Minnesota Independent

Cook Political Report: Bachmann, Paulsen still only competitive House seats

By Paul Demko | 11.13.09 | 11:37 am

Michele Bachmann is the most politically vulnerable member of Minnesota’s congressional delegation in 2010, according to the latest analysis from the Cook Political Report. The beltway publication lists the Sixth Congressional District seat as “leaning Republican.”

Crist or Rubio for Pawlenty?

By Paul Demko | 11.13.09 | 10:45 am

Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s 2012 presidential exploratory tour hits Florida today. There he could face a politically tricky question: Will he back Florida Gov. Charlie Crist or conservative darling Marco Rubio in next year’s U.S. Senate contest?

MN Sex Offender Program costs $70 million a year but rehabilitates no one

By Paul Demko | 11.13.09 | 9:39 am

By any reasonable standard the Minnesota Sex Offender Program has been an unmitigated failure. In its nearly two decades, it has failed to rehabilitate a single patient. The only people who have graduated from the program have done so in body bags. Yet, since 2003, the program’s budget has ballooned by nearly 400 percent, from $18.5 million annually to $71.6 million.

Politico: Dems hope to use Franken’s anti-rape amendment as political cudgel

By Paul Demko | 11.12.09 | 3:44 pm

Senate Democrats are salivating at the prospect of attacking Republicans in 2010 who voted against an anti-rape amendment sponsored by Al Franken, reports Politico. The provision, which was supported by 68 senators, would prevent the Department of Defense from…