North Star Politics

Amen.

Dick Cheney is a special kind of guy.

Indiana's a pretty red state overall, and Sen. Dick Lugar does look next to unbeatable this year. Still, the DSCC and Indiana Democratic Party have failed to find a candidate to run against him. Any candidate.

This isn't rocket science, and it isn't even the DCCC, which has to try to find 435 candidates every two years. The DSCC has to find 33 or 34 every two years. You'd think they could put up at least a token candidate in every race.

This means that Lugar will get to spend 100% of his time campaigning for swing seats. Lugar's lack of a challenger means more money for Mark Kennedy, Rick Santorum, and Mike DeWine, and that's just not acceptable.

You know, right after the shooting occurred, it looked like it would be a Leno/Letterman/Stewart punchline for a day or two and fade away. Instead, it's dominated news cycle after news cycle all week. It's up to fate to some degree at this point, since Cheney has said what he's going to say and Bush has backed him up, and I doubt the story goes much further than this. Still, its shelf life has undoubtedly hurt the administration and Bush's and Cheney's approval ratings. It shows, on a simple, personal, non-political level that Cheney's not quite level with us, and that Bush doesn't have a problem with that.

CNN.com current headline:

President: Cheney 'profoundly affected' by shooting

Dick Day, the Senate minority leader, is a perfect representative of the party of small government and business freedom.

Pres. Bush is all for the troops.

Mark Kennedy is all for keeping us safe from enemies foreign and domestic and those who would spill our secrets to them. The Minnesota GOP supports him.

Peter Idusogie of Inside Minnesota Politics is running for U.S. Senate. For someone who claims to know politics as well as Idusogie, I can't believe he'd a) decide to run at all and b) enter so late. What there is to be said has already been said by Backbone Minnesota and MNCR.

This is not the America we learned about in school.

In the Republican Party's America, you have no rights.

If you've ever had trouble reconciling being pro-choice and a Christian, read this. If you're not pro-choice and you're Christian, read this. If you're neither, read this. Basically, just read this.

According to MDE, Democrats don't have the right to contest primaries.

You know, now that I think of it, I can't think of a single instance in which an incumbent moderate Republican has been challenged by a wingnut. Funny!

Oh, wait. Wait. Sorry, I'm wrong.

A hearty golf clap to the honorable Reps. Gutknecht, Kline, and Kennedy for raising the taxes of metro-area Minnesotans.

Throw a few bucks Tim Walz's way, Sharon Marko (I can't find a link, anyone know where?) or Colleen Rowley's way, and a few bucks or a few minutes Amy Klobuchar's way.

The party that says "let the people vote!" on same-sex marriage is against letting the people vote on taxes. Does that confuse anyone else? Sales taxes play a role in every Minnesotan's life every day, while same-sex marriage doesn't really affect anybody besides the people actually getting one.

(Via MNCR)

Why is it that some Republicans have so little respect for the law?

Shorter Power Line: those who serve their country are "execrable".

MNPublius has the goods. Only name I disagree with in either the Hotline's list or MNP's list is Ralph Remington; he just doesn't have the profile outside of Minneapolis. Yet.

Well, well. At first it was just an interesting little story, but it appears that Cheney, doing what he does best, was actually in violation of the law.

Honestly, what the hell is the deal with this? Why can't the Vice President of the United States of America get the proper permits before going hunting? Why, if we can't trust him to do this, can we trust him to be the man behind the man in the White House?

To all the sycophants who complain about DFL "queenmaking", the Star Tribune sez:

The only contenders remaining are Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar and veterinarian Ford Bell on the DFL side and Republican Sixth District U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy, who was anointed early on by GOP leaders and who faces only token opposition from retired minister Harold Shudlick. (emphasis mine)

The DFL has had and maintains a healthy endorsement battle in this race. Patty Wetterling had a long run unimpeded by DFL or national Democratic leadership, and no one has stopped Ford Bell from running, despite his longshot status. Hypocrisy from the Republican noise machine, however, continues.

Anybody else think this is impeachable?

Actually, it occurs that Cheney, undoubtedly one of the most unpopular people on this planet, is going to take a hit in his popularity again. Sorry, Dick.