state + local

"Rochester Republicans credit Senjem, who also chairs the bonding committee, with keeping the project alive as long as possible, blaming Dayton for its ultimate demise."... That is ridiculous. Senjem and the republicans abdicated their duty to make bonding decisions and GAVE the decision to Dayton. As the bonding committee AND majority leader, Senjem could have easily brought his constituents home their civic center. Pretending that it was Dayton's fault after ducking the responsibility is like blaming your dentist for your own cavities.

I have a lot of respect for John Kriesel. He is willing to think for himself. Unfortunately, he is a distinct minority in his own party and is not running for reelection. The rest of the Minnesota House and Senate Republicans voted in lockstep to ask the voters to amend the constitution in ways that are divisive and polarizing. Instead of focusing on jobs and taxes, they allowed the hard-right ideologues in the party to take over. Never again will I vote for a Republican--at least not until this changes.

Keep your eyes on Kurt Zellers House district too. He left a lot of people scratching their heads about his leadership abilities during the whole Vikings stadium debate...including many in his own district and his opponent, David Hoden, is hitting the pavement hard all over the district. It's a longshot on paper but don't be shocked if Zellers goes down.

Kruze is a figment of some advertizing agency, I get fresh litter from his handlers every day, phoney to the core, typical republican blowhard and good old boy.

My wife mutes the sound during commercial breaks but I request she turns on the sound for the inevitable political ad wedged between a couple of commercial spots. On many of these I see the scurrilous hand of Ed Rollins et co. Not much for persuasive, but I think they're going for corrosive. Know thiney enemy.

It's a longshot on paper but don't be shocked if Zellers goes down. *** I'm not as pro-stadium as our governor was, but I'm glad the stadium issue is settled. That said I don't believe Zellers and his crew deserve much credit for the issue being resolved. In that context Paul Ryan's joke at the Vikings' expense makes a little more sense. Here's a team that owes the State GOP leadership almost nothing.

'that the nation should guarantee health care for everyone' This type of thing drives me crazy. The nation does guarantee health care; just go to the damn Dr, and you'll get cared for. Health care/health insurance are two different things, people. I do not have health insurance, yet I still get health care.

The incredible amount of cash being pumped into mailings by the Chamber and other PACs makes you wonder what the payoff for them will be...oh, and that junk about fixing the deficit is baloney.

We have two first timers up here that are running for the House. Don Niles, the DFLer is thoughtful, knows the law and the process, has a track record working across differences to get Wadena back on its feet after the tornado and his opponent Mark Anderson, is a corporate pilot for an energy company who is the usual, Republican one trick pony who says lower taxes and deregulate energy companies (go figure). Anderson will not debate Niles; but has so much more money for signage and advertizing that it is startling. I hope the revelations of this Brodkorb inquiry will wake up ordinary citizens to the corruption that is calling the shots for these know nothing senators and representatives on the right. It is dirty politics and denied responsibly at its worst.

Seriously, with what the DFL has done to this state under Pawelenty, I am hoping they lose seats. It would be nice to see more independants in the legislature, people focused on what government should do, not advancing party interests and blocking those who won't help them. We are spending too much, the DFL only makes that problem worse, as does the GOP. Independants can curtail this.