CONGRATULATIONS to Swanson

Congratulations to Lori Swanson on her victory Tuesday evening. I look forward to supporting her during her run for Attorney General.

In this day and age it was comforting to see three formidable and qualified candidates run a primary race that was based on their own record and vision for the future. This was a clean campaign and my hat goes off to all three candidates for keeping it that way.

Flash

A Primary Eve E-Mail from Bill

Dear Friend,

My campaign for Attorney General is not about fancy mailings or public endorsements. The only endorsement I seek is your vote on Tuesday.

I am abiding by Minnesota's Fair Campaign Law with its spending limits so that Minnesotans, not money, decide this election. That means if I win the primary, the Republican candidate and I will be required to follow strict spending limits instead of a race where campaign spending becomes "the sky is the limit".

Last week I traveled over 1000 miles across Minnesota to hear from Minnesotans. They feel our leaders have the wrong priorities by funding sports stadiums while shortchanging education, public safety and health care. Voters want leaders who will do the right thing, not the political thing.

As your attorney general, I will always put principle over politics. I will follow in the proud tradition of Minnesota's great Attorneys General Mondale-Humphrey-Hatch. I will bring to the Attorney General's Office:

* my values of hard work and discipline from growing up on a family dairy farm in Greater Minnesota,
* my hands-on experience as the lead attorney in winning difficult cases for the "little guy" against corporate giants, and
* my leadership as a progressive Democrat in the Minnesota Legislature and U.S. Congress working with Mike Hatch to reform the healthcare and prescription drugs industries.

I am the candidate for attorney general who has the right priorities in fighting for Minnesota's families. Out-of-control oil companies are putting profits ahead of our families, farmers and businesses and crippling our economy and way of life. Minnesota led the nation against the tobacco and healthcare industries and we can do the same with big oil.

I ask for your VOTE on Tuesday and I hope you'll also remind your family, friends and neighbors to vote. Together we can put principle over politics and have a people's attorney as Attorney General!

Sincerely,

Bill

Oil Industry Misleads the Public with TV Ads

Luther: Oil Industry Misleads the Public with TV Ads

Sunday, September 10, 2006 at 11:25 PM

EDEN PRAIRIE – DFL candidate for Attorney General and former U.S. Congressman Bill Luther called the oil industry’s recent cable television ads misleading propaganda. Those ads claim that the recent spikes in gas prices are a result of foreign oil supplies. The ads, sponsored by the American Petroleum Institute, attempt to shift responsibility from oil companies to the world market.

“Minnesotans shouldn’t be fooled by the oil companies’ attempts to shift responsibility from their quest for profits to instabilities in the world market,” said Luther. “The facts show that the oil industry is simply again attempting to protect their record profits.”

Luther said oil companies are able to manipulate gas prices through their concentration in the industry. Today, five oil companies control more than half of U.S. refining capacity and the top 10 account for three-quarters. A majority are oil powerhouses like ConocoPhillips Co., Exxon Mobil Corp. and BP PLC, which influence prices from drilling to pumping gas into cars and trucks.

Luther said, “When gas prices fall after a sudden spike, consumers feel a sense of relief, which sets the public up to accept as normal unacceptably high gas prices.”

Also, according to an Associated Press analysis that looked at weekly federal pricing data since September 1999, a gallon of retail gas rose an average of 6 cents for every 10-cent rise in oil, but dropped only 4 cents for every 10-cent decline in oil. And oil companies like Exxon Mobil Corporation continue to report record profits year after year.

Luther is calling for an investigation into oil company practices that drive up the cost of gasoline at the pump. He has also called for a nationwide effort to stop consolidation and break up monopolies in the oil industry.

To view the American Petroleum Institute’s ad, visit the Web site,

http://api-ec.api.org/video_library/ads/industries-q1-2006.wmv

Luther Radio Ads Playing Statewide

Have a listen HERE!

Luther Proposes Anti-Price Gouging Legislation

Tuesday, September 05, 2006 at 9:35 PM

EDEN PRAIRIE - Citing extreme spikes in gas prices in recent months, DFL attorney general candidate Bill Luther has proposed enacting legislation to prohibit price gouging in Minnesota. Minnesota would join a majority of states which prohibit price gouging.

"It is time for Minnesota to join the rest of the country in protecting consumers during emergencies and disasters," Luther said. "Whether it is gasoline, food, or health care services, Minnesotans deserve to be protected from unscrupulous businesses who seek to take advantage of dire circumstances."

Roughly half of the states in the country have laws or regulations that prohibit price gouging. Currently Minnesota does not prohibit price gouging. Luther's legislation would be modeled after other states' statutes and proposed federal legislation endorsed by several state attorneys general.

The proposed legislation would prohibit any business from selling essential consumer goods or services, including gasoline, food and health care services at unconscionably excessive prices during an abnormal market disruption including national or state emergencies and disasters. If a business attempts to sell a product at a price 30 percent higher than the seven day average, they would be subject to civil penalties.

Luther said incidents such as the recent tornadoes in southern Minnesota, and the drought conditions in western and northwestern Minnesota might qualify as circumstances to enforce the proposed price gouging legislation.