There's been a curious paucity of new television messages about the governor's race of late, but this week the TV waves started buzzing again with words from Republican Tom Emmer and his friends.
Emmer released a new ad focused on education Wednesday, Minnesota's Future took a TV whack at DFLer Mark Dayton and an anti-gay marriage group Tuesday took a swipe at Dayton and IP's Tom Horner and praised Emmer. The ads are the second spots for Emmer, Minnesota's Future and the National Organization for Marriage.
In his new ad, Emmer promises to "protect our investment in education by making sure that more money goes to classrooms" but does not specify how he's do that. During his 2006 campaign, Gov. Tim Pawlenty floated an idea to require 70 percent of education funds be spent on classrooms.
"I'll empower parents and teachers to improve our schools....Our kids deserve the best schools and I'll help make that happen with some real reform," Emmer says in the ad.
Emmer's budget proposal, released last week, would spend $13.8 billion on schools in the next two years, about $500 million than is currently being spent by the state and about $500 million less than schools are projected to need in the next two years. Schools are expected to need more money to pay for inflationary increases in special education funding, an increase in student population, an increase in poor children and expected increased payments for a merit-based pay system for teachers, according to the Minnesota Education Department.
Minnesota's Future, a group funded largely by the Republican Governors Association, also released a new ad Wednesday, according to Hotline. That spot also has a school theme. It reflects on the "F" letter grade Dayton, a former U.S. Senator, gave for himself and the congress. Hotline says the ad will run at "saturation levels."
Meanwhile, Dayton -- and Horner -- get low marks from the National Organization for Marriage, while Emmer appears to get gold stars. The new ad from that national group promotes the call for marriage to be constitutionally defines as between one man and one woman. It links the "right to vote" on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage with the civil rights movement. In recent years in the Legislature, which decides what constitutional amendments go to a general election vote, has lacked the votes to approve an amendment on the ballot. Governors do not have to approve such amendments but would have to approve rescinding the current state law that bans gay marriage.
Here are the three ads --
