Testing A Video Podcast

This is a short clip of the end of Mike Hatch's announcement. It's formatted for the new 5th generation video iPod. Don't have an iPod? Just click on the link and watch.

Hatch Talks Taxes, Stadiums and Special Sessions

Hatch: Dancing Around The Issues
Or Principled Responses?
•Says calling a Special Session is not a yes or no proposition
•Will abide by endorsement process depending upon caucus turnout.

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Is he or isn't he going to honor the DFL endorsement process? Newly announced Gubernatorial candidate Mike Hatch seemed to say yes, but at the same time left himself some wiggle room. He also left some wiggle room on calling a special session and on building new stadium(s).

Is Hatch helping or hurting his chances with such nuanced answers? Is his opponent Kelly Doran doing a smart thing by buying $500,000 worth of TV time to run a soft image ad? Hear the ad and Peter's analysis of the changing Governor's race.

You can hear all of Hatch's announcement in our previous podcast.

Photo to right- passing the hats for Hatch------------>

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Comments or questions please call our hotline 206-33-TALKS or email us at insidemnpolitcs@mac.com.

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Hatch Announcement Audio and Text

Hatch Announces-
Tells MN Nurses Access To Health Care Is His Top Priority

Click here to download or listen to entire Hatch Speech
Mike Hatch ripped into Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty for the temporary shutdown of State government as he began his own campaign for Governor. He noted that in Minnesota's 147 years there had never been a shutdown until now

"Through two world wars, a civil war, a great depression, a wall street crash, a flu epidemic, and even the grasshopper plague of 1873, our leaders always managed to find common ground"

"Simply put, we now have a government that masquerades as 'Minnesota nice' but whose policies are particularly cruel to the sick, the vulnerable and the impoverished."

Hatch told a choreographed, but enthusiastic crowd of nurses " I believe that health care is a right, not a privilege. Access to health care will be my number one priority."

Listen to the entire speech here. Entire text of Hatch speech is here.

Look for our podcast later today where Hatch answers reporters questions on taxes, stadiums and special sessions. We also talk about two other major developments in the Governor's race, Bud Philbrook dropping out and Kelly Doran spending a half-million dollars on campaign ads.

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Comments or questions please call our hotline 206-33-TALKS or email us at insidemnpolitcs@mac.com.

Click here to stream podcast if you can't download it.

Putting Trust Back In U.S. Elections

Mark Ritchie - Secretary Of State Candidate
"Defending the right to vote and making sure people trust the system is the building block for starting to address our other long term problems".

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It wasn't too long ago that Secretary of State was one of the most non-controversial offices in any state. But the last two presidential elections have changed that. Secretary of State candidate Mark Ritchie tells us people from the Ukraine who were in Ohio to observe the last election left disgusted, saying the election was anti-democratic. You might recall Ukrainians have seen election tampering first hand, so they know how to recognize it!

"The discrepency between the exit polls and the final reported ballot were dramatic in many states." says Ritchie. "We have got to get to the bottom of this and I don't think we've gotten there yet."

Ritchie is one of at least two candidates running for the DFL endorsement. The other is Christian Sande.

Listen and discover how passionate Mark Ritchie is about fair elections and why he believes progress towards fair elections can only be made on the state level.

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Comments or questions please call our hotline 206-33-TALKS or email us at insidemnpolitcs@mac.com.

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Independent U.S. Senate Candidate

Robert Fitzgerald U.S. Senate Candidate
Says Democrats and Republicans put party and special interests ahead of voters.

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He has no party or name recognition. But Robert Fitzgerald does have a message. He says he's tired of the money from special interests and the dictates from political parties that seem to rule our government these days.

He's an independent with a small "i". The Independence Party has not endorsed him, at least not yet. Does that mean he should be written off as a non-contender? Peter says not so fast, and outlines the reasons an independent candidate could be a real factor in this race.

You can subscribe to our podcast in iTunes with just one click.

Comments or questions please call our hotline 206-33-TALKS or email us at insidemnpolitcs@mac.com.

Click here to stream podcast if you can't download it.

Doran on MN issues

Doran aims campaign at Gov. Pawlenty
Wants to reverse "massive transfer" of tax burden to homeowners .

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Now that he's running for Governor instead of U.S. Senate, we went back to Kelly Doran to talk about Minnesota issues. Just like Governor Tim Pawlenty, Doran is not in favor of the income tax hike Democrats proposed in the last legislative session. But to say Doran is against raising income taxes is wrong. Doran tells Inside Minnesota Politics what was wrong with the tax proposal and what he would support.

Opposing that particular income tax hike is one of the few things Doran has in common with Governor Pawlenty. Doran says there are some sharp differences. He believes in investing in infrastructure...and that includes education.

"The Governor is going to have to explain to me where we're 'throwing money away' at education."

Doran takes aim at Pawlenty's JobZ program, which Doran says is "Job Zero" comparing it to subsidizing low-wage jobs at Walmart. He also faults Pawlenty for making a "massive transfer" in the tax burden to property taxes, which isn't fair to seniors on a fixed income.

Doran also reveals his simple test he uses for making decisions. Listen and find out what it is.

You can subscribe to our podcast in iTunes with just one click.

Comments or questions please call our hotline 206-33-TALKS or email us at insidemnpolitcs@mac.com.

Click here to stream podcast if you can't download it.

Two more DFL candidates for Governor

State Senator Becky Lourey is apparently going to announce she is running for Governor. This according to an email from 8th Congressional District Chair, Kerry Gauthier. This is Lourey's second try. She ran in 2002, but did not get the DFL endorsement. This past year has been a tragic one for Lourey. Her son Matthew died serving in Iraq.

Lourey joins a suddenly growing field of DFL candidates for Governor. This past weekend Bud Philbrook announced he was running. And just a few weeks ago Kelly Doran jumped into the race. The three join State Senator Steve Kelley, who has been campaigning for Governor since Spring.