Capitol View®

The Daily Digest: 12-1-08

The Senate recount resumes this morning after a four day break for Thanksgiving. They hope to finish the recounting by Friday.

The Star Tribune says Democrat Al Franken faces a math problem.

The U of M's Smart Politics blog says a win by GOP Sen. Coleman lead would be historic. They say it would be the first time a GOP Senator was elected to the Senate when a Democratic presidential candidate won the state by double digits or more.

The Star Tribune profiles Ramsey County Elections Director Joe Mansky.

State Government

The revenue forecast is released this Thursday and it won't be pretty. The Star Tribune and MPR have stories.

DFL House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher said a large budget shortfall creates challenges in the upcoming session.

DFL Rep. Tom Rukavina tells the Minnesota Daily that everything is on the table including already passed capital investment projects.

The Star Tribune says a program that helps poor and minority students could face the budget axe.

KARE says budget problems could cause problems for the Vikings stadium quest.

Gov. Pawlenty will meet with President-elect Obama and Vice-President-elect Joe Biden tomorrow. Pawlenty is a part of a bipartisan group of governors who will talk about how the economic crisis is impacting states. MinnPost has the story (Note: The meeting is in Philadelphia not Washington D.C. as MinnPost reports).

Mayors will also hit up the feds for some cash.

The Outdoor Heritage Council meets today.

Four suburbs are working to court light rail.

The U of M will hold a forum on redistricting today. Minnesota could lose a Congressional seat in 2010.

The firesafe cigarette rule starts today.

First Lady Mary Pawlenty will light the Christmas tree at the Governor's Mansion tonight sans Gov. Pawlenty.

Obama

President-elect Obama will release his national security team today.

The New York Times says Hillary Clinton will be Secretary of State.

AP says Obama will broaden the role of genetics into medical care.

Congress

DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar starts a jobs tour.

She says her vote for the bailout bill was a difficult decision.

The Washington Post says the Senate could give Obama some early victories. Klobuchar is mentioned.

DFL Rep. Collin Peterson is in Europe to talk about regulating credit default swaps.