An 8-against-1 match-up might seem unfair at first glance, but Rep. Bachmann can hold her own in the ring!
In the gubernatorial corner, eight out of nine GOP candidates for governor (including frontrunners Marty Seifert and Tom Emmer) said they don’t believe in human-caused climate change. The one-two punch of GOP climate change deniers might be enough to take down defending March Badness champion Michele Bachmann.
She’s not going down by knockout, though. Rep. Bachmann encouraged opponents of health care reform to “make a covenant, to slit our wrists, be blood brothers” in opposing it.
Norm Coleman is another March Badness veteran who is back for more. After coming this close to winning it all last year, Coleman is looking to lap the competition this year.
Coleman’s never-ending legal recount saga meant that US Senator Al Franken was not officially sworn in until July 2009. Eight months ticked away as Coleman’s blown engine of a legal battle stalled the seating our second US Senator.
Coleman’s opponent is the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC, which reversed a century of law and granted business corporations First Amendment rights. Because of this, special interests are on the fast track to spending without limit in upcoming elections.
What’s worse: stalling Al Franken’s seating or fast tracking special interests? Vote now!
First District GOP candidate Jim Hagedorn knows the advantages of playing man-to-man defense. The man he wants to defend against is Tim Walz, who Hagedorn thinks is “a plague to our American way of life.”
Will his defensive strategy be enough to take on the ambivalence of Sen. Jim Bunning?
Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning is a defensive player as well, blocking efforts to extend unemployment insurance and COBRA benefits for thousands of Americans. He told the unemployed “tough sh*t.”
In a close defensive battle, it’s up to you to decide who has the offensive skills to edge out their opponent. Get voting!
I don’t envy congressional candidate Allen Quist. He has to take on Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has a record three entries in our 2010 March Badness bracket. Before you get too worried about his chances, let me tell you that he could have a come-from-behind victory on his hands.
Quist said that beating “radical” liberals in Washington is an even bigger battle than fighting terrorism. “Terrorism? Yes. That’s not the big battle. The big battle is in D.C. with the radicals."
His opponent is Unallotment Pawlenty, who should be charged with a flagrant foul for his potentially unconstitutional use of unallotment power over the summer. His unallotment sucker punched local governments by cutting critical services.
What is appropriate for professional athletes to tweet about? This is a question Terrell Owens should have been asking himself last year when he tweeted about Tom Brady’s injury status, the Browns starting QB and the Cowboys Tony Romo problem (see the photo!).
You wouldn’t be wrong to think that SD 26 candidate Mike Parry is the TO of March Badness. After tweeting that President Obama is “a Power Hungry Arrogant Black Man,” among other offensive and racist things, Parry scrubbed his Twitter account and deleted 33 tweets.
Parry faces a worthy opponent in former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Palin is probably our most well known March Badness contestant this year. After she resigned as Governor of Alaska, Palin wrote a factually inaccurate book and became a Bachmann-esque national media personality. She made it to March Badness with a Hail Mary attempt to kill health care reform by spreading lies that it would create “death panels.”
Can Mike Parry’s failed attempt to make his offensive tweets disappear knockout March Badness heavyweight Sarah Palin or will she take the victory by “going rogue?" It’s up to you, so vote now!
In this dramatic match-up of Pawlenty vs. Pawlenty, who will win?
In one corner we have Climate Pawlenty. Climate Pawlenty was once a champion of cap-and-trade legislation, but that was when he was a minor-leaguer. Now that Climate Pawlenty dreams of making it big in the majors (as a potential candidate for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination), he’s got to make some adjustments to his game plan.
One of adjustments this year was a complete reversal of his stance on global warming, questioning “how much of it is man-made” and accusing scientists of “data manipulation and controversy.”
In the other corner, we have a different side of Gov. Pawlenty. What could possibly compete with Climate Pawlenty? Gov. Pawlenty vetoed GAMC, the health care program that provides a safety net for Minnesota’s most vulnerable. Over 1,000 miles (he was in Washington, DC) separated Gov. Pawlenty from the poorest and sickest Minnesotans he kicked off GAMC.
