In July, the Madison, Wis.–based Freedom From Religion Foundation filed suit over plans to inscribe the Pledge of Allegiance and “In God We Trust” motto prominently in the Washington, D.C. center, charging that to do so would be unconstitutional and not representative of all Americans, including 15 percent of the population it says are nonbelievers.

Today’s brief (pdf), filed by the American Center for Law and Justice with the U.S. District Court in Madison, calls the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s cause a “crusade,” stating that it “serves no purpose other than to waste judicial resources at a time in our Nation’s history when those resources are needed in cases involving real threats to American liberties.”

The slogans in question “in no way violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. These expressions simply echo the sentiments found in the Declaration of Independence and recognize the undeniable truth that our freedoms come from a source higher than the state…. While the First Amendment affords atheists complete freedom to disbelieve, it does not compel the federal judiciary to redact religious references in every area of public life in order to suit atheistic sensibilities.”

In addition to Bachmann, fellow Minnesota Republican Rep. John Kline and Iowa’s Steve King were also represented in the brief.

The pair starkly demonstrated the range of political feeling among Minnesota’s congressional delegation.

“This bill is not health care reform,” proclaimed Kline, a Republican, who said the legislation now under consideration would only bring more government red tape and put “more power in the hands of a superbeaurocrat.” He wondered aloud, “Why would we want to strip Medicare from our grandparents?”

Oberstar, a Democrat, rose immediately after Kline with his own rhetorical question, about why Republicans want American families “held hostage to insurance companies … due to pre-existing conditions?”

Elsewhere in Minnesota news this morning …

MINNEAPOLIS: Flowers’ pot charge dropped. Friday was better for Al Flowers, a candidate for mayor, who had a possession charge dismissed. [Star Tribune]

SECOND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: Kline wants Afghan ramp-up. U.S. Rep. John Kline saw President Reagan get a lesson in saluting, something President Obama will be doing more of if he takes Kline’s advice. [Minnesota Public Radio; New York Times]

MINNEAPOLIS: Episcopalians pass over lesbian, Native American in choosing new state bishop. Instead, it’s a white guy. [Associated Press]

SIXTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: Health care reform is “crown jewel of socialism.” U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann urges foes to storm Washington, D.C. and “look at the whites of [her colleagues'] eyes.”  [Talking Points Memo]

STATEWIDE: Anderson starts campaigning on day 2009 candidates stop. Former state auditor Pat Anderson launches her 2010 guv bid with a 14-city tour today, the last day of 2009 electioneering in cities and school districts across the state. [Hot Dish Politics; Associated Press]

ST. PAUL: Lege also an unallotment victim. The state Legislature should change the law if citizen suit over Gov. Pawlenty’s cuts fails, says DFLer David Lillehaug. [MinnPost]

“Honestly there is a job that needs to be done that’s not getting done now,” Powers tells the Minnesota Independent. “I’m in a position where construction is pretty slow, I like politics and I honestly think I can get the job done.”

The Democrat believes that Kline has not served the residents of his suburban district well by unrealistically insisting that the country’s beleaguered health-care system be rebuilt from scratch. “You have to work with what you have,” he says. “I think that’s what most people are frustrated about.”

Powers also cites energy costs — and the need for more renewable sources of energy — as a primary issue motivating him to run. “It’s actually a national security issue,” he says. “We have to solve our energy problem.”

Few political observers expect Kline to be in much danger of losing re-election. Neither the Cook Political Report nor the Rothenberg Political Report include the second district race on their lists of competitive House races. In each of the last three election cycles, Kline has defeated his opponents by at least 14 percentage points. Last year he knocked of DFL challenger Steve Sarvi by a 57-43 percent margin.

But Powers argues that Kline is more politically vulnerable than at any other time since first being elected in 2002. He notes that a majority of the state legislative seats in the district are now controlled by Democrats.

Powers flirted with a run against Kline in 2008. But he dropped out of the contest early on after realizing that he wouldn’t be able to raise enough money to be competitive. This election cycle he hopes to prove himself a credible challenger by building up a significant campaign war chest in the coming months.

“The most important thing is just flat out raising the money,” he says. “Nobody’s going to take me seriously, or any other candidate seriously, if you can’t put some solid numbers behind the campaign.”

Elsewhere in Minnesota news this morning …

SAVAGE: The Powers that might be. DFLer Dan Powers is set to run against U.S. Rep. John Kline with ready road metaphors, saying Kline likes our “endless road of overseas combat” and is “a roadblock” to President Obama. [Polinaut; Facebook]

MOOSE LAKE: TVs tip of iceberg. Gov. Pawlenty overspends millions of dollars confining sex offenders beyond their jail terms, writes State Sen. Linda Berglin; meanwhile, the TVs didn’t make the latest state auction of used items. [Star Tribune; Associated Press]

MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: Feds question pilots who overshot Twin Cities. Their straying plane may even have been tracked by Obama, if his Minnesota retinue of schedulers determined it vaunted influence. [KEYC-TV; Associated Press; Star Tribune]

HUGO: Flying wheelchair arrives on time. Thanks to gravity and a $2,500 trebuchet. [St. Paul Pioneer Press]

SIXTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: PACs starving Bachmann. U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann gets dwindling amounts of campaign cash from political action committees each quarter, but she’s doing well with a certain bespectacled, bow-tied pundit. [Smart Politics; Washington Post]

MOUNTAIN IRON: Tour aimed at stimulus cash for schools. Education Commissioner Alice Seagren earns her own performance pay by leading a four-day tour of the state for ideas to get Minnesota a share of $4 billion in federal funds. [Associated Press]

Photo: Minnesota Independent

Michele Bachmann raised $345,000 in the the third quarter of 2009 — slightly more than Democratic challenger Tarryl Clark. The Sixth Congressional District incumbent had just over $600,000 in the bank at the end of September, as reported by The St. Cloud Times.

