Amy_Klobuchar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Amy Klobuchar Amy Klobuchar Amy Klobuchar United States Senator from Minnesota Incumbent Assumed office January 3, 2007 Preceded by Born Political party Spouse Children Residence Alma mater Mark Dayton May 25, 1960 (1960-05-25) Plymouth, Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor John Bessler Abigail Klobuchar Bessler Minneapolis, Minnesota University of Chicago Law School (J.D.) Yale University (B.A.) attorney Congregationalist first female President of the United States[2] and a possible nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court [1]. She is currently the Senior Senator from Minnesota pending the resolution of the election contest between Al Franken and Norm Coleman. Should Coleman succeed in overturning the recount or otherwise regain his seat, he would regain his seniority; should Franken be seated, she will remain the senior member. Family and education Born in Plymouth, Minnesota, Klobuchar is the daughter of Jim Klobuchar, an author and retired sportswriter and columnist for the Star Tribune, and Rose Katherine Heuberger, who retired at age 70 from teaching second grade. Jim Klobuchar’s grandparents were Slovene immigrants to the U.S. and his father was a miner on the Iron Range; Klobuchar’s maternal grandparents were from Switzerland.[3] Amy’s husband, John Bessler, is an attorney in private practice. He is a native of Mankato, where he attended Loyola High School, and is a graduate of the University of Minnesota. Amy and John were married in 1993, and they have a daughter, Abigail Klobuchar Bessler, who was born in 1995. Klobuchar attended public schools in Plymouth and was valedictorian at Wayzata High School. She received her bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in political science from Yale University in 1982, where she was a member of the Yale College Democrats and the Feminist Caucus.[4] Her senior thesis is now a college textbook that is still widely used. Published as Uncovering the Dome,[5] the 150-page history describes the ten years of politics surrounding the building of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis. Klobuchar served as an associate editor of the Law Review and received her J.D. in 1985 at the University of Chicago Law School.[1] Occupation Religion Amy Jean Klobuchar (pronounced /ˈkloʊbəʃɑr/, born May 25, 1960) is the senior (and currently only) United States Senator from Minnesota. She is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, an affiliate of the Democratic Party. She is the first elected female senator from Minnesota and is one of seventeen female senators serving in the 111th United States Congress. Formerly county attorney of Hennepin County, she was the chief prosecutor for the most populous county in Minnesota. Klobuchar was a legal adviser to former U.S. Vice President Walter Mondale and partner in two prominent law firms.[1] She has been cited by the New York Times to be among the seventeen most likely women to become the 1 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Amy Klobuchar election margin in Minnesota since the 1978 special election. Klobuchar became the first elected female Senator from Minnesota. Muriel Humphrey, the state’s first female senator, was appointed to fill her husband’s unexpired term and not elected. Career Klobuchar was elected Hennepin County county attorney in 1998 and re-elected in 2002 with no opposition. In 2001 Minnesota Lawyer named her "Attorney of the Year". Klobuchar was president of the Minnesota County Attorneys Association from November 2002 to November 2003. Besides working as a prosecutor, Klobuchar was a partner at Dorsey & Whitney, where former Vice President Walter Mondale also works, and a partner at another top Minnesota law firm Gray Plant Mooty before seeking public office. Committee assignments For the 111th Congress, Amy Klobuchar is assigned to the following committees: • • • Subcommittee on Children’s Health (Chairwoman) • Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health • Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure • • Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security • Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet • Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion (Chairwoman) • Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance • • Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights • Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs • This continues the practice of Minnesota having two spots on the United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, taking Mark Dayton’s spot and joining Minnesota’s then-Senator Norm Coleman. Klobuchar said, "the Ag Committee is something I told the people of the state was the committee I wanted to join, because the farm bill is up in 2007. So that’s critically important to Minnesota." 