Franken, Bachmann, Walz and Ellison "Bobble Reps"

Asked at Saturday’s Netroots Minnesota conference what blogs he follows, Rep. Tim Walz pulled out his iPhone and rattled off a few sites: Talking Points Memo, Bluestem Prairie, MN Publius and others. Then he showed off his favorite iPhone app — a new one that features his likeness and that of every other member of the House and Senate as shakeable cartoon bobbleheads.

The 99-cent “Bobble Rep” app helps users find out who represents them in Congress, either through a direct search or by using the iPhone’s GPS locator. The caricatures — heads for each of 540 legislators put on one of 12 bodies — were drawn by MAD Magazine artist Tom Richmond to be fun and nonpartisan. But Apple didn’t see it that way: it rejected the application claiming “it ridicules public figures.”

Richmond wrote:

This is truly ridiculous. These caricatures aren’t mean or very exaggerated. They are simple, fun cartoon likenesses of the politicians and the purpose of the app is an informational database. There is no editorial commentary involved at all.

Indeed, related projects, while likewise tame, could probably be construed as far more “offensive,” to use Apple’s word. Sen. Franken, for instance, was rendered as a 3D vampire bobblehead, “The Count,” (along with Norm Coleman) by the St. Paul Saints baseball team in March. And earlier this month, Franken and Coleman were given the MAD Magazine treatment in a spoof ad for “Democra-cialis, ” a cure for the kind of “electile dysfunction” that plagued their 2008 Senate battle, in MAD’s list of “dumbest people, events and things” of 2009.

But last Monday, Apple reversed its decision, green-lighting the app that made its way to Walz’s cellphone.

Walz’s wielded smartphone could’ve been a good prop for another question he answered — about net neutrality. He said he’s “absolutely convinced that we must keep net neutrality,” and thanks to his resolve, “AT&T doesn’t even come to my office anymore” to lobby against it, he added. He said he’s surprised that conservatives aren’t more concerned about the freedom issues surrounding the possibility of corporations controlling what internet users can and can’t access.

“If you want to wave the patriot banner,” he said, “wave it on net neutrality.”

Here’s how each of Minnesota’s Bobble Reps look:

A photo from Rep. Ellison's Feb. 2009 trip to Gaza, via Flickr

Rep. Keith Ellison is urging members of Congress not to scrap the Goldstone report (pdf) on war crimes allegedly committed during the conflict culminating in December 2008 and January 2009 between Hamas and Israel. A resolution in Congress, backed by Republicans, would condemn the report, written by UN investigator Richard Goldstone, as unfriendly to Israel. Ellison penned a column in Politico on Tuesday saying the Goldstone report is as fair as can be expected considering the difficult circumstances in the region.

The report states that both sides — Hamas and Israel — should be investigated for war crimes in the conflict when Hamas launched missiles into Israel and Israel implemented a crippling blockade on the people in the Gaza strip.

In defending the report, Ellison recalled the situation he saw when he visited the region last winter.

I visited Sderot in southern Israel and saw the havoc and trauma created by Hamas rocket fire. Israelis there live with fear. I have condemned these attacks as war crimes and will continue to do so.

I also visited Gaza and witnessed the devastation wreaked by the recent war. I toured an American school and medical clinics devastated by Operation Cast Lead. A blockade keeps out items such as paper for textbooks and nutritious food. Gazans live in poverty, and most cannot drink their own water. These are cruel violations against the people of Gaza, 56 percent of whom are children.

Ellison says that Goldstone is a staunch supporter of human rights, and it’s dishonest to claim that Goldstone has a bias against Israel — he’s a self-proclaimed Zionist.

In a letter to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, on which Ellison sits, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee urged the committee to reject the Goldstone report.

“The notoriously anti-Israel U.N. Human Rights Council commissioned and subsequently adopted this report which, according to the administration, had a mandate that was ‘unbalanced, one-sided and basically unacceptable,’” the letter stated. “This report falsely charges that Israel committed war crimes and purposely targeted civilians.”

But, Goldstone and human rights groups say that’s not what the facts say. Human Rights Watch says that the resolution contains false information. Specifically, members of Congress claim that the report does not mention possible war crimes committed by Hamas. Goldstone points out that his report clearly does.

Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch urged Congress to support the Goldstone report. “Instead of denouncing the report, the US Congress should urge Israel and Hamas to break the cycle of abuse and impunity, which for too long has fueled hatred and hindered efforts at peace.”

Ellison echoed a similar sentiment. “The Goldstone report does not assign blame. It lays out the facts, as best as Goldstone could ascertain them, and offers recommendations for the future,” wrote Ellison. “Congress should use this report as a resource to understand a critical part of the world and to grasp fully the devastating human costs of the status quo.”

He continued, “Instead, Congress is poised to oppose the Goldstone report without holding a single hearing on a document that few members of Congress, if any, have read.”

That statistic is part of an op-ed by Ellison and the chief sponsor of a companion bill, Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, at the Huffington Post.

Another statistic they offer: The top five states for 2008 voter turnout — including Minnesota and Wisconsin — all have same-day registration.

Ellison and Feingold urge the District of Columbia’s city council to adopt reforms today that would allow voters to register at the polls.

The new federal legislation, introduced last week, has not yet attracted co-sponsors beyond its original Democratic backers. They include Minnesota Reps. Tim Walz and Jim Oberstar and Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

Also quoted in the piece is Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie: “EDR [Election Day Registration] is much more secure because you have the person right in front of you — not a postcard in the mail. … We have 35 years of experience with this.”

Click here for information from Ritchie’s office on how to register to vote on Election Day in Minnesota.

Photo: Chris Steller, Minnesota Independent

U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison has introduced a bill that would extend Minnesota-style, same-day voting rights to all eligible Americans in federal elections.

The Same Day Registration Act would let people register at the polling place on Election Day rather than requiring registration weeks or months ahead of time, as most states do.

Same-day registration is already law in seven nine states, including Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa, plus the District of Columbia. (North Dakota is the only state to do without voter registration altogether.)

Common Cause claims those states see voter-turnout rates as much as 7 percent higher than others; a 2009 Cal Tech/MIT study (pdf) confirms that “election day registration can increase turnout significantly” and doesn’t increase costs or fraud.

It’s an Upper Midwest thing, it seems. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin is the bill’s sponsor in the U.S. Senate, where Minnesota’s Amy Klobuchar and Iowa’s Tom Harkin are co-sponsors. In the House, two of five co-sponsors are Minnesotans: Tim Walz and Jim Oberstar. So far, the bill’s sponsors are all Democrats.

In a statement, Ellison said,

Minnesota routinely leads the nation in voter turnout – usually over 70 percent. … Enacting a National Election Day Registration law would do for the nation what same day registration has done for our State – give a voice to all who want to vote.

That 70 percent figure applies to years with presidential races. In off-year elections, turnout has run about 10 percentage points lower.

Ellison’s statement also quotes Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie calling same-day registration a “no brainer” and claiming it is more secure than other states’ systems that require registration in advance, because “you have the person right in front of you — not a postcard in the mail.”

In the U.S. Senate election recount between Al Franken and Norm Coleman, Minnesota showed the nation flaws in its absentee-voting system — some involving the mail. Other states saw major controversies over voter registration in last year’s election. One was Colorado, where the secretary of state purged 44,000 voters from the registration rolls before Election Day, in defiance of court orders. A few hundred managed to cast provisional ballots that were counted.

Ellison’s bill comes just as millions across the country prepare to go to the polls next Tuesday — that is, as long as they’ve registered beforehand, in states where that’s required.

In Minnesota, officials expect half a million voters to turn out. But who knows? A few million more could decide to exercise their franchise on the spur of the moment, and if they haven’t registered yet, no biggie.

Here’s the key language in Ellison’s bill (H.R. 3957):

[E]ach State shall permit any eligible individual on the day of a Federal election and on any day when voting, including early voting, is permitted for a Federal election (A) to register to vote in such election at the polling place using a form that meets the requirements under section 9(b) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993; and (B) to cast a vote in such election.

The bill’s first stop in the House in the Committee on House Affairs. None of the members of that committee come from states with same-day voter registration.

“The idea that we should investigate Muslim interns as spies is a blow to the very principle of religious freedom that our founding fathers cherished so dearly,” said Ellison from the House floor on Monday. “If anything, we should be encouraging all Americans to engage in the U.S. political process; to take part in, and to contribute to, the great democratic experiment that is America.”

