Bluestem Prairie: Politics

Politics

Apr 16, 2013

Letters: Red Wing pastor fears children will be forced to gay marry; Alex altar boy disagrees

Two letters published in Forum Communications newspapers in Red Wing and Alexandria illustrate the on-going debate in Greater Minnesota about the freedom to marry.

In one letter, a Missouri Synod pastor with long-standing anti-gay sentiments invokes fears that children will be forced to gay marry. In the other, a tenth-grade altar boy notes "if you don’t want a gay marriage, don’t get one."

Ronald Stehr seems confused.He writes in Marriage is moral, religious issue:

. . . This debate over unnatural marriage is so crucial. Kids will be hurt — 97 percent of the children.
A 6-year-old girl asked her mother shortly after the November referendum, “Mommy, does this mean I will have to marry a woman?”

What do little boys and girls think of, hope for, dream of but growing up and getting married?

Embedding the possibility of boys marrying boys and girls marrying girls into law will bring into question those dreams, if not destroy them.

This 6-year-old was expressing a fear that she would be forced into something very unusual, something that is difficult if not impossible for children to understand.

There will be more confusion among children and teenagers about their sexual identity.. . .

Although he's not identified in this letter as a Lutheran pastor by the Red Wing Republican Eagle, Stehr has been writing against all things gay since at least March 2008, when he equated the movie "The Bible Tells Me So" with Satan, warning that gay "behavior [was] . . .unnatural, unhealthy and contrary to God's plan." Red Wing's local PFLAG chapter would only confuse the children and besides, millions of kids are orphaned by AIDS in Africa (Stehr seems confused about epidemiology).

In a second letter that month, Stehr claimed that traumatic childhoods create queer folk, who have no choice over their orientation, but who can chose "therapy which has proven successful for thousands (Exodus International, Homosexuals Anonymous, etc.)." In short, pray away the gay, the conversion therapy that the

"ethics guidelines of major mental health organizations in the United States vary from cautionary statements to recommendations that ethical practitioners refrain from practicing conversion therapy (American Psychiatric Association) or from referring patients to those who do (American Counseling Association).

Last year, before the marriage amendment vote, Stehr wrote that he and his wife had lived in the Czech Republic for a year and saw no support for marriage equality:

My wife and I lived in Prague, Czech Republic, for a year. It is the most atheistic city in the world. You would think that without the influence of religion (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc.) same-sex marriage would have been approved of long ago. We heard nothing of such a movement. One reason is the traditional family is so very important to them.

Bluestem suspects that the Stehrs might not speak Czech, since registered partnerships have been legal in the Czech Republic since 2006, and polling in 2012 showed that 51 percent of those surveyed in the Eastern European country favored same-sex marriage. He seems confused if he didn't heard of movement on this issue, since there's been a fierce debate in the CR for years.

Stehr is only thinking of the children; in Douglas County, it seems as if the children can think for themselves. Up in the Alexandria Echo Press, 10th grader Alec Roth doesn't appear to be confused in his letter, Gays should be able to marry:

In this free country that we love to live in, there are many times that we may have to swallow our pride to avoid other people’s rights being trampled. The amount of controversy around gay marriage during this age is astonishing; with many people going out of their way to shoot down another’s fundamental and constitutional rights.

While I’ve been through St. Mary’s private and Catholic education, have served the Lord for eight years (and counting) as an altar boy, I still believe that these gays and lesbians wishing to get married should be able to.

These gays and lesbians all have names and lives. They pay taxes, support our local economy, and interact with every aspect of the community. Saying gays don’t deserve to get married is saying that Emma can’t get married, Jason shouldn’t be able to adopt a kid, Scott should never be able to put a ring on the finger of someone he loves.

These people have names, they love everyone for who they are, and most importantly, they love their partners. They need to be fought for. Emma needs to be fought for. Whether it is a sin or not is beside the point.

I for one will not stop a straight atheist couple from getting married just because they don’t have the ceremony in a church. The church legally does not need to honor their marriage, but the government does. Why should it be any different with gays? With this free nation we all hold dear to our hearts, we all need to include everyone in order for our Constitution to work. So please, if you don’t want a gay marriage, don’t get one.

Seems pretty straightforward.

Photo: A same-sex ceremony in the Czech Republic, 2004. Via Radio Prague.

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Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Apr 16, 2013 at 01:40 PM in Civil liberties, Human rights, Media analysis, Minnesota legislature, Politics, Postmoronic Politics, Religion, State Legislature | Permalink | Comments (0)

Apr 15, 2013

Farmer-hating urban chick pushes strong ag budget in House omnibus ag & enviro finance bill

Remember when Rod Hamilton and House Republicans got the fantods over an urban, earth-friendly woman chairing the House Environment, Natural Resource and Agricultural Finance Committee? Because she would so not understand farmers?

From December 2012 through January 2013, one could scarcely pick up a paper in a swing rural district won by a DFLer in the November 2012 election and not read an example of the collective Republican butthurt.

Looks like Hamilton was just acting like that frienemy who really doesn't wish us well with our new date, despite all the concern trolling.

Just in from Minnesota Farmers Union Legislative Director Thom Petersen's emailed Notes from the Farmers Union:

Both the House and Senate are moving their versions of the omnibus agriculture and environment finance bills authored respectively by Rep. Jean Wagenius and Sen. David Tomassoni. The House version also carries agricultural policy provisions the Senate version does not at this point. The House version has a strong budget for agriculture including full funding for the AGRI fund, and other MFU priorities including sustainable agriculture, dairy development, county fairs, AURI, and Board of Animal Health. Members can track House bill progress here: House Finance bill the Senate version will be released later today. The bill also addresses water usage fees and reduces fees for irrigators from .35 cents to .22 cents per million gallons pumped as originally proposed by Rep. Wagenius. The Senate is not likely to include water usage fees in their bill.

Indeed, the House version of HF 976 2E as passed in Ways and Means includes $82,406,000 for 2014-2015, while the governor's budget proposed $80,606,000 (see page 10).

So how many Republicans have voted for this bill as it makes its way through committee hearings?

Photo: Representative Jean Wagenius, a lot nicer to farmers than Republicans will let on.

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Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Apr 15, 2013 at 12:24 PM in Agriculture, County Fairs, Energy , Environment, Governor Mark Dayton, Minnesota legislature, On the Farm, Politics, Renewable energy, Rural development, Small Business, State Legislature, Water | Permalink | Comments (0)

Apr 13, 2013

Once an ally, University of Minnesota-Morris student now works for her own freedom to marry

Like many teenage girls, Naomi Wente once wrote out a list of the characteristics she sought in a spouse: intelligence, compassion, political involvement.

Looking back during an interview at the Common Cup coffeehouse in Morris, the U of M senior from Dodge Center, Minnesota, recalls that she never assigned a gender to that individual.

"Most of my friends wrote, "My husband will..." while I wrote, "The one I marry...," Wente said, as a smile flitted across her face. That smile frequently punctuated her remarks as she talked about marriage equality.

Now passionately engaged in the campaign to secure her own right to be able to marry, Wente first recognized her own affectional identity just over a year ago when she met up with friends in her graduating class in Triton High. As a high school student in a small, rural town, Wente was "involved in everything, you name it, and I was involved in it" she said, rattling of a list of sports, music, theater, and student organizations. Wente said “I lived in the kind of town were everyone knew everyone.”

Encouraged by her parents to be politically active while in high school, Wente rallied for immigrant rights, walked picket lines with union workers, and sought to provide Cambodian girls with access to safe sanitation and water. Like her family, she celebrates a solid Lutheran faith.

Wente continued her legacy in at Morris. In 2011, she was named a Newman Civic Fellow, after being nominated by the university chancellor as "best-of-the-best . . . promising college student leader." Wente had spearheaded efforts to bring local food to the Morris Campus and community, as well as being named president of the Pomme De Terre Food Co-op, a local nonprofit. In 2012, she was selected a Udall Scholar. She is also active in MPIRG, College Democrats and Equality (the LGBTQ student group).

But despite that record of achievement, as her friends sat in that post-high-school holiday break gathering, calling out the roll of who was what, where and how, she found herself flinching as her old friends grimaced when they announced that an acquaintance was gay or lesbian, proclaiming that these former classmates were going to hell.

That night, the ordinarily cheerful young woman cried as the realization--that she had refused to acknowledge during high school--dawned on her that she is attracted to women.

The next day, Wente traveled to Wisconsin to meet up with her family for Christmas. Surrounded by loved ones in a small church, she heard a powerful Christmas sermon about recalibrating one's life. At Christmas dinner later that night, her aunt stood up and gave a few words before the meal.

Wente recalls, “She looked us each in the eye, and told us that she loved us each for who we are—telling us that we need to tell one another that we love each other more.” The words took hold.

Shortly after Christmas, Wente traveled on a whim with her brother Jordan and two friends to Spain, where she was able to digest the realization that she was attracted to women. During this trip, she first came out to her brother, with whom she has always been close. Shortly thereafter, she e-mailed her mother.

"My mom read that, and wrote 'I think we have to have coffee,'" Wente said, laughing. Once Wente assured her parents, both college professors and UMM alumni, that she was certain of her identity, they supported her completely.

Before Naomi had left for Spain, she had been texting Grace Geier, a UM-Morris student from St. Louis Park and MPIRG student organizer. They continued to talk over Facebook once Wente went to Spain, a conversation which quickly evolved into flirting. Once Naomi arrived back in Morris for the semester, they started dating.

"At first my mom wondered whether this was too quick," Wente said, her eyes twinkling at the memories, "But I'm the sort of person --when I know something, I know. Once I was out of the closet, I was out!"

