Kline Goes Hollywood

Coleen has posted up regarding John Kline's comment and smear of 'Hollywood Liberals'. Go read it, with less than 70 days to go, Coleen is still showing a sense of humour while dealing with the issues. Can't say the same about the Colonel, if ya know what I mean!

Calling All Hollywood Liberals!

Anyone checking my fundraising efforts via FEC reports will quickly realize that most Hollywood liberals are still pondering how much of their millions to give the Rowley for Congress Campaign in Minnesota's second district. But perhaps now that John Kline has called out California television director Christine Moore's five contributions over the last year totaling $275, big movie stars and other Hollywood glitterati will start writing their checks.

Please take a moment on the set, folks, because there's only 68 days left, and I could use more Hollywood liberal cash to compete with John Kline's big moneyed corporate interests (big oil, big pharma, insurance companies and defense contractors, among others)....more

Welcome to the Asylum Congressman Kline

The Star Tribune article headline says it all:
Kline flier Slings More Mud at Rowley Campaign Aides

This is the third flier in 3 weeks. (8 to go?)
Obviously 'crazy is as crazy does'…so welcome to the asylum Congressman Kline!

MCR has more on Kline’s latest Hit Piece:

Jacobs indicated in a later message that guilt by association is a pretty common tactic. However, whether it indicates bad internal poll numbers or simply an effort to head off a serious challenge, either way it means that the Kline campaign is nervous about Rowley’s chances in November. The rose garden strategy has gone out the window. One might consider leaking strong internal poll numbers a superior incumbent strategy to attacking the challenger’s unpaid volunteers, but to Team Kline, that would be kooky. Wacky. You know - rational.

Kline As The Perpetrator Of Corruption

A 14-year-old girl (Abeer Qassim al-Janabi) was repeatedly raped, then shot to death in her home in a village near Baghdad March 12. Her body was set on fire. Her mother, father and sister also were murdered.

The alleged perpetrators: American troops.

Before the incident, the soldiers allegedly downed whiskey, played cards and hit golf balls. Afterward, they dined on grilled chicken wings. It also appears there was a clear intent to cover up by those directly involved, and those who monitor these incidents within the military.

If this had happen within the U.S. , it would have triggered overpowering outrage, non-stop TV coverage and a grave concern about our military. It might even have surpassed the wall-to-wall coverage that the arrest and release within the JonBenet Ramsey murder received But because it happened in Iraq, the press has been relatively quiet.

In fact, more coverage has been given to Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), a decorated Vietnam veteran and a critic of the Iraq war who said U.S. troops "killed innocent civilians in cold blood" in Haditha, when one of the Marines under investigation in the attack sued him for libel.

Our own Rep. John Kline (R-MN), a retired Marine Corps colonel, even apologized to the Marines for appearing to suggest troops had lied and covered up the Haditha incident when private briefings with Kline at the Pentagon left no doubt as to what allegedly happened.

Kline has brushed off this rape-murder case of a 14 yr. old as an aberration, saying the majority of our troops would never do such a thing. He avoided the same lawsuit against Murtha by stating ‘the media took statements out of context’. He's keeping his bond with his 'brothers in arm' at the expense of truth. It's another example of the Bush Administration and our legislators shieding away from hard questions, reluctant to criticize troops, and avoiding the truth for answers.

This war didn’t happen by chance. Among the chief supporters (every step of the way) was John Kline. He sits on the very powerful Armed Services Committee which gets regular private briefings on the war. He knows what is really happening verses what this week's Bush Administration 'spin o war'.

As a retired colonel Kline is aware that:

--The lowering of recruiting standards to fill spots in an all-volunteer army has made it less safe. It may be a voluntary military but more than 95 percent of our citizens have elected not to serve. That leaves less desirable personalities in the military.

--The use of inexperience troops and commanders to police in an extremely dangerous atmosphere results in stress and poor decision making -especially when they lack both training and resources and are placed in life and death situations.

--Prolong, extended tours of duties has an adverse affect on the military’s morale and performance.

It’s difficult to believe that the nice kid next door could do something like this? Nobody want’s to believe it. But it happened and the evidence of the crime and the cover up point to a bigger problem.

