City of Ramsey will have a new mayor in the November election. The Strommen family is moving to Plymouth. Eric Hagen writing for ECM Publishing has posted an excellent review of the Strommen council days, 2002 to 2008 as a council member, 2012 to May 1, 2018 as mayor. Much changed in the exurbs-to-suburbs during the tenure.

Hagen's report, an excellent post tightly examining years of service without meandering off point, can be read online here.

The Strommen tenure on council saw ups and downs of Ramsey Town Center where many, many housing units replaced corn field "green acres" land held by speculators, and much of Ramsey lost its rural feel but gained walking/biking trails and the roads were always a concern while the town saw taxes creep up as the town also saw the housing crisis hit and slowly cure. The town did not do well during that crisis when the council hired a sandbur, since detached at substantial cost, with the intent to be a contrarian council then wanting to push on a rope to make things the market then would not sustain nonetheless happen. Counter-market Repubicans, no less, and Strommen had the good fortune to have retired before it, and to have come into the center seat at the council table to lead mop-up. During the time span of Strommen's residence in Ramsey the town graciously transited from an administrative situation, a/k/a James Norman, to being effectively run by Kurt Ulrich - who was hired by the council before Strommen decided to step down, and who faced tumult during the sandbur consultancy days before order was restored. The Ramsey Town Center lives on. Rebranded by the counter-market Republicans as "the COR" which nobody with a sense of history will call anything but Ramsey Town Center - as it started, was, is, and always will be. Housing growth, densely so, shilled to the Ramsey folks as "a quaint Towne Centre" that was to have, "nice shoppes and restaurants." Those were the spelling of she who will not be named. Spculators did well at the start and left things in the hands of Bruce Nedegaard who went into a bankruptcy with bank shenanigans accompanying things, a consortium of institutions holding pieces of things a lead bank horsed up greatly. Nedegaard died shortly after the bankruptcy and the town bought the farm - a/k/a cut a questionable costly deal with the bank consortium to take the land out of limbo at the height of the housing crisis when it as expected laid fallow for years. Matt Look came on council during Strommen years, and went onto the County Board too, during Strommen years - Look all the while printing signs for Republican politicians from a home centered business. The Northstar commuter rail line stub, still not extended to St. Cloud as initially envisioned, but passing Ramsey to its present, possibly final terminus, Big Lake. In a tardy fashion and paying the equivalent of a king's ransom, the Northstar poobahs gave Ramsey a little used "station" on the line. Because Northstar rents track time from BNSF it will never be an all-day operation, instead only of use to those having in-city day jobs without overtime so that mornings into urbanity, evenings into the 'burbs could reliably be planned and gained while the remainder of Ramsey and other places subsidize the living daylights out of the venture of use to a handful. A never full giant parking ramp was built to accomodate the hordes of expected rail users, and remains a costly thing where the interim council folks gave away a part of the parking to Indiana exploiters who hung over-priced dense housing off the west end of the ramp in an ugly looking way.

None of which was Strommen's fault. In fact, she was one of the good people and strongly supported a town interchange with Highway 10 in a way removing a most dangerous of road-rail crossings where MnDOT, the County, and Ramsey all carried a part of the cost. That was when Jason Tossey was on council and a strong advocate of the road intersection change, and where a council minority did not want the town to bankroll any million dollar share of the Hoosier's profit-optimizing Big Ugly dense rental housing adventure. Randy Backous was also a good council person then, and it was when the HRA was the same seven council members wearing different hats but doing the same mischief; he who shall not be named being the sandbur in chief, like a tin-eared orchestra conductor among amateur musicians.

That above subjective recollection is presented as opinion mixed with fact, and opinions can differ. Once Strommen was elected mayor and council seat turnover happened, things gained a more even keel, but still there was that exurb to suburb transitioning some thought dandy.

If you will note, the Hagen item was not excerpted and instead personal recollection of events was substituted. This is because anybody caring about Mayor Sarah Strommen and her well-reasoned leadership should read the ECM Publishing item. It is thorough, fair and balanced - well worth the read.

Margaret Connolly and Terry Hendriksen, each now deceased, were exceptionally good council members prior to Strommen's service. Coborns was a good community addition arising from Ramsey Town Center fever. Moving the licensing center into City Hall was a positive step deserving credit. Jim Deal invested in the venture's goals and aims and did okay for himself and family while being a key person to the thing moving more quickly than otherwise. James Norman shall not be missed (some may feel otherwise). Heidi Nelson, ditto. Other staff persons served and moved on and in general were capable, good people. During it all mistakes in judgment were made, including those made by me. Connolly, Hendriksen, Strommen, Tossey and Backous are the council persons I most strongly recall as having been good for the town. Somebody these days lives in Thomaswood, and I don't care a damn who. Hagen's item mentions David Jeffrey, on council and he is missed as also having been one of the good guys.

With Lori Swanson being a principled and active AG, it would cheer me if she were to investigate Nuedexta use among Minnesota nursing home residents.

Given CNN reporting, it would seem to be a fine litmus test of institutions possibly in need of further scrutiny. If such a review were to prove lack of any problem, negative information is useful nonetheless, and the scope of public attention needed to at least begin a litmus test of such a kind would not be a budget breaker.

Not being in medical practice of any kind, nor having training, this is an opinion from the public about a possible cost-benefit balance where cost would not be prohibitive. Opiate over-prescription is a far bigger situation. Hence, it would not be as easily contained a study by law enforcement's looking at practices. Neudexta might offer a focal point to study one arguably problematic over-prescription problem with a favorable cost-benefit balance, because of scale and single drug involvement. This is presuming CNN would not publish without having cause, and with prior review of counsel to not be wrongly criticizing a multi-million dollar Big Pharma player.

At my age of 73 while actively in the public with no glaring health issues, nursing home practices are nonetheless a close concern. Age is the culprit making nursing home residency a necessary evil for some, and for those in such a care facility, may they only benefit and not be in peril of bad practices. Elderly care residents are clearly a fragile subpopulation where risks should be minimized.

The CNN item stated in part:

Since 2012, more than half of all Nuedexta pills have gone to long-term care facilities. The number of pills rose to roughly 14 million in 2016, a jump of nearly 400% in just four years, according to data obtained from QuintilesIMS, which tracks pharmaceutical sales. Total sales of Nuedexta reached almost $300 million that year.

Nuedexta is being increasingly prescribed in nursing homes even though drugmaker Avanir Pharmaceuticals acknowledges in prescribing information that the drug has not been extensively studied in elderly patients -- prompting critics to liken its use to an uncontrolled experiment. The one study the company conducted solely on patients with Alzheimer's (a type of dementia) had 194 subjects and found that those on Nuedexta experienced falls at more than twice the rate as those on a placebo.

Avanir declined repeated requests to be interviewed for this article. [...]

The federal government foots the bill for a big portion of the money being spent on Nuedexta in the form of Medicare Part D prescription drug funding, for people 65 and over and the disabled. In 2015, the most recent year for which data is available, this Medicare program spent $138 million on Nuedexta -- up more than 400% from just three years earlier.

This seems far from any "atta-boy" endorsement of a situation.

The fat guy with the funny hair sure can pick 'em: "And while the White House put on a full-scale defense of Jackson, spokesman Raj Shah said aides are "of course" preparing for the possibility that he might withdraw. "This is, as the president said, Dr. Jackson's decision," Shah said on CNN. Jackson huddled late Wednesday evening with top White House press staff. They declined to comment on the situation. A former colleague who spoke to The Associated Press described Jackson as a gregarious, Type A charmer who knew how to position himself for success — attentive to bosses but also causing unnecessary grief and consternation among colleagues. He said Jackson became known as "Candyman" because of the way he handed out drugs. The ex-colleague spoke on condition of anonymity because of fear of retaliation. The "Candyman" nickname was also cited in the summary released by the Democrats. In a section on Jackson's prescribing practices, the summary said that in one case, missing Percocet tabs threw members of the White House Medical Unit into a panic — but it turned out he had prescribed a "large supply" of the opioid to a White House Military Office staffer. The allegations also referred to multiple incidents of Jackson's intoxication while on duty, often on overseas trips. On at least one occasion he was nowhere to be found when his medical help was needed because "he was passed out drunk in his hotel room," according to the summary."

Headline from an AP carry; Candyman - an apparent VA problem, so if you're a jackass knowing another one you decide t put the other one, the VA problem atop the VA? Fat guy with funny hair, what's between the ears besides blarney and mush? Action Jackson does not cut it.

Interestingly, in opening that item, "16 hrs ago" the search return noted. Now, SacBee this morning carries an AP follow-up, "Ronny Jackson withdraws from consideration for VA chief." With a photo showing central casting might send him to a studio set to play an admiral in some third rate movie - a role Reagan would have gotten back in his Hollywood days.

Buyers' remorse yet, among the "deplorables?" Or would it take Hegseth to get there? Aside from Trump and Koch love toward Hegseth, there is counter-opinion:

Should the Trump administration forge ahead with this privatization scheme, Glastris noted that it would be a classic example of the dynamic we’ve witnessed very often from this administration—”the working class GOP base (in this case veterans) being sold down the river by the conservative Washington political class to advance its free market ideology and enrich its corporate cronies.”

Deplorables of the VA unite. You have nothing to lose but your benefits. A clown nominated a clown who withdrew, with a "Joker" in the wings to promote havoc and disaster; and is that what he did while in the service, assigned to duty at Gitmo?

UPDATE: There are a host of MDs Trump could choose, his type, while Hegseth lacks such a degree and has managed nothing beyond a chicken-shit dinky little "Minnesota PAC" he formed after getting out of the service years ago when he was with an earlier wife and he doubtlessly hopes it is forgotten:

Which is deplorable. That PAC was in play back in 2012 when the butt was up to nonsense. In a since-scrubbed True North post, this was said:

State legislative candidates selected for assistance by former senatorial candidate Pete Hegseth’s “Minnesota PAC” (MNPAC) slightly outperformed those selected by former gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer’s “A Stronger Minnesota” on election night. Where all four of Emmer’s PAC selections fell short, two of Hegseth’s twelve candidates were able to claim victory. Yet for conservatives, there may have been a more concerning aspect to Hegseth’s choices.

