Politics

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?

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 contracting with companies that prohibit employees from suing over workplace disputes — including complaints of sexual [...]

When state Sen. Michael Jungbauer announced in August that he was running for governor, he stated that God was calling on him to seek the state’s top office. Apparently God had a change of heart.
The Republican from East Bethel announced today that he is dropping out of the governor’s contest. He cited fundraising struggles as [...]

For the second day in a row, CNN.com has posted an in-depth story on U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann.

Gov. Pawlenty’s recent efforts to pander to the conservative GOP base is “Romneyesque,” observes veteran Washington Post political reporter Dan Balz. He warns that Pawlenty is in danger of losing his political compass as he attempts to position himself for a 2012 presidential bid.
In particular, Balz criticizes T-Paw for his awkward refusal to embrace Maine [...]

The furor over the Stupak amendment banning abortion in the House health bill was already highly charged. Now one conservative commentator has dared touch the third rail in the right-to-choose debate: optional knee surgery.

“Where is Michele Bachmann headed?” asks CNN.com in a longish story that charts her rise alongside Sarah Palin’s. Once upon a time the Sixth District congresswoman had to prime the pump to get speculation about her future flowing. Now it comes almost unbidden as part of the Bachmann media overdrive.

Ousted Maplewood mayor Diana Longrie attributes her loss a week ago to union opposition and the write-in candidacy of Ken Smart, but she hasn’t ruled out a run at the council seat made vacant by Will Rossbach’s win.

So much for states’ rights: Iowa-based American Future Fund wants the Federal Elections Commission to rule against Minnesota’s long-standing ban on robocalls in order to include Minnesota in its national robocall campaigns, the Star Tribune reports. The group, which bills itself as a “conservative and free market” operation, filed a complaint with the FEC arguing [...]

There’s the well-known Sports Illustrated curse that has seen athletes as mighty as Joe Mauer struggle soon after they appear on the magazine’s cover. Now for the bevy of Minnesota politicians hovering around the soon-to-be-open governor’s seat, a hex seems to descend once a “buzz” is detected.