As shown by John Kline's apology, there is a denial by both elected officials and the public to accept and take responsibility for anything wrong with the war in Iraq. This may in part be blamed on those who frame the war in simplistic terms of ‘for/against’ or ‘patriot/unpatriotic’. Any support for the truth can be twisted to appear to be against the war and therefore against the troops and therefore unpatriotic. Unfortunately, many of our elected officials, like Kline, haven’t risen above the rhetoric and championed the truth regardless of how it may look or affect their ‘image’, or where it may lay the blame.

Among those charged with the rape and murder of al-Janabi is Steven Green, an Army private who has since been discharged for a personality disorder. He denies wrongdoing, but before the incident he told a Washington Post reporter, "Over here, killing people is like squashing an ant. I mean, you kill somebody and it's like, `All right, let's go get some pizza.'"

At a Baghdad hearing, a member of the same unit, Pfc. Justin Cross, said constant attacks in the Triangle of Death had put the soldiers under incredible stress. "You're just walking a death walk," he said. "It drives you nuts. You feel like every step you might get blown up."

The deaths of two soldiers before the slayings in Mahmoudiya "pretty much crushed the platoon," Cross said. To deal with the stress and the toll on their unit, he said, they turned to whiskey and painkillers.

The murders are another horror piled on top of a series of horrors, including the killing of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha last year and the torture at Abu Ghraib prison. How many more ‘abberations’ will there be in Iraq before Kline speaks out in support of the truth.

Until we hear the truth, Kline isn't supporting the military, he's supporting corruption.

Kline's Off-Base Statements

Congressman Kline seems to be making things up...from attacking Rowley campaign workers in glossy flyers to....well, let's just say he appears to be losing it...

"In short, Kline’s statement was completely off-base, and was deeply misinformed at best, disturbingly xenophobic at worst. Hopefully in the next few days Congressman Kline can be coaxed to clarify his comments."

Read the whole thing at Minvolved! and a cross posting at Minnesota Monitor. They've been fact checking statements made during Friday's debate.

DeKlining Values

When it comes to where Kline get's his money, there is very little that surprises me. He takes from criminals, special interests, far right ideology PACs and even big oil and military providers which his votes make even richer!

A Lakeville Dad takes a good look at Kline/Duke Cunningham's connection and what he sees isn't pretty:

"Once an eagerly sought source of money for other Republicans, Randy "Duke" Cunningham has suddenly become radioactive, with several Republican candidates cleansing themselves of donations by the now-disgraced politician, who admitted this week that he took $2.4 million in bribes."

...Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., decided to donate $11,000 to charities – an amount equal to what he received from Cunningham – "just to remove questions of any impropriety" associated with the money, said his chief of staff, Steve Sutton.

I found this link by looking in John Kline's Wikipedia entry, which had recently been edited. It hadn't been there yesterday. There is no independent verification that Kline did indeed donate this money, nor to what group or groups he donated it to.

I'll see if his campaign can provide documentation next week, and if so will give you an update. I find it particularly appalling that John Kline, a veteran, would be so tight with someone who had the kind of character that would lead him to accept $2.4 million in bribes from a military contactor -- especially during a time of war.

There's more...

Kline is 'Odd Man Out' During Debate

The Minnesota state fair brings lots of interesting things like hot dish on a stick, Ferris wheel rides and the Flaming Lips. This Friday, the fair had the added feature of a debate between incumbent Congressman John Kline and challenger Coleen Rowley. Er, well... that's how it was suppose to be but in the end it was the Jason Lewis ego show on KTLK with special guest Coleen Rowley. At a guess, Jason spoke for 30 minutes, Coleen for 20, and Kline for 5 (probably less). I suppose that means even Jason Lewis finds Kline to be boring, tedious, and un-eventful.

Jason lobbed loaded questions at Coleen like: "So you don't think the Democrats are Naderite enough on campaign finance reform?" Rowley responded that she thought the Democrats weren't "Law-enforcement enough.” While John Kline showed us his leadership qualities of sitting like a bump on a log, or odd man out.

The majority of the time, Kline sat silent. The few moments he did respond, it usually was to recounting or agree to what Lewis had already said: Jason Lewis said the Bush plan is "amnesty for eleven million illegals," and that the McCain-Kennedy plan is "amnesty for anyone else who wants to come in." Kline agreed, and said the bill was "terrible."

