It must be a tough time to be Erin Maye Quade – Senator from Apple Valley, and Big Left’s attack poodle in the Senate.

In the past couple of years, she’s voted for a thoughtcrime data base, and openly fantasized about using government power to keep parents from teaching their kids about abstinence…

…and about “Eminent Domaining” and bulldozing the crisis pregnancy centers try to keep people out of the Planned Parenthood clinics that spend so much on her campaigns and will presumably be her post-politics career.

Because suddenly, she’d discovered that big powerful government can be scary, when you’re not at the controls.

Even if you have to conjure those threats out of thin air:

Further evidence of Berg’s Seventh Law; QAnon was a fantasy, but BlueAnon is very, very real. 

MN Rep. Leigh Finké (DFL-66A) apparently thinks that if hospitals can’t chemically neuter and surgically maim children, they shouldn’t offer care at all:

Nationwide, the Democrats failure to not look crazy harmed them immeasurably last November. 

I’m mildly gratified to see they’re not backing off one iota. 

And congratulations to Ken Martin on his election as head of the Democrat National Committee. 

Democrats – you’ve made a great choice. 

Provided, of course, that the national media is as compliant, even sycophantic, as the MInnesota media (although I fully expect to start seeing “Another Look at Tim Walz” pieces in the WaPo any day now). 

And provided, of course, you have an efficient-enough machine for laundering billionaire and public employee money into your campaigns (although Martin excels at that).

Good news for Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi, though – he’s the kind of leader they need, if you catch my drift:

Martin has endorsed RIchard Carlbom to replace him. Carlbom was one of the architects of the Same Sex Marriage amendment – successful mainly by turning the debate from a moral and ethical one to an emotional one. But he’s not always been successful.

Among the vice chairs is David Hogg. Who is going to get right on the business of tackling the cultural and moral malaise that has brought so many young people to Trump:

And I’m gonna guess…

….that all that “Elon Musk gave a Nazi salute!” yapping is gonna stop.

It’s not like they’ve never been in the. minority before.   As recently as (checks notes( 2021-2022 (somehow it seems longer), they had a one-vote minority in the Senate, and the DFL’s world didn’t end. 

And yet being (when all the special elections and likely special election results are in) one vote up in the Senate and tied in the House has them out larping Norma Rae. 

Why, oh why?

For those who don’t want to open “X” and scroll down:

Democrats would show up to work, the Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee could hold official House committee hearings and dig in deeper. We are waiting.

And now it makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?

SCENE:  MInnesota DFL headquarters.  Inga “Lucky” CARROLL (acting assistant chair of the DFL while on temporary leave from her day job as Head Meme-Buffer at “Minnesotans United for All Liberal Causes”), Secretary of State SIMON, House Minority Leader Melissa HORTMAN, progressive influencers Edmund DUCHEY, Moonbeam BIRKENSTOCK, Gutterball GARY and Avery LIBRELLE, and Senate DFL Communications manager Evan Micah BRYAN are gathered in a conference room as undocumented domestics fetch beverages and change garbage bags.

CARROLL:   So – not much went right in this last Presidential cycle.  Orange HItler even got within four points in Minnesota (group looks angrily at a sheepish SIMON).   So – before we get to what we did wrong, let’s talk about what we did right.

HORTMAN:  Well, we called them “white supremacists” a lot.

CARROLL:  Good.

LIBRELLE:  Racists, every one of them!

BRYAN: Anti-LGBT!

DUCHEY:  Misogynist!

BIRKENSTOCK: And Fascists! (Murmurs of assent)

GARY:   Nazis! (Thrum of excitement)

CARROLL: So – Republicans are all racist sexist misogynist Nazi fascists.  So – did it work? 

BRYAN:  And, most importantly, do we continue using this as our primary, if not only, messaging going forward?

(Mixture of skepticism and assent from the group)

LIBRELLE:  Wait – this just came in from the national party.