In a September 10 e-mail to Minnesota Republican delegates announcing his MNPAC, Hegseth asked for money and time to help out six candidates he had chosen for the House and six for the Senate. For the House, it was Deb Kiel (1B), Carolyn McElfatrick (5B), Ben Wiener (11B), King Banaian (14B), Dan Kaiser (24B), and Russ Bertsch (42A). For the Senate, the candidates were Steve Nordhagen (SD1), John Pederson (SD14), Ben Kruse (SD36), Pam Wolf (SD37), Daivd Gaither (SD44) and Ted Lillie (SD53). The only two to win on Tuesday were Deb Kiel and John Pederson.

An October 4 e-mail to delegates from A Stronger Minnesota soon followed Hegseth’s with an announcement that Tom Emmer had joined the PAC. The group selected four candidates for the Minnesota House to assist. They were Chris Kellett (10A), Melissa Valeriano (25B), Andrew Reinhardt (36B), and Mandy Benz (37A). All four lost.

As many Republicans remember, Hegseth ran an intense campaign for the party’s 2012 senatorial nomination against Rep. Kurt Bills. Many establishment Republicans were supportive of Hegseth; the co-chair for Romney’s Minnesota campaign, Anne Neu, served as his campaign manager. One loud complaint those establishment folks made during the campaign was that they were afraid that neither conservative members of the party nor Ron Paul supporters would support Hegseth if he won the nomination.

One April 18 e-mail from Ms. Neu said that Ron Paul supporters were not supporting some (unspecified) legislative candidates. The e-mail stated, “This is not what the Republican Party is about,” and went to on to suggest that this description included Kurt Bills, saying, “It appears that Kurt Bills was hand-picked by the Ron Paul establishment to be the face of the movement in MN.”

After the party endorsed Kurt Bills in an endorsing convention that saw Hegseth come in third with fifteen percent of the vote, many in Hegseth’s camp refused to support Bills. In the Republican primary, Bills lost to a nameless candidate in the first and seventh congressional districts of Minnesota. He did, of course, win the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth.

The idiot had no voter traction and should stick to FOX BS, where he fits like a hand in a glove. Trump going so second-rate in phone consultations, DEPLORABLE.

FURTHER UPDATE: This Wikipedia page on 2012 election matters:

Republican primary

The Republican Party of Minnesota held its nominating convention in May 2012 and held its Senate primary on August 14, 2012.[1]
Candidates
[...]

Withdrew
Joe Arwood, St. Bonifacius city councilman; withdrew before May 2012 convention
Pete Hegseth, executive director of Vets for Freedom; withdrew after May 2012 convention

It appears the so-called "Vets for Freedom" was a trial balloon the Koch brothers noticed and paid for a reincarnation as "Concerned Veterans for America," i.e., astroturf begetting Koch subsidized astroturf all the while masquerading as grass roots. A BS spielmeister has no place imperiling the future of the nation's veterans, who mostly are several cuts above FOX blather mongering. Privatizing the VA into non-existence may be a keen thought to Trump, who never served, but what do most veterans think? The Hegseth effort undermining the aims of most veteran groups should singularly disqualify Hegseth from any Senate confirmation for which he concievably might inadvisedly be nominated; now that Jackson's withdrawal has again put things into limbo.

Calling out an asshole for what he's done being more important than who he is, "Rather, this email is about the dramatic changes he has made at the EPA—changes that have received much less attention than his personal lapses. We live in a time when the public discourse gets distracted by a shell game—be it Russia, Stormy Daniels, James Comey, or the issue du jour that gets all the oxygen—while massive changes are quietly made to our public policy. Administrator Pruitt has unilaterally turned the EPA upside down with pronouncements that tromp on the rule of law as it relates to administrative regulations. For example, Administrator Pruitt:[...]"

An email from Lori Swanson, Minnesota's beloved activist AG; resuming at the headline's ellipsis:

== Repealed the Clean Power Plan, which limits greenhouse gas emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants. These plants currently emit approximately one-third of America’s carbon dioxide.



== Withdrew U.S. participation in the Paris Climate agreement.



== Postponed regulations of Methylene chloride, N-methylpyrrolidone, and trichloroethylene, toxic chemicals used in paint strippers and cleaners. The chemicals are toxic to the brain and liver and have caused death from inhalation.



== Stopped enforcement of regulations concerning Methane emissions from oil and gas wells which are subject to EPA regulation. He attempted to stop enforcement of the regulations without bothering to follow the required administrative processes to change them.



== Pushed new requirements to prohibit the EPA from considering scientific studies unless the underlying data is made public. The problem with this is that most scientific studies about the impact of toxins on employees or human health are based on patient data and, under health privacy laws, that data cannot be made public. For example, the EPA in 2016 recommended that people limit their intake of drinking water containing PFCs, the chemicals that were the subject of our $890 million environmental settlement two months ago. The proposal effectively would have prevented the EPA from relying on studies about these chemicals to recommend that people limit their intake of the chemicals.



== Repealed a 2012 Mercury and Air Toxic Standards (MATS) regulation which required companies to undertake a cost-benefit analysis when generating these toxic chemicals.



== Proposed to cut funding of EPA enforcement by the U.S. Department of Justice by one-third. Administrator Pruitt is reportedly considering whether to terminate the funding agreement with the Department of Justice, which enforces the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Oil Pollution Act.



== Rolled back CAFÉ (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards which were adopted to lessen tailpipe emissions and enhance fuel economy.



== Rolled back regulations concerning disposal of coal ash by power plants. Coal ash contains mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and other heavy metals that can cause respiratory problems for people and animals living near sites where the ash was dumped.



== Delayed enforcement of a regulation requiring chemical plants to disclose to the public information on the type and quantities of chemicals they have on site.



== Proposed to waive enforcement of regulations requiring the states to report to the EPA on ozone levels.



== Suspended the authority of regional EPA offices to order companies to undertake specific water and pollution tests.



== Cancelled a requirement that oil and gas companies report methane emissions.


Administrator Pruitt has demonstrated an unbridled zeal in his effort to strip the EPA of its ability to protect the environment. According to the Harvard Law School Environmental Regulation Rollback Tracker and the Columbia Law School Climate Tracker, Administrator Pruitt is in the process of rolling back at least 67 environmental regulations that impact all aspects of the agency.

As state Attorney General, Mr. Pruitt sued the EPA more than a dozen times to block Obama-era protections. In rolling back these regulations, he has been sued on multiple occasions by various states, including by me, for failing to follow administrative procedures in rescinding existing regulations.

According to the New York Times, the EPA has reduced its litigation workload by at least one-third and has reduced its civil penalties by more than one-third as well.

Independent of Administrator Pruitt’s ethical lapses, I believe he should step down. I say this for three reasons:

First, the core mission of the EPA is to protect human health and the environment. To that end, its mission is to provide clean and safe air, water, and land for all Americans. The head of a regulatory agency creates the culture by which the staff is to carry out the mission of the agency. Administrator Pruitt has created a culture which undermines the very mission of the agency. By word and deed, as Oklahoma Attorney General and as EPA Administrator, Mr. Pruitt has consistently opposed the Agency and its mission.

Second, as Attorney General, he advised state agencies and is familiar with the federal process to promulgate (or remove) regulations. The process is complex. A new regulation, or a repeal or modification of an existing one, requires a lengthy time period before it is adopted. During this time, the proposed modification and support for it must be researched and drafted, the proposal must be disseminated to the public, and the public must be afforded the opportunity to comment on the proposal. Yet, time and again, Administrator Pruitt flouts the rule of law by unilaterally proclaiming that he is ignoring a regulation, modifying a regulation, or refusing to enforce a regulation.

Third, we have seen other members of the President’s cabinet willfully ignore the mission of their agency and established laws. The Consumer Financial Protection Agency, the United States Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of the Interior come to mind as agencies where the people in charge clearly oppose the mission of the agency they manage. These cabinet members need to hear the message that the rule of law is to be respected and followed. Removal of Administrator Pruitt might hopefully send such a message.

Whether or not you agree with my sentiments, I hope that you will let our Congressional delegation know your thoughts on this topic. While not as glamorous as the cacophony of the issues du jour that permeate Washington, D.C., I believe that the “rule of law” is a serious topic worthy of public dialogue.

Thanks, Ms. Swanson, for the accumulation of evidence of evil. So much. So very, very much.

There's a fat guy with funny hair who should be handing out hats, "Make America a Cesspool Again."

Loud restaruants suck.

Vox here. Bless them for publishing truth.

Getting the Judas out of Jesus' evangelicals; or not?

This link, and re the headline, one paragraph:

Mark Labberton, the president of Fuller Seminary, denounced so-called Trump evangelicals saying "an evangelical dance with political power, the Religious Right, the tea party and now Trump....is central to our failure. Winning power was Judas's goal, not Jesus's."

Aside from the question of proper possessive punctuation for a name ending in "s," how sweet it is.

UPDATE: A second related CBN link.

Will the divide grow legs, and who cares one way or the other? They think differently it seems, and they are correct.

UPDATE: Trudeau cares.

Does Hannity have real estate mogul envy? Wishing his portfolio were as big as Trump's or Jarad's?

Or is he free of Angst while being who he is?

Gary Hart.

One nostalgia link. No "where is he now?"

But history has not left Gary Hart where that story ended. This websearch.

With such a duality as a legacy, pick your favorite.

Try your web searching skills: Elliott Broidy.

Arguably has he anything in common with President Donald Trump? What could it be? Two links: here and here. But those touch upon the reach of the man, not the full Gestalt. And they are relatively stale to where you might find more coverage, more recency. Give it a try.

First link, a paragraph late in the item [link in the original]:

Broidy, who played a leading role on Trump’s inauguration committee, today serves as national deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee. Broidy threw his support behind Trump during the 2016 campaign when many other top Republican donors were still leery.

Still timely?

If stymied, another link.

It is doubtful Broidy is the dude in the Stormy Daniels sketch; but you never know. Find a photo, look at the sketch, you decide. See how well you can uncover the soul and character of the man.

U.S. troops in Djibouti. Find it on a map. Can one, by simple googling discover easily such facts as: what is the size and rank distribution of the military officer corps: what is the personnel count of active duty troops; what is the size of the Natonal Guard; what is the military payroll; what is the military budget for materiel and maintenance; what is the number of troops drawing combat duty pay; etc.? Good luck trying. Is hiding a factor or is it just too big to be efficient, even at disclosing detail of its size? If you vote for hiding; welcome to the club.

One big question, what is the number of foreign military bases and does any nation have more than Germany, now, over half a century after World War II? How much money is troop deployment and basing there pumping into this incredibly prosperous nation's economy while stateside good high paying jobs are scarce and infrastructure crumbles?

A fistful of links dancing about the clay feet of the beast: here, here, here, here, here.

A fair objection, these links are to collateral online resources, just go onto the Defense Department website and get the answers, clearly presented, distinctly marshaled.

Here 'tis.

Good luck, tiger. If you find the name of the Secretary of Defense, gold star, but what about the money and the body count and the base count; how many last year were up, how many out?

Find that, two simple numbers.

Djibouti. I suppose if we don't find 'em and fight 'em in Djibouti, we'll have to fight 'em on the streets of Ham Lake, Minnesota. But 'em? Who dat? The Russians again since first cold war was such a profit? The never ending terrorists, cause of the never ending War on Terror?

Pick a ...stan, any ...stan, and what's the U.S. base count and number of U.S. troops in such a former Soviet Union nation? How about Turkestan? Turkmenistan? Do either of them have vast mineral wealth we are able to exploit so that we need not poison the Boundary Waters? Why else would we be there? Hearts and minds? What's the story? Cannot Fethullah Gülen skin his own rats? He's money enough for madrassas, so what about armed troops, on his dime?

Caring about healthcare, and why we're NOT number one. Why don't we CHANGE that. CHANGE need not be a mere slogan.

This link

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/health-costs-how-the-us-compares-with-other-countries

Hat tip to Paula Oberby's Green Party candidacy.

Thinking about what-if. Wouldn't it be great if this were Klobuchar's or Tina's ISSUES page. Thinking about why-not.

This link. As to why-not; following the money? Or simply following what got them there? Or is there a difference?

Steil your face.

stacking a row of grim faced children behind, told to hold stupid signs

Brian Steil. They cloned Paul Ryan? Or they are offering him, WI CD1, as if the clone.

Best thing to say, Scott Walker made him a UW regent, comparable in quality - to Scott Walker.

It used to be a first rate university.

"Appointed by Scott Walker" is like saying fully endorsed and packaged, from the Koch brothers extravaganza farm; as if endorsed by Pete Hegseth, (yes, I repeat myself).

Working an audience in a jacket looking as if Pawlenty helped him pick it out at Sam's Club.

Plastics man. Plastic film man, actually.

Best thing going - nobody yet knows who he is or what havoc he'd wreak. Still to learn, knowing the predecessor, expecting more of the same.

Last -- Tune time for the man whose shoes Steil'd wish to fill, and for Ryan, remember, if not your face right off your head, then your Social Security. Beware, the clone.

UPDATE: Image is from Wisconsin Public Radio:

"Over the years, the people of the 1st District have elected hard-working, selfless individuals," Steil said, highlighting Ryan and the late U.S. Defense Secretary Les Aspin. "They all shared a commitment to helping the people of Racine, Kenosha, Elkhorn, Janesville and everywhere in between. I am ready to take up that calling."

While prominent Republicans from former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus to state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos took a pass on entering the race, Steil brings his own GOP connections to the campaign. He was appointed to the University Of Wisconsin Board Of Regents by Gov. Scott Walker, he once worked as a legislative aide to Ryan in his Washington, D.C., office and he was a delegate at the 2016 Republican National Convention that formally nominated President Donald Trump.

Steil's campaign website launched just before his announcement made no mention of those ties, instead highlighting his own professional experience.

Clone shop product, but wanting distance. Why might that be?

An AP story carried on many outlets, you can Google the title, "Hillary Clinton, not on ballot, is star of GOP midterm attacks." Headlines may vary but that is the gist. Why it is not really unfair.

The San Jose Mercury version of the AP carry, full headline,

Hillary Clinton, not on ballot, is star of GOP midterm attacks --
Critics suggest the Republican strategy reeks of desperation, if not sexism

That sub-head is fully true as far as it goes, but it does not go far enough. The Clintons are hash because of what they did to the Democratic party, making it Repubican-lite, which Obama continued despite promises of HOPE and CHANGE. They, the three and not merely Ms. Clinton alone, are worthy of attack and scorn, mainly by progressives a/k/a Berniecrats, more than Republicans.

Also, there is name recognition. Heap the scorn on Tom Perez and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and many who vote anyway would not know who you discuss and would need to read a few paragraphs to learn. Say Clinton. Bingo. Saying Podesta brothers fails in most minds to ring the "pure evil" bell you get by saying "Koch." That should not be. Equivalents need recognition as such.

Yet Ms. Clinton is a fine and dandy symbol of all that went kaput with the Democratic party resulting in Trump as President. The high point for its crassness was the convention balloon drop for the Clintons and the VP pair, whatever their name was. That online as a video with "Stronger Together" sung aggressively as background says it all. Dumb as dirt and an insult where the Clinton constituency started with and ended with Goldman Sachs.

Not my Democratic party.

BERNIE WOULD HAVE WON.

That is what every progressive candidate should be starting any discourse with; then saying what Bernie ran on as an agenda and that the same goal set will be that candidate's aim.

As the AP article has a focus on Republicans wanting to "run again against Clinton" every sound non-Blue Dog Democrat should "run with the Bern." That said, back to the AP/Mercury article, a quote or two:

With control of Congress up for grabs this fall, the GOP’s most powerful players are preparing to spend big on plans to feature Clinton as a central villain in attack ads against vulnerable Democrats nationwide. The strategy, which already has popped up in races in Pennsylvania, Indiana and North Dakota, illustrates the resilience and political potency of Republican voters’ antipathy for Clinton. As difficult as it’s been for Democrats to move past the Clinton era, it may be even harder for Republicans.

“STOP HILLARY. STOP PELOSI. STOP LAMB,” read pamphlets circulated during the special election in Pennsylvania earlier this year.

That’s just a taste of what’s to come as the November elections grow closer, say those who control the GOP’s strategy in the first midterm elections of Donald Trump’s presidency.

“I promise you that you’ll continue to see it — Hillary Clinton starring in our paid media. She’s a very powerful motivator,” said Corry Bliss, who leads the Congressional Leadership Fund, a Republican super political action committee ready to spend tens of millions of dollars to shape House races this fall. “It’s about what she represents. What she represents, just like what Nancy Pelosi represents, is out-of-touch far-left liberal positions.”

Well, last sentence exposes the big lie. Nancy Pelosi, like Obama and the Clintons, is Republican-lite, the antithesis of progress and progressivism. Pelosi is a Rockefeller Republican when the party of the Rockefellers is going hell bent to throw tea in the ocean, purposeless in being so oriented, except pissed off at how bad the nation has been abused by politicians of both parties since World War II.

That pisses me off too, but I do not go off the cliff as a Tea Party Patriot. That's stupidity, and I instead see what Bernie set as a platform and cannot find a simple thing wrong with it. Were I a plutocrat with a Koch attitude, different story, but I am not wealthy off the backs of the rest of the nation and am without that inhumane view. Back to the article's midsection:

Critics suggest the strategy reeks of desperation, if not sexism. But with no Democrat to attack in the White House for the first time in nearly a decade, Republicans are betting big that the ghost of Clinton will serve them well in 2018. Saddled with Trump’s poor approval ratings, they may have little choice.

It’s helpful, some Republicans say, that Clinton refuses to disappear from national politics altogether.

Less than a year ago, she launched a political organization designed to encourage anti-Trump “resistance” groups. She made two public appearances this week alone. During recent remarks in India, she took a shot at Trump’s slogan and his appeal across middle America: “His whole campaign, ‘Make America Great Again,’ was looking backwards,” Clinton said.

[...] “She’s called you ‘deplorable.’ Now, she’s called you ‘backwards,'” said one ad that targeted Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson.

“If Bill Nelson had his way, Hillary Clinton would be president,” the ad continued. “Florida won’t forget.”

[...] Internal polling and focus groups conducted by Republican campaigns find that Clinton remains one of the most unpopular high-profile Democrats in the nation, second only to Pelosi, the House minority leader. Just 36 percent of Americans viewed Clinton favorably in a December Gallup poll, an all-time low mark that bucked a trend in which unsuccessful presidential candidates typically gain in popularity over time.

“We’re going to make them own her,” Republican National Committee spokesman Rick Gorka said.

Well she and Obama own Tom Perez, and that is shameful; the DNC and DCCC do own the Clinton legacy and national viewpoint that money talks all else walks; Hello and hail Wall Street. Yet the inner party Republicans are no different, that is the joke.

And Clinton using the term "deplorables?" She got it right and it galls the deplorables that they are called what they are. Her error was ignoring and being among the "deplorables" of her own party.

Run one of those focus groups among Berniecrats who watched Haim Saban have his way over Ellison at DNC, and you find the same distaste present and pungent.

