Free Republic

If you’ve followed Ed’s coverage on Hot Air, you know that Minnesota has a genuine choice in its gubernatorial election this year. The GOP has endorsed Tom Emmer, a solid conservative in the Chris Christie mold. The DFL’’s endorsement (the Minnesota term for “Democrats”) depends on an August 10 primary – but as this is written former Senator Mark Dayton has a commanding lead over the DFL-endorsed candidate (speaker of the MN House Margaret Anderson-Kelliher) and former state Rep. Matt Entenza. Yes – that Mark Dayton –...

An embattled state senator owes the federal government about $250,000 in past-due income taxes, the Duluth News Tribune reported Friday. Sen. Satveer Chaudhary, DFL-Fridley, was stripped of his party's endorsement late last month because he inserted last-minute language into a major fish and game bill to improve walleye fishing on a northeastern Minnesota lake where he owns a cabin. That provision was one reason Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed the bill. On Friday, the newspaper reported that tax records show Chaudhary and his wife, Denise, failed to pay $100,000 in income taxes in 2007 and $151,000 in 2008.

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann says she raised $1.7 million toward re-election in the second quarter, nearly double the total of her Democratic challenger. State Sen. Tarryl Clark reported raising about $910,000 in the quarter. Clark, of St. Cloud, said that pushed her total for the cycle to more than $2 million. That's still well below the Republican Bachmann's $4.1 million in the cycle. Both campaigns touted their success with small donors. Neither provided detail on how much money they spent in the quarter or how much they had left in the bank.

Minneapolis is one of four contenders vying to host the 2012 Democratic political convention expected to nominate President Obama for a second term. "When there's a big event in the United States, Minneapolis-St. Paul should always be a logical choice," said Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, who learned Wednesday that Minneapolis made the final four cut. Minneapolis and two other contenders -- Cleveland and St. Louis -- are in likely battle- ground states. The fourth -- Charlotte, N.C. -- is in the Republican-friendly South

The Democratic-controlled Legislature pushed Monday to send new income taxes for the highest-paid Minnesotans to a tax-averse Gov. Tim Pawlenty as part of their plan to wipe away a $2.9 billion deficit. The proposal barely cleared the Senate on a 34-33 vote before heading to the House. Pawlenty, a potential Republican presidential candidate, eliminated any suspense by promising to veto it. Lawmakers and the governor are hard-pressed to balance the budget before the state constitution requires the legislature to adjourn in a week. The state Supreme Court made the crisis more acute last week when it said Pawlenty exceeded his...

Minnesota risks running out of money if those affected by overturned budget cuts seek immediate back pay. A spokesman for Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Thursday the state doesn't have the money on hand to cover $2.7 billion in cuts thrown into doubt by a Supreme Court ruling. The spokesman, Brian McClung, says while the ruling was tailored to a special nutrition program others hit by Pawlenty's 2009 cuts may ask to have state allowances restored. Legislative leaders met for an hour with Pawlenty and members of both parties emerged to describe the fiscal crisis. Pawlenty has asked lawmakers to...

Coleman said he issued the order as a protest, following several other cities and organizations that are boycotting Arizona. "This law sets a dangerous example for the rest of the country," Coleman said in a press release. "It will create a culture where racial profiling is acceptable, and will create a dangerous wedge between police officers and the communities they serve."

One of the state's largest unions has reached out to police after getting what it considers threatening voicemails at its main office Tuesday night. The public service employees' union says it doesn't get too many phone calls from the public until it starts airing television ads. It says its latest "Tax the Rich" ad has prompted more than 1,000 phone calls. For every 10 supportive ones, AFSCME says one is negative. They also say one caller crossed the line.

Republicans love to bash Education Minnesota, claiming the statewide teachers union and its powerful lobbying force essentially control the Democratic Party. But this legislative session, the union is alienating even some of its DFL allies. Observers say relationships are strained because of the union's resistance to proposed reforms — particularly bringing in new teachers and stabilizing the statewide pension for educators. "I'm just absolutely frustrated with some of the stances they're taking on the issues," said DFL Rep. Marsha Swails, who is an English teacher at Woodbury High School. "Maybe all those folks in the Education Minnesota building are a...

