Free Republic

Lutherans in Minnesota plan to officially voice their opposition to the proposed state constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage. Close to 1,000 Lutheran representatives will vote on the issue on Friday at the annual assembly. The resolution says the amendment would prevent one group of committed couples and families from having the same rights and protections afforded to all others. In 2009, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America assembly in Minneapolis passed a policy that moved toward a more accepting response to same-gender relationships. The assembly also passed resolutions that allowed for congregations to support leaders within the ELCA...

Five members of a professional lacrosse team from New York state were arrested following an outburst with other patrons at a Bloomington restaurant that involved food, bottles and silverware being thrown, authorities said Wednesday. The melee erupted shortly before 1 a.m. Monday at the T.G.I. Friday's across from the Mall of America and involved 20 to 30 people inside and then "spilling to the outside," Deputy Police Chief Rick Hart said. "It started with someone tossing a menu," Hart said. "One of the groups didn't like it." Before long, glasses, bottles, food and silverware were flying through the air, Hart...

"Reizei's [Princeton U.] Blog from America"(My Translation/Summary): "There were three reasons for the stunning Rick Santorum three-state victory which shook the GOP establishment and dented the crown of the presumed frontrunner Mr. Mitt Romney....(snip)........(The) Third explanation is bound up in a very interesting religious development as we speak. At the end of January, the Obama Administration made the following mandate: "Catholic related schools, institutions, and hospitals must be forced to provide birth control (pill), etc. under the health plan of the United States, even to those who are not Catholic believers, otherwise they are in violation."The Obama Administration was...

PLANO, Texas — Standing in front of a massive crowd at a rally in Plano, Texas, Rick Santorum unleashed criticism of Barack Obama and threw out some campaign red meat to supporters hungry for it, telling them the president has an “overt hostility to faith.”“(He’s) trying to weaken them, churches, trying to say that anybody who believes in the values of the Judeo Christian policies,” Santorum said to about 2,000 people in a converted barn, one of his largest audiences of the campaign. He told the audience at the raucous rally that Obama is restricting religious freedoms in this country,...

Santorum Delivers a GOP Stunner Former Senator Wins in Minnesota, Missouri; Romney Campaign Plays Down Nonbinding Contests By NEIL KING JR. And DANNY YADRON DENVER—Rick Santorum jolted the Republican presidential race Tuesday by winning nominating contests in Missouri and Minnesota, puncturing Mitt Romney's claim to be the unstoppable front-runner. Mr. Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, was running neck and neck with Mr. Romney in preliminary returns from Colorado, a state Mr. Romney won by a wide margin in 2008. With about 70% of the Colorado vote counted, Mr. Santorum had 38%, to 36% for Mr. Romney. Four years ago, Mr....

ABR is alive and well!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!

Winning 46% of the vote in MN and a whopping 55% in bellweather MO, the question now is whether Santorum is now the real alternative to Romney?

Did Tuesday’s results matter? Nowhere near as much as the results from Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida mattered. But primary campaigns rarely reach stasis; momentum shifts, ebbs, and flows, and the trio of contests yesterday offered a few hints that the storyline will change once again.Rick Santorum is on the verge of overtaking Newt Gingrich as the anti-Romney alternative.Santorum began this contest as the man of the hour, the little engine that could in a sweater-vest who challenged and beat the much-better-funded Mitt Romney . . . and yet he has, at the moment, an entire three...

(Reuters) - Former U.S. senator Rick Santorum rejuvenated his presidential hopes on Tuesday with a shocking sweep of the three nominating contests in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri, dealing a blow to wounded front-runner Mitt Romney. Even though Romney still holds strong advantages in financing and organization, his campaign will now have to refocus to fight back the challenge from the surging conservative Santorum...

His candidacy all but dismissed just days ago, Rick Santorum won the Minnesota and Colorado caucuses and a nonbinding primary in Missouri on Tuesday, an unexpected trifecta that raised fresh questions about Mitt Romney’s ability to corral conservative support. With his triumphs, Mr. Santorum was also suddenly presenting new competition to Newt Gingrich as the chief alternative to Mr. Romney, the front-runner. Where Mr. Gingrich has won one state, South Carolina, Mr. Santorum has now won four, including Iowa...

DENVER — Rick Santorum had a breakthrough night on Tuesday by winning the Missouri primary and the Minnesota caucuses, breathing life into his struggling campaign and slowing Mitt Romney’s march to the Republican presidential nomination. Early returns had Santorum running two-to-one over Romney in Missouri, and the Associated Press projected he would win the state’s “beauty contest” primary, which awards no delegates but provides fresh momentum to the former Pennsylvania senator’s campaign. Romney was hoping to extend his winning streak as he tried to strengthen his claim to the mantle of the presumptive nominee, but he was bracing for a...