BOTTOM LINE ON THE REPUBLICANS DECIDING TO RUN AGAINST CLINTON: Run against evil and incompetence is not a bad strategy to hide being a Republican and hence running to promote greater evil and comparable incompetence, White House on down.

May the Blue Wave be a progressive one. That being a wish and far from an expectation. Warmed over Obama is more a likelihood. Students still screwed big time over college debt. No single payer. No living minimum wage. Labor insecurity being the law of the land. Wall Street over Main Street. Big war spending, dumb war ongoing. Gitmo still open. Afghanistan poppies fueling Big Pharma dope pushing, still and ongoing, because it pays.

Fusion GPS founders write of Trump. While not expected to present a dry, neutral exegesis, this is better.

NY Times published it, Apr 21, 2018. Yet the Trump brand in use possibly to launder illegal money into the US remains fair game, always in season, no bag limit.

The most significant recent development involving the president may be that the special counsel, Robert Mueller, has subpoenaed Trump Organization business records as part of his inquiry into Russian interference in the presidential election.

Those documents — and records recently seized by the F.B.I. from the president’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen — might answer a question raised by the president’s critics: Have certain real estate investors used Trump-branded properties to launder the proceeds of criminal activity around the world?

Pop the popcorn, the show may have started. Even with Jarad and Ivanka branded junk aside and apart, it's theater. The hook, as written:

A string of bankruptcies in the 1990s and 2000s may have left Mr. Trump’s companies largely unable to tap traditional sources of financing. That could have forced him to look elsewhere for financing and partners at a time when money was pouring out of the former Soviet Union.

Indeed, from New York to Florida, Panama to Azerbaijan, we found that Trump projects have relied heavily on foreign cash — including from wealthy individuals from Russia and elsewhere with questionable, and even criminal, backgrounds. We saw money traveling through offshore shell companies, entities often used to obscure ownership. Many news organizations have since dug deeply into the Trump Organization’s projects and come away with similar findings.

This reporting has not uncovered conclusive evidence that the Trump Organization or its principals knowingly abetted criminal activity. And it’s not reasonable to expect the company to keep track of every condo buyer in a Trump-branded building. But Mr. Trump’s company routinely teamed up with individuals whose backgrounds should have raised red flags.

All circumstantial or will the records - the paper and email and cell phone trail - prove intent to prosper any way feasible, even promise a gig on the TV apprentice thing if it gets the man into his aims and wants; possibly even needs. Which would not have been unlawful, but perhaps in the big garbage mountain even Jarad might have a share.

But Pence. What's the story on Pence, the Russians, anybody where dealings might have crossed a line? Is there that nugget of stuff that could stick to Pence? Not much but something would be fine enough. Of course there are Pence supporters who would want the opposite.

Both of them.

In an ideal world there would be more admitted to med school, and fewer admitted into the military academies.

Doctors are useful. Supply and demand has traditionally been minuplated by the profession itself, via control of the number of students allowed into the nation's med schools. If justice were to be served some attorney general with sound ambition and the fortitude needed would sue the bastards for "contract, combination or conspiracy in restraint of trade."

That, of course, is opinion. An opinion reawakened by this Strib local report.

The officer corps has bloat enough already, and they deal death and not healing. Priorities are stood on their head; and who makes such decisions?

Not you nor I. And saying the economy is rigged does not unrig it; but in seeing how badly it is rigged, lift every rock and examine all the critters that are a-crawl beneath each.

And yes, nurse practitioners can push pills as well as any M.D. relying on what the pharma sales rep comes by and touts as the next great new thing. Lab tests and pill pushing need not rest upon a band of commerce rigging folks who can put an M.D. behind their name after being "toughened for combat" by the Med School faculties. Surely skilled surgeons are apart from "primary care" which as this is written is being proven to be sufficiently handled by nurse practitioners, bless each and every one of them.

Reform need not have tunnel vision only for the bankers and Wall Street. Much needs attention, the M.D. cabal included.

UPDATE: A parallel Strib item, here. Figure that one out from the insurers' perspective. The private insurance paradigm is to take in as much cash as feasible and to be penurious in payouts since that's aiding the bottom line. If someone croaks while waiting for a bed and treatment, obviating expensive care, would the person's private-sector insurer cry over that outcome? It's a racket.

Minnesota's CD1 Republicans prove, of all things, interesting. At least in one sense.

Strib covers that operation's convening, this being the quote that resonates:

Republicans gathering in Mankato delivered a surprise result in a straw poll on the GOP governor's race. Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson finished first, followed by Woodbury Mayor Mary Giuliani Stephens. Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who instantly became a top-tier candidate when he joined the race on April 5, was third and Phil Parrish was fourth.

Why Parrish was not third is a question, but beyond that: Likely the resulting order among the four means the gathered faithful would not buy a used car from Pawlenty this time around.

Or it means that money can't buy you love. But Pawlenty is in it for the primary where the rich fund his ambition to serve the rich who told him to leave the big DC paycheck and get back to flyover machinations where instead of being kept by them he was needed by them.

If Johnson beats Timmy in the primary it will prove the rich are now gaining disdain even among Republican grass roots to where the rich only have Tom Perez, the DCCC and the DNC to turn to.

A Blue Wave without progressives atop it, leading edge surfing that wave, will be a ho-hum, as usual, and not monumental.

Let's get monumental for a change.

Laura Moser representing a person and place to see something, Randy Bryce being another. The Bryce thing might be a disappointment with Darth Vader no longer being there to unseat; even should the force be with Bryce. Michelle Lee up in CD8 might prove something, or she might be sidetracked along the way and Stauber elected.

If Ian Todd can unseat Emmer in CD6, that would not be only a Blue Wave, it would be a tsunami.

May it be. So folks in CD6, besides those that are the Emmerites, show Todd a little respect. Donate.

Also, in the several states where legislatures and executive powers may be turned, that might be where grass root progressivism does best.

There is hope. Hope for Our Revolution being prophetically named, rather than less. HOPE, for actual CHANGE.

Does the Tea Party still have Angst? And - why don't they have a roundtable?

Links, here, here, here.

Video.

A non-round table. You go for a non-round, you get nailed?

The King Arthur legend was pagan stuff, round table and all. Spiel. What's spiel help, who's paying for the spiel? Content vs length, why so many words? Used car test is a good test. Is the Tea Party set to buy that used car, or has it options? Anyway, is it a luxury used car Tea Partiers cannot really afford?

UPDATE: Is there wisdom in electing an entertainer, has it proven itself, and will there not always be another one or the same one, step up, sell?

Going into an election where 30sec negative advertisements may predominate, keeping a grounding and perspective in the world as it is might help in sorting things out.

Chomsky. Try thinking about who is offering the best option to growing worker insecurity. Student debt insecurity. Healthcare insecurity. Social Security insecurity. Paul Ryan.

Only two parties. Only two choices up/down the ballot. Always lesser evil? Need it be so?

Do political advertisements inform or incite? How should it be?

DCCC does another number against Laura Moser in Texas, possibly feigning error but withdrawing an endorsement of AFL-CIO opposed Fletcher, (Moser's party runoff election opponent). Moser survives and prospers with grassroots contributions, even with DC money aligned elsewhere.That is Texas, but closer to home, grassroots support is necessary as well.

Besides AFL-CIO support Moser has Our Revolution backing. The story here. The Fletcherless list, here. There Craig and Phillips, Minnesota CD2 and CD3 respectively are endorsed. Nobody in CD6. Nobody in CD1. Nobody in CD8.

CD6 appears to have only Ian Todd as the DFL candidate wanting to take the seat Tom Emmer currently holds. Todd is not rolling in money. Todd is not supported by DCCC.

Is DCCC a barometer of anything besides grassroots disdain but loving candidates with money; and thus a touchstone of where progressives should look to find other choices for donations?

Craig, she's fine enough, but a millionaire with DCCC money too, so that gives me no incentive to contribute. She's enough and only has to campaign hard, ride the Blue Wave, and go to Congress in Jason Lewis' place. Yes that would be quite an upgrade. Yes if in that district I'd vote for her in an eyeblink. No my meager discretionary funds are not going there, but elsewhere. Same attitude toward Phillips. Paulsen disdains town halls or other returning to the district to meet people and hear their needs, but Phillips has DCCC money for the fight.

Ian Todd is great on the issues that matter. And he needs donor money to help run a campaign:

Facebook. ActBlue.

In the Minnesota Legislative District where I live, HD 35A, DFL endorsed candidate Bill Vikander also needs to be recognized and helped by local donors. If the grassroots do not work hard, they wither.

Facebook. ActBlue.

Across the river, a photo of a generic Republican candidate with two current Republican fixtures, the speakers gavel, and another to his right. The first fixture needs to change party hands, the second can simply drift away west to purchase Broncos.

The focus here, however, is where the household is, and that's the land of Todd and Vikander. And to help their need to compete.

Walz extends his veterans gravatis toward another special interest bloc. In apparent good faith and showing judgment.

Meanwhile Pawlenty is on a wholly different planet, one where the green is money.

Strib uses its Editorial Board and shows concern for opiate abuse:

Walz bill sends message to VA: Get going on medical marijuana research --- Veterans deserve the best chronic pain, PTSD treatment options.
By Editorial Board Star Tribune -- April 19, 2018 — 5:56pm

Despite legality that varies by state, an October 2017 survey by the American Legion found that nearly one in five veterans were “currently using cannabis to treat a medical condition” in lieu of opioids and were reporting better outcomes. It’s surprising the number isn’t higher given how many aging veterans or those returning from combat suffer from chronic pain — 50 percent and 60 percent, respectively, compared with 30 percent of Americans.

These data from one of the nation’s best-known veterans service organizations offer a compelling look at how an old and sometimes demonized drug could ease the suffering of those who have served. [...]