(Video comes up on the screem)

BRYAN:  Hey, its Ken! (points at Ken MARTIN, chair of the MNDFL, currently running for chair of the Democrat National Committee)

CARROLL:  OK, so that’s a solid “Yes” on the “message going forward” thing.  Next order of business…

(Papers rustle)

And SCENE

So – why are the DFL playing hooky from office?

Because fraud is a way of life under DFL governance.

No, literally – they said it out loud:

They literally admitted it.

And the GOP caught that.

And like “Feeding Our Future”, its’ just the tip of the iceberg:

The GOP was scheduled to hold hearings on the subject yesterday – inonveniently  canceled by the utterly unrelated Supreme Court decision that the quorum was really 68.

No, really.

More tomorrow.

On January 6 a bunch of idiot rioters tried to hijack the Constitutional process for transferring power. And they failed; the process in the Constitution prevailed and, hysterics and partisan hyperbole side, succeeded fairly easily.

On January 24, at the behest of 66 petulant ninnies, seven partisans in goofy robes ruled that the legislature reports to the court on matters of its own organization; that despite the plain text of the Minnesota Constitution, a quorum is a majority of *chairs*, not the people sitting in them.

It’s almost makes comical sense for the party that thinks guns magically shoot people, and that sex is ephemeral,, and that “you can keep your doctor” means you lose your doctor,  to rule that inanimate chairs, not the peole in them, are the part of a legislature that really matters.

But the laughing stops – if you care about the Constitutional order, which apparently not a single DFLer does – when you realize this decision means the Legislature reports to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Orwell and Solzhenitzyn showed us what happens when the only objective reality is getting and holding power. Y’see, that’s the problem with democracy – everyone has to agree to the basic terms. The DFL in all three branches showed they don’t, in as many words.

(There are no doubt some in the audience who’ll say “I bet you wouldn’t be saying this if the roles were reversed!”. I most certainly would. But it’s academic, because no Republican-run institutions have ever gutted the Constitutional separation of powers quite this brazenly. ).

Old and busted:  Curtis Johnson, the DFLer whose election to House District 40B was overturned in court a few weeks ago, accidentally endorsed someone who didn’t live in their district.  Perjury, schmurgery – it can happen to anyone. 

New flava:  The DFL – including former DFL rep for 40B, Jamie Becker-Finn, knew all along.  That’d be according to the noted conservative firebrand…

…er, Ryan Winkler?

Now, the claims are mutually exclusive.   One of them, at least, is lying. 

Hey, look!  Governor Walz is back to playing governor!

Well, hey, look who showed up! The guy who’s been governor for six years!

The guy who squandered an $18 billion surplus.

The governor under whom our water is dirtier and more expensive, our infrastructure is more aged, public is less safe and housing is less affordable (except for the occasional market valuation crash, which goes back to the “less safe” thing) than it was in 2017.

What did national voters know that Minnesota voters don’t?

But hey – at least the Governor is getting back to something akin to his actual job.  My “representative”, Samakab Hussein [1], tweeted yesterday:

Uh, that’d be former co-chair Pinto.

Unless we’re making up new titles for each other now.  If that’s the case, I’ll take “First Sea Lord” and maybe “Anna Kendrick’s boyfriend”. 

Deal?

And, uh, “work”?  He did a zoomer with another DFL that’s playing hooky.  Even if they talked the business of their fictional committee.

[1] Say what you will, Hussein is a better rep than his predecessor, Rena Moran. It’s a low bar indeed, but never let it be said I won’t tell the truth.

They’re not at work. Oh, no no. no.

But they are doing this (language not remotely safe for work):

And yes, it’s directly linked to the DFL’s walkout; the person with the megaphone was acting in conjunction with a “rally” being thrown by Leigh Finke

Which went about as well as you could expect on a day when it around four degrees with a stiff breeze:

But then, the action was always going to be indoors, wasn’t it?

By the way, we’ve run into the person with the megaphone before.

