Archive for May 2009
Republicans in Competitive Districts Opposed Pogemiller Redistricting Bill; Safe GOPers Supported Reform
When DFL Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller saw his redistricting reform bill (SF 182) pass on a 39-28 roll call vote last Friday, he nearly needed one of the five votes cast by Republicans in favor of the bill. While…
Read MorePogemiller Delivers on Redistricting Reform; SF 182 Passes Senate Floor Vote
While the thunder of Governor Tim Pawlenty’s new unallotment strategy drew all the attention of Capitol watchers on Thursday and Friday, the Senate, under the leadership of DFL Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller (SD59-Minneapolis), passed a redistricting bill that will perhaps…
Read MoreA Historical Snapshot of Minnesota’s Legislative Special Sessions
Governor Tim Pawlenty delivered a shot across the DFL’s bow Thursday afternoon, or perhaps it was the dropping of an A-bomb, when he declared there would be no special sessions to resolve the state’s budget matters and that, if need…
Read MoreShould Minnesota’s Corrections Budget Be Increased?
The passage of public safety legislation this week in the Senate (SF 802) and House (HF 1162) included a reduction of approximately $100 million of the base budgets across more than a dozen departments – the largest being a $34.2…
Read MoreGovernor Pawlenty: Good for Minnesota Twins Baseball?
While Tim Pawlenty struggles to deal with soaring budget deficits and historic rates in the increase of unemployment statewide, there is at least one positive issue he can take to the electorate should he seek an unprecedented third four-year term…
Read MoreJesse Ventura Lobbies for Ambassador Post to Cuba
Former Governor Jesse Ventura appeared on Larry King Live Monday evening to promote the paperback release of his latest book, Don’t Start the Revolution Without Me, and offered his trademark rapid-fire quips on a range of subjects, from Barack Obama’s…
Read MorePawlenty Delivers on Veto Pledge; Override Season Opens
Governor Tim Pawlenty’s veto this weekend of a legislative bill (HF 885, SF 681) that would raise approximately $1 billion in revenue through income and alcohol taxes and a surtax on credit card companies, marked the official opening of Override…
Read MoreWill Minnesotans Support the Firearms Freedom Act?
Minnesota Republican State Representative Tom Emmer (19B-Delano) introduced legislation in the House on Thursday that seeks to restrict the reach of federal firearms laws by exempting Minnesota-made firearms and ammunition that remain in the state from federal laws and regulations,…
Read MoreHow Many Senators Will Vote for the Next Supreme Court Nominee?
With the recent announcement by Associate Justice David Souter that he intends to retire from the Supreme Court this year, all eyes are on President Barack Obama to see who he will send up to the U.S. Senate for confirmation…
Read MoreBachmann on the State of the GOP: “Republicans are for all practical purposes irrelevant”
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is seemingly a fixture in the state and national media these days, and in particular on WWTC 1280 AM’s Northern Alliance Radio Network. The Minnesota U.S. Representative appeared once again on Brian Ward and John Hinderaker’s “The…
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