"Both our families are wonderful; we share Thanksgiving, Christmas, all the family things. Grace has 'two aunts' and they've been helpful for us, " Wente said.

Wente and Geier have rented a duplex beginning in June. "We're picking out the curtains, the rug, the furniture. It's fun being domestic," the student leader said.

For a moment, she grows somber. "As we plan and look ahead, there's always this barrier: we can't get married if we reach that step. It doesn't matter who we are, how much we give to our community. It just stops.'

Wente has never been one to accept barriers, but she feels that, for the first time, she has to fight for her own rights. "In the past, I was working as an ally for others: immigrants, union members, candidates," she reflects. "Now it's my own freedom to marry."

She hopes that her state representative, freshman Jay McNamar, remembers that pro-equality students at Morris and in the community put in countless hours to get him elected. "He told us after the election that we put him over the top," Wente said. "If he is here for us on marriage equality, we'll be there for him in 2014."

Back on campus on a snowy day, Wente brings a book to Geier in the student center. Like Wente, Geier has a ready smile, keenly intelligent eyes and clear fondness for her girlfriend. They pause for a photograph, then move on to the next step in their day.

Photo: Grace Geier and Naomi Wente. Photo by Sally Jo Sorensen.

This original story is underwritten by a sponsorship by Minnesotans United for All Families.

Also in the series: Like water to the river: Western MN couple see the freedom to marry as part of state's ethos

Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Apr 13, 2013 at 01:42 PM in Civic engagement, Civil liberties, Human rights, Minnesota legislature, Politics, Religion, State Legislature | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ink-stained wretches laud Governor Dayton's "good, old-fashioned" N. Mankato town hall

While some Twin Cities conservatives grumbled about Governor Dayton's series of town halls as a set of latter-day Potemkin villages (a phrase that is itself seated in a historial smear), local media and citizens saw something else entirely.

The Mankato Free Press gives the event in south central Minnesota a thumbs up in Dayton's town hall:

To Gov. Mark Dayton's town hall meeting in North Mankato last week.

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When governors venture out, particularly to Greater Minnesota, the events are often choreographed tours, meeting with selected local leaders, capped with a press conference.

But when Dayton went to South Central College in North Mankato he invited anyone from the public who wanted to come and 200 did.

For 90 minutes Minnesota Dayton took a wide variety of questions, from his views on frac sand mining moratoriums to highway funding. The governor answered honestly, sometimes agreeing with people and sometimes challenging their views.

It was a good, old-fashioned, democratic exchange of ideas and an opportunity for regular citizens to have face-to-face contact with the head of the state.

We hope he makes it a regular routine.

Read the Free Press's coverage of the event in Dayton meets with voters in North Mankato, KEYC-TV's Dayton Hears It From Silica Sand Supporters, and the New Ulm Journal's Dayton explains his position on gas tax hike.

Dayton is back down in Southern Minnesota today, the Worthington Globe reports in Political leaders arrive today to see damage from the double-whammy ice and snow storms.

Photo: Governor Mark Dayton.

Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Apr 13, 2013 at 01:33 PM in Civic engagement, Civil liberties, Events , Governor Mark Dayton, Politics | Permalink | Comments (1)

Apr 12, 2013

Collin Peterson on Farm Bill: "five times as much fraud in crop insurance than in food stamps"

Last year's Farm Bill stalled in the House when Tea Party Republicans decided not feeding the poor was a winning meal ticket in the 2012 elections. That worked well for folks like Allen Quist, sent him back to his rural Nicollet County farm instead of the big hotdish contest in the Beltway.

The National Journal reports in Food Stamps Are Key Component to Getting Farm Bill Passed:

. . .Some House Republicans, often from the rural Midwest, began proposing putting food stamps—which make up more than 70 percent of the Agriculture Department budget—into a separate bill. This would be a way to reduce food-stamp spending or get the program turned over to the states. These members seem to have forgotten that Congress created food stamps as part of the farm bill in the 1960s, when the declining rural population translated into fewer rural representatives in the House and fewer votes for the farm bill, and that the number of rural representatives continues to decline. . . .

. . . The participation in food stamps appears to remain higher than anticipated, however, because wage rates are so low. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has suggested that the way to resolve the problem is to help food-stamp beneficiaries improve their skills and get better jobs.

Meanwhile, House Republicans press for cuts and most Democrats resist. House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said he has told his panel’s chairman, Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., that he wants to be part of any decision-making on food-stamp cuts. Peterson also defended food stamps with a statement that is sure to raise hackles in farm circles: “There is less fraud in food stamps than in any government program. There is five times as much fraud in crop insurance than in food stamps.”

Even an old Blue Dog can stay on point when the scent's strong even.

Agriculture.Com business editor Daniel Looker notes in Farm bill in works, still difficult:

Leaders of congressional ag committees from both parties seem optimistic that there will be a farm bill this year, but tough negotiating remains, especially if committees have to trim spending even more than they did when putting together bills in 2012. . . .

The House ag committee's ranking Democrat, Collin Peterson of Minnesota, seems to be a strong supporter as well. But he is hearing complaints from some of his farmer constituents about insurance not being limited for very large farms. . . .

Just as a year ago, negotiating changes to the commodity title of the farm bill and the spending level for the nutrition title remain difficult.

Peterson said that more money could be saved from SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, if the federal government and not states, determined the income level for eligibility for what used to be called food stamps.

The federal threshold for food stamp eligibility is 130% of the poverty level, Peterson said, but in red states, it's actually higher--200% in North Dakota, 165% in Texas and 185% in Arizona, versus 130% in Peterson's state of Minnesota.
"The states that you would think would use this (the lower, federal level) are not," he said.
Peterson said he's urging his committee colleagues "we should be looking at policy here, instead of a number."

A good point, dawg.

Photo: Minnesota Seventh District Congressman Collin Peterson.

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Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Apr 12, 2013 at 08:00 AM in Agriculture, Allen Quist, Collin Peterson, Congress, Energy , Environment, Farming, On the Farm, Politics, Rural development, Tim Walz | Permalink | Comments (0)

Apr 09, 2013

Senator Vicki Jensen's service sets ambitious agenda for greater Minnesota small businesses

Elections matter, and residents of the old Mike Parry district are seeing a clear difference in their new senator, Vicki Jensen (DFL-Owatonna). Whereas Parry's caustic tweets and abrasive personality used to draw statewide attention, Jensen's workhorse effectiveness is gathering a following.

The Grand Forks Herald reports on the freshman senator's work for small business in Job, tax plans could benefit rural Minnesota. Danielle Killey writes:

. . .Sen. Vicki Jensen, DFL-Owatonna, proposed a broader plan she said would not only bring in new jobs, but also will help businesses stay in greater Minnesota and retain jobs. It would replace the Job Opportunity Building Zone program.

Jensen would give rural Minnesota businesses some sales and property tax exemptions when they expand or come to the state and offer income tax credits based on pay and the number of employees, encouraging new hires.

“We need tools in greater Minnesota,” President Barry Wilfahrt of the Grand Forks and East Grand Forks Chamber of Commerce said.

He said there are business incentives in neighboring North Dakota that can draw companies away.

Jensen said while there are other job and economic development programs in the state, she wants some specifically focused outside the Twin Cities metropolitan area.

“I’m not willing to just sit back and cross my fingers this (other) legislation will work in rural Minnesota,” Jensen said. . . .

Jensen said program such as angel investment credits, which provide a break for those who give money to startup companies, work well in the metropolitan area. But she said more than 90 percent of that funding goes there rather than to rural Minnesota.

“Greater Minnesota needs different tools,” Ahlgren said.

Read the entire article at the Herald. In the Owatonna People's Press, Jensen reports back to her constituents in Owatonna legislator looks back on her first three months as state senator:

. . .I recognize that being an effective legislator involves listening to constituents, translating their concerns into workable proposals, and building bipartisan consensus to implement bills into law.

Some here at the Capitol have advised me that freshman often hold back on questions and may be more inclined to vote along party lines. However, when I ran to be your senator, I promised all of you I would do my homework, ask tough questions, and make legislative decisions to the best of my abilities in representing all of you.

To that end, I was especially honored to be recognized in the Capitol Report publication as one of three majority party freshmen who have made an immediate impact. They reported that in each new class of lawmakers, there is a small group of standouts — “freshmen who arrive at the Capitol with a knack for the job.” Freshmen making major strides by the middle of their first year on the job, tackling major pieces of legislation, forging relationships across the aisle and even bucking their caucuses on occasion. . ..

Jensen quotes the Briana Bierschbach article in PIM, adding:

I share this with all of you not because I want any further recognition, but rather I want you all to know that lawmakers in St. Paul are hearing from District 24 and I will do my best to ensure they keep hearing from our district.

Jensen has scheduled regular in-district meetings with her constituents in Waseca, Owatonna and Faribault.

Photo: It's not the sort of negative attention that Mike Parry brought to the district. From the Grand Forks Herald: "Barry Wilfahrt, Grand Forks and East Grand Forks Chamber of Commerce president, tells Minnesota senators Monday, April 8, 2013, that a program to give greater Minnesota businesses tax incentives would help rural cities attract and keep companies. Beside him is bill sponsor Sen. Vicki Jensen of Owatonna." (Forum News Service photo by Danielle Killey).

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Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Apr 09, 2013 at 10:42 PM in 2012 Elections, Minnesota legislature, Politics, Rural development, Small Business, State Legislature | Permalink | Comments (0)

Apr 07, 2013

Among school children: Sen. David Osmek misrepresents marriage bill in Glencoe class visit

One wonders if Senator David Osmek (R-Mound) has even bothered to read SF925, his colleague's bill extending the freedom to marry.

