halvey
November 15, 2004, 08:17 AM
I thought this line was interesting: “Similarly, the gun issue — full of sound and fury a year ago — never became a major theme in the debate, the candidates said. "They didn't even go there,'' said Boudreau.”
Interesting how the headline mentioned “Gun law author”, yet it wasn’t a campaign issue.
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http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/10183265.htm?1c
Gun law author was in sights
Many factors led to the loss of a 5-term GOP representative.
BY JIM RAGSDALE
Pioneer Press
Rep. Lynda Boudreau of Faribault was a leading advocate for gun-rights activists at the Minnesota Legislature, and her defeat this month gave heart to those who opposed her crusade to expand access to concealed-weapons permits.
But the emotional issue of carrying guns in public was only one of many factors involved in Boudreau's defeat.
Instead, the race centered on the more basic issue of government spending, and was characterized by tough campaign tactics and significant spending by political and interest groups, according to the candidates and others involved in the race.
"You take a shred of truth — you twist it,'' Boudreau said of the criticism she faced, including a nursing-home increase dubbed a "granny tax.'' "It was a spirited, issue-based campaign,'' said winner Patti Fritz, who also endured tough attacks.
Fritz, a Democratic-Farmer-Laborite, defeated Boudreau, a five-term Republican, by 347 votes out of nearly 18,000 cast, or about 2 percent of the total. An Independence Party candidate, Mike Corbin, drew nearly 800 votes. Boudreau was one of 13 Republican incumbents defeated in a banner year for the House DFL caucus.
"I think Republicans voted for cuts that were out of the Minnesota mainstream — to schools, higher education and health care — and I think that the public didn't like it,'' House Minority Leader Matt Entenza, DFL-St. Paul, said of Boudreau's defeat and similar high-profile races.
"The irony is that Lynda's strength was in health and human services — nursing homes, she fought for them,'' said House Speaker Steve Sviggum, R-Kenyon. "It was a very negative, nasty type of campaign.''
Boudreau, 52, who chaired the House Health and Human Service Policy Committee, was a leader in the past in the battle to impose a 24-hour waiting period for abortions and was chief House author of the controversial gun-permit bill that became law in 2003. She often substituted for House Speaker Sviggum, wielding the gavel and guiding debate.
In July, a Ramsey County judge overturned the gun law, meaning the issue could be back before the Legislature this year.
Fritz, 60, is a longtime licensed practical nurse at St. Lucas Care Center in Faribault. She was involved in the late Paul Wellstone's organizing efforts in Rice County, helped organize the Service Employees International Union at her workplace, and is a union board member. She lost to Boudreau in her first try for the job in 2002.
The district, centered in Faribault and covering rural areas along Interstate 35, is home to a state prison and the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf. Fritz partisans said she benefited from the large number of state employees who were concerned about state spending decisions over the past two years.
In 2003, Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the Republican-led House pushed through a no-new-taxes budget that solved a record deficit by making cuts in aid to local governments, health care spending, higher education and other areas. This year, rancor between House Republicans and Senate DFLers led to a historic meltdown, and the Legislature failed to act on new capital projects and other initiatives.
"The No. 1 issue was the lack of any results from the last legislative session,'' said Corbin, the Independence Party candidate.
Through mailings and radio ads, the two sides battled over budget issues and Boudreau's record. All sides agree that the candidate spending limits of $28,400 were dwarfed by mailings and ads financed by their party caucuses or labor and business groups. A final campaign tab of $250,000 would not surprise any of the partisans who saw the flow of full-color mailings in the district.
"These special-interest groups down here just spent a phenomenal amount of money,'' Corbin said. "This is an example of how you buy an election.''
The Minnesota office of America Coming Together, a national group formed to defeat President Bush and to support liberal candidates, got into the fight. ACT phone banks and mailings criticized Boudreau for voting to reduce state aid to cities and for cuts in health care programs.
The abortion issue — often a powerful factor in House races — was defused by the fact that Boudreau and Fritz both oppose abortion and were highly rated by Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, the anti-abortion lobbying group. MCCL endorsed Boudreau and campaigned for her, said Scott Fischbach, MCCL executive director.
Similarly, the gun issue — full of sound and fury a year ago — never became a major theme in the debate, the candidates said. "They didn't even go there,'' said Boudreau.
Kristin Beckmann, state council director for the Service Employees International Union in Minnesota, which supported Fritz, said Boudreau was vulnerable to criticism of the funding level for nursing homes due to her prominence on human services issues. A particular concern was an additional daily charge for private-pay patients that was a result of the 2003 state budget — dubbed a "granny tax'' and blamed on Boudreau and other incumbents.
Boudreau said she felt that the mailings and ads run against her added up to "a very deceptive message'' and that she paid a price for this year's legislative meltdown. She said she believes the DFL-controlled Senate, which was not up for re-election, created a stalemate so the blame would fall on House Republicans in competitive districts — like herself.
"The Senate designed it that way, and it was probably pretty effective,'' she said.
Fritz and her supporters believe they won because of concerns that the district was losing out and that Boudreau was part of a Republican majority starving schools, local governments and other local projects.