For Kline supporters it was pathetically sad to see and hear Kline's lack luster and silent (brooding?) behavior take a back seat to Jason Lewis's partisan rants and the animated Coleen Rowley intellect and honesty.

It seemed both fitting and prophetical that afterward Jason Lewis commented to Coleen " I bet you're glad this is over', and Coleen enthusiastically answered "No, not at all, I'm ready to go again. In fact maybe next time we can talk about the war in Iraq and the economy!” Jason laughed as John Kline retreated faster than a white rabbit down the hole.

Minnesota Monitor has the full transcribe.

Kline's Campaign Playbook

From Kline's smear mailing of 08.2006-

“You can tell what kind of leader a candidate will be by the type of campaign they run."

With that in mind I decided to take a page out of Kline's recent campaign playbook. What I found is that by substituting John Kline's name in his smear statements, the mailer finally is more truthful!

John Kline’s campaign is playing drity tricks.

We can’t trust him in Congress.

Minnesota deserves better than unethical campaign tricks.

Tell John Kline that dirty politics are wrong.

John Kline may think that’s ethical. But that’s not right.

"That’s not how we do things in Minnesota."

You couldn't be more right Mr. Kline, that's not how we do things in Minnesota. Vote for Change, vote Coleen Rowley.

Does Kline Make You Want To Scream and Shout?

Now's the time to put it right. Have you had enough? Then it's time to throw the rascals out...

Now heres an attack ad that shows some style while making the point that John Kline must go.

Kline: More Conduct Unbecoming

This time John Kline (MN-R) isn't smearing a campaign worker but is hurting families of Americans that have members with brain injuries from the war....Congress with Kline's help is ready to slash funding for the research and treatment of brain injuries caused by bomb blasts, an injury that military scientists describe as a signature wound of the Iraq war!

House and Senate versions of the 2007 Defense appropriation bill contain $7 million for the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center - half of what the center received last fiscal year.

This is the Republican Congress with John Kline that decides. And it's one more reason to hate what they're doing to the Army and vote them out!

Joe Galloway looks at the defense budget...

They didn't provide enough money in the current budget to fight the wars, equip the military and fund the bases where those who wear the uniforms, and those who love them, live when they aren't off fighting…...

There isn't nearly enough money to pay for the tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles and Humvees that have been destroyed or worn out by unceasing duty on the battlefields 24/7.There aren't enough troops in the ranks to staff all the brigades and divisions. So Peter is robbed in those areas of the budget as well......

All of this leaves our nation without a credible reserve force in case of emergencies elsewhere in the world, and it leaves those outfits just home from combat without the equipment or the troops to train for their next combat tour.

If the latest airline terrorist thing scares you to death (although maybe that was the intent but not by the terrorist!), and if you think this much more dangerous world in which we now have to live requires a strong, competent, ready and well-equipped military to defend you, vote against Kline and the Republican incumbents who crafted this war to reflect Neocon's policies and profit at the expense of our families cares.

John Kline's Party Website Endorses Decriminalizing Drugs?

In a recent click glossy newspaper insert with spooky graphics John Kline attacks a private citizen who just happens to be a Rowley campaign volunteer for his personal belief that some unspecified drugs should be decriminalized and regulated like alcohol.

Kline called the volunteer's personal belief a "wacky, extremely liberal position".

We're shocked that Kline apparently forgot to check in with his own party on this one. He's usually very good about toeing the party line. His own party website apparently endorses a conservative think tank's "wacky, extremely liberal position" that also proposes decriminalizing drugs.

The link to the Cato institute will take you to its Handbook for the 108th Congress. It makes the following recommendation about the "war on drugs"

Congress should
● repeal the Controlled Substances Act of 1970,
● repeal the federal mandatory minimum sentences and the mandatory sentencing guidelines,
● direct the administration not to interfere with the implementation of state initiatives that allow for the medical use of marijuana,
and
● shut down the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The long federal experiment in prohibition of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and other drugs has given us crime and corruption combined with a manifest failure to stop the use of drugs or reduce their availability to children.
Source: Kato Institute (via the GOP 2nd District Website)

If one buys the argument that one unpaid volunteer's personal opinion must reflect the candidate's beliefs, then certainly a conservative funded think tank must reflect the opinion of the party and the candidates that support it.

