Politics

In his debut in the first caucus state of the 2012 race for president, Gov. Tim Pawlenty could hardly miss by appealing to “Heartland values” that Minnesota shares with Iowa. But other parts of his Saturday-night speech to Republicans in Des Moines seemed slightly off-target.

There’s word that “Stunning” Steve King, congressman from Iowa, wants a Saturday reprise of U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s “Superbowl of Freedom” rally against health care reform. Before a second “House Call” protest blurs memories of the original, here is a sampling of reportage from a pair of eyewitnesses to Bachmann’s achievement on Thursday.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak romped to a third term while openly flirting with a 2010 gubernatorial bid. Today a state agency rebuked him for mingling funds while pursuing the dual political contests. Will the ruling hurt Rybak’s political viability?

There is a grassroots effort underway to draft Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher to run for governor. The campaign has set up Facebook and Twitter accounts to generate momentum for a gubernatorial bid. There’s also an online petition that Fletcher supporters can sign.
The “Draft Bob Fletcher for MN Governor in 2010″ Facebook page currently has [...]

How effectively will the House health care bill cover children? Turns out, it depends on where they live.

Surveying voters outside of the city last May meant Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak should have registered a gubernatorial campaign committee, the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board said in a ruling (pdf) announced today. The upshot: One R.T. Rybak campaign committee must pay another $26,500 to cover the cost of the survey. The board [...]

In headlining Thursday’s “House call” protest against health-care reform, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann was going rogue on her own party’s leaders, who had hoped to focus the day’s attention on their own 12-hour, online health-care “town hall.”

Gov. Tim Pawlenty unveiled a proposal on Tuesday to amend the state’s constitution in order to keep a lid on government spending. His plan would cap the size of the state’s general fund budget at the amount of revenue received in the previous two year cycle. But according to figures compiled by the Senate Majority [...]

The Minnesota Independent’s sister site, the Washington Independent, was on the scene Thursday for U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s “House Call” protest against health care reform at the U.S. Capitol.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty believes Minnesota has a “binge” spending problem. In order to fix this addiction, he’s proposing a rather radical solution: an amendment to the state’s constitution that would strictly limit future expenditures. Democrats say it’s simply a stunt to bolster Pawlenty’s presidential ambitions.