The Republican Party of Minnesota carried a debt of twice what the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party carries. And while it raised more money during September than the DFL, the GOP also spent more than it took in.

The DFL paid down some of its debt but ended September $242,593 in the hole, slightly down from last month’s debt of $261,353. The party took in $1,118,398 and spent $1,112,415. It had $53,513 in cash on hand at the end of the month.

At this point in 2009—the most recent off-election year—the party had a debt of $168,015.

The GOP carried a higher debt into October. The party had a debt of $533,222 compared to $546,779 last month. The party took in $1,734,700 but spent a bit more—$1,759,210. The party ended September with a negative cash on hand balance of $55,788.

In October 2009, the GOP listed a $193,314 debt.

“The Republican Party unconditionally supports the state party platform calling for a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman,” said party chairman Tony Sutton.

Sutton said the platform represents the views and values of the majority of Republicans.

“The party recognizes that not all Republicans might agree with all of the party platform at all times; debate is healthy, but at the end of the day the MNGOP stands behind and supports its activist and passage of the marriage amendment,” Sutton said.

Sutton also went after the DFL for not offering a constitutional amendment in support of same-sex marriage.

“Standing behind party activists is how the Republican Party differs from the Democrats. When Democrats held a legislative majority they could have passed a constitutional amendment changing current state law and the definition of marriage,” he said. “They chose not to even raise the issue in the legislature because they feared voter reaction. In other words, they abandoned a constituency they claimed to care about for political expediency.”

While the DFL did not offer a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, it did offer numerous bills to both legalize same-sex marriage or equalize Minnesota statutes to benefit same-sex couples.

Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, and Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis, offered a bill in 2009 and 2010 called the Marriage and Family Protection Act, which would have legalized marriage for same-sex couples. The bill never passed out of committee because some DFLers worried about voting on the controversial bill in an election year with the threat of a veto from Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

In political ads during the 2010 gubernatorial campaign, the Minnesota Family Council and the National Organization for Marriage attacked the DFL for bringing up that bill and claimed it was the reason that an amendment banning same-sex marriage was needed. Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, the chief author of the anti-gay marriage amendment, told reporters in May that he authored the amendment because of Marty’s and Kahn’s bills.

The DFL also authored a series of bills between 2007 and 2010 aimed at equalizing the law for same-sex couples including hospital visitation, domestic partner benefits and end of life issues. Those were vetoed by Pawlenty.

As heated discussions continue over the national debt, two of Minnesota’s major political parties are wresting with significant debts of their own. According to Federal Election Commission reports filed at the end of July, both the GOP and DFL continue to carry debt from the 2010 election cycle. The Republican Party of Minnesota owes the most — more than $600,000 while the DFL owes close to $300,000. The GOP also had a negative cash-on-hand balance.

The DFL ended June with $291,950.71 in debt while the GOP ended in the red to the tune of $608,147.51. At the end of 2010, the GOP had $681,066 in debt and the DFL had a deficit of $217,004.

The GOP spent more and took in more than the DFL over the last six months, with $1,155,662.18 in receipts and $1,132,739.48 in spending. The DFL spent $660,252.56 and took in $652,944.91 in the first half of the year.

The FEC reports only count debt for the federal activities of the parties. In March, the Star Tribune reported that the DFL was nearly $700,000 in debt and the GOP had nearly $780,000 in obligations from 2010 it still has to pay off.

GOP chair Tony Sutton, who recently announced he would start drawing a six-figure salary from the party, told the Star Tribune in March that “he expects to pay down about $500,000 of their debt by the end of May.”

As a battle over a ballot initiative that would place a ban on same-sex marriage in the Minnesota Constitution continues, the DFL is launching a campaign Friday to highlight why marriage is important to all families, including those headed by gay and lesbian couples. Called “Pride in Minnesota Families,” the campaign coincides with the beginning of Twin Cities Pride, a weekend-long series of events celebrating Minnesota’s LGBT community and its supporters.

“Marriage is about creating a family, sharing a life together and being able to marry the person you love –that is no different for gay and lesbian couples than it is for straight couples,” DFL Chair Ken Martin said in a statement on Friday. “Families come together in many different forms to love, support and care for each other, and with these videos we’re highlighting the stories of Minnesotans and what family means to them. Because, in all its different forms, a family is about love.”