Two of Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann's Democratic colleagues are rallying with union members as Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin arrives to help Bachmann on Wednesday. Reps. Keith Ellison and Betty McCollum are appearing in the state Capitol rotunda for a demonstration organized by the Minnesota AFL-CIO. Event organizers are calling on state leaders to raise taxes on the wealthy to help solve the state's budget problems. The union event happens a couple of hours before Palin and Bachmann are slated to lead a rally together at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Palin is also attending a private fundraiser for Bachmann, who is...

Some Minneapolis activists are petitioning for more requirements at the polls. A nonprofit voting group and a Minneapolis advocacy organization are starting a petition to require photo identification for people voting in city elections. Republican Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer of Big Lake will speak today in Minneapolis to kick off the petition drive. She was secretary of state from 1999 until 2006, when she was defeated by now-Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, a Democrat. Similar petitions have started in St. Paul and Duluth.

A Minnesota senator has introduced a bill that would require indoor inflatable play centers to get liability insurance and staff a trained supervisor. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Katie Sieben (DFL-Newport), will be heard by a Senate committee Monday. The new law would apply to indoor play centers with bouncy castles, houses and other inflatable equipment. It would not apply to equipment rented for private home parties or at carnivals and other festivals.

Nora Slawik, a DFL representative from Maplewood, is championing a bill that would prohibit drivers from smoking when children are in the car. She probably has the lungs of infants in mind, but the version of the proposal that I read takes it up to age 18, which means that when you return from getting shot at by the Taliban and happen to hitch a ride downtown with Mom, you would be safe from her secondhand smoke. In not necessarily unrelated news, we have learned that the city has closed the ball fields at the Jimmy Lee Recreational Center because...

They are the longest of long shots, the darkest of dark horses. Since 1946, Republicans have lost 31 straight elections for Minnesota's 4th District congressional seat, and Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum has won her last four elections by lopsided margins. Nonetheless, Republicans are fired up about their chances of unseating her this year. Four candidates are competing for the party's endorsement:

On Wednesday, March 3, the House Civil Justice Committee will hold a hearing on House File 1396. This bill includes a provision that would allow a court that issues a domestic abuse protective order to prohibit the respondent from having any contact with a PET OR COMPANION ANIMAL OWNED, POSSESSED, OR KEPT by a party protected in the order. This new provision could have serious consequences for Minnesotans who exercise their right to keep and bear arms.

Rep. Tom Huntley (D-Duluth) will try to mandate that every person's medical record be placed online and made available to state government, researchers, federal government and others. All without your consent.

Theresa Marie Barslou said she voted for the first time in the November 2008 elections. Nearly a year later, her vote has come back to haunt her. Barslou, 29, of St. Paul, illegally voted as a felon on probation, states a Ramsey County criminal complaint charging her with felony voter fraud. Barslou was arrested Monday after she failed to appear last month at a court hearing. She was released the next day on $3,000 bail. Barslou is one of the 23 felons charged with voter fraud in Ramsey County since the 2008 elections, County Attorney Susan Gaertner said. During a...

It seems that a decades-old battle for the soul of the Democratic Party has reemerged in the Obama administration.  The media likes to talk about splinters and fault lines among the Republicans, but these have a far shorter history than the intra-party war that seems to be fought ever few decades among Democrats because of that party's tendency to drift to the far left.   Ron Radosh notes the interesting background of a group Van Jones founded, The Ella Baker Freedom Center. Most people have referred to the late Baker as simply a civil rights activist.... in my book, Divided They Fell: The Demise of the Democratic...

What was supposed to be a swanky Summit Avenue fundraiser for Sen. Al Franken on Thursday was abruptly canceled when Franken discovered that the host of the event served a year in prison for swindling some northern Minnesotans. Mark Erjavec, who describes himself as an entrepreneur specializing in distressed real estate, may be a newcomer to the political scene but he is well known in the courtroom. Besides the 1997 theft by swindle conviction, the 33-year-old Erjavec has faced over $100,000 in tax liens and civil judgments. General Electric sued him for copyright infringement. His personal website has a link...

In a sarcasm-laced letter, Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Tuesday brusquely rebuffed DFL legislative leaders' invitation to a summit meeting that would address the state's ongoing financial crisis. Late last month, Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller and House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher invited former governors, speakers and majority leaders to a "Minnesota Leadership Summit." In Tuesday's letter to Pogemiller and Kelliher, Pawlenty declined the invitation. "The state already has a 'Minnesota Leadership Summit,'" he wrote. "It's called the legislative session and it lasts approximately five months."