Archive for the ‘Tarryl Clark’ Category

I remember the good old days when Tarryl Clark moved from St. Cloud to Duluth. These days, Tarryl isn’t the rising star that she once was. These days, she’s still travelling but this time, instead of running for Congress, she’s running for a spot on the Stearns County Commission, where she’ll be running against Steve Gottwalt.

A loyal reader of LFR emailed me, saying “Travelin’ Tarryl has a house on Woodhill Road near Cooper Ave about 7 blocks from Calvary Church. Her new ‘apartment’ is near the St. Cloud Aquatics Center…in Steve Gottwalt’s County Commissioner District where the vacancy is occurring.”

KVSC reported the story this way:

With candidate filing periods closing this week, one candidate made a last second entry to join the race to become the District 1 Stearns County Commissioner.
Tarryl Clark announced her intention to run for the position Tuesday. Clark is a resident of St. Cloud who has worked in the St. Cloud area for about 30 years. She is an active member of the St. Cloud Rotary Club and the St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce.

Clark has previously been elected to the Minnesota State Senate, where she became Assistant Majority Leader and worked from 2006 to 2010. She was also the Academic Dean at St. Cloud Technical and Community College and the first Director for the Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity.

Clark will run against businessman Craig Bomgaars and former St. Cloud City Council member Steve Gottwalt.

I’m sure the omission of Steve Gottwalt’s accomplishments was intentional. While it’s true that Steve served on the St. Cloud City Council, including as City Council President, he later went on to win election to the Minnesota House of Representatives, eventually serving as Chair of the House Health Care Reform Committee.

I found this interesting:

Especially when compared with this:

What’s pathetic is that Tarryl went from Minnesota Senate in 2005-2011 to Congressional candidate in CD-6 in 2010 to congressional candidate in CD-8 in 2012 to running for the Stearns County Commission in 2018. The question I have is this: will she run for Colin Peterson’s seat when he retires?

I won’t bet against it.

PS- I wouldn’t bet against Steve Gottwalt in this race.

Despite what Sartell Mayor Joe Perske told WCCO’s Esme Murphy, he’s still fighting a steep uphill fight:

Perske said that he thinks, while the district may be heavily favored toward Republican candidates, “people want a change.”

Perkse added that he believes “people are sick of the polarizing politics that we’ve seen with Michele Bachmann, and I think we’re just going to get more of the same with Tom Emmer. If you take a look at his past record of what he’s done in the state legislature, and you take a look at the things he’s said, (he’s) very similar in being on that right side with the Tea Party.”

First, it’s clear that Perske’s only hope of getting elected is in a) turning Tom Emmer into the biggest boogeyman this side of the Koch Brothers and b) getting voters to ignore what’s important to them.

Perske needs three other things to happen to win. He needs to have an instant name ID bomb to go off in the Sixth so people south of St. Cloud know who he is. At the moment, his name ID in Andover, Annandale, Anoka, Becker, Big Lake, Clear Lake and Clearwater is on a par with my name ID in those cities.

I’m pretty certain my name ID is virtually non-existent in those cities. Welcome to the club, Joe.

Another thing Perske needs is a mass cash infusion so he can at least run enough ads so people in Big Lake and Clearwater know who he is. (Perske should forget about becoming known in the south Metro part of the district.)

Finally, to be competitive, Perske needs the Sixth to become much more moderate between now and election day. Since that ain’t happening, Perske should accept the fact that he’s gonna get beaten like a drum.

Emmer’s team is working hard. They’re showing up at all the right events. They’re having discussions with all the right people. They’ve got a great GOTV operation.

Most importantly, Emmer’s team has something that Perske doesn’t have. Specifically, they’ve got a candidate who’s a great fit for the Sixth.

In 2010, Tarryl Clark had a well-financed campaign. Michele beat her by 13 points. This year, Perske is woefully underfunded in a year that’s likely to be another good year for the MNGOP.

The likely outcome is Emmer beating Perske like a drum.

Technorati: Joe Perske, Name Recognition, Tarryl Clark, Fundraising Machine, DFL, Tom Emmer, Michele Bachmann, Sixth District, Conservatism, Redistricting, MNGOP, Election 2014

This LTE is just another helping of DFL gibberish:

Joe Perske, who is a candidate for the 6th Congressional District, is the kind of person we need to represent us in Washington.