2006 Senate election Klobuchar was recognized early as a favorite for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party nomination in 2006 for the U.S. Senate seat then held by Mark Dayton. Dayton announced in early 2005 that he would not seek re-election. EMILY’s List endorsed Klobuchar on September 29, 2005. Klobuchar won the DFL’s endorsement on June 9, 2006. Klobuchar gained the support of the majority of DFL state legislators in Minnesota during the primaries. A poll taken of DFL state delegates showed Klobuchar beating her then closest opponent, Patty Wetterling, 66% to 15%. In January, Wetterling dropped out of the race and endorsed Klobuchar. Former Senate candidate and prominent lawyer Mike Ciresi, who was widely seen as a serious potential DFL candidate, indicated in early February that he would not enter the race; that removal of her most significant potential competitor for the DFL nomination was viewed as an important boost for Klobuchar.[6] The only other serious candidate for the DFL endorsement was veterinarian Ford Bell, who dropped out of the race in July and also endorsed Klobuchar. In the general election, she faced Republican candidate Mark Kennedy, Independence Party candidate Robert Fitzgerald, Constitution candidate Ben Powers, and Green Party candidate Michael Cavlan. Klobuchar consistently led Kennedy throughout the campaign by single or double digits depending on the poll.[7] She won with 58% of the vote over Kennedy’s 38% and the Independence Party’s candidate Robert Fitzgerald at 3% and won all but eight of Minnesota’s 87 counties. This landslide victory was the largest U.S. Senate U.S. Senate In March 2007, Klobuchar went on an official trip to Iraq with colleagues Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Sen. John Sununu (R-NH) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). Klobuchar returned with a pessimistic note for the Iraqi cabinet. She noted that U.S. troops were completing their job and working arduously to train the Iraqis, but voiced her frustration with Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki.[8] 2 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Within days after the collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge, Klobuchar introduced and succeeded in passing legislation to appropriate $250 million to Mn/DOT to quickly build a replacement bridge.[9] As of July 2008, 62% of Minnesotans approved of the job she is doing, with 32% disapproving.[2] Amy Klobuchar 2008 Presidential election On March 30, 2008, Senator Klobuchar announced her endorsement of Senator Barack Obama in the Democratic Party presidential primary, promising her unpledged superdelegate vote for him.[18] She cited Obama’s performance in the Minnesota caucuses, where he won with 66% of the popular vote, as well as her own "independent judgment". Political positions As a Democrat, Klobuchar’s political positions have generally been in line with modern liberalism in the United States. She is prochoice, supports LGBT rights, favors federal social services such as Social Security and universal health care, and is critical of the Iraq War. Klobuchar opposed President Bush’s plan to increase troop levels in Iraq in January 2007.[10] After president Bush vetoed a bill that would fund the troops, but would impose time limits on the Iraq War, (which Klobuchar voted for) and supporters failed to garner enough congressional votes to override his veto, in May 2007 she voted for additional funding for Iraq without such time limits,[11] saying she "simply could not stomach the idea of using our soldiers as bargaining chips".[12] Klobuchar opposes free trade agreements that cause loss of jobs in the U.S. However, she has wavered on her opposition on such trade agreements since her election. A current trade agreement with Peru may achieve her support on grounds of expanded labor and environmental protections, even though they contain the same language of past trade agreements.[13] In August 2007, Klobuchar was one of only 16 Democratic Senators and 41 Democratic House members to vote in favor of the controversial "Protect America Act", which was widely seen as eroding the civil liberty protections of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and posing difficult questions relative to the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.[14][15] She did, however, vote against granting legal immunity to telecom corporations that cooperated with the NSA warrantless surveillance program.[16] Klobuchar voted in favor of the Intelligence Authorization Act of 2008 which included a provision to ban the use of waterboarding by the United States.