Open for discussion.

WASHINGTON — Rick Santorum faced an important opportunity Tuesday to become the chief conservative alternative to Mitt Romney, as he was poised for possibly strong showings in Republican presidential contests in Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado. Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, was expected to remain the front-runner for the GOP nomination whatever happened Tuesday, thanks to his huge advantages in campaign cash and organization and his impressive earlier wins in New Hampshire, Florida and Nevada. But late polls showed Santorum surging, although polls are notoriously weak at forecasting caucus results, because caucus turnout tends to be low and to require unusually...

Registering Tim Tebow and Tom Brady to Vote in Minnesota On the day of the Minnesota caucus, shocking video from James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas – broken here first at PJ Media – shows how easy it is to register NFL stars Tim Tebow, Tom Brady and practically anybody else to vote in that state.No identification of any sort is needed, just a name! In fact, you can take 20 application forms home, fill them in, check the “no ID� slot and batch register people in absentia. Even local election officials are dismayed with the complete lack of authentication of any...

Republican Newt Gingrich packed a Bloomington hotel ballroom Monday night, attacking President Barack Obama's economic policies and arguing that a vote for rival Mitt Romney would mean the continuation of the same failed ideas and big government spending. On the eve of state's precinct caucuses, the presidential candidate's appearance at the Ramada Mall of America was his first campaign stop in Minnesota. About 500 supporters turned out to hear the former House speaker promise to cut spending and taxes, turn welfare safety nets into springboards and stand firm against America's enemies abroad if elected president. And,Gingrich said, the only way...

DENVER — The Republican presidential race could be headed for another reshuffle Tuesday as Rick Santorum, who has lagged behind since his surprise Iowa victory, is once again challenging the dominance of front-runner Mitt Romney. Polling over the past week shows Mr. Santorum statistically tied with Mr. Romney in Minnesota, besting him in Missouri, and running second to him but ahead of rival Newt Gingrich in Colorado, all of which hold contests Tuesday. Mr. Romney’s camp took notice, firing the kinds of broadsides it generally has aimed at Mr. Gingrich. Romney surrogates on Monday accused Mr. Santorum of pork-barrel spending....

An Eden Prairie High School graduate pleaded guilty Monday to providing material support to Al-Shabab, a Somali group designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. Ahmed Hussein Mahamud, 27, now living in Westerville, Ohio, admitted to raising up to $1,500 under false pretenses to help send Al-Shabab recruits from the Twin Cities to Somalia. He also admitted that he and two co-conspirators wired $200 of those funds to Somalia so someone he knew there could buy guns. Mahamud, a Somali native and naturalized U.S. citizen, faces up to 15 years for his role in the conspiracy when he...

Hot on the heels of Mitt Romney’s big win in Nevada come two more caucuses and another primary on Tuesday, in which no delegates will get directly assigned to any candidate. However, both offer opportunities to shape the media coverage of the overall primary campaign, and for Rick Santorum, this might mean some good news. PPP’s latest and final polls from Colorado and Minnesota give bad news to Newt Gingrich, however: Last night’s results in Nevada were bad news for Newt Gingrich and PPP’s first day of polling in Colorado and Minnesota indicates things may only get worse for him...

Newt Gingrich's presidential ambitions could hinge on the outcome of Tuesday's Minnesota caucuses, along with Colorado's caucus on the same day, says a story in the Huffington Post. Gingrich was leading in recent polls in Minnesota, but he's the only one of the four remaining Republican contenders not to visit the state in the week before the caucuses. The story says Mitt Romney is expected to fare quite well in upcoming contests in Nevada, Michigan and Arizona: But Colorado and especially Minnesota, both non-binding contests to be held on February 7, are different kettles of fish. And they are likely...

Raleigh, N.C. – Newt Gingrich holds a commanding 18-point lead over Mitt Romney in the Minnesota caucuses. Gingrich has more support than any two candidates combined – he garners 36% of the vote, with 18% going to Romney, 17% to Rick Santorum, 13% to Ron Paul, and 15% not sure. Gingrich also receives the highest net favorability rating at +34 (59/25) followed by Santorum at +32 (56/24), then Romney at just +14 (50/36) and Ron Paul holds a negative favorability rating with -9 (36/45). Both Gingrich (50-29) and Santorum (46-34) beat Romney in one on one matchups. Gingrich has a...

Updated Full Primary/Caucus Calendar Jan 3 Iowa (caucus) 28 Delegates 28 Unbound - Allocation at State Convention Jan 10 New Hampshire (primary) 12 Delegates 12 Bound - Proportional with 10% threshold Jan 21 South Carolina (primary) 25 Delegates 25 Bound - Winner-take-all per statewide vote Jan 31 Florida (primary) 50 Delegates 50 Bound - winner-take-all per statewide vote Feb 4 Nevada (caucus) 28 Delegates 28 Bound - Allocated on results of primary Feb 4-11 Maine (caucus) 24 Delegates 24 Unbound - Convention elects delegates Feb 7 Colorado (caucus) 36 Delegates 36 Unbound - Allocated at State Convention Minnesota (caucus) 40...

After his decisive primary win in Florida, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney may start his February with an endorsement that could impress some conservatives. Instead of heading to Nevada or Maine (the next two states to vote), Mr. Romney is headed to Minnesota presumably to pick up the endorsement of tea party favorite Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota). Mrs. Bachmann is the founder of the House Tea Party Caucus and was briefly near lead in the GOP presidential race when she won Iowa's Ames straw poll last summer. Often on the attack in early debates, she went after her fellow conservatives...

A host of Republican Senators, including Judiciary Chairman Warren Limmer, member of leadership Ted Lillie and Environment Chairman Bill Ingebrigtsen, have introduced a bill to implement a Voter ID requirement by way of constitutional amendment. A total of 10 senators have signed on to two versions of the bill, SF 1577 and SF 1578, that would bypass Gov. Mark Dayton’s threatened veto and instead put the controversial elections reform measure before voters this fall. The bills will be formally introduced Thursday in the Senate. The Senate bill’s chief author, Sen. Scott Newman, said Thursday that his bill would simply amend...

A new survey of Minnesota from Public Policy Polling (D) shows Newt Gingrich with a big lead in this state’s caucuses, which will be held on February 7. And what is more, A Gingrich win here could potentially embarrass Romney very much. The numbers: Gingrich 36%, Romney 18%, Santorum 17%, and Paul 13%. The survey of likely caucus-goers was conducted from January 21-22, and has a ±5.6% margin of error. Romney actually won the Minnesota caucuses in 2008, which were held on the February 5 Super Tuesday event of that year. In that cycle, Romney had emerged as the conservative...

FILE - In this Aug. 13, 2011 file photo, Republican presidential hopeful Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., steps from her campaign bus to greet supporters after winning the Iowa Republican Party's Straw Poll in Ames, Iowa. (Associtated Press, File) Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann announced today she will seek a fourth term in the U.S. House following her failed presidential bid. Bachmann declared her plans in an interview with the Associated Press. The Republican congresswoman had been mum on her plans since folding her presidential campaign after a poor showing in the Iowa caucuses earlier this month.

Newt Gingrich has a large lead in Minnesota...for the moment. Our weekend polling there found him with 36% to 18% for Mitt Romney, 17% for Rick Santorum, and 13% for Ron Paul. If Santorum's out of the race by the time Minnesota's vote comes around it could work to Gingrich's further advantage. Santorum voters prefer Gingrich to Romney 44-20 if they had to pick between the two and overall Minnesota Republicans pick Gingrich 50-29 in a head to head with Romney.

A group of Minnesota home-based child care providers have filed a federal lawsuit to halt an order forcing them to unionize. Jennifer Parrish from Rochester filed the suit Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota with free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation Legal Defense Foundation. Gov. Mark Dayton's executive order would designate the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and Service Employees International Union officials as the collective...

E.R. Companion, of Eagan, writing to the editor in Sunday's Pioneer Press, wondered why our elected officials would commit to spending billions of dollars for a so-called high-speed rail line from the Twin Cities to Chicago. (Well, because they're nuts.) Companion was referring to a story that appeared Jan. 12 featuring the idea that the Minnesota Department of Transportation has begun studying environmental impacts along the 400-mile route, which would take passengers to Chicago, through Milwaukee, in an advertised five hours and 30 minutes. Companion wondered what was high-speed about that, and I could not agree more with his sentiment....

“State [of Minnesota] not rushing to act on Vikings stadium,” fretted the January 13 headline of a column in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. New Jersey billionaire Zygi Wilf, owner of the Minnesota Vikings, is seeking about $700 million in taxpayers’ money to build his team a new stadium in the state. The $700 million would be roughly split between state and local taxpayers. Members of one proposed site for the stadium have been especially disgruntled by Wilf’s request to take their money for his business. A group in Ramsey County, which includes the state capital of St. Paul, has collected...

