Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk and House Minority Leader Paul Thissen toured the state the day after the worst legislative session in our state's history ended. They used this tour as an opportunity to tell the Minnesotans how the Republicans are incapable of governing. They labeled this session the Do Nothing Legislature.
Bakk even said the following before the session adjourned:
"We're going to use 250 calendar days," Bakk said. "That, members, is the second longest calendar days since statehood. We're going to pass, assuming this bill gets signed and the Revisor's bill gets signed, about 245 bills. Members, that's the fewest number of bills that has been signed into law since 1869."
MPR's Poligraph even agreed with him:
Bakk's claim is basically correct.
The Evidence
The Legislative Reference Library keeps track of each two-year session's basics - how long they lasted, how many bills were introduced, and how many bills became law, among other statistics.
Excluding last year's special session to approve budget bills, the current session actually lasted 248 calendar days, so Bakk is two days off.
Nevertheless, this part of Bakk's claim is still on point: this session was the second longest in terms of calendar days since statehood.
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Bakk is also correct that 245 bills became law this session. That's the fewest since 1869, when the same number of new laws were put on the books.
This is important. A central theme to the DFL's 2012 strategy is to talk about the Do Nothing Legislature. Republicans are going to have a hard time refuting it.
During the debate on the ballot measure to ban same-sex marriage in the Minnesota State Constitution, Sen. Patricia Torres-Ray (DFL-Mpls) asked author Sen. Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove) a very important question: How will the amendment protect my marriage? Patricia is married to a man.
What a great question!
I assumed he'd have an illuminating answer. After all, gays wanting to get married caused Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch and MNGOP Deputy Chair and Senate Communications Director Michael Brodkorb to commit adultery. All conservatives know that gays wanting to marry threatens their marriages and even the nation's security!
Sen. Limmer: Madam President and Senator Torres Ray, in the event that this bill would pass, I don't believe that this bill would do anything to promote or enhance your marriage.
What!?! He's got to be kidding! So this guy in the following video got it wrong? When I saw this video it all made sense ... I saw the vast gay conspiracy for what it was.
The answer to this is literally no. However, the Star Tribune editorial board perfectly captures the spirit of the education reformers A.L.E.C., Student's First, and the latest A.L.E.C. clone, State Government Leadership Foundation. It is almost as if those three organizations took out ad space in this editorial take down of Governor Dayton.
We all know that quality teachers are paramount in our system. However, the Strib takes the "Waiting for Superman" paradigm where you are either Superman or a kid hating Lex Luther. Almost the entire editorial emphasis focuses on this divisive dichotomy. A more productive, functional, and effective metaphor would be teachers as Avengers, none perfect. Each with different strengths and weaknesses, working together. The corporate reformers would rather divide and conquer, like their supporter Scott Walker likes to say.
So, we have another editorial piling on the narrative that teachers are not the solution to the problem. Teachers ARE the problem. Logically, this means all the teachers in Edina are above average and ALL the teachers in the cities must be sub-par. This premise is silly, but no one ever questions it. So, let's take one little example from the Strib.
As with classroom teachers, a certain percentage of school leaders' job reviews will be based on student performance. That's another wise way to keep the most effective educators on the job.
This sounds great on the surface, so we just take it as fact. We need to give claims of fact more scrutiny though. If students were sorted equally, maybe this would work. Even the same teacher can have massive score fluctuations from period to period. The National Academies of Research say that using student test scores is NOT wise. The Strib says it is wise, and we are just to believe them with no evidence. It is not surprising, as the Strib has never referenced the National Academies, but has relied on world renowned education expert Fran Tarkenton for their editorial rigor. Remember, the former Quarterback went to school, so he is more of an expert than the National Academies of Research, RAND testing, and the Educational Testing Services, all of who say the Strib's stance is NOT wise. The Strib has Fran and A.L.E.C. on their side though. Must be something to it.
the triangulating weasels at the DNC are withholding support to the Wisconsin Democratic Party in its battle to recall corporate stooge and current governor Scott Walker (and a handfull of this lackies).
Apparently the national Democratic establishment is hesitant to participate in what could be the most important (for our democracy) political movement in 50 years. Again, the most significant push-back against the metastasizing influence of American plutocracy, by average working Americans, in more than a generation, and the DNC is awol. Gee, I wonder why there may be a lack of enthusiasm among traditional Democratic supporters.
As far as examples of the insipid and meaningless in Minnesota politics go, it's hard to imagine one any more definitive than that provided by Rep. Chip Cravaack's (R-NH/MN) news conference during "The Opener." But another recent announcement comes close.
Former presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty said Monday he wants off speculators' lists of potential running mates for presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney. He's not even sure a Cabinet post sounds all that appealing...
To be sure, past vice presidential prospects have feigned disinterest before voluntarily submitting to the vetting process later on. At this time last year, Pawlenty was gearing up to launch his own White House bid. He ended that just a few months after kicking it off because of a disappointing showing in an Iowa test vote.