Defending March Badness champion Michele Bachmann returns to try and claim back-to-back victories! Will she be able to defend her crown?
Rep. Bachmann has been in fine form since we last saw her, making her way back to March Badness by boycotting the constitutionally mandated census. She seems to believer that filling out her census form will lead to her internment.
This makes as much sense to me as a certain MN Vikings boat party.
You could call her challenger, State Rep. Marty Seifert, the Brett Favre of March Badness 2010. Why, you say? They just can’t make up their minds! In Favre’s case, we’re all holding our breathe and waiting for Favre to announce that he’s sticking around for next season (because honestly, who wants Tarvaris Jackson as our starting QB?).
In Rep. Seifert’s case, we tried to convince him to put the 70,000 low-income Minnesotans who rely on General Assistance Medical Care ahead of his partisan record and gubernatorial ambitions. Although he voted for the original bipartisan GAMC bill, Rep. Seifert switched his vote to appease the far right.
Who wins in this match-up between the defending champion and the Brett Favre of March Badness? You decide!
March Badness 2010 is in effect, everyone! Our first match-up is between two men who don’t pull any punches. First up, we have South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson. A warning: make sure your penalty flag is ready, because Rep. Wilson is prone to false starts. Just ask President Obama, whose September health care speech was interrupted when our first contestant shouted “You lie!”.
Check Rep. Wilson out yelling at the President in the photo! Someone penalize this guy five yards already!
Before you make up your mind, let’s meet Rep. Wilson’s opponent. MN State Rep. Tom Emmer could give Rep. Wilson a run for his money in this match-up. If you can believe this, Rep. Emmer doesn’t think Democrats can be “freedom-loving Americans”!
I don’t know about you, but I’m calling a 15-yard taunting penalty.
It’s all up to you—does Rep. Emmer’s outrageous taunting beat Rep. Wilson’s inaccurate public outburst or does Rep. Wilson’s presidential interruption win? Cast your vote here!
Last year, over 350 progressives gathered in St. Paul to kick off the first ever Netroots Minnesota. The conference was an opportunity to strengthen our community, inspire action, and serve as an incubator for ideas that challenge the status quo and ultimately bring change to the public sphere.
That's why we want to do it again. Today, we announce that the Netroots Minnesota 2010 will be held on August 21st, and will be a mix of trainings and discussions about how we strengthen the progressive movement in 2010 and beyond.
If we're going to be prepared for the November election and beyond, we'll need to get as many Minnesotans fired up and ready to go as possible. That's why I'm excited to announce that, because of the generosity of our sponsors, we are able to start general registration for Netroots Minnesota at $20.
The Netroots Minnesota conference is about empowering you to help build a stronger progressive community -- and to do that, we need to know what you want to learn. Please send us your ideas for discussion and training topics that you would like to see on the Netroots Minnesota 2010 agenda.
Last night, the March Madness brackets were set and I'm happy to report that my Golden Gophers snuck in at the last minute.
This morning, after reviewing your submissions for March Badness 2010 -- our tournament to decide the most outrageous, ridiculous things conservatives have done in the last year -- narrowed it down to the "seedy sixteen."
So I have one question for you: are you ready for tourney time?
Michele Bachmann returns to defend her title with a couple of her more colorful statements--including suggesting that people "become blood brothers" to defeat health insurance reform--but will one of the Republican newcomers be able to dethrone her?
No bracket would be complete without some sort of prize, so one lucky winner who votes in each round will receive: ProgressNow Founder Michael Huttner's book 50 Ways You Can Help Obama Change America and Brave New Films 5th Anniversary 10-DVD Collection. This box set includes Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism, Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price, Uncovered: The Truth Behind the War in Iraq, and more.
Only you will be able to decide which Tim Pawlenty entry will win. His complete flip-flop on climate change or his veto of health care of the poor from a political conference in Washington. It's in your hands, so vote now.
It's March and you know what that means: wet, soggy weather, an end-of-winter snowstorm, and the state hockey tournament.
