Tom Horner, Tom Emmer

Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Tom Horner took issue with a proposal by Republican Tom Emmer that would allow Minnesota to opt out of federal legislation that its leaders don’t like. Horner said the idea would be disastrous for Minnesota businesses and the environment, going so far as to call the measure an effort to “destroy government.”

“I think for any candidate to take such a hard line in supporting the movement to nullify federal laws, to say Minnesota is an island to itself, and we can just cavalierly disregard whatever federal laws we think aren’t politically acceptable is horrible for Minnesota,” Horner said in an interview with The Uptake on Tuesday.

Horner said opting out of federal laws would make things harder for multi-state corporations who depend on uniformity in laws, and that it could impact environmental regulation.

“Air and water pollution don’t stop at the border. We need federal regulation around clean air and clean water,” he said. “It’s just the kind of proposal that is meant to satisfy a handful of people who want to destroy government.”

Emmer has taken some flak from Democrats for an op-ed he wrote in the Star Tribune about his ideas on allowing Minnesota to nullify federal laws. David Lillehaug, a DFL lawyer countered the “nullification” argument saying it is unconstitutional, and MinnPost’s Eric Black asked Emmer if he knew whether his proposal would pass constitutional muster. He didn’t.

“Enough is enough. As governor, I will push back against this federal encroachment into our local affairs,” Emmer wrote. “I believe that our Legislature should have a voice in whether federal laws should be made to apply to Minnesotans. Minnesotans should have a say in the laws that govern them.”

He added. “It is truly bizarre that my opponents in the race for governor actually oppose letting Minnesotans have a say in the laws that govern them.”

Emmer has sponsored bills that would allow Minnesota to decline conforming with federal laws; he cosponsored one that would require the legislature to approve all federal laws by a two-thirds vote, and he authored another that would require the governor, the speaker of the House and the majority leader of the Senate to approve the federal law.

Lillehaug, in his op-ed, called the second measure unconstitutional.

“Emmer styles himself a ‘constitutional conservative,’ but this proposal is neither constitutional nor conservative.” he said. “In fact, it runs head-on into the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which provides that federal laws ‘shall be the supreme Law of the Land,’ notwithstanding anything in a state’s constitution or laws to the contrary. When Minnesota became a state in 1858, it signed on to this form of Union.”

Eric Black, analyzing both editorials at MinnPost, asked Emmer if his plan was constitutional.

“I don’t know if it’s constitutional; I think its worthy of discussion,” Emmer said.

Here’s the video of Horner’s remarks:

Photo: Chris Steller

The UpTake‘s Noah Kunin is tracking Sen.-elect Al Franken’s arrival in Washington, D.C., and — in advance of tomorrow’s swearing-in — offers live video of Franken’s 12 noon CT press conference:

For fans of this sort of compressed video history, there’s also “Minneapolis in 19 Minutes Flat,” a film shown at the Minnesota Historical Society’s Mill City Museum in Minneapolis, with comic narration by storyteller Kevin Kling.

But if it’s the visual history of the recount that really checks your box, check out MnIndy’s “On Monotony: The best and worst of recount photography.”

Concede? Moi?

With Norm Coleman set to address the media at 3 p.m. CST, speculation abounds about whether the now-former senator will file a lawsuit to prevent certification of a win by Al Franken or, less likely, concede. One GOP bigwig has weighed in, urging Coleman to step down: Former Gov. Arne Carlson, who attended the 1996 event during which Coleman switched parties to become a Republican, predicts Coleman will lose any lawsuit he files. Carlson, who supported Coleman’s ’98 gubernatorial bid, also said that a protracted battle, after 62 days of recounting, would hurt Coleman’s public image. By contrast, he said, “There’s no disgrace in losing.” He joins former Vice President Walter Mondale in calling for Coleman to throw in the towel.

Meanwhile, media outlets from bloggers to mainstream newsrooms have been reminding Coleman of his Nov. 5 statement that if he was in Franken’s position — behind in the vote count — he’d drop out.

“I would step back,” he said. “I just think the healing process is so important, the possibility of making a change of this magnitude in the voting system we have is so remote.”  This morning Minneapolis’ Fox 9 was the latest to chime in, leading off its story quoting Coleman’s words the day after Election Day.

Coleman’s Nov. 5 comment that he’d “step back”: