Uncategorized

The battle over instant-runoff voting in St. Paul is getting heated. The No Bad Ballots Committee, which is advocating against adopting the new voting system, has filed a grievance with the state’s Office of Administrative Hearings alleging that supporters of the ballot measure are knowingly making false claims in their campaign literature.

Minnesota’s largest anti-abortion group, Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, is vigorously opposing all of the health reform proposals being offered by Democrats in Congress — and it’s not just about abortion. Several Republican talking points have crept into the group’s campaign, and most of them have been debunked by the very fact-checkers the group uses [...]

President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard Act into law on Wednesday ending a decade of efforts by LGBT and human rights groups to get sexual orientation and gender identity included in federal hate crime laws.

On Monday, Rep. Keith Ellison read a statement condemning the actions of four Republican House members who are calling for an investigation of Muslim interns in Congress. The statement was written by Ellison and supported by the Tri-Caucus, a group composed of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Asian Caucus and the Hispanic Caucus.

Rep. Betty McCollum is spearheading an effort to get nonprofit employees included in the health reform benefits being planned for small businesses. She has penned a letter to congressional leaders urging them to consider nonprofits on a level playing field with small businesses.

Democrats haven’t won a gubernatorial contests in Minnesota in more than two decades. The formation of a new political action committee is more evidence that they’re serious about ending that drought in 2010.

Rep. Michele Bachmann told the Sioux City (Iowa) Journal that she isn’t considering a run for the White House in 2012 — despite Palin-Bachmann 2012 stickers — but she is very interested in seeing Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, try for the seat.

Rep. Keith Ellison, speaking at a conference at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars on Friday, said that better relations between the United States and the Arab-speaking world are in the best interests of all of us. But while Ellison seeks  peace, a group of Republicans is embracing the opposite.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar is one of several female Democratic senators demanding that health insurance disparities that impact women be eliminated as part of the health reform packages being debated in Congress. For the past two weeks, the senators have been ensuring the issues unique to women don’t get last in the vigorous debate.

Former House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, R-Marshall, said on Thursday that he would not seek reelection no mater the outcome of his campaign for governor. Seifert stepped down as Minority Leader in June when he announced his campaign to replace Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who announced in June he wouldn’t be seeking a third term.