So, what's the deal? Still haunted by memories of being dumped for "Simple" Sarah Palin in 2008? And/or memories of his own farcical presidential campaign? Or possibly already privately settled on a Senate run in 2014? Your knowledgeable guess is as good as mine.
Despite my disdain for Republicans in general and Tim Pawlenty in particular, as a big believer in peace and civility, I actually don't find this amusing or satisfying.
The Oklahoma state Republican convention on Saturday erupted into chaos and a near-brawl when supporters of Ron Paul and Mitt Romney came to blows on the convention floor.
The fight started when Romney backers won the state's 25 delegates on a voice vote, rather than the traditional roll call.
According to NBC affiliate KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City, police intervened after a 70-year-old Romney supporter punched a Paul supporter in the head after they disagreed over the vote.
Cell phone video showed two women engaged in a smackdown.
On the stage, former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty and Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin were heckled when they failed to quell the crowd.
Stop, don't go away! I know you're sick of stadium stuff, but my intent is not to continue the stadium debate, really. This is about the debate, not an engagement in it. You know how sick you are of stadium stuff? So is everybody else, and it's like it became the whole session. That's the point.
When I heard capitol reporters interviewed, they said all they heard was stadium stadium stadium. Legislators said all they heard from constituents was stadium stadium stadium. It was the unending Sturm und Drang of people engaged in a desperate struggle against the obvious. It was obvious the stadium was going to be in Minneapolis, obvious it was going to be on the Dome site, obvious it was going to have a roof, obvious there would be taxes on tickets etc., and obvious the Vikings would have to pay a proportion similar to what the Twins paid.
I went looking for what I wrote during the stadium debate, partly in hopes I could find where I said those things are obvious, and no luck. Maybe I didn't put it in those terms since I know better than to be completely certain about what has not yet come to pass, though I did find this bit:
We realistically won't get an income tax increase through with Pawlenty still in office, but the Republican legislators who will have to explain the loss of the Vikings to their constituents might find suddenly they can make an exception to the no-tax philosophy.
As the Pawlenty reference might suggest, I wrote that in February 2010. Predicting Republicans will get over their taxophobia is not normally the safest prediction. Something else interesting I noticed when I re-read that --- well, besides a two-year-old typo --- was that someone reading that and nothing else before today didn't miss much. I didn't guess at Arden Hills offering a site, soccer becoming an issue, or the expansion of gambling. Otherwise, there haven't been new arguments in two years. If someone really wants to re-argue the stadium, read that two-year old post. It's pretty much all there. In fact, I started that post with:
Stadiums have become one of those issues that turns some of us into one-issue voters. "How nice, you ended poverty and cured cancer, but you voted for the stadium, so I'll never vote for you again!!" OK, I made up that quote, but I've run into that sentiment enough to claim it's less exaggerated than it might appear. I haven't seen that same level of one-issue voting on the pro-stadium side --- not a poll, just my observation.
This time was even more intense than the Twins stadium, which simply didn't dominate a legislative session the same way. Maybe because it was only half the cost, maybe because the Dome is a decent football stadium but lousy for baseball, maybe because opponents were better organized, maybe because the pro-stadium campaign was lousy, or maybe because frustration built as we went though one sports facilities debate after another leading up to the most expensive. Opposition certainly seemed more intensely organized, which is my guess as to why support was organized more than these prior facilities, albeit only at the end (again, my perception).
Q. You said you would rather have your toenails pulled out...
A. ... than go back to the Legislature and talk about the Vikings stadium for another year? Exactly. I just needed you to know how much I didn't want to do that.
Something else very interesting: the way the caucuses split.
This is some video I shot on Sunday marching in the May Day parade in Minneapolis. Yes, it was Mother's Day, not May Day. The May Day event was postponed because heavy rains the night before the event wiped out the distinction between Powderhorn Lake and Powderhorn Park.
I was marching with Keith Ellison's campaign, which was either joined by or mixed stragglers with several other DFL elected officials.
Frank Mabley won the DFL endorsement for Ramsey County District 1 Commissioner. Mabley won in three ballots. Mabley led by 59/50 votes in the first round and finished with a 74/37 votes in the third and last possible round before the school closed.
Expect the stadium issue to be front and center in this race against incumbent Republican Tony Bennett. Commissioner was a strong advocate for the stadium. Frank Mabley said in one of his letters to delegates:
However, to have the citizens of the county (the state's smallest) be the only ones to have their taxes raised to pay for the project without those same citizens being able to vote on assuming that burden seems to be unreasonable to me. Here is a caveat that I believe should guide use in situations such as the stadium proposal -- caution must be used when giving subsides to private business. Much more caution is needed when using public funds to subsidize the rich and privileged.