The video campaign focuses on five families. Randi and Phil Reitan spoke about their desire to see their son, Jake, get married to the person he loves, something he’s not legally able to do in Minnesota.

Denny Smith of St. Cloud spoke about his son Kyle, whose partner is not a U.S. citizen; the pair was split up when his partner’s visa expired. He said his family would be together if it wasn’t for laws that discriminate against same-sex couples.

Cathy Harrison talked about her partner, Kris Anderson, and the fear she feels if something tragic were to happen. Harrison has no family in Minnesota, and she fears her partner would not be able to make decisions on her behalf if she can’t make them herself.

Eric Blad and Rick Perry, a couple that’s been together for 11 years, talked about their desire to marry.

Mark Shaw and David Bahl, who have been together for 28 years, said their families are very supportive of their relationship and feel that they should have the same opportunities as straight couples.

The Independence Party of Minnesota is the latest political party in Minnesota to oppose a proposed ballot initiative that would write a ban on same-sex marriage into the Minnesota Constitution, and it’s the second party with major party status here to oppose the measure.

IP leaders released a video explaining their opposition to the amendment, and the chair of the party released a statement urging Minnesotans to vote “no” in November 2012. Already, the DFL and Libertarian Party have called on voters to reject the amendment, while the Green Party of Minnesota has long supported full marriage equality for same-sex couples.

IP chair Mark Jenkins cited the party’s platform: “We oppose having the government impose state-sponsored morality or values on people of good conscience with differing views.”

“This is why I oppose legislation or a constitutional amendment that puts any government imposed definition on a religious sacrament.”

The Independence Party, always seeking the middle ground, spelled out the reasons why the “radical right” and “liberal left” are not being reasonable on the issue of gay marriage.

“If we can focus our attention on the issues of civil rights instead of marriage, we may extend the rights all of our citizen’s deserve without threatening the sacrament of marriage,” wrote Jenkins. “I’m pretty optimistic that this could work. I hear that individual rights have a big following in conservative circles. If conservatives stay true to their beliefs, gays may just find conservative allies in the pursuit of their individual rights.”

Jenkins said, “I ask members of the Independence Party, and all Minnesotans, to oppose and work to defeat an amendment to the Minnesota Constitution that outlaws same sex marriage.”

The party also put out a video opposing the amendment:

The DFL has come out against the amendment and the party’s chair, Ken Martin, released this video promising the DFL would fight the amendment “with everything we have.”

While the Green Party of Minnesota has not yet weighed in on the amendment, it has a meeting this weekend. Its platform has traditionally supported marriage equality for same-sex couples: “We support legalizing marriage for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered persons by applying the same standards, requirements, privileges, and responsibilities as applied to different-sexed couples.”

The Libertarian Party of Minnesota came out against the amendment during the heated debate in the legislative session.

“The proposed Gay Marriage Ban would expand government control and restrict the freedom of consenting adults to live their own lives as they choose. Libertarians believe that marriage is a private matter between individuals,” the party wrote. “We believe that marriage is a fundamental human right, and that all personal relationships, including marriage, should be at the sole discretion and agreement of the individuals involved, as well as any family, friends, or religious institutions they may choose to involve.”

The Minnesota DFL and the Iowa Democratic Party joined forces Monday in a press conference denouncing former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s political platform, questioning his reasons for running and criticizing his political strategy after supposedly creating the highest deficit in Minnesota state history.

It is the third time in recent weeks the IDP and lawmakers or political groups in Minnesota have reached over state lines to lambaste the two-term governor, who announced his candidacy in a video Sunday afternoon, and held a town hall meeting on the rooftop of Des Moines’s Iowa Historical Building the next morning.

Democrats were critical of Pawlenty’s political record while governor of Minnesota, particularly his Monday statement which called for called for phasing “out subsidies across all sources of energy and all industries, including ethanol.”

“We simply can’t afford them anymore,” he added.

Pawlenty had backed such subsidies as governor, though he reduced them due  to“fiscal challenges.”

Monday’s press conference held by the IDP and DFL was the first done together; however, IDP has held similar conferences with Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, a member of Minnesota’s DFL party, and Minnesota state Rep. Jim Davnie, a Democrat from St. Paul, denouncing Pawlenty policies.

So why Pawlenty?

“With Minnesota, there’s the geographic boundary,” IDP spokeman Sam Roecker said Tuesday. “These individuals we have held calls with know Pawlenty’s record firsthand. Pawlenty has an extensive record he’s trying to hide, and (IDP) is trying to highlight that.”

