MCCL still has muscle to flex

The abortion issue has been muted at the state Capitol in recent years, as pro-choice ranks swelled with the elections of big DFL majorities at the Legislature. But the nearly 40-year-old anti-abortion lobbying organization, Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, has not gone dormant. This week, its handiwork has been felt twice, on matters that might to a casual observer seem tangential to the group's central mission -- preventing abortion.

MCCL's opposition was key to blocking action in the Minnesota House on a proposed constitutional amendment that would end contested election of judges, and switch to stay-or-go retention elections instead. So said the amendment's disappointed backers, who wantedto give voters in this fall's general election a chance to erect what they believe would be a disincentive to heavy special interest involvement in the election of Minnesota judges.

Big-money, contentious judicial elections have become the norm in much of the country, compromising judicial impartiality, the amendment's backers say. They want to keep that kind of judicial politicking at bay. But MCCL evidently wants to preserve the opportunity to unseat a judge who adheres closely to the U.S. Supreme Court's rulings legalizing abortion, and replace him or her with a candidate more sympathetic to their cause.

Sources close to the GOP gubernatorial campaigns also whispered Tuesday that MCCL's opposition kept former state senator and congressional candidate Linda Runbeck off candidate Tom Emmer's gubernatorial ticket. Runbeck ran afoul of MCCL with one vote as a state senator 16 years ago. MCCL never forgets.