Here at ABM, we like to use March to look back at the most outrageous, ridiculous things conservatives have done in the last year in our March Badness tournament.
But just like your March Madness bracket predictions can't get started until the NCAA selection committee releases the teams that will participate in the big dance, our March Badness bracket can't get started until we know what you think was the worst of the worst from conservatives this year.
Join the selection committee and nominate the worst conservatives of the year:
Once we get your selections, we'll get the bracket set up, and vote for the worst of the worst every week until we have a new March Badness champion. If you play along with us, you have a chance to win a copy of ProgressNow Founder Michael Huttner's book 50 Ways You Can Help Obama Change America and Brave New Films 5th Anniversary 10-DVD Collection, a box set that includes Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism, Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price, and Uncovered: The Truth Behind the War in Iraq.
Last year one of Michele Bachmann's many bizarre statements took home the title after outlasting Norm Coleman's marathon recount legal challenge, an impressive "victory."
Did you see something happen this year that was worse than that? Let us know.
Next week, we will unveil the bracket and begin voting to see what was the worst of the worst. One lucky person will pick up a copy of 50 Ways You Can Help Obama Change America and 10 must-watch DVDs for progressive activists.
In a year full of tea baggers and plenty of Bachmann word vomit, conservatives hit a new low. So think back to those stories that really put the bad in badness, and send them our way.
It's easy to get overwhelmed by all the different proposals for balancing the state budget. The Senate just started laying out their own proposal, which is similar to the Governor's but includes some key differences, according to Minnesota Budget Bites.
I immediately noticed the difference in funding reductions for the Minnesota State grant program. As a Macalester student and a MN State Grant recipient, it caught my eye that Gov. Pawlenty has proposed a $2.3 million permanent cut to the program. The Senate does not cut base funding for the State Grant program.
I probably wouldn't have noticed this at all except that Macalester's Day at the Capital to advocate for the program was last week. The MN State Grant program helps over 84,000 Minnesota students like myself pay for college.
That's more than one-third of college students who are residents of Minnesota.
The program benefits students attending all institutions, as you can see by the picture above.
Almost every college student I know cringes when they think of the loans they need to take out in order to pay for their education. This program is so important because it helps students like me minimize their borrowing and future debt, while keeping higher education accessible.
We must avoid Gov. Pawlenty's proposal to make permanent cuts to this program. We need to make sure the state budget isn't balanced on the backs of low- and middle-income college students who are trying to pay for their education without becoming financially paralyzed.
Earlier today, the Minnesota House of Representatives had an opportunity to override Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty's veto of a bill to continue to provide basic medical services to 70,000 Minnesotans through General Assistance Medical Care.
The bill, which passed which passed two weeks ago with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, ensured that Minnesota's most vulnerable -- including 8,000 veterans -- do not go without the health care coverage they need.
Over the weekend, over 2,200 Minnesotans used participated in our Save GAMC campaign, writing letters to their legislators -- particularly the 38 Republicans who voted in favor of the original bill -- to vote yes once again.
Denise Cardinal, Executive Director here at Alliance for a Better Minnesota:
This afternoon, Republican Rep. Paul Kohls declared that it's a sad day in Minnesota when politicians "put politics ahead of getting things done."
He's right -- and when it comes to providing basic health care services for 70,000 Minnesotans, Rep. Kohls' statement certainly applies to the 38 Republican legislators who took back their original vote in favor of the General Assistance Medical Care service.
Under pressure from the governor and party leaders, they decided their political agenda was more important than listening to the thousands of constituents, faith leaders, doctors and nurses, and veterans who joined you in calling on them to save GAMC.
The decision of Republican legislators like Marty Seifert to reverse their support for legislation to save GAMC was a decision put the interests of the Republican party ahead of their constituents. At least half of the Minnesotans covered through the GAMC service now have just one option to get the medical care they need -- the emergency room. This kind of "Emergency Room Health Care Plan" advocated by the likes of Tim Pawlenty is the most costly option for all of us.