Pawlenty is the only candidate IDP holds joint-group press conferences about, at least, so far, party officials said Tuesday. No such joint conferences have been held for candidates former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) or Atlanta businessman Herman Cain. However, Roecker said, that is not to mean the party is focusing its push back on Pawlenty alone, nor do party officials believe the joint press conferences actually propel the two-term governor to front of the 2012 pack.

“We’re pushing back on all candidates, both officials and prospects,” Roecker said. “There is no focus on Pawlenty.”

Roecker said IDP officials intend to release statements in conjunction with visits this week from U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn) and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who are in Des Moines Thursday and Friday, respectively.

“We haven’t held (joint press conferences with Minnesota) for (Bachmann) yet, but there’s no reason why we wouldn’t, especially as she begins to visit Iowa more often,” Roecker said.

Eric Woolson, a senior advisor on the Pawlenty campaign in Iowa, said the tactic is merely “an indication of the sort of campaign the Iowa Democrats will run next year. They don’t want to talk about Barack Obama’s record. They want to misplace attention, and take it off the economy, (and) take it off government spending.”

In the wake of Bradlee Dean‘s controversial prayer before the Minnesota House on Friday, a number of religious and political groups condemned Dean and urged Republican leaders to disavow Dean’s prayer and his association with the House. The Minnesota Catholic Conference, which supports a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, said that Dean should not be associated with their movement. The ACLU, the DFL, the National Organization for Marriage, Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak and several legislators all weighed in on the controversy over the weekend.

Supporters of gay marriage ban respond

The Minnesota Catholic Conference, the public policy wing of the Roman Catholic Church, condemned Dean’s prayer. “It was wrong to have a person with extremist views, like those attributed to Dean, deliver the prayer in the House,” said Jason Adkins, the group’s executive director. “Dean disrespectfully turned the prayer into a polemic and his words divided the chamber rather than brought people together.”

Adkins added that just because Dean is anti-gay he shouldn’t be lumped in with those who seek a constitutional ban on gay marriage.

“It was also unfortunate that those who are opposed to a marriage amendment to the Minnesota Constitution used Dean’s remarks to portray supporters as ‘hate groups,’ as well as state falsely that Dean was there on their behalf,” he said. “As Speaker Kurt Zellers said in an apology today, which we welcome, the mistake was due to an internal oversight. Bradlee Dean does not speak for those supporting a marriage amendment in Minnesota.”

The National Organization for Marriage echoed that sentiment on its blog:

“The suggestion of violence (if this account is true) is abhorrent, especially from a man of the cloth. But should the people of Minnesota be deprived of the right to vote because somebody in the state legislature did not vet a so-called pastor?”

The group links to a Star Tribune story which refers to a statement by Dean during his May 15, 2010, radio show.

“Muslims are calling for the executions of homosexuals in America,” he said. “This just shows you they themselves are upholding the laws that are even in the Bible of the Judeo-Christian God, but they seem to be more moral than even the American Christians do, because these people are livid about enforcing their laws. They know homosexuality is an abomination.”

ACLU letter

The Minnesota ACLU sent a letter on Friday afternoon to leaders in both the House and Senate urging them to refrain from prayers when those chambers are in session.

“The Minnesota Legislature is designed to represent all Minnesota residents, regardless of faith,” said Charles Samuelson of the Minnesota ACLU. “While we applaud Representative Zellers for his apology, we urge you to refrain from opening future sessions with any type of prayer, so as to ensure that religious freedom is protected for all.”

“Any reasonable observer,” the ACLU letter said (PDF), “would have understood that Bradlee Dean’s prayer – featuring multiple references to ‘Jesus’ – promoted Christianity.”

Politicians speak out

And Mayor Rybak weighed in in a video interview with Capitol Conversations: “To actually invite a minister that talked the jailing of [LGBT] people to give the invocation on the floor of the Minnesota Capitol, I don’t understand that.”

Rep. Jeff Hayden, DFL-Minneapolis, sent an email to constituents condemning Dean.

“The emotions on this issue ran hot this morning when GOP legislators invited Bradlee Dean to deliver the opening prayer,” he wrote. “In case you are unfamiliar with Bradlee Dean, he is a hateful ‘preacher’ who has proclaimed that gays belong in jail and that he would ‘approve the death penalty for gays.’ His mere presence was insulting, but his ‘prayer’ was offensive as well.”

