My picture from today’s Trump rally in Minnesota. His plane flew over my home.
Just spotted this lawn sign in Eagan. “Голосовать за Трампа!”
Best lawn sign ever: Stopped in Floyd, Iowa and saw this lawn sign for “Crooks for Sheriff” – real sign, real candidate for county sheriff.
Jason Lewis dishonest about his past comments on slavery
Republican candidate for Congress in Minnesota’s Second Congressional District Jason Lewis was interviewed on October 10, 2016, by John Williams with WCCO Radio.
At the start of the interview, Williams played an audio clip of a television advertisement running against Lewis by the DFL candidate for Congress, Angie Craig, which focused on controversial statements made by Lewis while a radio show host and author.
After playing the audio, Williams eventually asked Lewis to explain the context of his comments about slavery:
John Williams: You just said if you wanna be able to own a slave, you should be able to do so. What were you talking about?
Jason Lewis: Because somebody had called in and made a silly comment about why, goodness if, if, if it doesn’t effect you there shouldn’t be any law on it. So I said well could ya, that mean you oughta be able to shoot up heroin, do this, and for that matter, if you wanna do this you could do this. So the point was an absurd point to make the absurdity of another point more clear.
Lewis’ answer to Williams’ question is entirely dishonest.
Lewis did not make his now well-known statements about slavery on the radio in response to a caller—he made these statements in an audio update to his book.
Back in February, I was the first to report about Lewis’ past comments, including statements he made about slavery.
From my post for the Star Tribune:
“Days after Lewis announced his campaign for Congress, Lewis released an updated addition of new material in his audio book from 2011. In the bonus commentary, Lewis discussed recent decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court, including the ruling which legalized same-sex marriage in the United States.
In his criticism of the court’s ruling which legalized same-sex marriage, Lewis questions the federal government’s role in defining marriage and also in outlawing slavery: In fact, if you really want to be quite frank about it, how does somebody else owning a slave affect me? It doesn’t. If I don’t think it is right, I won’t own one, and people always say ‘well if you don’t want to marry somebody of the same sex, you don’t have to, but why tell somebody else they can’t. Uh, you know if you don’t want to own a slave, don’t. But don’t tell other people they can’t.
Lewis later said “social decisions” should be left “to the collective wisdom of the states and the people. Because the courts are not smart enough to know what the answer is.”
Click here to read my complete post for the Star Tribune about Lewis’ past comments.
Again, Lewis was not having a spontaneous conversation with a caller when he made his controversial comments on slavery.
Lewis made the controversial statements in an audio update to his book, which means his comments about slavery were likely written in advance by Lewis.
Top Minnesota Republican: Unlikely party followed the law in selecting electors
Top Minnesota Republican: Unlikely party followed the law in selecting electors
A top official with the Republican Party of Minnesota said in an interview today that is likely that none of the Republican presidential electors or alternates from Minnesota were elected in compliance with Minnesota election law.
James Carson, who is the Chair of the Republican Party in Minnesota’s Fourth Congressional District, said that based on the wording of Minnesota Statutes 208.03, “it is likely none of the Republican electors were legally elected.”
While Carson said he strongly believes the Republican Party of Minnesota State Executive was authorized to select alternate presidential electors, his comments will only increase the possibility that a legal challenge will be filed to determine if Minnesota Republicans followed the law to get Donald Trump’s name on the ballot in Minnesota.
Carson was unaware of the exact wording of Minnesota Statutes 208.03, which requires presidential electors and alternates to be “nominated by delegate conventions” until I asked him if today in our interview if Republicans followed the law in how they selected their presidential electors and alternates.
A high-ranking Republican elected official from Minnesota on Saturday offered similar comments in response to questions about the process used by the Republican Party of Minnesota to ensure Trump’s name is on the ballot.
“It was bungled and botched. Their fix won’t work,” said the Republican elected official, who requested anonymity, as they have publicly endorsed Trump’s candidacy.
The comments came after the Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman Keith Downey told the press last Thursday that the Republican Party of Minnesota “forgot to elect alternate electors” at the Republican Party of Minnesota’s State Convention in May:
State GOP Chairman Keith Downey told reporters at the State Fair that the party forgot to elect alternate electors, those people who actually pick a president in the country’s Electoral College process.
