MNpublius

Congressional redistricting: Court avoids huge changes

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:27:45 -0600

As I mentioned this morning, Minnesota’s courts typically opt for redistricting plans that keep changes as small as possible while still getting the job done. The 2012 Congressional maps [PDF] are no exception. There are changes — CD3 gets redder and CD2 gets bluer — but the new districts are quite similar to the old.

Minnesota Congressional Districts 2012 and 2002 Comparison

The indispensable TonyAngelo has some data on the partisan breakdown of the new districts, based on Obama/McCain votes. As you can see, not much changed.

The news that initially seems most earth-shattering, but isn’t, is that Michele Bachmann’s current home is now in CD4, Betty McCollum’s district. Unsurprisingly, Bachmann says she will run in the 6th. Legally, she doesn’t even have to move if she doesn’t want to.

While the changes are minor, I think they’re good news for the DFL. CD3 and CD2 are both competitive now. A safe district wasn’t created for Chip Cravaack, who will now have a tough race on his hands in 2012. CD6 got redder, which is fine by me — I’ve been arguing for a while that we should let them have Bachmann and use our resources elsewhere.

Your thoughts?

Mitt Romney must be truly desperate

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:00:05 -0600

This seems like just about the worst idea ever:

With just over a week to go before Michigan voters head to the polls, Mitt Romney is enlisting the help of one of his highest-wattage surrogates: Donald Trump.

The real estate mogul is preparing to spread his pro-Romney, anti-Rick Santorum message in a series of radio interviews this week on local stations from Traverse City to Detroit. [ABC News, via Political Wire]

It seems to me that for every 10 people Trump reaches, he’ll leave 9 undecided and turn 1 against Romney. Donald Trump is not exactly a likeable figure, especially after his abortive presidential run. Is Romney really that desperate?

Happy redistricting day!

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 07:29:47 -0600

Today’s the day: Redistricting maps will finally be released at 1 pm today.I’ll do my best to have some coverage of the new maps this afternoon.

What can we expect to see from the new maps? That’s hard to say. The two parties — Republicans in particular — proposed some significant changes to the 2000 maps. The courts, on the other hand, have historically sought solutions that impose minimal changes.

One bit of conventional wisdom I want to push back against in advance is that redistricting will necessarily be a victory for Republicans. We often hear that claim because, after all, population growth was higher in “red” districts. Doesn’t it stand to reason that the GOP will pick up a few seats?

I’m not saying that won’t happen. But it’s not guaranteed. The tricky question, which we can only speculate on until November, is exactly who moved into those districts. If the red districts grew, but filled with DFL voters, it’s a whole other story.

Outward migration to the suburbs and exurbs has been a constant for decades now. As that migration had continued, though, inner suburbs have slowly turned blue, and the balance of power has remained relatively stable. We won’t know the true meaning of the redistricting until election day, and I suspect at least a few apparently-red seats may surprise us.

MN Majority: Blacks and Hispanics are trying to commit voter fraud

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:00:05 -0600

The ultimate goal of a “Voter ID” law has always been a poorly-kept secret. Voter ID laws are all about stopping members of already-disenfranchised communities from voting. For example, these laws have been shown to hurt black voters disproportionately.

Usually, proponents of these vote-suppression laws try not to tip their hands. But occasionally, they slip. Minnesota Majority, the primary organization trying to stop Minnesotans from voting, had such a slip when they posted the offensive image to the right on one of their websites, implying that Black and Hispanic voters are committing voter fraud.

Earlier today, TakeAction Minnesota and several elected officials held a press conference denouncing Minnesota Majority’s race-baiting:

State Representative Rena Moran, whose represents a racially-diverse district in St. Paul’s Frogtown, Near North End neighborhoods said she was “sickened” at the images and called the photo ID amendment they are attached to nothing less than a “21st century Jim Crow law.” Moran said she believes “those that seek to fan the flames of racial division and fear hurt Minnesotans who are already hurting too much. These images are nothing more than scare tactics used to make sure people of color are further marginalized from public life.” [TakeAction press release (PDF)]

Rep. Moran is exactly right. The image above betrays Minnesota Majority’s true motivations — to villainize and marginalize communities who are already disenfranchised. And all to make it easier to elect Republican candidates in Minnesota. It just doesn’t get more despicable than that.

