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At two Minneapolis events today, independent journalist Will Potter is discussing what he calls the “green scare”: “Corporations and politicians are labeling activists ‘eco-terrorists’ and national security threats,” a descriptor at his Web site reads. “Think red-baiting, with a green twist.” As he tells Tom Elko in an audio interview at Sky Blue Waters, post-9/11 [...]

The Democrats’ response to Sen. Joe Lieberman’s vigorous campaigning for John McCain, which included the former Democrat taking to CNN to endorse the GOP’s talking point that “Hamas endorsed Obama”: He got to keep his chairmanship and was allowed to remain part of the Democratic Senatorial Caucus. Since his party won’t deal with Leiberman harshly, [...]

Mayor R.T. Rybak of Minneapolis did an excellent job today on Minnesota Public Radio, extolling the virtues of the proposed urban policy office in President-elect Barack Obama’s White House. He did a fairly miserable job of professing a lack of interest in whether Obama might offer him the job running it.

In this week’s edition of the Schultz Report audiocast, David Schultz examines the looming vote recount in the Minnesota US Senate face-off between Sen. Norm Coleman and Al Franken.

Is the situation here another Florida 2000 cage match, as so many pundits are claiming? In most respects, Schultz thinks the answer is no. But when it comes to the stakes and the political gamesmanship, that’s another matter.

In our first post-election installment of the Schultz Report, David Schultz talks about the mixed bag that last night brought for Minnesota Democrats–handing a 10-point margin to Barack Obama on one hand, but failing to net any congressional pickups and falling short of the five-seat increase needed to give the party a 2/3 majority in the Minnesota House.

“For all of those [down-ticket Minnesota] races,” notes Schultz, “you have Democrats coming in on average about 10 points behind where Obama was.” What gives?

Via Greg.org, a hilarious change of pace from impersonal robocalling, dubbed “drunk dialing for change.”
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Supporters of U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann rallied on a dead-end street outside Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) studios in St. Paul today, where the embattled member of Congress debated Democrat El Tinklenberg for 30 minutes (archived MnIndy liveblog here, archived MPR audio here). At his News Cut blog, MPR’s Bob Collins shows and tells scenes of [...]

A reader in Mankato sends a new voicemail left by John McCain’s campaign which shows a sharp departure from the last round: Stumbling over words, the caller claims Barack Obama’s weak on crime:

Hi, I’m calling for John McCain and the RNC because Democrats are dangerously weak on crime. Barack Obama voted against tougher penalties for street gangs, drug-related crimes and protecting children from danger. Barack Obama and his liberal allies have a disturbing history of coddling criminals and we can’t trust their judgment to keep our families safe. This call is paid for by the Republican National Committee and McCain/Palin 2008 at 866.558.5591. Thank you for listening. You have a wonderful day.

Thank you. You too, McCain caller man!

Listen:

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David Schultz, who’s been in Europe on a speaking tour about the US elections, is back with us again for a new installment of the Schultz Report. In this edition, we talk about the recent tightening in some of the national presidential polls, the Minnesota Senate race between Norm Coleman, Al Franken, and Dean Barkley, and — of course — the controversy engendered by Rep. Michele Bachmann’s rant about Barack Obama and other “anti-Americans” last Friday.

The three candidates vying for Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District seat raised nearly $2 million in the third quarter, according to reports they filed today with the Federal Election Commission, with a combined take of $1,946,000. And spending for TV in the 3rd is outpacing the presidential contenders in the Twin Cities market and running at nearly a third of the total TV outlay in Minnesota’s uber-spendy U.S. Senate race. More inside, including Dillon’s radio debut and a Madia TV spot gets caught in U.S. Rep. John Kline’s cross-district crossfire.