Gubernatorial candidates debate in Duluth

Courtesy of Minnesota Public Radio, here’s audio from today’s debate at the Duluth Playhouse between Tom Emmer, Mark Dayton and Tom Horner.

12 Comments

Paul Lundgren

about 14 years ago

Tom Emmer: "Right now we are at a crossroads where government is literally choking the ability of people in the private sector to grow new jobs."

Literally?

vicarious

about 14 years ago

"Aaaghrrghhaarghh!"

Melissa

about 14 years ago

So, as suspected, Emmer is your run-of-the-mill 'everything local is better, cut taxes, then cut spending!' Republican, Dayton is Dayton, and Horner isn't the most eloquent.

Melissa

about 14 years ago

I'm pretty sure if anyone has been choking the ability of the private sector to provide jobs, it's been the corporate sector working closely with the government to move all manufacturing (i.e. 75% of jobs betweeen 30k and 65k a year) to China and Mexico over the past 20 years, hmm? What is Emmer's stance on NAFTA, GAFTA, and Wal-Mart?

Melissa

about 14 years ago

Oh, and sorry for the three posts, but another nice point is that the only role the Gov't has played in allowing 10-15 million other jobs to be filled by illegal immigrants is not enforcing employment and tax laws related to hiring people with valid social security numbers.

It's that hallowed, always right, best for America 'private sector' who chooses to hire the illegal immigrants because they know these workers will accept less money, not be able to take benefits, can be hired and fired at will, cannot accept unemployment, and can never file lawsuits. But, I guess I forgot - Gov't is ALWAYS the problem - Fox News said so only 800,000 times and they're impartial, so it must be true.

brian

about 14 years ago

heh heh. Paul said Guber.

akjuneau

about 14 years ago

The MPR audio is edited down to less than an hour.

That's probably more than enough for most people, but if you want to see / hear the full 90-or-so minutes, you can access it via the News Tribune:

DNTV: Minnesota Gubernatorial Candidate Forum

Elden

about 14 years ago

I liked Emmer's comment "The aging population is the reason for no new jobs in northern Minnesota". Wha...?

Hey, if everybody would just get on board and squirt out a couple more kids, then we will have a great economy in about 16-25 years! 

Oh, and old people should just die because they are only a drain on the economy. Right Jeno?

Maybe Emmer should move the flag he wraps himself in a little upward so that it covers his mouth too.

Julian

about 14 years ago

That comment on aging is right up there with something I read in the Washington Post yesterday: "The economic recovery has been slowed by high unemployment."

zra

about 14 years ago

I rather liked Emmer's statement that we needed to "cut taxes *then* cut spending."

If you read between the lines, and take it for what he really means you get "cut taxes so we'll have no choice but to cut spending."

Looking beyond this dog and pony show, to statements that Emmer has made in the past regarding things like minimum wage, anyone who works an hourly wage and has half a brain should definitely not be voting for this guy.  Wage standards are set by the federal government, and that's something he can't control but there's a lot he can on a state level that will not bode well for us if he chooses to exercise them.

The Opponent

about 14 years ago

This Emmer dude is bad news.

Sam

about 14 years ago

Emmer is bad news.  He is pretty much the male version of Michele Bachmann.

Here is quote from a crazy, far-right bill he co-authored and proposed to the MN legislature... 

"A federal law does not apply in Minnesota unless that law is approved by a two-thirds vote of the members of each house of the legislature and is signed by the governor. Before voting to approve a federal law, each legislator must individually affirm that the legislator has read the federal law and understands it."  

Emmer would be shocked to find that this bill would require the rejection of his beloved Patriot Act, since it is unlikely that 2/3 of the MN legislature would read all of its 340 pages and then approve it.

Emmer also co-authored a bill requiring MN students to learn about the "American or Minnesota state history or heritage based on religious references."  

Emmer would be shocked to find that this bill might require the teaching of deism to students, and might not require the teaching of Emmer's conservative brand of catholicism.

And Emmer recently donated money to Bradlee Dean's anti-gay group, which advocated for the execution of homosexuals.  I just cannot believe this nut has a chance to be governor in our beloved state.

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