A bill offered by Minnesota Republicans would have the state condemn the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The bill’s language comes directly from ParentalRights.org, a subsidiary of the Home School Legal Defense Association, which is also responsible for Generation Joshua, a program that enlists Christian children to campaign for Republican candidates.

SF63/HF402 “condemns the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child” and “urges the United States Senate to reject its ratification.”

The U.S. and Somalia are the only countries that have not ratified the treaty which was first drafted in 1989. Two Republican presidents, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, helped draft the treaty, and they were successful in getting portions of the U.S. Constitution included, according to Amnesty International.

A total of 193 countries have ratified the treaty, more than an other international treaty to date. The treaty encompasses several aspects of human rights: “the right to survival, to develop to the fullest; to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life” as well as the principles of “non-discrimination; devotion to the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child.”

If passed into law, SF63/HF402 — introduced by Republican Sens. Mike Jungbauer of East Bethel and David Brown of Becker, and Reps. Sondra Erickson of Princeton and Pam Myhra of Burnsville — would direct Secretary of State Mark Ritchie to send the resolution condemning the act to all members of the U.S. Senate, President Obama and leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The bill contains a hodgepodge of conservative critiques, including the concerns of the Tenthers; as with all treaties, Congress would have jurisdiction under the child rights treaty, not the states.

“The Congress of the United States would acquire primary jurisdiction to legislate to meet our nation’s legal obligation to comply with the treaty if ratified, thereby shifting from Minnesota and her sister states to the Congress of the United States powers not formerly delegated which are currently reserved to the states under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution,” the bill reads.

The bill also expresses concerns about provisions in the treaty that call on governments to protect the welfare of children living in poverty; such actions would would expand government.

“[The treaty] requires a level of socialized spending programs for the supposed needs of children (which in too many cases simply employ more government workers) that would bankrupt any American state,” reads the bill.

The bill also gives a nod to the sovereignty movement.

The bill states, “[T]his represents a wholesale abandonment of the ultimate sovereignty of the United States on matters within the scope of the treaty; and this abandonment violates the core principle of our self-government: to wit, only American legislatures and the people themselves have the moral authority to make law for America.”

The bill was not authored by Minnesota Republicans, but was produced by the Home School Legal Defense Association. HSLDA and ParentalRights.org share the same resources including employees, and among their main concerns with the bill is that it could prevent parents from spanking their children. The treaty “bans all corporal punishment, including reasonable spanking by parents,” the bill states.

HSLDA’s concerns have prompted the group to get more involved in the political process, a move that spawned its Generation Joshua program.

“Generation Joshua wants America to be a perpetual city on a hill, a beacon of biblical hope to the world around us,” the group’s mission statement states. “We seek to inspire every one of our members with faith in God and a hope of what America can become as we equip Christian citizens and leaders to impact our nation for Christ and for His glory.”

Generation Joshua members are homeschooled Christian youth ages 11 to 19 and have been active in Minnesota, particularly in Minnesota 6th Congressional District, where the bill’s author, Sen. Jungbauer, resides.

Jungbauer is also carrying another bill written by the HSLDA. It’s a resolution calling on Congress to create a Parental Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Sen. Sean Nienow of Cambridge is also an author of the Senate version and Republican Reps. Glenn Gruenhagen of Glencoe, Peggy Scott of Andover and Ron Shimanski of Silver Lake have introduce the House version.

Members of the DFL House caucus chastised Republicans Tuesday for introducing legislation in the House that would eliminate the 1984 Pay Equity Act. At a press conference, Democrats said the law is still necessary to ensure women are paid the same as men in local government units. But just as they were rallying against the bill, Republican Sen. Mike Jungbauer introduced a bill — the third GOP bill on the issue — to repeal the law in the Senate.

Rep. Erin Murphy of St. Paul said that during tough economic times, it doesn’t make sense to eliminate protections for women.

“Republican leaders want to make it much harder for working moms and women, harder for them to earn an equal salary,” she said. “We are here to demand that Republicans stop trying to take steps backward.”

Rep. Kate Knuth

Rep. Kate Knuth of New Brighton echoed Murphy. “Women for generations have fought for equality in this country and around the world, and I think all the women you see standing here are the results of this equality,” she said. “We are making progress in equality but despite the progress, women still only earn about 77 cents on the dollar of what men make. They are still not earning an equal amount to men.”

