[soapbox]
Someday, soon I hope, the Minnesota GOP will wake up to the fact that the national GOP is a de facto neo-confederacy party, and that their core beliefs, while they overlap in certain areas, have very little to do with the core beliefs of the GOP of the north.

The subsuming of the truly fiscally conservative republicans to the screw-the-darker-hued-even-if-I-screw-myself-in-the-process fiscally conservative republicans that currently run the national party is a disgrace, and the sooner northern republicans jettison their racist bretheren, the better off the entire country will be.

Until we can have an debate about fiscal policy where the true reasons for obstructionism can never be stated openly–that “I’ll be damned if I let a black man have equal rights, dignity, and opportunity”–we’ll never move forward as a state or a nation.

Pawlenty is probably a decent human being somewhere deep down in his shrinking soul, but his political ambition has made him have to totally kowtow to the racist MFs like McConnell and the current cabal. To get ahead, he’s had to drink the koolaid of Grover Norquist and his Minnesota acolytes.

So Pawlenty has totally screwed himself, his state party, and is trying hard to screw the rest of the state, and most republicans in Minnesota don’t share the racist attitudes that the philosophy (if it can be called that) is based on.

I say, what a waste. As someone far to the left of most around me, I’d relish an actual debate over how to best accomplish the goals set out in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. But until the right admits that they believe “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” applies to themselves and themselves only, we can’t have that debate.

Whew!
[/soapbox]

Pawlenty is probably a decent human being somewhere deep down in his shrinking soul…

Don’t count on it. He really doesn’t have it in him.

Tim will do what he has to do but do it in the jerkiest possible fashion. His words will be nothing but dog-whistles. It’s what he does.

I called his office today to point out that Iowa is making us look like chumps in the human rights department. GLBT folks are begging for the legal right to help spouses in the hospital here. I used the phrase ‘Cold Omaha’ that usually gets used when we’re being held hostage for a new sports stadium.

I rather doubt that Pawlenty “is probably a decent human being somewhere deep down in his shrinking soul.” Remember, this is the guy whose buddies in the MN transportation department adamantly refused to accept an “unsafe” rating for the 35W bridge. Repairs to bridges cost money that could otherwise be shunted into their cronies pockets. *spits*

And good for Iowa. I don’t think we’re a “Cold Omaha,” though. Omaha has a wonderful warehouse district, whereas Minneapolis trashed theirs. Come to think of it, that downfall started with a sports stadium …

MN is a weird state – Jesse, Pawlenty, Normie, Michelle B… and then the great Paul Wellstone and Hubert Humphrey. That’s schizophrenia.

I wonder how this plays in Lake Wobegon?

Someday, soon I hope, the Minnesota GOP will wake up to the fact that the national GOP is a de facto neo-confederacy party, and that their core beliefs, while they overlap in certain areas, have very little to do with the core beliefs of the GOP of the north.

The subsuming of the truly fiscally conservative republicans to the screw-the-darker-hued-even-if-I-screw-myself-in-the-process fiscally conservative republicans that currently run the national party is a disgrace, and the sooner northern republicans jettison their racist bretheren, the better off the entire country will be.

Until we can have an debate about fiscal policy where the true reasons for obstructionism can never be stated openly–that “I’ll be damned if I let a black man have equal rights, dignity, and opportunity”–we’ll never move forward as a state or a nation.

Well said. Really well said.

Did the court say that the certification WILL be issued after the state process is over or only that it could not happen until after the process is over- leaving it open that it might still have to wait for federal action? I’ve heard both attributed to them

The big question is: Knowing all this, will Tim Pawlenty follow the dictates of Eric Magnuson’s court, or will he continue to do the bidding of the Republican National Committee and Mitch McConnell

you know me pw, ever the pessimist, I am pretty sure he does bidding for the republicans, they will promise him a comfy seat on the board of the cato institute or some other “kcoch industries” propaganda team and bing, he is theirs.

they have no care for any rule of law, no care for any rule what so ever, they have burnt earth strategy and they need to keep franken from voting on important legilation as long as possible

Minnesota is a liberal state whose politics have been for some time beholden to a bunch of deadbeats called the Minnesota Taxpayer’s League. These are a bunch of immature middle aged white guys infuriated at the idea of paying for the state facilities that they use, and that fury was transformed into several years wherein Democrats were pilloried for raising taxes, even as deficits ballooned due to irresponsible tax cuts.

