We spoke with Rep. Linda Runbeck (R-53A, Circle Pines) and inquired as her drafting of legislation intended to eliminate the gift ban and legislator attendance at public events sponsored by advocacy organization and requiring legislator payment.  Since the creation of the Marty Laws authored by Sen. John Marty (DFL-54, Roseville) in 1994.

It has been our contention the Marty Laws have been a bad thing for our state’s politics and have made the legislature as an institution a more hostile environment. Prior to 1994, legislators had the opportunity to break bread and hoist a beverage with their colleagues and not being forced to decide which events they want to attend and pay for.

Runbeck has secured the support of Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL-05A, Virginia) as a co-author. We do not know of a companion bill in the Senate.

Former Senator Ellen Anderson (DFL-St. Paul) was rejected for confirmation as Chir of the Public Utilities Commission on a party line vote of 29-37. Absent from the vote was Sen. Kathy Sheran (DFL-23, Mankato).

There are many claims this is not a partisan decision, but observers can see it as nothing but.

The rejection of former Sen. Ellen Anderson (DFL-St. Paul) will continue to set the table for a contentious legislative session. Anderson may have done nothing wrong as the Chair of the Public Utilities Commission, but she is still a high-profile target. Her past positions in the legislature are what put her at odds with the Republican majority. In spite of the hugs and kind words she received in her last day in the Senate Chamber, specifically, from Sen. Julie Rosen (R-24, Fairmont) she is expected to be cast aside for a political point.

This is the problem with divided; mean spirited government there is no instance where some is encouraged to be human to one and other.  It devolves to nothing more than a zero sum game of one-upmanship. The question is what is left for the legislature to do when compromise is off the table?   

In an even-year of the session with a balanced budget there is little for the legislature to on legislation unless they want to engage with the governor. The passage of constitutional amendments do not need a governor’s signature and because a bonding bill requires a 60% majority it is highly possible the Republican controlled legislature could do little in the way of legislating and let things sort out in the November election.

As the anti-government party, Republicans see few things from government they need. To many Republicans a bonding bill is just another long-term spending bill. In order to end the Special Session, the Republicans proposed the use of the tobacco monies as a means to finance the budget deficit. The result was an example where the state will pay twice for that money over the next 20 years, but because it was based on money coming in rather than an increase in taxes it is rationalized and justified.

Since this is a Presidential election year and Republicans, specifically those in the state senate—mainly due to the sexual impropriety and hypocrisy permeating its caucus—know the likelihood of their retention of the majority has fairly long-odds. If they are going out, why go out with a whimper rather than a bang?

Minnesota is a state with divergent political ideas between the major parties. There is little common ground and the only way to advance one’s agenda is to pummel one’s adversary. This proves politics is a contact sport and that elections have consequences.  The future of this state is in the hands of the electorate and actions of those in power should be what the election is decided on.

DFLers have made the decision in the past not to punish the previous majority in the House and that decision didn’t seem to matter when Republicans regained control, but will forcing a majority party that moving into the minority help anything? It’s clear this is doubtful. So it looks like our state politics has gone the same was as our national politics. To the victors go the spoils and to the losers all the toils.

Now we enter into the era of the perpetual campaign.

Legislating by constitutional amendment is lazy, opportunistic and in bad form. I brook’s no compromise and only perpetuates the problems in our system. Minnesota is not California where, important issues are not decided in Sacramento, but rather on the airwaves. The only saving grace is each question on our electoral ballot sees fall-off and those only motivated to vote for President become a no vote on constitutional amendments.

The total numbers of items we will see on the November ballot remain to be seen, but they seem to be breaking down into two camps; social/political and economic.

Social/Political

The Definition of Marriage Amendment was the first to pass last legislative session and will ask our citizen’s to follow the other 29 states in decided who can marry whom and enshrining discrimination in our state constitution.

We do not support defining marriage or even entitling any people to gaining advantages because of marriage at all. People should not be allowed to use their contractual or religious decisions to establishment their relationship with government it is a personal choice and should remain as such. There should be no marriage penalty or any marriage benefit.

We are expecting Voter-Id to be voted on and passed next. This will dramatically change the openness of our political system and place greater burdens on seniors, active military and college students. Interestingly enough two of the three of these groups could determine the outcome of this issue on the ballot and if they see their rights being taken away could overcome this issue. Creating impediments to active military members voting can be painted as unpatriotic and just as giving the right to vote to eighteen year olds, who were being asked to fight for their country was and issue in the 1960’s this could be an issue and rallying cry for today.

Last election, students out voted seniors for the first time in our history and if motivated to protect their rights could be a unifying issue for these two groups. An issue which links grandchildren and grandparents could be significant one.

Economic Issues

There is a short-sightedness for some of the groups organizing to oppose Right-to-Work or as it is being called the Employee Freedom Act. Trade labor groups see this as their Waterloo and seek to oppose it in order to prevent other issues like opposition to prevailing wage from being addressed.