"When a man visits his physician to request a prescription, no politician looks over the..."

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 13:02:37 -0600

“When a man visits his physician to request a prescription, no politician looks over the doctor’s shoulder. When a woman sees her doctor, it’s a crowded room.”

- CD3 DFL candidate Sharon Sund [via MN Progressive Project]

Like it or not, a Vikings stadium deal is almost done

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:00:06 -0600

According to the Star Tribune, negotiators are close to an agreement on a new Vikings stadium:

Minneapolis, the state and the Minnesota Vikings have reached a tentative agreement on a new, $975 million stadium on a site at or near the Metrodome and on how to divide the costs, multiple sources said Friday.

Under the preliminary deal, the city would contribute $150 million in construction costs to the downtown Minneapolis project. The state would add $398 million, while the Vikings would pay $427 million. The city also would pay approximately $180 million in operating costs over the next 30 years, multiple sources close to the negotiations said.

For the life of me, I can’t imagine why our elected officials and civic leaders in Minneapolis could possibly want this.

Residents of Minneapolis will have the privilege of paying $330 million over the next 30 years to finance the venture. That means we’ll be paying higher taxes to subsidize afternoons of entertainment for hundreds of thousands of non-residents each year, the vast majority of whom will not spend a single dime in the city.

That’s not all, though. Minneapolis residents will reap the benefits of having a wasteland of parking lots on the edge of downtown. As we drive past the vacant lots, we’ll be filled with warm feelings thinking about the fun tailgaters have in those lots for a total of 12 hours a year. As an added bonus, we’ll also get to experience horrible traffic on Vikings game days.

Minneapolis City Council members, please don’t waste our money on this. Let’s send the Vikings elsewhere.

Freedom of religion doesn't extend to imposing your values on others

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:00:05 -0600

The outrage on the right over the Obama administration’s efforts to provide women with insurance coverage for contraception has been so surreal, I haven’t known how to approach it. I shouldn’t have ignored the story for so long, though, because it’s a big deal. So here goes.

Yesterday, the House oversight committee held a bizarre hearing, entitled “Lines Crossed: Separation of Church and State. Has the Obama Administration Trampled on Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Conscience?” At that hearing, a panel full of men, and not a single woman, tried to explain how it was their religious right to prevent women from gaining access to contraception.

Conservatives, let me explain how this works. Under the First Amendment, you have every right to exercise your beliefs. You do not have the right to impose religious law on others. Yet that’s exactly what you’re demanding.

It’s worth taking a step back and reiterating just what the Obama administration’s proposal is here. The initial proposal would have required organizations affiliated with a religious sponsor — such as charities and hospitals — to cover contraception in their health plans. The religious right freaked out. I don’t agree with the right on this, but I can at least understand their objections.

So Obama offered a compromise. Under the compromise proposal, the religious organization would have absolutely nothing to do with contraception. Instead, the insurers themselves would be required to subsidize access to employees whose employers had a moral objection.

For some reason, the religious right is still freaking out, claiming that Obama has “trampled on freedom of religion.” They must have a very different idea of how freedom of religion works that I do.

I don’t agree that requiring a religious organization to cover basic healthcare for their employees is “trampling freedom of religion.” But that’s not even the proposal. Obama’s compromise would leave the organization out of it, and would simple ensure that the employee can get access to contraception if she wants. No religious organization has the right to demand that they have a say over their employees’ bodies.

Blocking your employees’ access to contraception is not “freedom of religion.” It’s an attempt to impose religious law, and it’s absolutely not acceptable.

The Christian Right has spent the last year freaking out over made-up claims that American Muslims want to subject us all to Sharia law. But how is that any different from their demands on contraception? They want to be able to decree that their employees be prevented from obtaining contraception — even if they wouldn’t have to pay a dime for it.

