Archive for the ‘Dan Severson’ Category

It’s hard to believe but today marks the 10 year blogiversary for LFR. It’s been an incredible experience. The first subject that I sunk my teeth into was the Orange Revolution in the Ukraine. These days, there isn’t much in the way of good news coming from across the ocean thanks to our incredibly inept president.

Back when I started, I did lots of writing about world events. After the 2006 election disaster, I started paying attention to state government. In March, 2007, I broke my first news story thanks to a great tip from then-Rep. Steve Gottwalt. It’s still one of my favorite posts:

I just got off the phone with Steve Gottwalt, who had some shocking news from the Capitol. Today, at a committee hearing, Cy Thao told Steve “When you guys win, you get to keep your money. When we win, we take your money.” This was Thao’s explanation as to how the DFL plans on paying for all the spending increases they promised their special interest friends.

The DFL still has the same mindset today as they did in March, 2007.

Bit by bit, I started doing original reporting thanks in large part to frustrated state legislators who were being ignored by the Star Tribune and the St. Cloud Times. In 2008, I started covering the candidate forums. They were quite memorable. I still remember Rob Jacobs telling 2 major groups that he wasn’t an expert on their issues (transportation that Monday, health care the next day) but that he was a good listener. Despite telling everyone covering the events that he was totally unqualified for the job, the St. Cloud Times endorsed him over Rep. Dan Severson. The good news from that fiasco was that the Times had egg on their face when Rep. Severson beat Jacobs by 10 points.

The last 3 years, I’ve spent lots of time being the taxpayers’ watchdog. I’ve scooped the Times so many times that I’ve lost track of how many times it’s happened. Hopefully, I’ll be around when the mismanagement comes to an end. Hopefully, it’ll happen soon.

If you appreciate the reporting I’ve done, feel free to drop a few coins in the tip jar. Thanks for being incredibly loyal followers to LFR.

Dan Severson’s campaign to be Minnesota’s next Secretary of State is finishing strong. Severson’s last ad is especially powerful because it’s silent except for the imagery:

Here’s the question it poses to Minnesotans:

Not sure who to vote for? Ask yourself this…Who do you trust more? A lawyer who seems to think that elections are a child’s game? Or a man who gave 22 years defending your right to vote?

During last week’s debate on Almanac, Dan Severson introduced an initiative called Express Lane Voting. Earlier this week, Steve Simon, the man who hasn’t offered anything in terms of an agenda, intentionally played the over-the-top race card. Here’s what he said during a debate:

STEVE SIMON: I really don’t support this idea of a sort of Lexus lane for voting or the so-called “Express Lane Voting. First of all, it seems intended to be a separate but equal system. All I have to go on are Dan’s own words when he characterized on a TEA Party TV show in the spring when he said “If you don’t want to show an ID, be my guest. You can go over to the side and wait 2 hours in the cold. That’s fine.”

Let’s be blunt. Steve Simon doesn’t have an agenda of his own. He’s a lackluster candidate at best. Now that he’s in trouble, isn’t it interesting that Steve Simon has resorted to race-baiting?

By comparison, Dan Severson has run a positive, substantive campaign. He’s offered new ideas. He’s highlighted his years of service to our nation. Having known Dan for almost a decade, I know that he’s a natural-born hero. Dan’s 22 years of service verify that.

When Dan proposed a system to make voting easier for Minnesotans serving overseas in the military, the closest thing to substantive criticism DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin’s could come was that Severson had sponsored lots of veterans legislation while in the legislature.

Minnesota’s Secretary of State needs to be a man with integrity. Anyone that’s willing to intentionally play the race-baiting card to attract votes isn’t a man of integrity. That’s the definition of a politician who didn’t hesitate in frighten voters with the worst political imagery imaginable.

Dan Severson is a leader and a man of integrity. That’s what I’m looking for.

Technorati: Dan Severson, Military Voting, Express Lane Voting, Leadership, Accountability, MNGOP, Steve Simon, Race Hustler, Separate But Equal, Ken Martin, , Election 2014

After watching this video from this morning’s Secretary of State debate, it’s difficult to determine whether Steve Simon is dishonest or unqualified for the job:

Here’s part of what was said that makes me think that Rep. Simon is a Sharpton-like race-baiter:

STEVE SIMON: I really don’t support this idea of a sort of Lexus lane for voting or the so-called “Express Lane Voting. First of all, it seems intended to be a separate but equal system. All I have to go on are Dan’s own words when he characterized on a TEA Party TV show in the spring when he said “If you don’t want to show an ID, be my guest. You can go over to the side and wait 2 hours in the cold. That’s fine.”

