US House

Ellison denied progressive leadership post

Rep. Keith Ellison has fallen short in his bid to lead the Congressional Progressive Caucus. According to PolitickerAZ, the 80-member body will instead be headed by Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva and California Rep. Lynn Woolsey. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is a former co-chair of the caucus.
(H/T: BrauBlog)

Fox News on Car-ballot-gate: Old fictions die hard

As David Brauer and Emily Kaiser both point out, Michele Bachmann’s Tuesday appearance on Hannity & Colmes also included another “retread”: the now-disproven story about 32 ballots being left in Minneapolis election director Cindy Reichert’s car. Reichert says it never happened, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie swears the same, and even Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty [...]

Bachmann-Palin confusion was behind New York Times error

In a not-exactly-rare correction, the New York Times acknowledged it incorrectly indicated that a statement by Rep. Michele Bachmann, praising President-Elect Obama, was uttered on Nov. 5 not Nov. 6. The reason for the error: The paper confused Sarah “Pals around with Terrorists” Palin, who made comments about Obama on Nov. 6, with Michele “anti-American” Bachmann.

The Schultz Report: Is Minnesota another Florida 2000? No, and yes

In this week’s edition of the Schultz Report audiocast, David Schultz examines the looming vote recount in the Minnesota US Senate face-off between Sen. Norm Coleman and Al Franken.

Is the situation here another Florida 2000 cage match, as so many pundits are claiming? In most respects, Schultz thinks the answer is no. But when it comes to the stakes and the political gamesmanship, that’s another matter.

TV ad best-of lists bestow consolation prizes on Franken, Coleman, Madia

Three Minnesota candidates who didn’t win their elections — or haven’t won yet anyway, with the U.S. Senate race still in limbo — can take a little consolation in having their television ads (or ads meant to benefit them) honored on national best-of lists. “Running,” the first TV ad that Democrat Ashwin Madia aired in his losing bid to replace U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad in Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District, was this morning ranked among the nation’s eight best ads in U.S. House races this year by The Fix, a Washington Post blog. Videos and more best-of listings after the jump, including the ad attacking Madia that used clips from “Running.”

Gay and lesbian equality advocates see gains in Minnesota

Tuesday’s election brought advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality a few steps closer to making gains in the Minnesota Legislature while Minnesota sent a less supportive delegation to Congress. While there is much for them to celebrate, advocates say the path to equality is still an uphill battle. “Change” is on the lips of everyone post election, but what kind of change can LGBT Minnesotans expect at the local and national level?

Bachmann’s dime-turn on Obama wasn’t evident on Election Night

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s 180-degree turn on Barack Obama has made her a New York Times cover girl today, the lead example in a front-page story on Republicans whose opinions of Obama have undergone drastic makeovers in the five days since his landslide victory in the presidential election. But hers wasn’t an immediate conversion, or even overnight as the Times has it. The political calculation required to move from worries about Obama’s “anti-American views” to his gladness over his African-American background took a little more time, even for a woman who also promised him a kiss.

A final look at the electoral fate of the ‘override six’

What happened to the “override six” on election day? The half-dozen Republican legislators who crossed party lines to overturn Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s veto of the transportation bill last February were immediately vilified within their own caucus. The Republican apostates were stripped of leadership positions and warned of vengeance at the ballot box.

‘On the same hand,’ Bachmann glad for Obama win

Politico shares highlights from its phone interview today with U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in which she said she’s “extremely grateful that we have an African-American who has won this year.” Surprisingly, that’s in reference to President-elect Barack Obama, a man to whom three weeks ago she appended a different descriptor: Anti-American. She continued:
“In my district, I don’t [...]

Obama Job Watch: Top press post gets away; seekers cry, ‘Emanuel!’

As President-elect Obama moves to form his staff, Minnesotans with ties to his candidacy and a desire to move to Washington, D.C. may reasonably hold out hope to get tapped. One post that already got away from the Minnesota crowd is White House press secretary. Another is chief of staff — and U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel’s ascension to that perch will set Minnesotans who know him a-twitter. Meanwhile, T-Paw finds his own higher perch — on the shortlist of GOP prospects for filling the job of U.S. President.