The short-sightedness is in not as rigorously opposing the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights or the need for a super-majority vote in the legislature in order to have a tax increase. This will reduce regular spending on transportations projects and other governmental expenditures by reducing the money available each biennium. This is not just a matter for public employee unions to be concerned with, but all elements of organized labor and the state’s citizenry.

A focus on Right-to Work doesn’t take into account the entirety of the adverse impact to the operation of state government.  Instead of paying attention to the mountain they are only accounting for the molehill. 

If the three judge panel truly seeks to be non-partisan they will rely heavily on the Congressional redistricting plan submitted by the Association of Minnesota Counties, drawn up by Ramsey County Elections Assistant Director Joe Mansky. This plan is not one submitted by an organization with a vested interest in the outcome, but rather a logical approach to parsing the state into eight specific pieces. This map retains the 110 years of precedence recognizing a northeastern and northwestern congressional district.

If this plan is the crux for the final map it will change the composition of the 4th Congressional District and incorporate a larger portion of Washington County. Depending on what portion of Washington County is included will determine whether or not Congresswomen Betty McCollum (D-MN4) and Michele Bachmann (R-MN6) are drawn into the same district. As we pointed out last week, until Bachmann’s current address is truly known this remains a probability.

Because Bachmann’s district needs to lose approximately 90,000 votes it makes more sense for her district to contract away from either the St. Cloud/Stearns/Benton/Wright Counties or to lose the Washington County portion. The stalwart portion of the 6th Congressional District still remains to be Anoka County.

If the Mansky Map makes the cut, we are interested in what the 3rd Congressional District looks like. The DFL Plan calls for reconstituting the old 3rd from the time of former Congressman Bill Frenzel (R), which we have not seen since 2001. The way the court draws the lines of the suburban districts will determine who holds the suburbs for the next ten years.

Additionally, because the 5th Congressional District is over 30% minority this is the closest our state will have to a majority minority district.    

Today, we spoke with Geographic Information Services (GIS) Director Lee Meilleur and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s (R-MN6) Chief of Staff Brooke Bilke inquiring about the current address for Bachmann. The reason for the inquiry is because the address currently in the GIS database, which is the data every map is based on, lists Bachmann’s address as a property which was sold in 2008.

Questions about Bachmann’s address have been around for a number of years. When we spoke with Meilleur, he said, his office obtained the information from the state House Republican Caucus. We contacted the House Redistricting Committee Administrator Tom Freeman who said the information regarding confirmation on members of Congress residency was handled by GIS. He also relayed his belief of Bachmann residing north of 94 in Lake Elmo. After the sale of the property in 2008, Bachmann was thought to live in Hugo and other locations speculated are Lakeland and Woodbury.

When we asked her Chief of Staff Bilke, She first said, “That is a question for the campaign.” The when we pointed out the reason for the question on residency was to ensure the judicial panel had the most accurate information she confirmed Bachmann currently resides in Stillwater. We are unsure of the specific location, but her children Harrison, Lucas and Caroline last voted at a Stillwater address in 2010.        

If the judicial panel is given the most accurate information they will be able to design a map, which prevents the only two women in the Minnesota Congressional delegation from being drawn into the same Congressional District. If Bachmann lives again in Stillwater then the likely of the dividing line between the 6th and 4th Congressional Districts would be 94. This would leave northern Washington County to Bachmann and southern Washington County to Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN4).      

Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem (R-29, Rochester) surprised many when he operated with a heavy-hand on Tuesday in the Senate Rules and Administration Committee taking the bulk of the money to fill the Senate operating budget from the DFL Minority. We think his change in demeanor may be attributable to a few factors: One, his desire to be taken seriously by all parties; two, his decision to hire former House Speaker Steve Sviggum as the Executive Assistant to the Rules Committee.

We penned a story after Senjem’s internal caucus election comparing him to the current Congressional House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH8). Will Senjem Experience a Boehner Effect? (You need to be registered to follow this link otherwise it is still available on the page. Just go to http://checksandbalances.com).  Also the selection of Sviggum is a tactical maneuver which has much wisdom in it. One feature of Sviggum’s tenure as Speaker was his ability to prevent outliers from within his caucus. He was able to identify members who were soft in their support of issues within his caucus and get them to toe the caucus line.

Ellen Anderson

In our travels through the halls of the legislature, we have been asked on a few occasions what we are hearing regarding the approval of former Sen. Ellen Anderson (DFL-St. Paul) as head of the Public Utilities Commission. By our read Anderson’s future is in doubt and she will likely not be confirmed.

