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Rudy Takala: Posted on Friday, August 05, 2011 5:42 PM
 This is a piece authored by Charley Shaw of the St. Paul Legal Ledger/Capitol Report. He graciously included my analysis in the piece. You may access it byclicking here, or, if you are not registered to access full pieces on the Politics in Minnesota Website, you may simply scroll down.____________________________________________ If you hear political activists calling for change in the 2012 state House and Senate elections, you won’t be faulted for thinking that the rhetoric must be coming from DFLers. |
Minnesota Budget, Minnesota Legislature, Good Legislators, Sue Jeffers, Bad Legislators, Liberal Republicans, Taxes, Kurt Zellers, Michele Bachmann, Michael Brodkorb, State of the GOP, Minnesota Republican Party, John Kriesel, Jim Abeler, Pat Garofalo, Tea Party, Mitch Berg, Politics in Minnesota
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Rudy Takala: Posted on Saturday, July 30, 2011 1:09 PM
 The 22-person list of congressional memberswho voted againstSpeaker Boehner's budget legislation deserve to be thanked. (Two of them were from my own state of Minnesota: Michele Bachmann and Chip Cravaack. South Carolina had us beat, though, as all five of their Republicans opposed the legislation.) I would not have necessarily voted against his final product, which included a balanced budget amendment. However, if those 22 members believe that Republicans could get a better end result by proposing an even better package, I am happy to stand behind them. |
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Rudy Takala: Posted on Thursday, July 21, 2011 1:18 AM
Featured speakers at the next edition of Simply Right are to be Jeff Johnson, who defeated Tom Emmer to become Minnesota's commiteeman on the Republican National Commitee earlier this year; and Rep. Andrea Kieffer, who was elected last year to represent the Woodbury area in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Rep. Kieffer is someone I became more acquainted with over the course of my own campaign for the Minnesota House. I believe she is more genuine than a lot of elected officials, so I appreciate her willingness to speak to our group. |
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Rudy Takala: Posted on Tuesday, June 28, 2011 1:53 PM
 This is a fun story about young people getting involved in politics, and the problems that the established order has in dealing with them. That shift becomes more marked and more rapid as we see the old political batons being passed from one generation to the next.______________________________________________________________ Sarah Andersonis peculiar. For one thing, she's a Republican. At 22, that makes her a statistical anomaly, even in El Paso County. She spent her formative years reading a series of books that explain the free-market theory to teens. |
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Rudy Takala: Posted on Wednesday, June 08, 2011 3:46 PM
 Terry McCall, a friend with whom I would almost always agree, wrote an eloquent commentary that appears in the Red Wing Republican Eagle. Terry sits on the board of the Republican Liberty Caucus with me and is the chairman of Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District Republicans. You mayclick here to view in the newspaperor scroll down here._______________________________________________ Don’t be intimidated, stick to principles I am one of those people who try to live my personal life by a set of principles — principles that infuse my political beliefs. |
Minnesota Budget, Minnesota Legislature, Good Legislators, Bad Legislators, Liberal Republicans, Taxes, State of the GOP, Minnesota Republican Party, Mark Dayton, Republican Liberty Caucus, Terry McCall
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Rudy Takala: Posted on Monday, May 09, 2011 12:58 PM
In 1979, Americans held a bleak view of the presidency, formed and characterized by two preceding decades of interaction with their chief executive. Those two decades were two of the most negative for the nation's executive branch in its history.
In the 20th century, only five presidential incumbents would lose election to second terms. Two of those losses took place consecutively, in 1976 and 1980. (Many presidents have the good sense to leave before they are forced to leave.) In both of those years, incumbent presidents faced the unusual spectacle of credible challengers within their own parties. |
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Rudy Takala: Posted on Wednesday, April 27, 2011 6:04 PM
P olitics in Minnesota's Charley Shaw did an article recapping the RNC race between Tom Emmer & Jeff Johnson that quoted me very briefly. Text of the article is below. (Otherwise view it on Politics in Minnesota byclicking here.) _____________________________________________________________ When Republicans from around the state flocked to the Ramada Mall of America last Saturday, there appeared to be little question who would win the race to replace Brian Sullivan as Minnesota’s man on the Republican National Committee. |
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Rudy Takala: Posted on Wednesday, April 27, 2011 2:56 PM
 Should regular Minnesotans be permitted to operate their own taxable gambling facilities? Or should the Indian tribes be permitted to retain their monopoly on gambling? The tribes are unsurprisingly arguing that they should keep their monopoly, but what is more surprising is the face of their opposition. Traditionally, Republicans in our state have had an unfavorable outlook on allowing anyone but the Indians to profit from gambling. By culture, Minnesotans view it as their job to micromanage the daily life, habits, and of course, morality of their fellow citizens. |
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Rudy Takala: Posted on Wednesday, April 27, 2011 2:55 PM
 Rep. Mark Buesgens wrote a fantastic letter to his constituents that talked about the caucus system in the legislature and our modern party system. In part, he wrote the following: On big issues, a legislative caucus more often than not uses the powerful tool of peer pressure over intellectual debate to force its will on members. Through guilt or obligation, it often gets them to vote in ways that the individual’s reason tells them they should not. Words like “team” and “family” are paramount to words such as “principles” and “values. |
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Rudy Takala: Posted on Wednesday, April 27, 2011 2:50 PM
 If you're interested in seeing who voted for the (bloated) FY2011 budget that cut a mere $300 million from the federal budget, you may find the official roll call byclicking here. It passed 260-167. One vote I found encouraging was Minnesota Rep. Cravaack's. Conservatives will appreciate that he voted in the negative. It is a refreshing vote that comes after the Congressman took a couple of votes that conservatives may not have taken. Cravaack's statement on his vote was as follows: |
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