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Ohio voters struck down a law pushed by Gov. John Kasich that would have taken away public sector workers’ collective bargaining rights in the state.

Just over 61 percent of people voted against the law, with 82 of 88 counties opposing the measure, according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office.

The vote came after an intense campaign by Democrats and labor unions. The Washington Post reports that the We Are Ohio group, which opposed the measure, poured $30 million into the repeal effort. Opponents of repeal raised only $7.5 million.

The White House lauded by the vote, the Huffington Post reported.

“The President congratulates the people of Ohio for standing up for workers and defeating efforts to strip away collective bargaining rights, and commends the teachers, firefighters, nurses, police officers and other workers who took a stand to defend those rights.”

Ohio Democratic Chairman Chris Redfern told the Columbus Dispatch that politicians shouldn’t use public workers as scapegoats.

“If you overreach, the people will respond. There is no one tonight who could suggest this was about Democrats versus Republicans,” Redfern said, noting the wide margin of defeat. “This is literally about what is right and what is wrong, and what Ohioans feel is important.”

Kasich, who spearheaded the change admitted to the paper that people might have seen it as “too much, too soon.”

Obama’s plan would let current students cap their monthly repayment at 10 percent of discretionary income and any unpaid amount would be forgiven after 20 years. It also allows some borrowers to consolidate their loans at a lower interest rate. The president issued the new student loan plan through an executive order that beefs up a current law regarding student loans.

“This administration has been bypassing Congress on issue after issue after issue — they’ve sort of famously issued hundreds of rule changes and executive orders to bypass Congress, so I think that’s a mistake,” Rep. John Kline said on Fox and Friends. Kline, who chairs the education committee in the House has been sharply critical of most of Obama’s education proposals since gaining the post in 2010.

Kline added that the government should stop subsidizing student loans altogether.

“We simply can’t keep providing money from the federal government in the form of subsidized or actual loans and Pell Grants when we don’t have the money,” Kline said.

Kline had previously put out a press release saying Obama’s plan puts “politics before policy.”

“Despite the administration’s rhetoric, this plan will not create a single job, strengthen our economy, or promote fiscal responsibility,” Kline said. “What this plan will do instead is encourage more borrowing across the board. That means more debt for students, more debt for taxpayers, and more red ink on the government’s books.”

The Minnesota Independent reported this summer on close ties between Kline and for-profit colleges. Kline fought regulation of that industry, which industry critics say siphons off public tax money through deceptive practices.

Private and for-profit educational institutions are the top donors to Kline’s campaign and political action committee. Kline’s campaign has also benefited from private financial corporations that provide student loans.

Here’s Kline’s appearance on Fox and Friends:

President Obama will address attendees at the American Legion national convention at the Minneapolis Convention Center starting at 11 a.m. Following his speech, Gov. Mark Dayton and Sen. Al Franken will also give remarks. A live feed of the event is inside, courtesy of The Uptake.

President Obama will return to Minnesota at the end of August to address the national meeting of the American Legion. Obama was in Minnesota on Monday as a part of his jobs tour. Also speaking at the American Legion meeting will be Michele Bachmann, considered in the top tier of Republican presidential candidates vying to defeat Obama.

The American Legion, a 93-year old organization of wartime veterans, is hosting its National Convention in Minneapolis at the end of August. The first American Legion was held in Minneapolis as well in 1919.

President Obama announced in late July that he would be speaking at the convention of more than 10,000 veterans. And, as Minnesota Public Radio reported, Bachmann will also be attending. The two won’t share the stage, however. Obama will address the convention on Tuesday while Obama arrives on Thursday.

Minnesota’s DFLers slated to speak at the convention include Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar, Gov. Mark Dayton, Reps. Tim Walz and Keith Ellison.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi will also be on hand, as will Miss America Teresa Scanlan. Last week, Scanlan criticized a Newsweek cover of Michele Bachmann as sexist.

Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann and President Barack Obama didn’t differ much in their reaction to New York lawmakers passing same-sex marriage into law on Friday. Both said that states have the right to pass legislation and neither endorses gay marriage. However, the crucial difference between the two is that Obama supports rights and legal protections for same-sex couples, while Bachmann opposes any rights for such couples.