In a press conference held today Senate Assistant Majority Leader Julianne Ortman (R-34, Chanhassen) she said, the Senate will take up four confirmations including Anderson’s on Monday. Regarding the specifics on Anderson’s confirmation said, “I understand she did not fare well in committee. She is known to be a passionate advocate and she has a tough record to defend.” Many people believe Anderson will fall due paybacks for to the rejections of Lt. Governor Carol Molnau (R) as Transportation Commissioner and Cheryl Pierson Yecke as Education Commissioner.

At the end of the press conference Ortman answered another Anderson question and said, “

What This Means  

There seems to be a spirit shared by Republican Senators of “It’s our time.” We conclude this to mean Republicans Senators feel compelled to act on a wide array of issues changing the overall relationship between the public and state government.  Because Governor Mark Dayton (DFL) is of a different party the interest in legislating by fiat of the public is higher from Republican legislators through Constitutional Amendment.

By avoiding any action by the governor and taking issues directly to the electorate Republicans feel their view of the state will prevail. They also feel this will help them in the various elections by generating a larger base vote to support their candidates.

DFL Minority

In a follow-up press conference to the Majority, Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk (DFL-06, Cook) challenged the data brought before the Senate Rules Committee as either inaccurate, misleading or false and characterized the staff cuts as purely partisan. He also commented on the pending confirmation of Anderson and asked what vote has she cast on the PUC puts her confirmation in doubt.

In response Ortman countered and called Bakk’s comments, “Extreme.”    

The House of Representatives opened the session with mostly procedure issues and a few speeches. Rep. Jim Abeler (R-48B, Anoka) talked about the loss of his son during the interim and DFL minority Leader Rep. Paul Thissen (DFL-63A, Minneapolis) called for job creation and not Constitutional Amendments. All-in-all it was a yawner, but such was not the case in the Senate.

The Senate opened with procedural issues as well mostly based on the need to formally elect a new Republican majority Leader. After Sen. Dave Senjem’s (R-29, Rochester) election to the post and the installation of the Assistant Republican majority Leaders things seemed to be headed for a fairly mundane start of session, which lasted until the Rules and Administration Committee meeting. In his acceptance speech on the floor Senjem seemed all accommodating toward the DFL minority expressing his desire to work with them to meet the needs of the state and called members of the senate “brothers and sisters.”

When the Rules Committee met it became clear the honeymoon had ended, the time for happy talk was over and the true face of the Senate Republican majority emerged and not surprisingly it looks the same as the old Senate Republican majority. The reason we can say this will such conviction is because of the activities which took place in Rules to address a forthcoming deficit in the Senate’s $2.67 million budget.

We have been awaiting this issue since the later part of the first session and inquired of then Rules Committee Executive Assistant Michael Brodkorb whether or not the Republican majority would be balancing the deficit at the expense of the DFL minority. To which he said, “That has not been decided at this time.” Interestingly enough, it has now been decided and the Republican majority did just that. Their proposal looks good on paper to the public. http://www.senate.mn/members/member_pr_display.php?ls=&id=4248 It shows a 5% across the board reduction bringing the inline, but when one looks past the numbers and understands the full implications it means the Republican majority will retain all of their partisan staff while the DFL minority losses 12-14 staff people at the close of session. The staff cuts of session only staff, Senate Council and Research and not compensating interns will not remove a single person from the Republican majority staff.

Now this is not a new concept the majority traditionally has the upper hand and its staff has had more luxury during election years to use vacation and comp time to work on campaigns while the minority usually has less money to work with and has its staff hired by their caucus campaigns. The difference is this go round this decision, usually left the leadership of the respective caucuses, and is now being made unilaterally by the party in control, the Republicans.

This precedent will be one not long forgotten especially if the DFL regains control of the Republican majority and then there will be hell to be paid. The last gasp of collegiality will then leave the senate and everything will be partisan all the time. If the concept of, you reap what you sow is to be witnessed it will be seen if the Republican majority changes hands.

Senjem was right in pointing out the DFL Senate Caucus has more senior staff than does the Republican Caucus. This is because the DFL was the party in control since the 1974 election. The DFL staff, in spite of being at will employees, had stability up until the 2010 election. Because of this fact a smaller allotment in the DFL minority budget is spread far thinner and employs fewer people because the average salary is higher due to seniority. It may be a cold hard fact, but DFL Senate Staff is now incentivized to work tirelessly to get the members of the caucus reelected and elect enough members to bring the DFL back into the Republican majority and had they done so in 2010 they would not be facing this situation. Complacency has no place in partisan politics and not working on campaigns and expending vacation during an election year doing so is being complacent.

It appears the Republican majority justified its actions as retribution for the decision by then Senate Republican majority Leader Larry Pogemiller (DFL-59, Minneapolis) to enforce the senate hiring freeze on the DFL minority and disallowing the employment of a new Chief of Staff Cullen Sheehan. Senjem made this point clear during the debate.

There were alternatives discussed. Sen. Dick Cohen (DFL-64, St. Paul) attempted to amend the motion to call for a reduction of the permanent Republican majority staff from two down to one at the end of session, but that motion failed on a 7-4 party line vote. He also brought up the idea of reducing per diem for all members of the caucus, but failed to put that in the form of a motion.

There was one attempt at accommodation by Sen. Claire Robling (R-35, Jordan) Finance Committee Chair. She acknowledge her Committee Administrator from last session, Amy Walstien, had left for another job and she was going to attempt to share a Committee Administrator with another committee. This decision would then help reduce the majority staff by one.

Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk (DFL-06, Cook) tried to bring some rationality into the discussion when he asked what the unemployment compensation costs the Senate Caucus would need to bear if this number of people were to be laid off. During this conversation Senate Secretary Cal Ludeman conveyed a figure which when fully accounted for only recognizes around a $195 million cost savings. The decision is not any way shape of form an example of shared sacrifice. It is solely born on the shoulders of the DFL Senate Minority.

The reality is this, the Republican majority recognizes due to its current troubles of sexual peccadilloes between members and staff along with the other known situations which have not yet been exposed, they will face a tough reelection year. They understand the need to retain their staff on government payroll throughout the campaign because they will need every dollar they raise to protect incumbents and if the state can pay for some of the freight for the people working on campaigns so be it. The fact is it will be hard for the Senate Republicans to raise money.

Ironically, the anti-government party turns to government jobs when it’s convenient. The reductions on the DFL staff side will mean Mike Kennedy, DFL Senate Caucus Director will become an important seasonal employer. There is a significant difference between the Republican and DFL campaigns as well. The DFL provides benefits for their campaign staff while the Republicans traditionally have not. This means Kennedy will need to fund-raise even more this legislative session and during the election year. Because it is a presidential election year and with U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) up for reelection there will be more federal money flowing into the state, which will be good for the DFL. This also means the DFL Senate Caucus staff will be far more wedded to the DFL Party than ever before.

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-6MN) will seek a fourth term of office in November. She has proven to be a voracious fundraiser and lightning rod for social conservatives. Her performance in her quest to be President came with both its highlights and lowlights and has show to the entire United States the content of her character.

She was seen as a shining star for social conservatives and this election in a new district will show her appreciation or lack there of here in Minnesota. So was quick to point out her Iowa roots and now she will need to reestablish her Minnesota credentials. 

The thrum is increasing about a possible departure of Rep. Steve Smith (R-33A, Mound) from the House Republican Caucus. We have been hearing this thought for months. This potential move would come as no surprise because, the House Leadership stripped Smith of two committee chairmanships (Ethics and Judiciary Policy and Finance) over an alleged inappropriate relationship with a House staffer in late summer.  Smith, who is unmarried, has disagreed with the characterization as inappropriate.

Our inquiries into the Republican House Caucus have generated a variety of responses. Bill Walsh, Executive Assistant to the Majority Leader said, “The caucus has not had contact with him (Smith) in months.” Smith's situation did not draw as much attention as did Sen. Amy Koch (R-19, Buffalo) and the bevy of allegations about more extramartial affairs in the House Republican Caucus is on the rise.

Smith, a lawyer by profession, has not been a lockstep member of the Republican Caucus. He  was one of two House Republican votes against the Defense of Marriage Constitutional Amendment.  Smith’s relationship to his caucus has a familiar feel with that of former Rep. Ron Erhardt (R-Edina). Ironically, these two individuals were in the same freshmen class first elected in 1991. We have spotted Erhardt at a number of DFL events since, the last one being a December fundraiser for Governor Mark Dayton (DFL) at the home of Tom Borman.

Smith could take a path like Erhardt did and self-define as an Independent and caucus with the DFL Minority or he could make and outright switch to the DFL. The question is whether or not he would be embraced by the DFL Party and then be supported to seek reelection as a DFLer in November.

Smith is thought to be facing some health concerns and many of his detractors are taking about his social activities. It is speculated political circles experience higher divorce rates, extra-marital affairs and other societal problems such as substance abuse than does the general public.

There is speculation Republicans are trying to purge Smith from their caucus or at least ostracize him. We know he is likely to be a target for the more aggressive Republican support groups. We know this legislative session is a focal point for groups who have helped finance the Republican legislative majorities and are expecting to see legislation they support. The Freedom Club is currently meeting with Republican legislative leadership and seeking support for Right-to-Work legislation, which is now being dubbed the Employee Freedom Act.

Smith may be a target for the Freedom Club and anti-Gay Marriage forces. This triumvirate could create the perfect storm and expedite his departure from Republican ranks. If he goes the question is who will get the credit for jettisoning him from the Republican boat. Republicans who are seen as outliers are not likely to welcome into the GOP “Big Tent.” If this is true then, the people should question the actual size of the Big Tent.