The McLeod County Chronicle reports in Sen. Osmek traces his leadership desires to time in Biscay/Glencoe:

Osmek took office in January, so he hasn’t had a lot of experience at the state level as yet, he told the [class of high school] students. But Osmek was still more than willing to field their questions about a variety of political issues, starting with gay marriage.

“To me, it’s a First Amendment issue,” said Osmek, referring to the separation of church and state.

If the state endorses gay marriage, Osmek fears, it may lead down a “slippery slope” to the state forcing churches to perform and recognize gay marriage, whether gay marriage is part of a church’s theology or not.

He must have missed this part of the senate bill. It's right at the top:

363A.26 EXEMPTION BASED ON RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATION. Nothing in this chapter prohibits any religious association, religious corporation, or religious society that is not organized for private profit, or any institution organized for educational purposes that is operated, supervised, or controlled by a religious association, religious corporation, or religious society that is not organized for private profit, from:
(1) limiting admission to or giving preference to persons of the same religion or denomination; or
(2) in matters relating to sexual orientation, taking any action with respect to education, employment, housing and real property, or use of facilities. This clause shall not apply to secular business activities engaged in by the religious association, religious corporation, or religious society, the conduct of which is unrelated to the religious and educational purposes for which it is organized.; or
(3) taking any action with respect to the provision of goods, services, facilities, or accommodations directly related to the solemnization or celebration of a marriage that is in violation of its religious beliefs.

Or maybe this language in the bill:

Subd. 2. Refusal to solemnize; protection of religious doctrine. Each religious organization, association, or society has exclusive control over its own theological doctrine, policy, teachings, and beliefs regarding who may marry within that faith. A licensed or ordained member of the clergy or other person authorized by section 517.04 to solemnize a marriage is not subject to any fine, penalty, or civil liability for failing or refusing to solemnize a marriage for any reason.

The article continues:

“I’m afraid it will eventually inflict on religious institutions,” said Osmek. “The pilgrims came here for religious freedom, and we need to respect that.”

Osmek said that domestic partners are already given benefits by many businesses and corporations, and feels it best left to the private sector to create its own definition of domestic partnerships. . . .

So businesses get to define two committed people's relationship? Would any married couple accept that?

Photo: Osmek in the Glencoe-Silver Lake classroom. Via the McLeod County Chronicle.

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Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Apr 07, 2013 at 12:39 PM in Civic engagement, Civil liberties, Education, Human rights, Minnesota legislature, Politics, Postmoronic Politics, Religion, State Legislature | Permalink | Comments (0)

Letters from the country on marriage freedom: the best, the good, & the crabby bible thumpers

Although the vote on the Dibble-Clark bills securing the freedom to marry for all grown-up Minnesotans won't come until after the state budget is resolved, rural Minnesotans are carrying on about the proposed legislation in editorial pages across the state.

Bluestem's favorite has to be the epistle of former state representative John Dorn to the editors of the Mankato Free Press, Hecker can marry from jail; my friends can’t at all:

Denny Hecker married his girlfriend in 2011. Hecker, a convicted felon, participated in the ceremony (his fifth) via a brief phone call from his jail cell. Judging from newspaper accounts, over 1,000 laws provided legal/financial benefits to Hecker and his spouse when they said “I Do.”

Contrast that scene with my family friend and her female partner, the legal parents of six children of various ages and backgrounds. Some were wards of the state, some were not. I think all the school details, health visits, family adjustments and social interactions would be overwhelming, but somehow the family manages and still has the energy to celebrate birthdays, enjoy holidays, and even pitch a tent in a campground from time to time. Meanwhile, Hecker has just been transferred to his eighth prison.

It would take an incredible amount of time, money, and legal expertise to empower my friends with legal accommodations that others can gain in a short ceremony. I understand that some churches will witness same-sex marriages and some will not. That is their rightful choice. But it would also be right for lawmakers in Minnesota to allow the benefits of marriage to all partners who are willing to profess their vows in whatever church or legal venue they choose. Whatever we do for the least of our brethren can be extended to the rest of our brethren. If we can’t love our neighbors as much as ourselves, we can at least love them as much as our convicted felons.

It's not just the sentiment that makes us like that letter--it's also the chance to use a Ken Avidor cartoon of Petters that shifts our gears.

Anna Ostendorf of Red Wing is more solemn in her letter to the editors of the Red Wing Eagle, Allow consenting adults to marry:

Almost 12 years ago my husband and I were married. When he asked me to marry him, no thoughts of legal or social ramifications of our marriage crossed my mind, I only thought about my love for him and how excited I was to be his wife.

When we applied for our marriage license and went through the steps to make our commitment legally binding there was no great uproar. There were no questions about our future plans for procreation or debates about whether or not we would be fit parents. There were no discussions about whether our sexual relationship was deemed appropriate by any particular religious philosophy.

No one commented on whether or not our union would be an economic benefit or burden to our state. The county clerk did not verify our genders, ask about our religion, or inquire as to whether any elements of our lifestyle would be unacceptable to others.

We simply signed the papers, paid the fee, found a person authorized by our state to perform marriages, and had a wedding that legally joined us. . . .

It seems to me to be an incredible injustice that he and I have been permitted to celebrate and define our relationship so effortlessly while other pairs of consenting adults cannot simply because their official documents denote them as being of the same sex. The time to end discrimination and allow the freedom to marry to be extended to all couples is now.

Simple Minnesota fairness. Brainerd Dispatch associate editor Mike O'Rourke writes in a column supporting same-sex marriage:

A year ago the idea of endorsing gay marriage wasn’t anywhere on this writer’s political radar. It was only when the Minnesota Legislature decided to ask Minnesota voters whether gay marriage — already illegal — should be formally banned in Minnesota’s Constitution, that I began to consider the issue. We don’t think much about rights until someone tries to take them away.

Whether one likes it or loathes it, gay marriage is the law in nine states and the District of Columbia. It’s a fact of modern day life.

In Minnesota, even without the ability to marry, gay parents continue to do their best as they raise families (either adopted children or the biological children of one partner) just as legally married couples are doing. How long do we ignore these changes in family structure and mistakenly maintain there’s only one way to raise a family? Divorced and single parents are commonplace in 2013. Are they bad parents because they may not fit a traditional mold? Or are they just imperfect — as imperfect as we know many heterosexual married partners to be?

It’s time Minnesota law allows gay partners to be legally married. Lawmakers should set aside false hysteria and hypocritical objections to this legislation.

Those objections often revolve around perceived threats to religion, families and to the institution of marriage.

Let’s be clear on one point. The bill being considered in the Minnesota Legislature pertains to the civil contract of marriage. It would not prohibit religions from continuing to decide who is eligible for marriage in itsdenominations. Those religions that bless gay marriages may continue to do so and those that decline to do so will not be compelled by this law to act otherwise. Religions may set their own rules but our civil laws are obliged to address the rights of all citizens. . . .

It's fascinating that so far, all of the letters we've found this morning objecting to extending the freedom to marry to all loving adult couples rest solely on supposedly religious grounds. And yet, the legislation rightly allows religious groups to decide for whom they will perform weddings. It's not as if any straight couple can barge into a church and demand a wedding ceremony.

That would be the federal prison system, where Mr. Hecker lives.

Cartoon: Tom Petters, prison term, potty mouth and all, can legally marry, while law-abiding LGBT folk can't. Cartoon by Ken Avidor for the City Pages.

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Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Apr 07, 2013 at 12:05 PM in Civic engagement, Civil liberties, Human rights, Minnesota legislature, Politics, Postmoronic Politics, State Legislature | Permalink | Comments (0)

Apr 03, 2013

Tea Party leader Cindy Pugh so not calling "information gathering meetings" town halls

Readers visiting Cindy Pugh's (R-Chanhassen) official website will find a link near the top of the page for Town Hall Meetings. Click on that link and you'll be greeted with this information:

Upcoming Meetings in the District for Representative Cindy Pugh (R)
No Town Hall Meetings currently available.

Apparently, that's true. But her constituents who want to talk to her in her district--although this information is nowhere on her webpage--can engage with her at three "information gathering meetings"on April 13.

Has the co-founder of the SW Metro Tea Party and the North Star Tea Patriots learned something from her movement years, when Tea Party members show up and got loud at hall towns?

Although we're not sure who's going to get excited by the description of "information gathering meetings" found on the page of Jerry Hertaus (R-Greenfield), who represents the A side of Senate District 33 in the House.

From the news release DISTRICT 33 LEGISLATORS TO HOLD INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS APRIL 13TH:

District 33 legislators Senator David Osmek (R-Mound), Representative Jerry Hertaus (R-Greenfield), and Representative Cindy Pugh (R- Chanhassen) will hold a series of information gathering meetings on Saturday, April 13th across the district in order to listen to the concerns, issues and priorities important to Senate District 33 constituents during this 88th legislative session.
As part of our form of government and representative democracy, information gathering and constituent input is an important and necessary part of the legislative process. SD 33 legislators desire to better represent area constituents by hearing their concerns regarding proposed legislation affecting state policies, proposed budgets, taxes, spending and civil and criminal laws.