Minnesotans expect more than political calculation from their governor and as candidates for the Republican Governor's endorsement, legislators like Marty Seifert and Tom Emmer had an opportunity to show real leadership on this issue.
Sadly, they did not. It's not leadership to throw the most vulnerable 70,000 Minnesotans under the bus because party leaders say so. This sort of politics is what got us into this budget mess, and it's certainly not what will get us out of it.
This is only the first time that we will see this sort of partisan calculation during this legislative session. From education cuts, deeper cuts to health care, to gutting the higher education budget, we'll need to push back just as hard as we did this time.
If legislators like Marty Seifert and Tom Emmer expect Minnesotans to believe they have the vision to move Minnesota forward, they'll have to set aside obstructionism and partisan games and make a real effort to put Minnesota on the right track.
We'll be watching.
Thank you again for working with us to move Minnesota forward,
Denise
Denise Cardinal
Executive Director Alliance for a Better Minnesota
Yesterday, we sent this email out to Alliance for a Better Minnesota members in hopes that Minnesota Republicans would stand by their vote, and not pull the ultimate political flip-flop. With debate underway in the State House, things are still up in the air.
Joe,
Republican leaders appear to be backtracking from their support for a bipartisan compromise to protect more than 70,000 Minnesotans from getting kicked off a state service -- General Assistance Medical Care -- that provides access to basic health care.
In a radio interview, one Republican legislator admitted it's a shift from "what's good for the district" to "party loyalty." It is shameful to let party loyalty displace the needs of veterans and the poor who are seeking access to doctors and medicine.
Take a minute to tell your legislators that their loyalty should be to their constituents -- not political party leaders:
http://ga0.org/campaign/VoteYesOverride
We need to put the pressure on legislators so that they have the courage to stand up to party leaders in order to save this crucial service. The vote is expected on Monday and we need you to click on the link and take action now.
Thank you for telling your legislator to put the needs of constituents ahead of party loyalty.
Joe Davis, Alliance for A Better Minnesota
P.S. The override vote could happen tomorrow, Monday March 1st, so make sure you take action right now.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Joe Davis, Alliance for a Better Minnesota
Subject: 70,000 Minnesotans are counting on you
To: joe@allianceminnesota.org
Last week the state legislature put partisan bickering aside to protect the more than 70,000 vulnerable Minnesotans--around 8,000 of which are veterans-- who depend on General Assistance Medical Care to get access to basic health care.
But now, after Governor Pawlenty's veto, some of those same legislators that supported the bipartisan bill are thinking about voting against that very same bill this time around.
Click here to ask your legislator to vote YES on GAMC one more time.
If the legislature does not act, more than 70,000 Minnesotans across the state that depend on the GAMC program will be without the care that they need. This service is simply far too important to the most vulnerable in our state to be a victim of of Tim Pawlenty's presidential hopes, and the ambitions of other Republicans seeking higher office.
That's why we here at Alliance for a Better Minnesota, a grassroots advocacy organization, have been contacting folks like you across the state to contact your legislators right away.
Our legislators have the power to make things right but they need to know that they made the right decision the first time. We only need three out of 38 House Republicans to vote the same way they did last week to make this happen.
http://ga0.org/campaign/VoteYesOverride
Hearing from people in their district is the only way that they'll stand up to Tim Pawlenty. Click on the link to contact your legislator and tell them you support basic medical care for the most vulnerable folks in our state, and you support their vote.
Thanks for standing up for what's right,
Joe
Joe Davis
Deputy Director
Alliance for a Better Minnesota
A new analysis from the Center for American Progress demonstrates the benefits of passing health care reform on the American economy. Passing reform, say the authors, could increase the number of jobs in the United States by about 250,000 to 400,000 per year over the coming decade.
Skeptics of health care reform argue that it will do little to control health care spending in the long run. Yet even the skeptics agree that successful health reform will reduce uninsurance by expanding private nongroup, private small group, and public insurance coverage. This expansion in insurance coverage will likely increase health care jobs since the newly insured will need doctors, nurses, and other health care personnel to meet their medical needs. So even those with doubts about reform would have to recognize that it will likely create jobs and also improve the well-being of the currently uninsured, many of whom are unemployed.