Joe has worked in local politics for the past 10 years and has advocated diligently for workers and families in this area. He has an incredible gift of being able to relate to people from all walks of life. He has the integrity we are lacking in Washington today.

Recently he was endorsed by the Minnesota AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education for his positions and record on issues of importance to workers and their families. The endorsement is based on his steadfast support of working families.

The notion that a DFL congressional candidate getting endorsed by the AFL-CIO isn’t news. Based on their list of endorsees, if you had a D behind your name, you were endorsed.

Simply put, Perske is just another tax-raising liberal. His history is littered with raising propert taxes and spending money foolishly.

In 2010, I wrote that Tarryl faced an uphill climb against Michele Bachmann. Tarryl lost by 13 points, the biggest winning margin in Michele’s congressional career. If Republicans work hard this year, the DFL will look at the Michele vs. Tarryl as the good old days.

Tom Emmer is a great fit for the district. He’s fiscally conservative, which is important. Most importantly, he’s a reform-minded conservative.

Technorati: Joe Perske, Tax and Spend Liberal, Taxin Tarryl Clark, AFL-CIO, Endorsement, DFL, Tom Emmer, Michele Bachmann, GOP, Election 2014

According to the Secretary of State’s website, it’s clear that Rick Nolan will defeat Jeff Anderson and Tarryl Clark. He’ll meet Chip Cravaack in the general election this November.

With 423 of the 812 precincts in the 8th District reporting, Rick Nolan had 13,850 votes, followed by Tarryl Clark with 10,843 votes, with Jeff Anderson getting 10,323 votes.

In other primary news, it appears as though Dave Osmek will defeat Connie Doepke in the SD-33 GOP primary. Osmek leads Doepke by 107 votes with all 39 precincts counted. This will trigger an automatic recount.

Cindy Pugh defeated 11-term incumbent Steve Smith by 1,302 votes. Pugh got 70.3% of the vote, trouncing Smith. This wasn’t a surprising outcome. I wrote here that Smith got trounced by a similar margin at the endorsing convention.

Karin Housley won the SD-39 GOP primary, defeating Eric Langness by a 1,941 to 945 margin.

Finally, Al Quist defeated Mike Parry in the First District GOP primary. With 601 of 695 precincts reporting, Quist led Parry by a 11,213 to 9,697 margin.

In all probability, this marks the end of Tarryl Clark’s political career. She lost to Michele Bachmann in 2010 by a 53%-40% margin in a race that wasn’t that close.

Now she’s lost as a carbetbagger living in Duluth. She moved there because she would’ve gotten beaten like a drum had she filed for a rematch against Michele.

Tags: Primaries, Cindy Pugh, Karin Housley, Allen Quist, Dave Osmek, Steve Smith, GOP, Rick Nolan, Tarryl Clark, DFL

This morning, Tom Hauser hosted a debate between Rick Nolan, Jeff Anderson and Tarryl Clark. His first question for Tarryl was whether things had changed in the Eighth District. Here’s Tarryl’s response:

TARRYL: Well, it’s a very diverse district, going all the way from just north of Forest Lake all the way to International Falls. And I think he sold them a bill of goods. He said he was running to change how Washington was being done and he was going to create jobs. The only jobs I’ve seen him create have been overseas, including some in China.

I’d love hearing Tarryl explain how Chip’s ‘Buy American Steel’ amendment created jobs overseas. I’d love hearing her explain how his work on getting PolyMet open is creating jobs overseas.

Tarryl’s troubles have started when she thought she could say anything and get away with it. The reality is that Tarryl’s helped strengthen China’s economy:

In addition to the environmental groups like the NRDC and the Sierra Club, unions like SEIU have also joined an umbrella organization (the BlueGreen Alliance) to lobby for federal funding for “green” projects. Collectively, these groups have been involved in hundreds of lawsuits with the federal government over stopping fossil energy projects. Key political appointees at the DOI are former employees of the NRDC and other environmental groups.