The series of three (3) meetings will all take place on Saturday, April 13, 2013. The meetings are open to the public and are free of charge. Please consider attending the meeting closest and most convenient for you as follows;

Saturday, April 13, 2013

10:00A.M. -11:00 A.M.
Carver County Library
7711 Kerber Boulevard
Chanhassen, Minnesota

11:30A.M.-12:30 P.M.
Mound High School Theatre
5905 Sunnyfield Rd East
Mound, Minnesota

1:00P.M.-2:00P.M.
Hennepin County Library
5184 Main Street East
Maple Plain, Minnesota

Bluestem does hope that the constiuents show up, but why not just call these town halls?

Bonus round: from Tea Party Patriots Co-Founder Jenny Beth Martin’s Speech at CPAC:

Tea Party Patriots gave Cindy Pugh the nickname Sunshine Cindy because she is one of the happiest, most cheerful patriots we know. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann inspired this mother of 2 to stand for principle and run for elected office. Now Cindy is a state rep fighting for freedom in MN.

Photo: Sunshine Cindy Pugh, R-Chanhassen.

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Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Apr 03, 2013 at 07:29 AM in Civic engagement, Events , Minnesota legislature, Politics, Postmoronic Politics, State Legislature | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mar 30, 2013

Who's funding Americans for Prosperity-MN's mail attacking Senator Carla Nelson?

Rochester Post-Bulletin political reporter Heather Carlson writes in Mailer attacks Carla Nelson for support of cigarette tax hike:

A conservative advocacy group is targeting Rochester GOP Sen. Carla Nelson for supporting a hike in the state's cigarette tax.

Americans for Prosperity sent a direct-mail piece this week that states "Carla Nelson wants to raise our taxes … even more than Mark Dayton!" It goes on to state that "Not even Mark Dayton supports such a massive tax hike" and urges people to call Nelson to tell her to "stop raising sales taxes on Minnesotans."

Nowhere on the mailer does it use the term "cigarette taxes." A footnote in small print cites a bill Nelson introduced that would increase taxes on cigarettes by $1.29 a pack, to the same tax level as in Wisconsin, and use that money to help reduce the statewide business property tax . . .

Nelson is one of three state lawmakers who support various tax increases being targeted by the group, which was founded by conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch. The others are both Democrats from Edina — Rep. Ron Erhardt and Sen. Paul Rosenthal. . . .

Van Guilder declined to say how much is being spent on the mailers but said it is "significant." He said the group also plans to use social media to urge its supporters to speak out against these tax proposals.

It's likely that most progressive observers will focus on the Koch Brothers connection with AFP, and chuckle at the Koch money being used against Nelson, but there's more than just Koch change rattling in AFP's cup.

Politically active non-profit organizations like Americans For Prosperity (and its state wings) are not required under current law to disclose the names of businesses, organizations and individuals who provide their funds. But groups like the Center for Responsive Politics and Greenpeace have unearthed other sources, including the secretive Donors Trust.

GreenPeace reported in a report issued in February:

In 2010, Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFP) received $7.7 million from Donors Trust, making up 44% of the AFP Foundation’s annual revenue.

And the CRP assembled a longer list:

Receipts reported to IRS by Contributing Organizations since 2010
Organization	Date Filed	Amount	Recipient
Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation	11/19/10	$354,725	Americans for Prosperity Foundation (c3)
EL Craig Foundation	01/01/11	$100,000	Americans for Prosperity Foundation (c3)
Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce Issue	08/08/11	$10,000	Americans for Prosperity (c4)
Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation	11/21/11	$150,000	Americans for Prosperity Foundation (c3)
Donors Trust	11/14/11	$50,000	Americans for Prosperity Foundation (c3)
Donors Trust	11/14/11	$300,000	Americans for Prosperity Foundation (c3)
Donors Trust	11/14/11	$500,000	Americans for Prosperity Foundation (c3)
Donors Trust	11/14/11	$580,000	Americans for Prosperity Foundation (c3)
National Christian Charitable Foundation	11/10/11	$22,500	Americans for Prosperity (c3)
Lynde & Harry Bradley Foundation	11/18/11	$20,000	Americans for Prosperity Foundation (c3)
Lynde & Harry Bradley Foundation	11/18/11	$500,000	Americans for Prosperity Foundation (c3)
John William Pope Foundation	11/21/11	$500,000	Americans for Prosperity Foundation (c3)
John William Pope Foundation	11/15/10	$25,000	Americans for Prosperity (c4)
John William Pope Foundation	11/15/10	$50,000	Americans for Prosperity (c4)
Donors Trust	11/14/11	$1,500,000	Americans for Prosperity Foundation (c3)
Donors Trust	11/14/11	$4,500,000	Americans for Prosperity Foundation (c3)
Donors Trust	11/14/11	$1,000	Americans for Prosperity Foundation (c3)
Donors Trust	11/14/11	$1,000	Americans for Prosperity Foundation (c3)
Center to Protect Patients' Rights	12/13/11	$1,924,000	Americans for Prosperity (c4)
John William Pope Foundation	11/21/11	$250,000	Americans for Prosperity Foundation (c3)
John William Pope Foundation	11/21/11	$500,000	Americans for Prosperity Foundation (c3)
John William Pope Foundation	11/21/11	$100,000	Americans for Prosperity Foundation (c3)
Cmnty Fndtn Serving Richmond/Central VA	11/16/10	$350,250	Americans for Prosperity (c3)
Cornerstone Action	11/14/11	$148,000	Americans for Prosperity (c4)

Who's funding this particular attack against Nelson and two suburban Democrats? We'll probably never know--- but it's likely Van Guilder's not stretching it when he says "significant" money is available.

For more on the Donor's Trust, check out DeSmogBlog's Who is Donors Trust?. There does seem to be a lot of money to follow.

Photo: Senator Carla Nelson, R-Rochester.

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Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Mar 30, 2013 at 09:56 PM in Civic engagement, Civil liberties, Minnesota legislature, Politics, State Legislature, Taxes | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mar 29, 2013

Federal OMB launches sneak attack to redefine Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen's sacred rural values

Sibley County-based Minnesota state representative Glenn Gruenhagen's rural values are being redefined by the federal government.

Seriously. We mean it.

Minnesota Public Radio's Dave Peters reports in Metro area creeps farther into rural Minnesota:

In the eyes of the federal government, urban Minnesota has just pushed a little farther into the countryside.

What used to be a 13-county metropolitan statistical area now contains 16 counties. Mille Lacs, Sibley and Le Sueur counties, which still look pretty rural if you go driving around the likes of Milaca or Winthrop, are now considered by the federal Office of Management and Budget part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).

Part of this is statistical artifice, and at least a couple research folks I've talked to around town have been scratching their heads about how meaningful it is. But one thing it says is that the artery of commerce and commuting that for some time has tied the Twin Cities to the St. Cloud area is being duplicated in regards to Mankato.
. . . A county is added to an MSA when more than a quarter of its workforce commutes to the "core counties" of the statistical area.

While Gruenhagen's insurance office is in McLeod County (notably still not part of the metro), the lawmaker hangs his hat in Sibley County--and so now, he's statistically a metro legislator. (Indeed, all of his old pre-2012 district--parts of Sibley, Le Sueur and Scott Counties--is now part of the Twin Cities statistical metro area).

Does this radical Big Government redefinition of metro threaten Gruenhagen's role as a voice in the wilderness? After all, in his first message home after being sworn in, the insurance salesman wrote:

It was an honor and a privilege to take the oath of office on Tuesday and be sworn in for the second time to the Minnesota House of Representatives. One of my highest priorities this session is to be a voice for rural Minnesota. Agriculture is such an important part of our local economies, and we must make sure that rural Minnesota is adequately represented in Saint Paul.

Someone needs to let Glenn Beck know.

For ourselves, we're just worried that hipsters will discover the incredible pie at Lyle's Cafe in Winthrop, itself already an urban island of lavender blue in Gruenhagen's deep red district.

Photo: Lyle's Cafe, future hipster haven? If you call this metro, serve it with a heavy dollop of irony.

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Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Mar 29, 2013 at 02:26 PM in Agriculture, Cities, Conspiracy theories, Counties, Food and Drink, Minnesota legislature, Politics, Postmoronic Politics, Rural development, Science, State Legislature, Towns | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mar 28, 2013

Unbearable victimhood: MN for Marriage brings back the flaming lavender stormtroopers of love

During last fall's debate over the amendment to restrict the freedom to marry, one of the spokesters for Minnesota for Marriage (M4M) compared the tactics of Vote No supporters with Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime. M4M quickly repudiated the claim, but has revived the trope in news materials for April 7 church-based organizing.

Think Progress's Zack Ford first reported about the April 7 materials in Minnesota Equality Opponents Urge Pastors To Compare Gay Activists To Nazis:

The coalition that advocated last year for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in Minnesota has continued to fight as legislators now consider a marriage equality bill. The so-called “Minnesota for Marriage” coalition is urging pastors to use their sermon on April 7 to take a stand against same-sex marriage, and the provided materials — a “Sermon starter,” accompanying PowerPoint presentation, and bulletin insert — are gratuitously anti-gay. Notably, one passage not only condemns gay people as having a chosen behavior, but then compares the LGBT movement to Nazis for peddling untruths:
Third, there is a definitive problem. Homosexuals claim: “We were born this way; it is in our genes; God made us gay.” They cite old “gay gene” studies predominantly conducted by researchers who are homosexuals; studies that have been repudiated by credible research. Yet these same biased and discredited studies have been widely publicized by the liberal media as true and factual. They essentially practice Joseph Goebel’s Nazi philosophy of propaganda, which is basically this: Tell a lie long enough and loud enough and eventually most mindless Americans will believe it. . . .

. . . To sum up: LGBT activists use Nazi propaganda techniques, homosexuality is comparable to promiscuity, adultery, and pedophilia, and gays are sinners who have “perverted and twisted desires.”

M4M and other opponents to marriage freedom have been distorting the arguments that Minnesotans United for all Families and other amendment foes made, as we've explored in a series of posts: Draz missed Winona Daily News coverage of campaign against marriage amendment, and Yo, Draz: MN United, Project 515 Education Campaign recycle "Grandparents" ad from 2012 and Don't lie to children: at MN capitol, NOM leader Brian Brown lies to (and about) adults instead.

What's just as awful is M4M forgetting about its own arguments--and apologies--last fall. A backgrounder issued today by Minnesotans United cites three instances of M4M rejecting the Nazi tactic analogy:

Parrish, publicly apologized for Rev. Brandon’s comments: “I apologize that it wandered off in this direction… It’s clearly not what we are talking about in this campaign,” and furthermore that Rev. Brandon’s comments were “not representative about how we feel about the other side.” (Star Tribune).

Additionally, WCCO reported that “A spokeswoman for Minnesota For Marriage said the group doesn’t support Brandon’s statements.” Autumn Leva – who still serves as a spokesperson for Minnesota for Marriage and is registered in Minnesota as a lobbyist on behalf of that organization – said in October 2012 that “We’ve since, very seriously, discussed this with Pastor Brandon, and explained… drawing an analogy to Hitler and Nazi Germany isn’t the right way to go.”

In that same report from WCCO, Pastor Brandon’s apology included the following: “it was a terrible mistake to even mention Nazism in an attempt to illustrate my point, and I fully understand why many found it to be offensive. I sincerely apologize for making this very inapt reference. In no way was I attempting to equate the marriage debate with Nazism and I profoundly apologize to anyone who felt that was my objective.”

But Nazi analogies weren't the only arguments M4M rejected in 2012 that are picked up in the group's new material. There's that verse from Levitcus, for instance.

The Leviticus hacking flap: that was then, this is now

Think Progress also notes that M4M's April 7 materials cite Scripture that condemn same-sex attraction.

In the "Sermon Starter" by Dr. Kenyn Cureton, there's also this:

Second, there is a deceptive perversion of the divine pattern. Hear me: Any and all sexual sin outside of the marriage covenant relationship is a deceptive perversion of the divine pattern, but for the purposes of this message I want to focus on one sin in particular: homosexuality. The Word of God, which does not err, is abundantly clear. Leviticus 18:22 says: “You are not to sleep with a man as with a woman; it is detestable.” Leviticus 20:13a says: “If a man sleeps with a man as with a woman, they have both committed an abomination...” Homosexuality is an abomination to God. This is the strongest biblical word for the denunciation of sin, the proof of which is in the account of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were destroyed in a hail of fire and brimstone (Gen. 19).

Note the how that verse is now 20:13a and there's an ellipsis, meaning that some text is being left out. There's a rich backstory in M4M's recent social media experience stemming from a surprise Facebook posting of that verse.

In June 2012, Javier Morillo-Alicea posted in BREAKING: Minnesota for Marriage Claims to be Hacked after Leviticus Quote Shows Up on Facebook Page:

Just last week the Minnesota Council of “Respectful Conversations Project” to encourage civil religious dialogue about this fall’s vote on an Amendment to limit the freedom to marry.

About nine hours ago (and counting) this quote was posted on the Facebook page of Minnesota for Marriage, the campaign supporting the Amendment:

“If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.”

~Leviticus 20:13

Jeremy Hooper has a screen shot here. While they’re still up, go ahead and read the comment thread.

Andy Parrish, the spokesman for Minnesota for Marriage, claims in a tweet:

My Twitter, Facebook, @gmail.com @me.com were all hacked and garbage was posted on the MInnesota For Marriage FB. I won’t be intimidated.

It’s curious that, although all of his accounts were hacked, only the Facebook page got the Leviticus love.

But, wait a minute – is Parrish saying that some quotes from the Bible are garbage?

Now that we can agree that the Bible and Leviticus in particular can be used to justify all sorts of stuff we might today consider “garbage” — maybe now we can begin that respectful dialogue?

But now that verse is suggested for the pulpit? Lovely, of course, it's not the first time M4M has flipped its position on this verse, as Bluestem first posted in M4M disavows Leviticus 20:13 verse used in October letter it promoted on Twitter.

Isn't that nice? Surely, comparing gay marriage advocates to Nazis and citing homicidal scripture will surely help the conservative party brand recover from its current market position as the enclave of scary old guys. We feel for our conservative young friends, most of whom support marriage freedom.

The long arc of backstory on the flaming lavender stormtroopers of love

And there's more to the Nazi analogies as well On October 22, 2012,Bluestem noted in The unbearable victimhood of Vote Yes and the flaming lavender stormtroopers of love:

And the career of Pastor Brad Brandon. Nor is this the first time that Brandon's connection with M4M has been questioned. Back on July 19, 2012, LGBTQ blog Good As You wrote in Is MN For Marriage campaign about comparing gays to alcoholics, pedophiles & Hitler? Because someone on its payroll has:

Back when he was appearing on the National Organization For Marriage's summer tour, this site dug up audio in which Pastor and local radio host Brad Brandon compared "Satan-influenced" gays to alcoholics, pedophiles, and Hitler, before then saying that we have to "get [gays] saved and get 'em out of that lifestyle." Audio that our pals at Think Progress then put into a handy YouTube video:

Good As You went on:

So I have to wonder:why is the Minnesota for Marriage campaign, an effort supposedly focused only on civil marriage, compensating this same Brad Brandon to the tune of $3,000?
SOURCE: [MN Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board]
Are they prepping an ad featuring Brandon? Is he doing paid outreach work? Something else? Only MN For Marriage knows for sure.

And on October 10, GAY's Jeremy Hooper wrote in Meet Brad Brandon, MN For Marriage's paid church voice #MNUnited:

So not only do we have yet another example of a campaign against civil marriage thumbing its nose at any separation between personal faith views and shared public policy, but here we have it coming from a person who leaves not one shred doubt about where he stands on gays (like alcoholics and pedophiles) or what his endgame his (getting gays "out of that lifestyle"). This is what MN For Marriage is recruiting!!

Then again, this Minnesota fight is one that has roots in Michele Bachmann, someone who has said homosexuality is "part of Satan I think" and compares lawmakers who don't support marriage amendments to soldiers who missed Pearl Harbor's warning signs. Perhaps the bigger surprise would be them confining this conversation to the civil policy realm where it belongs.

Go check it out, and google a bit yourself. Bran Brandon should be no stranger to the Twin Cities media or local socially conservative Republicans. Back in 2010, Hart van Denbrug wrote Rev. Brad Brandon wants his GOP endorsements to be tax exempt.

Moreover, M4M communications director Chuck Darrell also knows Brandon's history of making controversial statements about gay folk assaulting his sensibilities. Andy Birkey reported in Pastor says Minnesota gays teach kids how to masturbate:
In one of the more bizarre speeches at the Minnesota Family Council’s rally for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, Hastings Pastor Brad Brandon said he saw “homosexuals” teaching children how to masturbate in the rotunda at the State Capitol a few weeks ago. A check of news clips and Capitol schedules by TheColu.mn did not turn up any such event.
Brandon, a young pastor from the Hastings area, was among several dozen people who showed up for the rally on Thursday afternoon. He fired up the crowd by saying that homosexuals teach kids to masturbate.

“We as Christians, as followers of the lord Jesus Christ, we need to be bold in such a time as this,” he said. “This is an assault on our culture and I don’t think god takes it very lightly when we mess with the image of Jesus Christ.

. . . .Brandon’s was among several other speeches at the Capitol. Here are some highlights.

The Minnesota Family Council’s communications director, Chuck Darrell: “God’s design is for marriage between a man and a woman.” . . .

Photo: Not only are LGBTQ folk not nazis, they were among the victims of Hitler's most inhumane policies; the story of the pink triangle relates and commemorates this chapter in LGBTQ history. In recent Minnesota history, the pink triangle also played a part in the retirement of Representative Arlon Lindner.

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Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Mar 28, 2013 at 09:28 PM in Events , Human rights, Minnesota legislature, Politics, Postmoronic Politics, Religion, State Legislature | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mar 27, 2013

Media -zero/no limit tour: in news rooms & tv stations, Hann & Daudt talk over situations

A certain Minnesota conservative friend was lamenting via the twitter that he had just heard the breaking news that "Sen. David Hann & Brad Biers chartered a plane to fly around MN to "message?" Really? Anyone hear of this before now?"

Since Bluestem has discovered the miracle of Google Alerts, we had been charting the news of Senate Minority Leader Hann tour through northern Minnesota, a progress swelled as it were by the presence of his attendant lord Mr. Biers.

In a clever divide and conquer strategy, House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt headed off to conquer southern and western Minnesota with the charming Susan Closmore, who is still pulling at the oars, whatever awful rowing her party has faced.

The Shadow of a Daudt

On Sunday morning, Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reported in Lawmakers to use break for budget pitches:

Republicans say they spend time this week making a case against the DFL budget approach. House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, said he plans to travel throughout the state pointing out the problems he sees with the proposals.

"Minnesota's economy is recovery and Minnesota's economy is creating jobs, and it's happening because we didn't raise taxes over the last couple of years,," Daudt said. "So, our case is if we raise taxes, we're going to stop that from happening, and it's going to be bad for Minnesota's economy and it's bad for hard working Minnesota families."

So how is Representative Daudt doing?

Daudt and his entourage stopped by the Albert Lea Tribune on Monday, Sarah Stultz reports in House minority leader: DFL’ers hurting economy:

Minnesota House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt said Monday he thinks the DFL budget proposal presented last week will hurt the state’s economy and essentially tax job creators. . . .