Pawlenty is a committed anti-taxer, who in the classic definition of insanity keeps cutting taxes and waiting for the deficit to go down. All he has done instead is shoved a lot of the cost of government out to the municipal level, and in turn made governance dependent on home property values.

You can see where this is going (and I’ve been warning about it for years): when the housing bubble burst, property values dropped, and municipal tax revenues dried up. Now the whole system of governance is starved. But Pawlenty holds firm to his “no new taxes… EVAH” pledge made to the Taxpayer’s League.

As far as Franken, what Tim will do is stall for about a week. Torn between the RNC and the State Court, he will eventually fold, but not until he’s made a face-saving show of trying to hold out. Franken will be seated in about five weeks.

So when does Congress adjourn again?

The big question is: Knowing all this, will Tim Pawlenty follow the dictates of Eric Magnuson’s court, or will he continue to do the bidding of the Republican National Committee and Mitch McConnell, chasing after the false promise of a 2012 shot at the White House even as he wrecks his chances at winning re-election to the job he already has?

Rhetorical Q, I presume.

People hate sore-winners. And that’s what the Republican Party was for 14 years.
Now, by trying to block Fraanken, they have banked that looking like sore-loser’s will improve their image.
Great stragegy. Is Bad’n’Plenty dumb enough to go along? He’s a Republican, so my guess is yes.
Norm, you’re a classless loser. You can’t get more pathetic than that. Unless you’re Bad’n’Pleny, and you sycophantically support a classless loser.

Five more weeks, huh? So, nearly half a year without a senator for Minnesota, not to mention continual 60-vote majorities-needed for the rest of us.

Sigh. What we have come to. We need to get completely out of the business of advising/hectoring other countries on how to conduct elections or practice democracy.

Remember, this is the guy whose buddies in the MN transportation department adamantly refused to accept an “unsafe” rating for the 35W bridge.

What has happened to those ‘buddies’ who left the bridge ‘unsafe’? Were they bounced out of government or fined or sent to jail? In this era of ‘personal responsibility’ or ‘accountability’ it ought to be public knowledge.

Many are indeed gone, including the Transportation Commissioner who was not so coincidentally P-dawg’s Lieutenant Governor, and a truly malfeasant emergency management person who thought an extended vacation with her boyfriend in Florida (I think it was) was more important than coming back to MN to do her job during the state’s biggest emergency in years.

Good friggin riddence.

The Supreme Court specifically mentioned that, as far as they were concerned, the contest is done as soon as the state process runs its course. Theoretically, they could be stopped by federal action, but there would have to be a federal injunction against issuing the certificate (not just the threat of going to the feds). A lot depends upon how eager Tony and Clarence are to revisit Bush v. Gore territory (which might not be too much, seeing Kazeminy on the horizon).

Just a coda on my earlier (zed) post. The main reason I’d like to see a stronger GOP that actually stands for a positive version of their beliefs (rather than the obstructionis version), is that it will make the Dems own up to our beliefs, and stand up for something for once.

As long as everyone knows the debate is bogus, no one has to debate honestly. That’s what was so great about our Paul Wellstone. He didn’t play the game. He stood up and said what needed to be said. And he was absolutely loved for it. Even people who disagreed with him admired him for doing what he said he would do, and sticking to his guns.

Paul–we miss you!

And to think that that shithead Coleman took his seat galls me to the core.

[Sorry, I’m at a strange computer that won’t highlight your first paragraph, which is what I’m replying to.]

This is a picture of California, circa 1975, pre-Prop. 13 and all that Reagan idiocy.

MN should take a long, hard look at what’s happened to CA as a result of 30 years of “no new taxes” madness.

For those of you from Minnesota is the GOP paying any kind of political price for their anti-democracy obstructionism? I have to believe that the people of Minnesota are absolutely fed up with Norm’/Cornyn/McConnell’s/Pawlenty’s shenanigans.

I used the phrase ‘Cold Omaha’ that usually gets used when we’re being held hostage for a new sports stadium.

Ooooh! Good one! And yes, I rather think that failing to give full human rights to a non-trivial portion of the population makes us a bit more Podunky than failing to purchase yet another sports stadium instead of libraries, schools or mass transit.

It’s not mentioned much in the media, but yes, this is going to be hurting them in the next round of elections. Pawlenty’s up for re-election next year; now if only the Dems could pick someone who wasn’t a total dork to face him, we’d have a Democrat in the governor’s mansion just in time to decide whose CD gets cut in the wake of the 2010 census. (Hint: Michele Bachmann shouldn’t get too comfy.)