He continued, “I was very upset this kind of speech would be allowed inside the House chamber – or any place. Whether it is African Americans, women or the LGBT community, Republicans have sought policies that divide us, singling out minority communities for harsh treatment.”

DFL chair Ken Martin sent an email to party activists about Dean.

“Today, the Republican majority in the Minnesota House of Representatives invited Bradlee Dean, a controversial Reverend who has essentially advocated for the execution of homosexuals, to deliver the opening prayer for the chamber,” said Martin. “Governor Dayton said it best in response – there is no place for hate in Minnesota and especially not on the House or Senate floor.”

He added, “The fact that this man, who advocates for violence against gay people, was welcomed by the GOP onto the House floor with open arms is just abominable.”

As the Minnesota Independent has reported, Dean has long-running ties with Minnesota Republicans. Politicians, including U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann and GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, have been part of fundraisers for Dean’s You Can Run But You Cannot Hide; Emmer’s former House campaign donated to the group; and prominent Republicans, including Dan Severson (who recently announced he’ll be running against Amy Klobuchar for Senate) and state Sen. Paul Gazelka, have been guests on his weekly radio show.

In its DFL Dispatch — an email update to party activists — Minnesota DFL chair Ken Martin said last week that the party will fight to stop a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage from passing in Minnesota. Some LGBT activists had been pressuring the party to make a bold statement in its communications about the issue. In the email, Martin said, “We will work hard to ensure that the GOP is not successful in their quest to write discrimination into our state constitution.”

A Change.org petition was created that urged the party to to get engaged in fighting a constitutional amendment, something the GOP has hinted they have planned for 2012.

“Please be clear about where the DFL Party stands on LGBT equality,” the petition asked. “Please express your concerns about the looming dangers to LGBT equality in Minnesota. Please call all DFLer’s in MN to become concerned and active for the equal rights of LGBT Minnesotan’s.”

Ken Martin, who was recently elected chair of the DFL, responded. Here’s the relevant part of the DFL Dispatch:

But we also have a lot of tough battles coming up—and not just to get our candidates elected. With the Republican majorities in the legislature, it’s very likely that the GOP will drive their partisan agenda next year by putting constitutional amendments on the ballot. And while Governor Dayton can stop any extreme bills that come to his desk, the right-wing majority can use constitutional amendments on the ballot to circumvent his veto pen. That means there’s a real looming danger for many Minnesotans – especially those in the LGBT community.

Let me be clear: the DFL Party has and always will be the Party that stands for equal rights. And we will work hard to ensure that the GOP is not successful in their quest to write discrimination into our state constitution.

We are the party that supports equality and fairness. We believe that every person in Minnesota should have the ability to marry the person they love. We believe every student should be safe at school, and have a healthy, respectful learning environment free of harassment and violence. We believe in ending discrimination based on sexual orientation (and also based on gender, race, religion, disability and any other perceived or actual characteristic). And we will fight to make sure that any GOP efforts to outlaw gay marriage through a constitutional amendment will be voted down in 2012.

“Voter fraud. It’s a felony.” So reads the “wanted” poster–style type on new fliers being distributed by Republican and tea party groups ahead of election day. What they don’t say is it’s also exceedingly rare. As Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison characterizes such efforts as “voter intimidation” — citing distribution of posters in traditionally DFL-leaning areas like college campuses and bus stops in lower-income neighborhoods — Hennepin County provides the Minnesota Independent with data that shows only .006 percent of votes cast in 2008 were done so fraudulently.

Three conservative groups — Minnesota Majority, the North Star Tea Party Patriots, and the Minnesota Voters Alliance — have partnered to launch Election Integrity Watch (EIW), a project that advocates for voter identification laws and blames ACORN and DFLers for advancing voter fraud in Minnesota. The groups will be watching for voter fraud by sending teams of volunteers to the polls next Tuesday to shoot photos or videos of buses arriving at polling places, challenge voting and monitor assisted-living communities. EIW is offering a $500 reward to anyone who provides evidence that leads to a conviction for illegal voting.

EIW’s activities are part of a national campaign, and allegations of voter intimidation are already cropping up in early voting states including Texas and Florida.

They’re also behind the  fliers and advertisements showing a handcuffed man that Rep. Ellison says is part of a voter-intimidation campaign.