. . . Instead, he said, legislators need to continue to let the economy grow and naturally recover.

“Just have more patience and we’ll get there,” Daudt said.

Economy: heal thyself. Daudt also doesn't sound like he's into the balm of bipartisan LGA, either:

Daudt said he thinks with the Legislature freezing local government aid at 2010 levels, the answer to helping local governments will come with cutting some of the unfunded mandates.

That way city and county leaders will know what to expect of local government aid in the future.

At Mankato's KEYC-TV, Ryan Gustafson reports in MN GOP Pushes For No New Taxes:

A team of the House Minority leadership toured southern Minnesota today, angling for a balanced budget without the additional revenue of a tax hike on the rich.

Asst. Minority Leader Rep. Kurt Daudt (R-31A) says, "Throwing more money at a problem doesn't always fix it. Frankly, we think we can handle the problem in that way rather than taxing middle class Minnesotans and job creators."

Up in Fargo today, WDAY reports in Minnesota lawmaker speaking out against tax plan that Daudt's saying that naturally recovering economy will take care of any need for additional revenue:

St. Rep. Kurt Daudt, MN House Minority Leader says, "The state will see more revenue and it will be a win for all Minnesotans. Unfortunately the Governor's budget picks winners and losers and frankly it will be a setback for Minnesota's economy and it will hurt job growth in Minnesota."

That's all we can find so far, though more is likely as the weekly papers publish and tomorrow's dailies hit the street. One legislator tweeted about a meeting with the Rochester Post Bulletin editorial board, but no article has emerged that we can find.

Lending a Hann in Duluth and Brainerd

David Hann's pilgrimage turns up on television in Duluth and print in Brainerd. Northland News, Duluth's NBC affiliate, reports in MN GOP Leaders: Less Spending, Less Taxes:

. . .Senate Minority Leader David Hann is traveling across the state during the legislature's spring break this week to talk about the budget. . . .

Sen. Hann says the budget proposals from the Governor, the House and Senate focus too heavily on revenue increases by the way of nearly $2 billion in taxes.

"We think that is excessive, we think that is over reach and we don't think it's necessary," Sen. Hann said. "So what we're trying to do is propose to our friends on the other side of the aisle that we should focus on trying to manage the spending down within the revenues that we have and see if we can find bipartisan ways to bring reform to that spending ." . . .

WDIO, Duluth's ABC affiliate, focuses on the DFL-proposed HHS cuts in Minn. Lawmakers React to DFL Health Program Cuts Proposal:

During the spring break, House and Senate leaders are touring the state to talk about the budget.

David Hann, the Senate Minority Leader, stopped in Duluth Monday afternoon. Commenting on the DFLs proposal, he called it a surprise. "I've talked to a lot of people in the long term care industry that are very concerned about it. So, it is a little surprising to us that they have chosen that particular area to do some reductions."

Apparently, Hann wants to cut spending, but just not on health and human services spending. Perhaps it lost its joy when his party cut millions when it controlled the legislature in the last session.

At the Brainerd Dispatch, Mike O'Rourke reports in GOP leader wants state to live within its means:

. . .“How does raising tax rates help grow Minnesota’s economy?” he asked Monday.

The Eden Prairie Republican, traveled to Brainerd Monday to offer the GOP perspective on a legislative session that is roughly at the halfway point. Earlier in the day, he was spreading a similar messsage in St. Cloud and planned to continue on to Duluth later in the day. . . .

Turning to the efforts at gun control at the state Capitol, Hann said he signed on to the gun control bill authored by Sen. Julianne Ortmann, R-Chanassen, which addresses the issue of straw purchasing where one person buys a gun for another person’s use. Hann said he wasn’t sure if that bill would pass, even though it’s backed by the National Rifle Association.

Hann said he doesn’t favor a bonding bill this year, citing the tradition of bonding bills generally being passed in even-numbered years.

He also opposes the legalization of same-sex marriage, a topic he said that won’t likely come up for a vote until late in the session.

“We think that’s an over-reach and a misreading of the last election,” Hann said.

In November of 2012 voters rejected an effort by conservatives to change the state Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriages.

Hann, who was first elected to the Legislature in 2003, said Rep. Kurt Daudt, the House minority leader, was traveling in southern Minnesota discussing Republican priorities. . . .

Although news reports said Hann had traveled to St. Cloud, we couldn't find anything about the visit in the St. Cloud Times. Perhaps other news reports will trickle in as the weeklies and biweekly papers hit the street.

These guys are on message--but if that message is spoken like silence, and GOP leaders repeat quotations and draw conclusions on infographs, Bluestem is left to conclude that there's no success like failure and that failure’s no success at all.

Image: This infographic is the tip of the iceberg of a media tour . . . messaging as underwater as an Occupy Homes MN mortgage.

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Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Mar 27, 2013 at 12:17 AM in Governor Mark Dayton, Media analysis, Minnesota legislature, Politics, State Legislature, Taxes | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mar 25, 2013

Federal investigators interviewing former Bachmann campaign staff, Daily Beast reports

The Daily Beast's John Avlon reports in Exclusive: Congressional Ethics Probe Adds to Michele Bachmann’s Political Woes:

Eighteen months ago, the Minnesota House member was considered an unlikely but undeniable Republican rising star, winning the Iowa straw poll that unofficially begins the primary season. Today, she is embroiled in a litany of legal proceedings related to her rolling disaster of a presidential campaign—including a Office of Congressional Ethics investigation into campaign improprieties that has not previously been reported.

The Daily Beast has learned that federal investigators are now interviewing former Bachmann campaign staffers nationwide about alleged intentional campaign-finance violations. The investigators are working on behalf of the Office of Congressional Ethics, which probes reported improprieties by House members and their staffs and then can refer cases to the House Ethics Committee.

“I have been interviewed by investigators,” says Peter Waldron, a former Bachmann staffer who’s embroiled in his own fight with his former boss, involving his allegations of pay-to-play politics and improper payments by the campaign—making him one of several members of Bachmann’s inner circle who’ve fallen out with the woman they once hoped would become commander in chief. While he was careful to avoid specifics in regard to the investigating body, Waldron said that “investigators came [and] interviewed me and are interviewing other staff members across the country.”

Two other former staffers confirmed the existence of the investigation this weekend, and on Monday Bachmann’s campaign counsel, William McGinley, of the high-powered firm Patton Boggs, confirmed that the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) was looking into the congresswoman’s presidential campaign last year.

“There are no allegations that the Congresswoman engaged in any wrongdoing,” McGinley said. “We are constructively engaged with the OCE and are confident that at the end of their Review the OCE Board will conclude that Congresswoman Bachmann did not do anything inappropriate.” . . .

Read the lengthy article at the Daily Beast for the whole story, which comes on the heels of a very bad week for the Gentlewoman from Minnesota's Sixth Congressional District. As we noted over the weekend in St. Cloud Times: the two faces of Congresswoman Michele Bachmann:
Unlike our reluctant spring, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has roared back on to the national spotlight as speeches to CPAC and her congressional colleagues were fact checked; the findings were not pretty.
How's that playing in her district? Many of the residents rely on the Star Tribune; online, they're seeing headlines like Bachmann CPAC claims leave trail of questions and Rep. Michele Bachmann is back in the headlines.

Those fleeing the Twin Cities daily for Fox News can learn O'Reilly slams 'trivial' Bachmann, as the conservative WND put it.

The St. Cloud Times editorial board writes that Bachmann leaves you wondering:

Political junkies, partisans and the media are abuzz as to whether a closer-than-expected 2012 re-election victory changed the divisive tone and lightning-rod tactics of U.S. Sixth District Rep. Michele Bachmann.

Two events — a national speech Saturday and a St. Paul lobbying appearance Monday — not only reflect how there is no clear answer to that question, but highlight why district voters will remain frustrated if all they want is a hardworking, level-headed House member.

The Saturday speech was vintage Bachmann — heavy on political red meat and light on accuracy. Monday’s lobbying effort for expanding Interstate 94 from Rogers to St. Cloud was about bipartisan service to the western end of the district — a rare focus for her since elected.

CPAC speech

Up until Saturday, there was a growing body of evidence — best symbolized by her post-election low profile in national media — that Bachmann might be taking to heart a message district voters delivered Election Day: Her style isn’t what they want in Washington.

Yes, the Tea Party champion won a fourth term. But it came by only about 4,200 votes in a long-held GOP district redrawn since 2010 to be even more conservative. Plus, she needed a record amount of money and outspent first-time candidate Jim Graves by $9.3 million. Yet she barely won. . . .

Read the rest at the Times. They're hoping that they'll see more of the bread-and-butter Bachmann, but her behavior in the House suggests that's wishful thinking.

Instead, Sixth CD residents will be getting the Michele bloggers love. Check Christian Science Monitor's Peter Grier in Obamacare 'kills': Has Michele Bachmann finally gone too far? for more.

Photo: Rep. Michele Bachmann at CPAC. Jonathan Ernst at Reuters via CSMonitor.

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Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Mar 25, 2013 at 12:16 PM in Congress, Elections, Politics, Postmoronic Politics | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mar 24, 2013

LSP's "Sand Lady" on 3/25 MPR Daily Circuit; The Price of Sand: WI today, MN tomorrow?

LSP "sand lady" on Minnesota Public Radio's Daily Circuit Monday 3/25, 9:06 a.m.