A more optimistic view of health reform recognizes its potential to improve the efficiency of the U.S. health care system. More efficient health care will lower the burden of health insurance premiums for firms, and in turn allow them to hire more workers. This will also increase the number of jobs and at the same time reduce the financial woes of those struggling with uninsurance and a depressed labor market.
A recent poll conducted by the Progressive Campaign Change Committee, found that 62% of Minnesota voters support health care reform that includes a public option.
Marty Seifert was one of the 38 House Republicans to vote for the GAMC bill last week, but he has since vowed to uphold the Governor’s veto. Rep. Seifert is clearly showing that partisanship is more important than proving the 8,000 veterans who rely on GAMC with the care they need.
The Star Tribune reported that David Skulborstad, a military veteran who lost his job in 2004, relies on GAMC for more than his prescription drugs or doctors appointments.
"Having GAMC means I'm alive," he said. "I protected this country. In my moment of need, Gov. Pawlenty chose not to protect me."
Voting to upholding Gov. Pawlenty’s veto means that Rep. Seifert also chose not to protect veterans like Skulborstad. That’s why Alliance for a Better Minnesota will be running online ads to pressure him to stand by his original vote. We’re running 30,000 impressions on the Marshall Independent website alone, as well as on all the top websites visited in Rep. Seifert’s district throughout the weekend.
Clicking on these ads will allow Minnesotans to demand that Rep. Seifert honor his commitment to caring for the most vulnerable and veterans instead of putting partisanship ahead of Minnesota’s priorities.
We only need three Republicans to stand by their vote for the GAMC bill in order to override Gov. Pawlenty’s veto, so make sure you send Rep. Seifert a letter demanding he put veterans and the state’s most vulnerable ahead of partisan politics. Below are some of the ads you’ll be seeing if you live in Rep. Seifert’s district.
Today in St. Paul, bank executives are meeting to prepare for their annual lobby day, when they'll head to the State Capitol and lobby state lawmakers to loosen regulations on the financial industry.
While they were meeting this morning, a group of Twin Cities janitors with SEIU came to send a simple message loud and clear: "How much profits do you need? No more bailouts, no more greed!"
Their simple message is especially powerful when you realize, as John VanDeventer points out in the email below, that these are the very same janitors who mop the floors and clean up the offices where some of these bankers work. While they're lining their pockets with billions in profits and bonuses, many of these janitors are struggling to make ends meet.
If the big bank CEOs want to see the damage they've done to our economy, they don't even need to leave their offices. They just need to wait until 6:00pm.
That's when the janitors come in to empty the trash, mop the floors, and scrub the bathrooms. But, unlike the bankers whose buildings they keep running, the janitors didn't see any bonuses this year. In fact, at banks like Wells Fargo and US Bank in the Twin Cities, the janitors are struggling just to get by.
For Wells Fargo and US Bank alone, the combined bonus and compensation pool for 2009 was more than $30 billion. But, these same banks refuse to help the workers in their own buildings that are struggling to support their families. Instead of putting money back into their communities, the bankers are putting it into their own pockets.
Right now, executives from Wells Fargo and US Bancorp are at the Minnesota Bankers Association convention in St. Paul. While they're all in the room together, we're going to deliver your messages right to their Blackberries. We need to let them know the entire country is holding them accountable for what they do with our money.
Yesterday, Governor Pawlenty told Minnesota that we should protect corporate America at the expense of our school children, the poor, the disabled, and the elderly. There in the audience were two of his Republican allies -- legislators Marty Seifert and Tom Emmer -- who applauded his rhetoric as they hope to continue Pawlenty's failed policies.
At the same time that school districts are "considering layoffs and program cancellations" because of the state's budget deficit, the governor proposed cutting the corporate tax rate and continuing his failed JOBZ program.
