Politics

Last Thursday, a reported 19.5 million people watched former FBI Director James Comey's testimony to the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee on television. For context, this huge viewership number is roughly equivalent with this year's NBA Finals, which have been among the most watched games in league history. (The 19.5 million viewers...

Many Americans will hear the word "Brexit" for the first time today. No, it's not the name of some newly concocted stock index or a must-try low-calorie cereal; it's in fact the term used to describe United Kingdom leaving (or potentially leaving) the European Union. Today, June 23rd, the UK is having a referendum on choosing whether to 'Leave' or 'Remain' within the 28 member state body. The outcome is quite uncertain, but resulting tremors will be felt throughout the globe.  

Why Should Americans Care?

Financial and...

Rep. Rena Moran, who represents district 65A in St. Paul, has been the key author of the Women of Color Opportunities Act. Moran recognizes gender gaps women of color have had to face and the negative effects it has had for our communities. Moran understands this issue better than most as she illustrates the gender gap by being the only African American woman serving in the Minnesota State Legislature.

To stem the effects of this gender gap, Moran has sought to create a comprehensive piece of legislature that is designed to address gender gaps for women of color in education and the workforce. A video of her speaking about it can be...

The bill H.F. 3396, also called the Individual’s Right to Privacy and Safety in Public Accommodations Act, authored by Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen has ignited a heated debate in Minnesota over transgender rights. If passed, the bill would define sex in Minnesota as being either a male or a female as biologically defined. There are a great deal of transgender citizens living in Minnesota who are excluded from the definition of sex proposed by Gruenhagen in his bill.

Gruenhagen’s bill,...

The normally bone chilling Minnesota was really “Feeling the Bern” on Tuesday, January 26th as Bernie Sanders rode into Minnesota to speak in front of thousands of Minnesotans in Duluth and St. Paul. Excited attendees braved turbulent masses of people and the cruel Minnesota gusts outside the RiverCentre in Downtown St. Paul to catch a glimpse or hear a word from the Vermont Senator.

The rally illustrated that heaps upon heaps of people are really excited about Bernie Sanders running for president. So excited in fact that they waited in heavy traffic, cold winds and long confusing...

On Monday, Donald Trump proposed blocking all Muslims from entering the U.S. for an indefinite period of time. This proposal was almost universally criticized or condemned by every imaginable figure spanning the entire U.S. political spectrum from Bernie Sanders to Hillary Clinton to Paul Ryan to Dick Cheney. The White House said Trump’s statement “disqualifies” him from being President. Representatives from all over the world also weighed in to chastise the leading Republican Presidential candidate for what many view as dangerous and provocative rhetoric. Despite the nearly total negative global...

Minnesota's DFL stood strong against a storm of GOP victories that swept the country Tuesday. There will be no change in the levels of blue and red that our state will send to Washington D.C., with only a personnel shift: Tom Emmer rather than Michelle Bachmann; but as the proverb goes, the devil is in the details: and this election had plenty of details.  

McFadden Fails to Pull within Single Digits

One of the least surprising results of the night was the decisive defeat of Mike McFadden (GOP) by incumbent Senator Al Franken (DFL). McFadden's cringe-worthy debate...

Minnesota Connected was recently given the chance to interview the gubernatorial governor candidate Jeff Johnson (GOP) -- the interview took place hours before his first debate with Mark Dayton (DFL) in Rochester (available to view here). Our conversation focused on a variety of policy issues, but we found a number of non-political tangents to wander down as well. Minnesota Connected: Obviously the debate today is a...

Some Minnesotans might be surprised to hear that we're at the brink of a major political storm. A slow stream of articles have touched on some of the races sprouting from the August primaries, but a full-scale clash (annoying TV ads, smear campaigns, debates, etc.) between the parties is still on hold. The building pressure will likely result in short but sharply negative contests. One of the major reasons for the current...