The truth is both arguments are folly. The truth is John Kline will grasp at anything he can to sling mud at his opponent. He'll spend thousands for glossy attack ads but spend zero time talking about his record on the Iraq occupation and how he supports President Bush's positions more often than nearly any other Congressman.

If John Kline wants to see something "wacky" and "extreme" he should just look in the mirror.

Kline Kampaign Focused On Politics of Personal Destruction

The politics of personal destruction are usually the sign of a desperate campaign. Find something about your opponent such as unpaid parking tickets, and then make it sound like they're an axe murderer. The Texas-style Republican machine that owns Representative John Kline likes to run its campaigns that way. And John Kline has obediently followed the Republican machines mud slinging orders again and again and again and again.

Unfortunately for John Kline, his opponent Coleen Rowley doesn't have unpaid parking tickets. Instead she has those pesky questions about John Kline's record on the Iraq occupation, Education and Heath Care. Questions that apparently John Kline doesn't want to spend money answering. Instead he's focusing slimy attack ads on one of Rowley's campaign volunteers and some statements the volunteer made about his own political beliefs.

What you say about others reveals a lot about your thinking. John Kline's assumption is Democrats march in lockstep just like Republicans do and there is no room for dissent. Surprise! People in the DFL are allowed to have their own opinion.

Kline also assumes that others order Rowley to take certain stances on issues just the way Tom Delay and other corrupt Republicans order him to vote with President Bush. John Kline has obviously never had a serious discussion with Coleen Rowley. She is very stubborn, particularly when it comes to principles. She makes up her own mind based on the facts and is not afraid to speak the truth, even when it means taking on her boss.

John Kline is so afraid of being exposed for years of taking orders from his boss that he's obviously desperate and will do anything to bring Coleen Rowley down to his roll-in-the-mud level of politics.

All we can say is "nice try John" and point him towards the showers to clean up and go home to Texas. Send John Kline to the showers this November. Vote for Coleen Rowley.

Kline just can't take responsibility

So this is what it takes to get John Kline to apologize -- the threat of a lawsuit.

And it's not a very genuine apology either, since Kline blames the media for his problems.

In the military you're taught to take responsibility for what happens on your watch. That's a lesson that Kline has conveniently forgot. He won't take real responsibility for his own words. He won't take responsibility and apologize for the consistent string of dirty tricks from his campaign including anonymous attacks, vandalism and illegal corporate campaign donations.

But these are minor compared to the things that have happened on his watch that John Kline won't take responsibility such as a failing occupation in Iraq and a ballooning federal deficit.

It's the little things that tell you the truth about someone's character. When Coleen Rowley was faced with an error by her campaign she admitted it and fixed it immediately. When John Kline is faced by an error from his campaign, his own mouth or his own party, his "action" is to do nothing...unless of course he's sued.

Blinded by Bush - Kline can't believe his own eyes

"If you're talking to me in eight or 10 months, and we're not starting to see ... actual troop withdrawals, I'll be shocked."

-- Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., after visiting Iraq in November 2005. Two top Army officers testified in Congress this month that they cannot reduce troop levels at this time. Source:Star Tribune.

Why couldn't John Kline see the obvious when he went to Iraq less than a year ago? He's a military man and should know how to size up a battlefield situation. The answer is the same reason John Kline won't believe his own eyes when it comes to Health Care, Veterans Benefits and Education. President Bush's Texas-style political machine created and now owns John Kline. So much so that this good soldier is still taking orders and not questioning them many years after leaving the military.

Minnesota needs someone who isn't blinded by Bush --someone who isn't afraid to blow the whistle, even against the boss, when the future of our country is at stake. Minnesota doesn't need another Texan in Congress. Minnesota needs Coleen Rowley.

Kline's Flip Flop On Dirty Tricks

John Kline can't make up his mind. Is a campaign donation a "dirty trick" or an "endorsement"? This year it's a "dirty trick" when someone tries to donate to get on his campaign mailing list to find out John Kline's stand on the issues.