Reps. John Shadegg, R-Ariz., Sue Myrick. R-N.C., Paul Broun, R-Ga., and Trent Franks, R-Ariz., called for the investigation two weeks ago after reading a book penned by anti-Muslim authors David Gaubatz and Paul Sperry. Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld that’s Conspiring to Islamize America.

Video and full text of Ellison’s statement:

Four of our colleagues, Reps. John Shadegg (AZ), Paul Broun (GA), Trent Franks (AZ) and Sue Myrick (NC) recently requested that the House Sergeant at Arms to launch an investigation of the civil rights group CAIR, or Council on American-Islamic Relations, to determine whether it was placing staff and interns in key Congressional offices who they fear are acting as “spies.”

This proposed investigation coincides with the launch of a book by Dave Gaubatz, an anti-Islamic activist and author of the book “Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld that’s Conspiring to Islamize America.” It features an introduction by Rep. Myrick, and was written after Gaubatz posed as an intern at CAIR in an effort to “infiltrate” the group.

These charges smack of an America of sixty years ago where lists of “un-American” agitators were identified. We should be affirming the importance of diversity and tolerance for all interns and staff who serve in Congress without suspicion of being identified as “spies.”

The idea that we should investigate Muslim interns as spies is a blow to the very principle of religious freedom that our founding fathers cherished so dearly. If anything, we should be encouraging all Americans to engage in the U.S. political process; to take part in, and to contribute to, the great democratic experiment that is America.

We all have experienced the sting of discrimination and we know that there will be challenges ahead. But our message should be firm that the America we believe in welcomes people of all backgrounds to the U.S. Congress.

We ask these charges be disavowed and we issue a hearty welcome to interns and staff of all creeds, color, ethnicities and sexual orientation.

Rep. Betty McCollum

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.

A letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer reads, “Nearly all nonprofit organizations are struggling to provide health insurance coverage for their employees. These mainly small employers experience the same higher costs and limited options as their for-profit, small business counterparts.”

The letter has been signed by 22 House members including Minnesota Reps. James Oberstar, Keith Ellison and Tim Walz.

Minnesota’s nonprofits employ nearly 300,000 people, or about 10 percent of Minnesota’s workforce.

Current health care reform plans include tax breaks, subsidies and access to a health insurance exchange for small businesses. If McCollum is successful, those benefits will be extended to nonprofits.

“The millions of Americans who work in the nonprofit sector must be included in health care reform,” McCollum said in a statement. “It’s only fair that nonprofit organizations receive comparable treatment to the small business sector in health care reform legislation. I am encouraged that so many of my colleagues from across the country have joined me in this effort to ensure the benefits of health care reform reach the men and women working for nonprofit organizations.”

“One of the most essential relationships we need to build is the relationship between the United States and the Arab-speaking world,” Ellison said. “It is central to the security, economic viability and prosperity of so many people around the world.”

“When 9/11 occurred, the United States took a step back … and other nations filled that void as we withdrew,” Ellison said. “It is time for us to strengthen, renew and rebind the ties between us, and it is time to do that in a way that is better than it was before.”

While Ellison talks of bringing people to together, he faces criticism — simply for being a Muslim — from an author that has prompted House Republicans to launch an investigation against the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

David Gaubatz, long known for his anti-Muslim musings, wondered yesterday, “How much information do we have on [Rep. Andre] Carson and Congressman Keith Ellison?”

His new book, Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That’s Conspiring to Islamize America, has become a rallying point for U.S. Reps John Shadegg, R-Ariz., Sue Myrick, R-N.C., Paul Broun, R-Ga., and Trent Franks, R-Ariz. who are pushing federal officials to investigate the non-profit status of CAIR.

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.

Photo: News 12 KEYC

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar paid a visit to Darfur Saturday — but not the humanitarian crisis flashpoint in Sudan. Klobuchar met with one-third of the town of Darfur, Minn. (pop. 137), about how to fund a new fire station.

The town is indeed named for the Sudanese Darfur — the plight of which inspired another member of Minnesota’s congressional delegation to undergo arrest last spring.

Residents of Darfur, Minn., are hoping for federal stimulus money to help pay for a fire hall big enough to fit their rigs.

[Via the Star Tribune's RachelSB]