In the Know

Minnesota DFL
Sept. 22, 2015
 
Events today

• It’s “Voter Registration Day” in Minnesota. 800,000 Minnesotans are eligible to vote and have not registered. Get information about register to vote here. Secretary of State Steve Simon will visit Como Park Senior High School in St. Paul and speak with students about the importance of voting and civic engagement. Secretary Simon will then speak at a National Voter Registration Day event hosted by the City of Minneapolis.
• Gov. Dayton and Lt. Gov. Smith will meet with Presidents of NAACP chapters from across Minnesota.
• 8:45 a.m. The Minnesota Environmental Partnership will hold a rally at the St. Louis County Courthouse to commemorate the designation of the St. Louis River as one of the top “10 Most Endangered Rivers in the U.S.” After the rally, speakers and supporters will attend the St. Louis County Board meeting to ask the board to pass a resolution recognizing the designation of the St. Louis River as endangered.
• 10 a.m. – The Legislative Task Force on Child Protection will meet.
• 2 p.m. – The Legislative Office on the Economic Status of Women will hold a listening session to hear the stories of women from across Minnesota at the Cloquet Library.
• 4 p.m. (EST) President Obama, Vice President Biden and their wives greet Pope Francis upon his arrival at Andrew Air Force Base.
• 7 p.m. – Rep. Erin Murphy (DFL-Saint Paul) will be at the University of Minnesota Morris to meet with administrators, professors and students to discuss affirmative consent. She will also be meeting privately with girls at Heartland Girl’s Ranch. After the day’s events, she will be hosting a public discussion and Q&A on affirmative consent culture and her affirmative consent legislation at 7 p.m. in Room 2950 of the Science Building on the University of Morris campus.
• Yom Kippur begins at sunset.

Mark your calendars

• Sept. 26 – The DFL Environmental Caucus will meet at Fond du Lac Community College in Cloquet. Sign in starts at 12:30 p.m., the meeting begins at 1 p.m.
• Sept. 26 – The DFL African American Caucus will meet at 10 a.m. at Hosmer Library, 347 E 36th St., Minneapolis.
• Sept. 26 – The DFL CD 2 Outreach/Inclusion (O/I) and African American Caucus will host a DFL African American Issues Forum. The event, free and open to the public, will be held from 3:30 p.m. at Rondo Community Library, at the intersection of University Ave. and Dale St., in St. Paul. Guest speakers are Sen. Bobby Jo Champion and Rep. Reena Moran. For more information, contact .
• Oct. 10 – The College Democrats of Minnesota are holding a2015 Fall Leadership Summit. Noon, Teamsters Council Joint 32, Minneapolis.
• Oct. 13 – The first Democratic debate takes place in Las Vegas. It will air on CNN.

Fundraisers

• Sept. 26 – Congressional District 7 has scheduled a fall fundraiser dinner at the Kandi Entertainment Center in Willmar. The keynote speaker is R.T. Rybak, current vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee and former mayor of Minneapolis. A CD7 central committee meeting and a rural candidate training session are both scheduled for earlier in the day.
• Sept. 26 – The Senate District 7 DFL will host the Annual Solon Munger at 6 p.m. at the Holiday Inn in Duluth. Silent auction, dessert auction, speakers and entertaining guests. Contact Tina Welsh for tickets, .
• Sept. 27 – Rice County DFL will hold its 4th Annual Hotdish Dinner & Cook-Off Fundraiser – A Celebration of the Middle Class. 4 p.m., Vintage Ballroom & Suites, 129 Central Ave. N, Faribault. For more information, contact Shawn Groth, chair, Rice County DFL, .
• Oct. 11 – Senate Districts 25 and 26 will hold a FDR dinner at the Kahler Hotel in Rochester. The keynote speaker is Javier Morillo-Alicea, SEIU #26 President, political commentator and activist. He will share stories about his entry into progressive politics. DFL elected officials and candidates will also speak. For more information or tickets, contact Randy at () or Nancy at.
• Oct. 17 – Le Sueur Co. DFL’s Annual Fall Fundraiser. American Legion Hall in Montgomery. The event includes a social hour (5 p.m.), dinner (6 p.m.), program and live auction (7 p.m.). Contact Janet Straub for tickets: .
• Oct. 24 – Pizza, Pie & Politicians DFL SD48 Fall Function! 6 – 9:30 p.m. at Homeward Hills Park Barn, 12000 Silverwood Dr., Eden Prairie. (more info)
• Nov. 4 – CD3 DFL Fall Fundraising Event: An Evening with Vice President Walter Mondale, moderated by Don Shelby. The 7 p.m. event will be held at Hughes Pavilion, Centennial Lakes, 7499 France Ave. S, Edina. Tickets may be purchased online at www.dfl3cd.org. Reservations can also be made by mail. Checks should be payable to CD 3 DFL and mailed to Nancy Parris, 8350 Airport Rd, Waconia, MN 55387.