The BlueGreen Alliance’s lobbying stopped the Keystone XL Pipeline in its tracks. Tarryl’s ties to the BlueGreen Alliance are extensive and troubling.

Let’s see Tarryl explain how an organization she’s had extensive ties to killed union construction jobs. The truth is that she’s tied to the militant environmentalist movement, a movement that’s killing jobs.

Tarryl’s “I’ll fight for you” mantra is fiction. She won’t fight for the Eighth District. She’ll fight for the organizations that’ll support her campaigns. That hasn’t changed throughout the years.

Chip didn’t “sell them a bill of goods.” That’s Tarryl’s specialty. Chip told the miners that he’d fight to make PolyMet a reality. He’s kept that promise. It isn’t Chip’s fault that President Obama’s EPA and Gov. Dayton’s MPCA and Alida Messinger’s Conservation Minnesota keep attempting to shut down the mining industry.

After the KSTP debate, Tarryl stopped past WCCO to be interviewed by Esme Murphy. Here’s that video:

During the interview, Tarryl took a shot at DFL Chairman Ken Martin for not vetting the candidates before the endorsing convention. That’s sour grapes on Tarryl’s behalf. It’s up to the delegates and the candidates to vet the candidates.

Here’s reality: Tarryl isn’t a good fit for the district. While it’s true that they’d elected a Democrat since WWII prior to the 2010 midterms, it’s equally true that they’ve elected pro-life, pro-Second Amendment liberals. That isn’t who Tarryl is.

It’ll be interesting to see who wins Tuesday’s DFL primary. I don’t have a great read on that primary. If Tarryl wins, Ken Martin will praise her effusively. If Tarryl is defeated, however, she will have burned a ton of bridges within the DFL.

Tags: Debates, Rick Nolan, Tarryl Clark, Primary, Ken Martin, BlueGreen Alliance, Keystone XL Pipeline, Green Jobs, Mining, Unions, DFL, Elections

This ad proves that Tarryl Clark is definitely taking off the gloves in going after Rick Nolan:

This means that the gloves aren’t just officially off. It’s proof that Tarryl Clark and Rick Nolan threw the gloves into the corner of the ring before putting on brass knuckles. This article tells ‘the other side’ of the story:

Nolan says former Gov. Rudy Perpich appointed him to establish the center, which he says he did on a volunteer basis for four years before accepting a paid position in 1986. Clark claims that as head of the center Nolan fought for a $200,000 bonus and one of the highest taxpayer salaries. Nolan says the ad is “dishonest.”

“It’s disappointing you now to have someone who moves into the district, comes in with outside money and start denigrating the accomplishments of our governor, Rudy Perpich, and all those who served him, myself included,” Nolan said in an interview. “We’re very proud of what we were able to accomplish at the World Trade Center and make no apologies for it.”

If that’s Rick Nolan’s best response, he’s sunk. Tarryl won’t hesitate in going for the jugular, then ripping it out. If he thinks the DFL machine in the Eighth will save him, I hope he’s prepared for retirement.

If Tarryl’s known for anything, it’s that she’s relentless. I don’t know if Nolan is prepared for that.

We’ll find that out Tuesday.

Tags: Primary, Tarryl Clark, Rick Nolan, DFL, Election 2012

Jim Graves is a portrait of someone who says one thing, then thinks the opposite. Graves told me that he’s pro free market. Then he told me that he thinks the ACA is “built on free market principles.” The free market doesn’t tell a person they have to buy something, then tell them what bells and whistles that something has to have.

To quote Andy Aplikowski, free markets don’t need thousands of IRS agents to make sure you do what you’re told to do:

The Government does’t need to hire an army of tax agents to enforce a free market based reform. And the Government doesn’t expressly lay out the parameters and scope of a free market plan.

Mr. Graves told Jack and Ben that he isn’t really a Democrat. He’s just running as one so he has a chance at winning. That’s BS. He’s a hard core liberal who made lots of money.

What other explanation is there for a man who thinks that global warming is manmade? If he believes that global warming is manmade and that it’s a problem worth solving, what’s his solution? The only conclusion is that he’s for cap and trade. That’s a hardline liberal position.