Rep. Simon’s reciting the separate but equal line was an intentional race-baiting statement. It’s intent was to frighten African-Americans. That’s partisanship at its disgusting worst. Politicians that play on people’s fears aren’t public servants; they’re politicians.

People that play hardball politics do it to win political fights. They aren’t particularly cunning. They just push hard to win. Politicians that play on people’s fears, fears that were created by decades of oppression prey on the vulnerable.

That’s what fascists do.

Next, Rep. Simon was reading from his script the entire time. If he’s upset with Rep. Severson’s remarks, he shouldn’t need to bury his head in a script for 10 seconds. FYI- 10 seconds is long enough to say 45 words. It’s apparent that Rep. Simon’s hissy fit is 75% schtick meant to frighten minorities into voting, 25% Rep. Simon being a less-than-impressive candidate. A top tier candidate, at this late stage of the campaign, would rattle facts off without hesitation and with confidence that he knows his facts.

Though it’s clear Rep. Simon isn’t a top tier candidate, that doesn’t mean Republicans shouldn’t work hard right through the last minute of Election Day. Candidates that get the most votes, whether they’re qualified or not qualified, still win.

At this point in the campaign, the right attitude is to outwork the DFL every minute through the closing of the polls.

Technorati: Steve Simon, Al Sharpton, Race-Baiting, Separate But Equal, Fearmongering, DFL, Express Lane Voting, Dan Severson, MNGOP, Election 2014

I’m hoping that Dan Severson will defeat Steve Simon next Tuesday and become Minnesota’s next Secretary of State. To help in that effort, Dan’s running this ad:

Here’s the transcript from the ad:

NICOLE PELZER: I’m Nicole Pelzer and I support Dan Severson for Secretary of State. As Secretary of State, his job would be to oversee elections, work with businesses and administer the Safe At Home program. As a Navy commander and Top Gun fighter pilot and former state legislator, Dan has the leadership, integrity and discipline to succeed in all that he does. He isn’t just a great candidate. I’m also proud to call him my dad.
DAN SEVERSON: I’m Dan Severson and I would be honored to have your vote on November 4th.

I’ve known Dan for almost a decade. I can verify that he’s a leader and man of integrity. This isn’t just about personal character, though Dan’s got that in abundance. It’s also that Dan’s a man of ideas. It’s also that his opponent is Mark Ritchie in a more expensive suit.

Dan’ proposing a pair of initiatives if he’s elected. The first initiative would make it easier for Minnesotans serving overseas in the military to vote. Ken Martin’s biggest criticism at the time was that Dan hadn’t introduced that legislation when he was a legislator. (Of course, the technology that’s used wasn’t reliable then as it is now but why let important points like that get in the way of a DFL hissy fit, right?)

The other initiative that Dan’s proposed is something that’s called Express Lane Voting. People that are already registered and who have a valid photo ID would be able to hop in the voting equivalent of an express lane at a grocery story. People using EDR, aka Election Day Registration, would use the other lane. Dan’s opponent already is throwing a hissy fit over that:

To me, and all I have to go on are his words, it’s a way to marginalize and ostracize and exclude people who don’t have the type of ID that he and others like him think they should have. I think this is a warmed over version of the Voter ID proposal that Minnesotans have rejected.

Minnesotans don’t need a politically correct Metrocrat from the perpetually offended wing of the DFL. They need a man with a lengthy leadership history. They need a man of integrity.

Minnesotans need Dan Severson as their next Secretary of State.

Technorati: Dan Severson, Secretary of State, Express Lane Voting, Military Voting, MNGOP, Ken Martin, DFL, Election 2014

Last night, I watched the Almanac Roundtable debate featuring the candidates for Secretary of State. The lasting impression I left with was straightforward. Steve Simon is Mark Ritchie in an expensive suit. He’s thoroughly indoctrinated in liberal ideology with regards to voting fraud. The other thing about him is that he apparently thinks voters are incredibly stupid.