According to the Legislative Auditor, the JOBZ program has been mismanaged and lacked proper oversight to protect taxpayer's dollars. But, instead of fixing these problems, the governor protects inefficient programs at the expense of programs like GAMC, which provides those less fortunate with the vital care that they need. The governor calls this controlling government spending even though it sends scores of Minnesotans to expensive emergency rooms instead of providing less costly, more effective preventive care.
At its core, the governor's proposals are about helping corporations at the expense of middle-class families. For every step of the way, Republican legislators like Seifert and Emmer have been advocates for the governor's approach. Legislator Emmer even went so far as to suggest taking money away from programs that ensure clean drinking water to pay for a new Vikings stadium.
We are experiencing unprecedented times and Minnesota deserves better than this from those charged with finding the solutions.
A new report from the Minnesota Department of Health confirms what we've been saying all along in this health reform debate: the status quo is not an option.
The report found that more than 100,000 Minnesotans lost their health insurance between 2007 and 2009, largely due to the bad econom, raising the total of uninsured Minnesotans from 374,000 to 480,000 -- 85,000 of those being children under the age of 17.
The survey found that some groups were hit harder than others. More men than women lost their employer-sponsored insurance as sectors that traditionally hire men -- manufacturing and construction, for example -- were hit hard by the recession. Some 12 percent of male Minnesotans were uninsured last year, compared to 6 percent of females.
Young adults were also far more likely to be uninsured, as were minorities.
Equally worrying was the finding that more people were going without insurance for long periods. Researchers asked respondents if they had been continuously uninsured for the past 12 months; 6.2 percent said yes, up from 4.6 percent when that question was asked in 2007.
So not only are more people uninsured, but they're staying uninsured for longer.
Under the current proposal for health insurance reform being debated in Congress, 519,000 Minnesota residents who currently don't have insurance -- and 356,000 residence who have nongroup insurance -- could get affordable coverage through the health insurance exchange. An additional 282,000 residents could qualify for premium tax credits to help them purchase health coverage.
Constituents of Representative Tara Mack corner her on the first day of the 2010 Minnesota Legislature and ask her to support funding General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC).
GAMC is the program that provides health care to the poorest of the poor in Minnesota and was line item vetoed by Governor Tim Pawlenty at the end of the last legislative session.
Representative Mack did not commit to voting for any of the proposals to save GAMC, saying the program was not as important as making sure health care services continue to those the program now serves.
An 8-against-1 match-up might seem unfair at first glance, but Rep. Bachmann can hold her own in the ring! 
Norm Coleman is another March Badness veteran who is back for more. After coming this close to winning it all last year, Coleman is looking to lap the competition this year.
First District GOP candidate Jim Hagedorn knows the advantages of playing man-to-man defense. The man he wants to defend against is Tim Walz, who 
I don’t envy congressional candidate Allen Quist. He has to take on Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has a record three entries in our 2010 March Badness bracket. Before you get too worried about his chances, let me tell you that he could have a come-from-behind victory on his hands.
Parry faces a worthy opponent in former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Palin is probably our most well known March Badness contestant this year. After she resigned as Governor of Alaska, Palin wrote a factually inaccurate book and became a Bachmann-esque national media personality. She made it to March Badness with a Hail Mary attempt to kill health care reform by spreading lies that it would create “
Defending March Badness champion Michele Bachmann returns to try and claim back-to-back victories! Will she be able to defend her crown? 
In Rep. Seifert’s case, we tried to convince him to put the 70,000 low-income Minnesotans who rely on General Assistance Medical Care ahead of his partisan record and gubernatorial ambitions. Although he voted for the original bipartisan GAMC bill, Rep. Seifert 
March Badness 2010 is in effect, everyone! Our first match-up is between two men who don’t pull any punches. First up, we have South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson. A warning: make sure your penalty flag is ready, because Rep. Wilson is prone to false starts. Just ask President Obama, whose September health care speech was interrupted when our first contestant 
It's easy to get overwhelmed by all the different proposals for balancing the state budget. The Senate just started laying out their own proposal, which is similar to the Governor's but includes some key differences, according to 
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