Archive for 2007
Turnover in 2008 MN House Party Control Follow-up
My Smart Politics entry on Monday for Twin Cities Public Television’s Almanac: At the Capitol site prompted a quick reply by the GOP leadership. Minnesota House Minority Leader Marty Seifert offered a thoughtful rejoinder here to my historical analysis demonstrating…
Read MoreGOP Unlikely to Take Back Minnesota House in 2008
The new Smart Politics commentary for Twin Cities Public Television’s Almanac: At the Capitol site is now posted here. Several commentators and news reports have filled out their ‘DFL scorecard’ as we pass the halfway point in this year’s legislative…
Read MoreNorm Coleman Maintains Double-Digit Lead Over Al Franken in New Poll
One of the Democratic National Committee’s most targeted U.S. Senate seats in 2008 is assuredly the one held by Minnesota Republican Senator Norm Coleman. Thus far Al Franken has emerged as the most prominent candidate to challenge Coleman in…
Read MoreDemocratic Senate Iraq War Resolution Fails
On Thursday the U.S. Senate rejected a Democratic-led joint resolution calling for phased redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq within 4 months and a goal of complete redeployment by the end of March 2008. The 50-48 vote included one…
Read MoreSmart Politics on Spring Break
Smart Politics is taking a slightly early spring break, but will return with normal postings in one week – March 16th. Our RSS feeds will remain active, so please be sure to check back for the latest headlines in Upper…
Read MoreScooter Libby Felony Conviction Fallout
I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby’s conviction of four felony counts of lying under oath and obstruction of justice on Tuesday marked the highest-ranking White House official to be convicted in a federal investigation since the Reagan Iran-Contra scandal. Libby will…
Read MoreSmoking in MN: Yes in Bars, No in Restaurants
The public opinion firm SurveyUSA recently released a series of questions asked of a random sample of 500 adults in Minnesota addressing a variety of social public policy issues on the state’s legislative agenda. Regarding the proposed smoking ban…
Read MoreFemale Legislators in MN At Record High; IA, WI, and SD Lag Behind National Average
Minnesota voters set a record in November 2006 by electing the highest percentage of female legislators to both the state House (43, 32.1 percent) and Senate (27, 40.3 percent) in Gopher State history. Overall, at 34.8 percent, Minnesota ranks 4th…
Read MoreTax Increases Not a Deal Breaker in Minnesota
The new Smart Politics commentary for Twin Cities Public Television’s Almanac: At the Capitol site is now posted here. In it I challenge the assertions made by Minnesota Republican state Representative Marty Seifert in his February 24th blog that Minnesotans…
Read MoreEdwards Support in Wisconsin at Half 2004 Level
The first public opinion poll measuring support for 2008 presidential candidates in Wisconsin was released this week by Strategic Vision—a Republican research firm. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton was the favorite of 36 percent of the 800 likely…
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