That’s why Congress needs to act without delay in passing a new bipartisan bill championed by Reps. Phil Roe, a Tennessee Republican, and Tim Walz, a Minnesota Democrat who is running for governor. The duo’s “VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act,” announced this week, would clarify the authority that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has to research marijuana’s role in treating veterans. “When a veteran tells me they’re finding relief, I believe them,” Walz said in an interview this week.

Would you expect veteran suffering and opioid worry to be a topic at those secret big-ticket-holder fundraisers that have marked the Pawlenty reincarnated Sam's Club visit to Minnesota from comfortable duties and compensation on the Potomac rather than the Mississippi?

Would you expect attention and approval from the FOX-Koch protege who astroturfed on the backs of veterans to get where he gets press coverage for being phoned from the White House on ways to dismantle best aspects of the VA?

What you can grasp is that the marijuana legalization snowball has not escaped Walz attention, and that he addresses it in a most cautious but legitimate and sincere way. Legalization worked in other states by removing criminal street dealing from control and generating needed tax revenue, so that having a proven track record is beyond dispute.

Those wanting to be Minnesota's Governor cannot sensibly duck the issue. Watch the Johnson-Pawlenty opinion shaping efforts soon to come. It will be charming to see those two gentlemen hone policies each advances as best for the people, yet in tune with their people. Or will each of them simply sling mud at Democrats?

_____________UPDATES____________
Studies are being done where legalization has created a significant pool of user data.

Rudy Giuliani joins the Trump legal "brain trust." Fit that into the Saudi sword dance.

Trump-Rudy. Date line April 19, 2018.

Rudy.

Sword dance.

Regionalism. Reported gas pains.

Trump and Rudy, birds of a feather?

Are there any Michael Cohen ties to Rudy now? What of earlier ties to Roy Cohn?

Trump-Cohn.

Rense writing about Rudy. A/k/a how to add real credibility to Trump's team.

___________UPDATE___________
From NY Times archives, 1986, closing paragraphs, perhaps there being a reason to quote:

''You never know about the totality of the system,'' he has said, ''until your own ox is gored.'' He still believes the system will exonerate him.

Today he said during a recess: ''This is the system. It may be deplorable, you may not like it - change the system.''

Our Revolution Minnesota needs to get its stuff together.

Endorsement page.

Removal of Leah Phifer, okay, she's declined to move to a primary and there will be one.

However, Jeff Erdmann is still posted, and he conceded and endorsed Craig. He said all along he'd abide, and he did.

Something smells of over-sensitivity to "Stronger Together" and that's the tune of the corporatist bloc.

That operation needs to endorse for the CD8 primary and to get behind Craig in CD2.

Craig is a progressive, on the issues, and while Erdmann remains a fine person, for crying out loud Craig's seeking a seat Jason Lewis holds.

Jason.

Lewis.

Who are these people and why are they tardy?

And whether there is a CD8 vote from there for the Emmer-Nolan career inner-party campaign worker with no private sector part to the resume, or for Lee who has worked in the private sector for most of her career and is a clear progressive, make a decision, folks.

Same old, same old, what?

Certainly Nolan did back Bernie, which was good, but aside from that Emmer is not exactly My Revolution. Indeed, Ian Todd is endorsed by Our Revolution in CD6, so Emmer is not exactly Their Revolution either. What's the politics at play there?


UPDATE: Some effort needs to be exerted to make a Blue Wave happen, and if it is to have any real progressive dimension, reasonable progressive responsive effort would be a part of the formula.

Leah Phifer is a good person who got hung out to dry.

Latest CD8 primary info - unless new reports say otherwise . . .

There was some confusion, Brady Slater who is with DNT wrote the item PiPress carried online Apr 15, stating Metsa and Kennedy were out. It appears that was only a conditional withdrawal; to apply had there been a convention endorsement. Apparently Sunday, Apr. 15, after PiPress published online, Metsa and Kennedy both declared themselves as in for the primary.

The latest word: Slater, Apr.18 writing at DNT:

On Wednesday, Phifer left the race altogether, saying she was only ever targeting party endorsement and that she wanted no part of a “divisive primary” she said would hurt the party.

“My goal, since first declaring my candidacy in October 2017, has always been to win the DFL endorsement, bring new voices to the table and strengthen the party,” Phifer said in a news release. “A divisive primary season would only serve to weaken the party and distract from the issues affecting the people of the 8th District.”

Phifer’s decision leaves four candidates vying for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor primary in August — Kirsten Kennedy, Michelle Lee, Jason Metsa and Joe Radinovich.

[...] Phifer said she will not endorse a candidate at this time.

That seems the present state of affairs.

So, this recent earlier Dev Crabgrass post is incorrect, there are four DFL primary entrants, unless and until news arises saying otherwise.

NOTE: This recent Dev Crabgrass remains true and correct today -- as true as it was years ago. The update in that 2009 post remains as true as the fact that the image in that update is a bald eagle.

____________UPDATE____________
The business in the latest DNT item cited above about the Latino Caucus does not ring true. This "researcher discovery" story is lame. Back when the Around the 8th in 80 days was first seen reported by Aaron Brown back then the sidebar item about Phifer was posted; including the link to an item Phifer wrote that was published online by MinnPost; for everyone to have seen before Phifer's formal entry into the race in opposition to Nolan - indeed before the summer district tour by motorcycle:

In defense of the executive branch
By Leah Phifer | 02/24/17

On Feb. 20, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security released a series of documents providing guidance on how the Trump administration plans to address its promises of increased immigration enforcement. Specifically, the documents detail expanded enforcement priorities for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), reinstating such policies as the 287(g) program, rolled back in 2014. Having worked for ICE for six years, I know what comes next. In the upcoming weeks and months, photos of ICE arrests will be front-page news, and individuals’ deportation stories will provoke strong emotions. Many people will see those photos and think, “Look at those jackbooted thugs, kicking in doors and rounding up families – who do they think they are?” Before this all begins, I’d like to take a moment to tell you a little about the people in the headlines.

[...] There are a lot of misconceptions about why people seek out careers in law enforcement. Many people think it’s because we all want to carry guns and kick in doors. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I started a career at ICE after having spent several years abroad. I wanted to use my foreign-language skills to help undocumented immigrants through the deportation process – a very confusing and stressful situation often compounded by a language barrier. During my time there, I met some “bad hombres” – pedophiles, rapists and violent felons. Sometimes I met single mothers trying to build a better life for their children. In the latter case, I would study their background, their family history, the story of how they arrived here. I would look for anything that would qualify a hardworking parent for legal status in the U.S. and then make a referral to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Sometimes I was able to help, and other times I wasn’t, but I never once forgot the delicate humanity of everyone I encountered.

Though I left ICE three years ago, I still work in national security and I’ve never once felt torn between a desire to help people and the pursuit of justice. We need to shed this idea that half the population chooses law enforcement over compassion, while the other half wants to let their bleeding hearts put our national security at risk. For the past 10 years, I’ve been both a proud bleeding heart and an ardent enforcer of the law. My friends represent a mix of brilliant immigration attorneys, as well as dedicated ICE officers. I support the ACLU. I’ve drafted Warrants of Deportation and shed tears of joy at a naturalization ceremony, often in the same day. No one side has the moral high ground here; we’re all devoted to upholding the law, even if we’re working on different sides of the issue.

ICE may be the first federal agency to provoke public ire as the new administration churns out executive orders, but it won’t be the last. During the next few years, I urge people on both sides of the aisle to remember that civil servants are trying to do the best we can with the orders we’re given. Like you, we want what is best for our country. Immigrants undoubtedly make our country better, but so do the individuals enforcing our immigration laws.

Leah Phifer, of Isanti, is a graduate of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. She has been working for the federal government since 2008 and continues her national security career at the Department of Justice.
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Comments (15)
Tell me again . . . .
Submitted by Pat Berg on February 24, 2017 - 9:41am.

Tell me again how "sensitive" these ICE agents are:

"ICE Agents Take Undocumented Mom With Brain Tumor From Hospital To Detention Center"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/undocumented-woman-with-brain-tumor-...

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Spend a little...
Submitted by Edward Blaise on February 24, 2017 - 10:13am.

Time along our Northern border and see ICE in action. Or should I say inaction. Walk into the I Falls custom's house and see 10 plus Kevlar wearing, hand gun toting clerk typists busily pecking away with no time to disengage and greet the citizen waiting at the counter. Read the reports of regular citizens being followed from their workplace to their homes on a steady basis: When asked why the response was "just practicing our surveillance techniques". Personally, I had an ICE agent scream by me with lights flashing well over the speed limit. When I reached the next gas station he was filling up and calmly cleaning out his back seat. And, as soon as he got back on the road? Yes, the lights came back on and he sped off over the speed limit. After the ICE agent who killed a beloved Northshore Dr. while speeding in bad weather, one would think more universal caution would be applied. Our Northern border is grossly over staffed and over budgeted. Here are the entities one may encounter on a border waters lake:

1. ICE
2. US Border Patrol
3. MN County Sheriff
4. MN DNR Enforcement
5. US Park Rangers
6. US Coast Guard
7. Canadian Provincial Police
8. Canadian MNR
9. Canadian Immigration
10. Canadian Customs Enforcement
12. Royal Canadian Mounted Police

And that is just the folks in boats. Add in the helicopters, airplanes and drones for the full list.

The US folks should be lined up and told to count off by ten and then numbers one thru nine given their transfer orders to El Paso. And number ten? Use a little common sense and be safe out there.

[...]

Phifer got ambushed. Her ICE ties were clear public knowledge for over a year before the CD8 convention. Fifteen (15) comments were published by MinnPost from people who can read. And did.

A contention that the Latino Caucus missed this when published is stupendously mind-boggling.

Whether the Latino Caucus was complacent, or sandbagging to time an objection at the convention is less relevant with Phifer out; but are they really that incompetent? To have missed the MinnPost item until the eve of the endorsement convention?