Clark reported earlier this week that she brought in just over $300,000 in the two months since announcing her campaign. Bachmann’s other principal Democratic challenger, Maureen Reed, banked $130,000 in the three-month period.

Meanwhile Rep. Tim Walz brought in nearly $130,000 during the third quarter, finishing September with $267,000 in the bank. The two-term incumbent Democrat is yet to draw an official challenger. But former state Rep. Allen Quist has been talking to folks in the First Congressional District about getting into the race. In addition, the Rochester Post-Bulletin reports that Jim Hagedorn, son of former congressman Tom Hagedorn, is seriously considering a run as well.

Other third-quarter fundraising totals continue to roll into the Federal Elections Commission. Four-term Republican Rep. John Kline, who currently has no official challengers, brought in $192,000 and has just over $300,000 cash on hand. Minneapolis Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison reported raising roughly $135,000, with an almost identical amount in the bank at the close of the quarter.

MnIndy file photo

Of 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, only ten have missed more votes this session than Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, according to the Washington Post’s tally. Bachmann has missed 105 votes, or 13.6 percent of all votes. Fellow Republican Rep. Erik Paulsen had the state’s best record, missing only six votes in the 111th Congress, just one less than Rep. Tim Walz missed.

While California Democrat Rep. Hilda Solis had the highest rate of missed votes — she missed 59 of 78 possibles votes — the number of missed votes by party is roughly the same: Democrats missed 3.5 percent of votes, while Republicans missed 3.3 percent.

Another Minnesotan high on the list: At number 23, Rep. Keith Ellison missed ten percent of the votes, casting 695 and missing 78. Here’s how others in Minnesota’s delegation fared:

Rep. Betty McCollum: 16 missed (2.1 percent of all votes), 757 cast

Rep. Collin Peterson: 25 missed (1.9), 758 cast

Rep. Jon Kline: 12 missed (1.6), 761 cast

Rep. James Oberstar: 10 missed (1.3), 763 cast

Rep. Tim Walz: 7 missed (1.3), 766 cast

Rep. Erik Paulsen: 6 missed (0.8), 767 cast

As we reported in July, Bachmann and Ellison’s voting records were affected by personal obligations. Both missed time during the week of June 18, which had a record number of votes: Bachmann was spending time with family after a relative’s death, and Ellison was attending his son’s graduation from his Americorps program.

Via Dusty Trice.

Somebody might want to ask Kline about his views on a single-payer health-care system. Such a system is generally supported by folks on the left side of the aisle, but in July Kline actually joined 12 other Republicans in voting for an amendment brought forward by liberal Rep. Dennis Kucinich to allow individual states to set up single-payer systems. The strange bedfellows vote was flagged at the time by The Huffington Post’s Sam Stein.

“So why would 13 House Republicans, after bemoaning Democratic plans for public health care for months, attach their names to the provision?” Stein asked. “Depending on who you ask, it’s either a philosophical belief in states’ rights or childish political shenanigans.”

Whatever their motivations, the amendment passed by a 27-19 vote. That means it could be part of the final House bill.

Minnesota Reps. Keith Ellison and Betty McCollum were the only two members of the state’s delegation voting against the measure. Reps. Tim Walz, James Oberstar, Michele Bachmann, John Kline, Erik Paulsen and Collin Peterson all supported the measure, which was attached to the student loans bill.

Kline gave the GOP response to President Obama’s weekly address, reaching a bit for Labor Day relevance by tying fears about health care reform to fears about job losses. (Gov. Pawlenty had his turn delivering the Republican message last April before another holiday — Tax Day.)

It’s a new role for Kline, a strong, silent type whose conservative credentials helped him leapfrog more senior Republicans in June to become the ranking member on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.

Now he’s the GOP’s official point man attacking Democrats’ efforts to reform health care — though he’s outdone almost daily by his colleague in Minnesota’s Congressional delegation: Michele Bachmann.

She held a townhall on the topic; he won’t. But the man who once carried the suitcase containing the presidential Denny’s-style menu for nuclear war told a telephone townhall meeting that Senate Democrats passing health care reform by simple majority would be “the nuclear option, because it would cause the Senate to explode.”

The video of Kline’s Republican address is below. Here are the main themes:

Be very afraid

American families are worried … If you think that’s frightening, I’m sorry to say it could get even worse … No wonder Americans are scared … They also fear, and rightly so …

Au revoir, doc

What will happen to my coverage, and my choice of doctors? … the comfort of a familiar physician … Democrats’ plans may cost patients the right to see their family doctor …

Did I mention the re-set button?

It’s time to press the ‘reset’ button … It’s not too late to start over … honor American workers by hitting the ‘reset’ button on health care reform …