MPR's Daily Circuit outlines issues related to industrial sand mining in Debate continues on frac sand mining's health, environmental impact, but if you want to get the good stuff, tune in to MPR at 9:06 a.m. on Monday, March 25 to listen to Land Stewardship policy organizer Johanna Rupprecht talk about frac sand.

Livestreaming available by following this link.

The Price of Sand: WI today, MN tomorrow?

Crossposted from the Twin Cities Daily Planet

By Carol Inderieden, TC Daily Planet

March 24, 2013

"You can farm the same land over and over but once you mine it, it's gone," a Wisconsin woman told filmmaker Jim Tittle. Born and raised on a farm that's been in her family for generations, she represents one of the positions explored in his documentary, The Price of Sand, which focuses on Wisconsin conflict over silica mines, small towns and money — a conflict now playing out in southeastern Minnesota and in the Minnesota legislature.

The Price of Sand, an independently produced documentary examining the human and environmental costs of silica (frac) sand mining, was shown at an advance screening in Red Wing, Minnesota on March 22. The film, which offers a broad overview of some of the tough issues facing rural communities threatened by mining in the Upper Midwest, played to a packed audience at the Sheldon Theatre.

The Price of Sand will be screened in St. Paul on March 28, 7:00 p.m. at the Grandview Theater. A Q & A session with film director, Jim Tittle is scheduled after the screening. The documentary was selected for the MSP Film Festival in April and more screenings along with a DVD release will be coming soon. For more information about The Price of Sand, go to www.thepriceofsand.com.

Jim Tittle, the film's director, spoke at a Q & A session afterwards along with Minnesota State Senator Matt Schmit (DFL, Red Wing), and Jody McIlrath, representative for Save the Bluffs, a grass-roots organization based in Red Wing, Minnesota.

Tittle, a videographer by profession, started working on The Price of Sand two years ago after learning that an oil company had purchased land close to his mother's home in Hay Creek Township, south of Red Wing, Minnesota. Initially puzzled by the deal, Tittle soon discovered the company wasn't interested in oil but in silica (frac) sand, a commodity widely used by the oil and gas industry for the hydraulic-fracturing (or fracking) of shale and found in abundance in the blufflands of western Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, and northeastern Iowa. Concerned about what this might hold for the future of his hometown, Tittle began digging deeper into the subject and produced a series of YouTube videos featuring interviews with people living next door to mining operations across the river in western Wisconsin. These interviews became the foundation for his film.

Tittle carefully builds an argument against the sudden industrialization of small, close-knit agricultural communities in The Price of Sand. Over the course of the documentary, we meet the beleaguered residents of New Auburn, Knapp, Alma, McGregor, Maiden Rock, and Chippewa Falls. In the tiny village of Tunnel City, Wisconsin, the Connecticut-based, multi-national corporation, Unimin is constructing a 500-acre, open pit sand mine. One of its neighbors, an unfortunate woman who lives with her young family directly across the street from the mine, tells us it will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week and there's nothing she can do about it. Like so many people Tittle interviewed in Wisconsin, she feels not only helpless but abandoned by public officials who would prefer to look the other way rather than challenge the status quo and restrict mining activities through zoning. Another unhappy resident sums the dilemma up nicely saying, "we place a high value on our freedom and these companies take advantage of that."

Beautifully shot and edited, The Price of Sand presents a cautionary tale for Minnesotans currently debating the issue of whether to regulate mining at the state and local level. The film begins and ends with a long sequence of aerial shots revealing wide-spread devastation caused by open pit mining. Throughout the documentary, one person after another speaks out on such difficult and thorny topics as the influence of big money on local politics; economic hardship and the promise of jobs; gag orders and media buzz; and the inevitable conflicts that arise when corporate interests compete for an unfair share of the pie in rural communities vulnerable to exploitation – all topics relevant for a discussion of Tittle's leading question: What is the true price of sand?

During the Q & A session after the screening, Senator Matt Schmit (DFL, Red Wing) announced that a bill he recently introduced in the Minnesota state legislature calling for more stringent controls on silica sand mining had passed committee deadlines and would be brought before the Minnesota House and Senate for further discussion. When asked if he backed Governor Mark Dayton's stated opposition to a proposed moratorium on mining, Schmit said he would continue to push for a one-year moratorium and supports an extension of a rule permitting the Environmental Quality Board to continue studying the issues.

Carol Inderieden is a writer and photographer from the Twin Cities area living in western Wisconsin.

This post was original published at the Twin Cities Daily Planet; published with permission via our content exchange agreement.

Screen shot from video trailer.

Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Mar 24, 2013 at 11:36 PM in Agriculture, Civic engagement, Counties, Energy , Environment, Events , Film, Minnesota legislature, Politics, Rivers, Rural development, State Legislature, Tourism, Towns, Transportation, Water | Permalink | Comments (0)

DFL budget targets for health & human services could spell disaster for Greater Minnesota

We're a bit behind the curve in commenting on this story, but the consequences of budget cuts proposed by DFL leadership in the Minnesota House and Senate don't look good for the poor and vulnerable in rural areas.

Add a hike in the minimum wage--which Bluestem favors--nursing home and hospital administrators could be in the untenable situation of having to raise wages while receiving smaller checks from the state. These new cuts will come after a round of cuts from two years of Republican control of the legislature.

Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck first broke the story in DFL's plan to cut health, human services spending comes as surprise:

Democrats in the House and Senate want to cut $150 million in spending from health and human services programs. After education, health and human services is the second-largest portion of the state's two-year budget at $11 billion in general fund spending. But it is increasing at a fast rate, and that worries DFL House Speaker Paul Thissen. . . .

The proposed spending cut is troubling lawmakers in charge of crafting budgets for health services and human services. They have to set priorities for spending for nursing homes, hospitals, subsidized health insurance and welfare. The budget is complicated because it includes money from the federal government and other funds.

DFL Rep. Tom Huntley of Duluth, who chairs the House Health and Human Services Finance Committee, said he is unhappy . . .

"I'm very upset. I came close to resigning as chair," Huntley said. "If that's what the Democrats are going to do, what's the difference between that and what the Republicans have done over the last two years?"

Huntley said about 90 percent of the health and human services budget is directed at programs for the disabled and the elderly. He said he thinks it will be difficult to cut $150 million without harming those people.

His counterpart in the Senate, Tony Lourey, isn't any happier. But perhaps the greatest dismay comes from those who work with the disabled and the elderly. Their budgets were slashed two years ago when Governor Dayton and the Republican legislature cut $1.2 billion from health and human services programs.

Scheck reports:

Bruce Nelson, CEO of the Association of Residential Resources in Minnesota, which advocates for community living for people with disabilities, said he was hoping lawmakers would give nursing home and community-based home workers a cost of living increase. Now Nelson worries they won't get a raise or may get their pay cut.

"When they don't see an increase in their paychecks for maybe now the fifth year in a row, they're going to move on to other jobs," Nelson said. "And that really does compromise the quality of care for our most vulnerable Minnesotans."

As Forum Communications Don Davis and Danielle Killey report in the Duluth News Tribune:

Rep. Mary Franson, R-Alexandria, said she does not have a problem with cuts, but this area actually needs increased money.

Franson said, especially in nonmetro Minnesota, hospitals and nursing homes are having trouble keeping good employees because of the pay, and some people are not getting the care they need.

“They are really struggling,” she said.

Politics can make for odd bedfellows, and this development is making for some odd bunking arrangements. Franson's no friend to unions, but we've been contacted by a couple of labor activists distraught with these cuts. One pointed out that if the state minimum wage is raised, rural nursing homes and hospitals will face both cuts and the need to pay higher wages.

Another labor leader writes that he's trying to understand the logic, but doesn't.

We don't either. Surely, there are other areas where government can be made more efficient than one that has been cut and cut. We like the governor's target--a modest increase--far better.

Photo: Nursing home residents.

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Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Mar 24, 2013 at 09:49 PM in Cities, Counties, Governor Mark Dayton, Health care, Minnesota legislature, Politics, State Legislature | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yo, Draz: MN United, Project 515 Education Campaign recycle "Grandparents" ad from 2012

As Bluestem pointed out last weekend in Draz missed Winona Daily News coverage of campaign against marriage amendment, Minnesota state representative Steve Drazkowski's latest newspaper column to his constituents, DFL puts gay marriage above balanced budget, suggests that the Mazeppa lawmaker never bothered to follow last year's conversation about marriage freedom when he writes:

These are the same folks who spent the last election cycle promising residents that if they voted ‘no’ on the Marriage Amendment, nothing would change in state law. Now these individuals are not only going back on their word, they are focused on approving this “divisive social issue” before they set a budget.

Well, no. First the budget will come up for a vote, then marriage freedom. Second, the message last year on the part of anti-amendment opponents was "Don't Limit the Freedom to Marry."

Indeed, the message from amendment supporters now backing Dibble and Clark's marriage freedom bills is so consistent, they're using an ad from last year's debate. The only changes? The sponsor and the closing message.

Last year's version (which was the first television ad to air in Minnesota from either side):

At the time the earlier ad was released on August 16, 2012, Towleroad reported in Freedom To Marry Debuts 'Grandparents' TV Ad In Minnesota: VIDEO:

With election day rapidly approaching, the national group Freedom To Marry today debuted its first television ad.

Called "Grandparents" and airing in Minnesota, where voters will decide on an amendment banning marriage equality come November, the 30-second spot features a Duluth couple called Yvonne and Fred Peterson.

Peterson, a veteran who says he's fought for "the basic freedoms for all people," explains that the past 53-years with his wife are the happiest of his life and that gay and lesbian couples deserve the same joy.

While they weren't always so understanding — Yvonne admits she used to be against equality — they realize the world has changed and that society must too.

