advisory.doc”

Here’s the Star Tribune story about his announcement and the mad scramble that’s developing to succeed him.

Plus, The Big Question provides a more detailed look at those who are planning to or thinking about running.

The Star Tribune’s editorial praises Ramstad for his ability to reach across party lines.

Other coverage:

• The Hill points out that Ramstad is the sixth Republican House member to announce a retirement, and calls the Third District a “bona fide swing district.”
• Roll Call described the development as “another swing-seat headache for” Republicans.
• Power Line says that “headache” is probably a fair characterization, given that while Bush carried the district over Kerry, Clinton won it twice.
• MnPublis argues that Ramstad’s departure will mean fewer votes from the Third District for Republican Sen. Norm Coleman in his reelection bid next year.
• Ed Morrissey at Captain’s Quarters headlines his post: Should I move to Minnetonka?

Ramstad’s own websites haven’t been updated with the news. But if you want to learn more about him, here’s his congressional site and his campaign site.

And if you want to look back at his voting record, this Washington Post site will keep you busy.

What do you think are the ramifications of Ramstad’s retirement, and who — or at least what kind of candidates — do you think would make the strongest contenders for his seat?

In our Pig’s Eye Podcast Monday (Sept. 17), I mentioned the classic fundraising letter U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., has sent out. In it, he makes it sound as if Rove is practically on his way to Mankato to personally knock Walz out of his First Congressional seat. Walz invokes Rove’s name no less than nine times as he explains that Rove, in a briefing, identified Walz’s seat as one of the top 20 targets for congressional Republicans in the 2008 election.

Here are the first five paragraphs of the letter. The boldface and underlining are in the letter itself, no emphasis added:

The American people are breathing a sigh of relief this month after two notorious figures in the Bush administration at long last announced their departure. President Bush’s top political advisor Karl Rove and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales may have left Washington in a hurry, but they have not gone quietly–and they are not gone for good.

He may be gone, but before Karl Rove left he made it obvious that Minnesota’s First Congressional District is at the top of his target list.

The Washington Post reports that, prior to leaving Washington, Karl Rove presented to America’s European Ambassadors his list of the top 20 vulnerable Democrats across the country—and I am on that list. Karl Rove and the National Republican Party have made it clear they will stop at nothing to win Minnesota’s First Congressional District seat in November 2008.

Their reasoning is simple: National Republican leaders believe Karl Rove’s strategy of personal destruction, distraction and misinformation will divide and mislead voters resulting in a narrow Republican victory next fall.

Together, we must send the National Republican Party and Karl Rove a strong message: The American people care about the change we are bringing to Washington. Support today, already so close to the next election, will show Rove and his cronies in the Republican Leadership that we are serious about keeping Democrats in Congress with a strong Majority.

By the way, Walz threw in Alberto Gonzales’ name four times, for good measure.