Smear

[Disclaimer: This post was first published on Coleen Rowley's campaign weblog.]

Al Franken and other Democratic luminaries were kind enough to hold a fundraiser for Coleen this past Sunday in Brainerd. Tyler Rushmeyer of the Minnesota Daily, the U of M campus newspaper, reports on Coleen's remarks and the odd response from John Kline's campaign spokesman:

Rowley, who took the stage midway through the event, said 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.

"The 2nd District is Republican-leaning," she said. "But these issues are all things that any person should find important and Kline has done nothing to support them."

Marcus Esmay, spokesman for the Kline campaign, described Rowley's campaign as a "smear" against Kline's record.

"Congressman Kline is a 25-year Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam, was Military Aide to both Presidents Carter and Reagan and received Four Legions of Merit," Esmay said via e-mail. "John Kline doesn't need to talk about having integrity and ethics, he has lived it."

Note how Esmay responds to criticisms of Kline's record in Congress by discussing Kline's military record. It's almost as if Esmay wants people to forget that John Kline has been their congressman for nearly four years.

Sadly, this has been John Kline's strategy during this campaign: to talk about anything and everything but what he has and hasn't done in Congress. It says a lot about both John Kline and his record as a congressman that an honest assessment of his record on the issues is deemed a "smear".

Walls

[Disclaimer: This post was first published on Coleen Rowley's campaign weblog.]

In the July 17 online edition of the Pioneer Press, Ruben Rosario discussed two gun bills (HR 5005, HR 5092) which John Kline is co-sponsoring. It sounds like these bills are tougher on law enforcement than they are are criminals.

Between them, these bills would:

• Restrict public and, in most cases, law enforcement access to federal gun tracing data.
• Eliminate the requirement that dealers inform local and state authorities about multiple gun sales.
• Water down penalties for dealer violations. One proposal places a $15,000 cap on fines in spite of numerous violations.
• Restrict access of federal gun trace information "when it pertains to the geographic jurisdiction of the law enforcement agency or prosecutor requesting the disclosure."
• And the kicker: Up to five years in prison for any police officer who shares federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms gun trace data with another officer or agency.

Nearly everyone agrees that the perceived "wall" between counter-terrorism units and criminal law enforcement agencies was a significant obstacle to preventing the 9/11 attacks, and that we need to tear down such walls. Yet John Kline is pushing to erect more walls when it comes to tracking firearms. Even the Bush Justice Department agrees that these bills will make it more difficult for police officers to do their jobs.

Rosario rightly declares that " . . . those who back these bills outright as drafted should have their tails between their legs." The Minnesota Association of Police Chiefs opposes the legislation, and Chaska police Chief Scott Knight calls it "completely nuts" insisting that those who support these bills are lackeys of the gun lobby.

John Kline has accepted, to date, $31,750 in campaign contributions from the National Rifle Association.