Hopefully not. Competence is a virtue.

Sandbagging, however, is nobody's virtue.
..............................................

Phifer was wise in not advancing into a primary that might have degeneratee into an ICE opinion survey, which is not the key issue.

Michelle Lee, of the remaining four primary entrants, is the one who firmly opposes sulfide mining as more risk than benefit. Others should be judged on their position, however waffled or clearly stated it may be on that issue.

Lee also is anything but a single issue candidate.

Hopefully Our Revolution will weigh an endorsement among the four advancing into the CD8 primary. Readers are urged to be vigilant for any such decision by the organization. Ditto for the DFL Environmental Caucus. Those are important opinion outlets.

The Latino Caucus can have their pick of the four; I don't care. I only hope they endorse in a timely, noncomplacent fashion. Rick Nolan's opinion, in my view, is in the same category.

______________FURTHER UPDATE________________
A reader emailed of a shorter KSTP online item about the Phifer decision. As with the DNT report, it ended stating, "In a release, Phifer said she was not endorsing any of the remaining candidates at this time."

___________FURTHER UPDATE___________
As a person with a media background and hence attuned to video content, Michelle Lee has a YouTube channel. It is not known whether any of the others have taken such a step. Anybody willing to do a Rosie the Riveter pose for the "We Can Do It" fun of it deserves a nod of respect from CD8 district elders.

Youngsters, go google it.

It is shameful that this video got only three viewings. Justin Perpich probably was one of them or should have been. Sipress does not mince words. It is refreshing to see his early endorsement.

Her ActBlue donate page. Snail mail:

Michelle Lee for Congress, P.O. Box 566, Moose Lake MN 55767

Yes, Phifer's candidacy was unique and fresh in approach, the guess being neither Michelle Lee nor the others are motorcyclists.

But that was an introduction by Phifer, with the substance and appeal following. With her out and her not nodding toward others, it is time to look at the remaining hopeful foursome. Lee talks the progressive talk, and that is helpful. An interesting anecdote, Lee before the convention phoned the houshold, I was the one home, and after telling her I supported Phifer her response was, "Well at least you've chosen a Democrat."

Last, after Phifer support and now looking at Lee, please do not accuse me of gender bias. I liked Erdmann in CD2. Now I like Craig. Also, it is not gender bias, not a whit, to say Jason Lewis and Stauber are worrisome. It is because they are.

_____________FURTHER AND FINAL UPDATE____________
If you want waffle free environmental good sense, watch this candidate forum YouTube segment. That leaves few questions or room for differning interpretation. No weaseling about we just assure it is done safely, with an escrow, and hunkey dorey why are we waiting, sing with me, Jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs.

None of that with Lee. Check out the others.

The State Auditor position died. The supremes ruled that "Let Rocco do the auditing, he's friendly" will be the rule from now on.

Strib reports. They did not say it was wise. They said it was not illegal. Also from reporting it appears that a policing oversight power remains:

The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled against State Auditor Rebecca Otto Wednesday, ending her legal effort to block a 2015 law that allows counties to hire outside accountants rather than her office.

Otto, a DFL candidate for governor, had argued that the law undermined her authority. She sued Becker and Wright counties after they hired CPA firms, and challenged Ramsey County's refusal to sign a three-year contract ensuring that her office had the sole right to conduct audits.

In a statement Wednesday, Otto said that the high court had "now made clear that the State Auditor has authority and responsibility over county finances, including the authority to conduct additional examinations of a county following a private CPA firm audit."

She said the Supreme Court opinion "clearly establishes the role of the State Auditor in county finances and sets an important precedent that protects taxpayer dollars."

[...] The opinion concluded that the 2015 law did not violate the separations of powers clause in the Minnesota Constitution [... which] "does not expressly detail the duties of the constitutional executive officers" of state government and are instead "prescribed by law."

The Supreme Court agreed with the appeals court that the state auditor retains the authority to "set uniform standards for auditing counties and ensure compliance with those standards."

In Strib's reporting, the paragraphs covered by the first ellipsis had Republican snipers quoted doing their little thing against there having been litigation of the questions. Partisan hackdom remains alive and well.

But will a policing function be real moving forward? And will it be more politicized? The legislature will set an agency budget and within that budget whichever party holds the Auditor office might be inclined to police more closely counties controlled by the other party. If starved of funds, the office of State Auditor could become a haven for a handful of voted-out legislators from the same party as the Auditor, with nothing to do and needing regular pay. In effect, ceremonial window dressing much akin to a few other civil jobs, e.g., the airport commission where professionals run the operation, and other board and commission "parking lot posts for the voted-out, politically connected, or election losers who chased higher office." Where the staff carries the weight, while the appointees get the better window-offices and larger desks.

A bottom line, shrinking the office and allowing local control of both the spending and the oversight over the spending is an invitation for friendships, discord and intrigue. Bless the legislators behind the will to so empower local control to where it can more easily run amok.

The Twins and Indians playing in Puerto Rico.

If you watched it televised, it emphasized how much more fun televised Baseball can be if not in a crapified ball park. Likely so if there in person, not being gouged on ticket price or food. Like a St. Paul Saints game. Also, the players did not look cold.

CD8 DFL: The final shoe dropped. The primary will be Michelle Lee vs. Joe Radinovich, may the better candidate win.

Phifer in an email to supporters reported her decision to withdraw. It being a public statement apart from any press release she may issue, here is a part:

I’m writing to share some difficult news with you today. After assessing resources and potential primary election strategies, I have decided not to move my candidacy forward to represent Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District. I’m so proud of the grassroots followingLeah addressing the convention with supporters Dan Fanning, Michael Mayou, Nevada Littlewolf and Lisa Radosevich. we’ve built across the district – farmers, students, teachers and many more have kept this campaign afloat even while barely making ends meet for themselves. Without DFL party resources, I can’t keep asking my supporters to keep sacrificing for this campaign (though I have no doubt that you would). It was not an easy decision to make, but again I’m incredibly proud of what we built and how we moved the needle forward in the 8th district. We may not have made it all the way, but we forever altered the conversation by bringing new voices to the table.

Looking back over the past ten months, because of your dedication and resilience, we went extremely far. You took me - a political newcomer and grassroots candidate - and turned me into the top delegate-earner in an open endorsement race for Congress. Whoever our next representative is, I hope they follow the path we have carved out together.

[...] I was once told there is a very close relationship between how people treat women and how they treat the earth - we've seen that play out very clearly the past several months. Please continue to fight for both; I know I will. It was the greatest honor to be a vehicle for your voices these past few months.

While believing Lee has the sounder candidacy between her and Radinovich, little likely will be posted here about the CD8 contest after Phifer's withdrawal. The belief was always she'd be extraordinarily good as a fresh voice in Congress. That level of promise will be hard for the two remaining candidates to match. I had the same feeling about Jeff Erdmann. Craig will be okay, if she gets past Jason Lewis. She and Erdmann could not both advance. She should give Lewis a better run this cycle than last. She was the better candidate then, but now she's more experienced. And the Blue Wave is anticipated, may it happen with more progressives than corporatists. Craig is enough a progressive. Then next to Lewis, no contest.

CD3 needs an upgrade too, big time. The absentee if defeated likely will remain in DC, his habitat, for lobbying loot.

CD8 DFL - Something not seen in prior reporting. It will be either two or three candidates in a primary.

PiPress, here, stating in part:

The stalemate at the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party’s 8th District convention in Duluth saw the field whittled from five to two, but returned no endorsed candidate.

The 170 delegates failed to give Leah Phifer or Joe Radinovich the party’s nomination after 10 rounds of voting, putting the party on course for an August primary election between Phifer, Radinovich and a defiant Michelle Lee, who was the only one of three deposed candidates who vowed to continue in the race. Jason Metsa and North Branch Mayor Kirsten Kennedy both said they would fold up their campaigns.

“Unfortunately, mine’s not moving forward,” Metsa, the state representative from Virginia, told the assembled delegates.

So Metsa suspends his congressional run and will concentrate on reelection to the legislative seat he holds. His FEC filings indicate he will not be pressed for cash to run the legislative campaign. Details of how the money will be repurposed from federal to state intent may exist, but they are apart from the CD8 representative question.

With Metsa's move, Michelle Lee might be a spoiler to take votes away from Phifer, if Phifer chooses to contest a primary, or to be a main challenger to Radinovich if Phifer defers from the primary.

It is now, wait and see. Phifer, not Lee, holds the DFL Environmental Caucus endorsement. Lee as a late entrant has not had the same late entrant traction Radinovich achieved, with Rick Nolan's blessing.

Reko Diq Balochistan - and why should you care?

It is dry barren land with no water flows below ground to cause worry and with no nearby wetlands and lakes in danger. Images online, here and here.

They have no thriving taconite industry. But reserves to boast of. Mineral wealth and natural gas.

It is where copper sulfide mining can be carried out with minimal risk, and it is an economy far less prosperous than the regions of Minnesota where taconite supports the local economy.

This link. Here.

One CD8 DFL candidate has been vocal of the needs of copper for generators and motors, for renewable energy and electric powered clean transportation. True enough but the hand-waving starts after that about doing it in high-risk pristine water-rich lands in Minnesota for a handful of jobs but high profits to mining interests and large campaign funding of political expediency in tune with mining interest aims.

Have a look. Read this full item. Anyone saying there's less sense mining copper in this barren waterless terrain vs Minnesota lake country is either blind or insincere.

So, what's the story? And the Canadians, while behind mining adventure suggestions in CD8 know of this more fitting area to mine, same source - read the text beneath the image:

Get real!

If the Pakistanis are more protective of their land's resources against exploitation than tom bakk or Justin Perpich, I'm not responsible for that imbalance, nor is the DFL Environmental Caucus. The easiest marks will be the ones exploited first and most and brazenly with no remorse.