She added, “It doesn’t really make any sense to me that the Republicans would repeal legal protections that help us make this progress.”

The bill, HF7/159, contains a series of repeals of mandates on local governments including a repeal of the Pay Equity Act. It has 22 sponsors in the House and Senate, all of whom are Republicans.

Rep. Lyndon Carlson of Crystal was serving in the House when the bill was passed in 1984. He voted for that bill and authored another one that added state employees to the Pay Equity Act. “I have a long history of being an advocate for equity in pay for our women employees in the state of Minnesota and local units of government,” he said.

He added, “For those who wonder if this is still needed, just last year as a result of a review there was an adjustment of $1.59. The point is: it’s still needed. It’s still actively being utilized to bring about pay equity.”

Rep. Terry Morrow of St. Peter said the act need to stay in place for the future women of Minnesota, including his teenage daughters who are just entering the workforce.

“I am deeply disturbed that HF7 sends a threatening message about Minnesota’s commitment to equal pay,” he said. “Bills send messages, and as a dad I reject the misguided message that equal pay is no longer a right in Minnesota.”

He added, “My daughters and my wife are equal contributors and they deserve equal pay for equal work.”

As DFLers were speaking out against the bill, Jungbauer, an East Bethel Republican, announced a third bill to repeal the Pay Equity Act. SF 282 will be introduced in the Senate on Wednesday morning.

Rep. Kim Norton of Rochester told reporters at the press conference, “The only reason to remove this mandate when we have a deficit like this is to cut the pay of women and save money.”

—Sen. Mike Jungbauer (R-East Bethel), District 48

—Rep. John Lesch (DFL-St. Paul), District 66A

—Alliance for a Better Minnesota

—Colin Lee, Independence Party candidate for state House, Lakeville, District 34B

—Joe Repya, former IP candidate for governor

State Sen. Mike Jungbauer

When state Sen. Michael Jungbauer announced in August that he was running for governor, he stated that God was calling on him to seek the state’s top office. Apparently God had a change of heart.

The Republican from East Bethel announced today that he is dropping out of the governor’s contest. He cited fundraising struggles as part of the reason for the decision. Jungbauer will now seek re-election to his current legislative post.

“When I entered the governor’s race in July, I believed that God had opened the door to a new opportunity and that I needed to respond,” Jungbauer said in a statement announcing the decision. “I believe I did that to the best of my ability, but it was my human pride that made that job winning the race. As is so often the case, God’s plans aren’t our plans and I now realize that the job that needed doing was to learn a lot, listen even more, encourage and even teach a bit.”

Despite that divine directive, there was little indication that Jungbauer’s campaign was generating much momentum. A straw poll taken at last month’s state GOP convention showed little support for his candidacy. Perhaps his most notable contribution to the campaign: declaring that global warming is “pure, unadulterated BS.” There are seven remaining Republican candidates in the field.

State Sen. Mike Jungbauer

No Republican contenders in the 2010 gubernatorial contest — except environmental activist Leslie Davis — believe in global warming, according to a report from Minnesota Public Radio. Perhaps most strident is state Sen. Mike Jungbauer (East Bethel), who told attendees at a recent State Fair debate that global warming is “pure, unadulterated BS.”

While the other GOP contenders were less colorful in their declarations, none would own up to believing that climate change owing to human activity is a credible, significant issue. House Minority Leader Marty Seifert (Marshall) declared such concerns to be “theoretical.” Rep. David Hann (Eden Prairie) labeled global warming an “excuse” to shift towards alternative energy sources.

Their stance is in contrast to current Gov. Tim Pawlenty — as well as mainstream scientific opinion.

There is, however, one Republican gubernatorial hopeful who acknowledges the validity of global warming: Leslie Davis, a perennial candidate and environmental activist. He’s highly unlikely to end up being the party’s nominee.

Jungbauer, a Republican from East Bethel who is running for governor, was putting his car away in his shed when the bat attacked. He’s getting shots for a possible rabies infection.

A politically conservative evangelical pastor, Jungbauer last made headlines on Labor Day, when he held up a flyer about global warming at the Minnesota State Fair and pronounced it “pure, unadulterated B.S.”

In 2007, he faced almost $2,000 in fines for accepting model airplanes to hang in his office at wholesale prices not available to the general public.

