Posts by Andy Birkey

Rep. Keith Ellison spoke at the National Iranian American Council last week about the struggles facing the Iranian people as they protest the current regime. Ellison, Congress’ first Muslim, told attendees that freedom should be supported but not enforced.

A former DFL state senator told the St. Cloud Times over the weekend that he’s challenging Rep. Collin Peterson as an independent. Former Sen. Gene Waldorf was the darling of the anti-abortion movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s when he sponsored legislation that would ban all abortion in Minnesota except in the cases [...]

Rep. James Oberstar, who has in the past hinted at opposition to the Senate version of the health reform bill because it isn’t strict enough on abortion, told the Associated Press today that he may vote for the bill.

Sen. Tarryl Clark has a new mailer out in the 6th Congressional District that aims at wooing DFL activists. “Washington isn’t working for us and neither is Michele Bachmann,” it reads. “We need leadership that creates jobs and opportunity, not headaches and headlines,” the mailer says of Rep. Michele Bachmann.

Rep. Michele Bachmann appeared on the air with talk radio host Chris Baker on Friday to speak out against health care reform. Bachmann said that if the House used the “self-executing route” to pass the Senate version — a tactic used many times by Republicans when they were the majority — then each American will [...]

Rep. Keith Ellison is among a number of progressive Democrats backing a standalone public option in the U.S. House. The “Public Option Act,” also known as the “Medicare You Can Buy Into Act,” would allow anyone to purchase Medicare coverage so long as they can afford it. The bill was introduced by Rep. Alan Grayson, [...]

You Can Run But You Cannot Hide, the front group for the punk rock ministry of Bradlee Dean, took his brand of fundamentalist Christianity to a DFL gubernatorial meet-and-greet several weeks ago to confront Sen. John Marty about his support for “sin” and homosexuals. Dean and fellow group frontman Jake McMillian repeatedly asked Marty about [...]

Before a crowd holding signs that read “Damn this federal government to hell” and “The citizens must declare war on their immoral, corrupt, Marxist government,” Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann addressed around 1,000 people Saturday at a “Kill the Bill” rally against Democrats’ health care reform measures at the State Capitol.

A prominent pastor and GOP activist says Republicans in the Minnesota Legislature are blocking a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in order to save face in the 2010 elections. Pastor Brad Brandon, who was a staffer for former Senator Rudy Boschwitz, sent out an appeal to his radio show listeners to pressure the Republican Caucus [...]

Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar both saw positive approval ratings from Minnesotans in a poll released by Rasmussen on Friday. Also in the poll results: 49 percent of respondents said Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s presidential aspirations have affected his performance as governor.