Reporting on State Politics and Government
Reporting on State Politics and Government
Capitol View Digest reporting on state and politics and government
| | The Daily Digest for August 20, 2019 | | Posted at 6:32 a.m. by Bill Wareham |
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Good morning. Time for your Tuesday Digest. 1. Warren makes Minnesota campaign stop. Elizabeth Warren drew thousands of Minnesotans to St. Paul’s Macalester College for a campaign speech Monday, her first trip to the state as she seeks the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. In her nearly hour-long speech, the U.S. senator from Massachusetts gave her backstory and focused largely on economic inequality and political corruption in her nearly hour-long speech. “When you see a government that works great for the rich, for the well-connected, for those who can hire armies of lobbyists and lawyers and isn’t working so well for everyone else, that is corruption pure and simple,” she said. “And we need to call it out for what it is. The rally was billed as a town hall despite the candidate taking no questions from the public. It’s the main event in the campaign’s inaugural Minnesota trip. (MPR News)
2. Omar, Tlaib rebuke Israel, Trump. U.S. Reps Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan sharply criticized Israel for blocking them last week from a visit and for its treatment of Palestinians in the occupied territories. The two freshmen lawmakers also remain incensed that President Trump recommended on Twitter that Israel block their trip. The decision came a short time after Trump tweeted it would show weakness for Israel to allow the visit. Omar said the trip was intended to help her as a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "The decision to ban me and my colleague, the first two Muslim-American women elected to Congress, is nothing less than an attempt by an ally of the United States to suppress our ability to do our jobs as elected officials," she said. (MPR News)
3. Planned Parenthood's Title X withdrawal to have disparate impact in state. Planned Parenthood said Monday that it is withdrawing from the federal family planning program known as Title X to avoid following a new Trump administration rule barring clinics from referring women for abortions. The move will have a disproportionate impact in Minnesota, where 90% of Title X patients are served by Planned Parenthood; that figure is 40% nationwide. Planned Parenthood's network of health centers will remain open, including operations in Minnesota. But backing out of the program means Planned Parenthood would lose $2.7 million to cover birth control, cancer screenings, and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases for Minnesota patients. ( Star Tribune)
4. Film board to tighten grant requirements. New guidelines for Minnesota’s “Snowbate” film and television incentive program would deny awards to shows built around a national event held in Minnesota, along with projects featuring candidates for political offices. A board that governs the program announced the changes Monday. Minnesota Film and TV had been developing new standards since 2017. The guidelines are aimed at making sure limited dollars go to projects that rely most on in-state workers or feature Minnesota prominently. The rules took on more urgency after a couple of high-profile grants prompted scrutiny of the program. Last fall, the board defended an $11,000 grant to the makers of a documentary about now U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar made after she won election to a state legislative seat in 2016. And last month, MPR News reporting on a $267,000 rebate for the “Tonight Show” starring Jimmy Fallon caused a stir because of internal film board discord over the grant and doubts about its longer-term impact. (MPR News)
5. Gillibrand defends call for Franken's resignation. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., declined to say Monday whether she opposes a comeback by former Sen. Al Franken, suggesting that the Minnesota Democrat should make that decision himself. Gillibrand, who is running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, also defended her call for Franken to resign in 2017 amid allegations of sexual misconduct, saying she would make the same decision today. She was the first of the nearly three dozen senators to demand his resignation. She was asked about Franken in a Washington Post interview that comes several weeks after the New Yorker magazine published a piece in which Franken said he "absolutely" regrets stepping down before he was able to take part in a Senate Ethics Committee hearing. (Star Tribune) | |
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