That’s not freedom of religion, it’s Sharia. And you don’t get to argue that religious law for Muslims will destroy our country, but that religious law for Christians is your Constitutional right.

After seeing its success, how can Romney still oppose saving the auto industry?

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:00:06 -0600

One of the smartest calls Barack Obama made on the economy was saving Detroit auto manufacturers. With a million jobs on the line, the President refused to let the American auto industry disappear.

Given the auto industry’s renewed health — GM just posted its largest profit ever — it’s hard to argue Obama made the wrong choice. But Mitt Romney continues to say we should have let GM go bankrupt. It’s practically the only issue he’s ever been consistent on.

You can expect that to be a major contrast between Obama and his opponent (Santorum opposed saving GM too). Yesterday, the DNC released a video telling Mitt Romney “don’t bet against America.” The video emphasized GM’s return to record-breaking profits, reminding everyone that saving the auto industry was a colossal success.

The fact is, nothing sells like success, and GM’s success this year is a huge victory for Obama.

More good economic news, pt. 312

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:00:05 -0600

We’re totally building a streak here, folks. A couple more months of continuing good news like this, and growing consumer confidence will turn into a virtuous circle that will propel the economy forward.

The number of Americans filing for new unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell to a near four-year low last week, suggesting the labor market recovery was quickening.

Other data on Thursday showing solid expansion in factory activity in the Mid-Atlantic area this month and builders breaking more ground on new residential projects in January offered more evidence of a sustained momentum in the economy. [Reuters, via Political Wire]

This is really exciting stuff. I began my career just as the economy was turning sour in 2008, so I’ve spent my entire career to date coping with a crummy economy. After four years of pain, the recovery is going to feel great.

But as I’ve written a few times, we can’t back off now. We need to keep working to push the economy forward. That’s why President Obama’s budget has the right idea:

The Economic Policy Institute released an analysis today of the programs in President Obama’s newly proposed budget plan which are aimed at boosting job growth. All told, it would yield approximately 1.5 million new jobs in fiscal year 2012, and around 1.3 million in 2013….

This is consistent with the overal macroeconomic strategy of Obama’s budget: boosting demand immediately, while holding off on significant budget cuts until later in the 10 year window. This approach drives up job growth and would leave the economy at a much more robust level of output when the budget cuts finally do hit — and thus much less likely to falter again in response to those cuts.

This approach is absolutely right on. Over the long term, the deficit will be an issue, and we need to start identifying how we’ll deal with it. But that’s down the road — we need to keep our focus on jobs right now. Once the economy comes back, the deficit will shrink dramatically. On the other hand, focusing on the deficit now could kill jobs, and ironically make the deficit worse.

We are so tantalizingly close to a real recovery. Let’s not blow it.

What does the MNGOP have against renters?

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:00:05 -0600

There are a lot of groups who have been hurt by the policies passed by Republicans in the legislature. Most are just victims of the Republicans’ budget. A few, though, have been under active attack by the Republican majority. One of those groups is renters.

Renters took a big hit from last year’s cuts to the Renters’ Credit. Now, though, Republicans have decided that wasn’t enough, and they’re proposing even larger cuts::

Here we go again with another proposal to dramatically cut the Renters’ Credit, a property tax refund for about 300,000 low- and moderate-income Minnesota households. It refunds a portion of the property taxes that renters pay through their rents. More than one-quarter of participating households include seniors and/or people with severe disabilities.

On Wednesday night, the House Property and Local Tax Division passed House File 1914, which cuts business property taxes, primarily through phasing out the state property tax paid by businesses and cabins. Unfortunately, it cuts the Renters’ Credit to partially pay for the tax cuts.

I don’t understand what the Republicans’ problem is with renters, but they seem to be a constant target. Republicans seem intent on squeezing money from renters, even as they work hard to enrich the wealthy. It’s a sick reverse-Robin Hood policy that doesn’t represent Minnesotans’ values.