If the MNGOP doesn’t run this on an endless loop for the next two. years, they deserve to lose.

Anonymous source, seemingly implausible conclusion – but Gary Gross at “Liberty and Prosperity” says there’s a rumor afoot at the Capitol – emphasis added:

This past Friday, a loyal reader to this blog informed me that there were rumors were swirling around the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul that 2 DFL legislators were thinking about switching from the DFL to the GOP.

At first, I thought that this type of talk is typical when margins are this close. This friend assured me this wasn’t typical gossip mill fodder. This friend told me that these DFL representatives are tired of the DFL’s win-at-all-costs stunts. I’d assume that this includes the Curtis Johnson fiasco in HD-40B.

Its fun to think about. I find it implausible (if you’re on top of this rumor, drop me a line), but then everything about this past six months in national politics, and two weeks in Minnesota, has been implausible as well.

Rep. Leigh Finke wanted to show “MAGA” who was boss. 

Here’s how it started:

Here’s how it looked ten minutes into the…er, meeting?:

To be fair, it was a brisk-ish day by southern MInnesota standards; 5 degrees and Minnesota-windy. 

But the optics just are not good, are they?

Finke might do better off just going back to work.

This week appears likely to bring a decision from the Minnesota Supreme Court on the issue of the quorum in the Minnesota House. 

There’ve been two interesting points of view on the subject.

U of M Law Professor Ilan Wurman wrote an op-ed in the Strib. Here’s the conclusion

Walz and the Democrats have, in short, effectively prorogued the Legislature, invoking one of the royal prerogative powers of King George III against which the American revolutionaries rebelled. For four years, Democrats have been accusing Republicans of attempting to thwart democracy. But who is the real threat?”

…but the whole thing is worth a read, and I urge you to do so.

And Professor Dave Schultz of Hamline University – who has replaced Larry Jacobs as the most. ubiquitously quoted person in Twin Cities media – points out that separation of powers means, y’know, separating powers:

In the disputes now between the Democrats and Republicans fighting over control of the House, the Minnesota Supreme Court should decide not to decide. While in the short term it might be expedient for the court to resolve the legal issues here, it sets a horrible precedent. It sets precedent for the court to intervene in future disputes in the Legislature. If today it is about quorum, tomorrow about committee structures or the selection of officers.

Additionally, were the court to intervene it would take the legislators off the hook to be responsible to themselves and the voters for their own behavior. Instead of working it out themselves, they would go to court to resolve their disputes. Letting the court resolve the disputes now only weakens the Legislature, while giving the court undue influence over the legislative process.

Left to their own, the House Democrats and Republicans will be forced to find a solution. Failure to do so could mean a government shutdown and punishment at the next election for their bad behavior. We elected them to do their job, not the Minnesota Supreme Court. This is what our state constitutional framers intended.

 

One thing has become obvious – the DFL’s position has nothing to do with the election litigation in House District 54A, or even 40B.  Its about stonewalling a GOP Speaker and committee chairs under any circumstances.  I’m presuming it’s to continue concealing the skeletons in the DFL’s closet. 

Governor Piglet added his calm voice of non-partisan statesmanly leadership to Minnesota’s constitutional crisis yesterday:

Just kidding.   He’s doing exactly what the DFL in the House are doing.

What’s the term?

Oh, yeah – election denialism:

The dispute over Minnesota’s convoluted election issues has moved to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

It’s easy – and who knows, maybe correct – to say “they’re all DFL appointees, so it’s a foregone conclusion”.

It’s certainly easy – and, sometimes, justified – to feel cynical. 

But if the courts rule according to the MN Constitution, the conclusions should be pretty simple:

• The Judicial Branch shouldn’t interfere in the Legislature’s enumerated powers.
• The Governor violated the clear language of the law in scheduling the special elections in HD40B (and maybe the weirdly restrictive time frame of the SD60 special election, if you asked me, but nobody did).