Here's the new version, wherein only the sponsor and closing title has changed. For now, embedding has been disabled at that account, so Bluestem is being pretty naughty, and hace uploaded it so we can make our point:

In a press release about the "new" ad, Minnesotans United states:

The first ad, “Grandparents,” features Yvonne & Fred Peterson sharing the story of their marriage of 59 years, and their own personal journey towards recognizing that all people deserve the freedom to marry the person they love. “Grandparents” was released (on August 16, 2012) during the 2012 marriage amendment debate, highlighting the continuity of what Minnesotans have been talking about all along: Marriage is about the love, commitment and responsibility that two people share.

Yes, it's literally the same message.

Sadly, it's not just Draz who's confused. As we pointed out in early March in Don't lie to children: at MN capitol, NOM leader Brian Brown lies to (and about) adults instead:

Brown said the other side insisted during the campaign that the amendment was not necessary because it wouldn’t change anything. Now same-sex marriage advocates are trying to change the law.

“Minnesotans were sold a false bill of goods,” Brown said.

Well, no. As Minnesotans United for All Families director Richard Carlbom pointed out to Helgeson in the article, those seeking to extend the blessings of marriage did no such thing.

Check out that post, which reviews a bevy of other pro-marriage freedom, anti-marriage amendment video.

And there's a second ad, "Weddings" (Bluestem can't make a compelling case for swiping that one, so you're just going to have to go over there and watch it. The statement notes:

The second ad, “Weddings,” features Lynn & Dane Youngblom of Duluth, Minnesota, who share their hope that their son, Kyle, might one day have the freedom to marry in Minnesota just like his siblings. “I wouldn’t want anyone to tell me it’s illegal to marry the person I love,” Lynn concludes.

“From the moment those who oppose the freedom to marry launched their efforts in 2011, our focus has been on reminding Minnesotans why they got married,” said Richard Carlbom, Minnesotans United Campaign Manager. “When two people fall in love, the next natural step is to exercise their fundamental freedom to marry the person they love. Now, after two years of discussion, these ads reflect what we’ve heard from Minnesotans – they want to treat others the way they themselves would want to be treated and don’t want to limit freedom.”

The educational six-figure cable TV ad buy will run statewide beginning on Monday, March 25.

If you support marriage freedom, consider taking a day off to head to the capitol on Thursday, April 18 at noon for the Lobby Day. Sign up here with OutFront or here on Facebook.

Photo: Yvonne and Fred haven't changed. Minnesota Public Radio noted that the couple have a gay grandson.

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Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Mar 24, 2013 at 04:56 PM in 2012 Elections, Civic engagement, Civil liberties, Human rights, Minnesota legislature, Politics, State Legislature | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mar 23, 2013

Piles of unanswered questions about industrial sand mining: EQB issues report outlining issues

Governor Mark Dayton may have come out against a one-year moratorium on industrial sand mining while a Generic Environmental Impact Statement is conducted, but a story by Stephanie Hemphill at Minnesota Public Radio illustrates why grassroots citizen groups in Southeastern Minnesota are asking for both.

Hemphill writes in EQB report sums up frac sand mining issues:

. . .The EQB is a multi-agency oversight body that received a petition to do an in-depth study of the possible environmental effects of frac sand mining. . . .

That kind of study would take several years and cost a lot of money. In the meantime, the agency has produced a 90-page report that summarizes the issues.

So far the questions outnumber the answers regarding possible impacts on the environment, the economy and local communities, said EQB planner Jeff Smyser.

One of those questions involves a very scary thing: sinkholes. Probably not Florida-scale sinkholes--and the water quality concerns that are related to sinkhole-producing karst geology are a whole lot more vexsome:

The report includes . . .maps of southeastern Minnesota's unusual geology, known as karst geology, where rich deposits of silica sand are found. That makes it tricky to predict underground water flows, Smyser said. The limestone bedrock easily creates sinkholes and causes unpredictable groundwater flows.

"It's kind of difficult to know where the water's going to go, just what effects use of groundwater, discharge of processing water is going to have because of that karst geology out there," he said. "So that's a real tricky question that's real hard to answer at this point."

Check out Hemphill's entire article at MPR.

A number of silica-sand related bills are working their way through the Minnesota legislature. Senator Matt Schmit's SF786 provides for a GEIS and a one-year moratorium; Schmit has also introduced a bill that creates setbacks to protect fish and sensitive natural areas in the driftless region. Rep. Hansen's HF906 creates standard and a technical assistance team team to help local government regulate sand mining; he also has a bill to protect wellheads and natural areas in the region.

Here's the EQB report:

23 March 2013 Final Silica Sand Report

Image: It's karst, it's complex, it's more than just sinkholes. Read more here.

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Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Mar 23, 2013 at 05:57 PM in Birds, Counties, Energy , Environment, Farming, Fishing, Flora, Governor Mark Dayton, Industry, Lakes, Minnesota legislature, Politics, Rivers, Rural development, Science, Steve Wilson, Tourism, Towns, Transportation, Water, Wildlife | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mar 21, 2013

Collin Peterson regrets vote on Glass-Steagall, cautions about weakening Dodd-Frank regs

Gaius Publius examines a disturbing development in House Ag committee Dems vote to deregulate derivatives:

This is a major under-the-radar story. The House Agriculture Committee, including its Democrats, voted just this week to gut the Dodd-Frank regulation of derivatives by approving a series seven bills. Of the seven, six are strongly opposed by public-interest regulation watchdogs. All seven bills now go to the House floor for a vote there.

This is a bad-Dems story, and also a derivatives story.

Read the details at Americablog.

Minnesota's Democrats on the committee--ranking member Collin Peterson and Tim Walz--aren't among the "bad-Dems." Given Peterson's work on financial reform in 2010 when he chaired the ag committee, the "No" vote isn't a surprise. (The ag committee's oversight of commodity markets gives it the ability to consider legislation related to the financial industry).

Gaius Publius notes Huffington Post's report on Peterson's reaction: Wall Street Deregulation Advances As Top Democrat Warns That Vote Could 'Haunt' Congress:

The most controversial bill to advance Wednesday is explicitly designed to expand taxpayer backing for derivatives. It was the only legislation that lawmakers were required to cast individual votes for or against; the others were all approved by unanimous voice votes. The bill to increase taxpayer support for bank derivatives dealing was approved by a vote of 31 to 14.

Prior to the vote, the top Democrat on the Agricultural Committee, Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), gave a speech warning that the legislation could repeat the deregulation debacles of the 1990s.
"Two of the worst votes I ever made in this place was the Commodity [Futures] Modernization Act of 2000 that exempted all of these swaps from any regulation or any margins," Peterson said. "I didn't know any better. The other vote I made that was really bad is eliminating Glass-Steagall. We should have never done that and I bought into that. You know, if we had Glass-Steagall back, this wouldn't be an issue here ... You're putting taxpayers on the hook. And if you wanna do that, fine. But I mean, you know, when I, when a lot of us were here, we hadn't paid enough attention and this thing blew up on us. At the time we did the Modernization Act, there were $80 billion in swaps, in derivatives. We gave 'em legal certainty, we eliminated the regulation requirements, and it went to $700 trillion and it blew up on us. So just be careful: You can vote any way you want, but this could come back and haunt you.

Here's Peterson speaking out about the bills:

Photo: Seventh District DFL Congressman Collin Peterson.

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Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Mar 21, 2013 at 08:36 PM in Agriculture, Collin Peterson, Congress, Politics | Permalink | Comments (0)

State DFL raps Rep. Greg Davids across the nose for misleading letters about colleagues' votes

Citizens who tuned in to watch the Minnesota House witnessed endless, mind-numbing discussion about a procedural motion to approval a committee report so that the next committee could hear public testimony about the issue.

It was, as we tweeted at the time, a clear illustration that Minority Leader Kurt Daudt (R-Bogmedown) had decided that the Republicans in the lower chamber were the Seinfeld of American legislatures, a caucus about nothing.

But as time-wasting as Daudt's sudden stupidity about process was, such wrangling is one card for the loyal opposition to play when it's got nothing.

Not so in mis-representing a legislator's voted or committee service to the general public, as Bob Barrett recently discovered.

One minority caucus member, Greg Davids, has yanked a procedural vote out of context, claiming that DFL legislators had voted for a bill--when the measure itself never came to debate and a vote. Rather, the body was simply sending one committee report to another committee.

The DFL has had enough of this malarkey, and has lodged a complaint about Davids' letters to the editor with the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings. Here's a statement the DFL sent out:

The Minnesota DFL has filed a complaint against State Rep. Greg Davids with the Office of Administrative Hearings for false claims he made in political attacks against four DFL state representatives. In four nearly identical letters to the editor, Rep. Davids attacked Rep. Jay McNamar (Elbow Lake), Rep. Tim Faust (Hinckley), Rep. Shannon Savick (Wells), and Rep. Joe Radinovich (Crosby), falsely claiming each voted for a $3.7 billion tax increase.

In his political attack, Rep. Davids claimed each voted yes on Gov. Mark Dayton’s now outdated tax proposal. In truth, the vote he referenced was on a procedural motion to move the bill from one committee to another where it could receive more public input.
“Representative Davids is the longest serving Republican in the House and he knows the difference between a procedural motion and a vote on bill,” said DFL Chairman Ken Martin. “This is politics at its worst and a disservice to the public, who has a right to know the facts about what their representative has actually voted for and voted against.”

Here's the complaint to the Office of Administrative Hearings:

DFL files OAH complaint against Republican legislator for false political attacks