“The states should determine for themselves how best to uphold the rights of their own citizens,” a White House spokesperson said after the vote. “The process in New York worked just as it should.”

On Fox News Sunday, Bachmann offered a similar argument.

“In New York state, they have passed the law at the state legislative level and, under the 10th amendment, the states have the right to set the laws that they want to set,” she said, adding that a ballot initiative is the best way to go. “That is up to the people of New York. I think that it’s best to allow the people to decide on this issue. I think it’s best if there is an amendment that goes on the ballot, where people can weigh in.”

Fox’s Chris Wallace asked, “But you would agree, if its passed by the state legislature and signed by the governor then that’s the state’s position.”

She responded, “It’s state law. And the 10th amendment reserves to the states that right.”

President Obama echoed that sentiment — that the issue should be up to the states — in a speech to LGBT donors in New York on Thursday.

“Part of the reason that DOMA doesn’t make sense is that traditionally marriage has been decided by the states,” Obama said. “And right now I understand there’s a little debate going on here in New York about whether to join five other states and D.C. in allowing civil marriage for gay couples.”

While the president still hasn’t come out in support of gay marriage, he does support rights for same-sex couples, something Bachmann has vociferously opposed.

“The president has long believed that gay and lesbian couples deserve the same rights and legal protections as straight couples,” White House spokesman Shin Inouye told ABC News after the vote. “That’s why he has called for repeal of the so-called ‘Defense of Marriage Act’ and determined that his Administration would no longer defend the constitutionality of DOMA in the courts.

Here’s Bachmann’s remarks on Fox News Sunday:

And here’s Obama’s New York speech:

Rep. Michele Bachmann announced she will formally enter the presidential race in a speech on Monday in her hometown of Waterloo, Iowa. Though Bachmann represents Minnesota in Congress, a position she has held since 2007, she said she wants to win the White House to be a voice for Iowa.

She told Radio Iowa on Thursday that she will be visiting Waterloo on Monday to announce her presidential bid. “This is an Iowan who wants to take an Iowa voice to the White House,” said Bachmann, who has lived in Minnesota since before high school.

“I want to be there to recognize and thank the people of Iowa for everything they have given to me and in particular their morals, their values, their character qualities because that has served me throughout my life,” Bachmann said. “It’s guided me as a mother, as a businesswoman, as a tax lawyer, as a foster parent. It’s guided me as a member of Congress, and those values will guide me as president of the United States.”

She added, “This is an Iowan who wants to take an Iowa voice to the White House. It’s historic and I would like Iowa to be a part of this and come along with me on this journey.”

Bachmann campaign announcement will come a day before President Obama visits Davenport.

Sen. Al Franken and the White House both issued statements on Monday regarding a proposed anti–gay marriage amendment to the Minnesota Constitution. Obama’s message was lukewarm; he said leaving the issue to the states was the best idea, while Franken said the amendment would write discrimination into the Minnesota Constitution.

In a statement to the Washington Blade, the White House said, “The President has long opposed divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to same sex couples or to take such rights away. While he believes this is an issue best addressed by the states, he also believes that committed gay couples should have the same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple in this country.”

Franken said, “Every Minnesotan deserves dignity and equal treatment under the law, and our state’s same-sex couples should have the same right to marry as anyone else — period. This amendment would do nothing more than write discrimination into our state’s constitution and add to the barriers same-sex couples already face to the full recognition of their families. I’m hopeful that common sense and compassion will prevail and that this amendment will be defeated.”

The amendment passed the Minnesota House on Saturday night and will be on the ballot in 2012.

In an interview with the BBC on Friday, Rep. Michele Bachmann responded to criticism she’s received over her claims that President Barack Obama spent $200 million a day during a recent trip to India. Bachmann defended the statement, saying she was just quoting a newspaper and that she never said she believed it.

Host Emily Maitlis also grilled Bachmann about some of her more inflammatory statements, including whether Obama was anti-American.

ThinkProgress has a transcript of the exchange:

MAITLIS: You claimed that President Obama spent $200 million a day on a trip to India. It’s been roundly ridiculed as a quote.

BACHMANN: Actually, I didn’t claim that. I was quoting a newspaper out of India. And I only used that quote–

MAITLIS: Well why would you do that?