Senate Republicans keep racking up ethics failures

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:00:05 -0600

Senate Republicans just can’t seem to get the hang of ethical behavior. Every week, it seems there’s a fresh revelation of wrongdoing from the body. Not only that, it all comes from the leadership.

In particular, the Senate’s hiring of Steve Sviggum has proven to be an ethical minefield. First, there’s the issue of Sviggum’s tenure as a University of Minnesota regent, and whether that conflicts with his partisan role in the legislature. The U certainly seems to think it might, as it has retained a lawyer to advise it on the situation. Then, he just adds to the problems by doing something like this:

The chief spokesman for the Senate Republican caucus admitted today that taxpayers should not have paid for a pamphlet that was distributed at last week’s precinct caucuses.

Fifteen Republican senators handed out the brochures on caucus night. Republicans admitted their error just minutes after state DFL Party officials filed a campaign finance complaint.

Printing campaign materials on the taxpayers’ dime. Lovely. And let’s not lose sight of the fact that the blame this scandal does not just fall on Sviggum alone. The illegal pamphlets were approved by Majority Leader David Senjem himself.

Sviggum’s apology is all well and good, but not enough. This is a clear campaign finance violation, and the Republicans who violated the law need to face the consequences.

Dayton to Legislature: Jobs!

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 07:21:49 -0600

In his State of the State address last night, the Governor asked the legislature to pass his jobs proposals, particularly the bonding bill. He said the voters will decide in November whose budget plan they support, and he urged legislators to put that battle side and work for jobs. Not surprisingly, he listed his proposed bonding bill first among the job bills that should be considered:

Onenationalstudyestimatesmybondingbillwouldcreate21,700jobs, mostofthemintheprivatesector.Ifyou’reskeptical,dividebytwo. That’sstillmorethan10,000Minnesotans,nowunemployed,whocouldbeworkingalloverthestate.

The Governor is absolutely correct — jobs must be our top priority. Unfortunately, the Republican majority in the legislature doesn’t seem to see it that way. They’ve been busy with their constitutional amendments, attacking consumer rights and other assorted nonsense instead of working on jobs legislation.Guess how many jobs Voter ID would create? If you answered “zero,” you’re right.

Our economy is so close to a recovery. Now is the time to redouble our efforts and finish the job, not pull back and take the chance that it falls apart. The legislature should pass the Governor’s bonding bill immediately and put 20,000 Minnesotans back to work.

BRB

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 06:59:44 -0600

It’s been a crazy few days. Some of you may have noticed that posting has been a bit light lately, and I’m not going to have anything at all up today. I’ll be back at full strength tomorrow.

House Republican leaders agree to payroll tax holiday extension without offsets

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:30:06 -0600

House Republican leaders agree to payroll tax holiday extension without offsets:

House Republican leaders said Monday that they will support extending the federal payroll tax holiday through the end of the year without demanding spending cuts to pay for it, a concession aimed at averting another politically damaging showdown in Washington. [Washington Post]

Wow, this is fantastic news, as well as a sign that Republican obstructionism is finally starting to hurt them.

I’m actually starting to get cautiously optimistic here. Is it possible that we’ll finally see the economic recovery gain momentum?

ACLU: Find a case of voter fraud, and we'll give you $1,000

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:00:06 -0600

Okay, voter-suppression advocates, it’s time for you to offer some actual evidence. You say your anti-voting constitutional amendment is about stopping fraud, not preventing Minnesotans from voting? Well, if you can find a single case of voter impersonation, you can now make a cash reward!

During a news conference today, ACLU Executive Director Chuck Samuelson offered to pay $1,000 to anyone who could show a recent case of voter impersonation that the ID requirement would have stopped.

If nobody can come forward to claim this prize, wouldn’t that be a pretty good sign that the voter suppression amendment is a solution without a problem?

Minnetonkans: Vote for Joe!

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 07:19:46 -0600

Attention, readers in Minnetonka! Today is a special election for city council, and on the ballot is the blogosphere’s own Joe Bodell. You may recognize Joe as the co-founder of MN Progressive Project.