A week or so ago I posted about Archbishop John Nienstedt’s (St. Paul and Minneapolis) initiative to promote a defense of true and natural marriage in an amendment to the State Constitution of Minnesota. His Excellency indicated to the priests of the Archdiocese that if they had an objection to his intiatives, they should not make those objections a matter of public scandal (my description… because that is what objections would cause). In the past some priests of the Archdicoese have publicly attacked their Archbishop, even in the local newspaper. Now I read in the Strib that there may be...

Archbishop John Nienstedt is warning Catholic clergy across Minnesota that there should be no "open dissension" of the church's strong backing of a proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would define marriage as a union only between a man and woman.  In other early signs of the fervent campaign the church intends to wage for the amendment, which will be on every ballot in the state this fall, Nienstedt is appointing priests and married couples to visit archdiocesan high schools to talk about marriage. He has directed parishes to form committees to work for passage of the amendment....

Find below a state government request for you to provide public comments on the Obamacare "essential health benefits" requirement for individual and small group insurance policies. Note that this list of benefits (health care services), whether you agree or find them objectionable, will be imposed by the State....as allowed by the federal government.  The Feds are being gentle now, allowing "flexibility" for States to do as they wish, but that is likely temporary. Once the State has acquiesced to the presumption of federal control, expect the Feds to mandate the health care services they want included, and exclude the services they...

“This is not a time for us to shrink. This is a time for us to have bold colors, not pale pastels.” -- Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum campaigning at the Rockingham County Nursing Home in Brentwood, N.H. It doesn’t look like Mitt Romney could lose New Hampshire, but then again, he can’t really win it either. Even a 20-point landslide by Romney in New Hampshire would be instantly discounted as merely meeting expectations for the former governor of the neighboring state who keeps a summer home there. The only way Romney could make news in New Hampshire would be...

One reason I've been eager and impatient for the Iowa caucuses is that I assumed at least a couple candidates would reconsider their presidential bids based on the results. But that looks to be increasingly improbable. Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are too viable to be discouraged by early upsets, Rick Santorum is poised to exceed expectations, Ron Paul has never been deterred by his unlikelihood to secure the nomination, Rick Perry considers Iowa to be the equivalent of the first mile of a marathon and Jon Huntsman says New Hampshire picks presidents. That leaves Michele Bachmann, who has clung...

URBANDALE, Iowa (AP) -- Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, fighting low expectations in the Iowa caucuses, is dismissing predictions that a poor showing could effectively doom her campaign. "We think people are going to be very surprised with what the vote is tonight. We're confident," Bachmann said after addressing an assembly of suburban high school students Tuesday morning. "We're moving on. We're moving forward because this election is far from over. This is the opening chapter. Tonight is the first vote. We've got a long road to go.

ATLANTIC, IOWA — Rick Santorum really has arrived, it seems. After meeting with voters in a diner here Sunday, Mitt Romney hosted a rare press conference where he was more than happy to take Santorum on in the way he has other surging candidates in the past. It’s a sign that Santorum’s surging poll numbers have caught the attention of Romney, who’s pushing hard to win here in Iowa, a state he wasn’t able to win during his 2008 White House run. Anecdotal evidence suggests some voters are choosing between the two men — three undecided Iowans I talked to...

Palin: It's Not Bachmann's Time

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa--Here's where we stand in the final day before the caucuses. According to the latest survey from Public Policy Polling, it looks like a statistical dead heat between Mitt Romney, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum for the top slot in the state. With a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points, Romney leads with 19 percent, followed by Paul with 18 percent and Santorum with 17 percent...

Mitt Romney's top ten is made up of Goldman Sachs, followed by Credit Suisse (Switzerland), Morgan Stanley, Barclays (UK), Bank of America and JP Morgan. In contrast Romney's co-frontrunner in Iowa, Ron Paul, has a top three donor list made up of the US Army, US Navy and US Airforce.

Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul took some strong digs at his fellow candidates Friday, saying Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann “hates Muslims” and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum doesn’t like “gay people and Muslims.” Paul made his comments on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” when the host asked him for his take on the other GOP contenders in the field. On Bachmann, the Texas congressman said: “She doesn’t like Muslims, she hates Muslims, she wants to go get them.”

Some on the right have been pumping Rick Santorum relentlessly in the wake of Herman Cain's withdrawal from the GOP primary race. Now lo-and-behold, such new media bloggers can share much of the credit for the Pennsylvania Republican's unlikely rise in the Iowa polls over this last week, particularly those who got behind him early and/or put boots on the ground. Sure do love his platform... as I do Bachmann's. But the problem is that this 'Santorum surge' is coming purely at Newt's expense- and a direct result of underhanded scumbag Mitt Romney and his ma$$ive war chest, training the...

Talk about fairweather friends. Iowa state Sen. Kent Sorenson (R), who was Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann’s state campaign chairman, endorsed Texas Rep. Ron Paul Wednesday night. At a rally in Des Moines, Sorenson told the crowd, “We’re going to take Ron Paul all the way to the White House.” He did not tell Bachmann of his decision until he was en route to the Paul rally, billed as an event for veterans. “This is hard,” he said of his decision to leave Bachmann, explaining that he felt obligated to defend Paul against the Republican establishment. He elaborated in a statement,...

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (WCCO) – Police arrested nine people at the Mall of America Monday, the day after Christmas, after multiple fights broke out, authorities said. Mall of America officials released a statement saying that around 4:20 p.m. 50 juveniles caused a large disturbance in the north food court. Witnesses said the fights started after there were reports that rappers Lil’ Wayne and Drake were visiting the Mall. Police, however, did not comment on these rumors.Cmdr. Mark Stehlik of Bloomington police said in a press conference that 30 officers responded to the fight and arrested five people (both adults and juveniles)...

Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry failed to submit enough valid signatures to qualify for the Virginia primary ballot, state GOP officials said Friday evening. Perry’s campaign told state election officials it had submitted 11,911 signatures, but a Virginia Republican familiar with the situation said that the Texas governor did not submit the required 10,000. Earlier Friday, the Republican Party of Virginia certified former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) to appear in the March ballot. Four candidates — Romney, Perry, Paul and former House speaker Newt Gingrich — turned in thousands of signatures by the deadline. State...

....The move has had the most effect in Iowa. For example, it's normal to have the last debate a few days before the caucuses. When Iowa was planning to hold the caucuses on Feb.6, a Monday, a debate was planned for the Thursday before, on Feb.2. Now, with the caucuses on Jan. 3, it's just not possible to hold a debate a few days beforehand, unless Republicans wanted to do it on NewYear'sEve. So the last debate of a debate-packed season was Dec.15 -- nearly three weeks before the caucuses. Because of Florida's move, Iowa voters won't get a last...

The issue of gay marriage will come before the Duluth City Council tonight when Councilors Jeff Anderson and Sharla Gardner introduce a resolution opposing an amendment to the state Constitution that would allow Minnesota to legally recognize only opposite-sex unions. Councilor Todd Fedora criticized the resolution at a Thursday night agenda session, saying: “It has nothing to do with the city of Duluth.” The matter of whether to disallow same-sex marriage will be put to a statewide public referendum Nov. 6, 2012, and Fedora contends the city has no business telling people how to vote. He sarcastically asked whether resolutions...

LGBT Advocates Send A Message At Bachmann Event By Alana Semuels December 18, 2011 Reporting from Clarion, Iowa— Protesters crashed Michele Bachmann's meet and greet with voters at a Pizza Ranch restaurant in this small Iowa town Sunday, waving rainbow flags and signs to draw attention to what they say are a high amount on LGBT suicides in Bachmann's Minnesota congressional district. "I'm very opposed to a lot of her stances on social issues," said Quentin Hill, 18, a University of Iowa student who organized the protest, bringing about 10 friends to sit among the crowd of about 40 in...

Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch resigned from her leadership post the day after fellow Republicans confronted her about allegations that she had an "inappropriate relationship" with a staff member. "We're here today with a lot of humility and some sadness and even shock," interim Senate Majority Leader Geoff Michel said Friday at a hastily called Capitol news conference. Koch, the state's first female majority leader, was widely considered a hard-working and savvy campaigner who helped Republicans win control of the Senate last year for the first time in four decades. Her sudden resignation stunned Republicans, ending one of the...

Congressman Begins 24-Hour Hunger Strike In Solidarity With Occupy DC Protesters 16th December 2011 A Congressman started a 24-hour hunger strike Thursday evening as a sign of solidarity with four Occupy DC protesters who have fasted for more than a week. Minnesota Democrat Keith Ellison announced on his Twitter page earlier today that he'll forgo food or drink for one day to support the demonstrators who haven't had a bite to eat since 8 December. 'started my 24 hour solidarity fast last night. May the DC vote and budgetary independence prevail!,' Ellison tweeted. Hungry: Congressman Keith Ellison on 24-hour fast...