Last election, a contribution was "An Endorsement" when his opponent Teresa Daly made a donation to Kline in 2002.

So which one is it? Is a donation from the opposition a Dirty Trick or an Endorsement?

The answer is neither.

The truth is this is just another example of John Kline and his campaign staff twisting the facts to mean whatever he would like them to mean.

It's also symptomatic of how "cloak and dagger" the Republican Party really is. Why are John Kline issue positions such a closely guarded secret that his campaign office won't give them to his constituents? (It helps apparently to donate to his campaign and know the secret handshake.)

The real truth is John Kline would rather invent issues than talk about the real ones America is facing today. In that sense Kline is a wise, sly and sinister politician because if he talks about the real issues and his record on Iraq, Education, Health Care and Veterans Issues he will lose.

DeKlining Campaign Values

Rep. John Kline could have addressed issues but he's too busy sending out flyers at the taxpayers expense, or having staffers anonymously blog or write LTE against Coleen Rowley or sharing their private fantasy's while at work, or try to use more mud to distract from the important issues really affecting working Minnesotans.

Congressman John Kline's Legacy Of Waste

The current Bu$h administration doesn't include the cost of the war in their budget, instead, every couple of months, an 'emergency' spending bill is submitted to Congress for approval. The last bill brought the cost of the Iraq war to just under $320 BILLION Dollars!

Rep. John Kline(MN-R) has voted in lockstep with Bu$h for each and every bill submitted to Congress (now totalling 320 Billion). Kline has also supported this war since the begining by telling us just how we're bringing democracy to Irag and how great things are going.

$320 BILLION is a hugh amount! Certainly more than the $50 billion that Secretary of Defense Donald ‘Chickenhawk’ Rumsfeld initially predicted in January 2003. This price tag is so large,that it has become an abstraction. So to put it into context:

What John Kline could have funded, created, or done for America with $320 billion:

• Nearly $12,000 for every single person in Iraq (regardless of age).
• $1070.18 for every American (regardless of age) based on current census figures.
• Fully fund global anti-hunger efforts for 12 years. (Source: National Priorities Project
• Give a $100,000 bonus to every public school teacher in America, or
• $320 billion would fund 128,000 new teachers for 50 years at a salary of $50,000 per year. (Source: Ben Tracy WCCO-TV (CBS))
• Implement the Kyoto Protocol in America (Source: Cass Sunstein, author and U. of Chicago Law School professor.)

There’s so much good Congress could have done with $320 Billion besides use it in war to profit big corporations like Halliburton, Bechtel and similar corporations that are now under investigation for misuse of public funds and fraud. The same denfense corporations that give thousands to Congressman John Kline.

John Kline and the GOP Congress could have...

• fully funded the no child left behind program.
• buy up-to-date text books for all schools
• undo the cuts to the Veterans Administration
• help victims and pay for the costs of Katrina
• offset Medicare's costs
• fund community colleges
• invest in research and development
• fund health care for Americans
• end poverty in America

John Kline has take $320 billion dollars and given it to special interests and war profiteers instead of investing it in our future. Let Kline know that as Minnesotans we have better ways to invest $320 Billion. Ways that will provide for real security and a better future for Americans and their children. Put an end to John Kline's fiscal madness: Vote for change.

A DeKlining Rx Spells Trouble For Minnesota's Seniors

Medicare beneficiaries with high drug costs "increasingly" are entering the gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage know as the 'doughnut hole', and experts say the issue could have political implications for the congressional elections in November. Congressman John Kline voted to give our seniors a doughnut hole in lieu of adequate health insurance and now he’s worried that the bill will come due before election day....

Minnesota seniors who signed up for Medicare's standard prescription drug coverage pay a monthly premium, a $250 deductible and 25 percent of the cost of medication from $251 to $2,250. but seniors are 100 percent responsible for the cost of their drugs from $2,251 to $5,100. Many seniors have reached their limits on coverage and will soon pay 100 percent of the cost of their prescriptions. Seven million seniors will face dire health and financial consequences as they begin falling into Medicare Part D’s ‘doughnut hole’.

In a move seen to be pre-emptive damage control, The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is paying $10 million on a barrage of Medicare television and radio ads about Medicare prescription coverage that are airing in Minnesota and across the country. The ads are to promote those like Kline who crafted, supported and voted for the Medicare plan change.

