It was reported a couple

It was reported a couple of weeks ago that Norm Coleman was one of a group of eleven Democratic and Republican Senators (Olympia Snowe, the Missing Linc, et al.) who were meeting to develop a tax cut plan that would be an alternative to the Bush proposal. This “moderate” proposal would not have included dividend tax relief. This article is from a California newspaper, but the same report appeared in the Minnesota papers. This news must have prompted an outcry from Coleman’s Minnesota supporters, virtually of whom thought it was unseemly–to say the least–for Norm to betray the President who was mainly responsible for his election within a matter of days after taking office.
This constituent feedback (along with whatever pressure was exerted by the Administration) seems to have been effective. The Minnesota Republican Party produces a twice-weekly email newsletter called GOP Newsline that goes out to several thousand of the party faithful. Yesterday’s GOP Newsline included a long statement by Coleman, enthusiastically endorsing the Administration’s tax cut proposal, including the elimination of double taxation on dividends; Coleman’s statement said in part: