Almanac: At the Capitol

Yes, that's Rep. Tom Rukavina jumping on the lap of DNR Commissioner Mark Holsten. They were on Almanac: At the Capitol this week to debate a new state park on Lake Vermilion. And debate they did--finally! Frankly those of us who host, book, produce and watch local TV shows about politics have been a bit frustrated that politicians have decided to act too nice. They fight on the floor. They squabble in committee. They toss barbs in press conferences. Then when we put them on live television they decide to behave. Now there's nothing wrong with politicians behaving, but when they lack emotion and fail to engage each other in debate, they can fail to engage the voter.

Holsten and Rukavina gave us the best debate of the year on our show. It was clear from Holsten's comments that Vermilion is important to the governor, very important. It will no doubt be a bargaining chip in end-of-session negotiations. Perhaps swap Central Corridor for Vermilion? Rukavina has always been one of the best debaters in the legislature. His give and take with former Representative Pawlenty was legendary. Holsten being a former House member himself added to the fun and playfulness that made the show a blast.

Also, it was a treat to have former U.S. Senator Dave Durenberger unveil his lifetime achievement award from the Parks and Trails Council. I always say there's nothing more endearing and honest than a former politician and Durenberger is truly a statesman. He gave a terrific interview, commenting that the annual or perennial sessions are a set back from the old days when he thought lawmakers accomplished as much meeting only every other year.

As one of my press colleague's said, Gov. Pawlenty has set the bar so high that when he misses it we notice. The governor usually gives a really good press conference with some solid quotes and witty interactions. Today he announced a tax reform commission and the event wasn't exactly riveting. I know it's taxes — not the most exciting topic, but it should be for Capitol nerds like us.

The tax portion of the press conference lasted just 15 minutes. That's short for our grilling of our chief executive, which tends to run closer to half an hour. We generally really appreciate the fact he spends time with us, often pushing back other events to take our questions. He did humor us with taking other non-related questions. But our efforts to humor him didn't really work. The AP asked a good question about the governor repeatedly tapping former foe Mike Vekich. Pawlenty joked a bit and said Vekich has "time on his hands." I tried to continue to thaw the room some by asking about the political affiliation of the commission or if he used the "don't ask, don't tell policy." He laughed a little and joked about moderate former Republican Senator Bill Belanger being a questionable Republican.

We also asked about a letter DFL leaders said they delivered to the governor last night before 6:00 pm, but he said he hadn't seen this morning. The letter essentially said Dems won't provide a budget counter offer until the governor specifies what new cuts he's proposing in his new offer. We didn't get much on that. A greater Minnesota reporter from Forum Communications earlier noted the lack of rural members on the tax commission, Pawlenty didn't seem to like that either. Reporters have been joking that Pawlenty hasn't been very "giving" this week in terms of quotes. Overall, the room just felt chilly and many remarked that Pawlenty seems annoyed with the press when press relations has been one of his strengths.

The PiPress Blog found out what might have been on the governor's mind: a fundraiser in Washington? Maybe Pawlenty saw the numbers in the new Rasmussen poll showing he wouldn't necessarily help carry the state for McCain if he was on the ticket. That said, a VP's ability to carry a home state seems to be getting less important, but in close race every vote counts.

Rep. Sandy Wollschlager (DFL-Cannon Falls) just gave some of the most memorable comments of the legislative session. The House Tax Committee was discussing money for the Mall of America expansion. Union workers filled the room clad in red shirts. The room was already packed and emotionally charged as a parade of people talked about getting jobs while many are unemployed.

Rep. Wollschlager grabbed a microphone and started to cry as she talked about her father a Hormel local P-9 worker who died during the strike. In light of that she said "It is hard for me to speak out in ways people do not want to hear." What the union workers didn't want to hear was her opposition to helping the mall. In the areas she represents she said "I see empty buildings, you can blame Walmart and Target, but you can also blame the Mall of America."

Wollschlager then totally changed the tone by saying that she likes MOA and has to shop there because she's over 6 feet tall, has a size 11 foot and weighs over 200 pounds. She laughed heartily and so did everyone in the room. She said "I hate to put it all out there" but her honesty, emotion and humor were priceless.