BACHMANN: Well number one it came out of the host country in India, a well-respected financial newspaper.

MAITLIS: And you believe that? $200 million dollars a day?

BACHMANN: Well, all I did was I quoted the newspaper. I quoted the newspaper and major national figures in the United States, many in the media had already been using that figure. [...] The reason it was so important was that the president has a two-year history of out of control spending. [...]

MAITLIS: You still believe that it was $200 million dollars a day?

BACHMANN: I didn’t say if I believe it or not. What I said was a I was quoting a newspaper.

Bachmann’s original statement came in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

“Well I think we know that just within a day or so the President of the United States will be taking a trip over to India that is expected to cost the taxpayers $200 million a day,” Bachmann said. “He’s taking two thousand people with him. He’ll be renting out over 870 rooms in India. And these are 5-star hotel rooms at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel. This is the kind of over-the-top spending, it’s a very small example, Anderson.”

“But don’t all Presidents take overseas trips, and stay in hotels where there’s security?” Cooper asked.

“Not, not, not at this level. We have never seen this sort of an entourage going with a President before. And I think this is an example of the massive overspending that we’ve seen, not only just in the last two years, but really in the last four,” she said.

Here’s video of Bachmann defending her claims:

Sen. Al Franken is urging Attorney General Eric Holder not to appeal a United States District Court decision on Tuesday that ruled the military’s ban on openly serving gay and lesbian servicemembers unconsitutional. In a letter, signed with 18 other senators, Franken wrote that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) “not only weakens our military, but neither is it an effective use of our government resources or taxpayer monies.”

The suit against DADT was brought by the Log Cabin Republicans in California District Court. Judge Virginia A. Phillips issued a worldwide permanent injunction against the law when she declared it unconstitutional. The Obama administration has 60 days to appeal the ruling.

“These soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and coast guardsmen sacrifice so much in defense of our nation and our Constitution. It is imperative that their constitutional freedoms be protected as well,” Christian Berle, Deputy Executive Director of Log Cabin Republicans, said in a statement. “This decision is also a victory for all who support a strong national defense. No longer will our military be compelled to discharge servicemembers with valuable skills and experience because of an archaic policy mandating irrational discrimination.”

Here’s the full letter to Attorney General Holder:

Dear Mr. Attorney General,

We are writing to bring to your attention the recently issued decision of Judge Virginia A. Phillips of the United States District Court of the Central District of California in Log Cabin Republicans v. United States, which declared that the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) underlying law violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of due process and free speech, thereby rendering DADT unconstitutional. In light of important national security concerns, we respectfully request that you, in your capacity at the Department of Justice, refrain from appealing this decision or the permanent injunction granted against this law.

The following quote from the judge’s decision captures the overwhelming reason why the decision should stand: “Among those discharged were many with critically needed skills … Far from furthering the military’s readiness, the discharge of these service men and women had a direct and deleterious effect on this governmental interest.” As one of many criteria that the Justice Department will examine in deciding whether to appeal the permanent injunction to this policy, we ask that you examine whether or not an appeal furthers a legitimate governmental interest. We would say any appeal does not.

Additionally, DADT harms military readiness, as well as the morale and the cohesiveness of our armed forces, at a time when our military’s resources are strained and unity is critically important. For every person discharged after ten years of service, six new servicemembers would need to be recruited to recover the level of experience lost by that discharge. This not only weakens our military, but neither is it an effective use of our government resources or taxpayer monies.

President Obama, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, have all publicly advocated for the repeal of this harmful law. There is no legal or military justification and not one shred of credible evidence that supports continuing the discriminatory DADT law, and considering the guidance of the commander-in-chief and the nation’s top two defense officials, we urge you to refrain from seeking an appeal. The federal court decision was a step in the right direction, and we are confident that the Senate will take the ultimate step by voting this fall on the fiscal year 2011 National Defense Authorization Act to permanently lift the ban on gays in the military. Although we understand that only action by Congress can bring real finality to this issue, we believe an appeal of the recent federal court decision could set back those congressional efforts. Therefore, we request your assistance in ensuring that we can eradicate this discriminatory law permanently and urge the Justice Department to choose not to appeal any court decision that would keep this law in place.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. We look forward to hearing from you.