East Central Minnesota Pubs Endorse Tinklenberg

ECM publishes a bunch of papers in the 6th CD. Today, they endorsed Elwyn Tinklenberg: Michele Bachmann made a compelling case for her re-election during a recent interview with the ECM Editorial Board... ... but .... We appreciate her strong stance on the bailout, but we question her wisdom in calling for resignation of fellow Congressional leaders. We fear that her polarizing approach to her work will work against her and make her less effective in the future. She has a record of opposing even the most strongly supported bipartisan initiatives, including the mental health parity and addiction equity act, the mortgage forgiveness debt relief act and the credit card holders’ Bill of Rights. And while tending to matters at home in her district she found time to pillage legislative candidates who voted their conscience on the state’s transportation issues, but had to leave early from our one-hour endorsement interview. What really sealed her fate, however, was her unwillingness to later answer point-blank questions about a bridge project in St. Cloud and the Northstar Commuter Rail. We find it disingenuous that she wears a Northstar lapel pin but won’t comment on whether or when the line should ever be extended to St. Cloud and Rice. We understand her concerns about earmarks and even share some of them, but we fail to understand how she cannot stand up for her own district on crucial local votes to deal with a deteriorating bridge in her district. Tinklenberg will fight earmarks, but not at the expense of constituents on critical projects.... So.. Bachmann supports (sort of) Northstar now... that's a huge flip-flop. Bachmann has always opposed rail transit. From her 2005 campaign website: "As your District 52 State Senator, I will work hard to add capacity to Minnesota highways.... This is my personal commitment to you." "Michele believes a successful transportation policy must put an end to the diversion of scarce funds to impractical and expensive rail transit programs that will have no direct benefit for area residents and will cost millions of dollars in the future for operating subsidies. She has called for dedicating 100 percent of the sales tax on vehicles to road construction." Read the entire endorsement HERE and let us know what you think.