Brand-new ‘moderate’: Candidate Paulsen runs away from Republicans — and his own record

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Rep. Erik Paulsen, who is running to replace the retiring Jim Ramstad in Minnesota’s Third Congressional District, is a Republican–but don’t tell anybody. Throughout his 14-year tenure in the Minnesota Legislature, Paulsen has been one of the most consistent and avid Republican right voices on behalf of government-slashing and “family values” assaults on abortion rights, gay rights and education standards. Yet when Paulsen spoke at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul early this month, his campaign billed the site of the appearance as simply the “National Convention.” In fact, a glance of Paulsen’s campaign materials would leave a casual observer wondering what party the candidate is affiliated with.That scrubbing of party identification betrays his position as a leader in Minnesota’s Republican Party and his conservative legislative record, a record that appears more conservative than the voters of Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District. Paulsen has earned high marks from some of Minnesota’s most extreme conservative groups. Continue Reading

Religious Right Watch: Sarah Palin at a glance

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Gov. Sarah Palin isn’t talking about her faith — or anything else, for that matter, in the last few days — but that hasn’t stopped the media from digging into her religious background, which has been hailed by the religious right as moving social conservatives to support Sen. John McCain. Palin certainly hits all the high notes on issues concerning the religious right. But while that support from the religious right has been huge, Palin has also suffered some criticism from members of the pro-family movement. The two main churches in Palin’s life are very conservative and have generated a great deal of controversy. Palin attended the Wasilla Assembly of God for most of her life. Continue Reading

Eight questions about today’s primary election

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There’s a primary election Tuesday in Minnesota. You can be forgiven for not having noticed. With the temporary Republican takeover of the Twin Cities and a U.S. Senate race that’s been billed as a two-candidate duel for months, it’s easy to overlook the September balloting. But there are some intriguing questions to consider in looking at tomorrow’s results:
1. How comfortably will Al Franken advance out of the Democratic primary?There’s little doubt that the DFL-endorsed candidate will ultimately emerge from the six-candidate scuffle. Continue Reading

Nelson-Pallmeyer makes it official

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After an eventful summer exploring a U.S. Senate run, Jack Nelson- Pallmeyer is ready to make it official. He will announce his entry into the race today in St. Paul, where supporters will subsequently hold a cell phone bank. A press release from the Nelson-Pallmeyer campaign claimed that JNP raised more than $150,000 in September — a large sum by the standards of most individuals, but lagging behind the millions being raised by incumbent Norm Coleman and his DFL challengers Al Franken and Mike Ciresi. When I interviewed Nelson-Pallmeyer in June, he addressed the question of his website and its unusual name, MostImportantDecade.com. Continue Reading

Is Ramstad considering unretiring?

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Signs point to yes: U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad has left the door open to retracting his retirement announcement. If he does, it will be a blockbuster development in Minnesota politics with possible consequences in the national race for Congress. (And it would mess up several folks who were preparing to run for the open 3rd District seat.)
Last night, Ramstad’s top Washington aide, Dean Peterson, emailed me this statement, in full:
“Jim has been overwhelmed by the huge number of Minnesotans urging him to reconsider, but he has no plans to run for re-election.” If that strikes you as confirmation of Ramstad’s Sept. 17 retirement announcement, read on:
Late last week, a well-plugged-in source tipped me off to rumors on Capitol Hill that the National Republican Congressional Committee was urging Ramstad, 61, to reconsider his decision and seek another term and that Ramstad was seriously considering it. Continue Reading