Elsewhere in Minnesota news this morning … 

ST. PAUL: Economic slump no picnic for unions. At least in Duluth unions could afford a Labor Day celebration … not so in St. Paul, where the annual event has gone the way of union-sent flowers at funerals. [St. Paul Pioneer Press]

STATEWIDE: Do you support prosecution of torturers? The respective responses one citizen got from U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison and Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken: a belated yes, a change of subject and no answer. [MN Progressive Project]

ST. PAUL: Pawlenty support slips 6 percent in a year. Compared to double-digit drops in Survey USA approval ratings for neighboring governors, that makes Minnesota’s governor “a strong leader.” [Smart Politics]

GOLDEN VALLEY: Audiotapes of Carl Sandburg surface as his namesake school closes. The poet’s warnings to kids about TV and radio when he helped dedicate the building 50 years ago stand in contrast to Obama’s school-speech shout-outs today to Twitter and Facebook. [Minnesota Public Radio]

LANESBORO: Two dollars but no takers. Despite a very affordable filing fee, no one has filed to run for three open school board seats in the St. Francis School District. [Anoka County Union]

BEMIDJI: When in a recession, do as the squirrels do. Collectors of acorns can sell them to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for $20–$120 a bushel, starting today. [Associated Press]

“I believe if I’m really called by God to do this, and again it’s not necessarily called by God to be the governor, but to do the campaign, to do it right, I set the goal quite high when I would have to believe it was truly miraculous, and I couldn’t say I did it, or they [the campaign] did it,” said Jungbauer.

His statement echoes that of U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, who in a 2006 speech said God had told her to run for Congress.

As governor Jungbauer would stand by a no-new-taxes pledge (with possible exceptions) and alter state ethics laws that have dogged him.

Among his ethics troubles: The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board ruled in 2007 that he accepted an in-kind gift in the form of model airplane kits, made available to him at wholesale prices not available to the general public.

Carl Walker-Hoover

Anti-gay bullying has been a topic of conversation in legislative chambers and at kitchen tables as the suicides of young people who were literally bullied to death have created a sense of urgency to protect students.

Carl Walker-Hoover, an 11-year old charter school student from Massachusetts, took his own life last week after incessant taunting by fellow students. His story served as an example of the eminent danger some students face as the Minnesota Senate debated — and passed on Thursday — a measure to guide school districts in addressing bullying. It’s a measure that Senate Republicans vociferously opposed.

“They were always saying, ‘you’re gay, you must be gay, you act like a girl,’” said Carl’s mother Sirdeaner Walker told the media last week. “My message is that the bullying, the teasing, the hurtful words, it has to stop.”

Walker’s story made the national news last week prompting a series of in-depth reports about bullying in schools.

It’s also been a contentious issue in the Minnesota Senate as DFLers push for anti-bullying protections while Republicans push back because the bill includes language pertaining to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students.

“It’s important to understand that everyone is harmed,” said Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis. “It needs to very clear that this bill protects all kids. In a perfect world we’d say no bullying against anyone, period, end of story, but sadly we don’t live in a perfect world.”

The bill contains 14 categories of characteristics that are protected from disability to religious affiliation to physical body type. But Republicans made clear that the fact that sexual orientation was included was a problem.

“What is intimidation?” asked Sen. David Hann, R-Eden Prairie. “If I am in school and say I express an opinion that marriage between a man and a woman is the only type of marriage that should exist, and I’m talking to someone who disagrees with that, is that harassment?”

Sen. Mike Jungbauer, R-Anoka, posed a similar situation. “My daughter takes a pretty heavy stand in her school against global warming and she is harassed and she is bullied and she’s known at the school as the ‘global warming girl,’” he said. “The teachers let it go on because they perceive her as wrong. And I don’t see anything in this bill that might apply to her.”

Sen. Dibble said the bill covers both instances. “I think that’s a strongly held belief and I think ‘creed’ would cover that circumstance. I believe as strong as anyone that no kid should be victim to bullying and harassment. ”

Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, offered an amendment to the bill that would prevent schools from speaking about gays and lesbians in a positive light. It would ban “the teaching in education institutions of homosexuality or
bisexuality as an acceptable lifestyle.”

To that Dibble said, “This amendment sends a really negative message to gay kids. Here it is, a Senate chamber that’s going to put words like this into law?”

That amendment failed, but the bill itself passed. All DFLers voted for the measure except Sens. Jim Vickerman of Tracy and Dan Sparks of Austin. Sen. Paul Koering, R-Fort Ripley, joined the DFL in voting for the bill.