There is plenty of copper where there is less of a risk.

At or before the CD8 DFL convention a "Latino Caucus" letter surfaced critical of Leah Phifer. A copy was obtained, and is presented.

Rather than an email screenshot, the text is presented by cut/paste below:

From: Latino DFL Caucus
Date: Tue, Apr 10, 2018 at 8:38 PM
Subject: For immediate release: Latino DFL Caucus statement re: CD8 candidate Leah Phifer
To: Undisclosed recipients


"April 7th, 2018

Latino DFL Caucus Statement Against U.S. Congressional Candidate Leah Phifer

We, the Latino DFL Caucus, take seriously our job of advocating for Latino interests and policy positions within the DFL Party. We focus on increasing Latino participation within the DFL and advocate for Latino rights regardless of citizenship status to make the party and our state more inclusive.

It is because of our goals that we ask those of you in Congressional District 8 to stand with us against Leah Phifer’s candidacy.

Too many families have been torn apart at the hands of ICE and endorsing Leah Phifer, a former ICE agent who played a direct role in the deportation and separation of families, goes against the values of our party.

The DFL cannot afford to endorse a candidate with a history of breaking up families. Doing so would ostracize members of the Latino community and undermine its loyal support for the party.

We are asking you and the DFL to deny Leah Phifer an endorsement. We urge you to endorse a candidate in the race who can bring us together - our party is strong because of our diversity.

Respectfully,

The Latino DFL Caucus
Rebecca Diaz Luebbert and Miguel Morales, Co-chairs"

The date received, Apr 10 differs from the email heading, "April 7th." It is signed by "co-chairs." I am curious of the history of this, whether it was sent to a mailing list of convention delegates, and if so, who provided the "Latino Caucus" the list; and when was notice of the issuance of the item called to the attention of the Phifer Campaign. It surely is on the eve of the Apr 14 Saturday convention, so lead time "Latino Caucus" voting and/or decision making on issuance of an item against one candidate of several would be of interest. Also, whether any of the other campaigns, Rick Nolan, or any CD8 DFL officer, including but not limited to Justin Perpich, had any input or influence over the wording, issuance timing, or circulation of the item.

An attempt will be made at email contact with the Latino DFL Caucus per the email address within the item. Reporting of the result of inquiry, if any, will follow.

That line: "To: Undisclosed recipients" makes it unclear whether press was sent copies, CD8 DFL officials, Ken Martin, the Pope, whoever. An inquiry to obtain a distribution list will be part of the attempt to better understand the mechanism of generation and usage of this letter against one of several candidates. The candidacy started a bit less than a year ago, with ample time to have addressed concerns with the Phifer before an eleventh hour production and distribution. Issuance of such an item without prior contact with the candidate/campaign seems unusual and unprofessional. They are in the same party together and normal courtesies would be expected.

___________UPDATE_____________
Most curious, while dated Apr 7, the Phifer hit-piece came out in circulation, as forwarded to me, Arp 10; the precise date when the Environmental Caucus endorsed Phifer; ECM Publishers reporting:

Phifer endorsed for Congress in Congressional District 8 -- Apr 10, 2018

The DFL Environmental Caucus today announced its decision to endorse Leah Phifer for Congress in Minnesota's Eighth Congressional District.

"Leah Phifer knows firsthand that the economy of Minnesota’s 8th District is rooted both in the mining and the recreation, tourism and service industries,” said caucus chair, Veda Kanitz. “She understands that strong environmental protections and a 21st century workforce will both be required for every corner of the district to thrive.”

“We were impressed with her commitment to creating clean energy jobs across the Eighth as part of the fight against climate change,” Kanitz said. “We also were impressed with her recognition of the special threats that water-based copper-nickel mining poses to the district’s water resources and its communities. We appreciate her call for caution and due process with this new kind of mining.”

[...] The Environmental Caucus endorsement process involved several steps, including the evaluation of candidate positions on transportation, environmental justice, climate change, clean water, agriculture, mining, pipelines and citizen engagement. Candidates Leah Phifer, Joe Radinovich, Kirstin Kennedy and Michele Lee were considered.

The Environmental Caucus followed an orderly process, professionally, as the reporting noted. They deliberated, and only Mesta's was a DOA candidacy.

In short, the hope is Phifer in her present deliberations decides to not let the Environmental Caucus down and instead plunges with renewed vigor into a primary contest against the arrayed pro-risky sulfide mining candidacies of all but Phifer and Michelle Lee.

Reaction of those willing to put the Boundary Waters at risk for hundreds of years of potential sulfide pollution over ICE status; and to so decide on the eve of a convention when another DFL caucus was duly and openly deliberating, in effect to ally with the pro-polluter forces, to drop a surprise, is sad. It stands as a Latino Caucus alliance with Mesta and in spirit with Stauber, but more so with (and possibly in touch with) the Perpich/Nolan/Radinovich pro-sulfide mining troika, and that possibility is a worry.

Upset minds are out there over Phifer's candidacy putting Nolan on the spot and being a factor in his demurring to continue a reelection effort, leading to the surrogate Radonivich candidacy being promptly advanced after Nolan's withdrawal notice.

Might there have been coordinaiton of an opposition campaign with the two co-chairs of the DFL Latino Caucus?

How would we in the public, including the voters of the Eighth District know if any coordination happened? Indeed, there perhaps even might have been an instigation at a surprisingly late date from outside the Lation Caucus, to raise a tardy objection without any prior notice to Phifer of any such concern? Anything is possible. If coordination of such kind happened, would it be publicly disclosed, or closely guarded and publicly denied?

Might there be touchstone facts suggesting at worse a coordinated series of steps?

The first and immediate question: Were rank and file Latino Caucus members even consulted before the co-chairs wrote; and why would such a step not have been done early in the Phifer candidacy? It started in the middle of last year.

In good faith, sooner is always better? It looks better. It is better. The process of that attack letter, as well as its substance, deserves attention of discerning activists.

[FURTHER: Apologies to the gentleman, his name is Metsa, not Mesta, and the error escaped initial edit attention.]

Well it wasn't Scott Pruitt. Nor Steve Bannon. Nor Robert Mercer. Jarad looks different - a thinner face.

Strib, carrying an AP wire feed.

An image. Nah . . .

Great news! One of the best and brightest to upgrade the Minnesota Supremes!

Paul Thissen. Dayton still has good judgment in him and proves it. All those saying it was Tina's doing did a disservice.

Strib reports. With all the Blue Money Wave stuff happening here and there; one very decent thing to brighten the day.

Minnesota Governor Contest: Corporatists take over money race, both parties. Really quick for Republicans. Steadily so for Democrats.

Strib links: Republicans. Both parties. The GOP base, takes gas. Progressives, less so. The carpet bagger from DC bank lobbying did his thing. With that insincere smile; the Sam's Club new outfit; the toxic resume. Jeff Johnson won't you please come home.

Otto and Erin Murphy are not being scuttled, despite Walz having money bags fuller than the two put together.

If there is that Blue Wave, it might not be my Blue Wave; it might be the moneyed Blue Wave; those on the Dem side of things who benefit most from the Ryan tax cut monstrosity. Sad!

UPDATE: At least on the DFL side, the money front runner is not repulsive. Not so, the Republicans.

Who are these people and are they the best and brightest? Is Justin Perpich badge heavy?

[NOTE: 2:10 PM 4/17/2018 - the post was revised and extended]

All on the Iron Range love taconite. Taconite mining is not sulfide mining. They are different animals. One being established and an economic anchor, the other being more risk than merit. Watch this YouTube CD8 candidate forum sulfide mining
segment.

After the wholly messed up CD8 DFL convention, the question of who are the CD8 DFL inner party ones, and are they a sound bunch - or mining tools - is fair game.

That gets to examining an under the radar (except for "up there on the range") dustup from last autumn.

In it Justin Perpich comes out looking less than spectacular, arguably far less with the term manipulative hack coming to mind; read of it here, here, here. If not reading or consulting the links, the remainder of the post will lack clarity. So read.

Justin Perpich took a big swing at Duluth for Clean Water, links here and here. Perpich took a clearly off-record and heated private exchange of views public as part of his big swing. That is what the above three links in harmony show.

For a context, two images, the first from DFCW, the last indirectly so, Duluth News Tribune, this link. If not getting the drift of the dustup context from that, quit reading. Back to the dustup detail, Perpich claimed DFCW was at fault for late filing of a disclosure report, with how he reportedly phrased things being the question:

The organization, which has publicly endorsed three City Council candidates, came under fire for failing to file the report on time. This led to claims by 8th Congressional District DFL Chairman Justin Perpich of the group being a "dark money non-profit."

[...] DFCW co-organizer John Doberstein says the report filing was late because the group's attorney was out of town on a personal matter.

'Duluth for Clean Water’s second campaign filing was made at the Duluth City Clerk’s office this morning. The report shows $521 in cash contributions for the period from June 10 to September 11, 2017, with $284.63 in disbursements, and $476.37 cash on hand. The initial filing made June 9, 2017, showed $1,000 in contributions, $760 in disbursements ($300 to Updegrove for Duluth and $300 to Kennedy for Duluth), and $240 cash on hand.

[...] 'We hope this puts to rest the disingenuous attacks from 8th CD DFL Chair Justin Perpich,' said John Doberstein, co-lead organizer for Duluth for Clean Water. 'We’re proud of our 100% volunteer efforts to protect Lake Superior, and it’s disappointing that Mr. Perpich seems more interested in pursuing a pro-Glencore/PolyMet agenda than he is in doing his job as Chair of the 8th CD DFL, which is to bring people together. We appreciate all of the support we’ve received,including from Council President Joel Sipress, who clearly has Duluth's best interests in mind.'