In crafting Part D last year, Republicans could have allowed Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices like the Veterans Administration does. Instead, they chose to side with the drug companies and shift costs to seniors and people with disabilities.

The pharmaceutical companies with John Kline’s help has killed every attempt to allow Americans to benefit from the same low drug costs that other countries enjoy. It’s no surprise that:

• Big drug interests have given $100,850 to Kline over the Representative's career. They know who their friends are.
• Rep. Kline voted for the GOP Medicare Prescription Drug Bill that will give billions to businesses and the health care industry, while forcing seniors to accept annual increases in premiums and deductibles and a growing gap in coverage for the prescription drugs they buy.
• Rep. Kline voted against allowing millions of Americans to save their hard-earned dollars on prescription drugs by re-importing them from Canada, even though these were U.S. made and patient safety was ensured.

It’s too bad Kline couldn’t ues the millions that big drug companies and the Chamber of Commerce are currently spending on ‘feel good’ commercials and off-set the negative damage of seniors facing financial or medical ruin. All Americans should benefit from the same great medical insurance as Congressman Kline….unfortunately until both Kline and the drug companies can profit from it, our senior will have to go without.

Kline's Crocodile Tears

To weep crocodile tears is to pretend a sorrow that one doesn’t in fact feel, to create a hypocritical show of emotion. The idea comes from the ancient belief that crocodiles weep while luring or devouring their prey.

Again and again, poor Kline continues to 'frame' himself as being a good soldier while crying crocodile tears at being a 'victim' in an heroric effort to avoid having to explain his voting record or discuss issues that affect Minnesotans'...what a guy! Unfortunately, the voters are catching on....

Missing issues

I found the comments by Marcus Esmay, a spokesman for Rep. John Kline, R Minn., very curious, not so much for what he said, but what he avoided ("Al Franken, others show support at DFL fundraiser," July 26). According to the article, Coleen Rowley said at the fundraiser that "Kline has the worst voting record in the state on environment, education, disabled veterans and working family issues, which she specifically selected for their nonpartisan nature."

Esmay responded by calling Rowley's campaign a "smear" campaign and goes on to talk about Rep. Kline's meritorious 25-year military career. However, he says nothing of Kline's career in Congress. Why?

Perhaps because it is something that Kline desperately does not want to talk about. Is he ashamed of the fact that he is nothing more than a Bush rubber stamp?

At the end of the day, all Esmay has left us with is somebody with all the power whining about what a victim he is. If Kline wants to talk about the issues, I am more than happy to listen, but please spare me and the rest of the 2nd District's voters the crocodile tears.

Kenneth J. Wagner University alumnu
LTE in
MnDaily

Time to get the Kline debate out in the open

The unmasking of "klinefan" as an operative of the John Kline campaign may help move the debate in this race out into the open.

Kline's campaign apparently has a policy of requiring its staff to fully disclose their role in the campaign in any public political statements they make. This prompted Coleen Rowley to hand deliver a letter to John Kline on Tuesday saying in part:

So I was disappointed to learn someone in your campaign office has been regularly posting anonymous comments on a political weblog.

Your staff has thus demonstrated a pattern of repeatedly crossing the line in what you claim the voters are owed. And by focusing your campaign thus far on personal attacks and allowing your staff to engage in dirty tricks you've violated your promise to the district.

The voters of the second district have a right to know who John Kline is and what he stands for. Anonymous Internet banter does not accomplish this.

In the letter, Rowley challenges Kline to a series of one-on-one debates that will focus on issues that matter most to second district voters such as the Occupation Of Iraq (Kline supports "staying the course"), Health Care (Kline supports the pharmaceutical industry's bloated Medicare Part D prescription drug fiasco) Medical Care For Returning Veterans (Kline opposes the funding) Homeland Security (Kline has repeated voted against improved port security) Ethics Rules (Kline has voted against) and Tax Breaks For Oil Companies (Kline has voted for the tax breaks when both oil profits and the federal debt are both at record levels).

We know the Kline campaign continues to read this blog (even though they don't put up intimidating posts anymore). So "klinefan" ask your boss to be a brave soldier and have a real debate!