Fear and panic, Minnesota Republican style

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Fear and panic may be the words for now to express how Republicans, conservatives, and business leaders such as Charlie Weaver view the coming 2013 Minnesota legislative session. The fear and panic is that with the DFL having control of the legislature and all of the constitutional offices, businesses and the affluent will face higher taxes, the economy will go to ruin, and the Chamber of Commerce will not be able to pursue objectives such as restructuring teacher tenure, public sector pensions, or state government in general. Continue Reading

After the revolution? Recommendations for the Minnesota DFL

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You say you want a revolution? Well it was not quite that, but November 6, gave Democrats control of the Minnesota legislature and governorship for the first time since 1990. In fact they occupy all the constitutional offices. Dayton can move his agenda and the DFL can push its priorities. But less one think that it is now Christmas time for the DFL, there should be some caution in the moves that the Democrats take. Continue Reading

Beyond Citizens United: Fixing the American elections system

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In post-election statements, both Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep.-elect Rick Nolan called for campaign finance reform. They singled out the role of big money and negative ads in campaigns, demanding among other things, an overturning of the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Campaign-finance reform is needed, but the American election system is broken, demanding even broader changes beyond reversing Citizens United. These changes extend to the role of money in politics, voting, and the quality of political debate and information. Continue Reading

Now what? Legalizing same-sex marriage in Minnesota

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The Marriage amendment was defeated and Democrats took control of both houses of the Minnesota legislature and also control all the executive branch constitutional offices. Advocates of same-sex marriage say the time is now and that the DFL should not simply repeal the Minnesota Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) but move directly to legalize same-sex marriage. Should that be at the top of DFL agenda come January? Reasons bode in favor and against this choice. Continue Reading

A mandate or a rejection? Lessons from the 2012 elections

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For a year that was not supposed to be theirs, the Democrats appeared to do well across the country and in Minnesota. But while the Democrats may conclude that it was a mandate for them, it is possible that their success was more a rejection of the Republicans. The election returns thus provide important lessons for both of the parties both across the country and in Minnesota. Continue Reading

Election 2012: Politics in the Age of Division (and final predictions)

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The polls perhaps say it all. We have a closely divided race nationally for the presidential race. In fact, go back six months ago and Obama and Romney were essentially tied at about the same place they are now. Except for one month between the Democrat National Convention and a period after the first debate, the polls have been stable, revealing a stable yet clearly split electorate. Continue Reading

The road to the White House: How Obama could lose it

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From a political science perspective Obama is strategically positioned to win the presidency on November 6. If all the polls are correct Obama has well positioned himself to win the critical 270 Electoral Votes to win the presidency, even if he were to lose the popular vote. This split in the Electoral Vote and popular vote is a real possibility, but there are so many signs pointing to an Obama victory. He has a better ground game than Romney, he has registered more voters, delivered more early voters to the polls. He has the demographic advantage with women and people of color. All of this points to an Obama victory. Continue Reading