political

Looks like election season is about to open again, so thought I'd sharpen the old pencil stub and jot a word to you folks what want me to vote for you. First off, don't be making none of those silly pledges to that Norquist fella; heck, he can't even vote for you. 'Sides, that kind...

ST. PAUL -- The country's political attention lately has focused on Wisconsin and a battle over public unions. Coming in a distance second is the potential that the federal government could shut down Friday. But U.S. Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., said the attention will switch to Washington...

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Minnesota's deficit for the upcoming budget cycle has grown to $6.2 billion, according to a person who was present for a briefing from state finance officials. A second person who has seen the forecast documents says the state has a $399 million surplus in...

WASHINGTON -- As the election drew closer, outside groups run by some of the party's canniest political operatives pumped millions of dollars into key races. Newly formed and with innocuous-sounding names, they ran slashing attack ads. Party leaders on the other side cried foul, complaining...

ST. PAUL, Minn. - The speaker of the Minnesota House has taken a job as president of the Minnesota High Tech Association. State Rep. Margaret Anderson Kelliher, who ran for governor instead of a new legislative term, was announced Monday as the group's president-in-waiting. She'll...

WASHINGTON -- Imagine that your neighbors started getting letters describing all sorts of horrific deeds you had allegedly performed. Wouldn't you feel you had the right to know who was spreading this sleaze -- especially if the charges were untrue? Now imagine a member of Congress...

Now that we are past the primaries, we will begin to see the results of the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United. Citizens United is the case that gave corporations the ability to dip into their profits and spend unlimited money to promote or attack politicians or issues....

MINNEAPOLIS - A few Target Corp. and Best Buy Co. institutional shareholders weighed in Thursday on the flap over the companies' political donations in Minnesota, urging the boards of both retailers to increase their oversight of campaign contributions. Walden Asset Management and...

WASHINGTON -- It is often said that there are no new stories, just different ways of telling the same ones. Familiar plots persist through literature: man versus nature, "rags to riches," the hero quest, and so on. And then there's Alvin Greene -- the nobody who becomes somebody,...

SAN DIEGO -- As a newspaperman in what some consider the twilight of the age of print, it feels as if I'm being "punked." In any case, I'm pretty sure that Ashton Kutcher is messing with me. More precisely, the movie star and the movement he represents are messing with my livelihood...

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Political Notebook ST. PAUL -- The Minnesota governor's race looks to be close, with a new poll giving Republicans reason to smile. The poll shows that Republican state Reps. Marty Seifert of Marshall and Tom Emmer of Delano hold their own against better-known Democrats, a sign...