Carney will run for State Delegate at SD60 Convention

Carney condemns "Golf Bagger Governor's" 9-iron joke.

Campaign schedule for next week is delayed -- Carney will be at the Legislature

Contact: Bob Carney Jr. -- (612)-824-4479 (home and business) -- bob@republicancontract.com

For immediate release                                                                              

Minneapolis, MN, February 20, 2010 -- Minneapolis Moderate Progressive Republican candidate for Governor Bob Carney Jr. commended the Minnesota House Republicans for a bi-partisan vote to pass the General Assistance Medical Care bill this week. "But I'm puzzled by the process. Apparently, Republicans were voting for a bill they thought would be revised before final passage," Carney said. Instead, the Senate passed the House version of the bill.

Republican Representative Jim Abeler is reported by the Star Tribune to have said he will have no problem sustaining a veto. Abeler reportedly said he expected the bill to go to a conference committee to work out the kinks.

"This appears to be an unfortunate example of 'playing politics'. I think it was a good thing, on balance, for the wide bi-partisan support in the House. With work in a conference committee, this might have resulted in a bill the Governor would have signed, and one that would have received the needed three Republican house votes to override a potential veto," Carney said.

"Instead, the Republican House members who provided bi-partisan support appear now to have been put in an awkward position. Apparently no one told Jim Abeler that the DFL thinks the Senate is the ER -- and of course ER's don't do kinks. If it was not made clear to the House that the Senate was contemplating simply passing the House version, that should have been made clear," Carney said.

"This just reinforces the notion that Governor Pawlenty is the 'right brain' of Republican Legislators -- and more generally that an unallotment-wielding Republican SuperGovernor should always function that way," Carney added.

Carney will refuse to pay a "poll tax"

Today Carney will go to the Senate District 60 GOP convention, as a precinct delegate. He will be a candidate for State Delegate. However, he will refuse to pay the $10 cost which is charged at the door.

"In my judgment, this is a poll tax," Carney said. "Because ballot access is dominated by political parties, I believe there is a Constitutional issue in imposing any cost on anyone who serves as a delegate or an alternate at any level," Carney said.

Carney will seek to speak at the SD60 Convention on behalf of his candidacy for Governor. "I went to the SD58 GOP Convention last week, to speak as a candidate for Governor," Carney said. "However, I was shown rules for candidate speakers, and the rules required that a speaker abide by the endorsement process. I said I was running in the primary, and did not plan to abide by the endorsement process. Dan, the guy in charge, kind of started to hem and haw, but I essentially took the position, paraphrasing: 'look, if you won't enforce your rules, I will. This says: "candidates who won't abide by the endorsing process can't speak", and I won't, so I can't'", Carney said. Carney did not speak at that convention. "If the same rule emerges at SD60, I will challenge it as a delegate -- if I am seated after refusing to pay the 'poll tax'", Carney said.

Carney plans to be very blunt in telling the delegates his view on unallotment, and his advocacy for a Legislative hearing to study the phrase "corrupt conduct in office" -- one of the grounds for impeachment in the Minnesota Constitution.  Carney believes Governor Pawlenty's exercise of unallotment provisions at the beginning of the current biennium was both illegal and unconstitutional.  Carney is the plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging the unallotment of the political contribution refund.  That lawsuit was dismissed, Carney is still working on an appeal.

Carney had been videotaping Marty Seifert's speech at the SD58 Convention when he was told he could not videotape. "I will bring my camera to SD60, and challenge that too," Carney said. 

UPDATE, 2/21/10: The convention waived the $10 cost, allowed Carney to speak with the understanding he would run in the primary, and allowed him to videotape his speech.  More SD60 reporting will be in the next news release.

Carney condemns "Golf Bagger Governor's" 9-iron joke

Carney transcribes Governor Pawlenty's punch line at a recent confabulation as follows: "I think we should take a page out of [Mrs. Tiger Woods'] play book, and take a 9 iron, and smash the window out of big government in this country."

This was said one day after a person flew an airplane into a largely glass IRS center in Texas.

"This kind of calculated incitement is destructive pandering.  The 'tea party' folks have some very legitimate complaints -- against both parties.  But 'We the People' have gotten ourselves into the mess we're in.  We still have free elections, freedom of speech, and a functioning political process in this state and this country.  This wasn't always so.  I don't have much sympathy for people who operate outside of the political process, and I certainly can't respect an elected official who encourages them to do so," Carney said. 

Carney will memorialize this incident by hereafter referring to Governor Pawlenty as "the Golf Bagger Governor".  "Last week the Star Tribune reported -- in a headline -- that Governor Pawlenty is a 'bagman'.  Now we know exactly what kind of a bagman.  You can't put money in a tea bag," Carney said. 

Carney has been busy, but will comment in a future news release on two "shots" he believes Governor Pawlenty directed his way during the Governor's state of the state address.

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