When Tarryl ran against Michele in 2010, one of her first visits was to Netroots Nation, the gathering of left wing kooks. Daily Kos published this letter from Jim Graves.

One of the things Graves continues harping on is Michele Bachmann’s ‘witch hunt’:

Watching Michele Bachmann’s McCarthy-like witch-hunt unfold over the past few weeks has been truly disturbing. Her baseless attacks upon honorable, hard-working Americans is not only designed to divide us through hate and fear, it weakens our ability to take on the real challenges facing our nation today.

Mr. Graves’ witch hunt meme is getting tiresome. It’s been discredited by terrorist expert Andrew McCarthy and former Muslim Brotherhood terrorist Walid Shoebat. Newt Gingrich discredited DC elites with impeccable logic and a relentless dose of reality:

This desperate avoidance of reality is not new. After Maj. Nidal Hasan shouted, “Allahu Akbar” (“God is great”) in Fort Hood, Texas, and killed 12 soldiers and one Army civilian while wounding 29 others, there was pressure to avoid confronting his acts as inspired by his support for radical Islamism.

An American of Palestinian descent, Hasan had been in touch with a radical American cleric in Yemen, Anwar al-Awlaki. He declared Hasan a hero. Al-Awlaki was himself declared a “specially designated global terrorist” and, with presidential approval, was killed by a predator missile.

Yet, despite the evidence, Wikipedia reports, “One year after the Fort Hood shooting, the motivations of the perpetrator were not yet established.”

In short, Jim Graves might know how to build and run hotels but he’s oblivious to facts, especially as it relates to free markets, terrorism and science.

Simply put, Jim Graves isn’t qualified to be a congressman. I’d want him on an economic development commission but I wouldn’t want him as a congressman.

Tags: National Security, Jim Graves, Tarryl Clark, Hotels, Daily Kos, Cap And Trade, ACA, Free Markets, Democrats, Election 2012

If Tarryl Clark has a theme to her campaigns, it’s that she’s always fighting for people. It appears as though her would-be constituents will reject her fighting for them for a 4th time in the last 6 elections she’s been in.

Here’s the truth about Tarryl. She’s fought for special interests her entire adult life. Before she became a legislator, she was a lobbyist. After getting beaten like a drum by Michele Bachmann, Tarryl ‘fought for’ keeping union construction workers unemployed by leading the BlueGreen Alliance’s fight against the Keystone XL Pipeline.

That means Tarryl didn’t fight for lower gas prices at a time when gas prices were approaching $4 a gallon. She fought for President Obama’s bundlers that got hundreds of millions of dollars of loan guarantees right before their companies went bankrupt.

Nowhere in Minnesota do we need someone who’ll fight for President Obama’s bundlers. Nowhere in Minnesota do we need someone who’ll fight for subsidies for failing companies that add billions of dollars to the debt.

What’s disgusting is that Tarryl played the class warfare card when she literally cast the 34th vote needed to raise taxes on ‘the rich’. She didn’t hesitate on raising taxes just like she didn’t hesitate in lobbying to protect her green energy millionaires.

Take a long, hard look. That’s who Tarryl Clark really is. It’s beyond dispute that she’ll fight for people. It’s beyond dispute, too, that the people she’ll fight for aren’t the people who voted for her. She’ll fight for the special interests with the best of them.

St. Cloud didn’t need a legislator that fought for the special interests. The Sixth District didn’t need that type of leadership, either, which is why they rejected here. The Eighth District needs someone who listens to the people, then works on the things that are the people’s priorities.

Again and again, Chip Cravaack has proven to be that person.

Tags: BlueGreen Alliance, Tarryl Clark, Green Jobs, Lobbyist, Bankruptcies, Crony Capitalism, Loan Guarantees, Progressives, Chip Cravaack, Keystone XL Pipeline, Construction, Employment, PolyMet, GOP, Election 2012

Jeff Anderson started picking a fight on mining with his Eighth District DFL opponents. Now he’s ripping Rick Nolan for not being serious about mining:

In a hastily called news conference to counter Nolan’s, Anderson said he would support the Republican-sponsored House legislation and that he supports incumbent Republican Rep. Chip Cravaack’s amendment that would extend the new rules to projects already in the works, such as the proposed PolyMet copper mine near Hoyt Lakes.

