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With an insider’s eye, Hot Dish tracks the tastiest bits of Minnesota’s political scene and keep you up-to-date on those elected to serve you.

Contributors in Minnesota: Jennifer Brooks, Baird Helgeson, Mike Kaszuba, Patricia Lopez, Jim Ragsdale, Brad Schrade and Rachel E. Stassen-Berger. Contributors in D.C.: Kevin Diaz and Corey Mitchell.

Posts about Democrats

Tips for Capitol newbies

Posted by: Rachel E. Stassen-Berger Updated: January 4, 2013 - 10:45 AM

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From secret Capitol spots to warnings about echoing tunnels, Minnesota Capitol veterans are offering advice for all the new folks who will storm the domed building when session starts on January 8th.

Check out their tips for Capitol newbies below and add your own on Twitter using the hashtag #tipsforcapitolnewbies.

 

 

How will the 'fiscal cliff' affect you?

Posted by: Kevin Diaz Updated: December 28, 2012 - 8:18 AM

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So it’s come to this: Almost two months’ worth of a lame duck session of Congress, and with four days to go, no deal on a way to walk back from the year-end “fiscal cliff.”  Just crickets, and an occasional jab at the other side for wasting time. For the past week, hardly anybody from the Minnesota Congressional delegation in either party has uttered a word about it in public, and there’s talk in the U.S. Capitol of “radio silence.”

But the automatic tax hikes and federal spending cuts known as the fiscal cliff will kick in starting next week, unless Congress can make a last-minute deal. If the politicians aren’t talking, or at least not talking constructively, we want to know how it’s affecting you. Tell us your story by sending an e-mail to Whistleblower@startribune.com.
 
And, as usual, you can also sound off in the comments section below.

Two DFL takes on the 'Plan B' debacle

Posted by: Kevin Diaz Updated: December 21, 2012 - 2:28 PM

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Minnesota Democrat Tim Walz, leading an effort to force a U.S. House vote on extending the Bush-era tax cuts on the first $250,000 of income, called on House Speaker John Boehner Friday to keep negotiating with President Obama.
 
“We still have to find a solution,” Walz said. “I refuse to believe we cannot do it.”
 
Walz was one of only two Minnesotans in Congress to talk publicly Friday about Boehner’s failed attempt to vote on so-called “Plan B” legislation.
 
The other one was Democrat Keith Ellison, who issued a statement saying, “Instead of Plan A—a bipartisan agreement with the President—Speaker Boehner tried to bring a Tea Party wish list to the floor last night known as ‘Plan B.’”
 
Walz and Ellison, however, represent two different sides of the Democratic coin. Walz said Democrats will have to consider reforms to federal health and retirement plans as part of a larger deal on new taxes and spending cuts. Ellison, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, has ruled out voting for any benefit cuts.
 
Walz, however, said Republicans have not shown much willingness to negotiate, no matter how much centrist Democrats are willing to bend. “It’s become obvious it doesn’t matter what we said,” Walz told Minnesota reporters Friday. “I could have proposed a trillion-to-one on revenue to cuts, and they still would have rejected it. This is ideological rigidness.”
 
Meanwhile, Minnesota Republicans in Congress stayed mum on the Plan B debacle, which has raised questions about Boehner’s speakership. But departing one-term Rep. Chip Cravaack said early Thursday he was prepared to vote against the Plan B proposal unless it was paired with significant cuts on the spending side.
 
Alas, the Plan B vote was cancelled for lack of support from Republicans.

Both sides prepare for marriage battle at Minnesota Capitol

Posted by: Baird Helgeson Updated: December 20, 2012 - 1:59 PM

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The group that defeated the marriage amendment last month is reforming to persuade legislators to legalize same-sex marriage.

“Our intention is to make sure gay and lesbian couples have the freedom to marry after the 2013 legislative session,” said Richard Carlbom, campaign manager for Minnesotans United for All Families.

Minnesotans United, which raised millions of dollars and united tens of thousands of volunteers, is in the early stages of converting from a statewide campaign into a Capitol lobbying effort. The group plans to continue to urge supporters to have conversations around the state about the need to legalize same-sex marriage.

“It’s going to continue to be a massive grassroots campaign,” Carlbom said.

Minnesota for Marriage, the group that unsuccessfully pushed the amendment, plans to work just has hard to persuade legislators to not redefine marriage. They note that a majority of voters in most counties voted to pass the measure, which would have added a same-sex marriage ban into the state Constitution.

Minnesota for Marriage met with supporters this week to plan their effort and have already embarked on a massive fundraising effort.

“We anticipate that the Legislature will move to redefine marriage, most likely this year, which is one principal reason why Minnesota needed a marriage amendment,” said Jason Adkins, executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference.

Adkins and other same-sex marriage opponents warn that new Democratic majorities in the state House and Senate risk alienating Minnesota voters if they press the marriage issue.

“The new DFL majorities will burn enormous political capital ending the conversation and imposing same-sex marriage,” Adkins said. “It could undermine the rest of their legislative goals.”

Democratic legislative leaders have so far not embraced plans to change the definition of marriage this session. They say the focus will be on wiping out a $1.1 billion budget deficit, overhauling the tax system and stabilizing education funding.
 

Rep. Franson offers proposal to limit unionization

Posted by: Baird Helgeson Updated: December 19, 2012 - 8:52 PM

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State Rep. Mary Franson is trying to head off new unionization efforts with a proposal to block groups from forcing independent contractors to join a union.

The Alexandria Republican said DFL Gov. Mark Dayton wants to allow labor leaders to unionize home childcare providers and in-home health assistants as payback for political support.

“Dayton is helping his union allies at the expense of family care providers,” Franson said. “His efforts are nothing but a raw political and financial power grab, and I won’t stand for it.”

The governor does not believe anybody should be forced to unionize, a spokeswoman said.

“Governor Dayton believes it is the right of individuals to vote on whether or not to form a union—holding an election is the American way of resolving differences in a group,” said Katharine Tinucci, a Dayton spokeswoman.

Dayton signed an executive order last year calling for a unionization vote for state-subsidized home childcare providers, which a judge threw out after union opponents filed a lawsuit.

Tinucci noted that even if child care workers had voted to form a union, no individual would have been forced to join.

Franson called the unionization effort a “money laundering scheme” to divert taxpayer money through at-home daycares and home healthcare providers back to unions, which typically support Democrats.

The children, the sick and the elderly “don’t deserve to be caught up in a money laundering scheme,” Franson said.

Union leaders said legislators like Franson have spent years cutting their wages and making it harder for them to make a fair living.

“We need to join together as a union to protect ourselves from politicians like Mary Franson," said Lisa Thompson, president of Child Care Providers Together/AFSCME. "They’ve cut our pay. They’ve eliminated quality improvement grants for our profession. And they’ve ignored the 7,000 parents who are waiting for child care so they can go to work.”

To see the proposal or sign a petition supporting the idea, check here.

Franson’s proposal is not likely to get far in the Legislature. Starting in January, Democrats take over control the House and Senate and are not expected to embrace proposals to limit unions. It's also not clear whether Franson's proposal has broader support among GOP members.

 

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