2015 election
Race for northern MN House seat defies convention, MPR
 
2016 election
Legislature
McNamar will seek DFL endorsement for House District 12A, Morris Sun Tribune

Congress
State Rep. Drazkowski will not run for Congress, Pioneer Press
Howe enters race for Congress, MPR

President
Wisconsin’s Walker exits ’16 race with harsh words for Trump, Pioneer Press
Minnesota Walker supporters not picking a second favorite — yet, Pioneer Press
Wisconsin Gov. Walker drops presidential bid, MPR
Scott Walker’s last day in Iowa, Star Tribune
Scott Walker, an early contender, makes surprise exit from 2016 race,Washington Post
With Scott Walker out, the race for his supporters is on, Washington Post
Rand Paul to Ben Carson: There’s no religious test in politics,Washington Post
Council on American-Islamic Relations: Ben Carson should quit presidential race, MPR
Joe Biden on decision to run for president: ‘It’s not quite there yet’, Star Tribune
Republican Ben Carson embraces benefits of Muslim criticism, KSTP

Scott Walker believed that surviving the recall prepared him for the rigors and scrutiny that come with running for president. He was wrong. Winning three elections in four years in a blue state like Wisconsin clouded his judgment and made him overconfident in his own abilities.
He shuffled off to his super PAC some of his closest, long-term advisers who helped him get onto the national stage. From there, they could not coordinate with him. He surrounded himself with an oversized entourage that didn’t seem to understand what made him tick. He wound up looking like a flip-flopper who was not ready for primetime and who was constantly telling audiences what they wanted to hear. Washington Post

(more…)

daily brief · issues · news · voter suppression

On March 28, 2015, David Cay Johnston with the National Memo posted an article with the above title. If you haven’t been paying attention to the latest elections — even state representative elections here in Minnesota — have been inundated with money from organizations like “Americans for Prosperity.  That Orwellian titled organization is funded by the Koch brothers.

With the increasing number of states facing voter suppression laws, it could be easy to become disillusioned and “check out” from the political process.  But, that just assures that the 1%ers will get exactly what they want.

The author goes on to state “All of this can be stopped.  All that is required is getting just a fraction of the 94 million adults who did not vote in 2012 to start casting ballots.”

Polls show that the people of this country don’t support the Kochs’ agenda.  But, to stop it from moving forward, those people have to engage and go to the polls on Election Day.

Here’s a link to the full article.

And, if you’re concerned about the direction this country is taking, and want to do what you can to avoid Minnesota become part of the conservative agenda problem, volunteer to help in the next election.  Political parties are volunteer organizations. We can’t do it without out.

Koch Brothers · oligarchs · volunteer · voter suppression

There’s a reason the GOP has been pushing for voter suppression. When Democrats vote, Democrats win.

Check it out here.

And, if it gets your dander up as much as it did ours, plan now to either early vote or vote Election Day, November 4. Better yet, check with your progressive friends and neighbors and bring them with you when you vote.

GOP · voter suppression

As more and more Minnesotans take advantage of early voting opportunities made possible by Steve Simon, the DFL-endorsed candidate for Secretary of State, Dan Severson, the GOP candidate, has built a campaign around suppressing voting to “solve” unfounded election corruption allegations.

“Severson is on record saying that Democrats win elections due to voter fraud,” said DFL Chairman Ken Martin. “Severson claims that we have legislative majorities and Gov. Mark Dayton because of voter fraud. He says that Democrats will go statewide and find vulnerable seats and stuff ballot boxes.

“I call on Jeff Johnson and Keith Downey to refute Severson’s unfounded and irresponsible allegations. I question Severson’s ability to be Secretary of State when he makes dangerous allegations of crimes that don’t exist. Minnesotans deserve better.”

Martin said Minnesota is known for its high voter turnout and clean elections, yet Severson is using his unfounded claims of corruption to suppress voting. Voters recently saw “Double Talkin’ Dan” in action when he said he wants to make voting easy as possible at a Minneapolis Community and Technical College debate just weeks after a Daily Agenda Podcast when he said he didn’t support no-excuse absentee balloting or same day registration.

“This is very troubling because no-excuse absentee balloting received bi-partisan legislative support and Minnesota has had same-day registration for more than 40 years,” Martin said. “And no excuse balloting and same-day registration helps seniors, students, the disabled, new Minnesotans, and countless others.” (more…)

Dan Severson · Minnesota Secretary of State · voter suppression

On May 1, 2014, John Van Hecke, Publisher at Minnesota 2020, wrote about the legislation enacted this session on online voter registration.

While the House version of the bill did pass with only 2 no votes, the Senate bill passed with 24 State Senators voting against it — all of them conservative and including our State Senator, David Hann.

He then talks about how this is an ongoing battle. “Progressives want to make it easier for people to register and vote. Conservatives seek greater restrictions, effectively disenfranchising voters by making it harder for people of modest and limited economic means to case a vote.” All of this while they are looking for any opportunity to “condemn government for not streamlining business service online.”

You can read the full post here.

Minnesota 2020 · MN2020 · online voter registration · voter registration · voter suppression