Legal Challenge to Trump Name on Ballot Expected
In an interview with FOX 9 last week, David Schultz, who is a professor at Hamline University and the University of Minnesota Law School said a lawsuit will likely be filed.
“It’s going to wind up in the courts if for no other reason than to create mischief for the Republican Party,” Schultz told Fox 9. “I think the Minnesota Supreme Court would probably err on the side of allowing the Republican Party and their electors, on the ballot.”
As I reported yesterday, the rumblings of possible legal challenges have only gotten stronger since last week and I would expect legal challenges within the coming days and weeks to determine if Minnesota Republicans followed the law to get Donald Trump’s name on the ballot in Minnesota.
Minnesota Republican Chairman admits party ‘forgot’ step to ensure Trump will be on ballot — legal challenge now expected
Minnesota Republican Chairman admits party ‘forgot’ step to ensure Trump will be on ballot — legal challenge now expected
A top Republican elected official from Minnesota told me on Saturday that the Republican Party of Minnesota should prepare for lawsuit to determine if Minnesota Republicans followed the law to get Donald Trump’s name on the ballot in Minnesota.
“It was bungled and botched. Their fix won’t work,” said the Republican elected official, who requested anonymity, as they have publicly endorsed Trump’s candidacy.
The comments come after the Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman Keith Downey told the press last Thursday that the Republican Party of Minnesota “forgot to elect alternate electors” at the Republican Party of Minnesota’s State Convention in May:
State GOP Chairman Keith Downey told reporters at the State Fair that the party forgot to elect alternate electors, those people who actually pick a president in the country’s Electoral College process.
According to media reports of Downey press conference on Thursday, Downey said the “Republican State Central Committee” voted on Wednesday evening to correct the problem:
But the party’s constitution allows the Republican State Central Committee to do that, he said, and everything is good since the committee voted on the issue Wednesday night.
If Downey was quoted correctly and he said the “Republican State Central Committee” had a meeting last Wednesday evening, then there is a problem.
Republican Party of Minnesota State Central Committee Didn’t Meet
The “Republican State Central Committee” is the comprised of over 300 delegates from across Minnesota and there is usually only two meetings of the committee per year.
The Bylaws of the Republican Party of Minnesota all requires at least a ten day written notice to be mailed in advance of any meeting of the State Central Committee.
If Downey said the “Republican State Central Committee” had a meeting on Wednesday evening, then he was mistaken and again — they have a problem.
Republican Party of Minnesota State Executive Committee Did Meet
Downey may have been misquoted or he misspoke, but we do know the Republican Party of Minnesota State Executive Committee did meet on Wednesday evening.
The Constitution of the Republican Party of Minnesota establishes the 15 person membership of the State Executive Committee:
1. The state chair, deputy chair, secretary and treasurer;
2. The national committeeman and committeewoman;
3. One district chair from each Congressional District or a Congressional District representative as provided for in the Congressional District constitution or bylaws who shall serve until a successor is elected;
4. The state finance chair.
The State Executive Committee has no authority in the Constitution of the Republican Party of Minnesota to appoint, nominate, or elect presidential electors or alternates.
One former member of the Republican Party of Minnesota State Executive Committee, Dave Thul, sent out tweet last week questioning the authority of the committee to appoint, nominate, or elect presidential electors or alternates:
The biggest problem for Republicans in Minnesota is that the process for selecting presidential electors is established in law and they did not follow it for selecting the Republican presidential electors and alternates:
According to Minnesota Statutes 208.03:
Presidential electors and alternates for the major political parties of this state shall be nominated by delegate conventions called and held under the supervision of the respective state central committees of the parties of this state. At least 71 days before the general election day the chair of the major political party shall certify to the secretary of state the names of the persons nominated as presidential electors, the names of persons nominated as alternate presidential electors, and the names of the party candidates for president and vice president. The chair shall also certify that the party candidates for president and vice president have no affidavit on file as a candidate for any office in this state at the ensuing general election.
The remedy to correct Republicans forgetting to elect alternate electors at the Republican Party of Minnesota’s State Convention in May, was to call another convention — but they didn’t do it.