Just saying – keep your fingers crossed. 

Hey, it’s only the legitimacy of the MSC and the integrity of the Minnesota Constitution at stake.

Today, for the first time in history, I can say “I’m looking forward to watching the first day of the new Legislative session”.   As in, watching the livestream to see the fireworks or even better lack of them as the DFL takes their toys and flees. 

Since Melissa Hortmans stunts…

…appear to be landing like the concept of “Vice President Walz”, and she doesn’t dare back down now, I have to figure she’s gotta find some way to double down and to avoid losing face.

And I have a hunch “losing face” is the most charitable interpretation; I have a hunch the DFL’s panic has more to do with “GOP control of committees and the power to hold public hearings when they start investigating DFL fraud” than quora. 

Anyway – I’ll be tuning in.

A bit of trivia, here. 

In 2003, when the Legislature passed “Shall Issue” reform, the law required the state to honor carry permits in all state and municipal government buildings. 

But there was one big exception.

The Minnesota Judicial Branch chimed in and said, in effect, that the Legislature couldn’t tell the Judicial Branch how to run its facilities.  It was part of the separation of powers in state, as well as federal, government. 

And so being caught with a permitted firearm in a building with a courtroom or Judicial Branch facility, no matter how deviously concealed, can still get you rung up for a felony in Minnesota. 

Because Judicial Branch.

One of the predicates for the state’s current constitutional crisis is the contested election in House District 54A between Republican Aaron Paul and DFL incumbent Brad Tabke.  Tabke won the initial round of voting by a 14 vote margin – but 20 ballots were “inadvertently” destroyed, and 30 more were duplicates, and you know f****ng well who those “mistakes” benefitted.

Now, Tabke was one of the DFL legislators “sworn in” at the covert “ceremony” at the History Center over the weekend. Which is getting a bit ahead of Judge Perzel.

And Aaron Paul knows it:

This is certainly a challenge to the authority of the Judicial Branch.

Here’s hoping Judge Perzell knows it as well as the rest of us do. 

Retired judge. 

Illegal “swearing in” (according to statute)

At the MN History Center – after hours.   So somehow they got into a closed building to have an extralegal ceremony with an inactive judge, former SCOM DFL steno Kevin Burke. 

And not a single DFLer has had the integrity to publicly go “uhhhh, let’s think about this, here…”

Half this state is governed by spoiled junior high kids with delusions of tyranny.

Ken Martin is running for DNC Chair.

And on the surface, it’d appear that this tweet is peak irony:

But wait. 

As you read the thread, it becomes clear that it’s really more a matter of the Democrat leadership class being oblivious to the results of their own policies. 

So with the session starting on Tuesday, let’s recap:

The DFL is threatening to boycott the session – but wants to get paid anyway. 

That might not work:

In response, the DFL is doing what it always does – gaslighting and deflecting:

I needed to respond:

My semi-fearless prediction – they’ll show up, get sworn in, and bolt. 

I may take the day off and bring popcorn to the Capitol.

Stipulated: the DFL is Minnesota’s abusive spouse. I

It’s in the phase of spousal abuse where the first round of resistance has led to an amping-up of the gaslighting and projection:

That, and their messaging can not be intended to influence anyone but the stupid, the ill-informed and the uncritical, can it?

“Losing the popular vote for the house?”  There is no “popular vote for the house”.  There 134 district elections – nothing more.  

And in one of those districts, neither the state DFL, nor the HD40B committee, nor the voters did their due diligence to find that their candidate was lying about living in the district.  

The DFL wants to use their “mistake” to deny representation to half the state.   

“Minnesotans voted for a tied house?”  No – but if you want to look at it that way, half of Minnesota voted for a GOP House.  And just under half of the state voted for a DFL House.  And one district voted for a liar, either with the connivance or via the incompetence of the state DFL.  

Why not “Share power”?

