The Minnesota House passed a bill that would put a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage on the ballot in 2012. Four Republicans broke with their party to vote against the bill, while two DFLers joined the Republicans in voting for it.
The ad wars in the 8th Congressional District continued this weekend with the announcement that Americans United for Change plans to spend “five figures” on a television ad campaign targeting four members of the House who voted for Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget proposal. The ad buy targets Rep. Chip Cravaack for backing the measure, which includes drastic changes to Medicare through a voucher system for private insurance. Cravaack is also being targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, but he’s got defenders: The conservative 60 Plus Association has bought ads of its own.
Immigrants’ List, a federal PAC that backs candidates who support immigration rights, lists Rep. Michele Bachmann on its Immigration Hall of Shame. She’s among the nine Republicans and one Democrat the group says are blocking immigration reform. Immigrants’ List cites Bachmann’s support for Arizona’s SB 1070 and her erroneous statement that Phoenix is the kidnapping capital of the United States.
When the National Organization for Marriage and the Minnesota Family Council spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads promoting a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and civil unions last fall, the groups should have reported those expenditures, according to a complaint filed with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board earlier this month. The complaint, which focuses on ads launched throughout the 2010 campaign cycle in support of gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, asks for financial penalties as well as an audit of NOM’s spending in Minnesota.
Minnesota U.S. Reps. Michele Bachmann and Chip Cravaack are the targets of radio ads by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee over their votes to “end Medicare.” The ad buy is extremely small and is part of the DCCC’s “Drive to 25″ campaign, an effort launched in January with the aim of gaining back the 25 seats the Democrats need to win the House in 2012.
The Republican budget proposal that passed the House on Friday would significantly change the way Medicare operates, and those House members who voted for it are taking heat from Democrats and liberal groups. In Duluth, a billboard urges Cravaack not to privatize Medicare, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) says that Bachmann voted to “end Medicare.” But are these claims accurate?
Citizens for Ethics in Washington filed an IRS complaint against former Sen. Norm Coleman’s American Action Network Tuesday alleging that the group violated its 501(c)4 status by working to elect Republicans. CREW posits that AAN used its tax status to protect Republican donors from disclosure and spent the majority of its resources on political campaigns instead of educational activities, as required under the law.
In the final days of the 2010 campaign, text messages were sent out accusing Mark Dayton and the DFL of Catholic bashing. It has been revealed that those text messages were sent out by the New Jersey-based National Organization for Marriage, and the manner in which they were sent out is raising questions about the legality of unsolicited texts in campaigns.
Religious right groups in Minnesota and around the country said that Tuesday’s landslide victories for Republicans were due to their efforts — and they might be right. Anti-abortion groups claim they ousted incumbents who were previously “pro-life” but voted for health care reform, which the groups inaccurately stated will fund abortions. And massive anti-gay marriage campaigns throughout Minnesota preceded losses by same-sex marriage supporters at the Legislature.
“No More Frankens,” a new website by the Republican National Committee, states, “We now know that Republicans should have won the 2008 Senate Race in Minnesota – Act immediately to prevent another Franken!” and references votes the RNC says were apparently cast by “convicted felons.” While this may sound like fear-mongering, a spokesman for the GOP tells Jesse Zwick at the Washington Independent that the site isn’t suggesting that Franken stole the 2008 election.
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