Legal Challenge to Trump Name on Ballot Expected
In an interview with FOX 9 last week, David Schultz, who is a professor at Hamline University and the University of Minnesota Law School said a lawsuit will likely be filed.
“It’s going to wind up in the courts if for no other reason than to create mischief for the Republican Party,” Schultz told Fox 9. “I think the Minnesota Supreme Court would probably err on the side of allowing the Republican Party and their electors, on the ballot.”
Since last week, the rumblings of possible legal challenges have only gotten stronger and I would expect legal challenges within the coming days and weeks to determine if Minnesota Republicans followed the law to get Donald Trump’s name on the ballot in Minnesota.
Donald Trump officially on Minnesota ballot — but open to legal challenge
Donald Trump officially on Minnesota ballot — but open to legal challenge
Donald Trump’s name is officially on the ballot in Minnesota, but voters should prepare themselves for lawsuits to be filed to challenge if Minnesota Republicans followed the law to get his name on the ballot.
Where the Problem Started
Since Donald Trump and his running mate, Mike Pence, are the candidates for president and vice-president of a “major political party” in Minnesota — the Republican Party — the process to get their names on the ballot is very simple.
Below is the process for presidential and vice-presidential candidates of major political party candidates to be placed on the ballot:
The problem started for the Republican Party of Minnesota when they failed to ensure ten people were “nominated as alternate presidential electors” as established by law.
According to Minnesota Statutes 208.03:
Presidential electors and alternates for the major political parties of this state shall be nominated by delegate conventions called and held under the supervision of the respective state central committees of the parties of this state. At least 71 days before the general election day the chair of the major political party shall certify to the secretary of state the names of the persons nominated as presidential electors, the names of persons nominated as alternate presidential electors, and the names of the party candidates for president and vice president. The chair shall also certify that the party candidates for president and vice president have no affidavit on file as a candidate for any office in this state at the ensuing general election.
The Republican Party of Minnesota did not nominate nor elect presidential alternate electors at the Republican State Convention in May.
Below is the “Certificate of Nomination” which was certified by Keith Downey, the Chairman of the Republican Party of Minnesota, and released yesterday afternoon.
The potential legal problem for the Republican Party of Minnesota is most of their alternate electors were not “nominated by delegate conventions” but instead they were appointed by party officials.
In fact one party official, Randy Gilbert, appointed himself to be an alternate elector without officially notifying Republicans in the area he represents — Minnesota’s Third Congressional District.
Below is the confirmed list of alternate electors who were not “nominated by delegate conventions” as required by law.
- Chris Fields
- Janet Beihoffer
- Randy Gilbert
- Jefferey Williams
- David Pascoe
Republicans in Minnesota have taken to Twitter to challenge the process used by the Republican Party in Minnesota to get Trump’s name placed on the ballot in Minnesota.
After Monday, Prepare for Possible Legal Challenges
Downey told the Pioneer Press in an interview yesterday that he first learned of the problem with Trump’s name being submitted to the Minnesota’s Secretary of State on August 3.
But instead of calling for another convention to ensure all of Minnesota’s ten alternate electors were “nominated by delegate conventions” as required by law, Downey presided over a meeting weeks later were most of the alternate electors were appointed, which created this messy situation and could jeopardize Trump being on the ballot in Minnesota.
The deadline for a “major political party” in Minnesota to certify the information needed for candidates for president and vice-president is days way — Monday, August 29, 2016.
After Monday’s deadline passes, voters in Minnesota should prepare for possible legal challenges to the process used by Minnesota Republicans to get Trump and Pence on the ballot.
In an interview with FOX 9 yesterday, David Schultz, who is a professor at Hamline University and the University of Minnesota Law School said a lawsuit will likely be filed.
“It’s going to wind up in the courts if for no other reason than to create mischief for the Republican Party,” Schultz told Fox 9. “I think the Minnesota Supreme Court would probably err on the side of allowing the Republican Party and their electors, on the ballot.”
The election is 73 days away, but the first big election lawsuit may be coming to courthouse in Minnesota very soon.
Well hello #crystalpepsi, I haven’t seen you since 1993. You look great! (Yep, it is back.)