If you’ve read Joe’s stuff, you’ll know him as a smart, analytical guy who knows his stuff. He’s exactly the sort of person we all want to represent us.

Today’s special election is going to be a low-turnout affair, with a whopping seven candidates. That means every vote for Joe will make a huge difference. You know what to do!

As the economy picks up, Republicans work to apply the brakes

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:00:06 -0600

Terrible news, everyone: The economy is improving.

I suppose I should clarify that statement. For most of us, it’s very good news. It’s only terrible news if you’re a Republican who anticipated riding a continuing recession to victory in November. Now Republicans in Congress are working desperately to reverse what they see as a devastating trend.

Unfortunately for us, there are a few tools at the Republicans’ disposal. I’ve written before about how Republicans may once again try to block an extension of the payroll tax cut. Now they’re also threatening to block an extension of unemployment benefits.

A Democratic bid for a breakthrough on payroll-tax negotiations fell flat on Thursday, as Congress closes in on a Feb. 29 deadline with few signs of progress.

If Congress fails to act: the Social Security payroll tax that comes out of every paycheck will revert back to 6.2 percent from the current 4.2 percent tax “holiday,” doctors treating Medicare patients will see their reimbursements drop 27 percent as the “doc fix” expires, and millions of long-term unemployed workers will lose benefits.

On Thursday, Republicans on the panel rejected a new Democratic proposal to cut federal unemployment insurance from its current 99 weeks to 93 weeks. Republicans propose cutting back insurance to a maximum of 59 weeks.

While the economy is getting better, and hopefully seems to be picking up steam, the fact remains that it has a long way to go. If we start pulling the rug out from under the unemployed, many of whom have been searching for jobs for years at this point, we’re just going to prolong the recession.

Of course, maybe the Republican understand that. To them, maybe that’s a feature, not a bug.

David Senjem: Only the GOP is allowed to play rough

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 11:43:08 -0600

Senate Majority Leader David Senjem thinks things are getting too tense in Saint Paul:

“It’s time to put the spears down,” said Senjem.

Err… Senator Senjem? Aren’t you the one who started the legislative session with an unprecedented attack on the minority party? Aren’t you the one who just led your party in rejecting one of the Governor’s nominees? And that was in the first two weeks of the session.

So those actions were okay, but the Governor vetoing your effort to strip consumer protections is unacceptable? If that’s what you mean, you really should have clarified your statement:

“It’s time [for the DFL] to put the spears down,” said Senjem.

I suspect that’s what you really meant — it’s fine for the GOP to play rough, but the DFL should absolutely not reciprocate in any way. That sounds perfectly reasonable.

With the MNGOP in charge, we sure need a lot of lawyers

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 07:00:06 -0600

It’s funny: Republicans have been in control of the legislature for a year now, and we seem to be hiring a lot of layers to clean up after their messes. First, the Senate had to retain outside counsel in the wake of their firing of Michael Brodkorb. Now, the University of Minnesota is consulting a lawyer about the GOP’s hiring of Regent Steve Sviggum:

Linda Cohen, chairwoman of the University of Minnesota’s governing board, said Friday she has sought outside legal advice about Regent Steve Sviggum’s potential conflict of interest with his position in the Minnesota Senate….

She announced at Friday’s Regents meeting that attorney John Stout of Fredrikson & Byron would review the issue as an “additional step” to preserve objectivity. Stout “has advised the boards of large publicly-held corporations, educational institutions and well-recognized nonprofits” in the past, according to a memo Cohen provided to the board.

I wonder what his hourly rate is?

The GOP seems to be wasting quite a lot of taxpayer money because of their questionable ethics. I don’t know about you, but I can think of a lot of better ways to spend that money than on cleaning up after their messes. If the GOP can’t prove that they can be responsible, they shouldn’t be governing.

What has the government ever done for the 1 percent?

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 08:00:05 -0600

What has the government ever done for the 1 percent?