Politics

Former Sen. Norm Coleman has been hitting the trail to promote the new think tank he’s heading up. The American Action Network hopes to take advantage of the recent Supreme Court ruling overturning rules about political giving by corporations, Coleman told the New York Times. The group also has plenty of ties to — and [...]

Mike Huckabee is invading Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s turf. The former Arkansas governor and likely 2012 presidential candidate will be visiting Minnesota in April to headline a fundraising dinner for local religious right outfit the Minnesota Family Council.

Reps. Keith Ellison and James Oberstar have signed on to a letter written by Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., that urges the Senate to pass the public option for health care reform as part of any reconciliation process.

In a fiery fundraising pitch for the American Conservative Union Strikeforce, Rep. Michele Bachmann asks supporters, “Will you let Barack Obama KILL conservatism?” Calling the president a “political street fighter,” she says his “agenda is a dagger pointed right at the heart of conservatism.”

And then there were eleven: former state senator Steve Kelley is the first DFLer to drop out of the DFL race for governor. Kelley placed 8th in the DFL straw poll held at caucuses on Tuesday. Eleven candidates are still in the running for the DFL endorsement to replace Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who is retiring [...]

Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) organizers announced on Twitter Thursday afternoon that Rep. Michele Bachmann will be speaking at its annual conference in late February and will be introduced by Minnesota blogger Ed Morrissey. Bachmann joins Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who will also be speaking at the conference.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee went after Reps. Michele Bachmann, John Kline and Erik Paulsen on Wednesday for their votes last year against taxing bonuses of bank executives who received TARP funds from the federal government. The DCCC jumped on news today that AIG leaders will be getting $100 million in bonuses this year.

A straw poll results from Tuesday night’s political caucuses continue to trickle in, gubernatorial candidates RT Rybak and Margaret Anderson Kelliher are taking the top spot in the DFL, while Marty Seifert is garnering a large number of votes on the Republican side. Early results for the Independence Party show Tom Horner taking the lead, but voting for that straw poll will continue online until Feb. 28.

Activists like James O’Keefe and Minnesota’s Joseph Basel — who were recently arrested for trying to tamper with phones at Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu’s office — don’t represent the best of the conservative movement’s recent investment in college journalism. “For every James O’Keefe,” said the head of one network for conservative college media, “there are 50 serious journalists coming out of these programs.”

Just after hiring former Republican Party of Minnesota chairman Ron Carey, Rep. Michele Bachmann lost her press secretary, Politico reported Tuesday. Debbee Keller, who had been working for Bachmann for less than a year, sent this email announcing her departure: