Barack Obama’s campaign had planned all the way back to September to attack Mitt Romney for his wealth.  The “Buffett Rule” and constant references to income inequality were more than just a dogwhistle for Occupiers to launch their protests last fall.  It was a strategy to shape the battlefield for a political attack that Team O rolled out explicitly at the beginning of last week.  After that much of a windup, the pitch had to be a blazing fastball over the plate … right?

According to CBS News, wrong:

Gov. Dayton and the Executive Council must’ve figured they can’t keep postponing mineral lease auctions:

Minnesota’s Executive Council is set to act on 77 mineral exploration leases next week that have been delayed for a year because of concerns by private landowners that their rights could be infringed.

The council, composed of the governor and the state’s other top elected officials, twice considered the leases in 2011 but delayed action.

Two years ago, during the run-up to the Minnesota Gubernatorial election, I published the results of some GOP-friendly internal polling that showed that Tom Emmer was leaving votes on the table, not so much for opposing gay marriage per se, but by not pushing a referendum on the issue (as opposed to the legislature or the courts deciding it).   Although I and many of Emmer’s libertarian base considered this a feature rather than a bug, it retrospect it may have been a bit of personal and philosophical integrity but a political mistake.

If it wasn’t a fluke.

And a new Quinnipiac poll indicates it wasn’t:

Monday night, OurFutureMN was a featured presenter at an event talking about K-12 education funding and its impact on school district operations. It’s odd that an organization that isn’t a think tank or that doesn’t specialize in public policy analysis would be invited to an event that was supposed to talk about the impact the school shift has had on school operations.

Based on this article from their website, OurFutureMN is a PR/propagandist organization. Here’s the tipoff:

The Pay Back Our Kids Act would pay back the $2.4 billion Minnesota owes to its kids and schools by closing corporate tax loopholes.

One last hurdle for the "People's Stadium" jamdown -- the Minneapolis City Council still has to give final approval and a vote is expected in the next day or two. Writing in the Start Tribune, Council member Gary Schiff takes one last look at the numbers and points out a few things that the mayor, the governor and the Helga Braiders would rather not discuss:

Minneapolis' share of the stadium costs is not limited to the $150 million construction costs often mentioned. In the financing bill, the city is also responsible for interest on the construction debt, plus ongoing operating, maintenance and upgrade costs over the next 30 years.

The minimum cumulative cost to Minneapolis sales taxpayers will be $675 million, while another clause in the deal allows the subsidy to swell to $890 million. Minneapolis is being given a white elephant -- with horns.

Or just the horns. But there's more:

If Wisconsin turns into the Left’s Waterloo two weeks from today, Mitt Romney’s campaign may take a fresh look at making it Barack Obama’s as well.  The Wall Street Journal analyzes the impact that a defeat in the Badger State will have on Democrats and the unions, and the new talk of Wisconsin being the kind of swing state that could decide this election:

From the start, some in the Democratic Party worried that a Wisconsin recall could drain needed resources, fire up the conservative base and ultimately make it more difficult for Mr. Obama to win the state. Mr. Obama carried Wisconsin by 14 percentage points in 2008, and Wisconsin hasn’t gone Republican in a presidential election since 1984. But last week’s Marquette poll showed Messrs. Obama and Romney tied at 46%.

Continue Reading

Co-hosts Tim McShane and Walter Hudson ponder the recent passage of the Vikings stadium bill and question how Republican legislators can be so far removed from the priorities of the activsts who endorse and support them. Every aspect of the bill was counter to a plank in the platform, yet it was authored and greased by Republicans. What gives? Is there a defensible reason for having supported the bill?

Check out the show and subscribe to our RSS feed through iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. 'Like' us on Facebook and join the conversation.

Barack Obama  had no national primary challengers in his second nomination race in most states, including Kentucky.  Who knew it would still be a tough choice for voters?  Kentucky voters in the Democratic primary preferred the empty slot to the empty suit, apparently:

About two out of every five Democratic voters in Tuesday’s presidential primary in Kentucky chose “uncommitted” instead of voting for President Barack Obama. …

“I’m at a victory celebration for ‘uncommitted’ who performed admirably,” said [state GOP chair Steve] Robertson. “I’ve never met the guy but know that he highly embarrassed Obama.”

As we noted yesterday, House of Representatives candidates that can raise $1,500 in $50 increments can qualify for a sizable bump in financing from the state.

Each Senate district covers double the area,  so it has to raise double the money - $3,000 – for double the bump.

Here are the MN Senate candidates in CD4.

Last night, the DFL attempted to spring a trap on Sen. Pederson, Rep. Banaian and Rep. Gottwalt. The DFL’s attempt failed. Proof that the event was a trap is found in this paragraph:

The room of concerned parents, district staff and community members want legislators to make a different choice than they made in the past- to raise fair revenue to support our kids and our communities. Unfortunately, none of the area’s legislators chose to attend the community discussion.

This statement was part of a press packet prepared, and handed out, prior to the “community discussion”/political ambush. The ambush organizers couldn’t have known in advance that none of the legislators would skip attending because the legislators either hadn’t decided or didn’t make their decision public.

Continue Reading