Nailing things down a bit more, the Duluth for Clean Water’s Facebook website presents a Duluth New Tribune's screenshot, with this caption:

Duluth for Clean Water -- April 13 at 10:28am
The DFL CD8 Convention is this Weekend. Here is the DNT's issue breakdown of the 5 candidates vying for endorsement. Note the author refers to three of the candidates as "all-in" on PolyMet, and two candidates (Leah Phifer and Michelle Lee) as "taconite only."

"All in" includes Nolan's acolyte and former campaign manager, Joseph Radinovich who left a St. Paul consultancy when Nolan decided to demur and before the tires cooled he was back home on the Range strutting around as a Nolan surrogate candidate. Pro-sulfide mining per the DNT screenshot DFCW posted (If you viewed that candidate forum YouTube link given under the opening image and thought you smelled some waffles cooking, congrats, gold star - make it copper star - you are not mining's fool.)

Back to Justin Perpich: Apart from Polymet love and Polymet critic hate, while Radinovich entered as Nolan's surrogate candidate Perpich was a Nolan cheerleader after the Emmer-Nolan monkey business put Nolan on the defensive, (justly defensive in the minds of many but not Perpich); this link, word search "Perpich," and form your own opinion. But understand Perpich is a Rick Nolan head-to-toe acolyte and hanger-on:

Justin Perpich

Legislative and Political Organizer
Duluth, Minnesota Area
Political Organization

Current
AFGE, Coalition to Draft Rick Nolan Governor

Previous
Rick Nolan for Congress, DCCC, Minnesota House DFL Caucus

Education
University of Wisconsin-Superior

That being quoted from Justin Pipich LinkedIn disclosure-tout.

Interestingly, Justin Perpich reportedly did run, once, for elective office, failing to convince voters he was school board material.

Perpich has now moved from Nolan=Guv to Walz=Guv, as one among many who presently endorse Walz, this link. Unlike per the earlier Nolan testing of gubernatorial waters, Perpich has no declared tie to the Walz campaign, that arguably being in Walz' favor.

Doesn't the guy like Becky Otto? Gee. What about nursing leader and legislator Erin Murphy? Probably he's less than akin with wanting prograss since Our Revolution endorsed Otto and Murphy, as well as Phifer for CD8, not Nolan's Radinovich guy. Vice versa, Our Revolution seems not affectionate toward young Perpich. Is a broom needed up there in CD8 affairs; or put tom bakk into it and say a mucking of the stable? (some do not deserve capitalization of their names)

Taking off the record stuff public is work of a spoiled brat. A Twitter twit to boot, using social media to a fault. His taking off-record discord public is what the September DFCW dustup was about. It was unprofessional to take it public and then to yin and yang sanctimoniously.

Last, is Perpich a mining whore? In deciding consider this, stating in part:

Duluth, MN (Oct. 13, 2017) — In response to yesterday’s New York Times Magazine story, titled “In Northern Minnesota, Two Economies Square Off: Mining vs. Wilderness,” Minnesota 8th Congressional District DFL Chair Justin Perpich released the following statement:

“Yesterday’s story from the New York Times Magazine included numerous divisive statements from self-identified leaders of the environmental/anti-mining movement on the Iron Range. These statements were cruel, excessive, and do not reflect the community values we hold dear on the Iron Range. [...]

“What the Iron Range needs are good-paying jobs. Jobs that support entire families. Jobs that let you buy a snowmobile to navigate our world-class trails, or a new rifle to hunt in our expansive forests. The truth is this: a tourism-dependent economy does not produce these types of jobs. We need a diverse economy, one where miners, the creative class, and environmentalists can live together and thrive.”

“The DFL is a party that welcomes individuals from all walks of life, promoting constructive discussions on the various issues that confront our communities on the Iron Range, the 8th Congressional District, and across Minnesota. [... a/k/a jobs?].”

[bolding and italics added] He, bakk, rukavina and tomassoni could be a barbershop quartet unendingly singing, "Jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, ...". There is more to life than whoring to rapacious mining interests that way. Perpich has the family's name, but what, if anything, else?

Between the ears?

........................................................
Joseph Radinovich - his money
FEC links, here, here and here, indicating 2017-2018 having raised over a hundred and eight grand; no source date found.

Joseph Radinovich - his campaign website
Issues: https://www.joeradinovichforcongress.com/issues/
Contact: https://www.joeradinovichforcongress.com/contact/

Look at that Issues page, in light of the foregoing, is there something lacking? Believing so, I used the second link, giving my email address twice, writing:

Where are you coming from on the sulfide mining question?

On your website issues page it looks as if you dog whistle by starting "Jobs" but you never answer the question directly.

I blog and intend to write about your answer, or lack of one, however it shakes out.

If not getting an email at the address I presented in sending this by the end of this week I presume you care not to answer, and will presume from there, it being guesswork if you remain reticent.

I am a Leah Phifer supporter, so you've fair disclosure. Now you are asked to disclose, please.

[...]@gmail.com

A man of conscience and courage would not duck definitively going on record over the key issue, and if not that, why should anyone vote for the guy? I await a response. Hopefully he in reply can point to an online link where he has answered the question not just for me, but for the voting public of Minnesota's CD8. Less than that would be a disappointment.

.................................................
Pro-sulfide mining Jason Metsa - his money; see, here and here, as with Radinovich, no detail on who chipped in.

.................................................
Leah Phifer - her money; here and here; itemized, and showing her strong efforts from earlier than the pro-sulfide mining pair entered the contest (and while tardy still raking in substantially more cash), with Phifer's campaigning against Nolan and aiming to show strongly in the endorsement process leaving her going into the primary with low reserves; so contribute folks, it is needed.

.................................................
Michelle Lee - her money; curiously entering about the time Radinovich and Metsa did, but not a mining maven, her totals were lower than the other three; see, here and here. As with Phifer, she is left with little in reserve.

The mining tools have the cash, the opponents of profligate mining suffer. Gee. Strange world, eh?

................................................
Kirsten Kennedy - her money; here, hardly enough raised to be a player and while pro-sulfide mining, the money's gone to the men. Yet she is the third woman in things, and to the extent there is gender-vote splitting, the guys can smile, 2 against 3. It looks set up for bad things in CD8 if Phifer and/or Lee do not go to a primary.

LATEST NEWS: This DNT link. The DFL Latino Caucus seems to have been primed to poison Phifer's well, but was low profile until the endorsing convention in striking from the weeds:

While Phifer’s supporters appear ardent, stiff opposition to her candidacy had been brewing throughout the weeks leading up to the 8th DFL convention. The DFL Latino Caucus asked for the party to deny Phifer the endorsement for starting her 10-year federal law enforcement career with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Latino Caucus blames ICE for breaking up families, and said in a letter that Phifer’s association with ICE “goes against the values of the DFL.”

It is vexing when this "letter" is mentioned without a date given for its generation; suggesting it is a recently engineered event step.

Dirty pool or not, it hurt. Phifer is taking a two week sabatical to weigh whether to advance to the primary or suspend the campaign:

The leader in delegate voting throughout last weekend’s 8th Congressional District DFL convention may not be moving to the primary this summer.

Leah Phifer told the News Tribune on Monday she will take the next two weeks off from campaigning and fundraising to decide whether to file for the primary.

“We’re giving ourselves until the end of April,” she said. “We want to do what’s best for the district.”

Phifer won on all 10 delegate ballots at Saturday’s convention in Duluth, but she fell short of the 60 percent delegate threshold the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party requires for endorsement — topping out at 52 percent. Phifer explained her candidacy was always reliant on and respectful of an endorsement and that she never planned to go to a primary.

[...] Phifer, of Isanti, said she believes she’s paying a price for challenging incumbent Rep. Rick Nolan and that some blame her for pressing Nolan into retirement at the end of the term. Nolan endorsed her closest challenger, Joe Radinovich, of Crosby, with a statement midway through the weekend’s convention.

“You may have observed some of the dynamics playing out in the district — something we’ve been up against for a while,” Phifer said. “I think people who didn’t want Congressman Nolan to retire partially blame me for that. They’ve teamed up with people outside the district to provide a front that’s distracting from the real issues in the 8th District. I don’t want that. There are very real issues affecting the district.”

Radinovich, State Rep. Jason Metsa, of Virginia, Michelle Lee, of Moose Lake, and North Branch Mayor Kirsten Kennedy have all said they will take their campaigns into the August 14 DFL primary election.

With Lee committed to go to a primary on name recognition and hopes to raise cash, she would be the obvious choice for the Our Revolution supporters to choose, if Phifer's not in the primary. Anything to scuttle the Metsa cabal, and the Nolan cabla (via surrogates). They suck. Moreover, neither would have the vote-pulling power to defeat Stauber. Phifer could. Lee might. Two quality women.

Phifer has the DFL Environmental Caucus endorsement.

____________UPDATE____________
To quell any uncertainty, as a CD6 Anoka County resident I have no ties whatsoever to Duluth for Clean Water. I learned of them when researching the Nolan - surrogate/acolyte network, per a websearch return grouping about young Perpich violating an implicit off record exchange.

He seems aggressive, with that making up for moderate wisdom. Little wisdom. A bare smidgen of wisdom. Barbarian cunning, that perhaps, but it differs from wisdom. He overreacted to somebody telling him his pro-sulfide mining advocacy went too far in characterizing a grassroots operation wrongly when he full well had to know DFCW was exactly that and not some Twin Cities netro-area nefarious conspiracy.

Pettiness can show many ways, that being one.

Ever since Miles Lord wrote the Reserve Mining decision I have had respect for Lord's perspective and his work, and for the big lake's pure water. Miles Lord is missed, and will continue to be. Back when Vento and Fraser were protecting the Boundary Waters via wilderness designation by statute, Oberstar in opposition and in alliance with the wrong side of that argument, awareness of the ulterior interests using the jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs mantra for the benefit of the dark side of the force was understood. They should grow up and stop.

Oberstar will be missed less than Miles Lord or Bruce Vento, ya betcha.