“To scare people is wrong,” Ellison said at a press conference at Minneapolis City Hall Tuesday. “There’s not going to be anybody putting you in handcuffs.”

“This is not about voter fraud. It’s about voter intimidation,” he said. “Our proud history of civic participation is under threat from shadowy groups who are attempting to scare people away from the polls. In reality, Minnesota’s voter protection laws are strong, and our state has many organizations and tools to assure that people can exercise their right to vote — free of intimidation.”

Ellison then invited to the podium experts who spoke about voting in minority communities, voters who have had their civil rights restored and students who talked about voting on campus. Ellison is focusing on educating voters about their rights at the polls. TheUptake has video of the press conference:

[Story continues after video]

Illegal voting is rare in Minnesota, but EIW and tea party groups aren’t taking any chances. The conservative group Minnesota Majority launched a major initiative last year to get illegal voters prosecuted and targeted Minnesota’s two DFL strongholds — Hennepin and Ramsey counties.

Jeff Johnson, a Republican Hennepin County Commissioner, pressed county attorney Mike Freeman recently about the 899 names that Minnesota Majority submitted in 2009. That group’s allegation was that widespread voter fraud cost Republican Sen. Norm Coleman the election, a claim that was picked up by Fox News this summer.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman wrote back (PDF) saying that his office looked into Minnesota Majority’s accusations and found that illegal voting is rare.

“The rate of chargeable cases in Hennepin County of felons voting who have not had their rights restored in the 2008 election is .00006,” wrote Freeman. “Evidence of any other type of voter fraud was insufficient to bring any charges at all.”

His office charged 47 people with illegally voting in 2008. Seven of those came from election officials and 40 from Minnesota Majority’s data. Freeman wrote that the bulk information provided by Minnesota Majority was either insufficient or inaccurate.

In Ramsey County, 28 have been charged with illegal voting.

Despite the low number of charges, Rep. Michele Bachmann rallied the tea party effort on the Glenn Beck Show on Tuesday evening, claiming that a coordinated effort to get felons to vote helped Sen. Al Franken win the 2008 election.

“And remember we had the infamous felons for Franken program two years ago where we know that there were felons that went out and voted presumably for Al Franken,” she said. “We had more felons vote than the margin of vote victory for Al Franken. So there are over about 350 felons or 600, somewhere in that neighborhood, that were eligible to vote. We know that about 350 did vote. And Al Franken won by just barely over 300 votes.”

Freeman said his office’s investigation found no evidence of a coordinated effort to get felons to vote.

“There was no organized or coordinated effort to induce improper voting. There was no involvement of any campaign or any candidate. And there were no cases charged of non-citizens improperly voting.”

DFL chair Brian Melendez questioned the finances of Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer at a press conference on Thursday. According to public documents, Emmer has taken out seven separate mortgages on his Delano home for a total value of $1.6 million. Melendez said the DFL is raising the issue because Emmer frequently uses the phrase “live within your means” on the campaign trail.

“We are all aware of Tom Emmer’s favorite campaign slogan, ‘live within your means,’” said Melendez, “but Emmer’s slogans and the public record don’t match up.”

Melendez said that information from the Wright County Auditors Office and Hennepin County show that Emmer has taken out seven short-term mortgages since 2002 on his house in Delano and six additional mortgages on a home he previously owned in Independence.

News of Emmer’s series of mortgages was first reported a month ago by Sally Jo Sorensen at the Hutchinson-based website Bluestem Prairie, but — despite that site framing the issue in terms of Emmer’s “live within your means” slogan — Melendez denied that that’s where the party got the information. Bluestem also noted that in November 2005, foreclosure proceedings were started against Emmer. They were later dropped.

Melendez said that Emmer should release his tax returns as his opponent Mark Dayton has done.

“I’m not faulting Emmer for using his house as an ATM; many Minnesotans have done the same thing,” said Melendez. “I’m asking Mr. Emmer to be more forthright about his personal finances and his plans for the state’s finances.”

“Emmer needs to answer questions about his own finances before anybody lets him run the state’s,” he said.

Emmer’s campaign told the Star Tribune simply, “He’s paid his bills.”

GOP deputy chair Michael Brodkorb called the line of attack a mistake in a tweet. “Big mistake by the Minnesota DFL today — attacking someone for having a mortgage on their home — contrast with Dayton’s taxfree trusts in SD