Anderson blasted the Nolan plan as wasteful federal spending that would create no immediate mining jobs, and he challenged Nolan to support immediate regulation reduction, such as changing the state’s longstanding sulfate standard for wild rice lakes and rivers. That standard currently is being upheld by the Environmental Protection Agency under the federal Clean Water Act. Sulfate often is a byproduct of mining. Anderson said the standard threatens several taconite and copper mining projects if not changed.

“While I support the idea of doing more research into evolving mining technologies, the people seeking jobs in this district cannot feed their families with studies,” Anderson said. “They need jobs. They need good, livable-wages jobs.”

Nolan’s plan isn’t a serious proposal. It’s a PR stunt and a pork project straight from Jim Oberstar’s playbook. Anderson is right. Nolan’s worship of mother earth prevents him from making a serious proposal on mining.

As for Tarryl, her response wasn’t a response:

In a statement, Tarryl Clark, the third candidate in the DFL race, said she has been consistent in her support for reduced mining industry regulations. Clark noted she is supported by the United Steelworkers of America on the Range.

“With the right advocate in Congress, we can build on our past successes and lead the world in 21st-century mining that creates good-paying jobs while remaining responsible stewards of our environment,” Clark said. “I have always supported an efficient and effective permitting process which guarantees protections for our workers, our water and our air. In Congress, I will continue to work on improving this process.”

In other words, Tarryl wouldn’t say whether she’s support Chip’s amendment to minimize wait time for mining investors. Considering her position with the BlueGreen Coalition, it isn’t likely she’s a friend of the mining industry.

Rick Nolan and Tarryl Clark aren’t friends of the mining industry. They’re political opportunists trying their best to hide their hostility towards the mining industry with pork projects and spin about the mining industry.

A spokesman for Cravaack’s campaign, Ben Golnik, said “Chip Cravaack will continue to be laser-focused on working to improve the economy and bring more jobs back to the 8th Congressional District. In his short time in Congress, Chip has worked to reduce excessive and duplicative red tape blocking economic development and job growth.”

Chip’s taken a proactive approach to getting the mining industry up and running. He’s pushed for streamlined permitting, which has occasionally taken over 10 years to get approved. Chip’s worked hard to get PolyMet’s EIS approved by the EPA.

Chip Cravaack is the miners’ best friend. That isn’t just my opinion. It’s the story told by Chip’s actions.

Tags: Mining, Jeff Anderson, Rick Nolan, Tarryl Clark, Pork, Mother Earth, EPA, Jim Oberstar, DFL, Chip Cravaack, Permitting, Reform, MNGOP, Election 2012

True to her colors, Tarryl Clark’s ad says that, if she’s elected, she’ll fight for people:

Tarryl saying that she’ll fight for people is a hallmark of her campaigns. That’s code for saying she’ll fight for the special interests that support her during the campaign. Mostly, it means that she’s a shill for the special interests.

This news report highlights the unusual nature of this primary:

This article highlights the fact that the DFL in-party sniping is starting early:

According to Clark, it’s a necessary move, after the pro–Cravaack TV ads, paid for by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, began airing weeks ago.

“With the United States Chamber of Commerce running ads for him for weeks, it’s important that voters are getting to hear directly from me, so that they know that, indeed, they’re going to have someone who’s on their side, and fighting for them,” said Clark.

“It’s no wonder that Tarryl has to be up this early, and spending all this money on Television. She’s got to convince people that it was a good idea for her to move here, from St. Cloud, just to run for office,” said DFL Candidate, Jeff Anderson.

“Having just moved into the district to run for Congress, and being very behind in the race, she obviously thinks that spending a lot of money on a big media campaign is the way to win the election. And, it’s not going to work,” said DFL Candidate, Rick Nolan.

Meanwhile, Chip will detach himself from the race to a large extent. Instead, he’ll keep tending to the district’s needs.

Tags: Tarryl Clark, Ad Buy, Rick Nolan, Jeff Anderson, Sniping, DFL Primary, Chip Cravaack, MNGOP, Election 2012