Mabley speaks ensuring services to our elderly, our disabled and those most seriously in need. He places a high priority on law enforcement and emergency services. Clean ground water is also a focus.
Frank Mabley worked as Mission Control Specialist for the Apollo moon missions at NASA. He then returned to Minnesota to get a law degree and practice law.
Marc Asch was the opponent in this race. Marc Asch has an impressive resume including being a previous state representative and currently being the president of $9 million dollar defense contracting company. He has a long list of community leadership roles. Asch also wanted a referendum for the stadium Ramsey County taxes. Controvery always surrounds the proposed stadium site, since it is a polluted area that has been leaking into the surrounding lakes and water supply.
The convention seemed to go smoothly, even though it was a close contentious race. Both candidates had promised to abide by the endorsement. I had the honor and the pleasure of serving as a teller, so I did not catch everything happening on the floor. Everything seemed well run from what I could see. Kudos to the Ramsey County District 1 endorsing convention!
A Reuters/Ipsos poll shows 31% of Americans have a higher opinion of President Obama because of his gay marriage decision and 30% see him less favorably. Forty percent say the announcement had no impact on their view of the president.
This is exactly how this issue should play out: strong base supporters laud the President for this decision, strong opponents see him even more negatively for it, and everyone in the middle goes about their lives because -- gasp! -- equality is just part of the American experience, and a President standing for it isn't news.
Now, when a presidential opponent doesn't support full equality and equal protection under the law for all Americans, that's news.
DFL and labor activist/staffer Jason Metsa announced that he will be seeking Tom Rukavina's seat this fall. Metsa ran Rukavina's 2010 gubernatorial campaign and has been very active on a whole lot of campaigns recently.
Metsa, 31, is a fifth-generation Iron Ranger with roots in the Angora and Nashwauk area. His family moved to Rochester for part of his childhood during the economic collapse in the '80s, but he returned to graduate from Babbitt-Embarrass in the late '90s.
Metsa began organizing a slew of Range political campaigns in 2006, working for various candidates and the DFL before being hired to coordinate political operations for the influential Labor Council last year.
"A lot of young people have had to move away [from the Range] to find jobs," said Metsa. "We need to create jobs for them here."
He told me he'll focus on helping advance nonferrous mining development in the area. He said he believes that the future of the Range depends on people getting involved in their communities.
Aaron notes that Metsa faces Lorrie Janatopoulos in the DFL endorsement race. The convention is this Saturday.
Now that one of the worst legislative sessions is over (rivaled only be the shutdown of 2011), Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton is flying from St. Paul to Duluth, Moorhead and Rochester to talk about how bad things have gotten at the legislature. He's kicking off the 2012 election cycle in MN.
DFL legislators from each area will join Dayton, Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk and House Minority Leader Paul Thissen and hold press conferences at their airport to highlight how little the Republicans were able to do.
For everyone not living under a rock for the last two months, the Republican-led legislature had an incredibly hard time getting any Republicans to support any kind of stadium bill.
They barely passed a bonding bill and it is the smallest in history.
Their tax bill was full of Underwear Gnomes Economic Theory, i.e., it was a joke full of tax breaks for the rich. Furthemore more it hurt the middle class. Gov. Dayton vetoed it. His veto letter is quite illuminating.
The only item of note they were able to accomplish was to pass a ballot measure to write vote suppression into our state's constitution. The MNGOP shrieked about vote fraud they couldn't find and want every voter to produce an ID. The IDs are not the main goal. Their main goal is to eliminate same-day registration. Republicans will have better electoral chances if fewer DFL-leaning demographics like students, seniors, military and minorities are able to vote.
It's time to get out there and elect DFLers to the State House and State Senate!
Every once in a while, a politician takes a principled stand. Even when taking such a stand holds the politician up to ridicule for going against the flow. Our country needs more leaders who will stand up for what's right rather than meekly conform to the wishes of the far right evangelicals.
Rep. John Kriesel (R-Cottage Grove) took a principled stand for freedom. He took a principled stand against bigotry and discrimination. He supports everyone's right to marry.
Kriesel is undoubtedly brave. He's a combat-wounded vet who received a Purple Heart. Watch him stand up on the floor of the Minnesota House of Representatives and stand up for equality.
As far as examples of the insipid and meaningless in Minnesota politics go, it's hard to imagine one any more definitive than that provided by Rep. Chip Cravaack's (R-NH/MN) 
Frank Mabley won the DFL endorsement for Ramsey County District 1 Commissioner. Mabley won in three ballots. Mabley led by 59/50 votes in the first round and finished with a 74/37 votes in the third and last possible round before the school closed.
Metsa, 31, is a fifth-generation Iron Ranger with roots in the Angora and Nashwauk area. His family moved to Rochester for part of his childhood during the economic collapse in the '80s, but he returned to graduate from Babbitt-Embarrass in the late '90s.
