The following article by Peter Callaghan was posted on the MinnPostwebsite August 24, 2018:
House Speaker Kurt Daudt in front of Republican House candidates on the filing deadline. Credit: Peter Callaghan, MinnPost
Insiders call them “borrowed ground” or even “rented districts.”
They are the dozen or so Minnesota state House districts carried by Hillary Clinton two years ago but narrowly won by Republicans lawmakers in the same election. Now they are the focus of both parties’ attempts to control the body.
With an open governor’s seat and the state Senate likely to remain in a one-seat GOP majority, the 134 House seats on the November ballot will either give the Republicans complete control of the state Legislature — or ensure that Democrats have a share of power.
Asking Paulsen to take a position on this is clearly asking too much
The July 26 editorial “Southwest LRT needs friend in GOP” calls on U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen to become a supporter of this rail line, which would largely run through his district. It is also a highly contentious matter.
A couple of months ago, I called Paulsen’s Eden Prairie office and asked his staff person about Paulsen’s position on Southwest LRT. He responded that Paulsen had no position because it was not a federal matter. I responded that this was curious, since a billion dollars of federal money is involved. He reiterated that Paulsen had no position.
Paulsen has obviously been walking a narrow plank because he knows that either pro or con on Southwest LRT will alienate many in his district.
Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Kavanaugh, is a threat to Americans’ health care. We know Kavanaugh will gut the Affordable Care Act because Trump himself pledged his Supreme Court nominee would “do the right thing” and strike it down, and because Kavanaugh wrote that a future president could refuse to enforce it.
Trump pledged that his Supreme Court nominee would “do the right thing” and gut the Affordable Care Act.
“If I win the presidency, my judicial appointments will do the right thing unlike Bush’s appointee John Roberts on Obamacare.” – Trump, 2015
The following article by Steve Kinsella was posted on the Star Tribune website April 4, 2018:
The lesson from the former senator is one that some of Minnesota’s U.S. representatives should learn.
Former Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver. He served in the Senate from 1987 to 2005. Credit: Olivier Douliery, ABACA Ppress/TNS
It was late 1987 or early 1988, and my boss at the time, then-U.S.-Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota, had just arrived back in the state from Washington, D.C., as he did roughly every two weeks. He was headed to north central South Dakota for a series of face-to-face constituent meetings.
I was nervous and had repeatedly contacted the staff person who would accompany Daschle on the trip, to make sure everything would go as smoothly as possible. My anxiety was due to the fact that he had recently taken a couple of controversial votes in the eyes of many of the people who lived in that region of South Dakota, a state that has never been overly embracing of Democrats.
But this region of the state was particularly tough for Democrats, even for South Dakota. As a longtime Democrat activist from the area told me once, “you could run Jesus Christ on the Democrat side of the ballot against a dog on the Republican side, and Jesus wouldn’t pull over 30 percent of the vote.” His analysis wasn’t far off. Continue reading “Political representation: Daschle’s example shows why you meet constituents face to face”
Thank you to all the volunteers, delegates and alternates who helped make the April 14, 2018, convention happen. The next step in the endorsement season is the state convention below.
State DFL Convention: June 1 through 3, 2018, Mayo Civic Center, 30 Civic Center Dr SE, Rochester, MN 55904. More specifics as they become available, or check the State DFL website.
The following article by Hannah Jones was posted on the CityPages website March 28, 2018:
He says Hennepin County has a Trump fan running the sheriff’s department, but most people don’t know it.
Dave Hutchinson is a lawman. He’s been a Metro Transit Police officer for 15 years, and for the last five, a sergeant. These days, he spends a lot of time making calls and sending letters, because he’s running for sheriff.
He’s got a straightforward platform. He wants to change the way Hennepin County hires officers, which right now, is basically a written test and an interview with the sheriff and HR. Instead, he wants three full-on hearings by three different panels of law enforcement, county staff, and trusted civilians.
The following article by Briana Bierschbach was posted on the Minnpost website February 7, 2018:
State Rep. Jenifer Loon, lower right, speaking to the crowd assembled at a Republican caucus on Tuesday night in Eden Prairie. Credit: MinnPost photo by Briana Bierschbach
The 2018 election unofficially kicked off in Minnesota Tuesday evening, as tens of thousands of Minnesotans piled into their local school gymnasiums, cafeterias and community centers to signal their preference in the open race for governor and debate the core values of their chosen parties.
It was precinct caucus night across the state, when the Democratic and Republican parties organized gatherings to start the process of selecting candidates in the upcoming election, which will feature an open governor’s race, two U.S. Senate races, three constitutional offices, all eight congressional seats and the Minnesota House on the ballot. Continue reading “Turnout numbers offer a tale of two very different caucus nights for DFL, GOP”
