As Roll Call noted, there might not have been a single 6th Congressional District voter present at the gathering. But there were plenty of folks who could help pad Clark’s coffers as she wages an uphill battle against the two-term incumbent in Minnesota’s most pro-Republican district.

“I think it’s important if we’re going to win this, we’re able to play on the even playing field,” Clark told the Capitol Hill publication. “And the net roots can help do that.”

Politico’s Charles Mahtesian also caught up with Clark at the conference and solicited her views on Bachmann.

“It’s hard to go almost anyplace and not find that everybody knows who she is,” Clark told him, comparing her opponent to Sarah Palin. “She’s become a public opinion leader, though not the kind we’d like her to be.”

Photo: abc30.com

Roll Call released its list of vulnerable House Democrats and Republicans, and Minnesota Reps. Michele Bachmann and Erik Paulsen made the cut. The state’s two most vulnerable House members also took in more money than most in the first quarter, with Bachmann at $323,000 and Paulsen at $225,000. Only Mark Kirk, R-Ill., raised more ($696,000).

Neither Bachmann nor Paulsen have an announced Democratic opponent, although Elwyn Tinklenberg is expected to again run for Bachmann’s seat.

Roll Call put the list together using the DCCC’s Frontline program designed to protect vulnerable Democrats. On the GOP side, Roll Call says, “[T]he 30 Republicans listed here have been selected by Roll Call after consulting with political experts.”

Norm and Laurie Coleman at a 2008 campaign event (Paul Demko)

Norm Coleman is facing massive legal bills.

The former senator took another substantial financial hit yesterday when the three-judge panel presiding over the U.S. Senate contest ruled that Al Franken won the election. The judges also ordered Coleman to pay for court costs accrued during the trial. While this does not include attorney’s fees, it does cover administrative expenses such as witness transportation and copy costs. Given that the seven-week case included 19,000 pages of legal pleadings, 1,717 individual exhibits, and testimony from 142 witnesses, it would seem that such costs could be substantial.

In addition, as indicated in a March 2 ruling, Coleman will be responsible for some of Franken’s legal bills. This punishment stems from Coleman’s lawyers failure to properly disclose contacts with a potential trial witness. It’s impossible to say exactly what the financial damage will turn out to be. Marc Elias, Franken’s lead recount attorney, declined to speculate on how much money this might entail during a conference call with reporters Tuesday afternoon.

Coleman has had a team of high-profile lawyers on retainer for months to fight the U.S. Senate contest. Determining exactly how much this litigation will ultimately cost is impossible at this point. But Nate Silver recently estimated the damage to be around $145,000 per week. (Coleman’s first quarter FEC report, which should shed some light on the matter, is due tomorrow.)

What’s more, Coleman faces seemingly substantial legal bills stemming from a pair of lawsuits related to his relationship with longtime associate Nasser Kazeminy. The former senator said back in December that he would ask the the Federal Election Commission whether he could utilize his campaign funds to cover attorney’s fees related to allegations that Kazeminy attempted to funnel $75,000 to the then-sitting senator. But according to FEC records, Coleman never followed through on seeking what’s known as an “advisory opinion.”

Roll Call (subscription only) recently attempted to get an explanation from the Coleman campaign as to why they failed to seek FEC clearance for using campaign funds to pay his legal bills. But repeated phone calls and emails were ignored.

Coleman is under no obligation to seek explicit permission for the fundraising scheme, but legislators often seek guidance from the agency in controversial matters. Last week, for instance, Rep. Elton Gallegly, asked the FEC to clarify whether he could use campaign funds to upgrade the security system on his Southern California home. The reason: a stalker was harassing his wife after an altercation on the campaign trail.

In January, Alliance for a Better Minnesota filed a complaint with the FEC arguing that Coleman’s use of campaign funds to pay legal bills unrelated to election matters ran afoul of the agency’s rules. While the FEC acknowledged receiving the complaint, there has been no further communication on the matter, according to Denise Cardinal, executive director of the liberal advocacy group.

The allegations contained in the pair of lawsuits are still very much alive. A second person involved in the matter recently provided sworn testimony that Kazeminy ordered $75,000 funneled to a Minneapolis insurance firm where Coleman’s wife works. While Coleman is not a party to the cases, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reportedly is also looking into the allegations. The former senator recently refused to answer when asked if he’d been interviewed by the law enforcement agency. Coleman has hired Doug Kelley to represent him in the matter, while his wife has tapped Earl Gray to watch out for her interests. Both are former federal prosecutors turned high-profile defense attorneys. They undoubtedly also charge a pretty penny for their services.

It remains a mystery why Coleman failed to get approval from the FEC to cover these bills with campaign funds. But if the agency ultimately determines that Coleman must pay for the attorneys’ fees himself, it would certainly add to his personal financial troubles.

Former New Hampshire Sen. Thomas McIntyre is the current title holder, having served as that state’s only representative for seven months in 1975, following an election dispute. But with Norm Coleman vowing to explore every legal option in the ongoing legal contest, Klobuchar might well threaten the record.

The DFLer tells Roll Call that because of the vacancy her office is handling “double the caseload” of constituent services such as helping military veterans and immigrants navigate the federal government bureaucracy. “I’m hanging in there,” she says. “I’m a mom, so I’m used to juggling several things at once. I stay optimistic.”

Klobuchar’s aisle-side socializing got her busted, though, when the flight crew repeatedly reminded her that the captain had asked for all passengers to buckle up because of the snowy conditions outside. She finally returned to her seat when a crew member used the intercom to broadcast the reminder.

Where the hell were the Federal Air Marshals?

After naming him in the question posed in a poll earlier this month, Survey USA oddly dropped a direct reference to Dillon when it polled 642 likely voters Oct. 26–27. (The pollster hasn’t yet responded to MnIndy’s request to explain why references to third party support have been inconsistent in its three surveys of the 3rd District.) If you get an anti-Dillon mailing, please share it with MnIndy.

UPDATE: Joe Bodell at Minnesota Campaign Report has this high-contrast scan of the mailer and speculates writes that it’s being sent to Democrats. His theory goes that the NRCC might be using reverse psychology (if “reverse” is quite the right term in a three-way race) to draw Dems to Dillon by chargin him with being too far left politically.