To paraphrase the great political sage Tim Walz, “when you have political capital, you use it”

The giggly fratboys of the DFL said that two years ago.  Today, the line has apparently changed to “we dont’ have any capital, and if you don’t lend us some ’til payday, we’re going to throw a tantrum”. 

And we may not be done:

Mohamed Jama, a potential top contender in a crowded special election to represent the safely Democratic district in northeast Minneapolis and Cedar-Riverside, likely does not meet the residency requirements according to state voter data.

Sonia Neculescu, a former DFL House candidate and resident of the district, filed a challenge to his candidacy with the state Supreme Court on Monday alleging Jama registered to vote on Election Day in neighboring Senate District 63 in November.

Under state law, candidates must live in the district they’re running to represent for at least six months prior to the election.

Jama did not immediately return a voicemail seeking comment.

 

Abby Wolters is running in 60B on the GOP side, after winning 30% of the vote at the U of M last November.  She could use your support. 

They got caught cheating in the HD40B election

And the DFL is contrite about it.

Just kidding.  They’re going to go on strike until we thank them for cheating:

Because that’s the battle – the battle against “pouncing” – that matters. 

This tantrum is going to be epic.

In the past week or two, we’ve seen:

• The HD54A recount in Shakopee, which showed DFLer Brad Tabke winning by 14 votes, with 30 ballots turning up missing, it seems they’ve found a significant number of duplicate votes. Any guesses who they voted for?
• In the HD40B, Curtis Johnson’s election was erased. The DFL is trying to jam down a special election, even though state statute says the seat needs to be vacant – which is won’t be until January 14, when the new legislature gets sworn in. It’s still Jamie Becker-Finn’s seat. (Note to Rep. Becker-Finn: drapes don’t have shoes).
• In SD 50, where former Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic died, Governor Klink jammed down a special election on January 14 – including a one day filing window, on New Years Eve. For a seat the DFL considers their property, they have to try to squeeze out any competition.

In the 1960s, when Democrat-run states in the deep south were found to have gamed the election rules to keep minorities from the polls, the Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon administrations stepped in and put most southern states under consent decrees, requiring them to report to the Department of Justice to ensure their elections were fair and unbiased.

Maybe it’s time for Trump’s DOJ to do the same in Minnesota.

After six years in office, four of them plagued with massive scandals including the largest Covid-aid scandal in the US, in absolute numbers (forget about per-capita), Governor Walz is swinging into action!

For those unfamiliar with government – say, who never watched “Schoolhouse Rock” as children – the Governor is in charge of the executive branch of state government.

Which means it’s his job to enforce the laws of the state, along with the rest of the executive branch. It’s literally one of duties, defined in the state’s Constitution.   He’s supposed to be aided by the Attorney General, who is the state’s lawyer, and the State Auditor, ostensibly the state’s bookkeeper.  Walz, Keith Ellison and Julie Blaha already have not only the power, but the duty to be dealing with the fraud that happened on their watch.

And fraud is already illegal.   There is literally a law for that, as evidence by the fact that the Department of Justice is currently prosecuting Minnesota fraud cases. 

The only need for a “legislative package” is to try to deflect some responsibility for the feeding frenzy of this past four years to the newly (and temporarily) GOP-controlled House of Representatives, and evade his and the MNDFL’s culpablity for the four years the Governor spent taking selfies eating Pronto Pups and standing by liked a hog that’d been smacked on the head with a hammer as his voters looted and pillaged a billion dollars or more from the state treasury.

The media will try to help him with this evasion.

And if the “conservative media” in this state ever had a mission in life, making sure they can’t enable that evasion is it. 

As we careen toward a special election in a likely-illegal-but-what-are-ya-gonna-do-about-it-huh two weeks in Senate District 60, it’s worth taking a moment to remember this bit of actual reporting from almost exactly a year ago:

And to ask yet again – if the DFL runs roughshod over due electoral process in their own party, why do we believe they do any better in the city they proudly say they own?