[17] Possible Supreme Court nomination Klobuchar has been mentioned as a possible nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court following the retirement announcement of Justice David Souter in April 2009 [3]. Klobuchar is viewed as satisfactory for President Barack Obama, who is presumed to favor young, female candidates with practical and political experience. Electoral history 2006 Minnesota U.S. Senate election Party DFL Republican Candidate Votes Amy Klobuchar Mark Kennedy % ±% 1,278,849 58.06% +9.23 835,653 71,194 10,714 5,408 954 443,196 Swing 20.2% 2,202,772 70.64% 37.94% -5.35% 3.23% 0.49% 0.25% Independence Robert Fitzgerald Green Constitution Write-ins Majority Turnout DFL hold Michael Cavlan Ben Powers -2.58% n/a -0.12% Note: The ±% column reflects the change in total number of votes won by each party from the previous election. Hennepin County Attorney election, 2002 Party Candidate Votes % ±% Nonpartisan Amy Klobuchar Write-in [19] 380,632 98.7 4,829 1.3 Hennepin County Attorney election, 1998 Party Candidate Votes % ±% 3 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Nonpartisan Amy Klobuchar Nonpartisan Sheryl Ramstad Hvass [20] Amy Klobuchar 223,416 50.3 219,676 49.4 Footnotes [1] ^ Senate Web site (2007), "U.S. Senator for Minnesota Amy Klobuchar: Biography", http://klobuchar.senate.gov/biography.cfm, retrieved on 2007-02-23. and White, Deborah, About.com (undated), "Inside Profile of Amy Klobuchar, US Senator from Minnesota", http://usliberals.about.com/od/ 2006ussenateraces/p/Klobuchar.htm, retrieved on 2007-02-23. [2] Zernike, Kate (2008-05-18), "She Just Might Be President Someday", New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/ 18/weekinreview/18zernike.html. [3] 1 [4] 1982 Yale Banner, p. 394. [5] Klobuchar, Amy (April 1986). Uncovering the Dome (reprint ed.). Waveland Press. ISBN 0-8813321-86. [6] The Fix — The Friday Line: Can Democrats Get to 6? Accessed October 2, 2006 [7] Full list of poll results at Minnesota United States Senate election, 2006#Polling [8] http://klobuchar.senate.gov/ record.cfm?id=271041 [9] "House panel approves bill to provide $250 million for bridge", examiner.com, 2007-08-02, http://www.examiner.com/ a-860409~House_panel_approves_bill_to_provide__250_million_for_bridge.html, retrieved on 2007-08-02. • United States Senator Amy Klobuchar, [10] Diaz, Kevin (2007-01-08), "Minnesota U.S. Senate site delegation offers cool response", Star • Biography at the Biographical Directory of Tribune, http://www.startribune.com/ the United States Congress 587/story/923881.html, retrieved on • Voting record maintained by The 2007-01-09. Washington Post [11] U.S. Senate: Legislation & Records • Campaign finance reports and data at the Home > Votes > Roll Call Vote Federal Election Commission [12] Senator Amy Klobuchar • Campaign contributions at [13] Microsoft Word - Document27 OpenSecrets.org [14] John Dean (2007-08-10), "The So-Called • Biography, voting record, and interest Protect America Act: Why Its Sweeping group ratings at Project Vote Smart Amendments to the Foreign Intelligence • Issue positions and quotes at On The Surveillance Act Pose Not Only a Civil Issues Liberties Threat, But a Greater Danger • About.com — Amy Klobuchar As Well", http://writ.news.findlaw.com/ dean/20070810.html, retrieved on 2007-09-14. [15] Prof. Marty Lederman (2007-08-23), "How Many Americans Might Be Under Surveillance?", http://balkin.blogspot.com/2007/08/howmany-americans-might-be-under.html, retrieved on 2007-09-14. [16] "110th Congress / Senate / 2nd session / Vote 15", The Washington Post, http://projects.washingtonpost.com/ congress/110/senate/2/votes/15/, retrieved on 2008-03-08. [17] "U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes on Passage of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008", The U.S. Senate, http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/ roll_call_lists/ roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vo retrieved on 2008-03-08. [18] Buoen, Roger, "Klobuchar to endorse Obama", MinnPost.com, http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2008/ 03/30/1329/ klobuchar_to_endorse_obama, retrieved on 2008-03-31. [19] "Unofficial Results: General Election", Minnesota Secretary of State, http://electionresults.sos.state.mn.us/ 20021105/ ElecRslts.asp?CtyCd=27&M=CTY&Races=0405&Cty retrieved on 2009-01-05. [20] "County Offices: Official Results", Minnesota Secretary of State, http://www.sos.state.mn.us/docs/ gencounty1998.pdf, retrieved on 2009-01-05. External links 4 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia United States Senate Preceded by Mark Dayton United States Senator (Class 1) from Minnesota January 3, 2007 – present Served alongside: Norm Coleman,Open Seat Amy Klobuchar Incumbent Order of precedence in the United States of America Preceded by Claire McCaskill D-Missouri United States Senators by seniority 82nd Succeeded by Sheldon Whitehouse D-Rhode Island • Amy Klobuchar for United States Senate, Campaign site • Minnesota Public Radio — Campaign 2006: Amy Klobuchar collected news coverage and commentary Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Klobuchar" Categories: United States Senators from Minnesota, Minnesota lawyers, Prosecutors, University of Chicago Law School alumni, Yale University alumni, American Congregationalists, Slovenian Americans, Swiss Americans, Minnesota Democrats, 1960 births, Living people, People from Hennepin County, Minnesota, People from Plymouth, Minnesota, Female United States Senators, Women in Minnesota politics This page was last modified on 22 May 2009, at 21:18 (UTC). 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