"We don't feel we are receiving our fair share of the tax collections, for our nursing homes, for our residents and workers, and for our kids, and for our roads,'' Fritz said.
Interesting how the headline mentioned “Gun law author”, yet it wasn’t a campaign issue.
--------------------------------
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/10183265.htm?1c
Gun law author was in sights
Many factors led to the loss of a 5-term GOP representative.
BY JIM RAGSDALE
Pioneer Press
Rep. Lynda Boudreau of Faribault was a leading advocate for gun-rights activists at the Minnesota Legislature, and her defeat this month gave heart to those who opposed her crusade to expand access to concealed-weapons permits.
But the emotional issue of carrying guns in public was only one of many factors involved in Boudreau's defeat.
Instead, the race centered on the more basic issue of government spending, and was characterized by tough campaign tactics and significant spending by political and interest groups, according to the candidates and others involved in the race.
"You take a shred of truth — you twist it,'' Boudreau said of the criticism she faced, including a nursing-home increase dubbed a "granny tax.'' "It was a spirited, issue-based campaign,'' said winner Patti Fritz, who also endured tough attacks.
Fritz, a Democratic-Farmer-Laborite, defeated Boudreau, a five-term Republican, by 347 votes out of nearly 18,000 cast, or about 2 percent of the total. An Independence Party candidate, Mike Corbin, drew nearly 800 votes. Boudreau was one of 13 Republican incumbents defeated in a banner year for the House DFL caucus.
"I think Republicans voted for cuts that were out of the Minnesota mainstream — to schools, higher education and health care — and I think that the public didn't like it,'' House Minority Leader Matt Entenza, DFL-St. Paul, said of Boudreau's defeat and similar high-profile races.
"The irony is that Lynda's strength was in health and human services — nursing homes, she fought for them,'' said House Speaker Steve Sviggum, R-Kenyon. "It was a very negative, nasty type of campaign.''
Boudreau, 52, who chaired the House Health and Human Service Policy Committee, was a leader in the past in the battle to impose a 24-hour waiting period for abortions and was chief House author of the controversial gun-permit bill that became law in 2003. She often substituted for House Speaker Sviggum, wielding the gavel and guiding debate.
In July, a Ramsey County judge overturned the gun law, meaning the issue could be back before the Legislature this year.
Fritz, 60, is a longtime licensed practical nurse at St. Lucas Care Center in Faribault. She was involved in the late Paul Wellstone's organizing efforts in Rice County, helped organize the Service Employees International Union at her workplace, and is a union board member. She lost to Boudreau in her first try for the job in 2002.
The district, centered in Faribault and covering rural areas along Interstate 35, is home to a state prison and the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf. Fritz partisans said she benefited from the large number of state employees who were concerned about state spending decisions over the past two years.
In 2003, Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the Republican-led House pushed through a no-new-taxes budget that solved a record deficit by making cuts in aid to local governments, health care spending, higher education and other areas. This year, rancor between House Republicans and Senate DFLers led to a historic meltdown, and the Legislature failed to act on new capital projects and other initiatives.
"The No. 1 issue was the lack of any results from the last legislative session,'' said Corbin, the Independence Party candidate.
Through mailings and radio ads, the two sides battled over budget issues and Boudreau's record. All sides agree that the candidate spending limits of $28,400 were dwarfed by mailings and ads financed by their party caucuses or labor and business groups. A final campaign tab of $250,000 would not surprise any of the partisans who saw the flow of full-color mailings in the district.
"These special-interest groups down here just spent a phenomenal amount of money,'' Corbin said. "This is an example of how you buy an election.''
The Minnesota office of America Coming Together, a national group formed to defeat President Bush and to support liberal candidates, got into the fight. ACT phone banks and mailings criticized Boudreau for voting to reduce state aid to cities and for cuts in health care programs.
The abortion issue — often a powerful factor in House races — was defused by the fact that Boudreau and Fritz both oppose abortion and were highly rated by Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, the anti-abortion lobbying group. MCCL endorsed Boudreau and campaigned for her, said Scott Fischbach, MCCL executive director.
Similarly, the gun issue — full of sound and fury a year ago — never became a major theme in the debate, the candidates said. "They didn't even go there,'' said Boudreau.
Kristin Beckmann, state council director for the Service Employees International Union in Minnesota, which supported Fritz, said Boudreau was vulnerable to criticism of the funding level for nursing homes due to her prominence on human services issues. A particular concern was an additional daily charge for private-pay patients that was a result of the 2003 state budget — dubbed a "granny tax'' and blamed on Boudreau and other incumbents.
Boudreau said she felt that the mailings and ads run against her added up to "a very deceptive message'' and that she paid a price for this year's legislative meltdown. She said she believes the DFL-controlled Senate, which was not up for re-election, created a stalemate so the blame would fall on House Republicans in competitive districts — like herself.
"The Senate designed it that way, and it was probably pretty effective,'' she said.
Fritz and her supporters believe they won because of concerns that the district was losing out and that Boudreau was part of a Republican majority starving schools, local governments and other local projects.
"We don't feel we are receiving our fair share of the tax collections, for our nursing homes, for our residents and workers, and for our kids, and for our roads,'' Fritz said.