Let’s take that last one first. After Dan Severson highlighted the vulnerabilities of Minnesota’s election system, Rep. Simon replied, saying “Would Minnesota have the highest voter turnout rate in the nation if people didn’t trust it?” That’s a nice-sounding answer but it doesn’t have anything to do with whether the system is secure. The fact that Democrats continually talk about Minnesota’s election system as the nation’s gold standard is because they don’t want people checking out the details of whether the system is fraught with vulnerabilities.

Rep. Simon’s answer totally ignores the vulnerabilities in Minnesota’s voting system. I know more than a little about this since I wrote a series of articles highlighting those vulnerabilities. (See here, here, here and here.)

Part IV is particularly disturbing because it shows how protective the election machine is of their system:

Thanks to KSTP-TV’s reporting, we learned that cities threw “up legal roadblocks” to their investigation. We learned that Bloomington “even suggested that felony charges could be pursued against” KSTP-TV if they “reported what [they] found.”

A system that’s the gold standard for election participation shouldn’t threaten people examining the system. They especially shouldn’t threaten reporters investigating Minnesota’s election system. The thought that they’d throw up legal roadblocks and suggest that they’d file felony charges against KSTP’s reporters strongly suggests that Minnesota’s election system is anything but impervious to voter fraud.

The DFL says that there’s little proof of fraud existing. That isn’t true but let’s say it is. The video shows that there’s a number of vulnerabilities in the absentee ballot system. Why wouldn’t we want to eliminate those vulnerabilities?

Another of the DFL’s chanting points is that we should want high voter participation rates. That sounds nice but it comes with a catch. The insinuation always comes with the suggestion that everyone who requests a ballot should get a ballot. There’s never a mention that this should be done within the context of the requirements in Minnesota’s constitution.

Steve Simon doesn’t have Mark Ritchie’s history of corruption. Still, Simon is nothing if not a puppet doing the same things Mark Ritchie did. That’s a step sideways after a major step backwards in 2006. We don’t need Mark Ritchie in a better suit. We need a man of integrity who won’t blindly incorporate the DFL’s chanting points into Minnesota state statutes.

Technorati: Steve Simon, Mark Ritchie, Election Laws, Corruption, DFL, Dan Severson, Project Veritas, Investigation, Intimidation, KSTP, MNGOP, Election 2014

Friends, this is as close to a GOP trifecta as we’ve seen in quite some time:

Stewart Mills leads Rick Nolan
Minnesota’s Secretary of State race heats up
Westrom leads Peterson in private polling

If the MNGOP wins these three races, it’ll be a big night for Minnesota Republicans. It’s still too early to predict victories in these races but I’d rather be the Republican in each of these races than be the Democrat.

Technorati: Stewart Mills, KSTP-SurveyUSA Poll, Torrey Westrom, Dan Severson, MNGOP, Rick Nolan, Collin Peterson, Steve Simon, DFL, Closing Arguments, Secretary of State, Election 2014

Under DFL domination, the percentage of active military personnel serving overseas has dropped from 15% to a pathetic 5%. Despite the DFL’s claims that their policies increase voter turnout, America’s patriots don’t seem to benefit from the DFL’s policies.

Less than 3 weeks from now, Minnesotans have the opportunity to rectify that by electing Dan Severson. Severson has a plan to make it easier for military personnel serving overseas to vote:

Dan Severson says delays in mailing ballots and lack of awareness has brought military voter participation to as low as 5%. Severson proposes creating a secure online voting network for soldiers. A similar system has been used in Arizona.

Steve Simon, Severson’s opponent for Secretary of State, has a less efficient plan:

Simon says military members benefit from the new, no-excuse absentee voting law he shepherded through the Legislature last session. He says Severson’s online voting proposal is worth exploring.

Simon isn’t accurate. No-excuse voting isn’t that big of a benefit because it still takes tons of time to get ballots from war zones back to Minnesota. The online system that Severson is proposing eliminates the mailing of ballots. Ballots wouldn’t have to be mailed to our service personnel. Our service personnel wouldn’t have to worry that the military’s post office would get the ballots back before the deadline, either.

Fill out the ballot. Hit enter.

That’s about as simple a procedure as you’ll find.

Steve Simon didn’t insist on making voting easier for our military, which indicates it isn’t a priority for him. That’s unacceptable. Severson’s commitment to service personnel guarantees that military turnout would be taken seriously. Our heroes deserve nothing less.

As long as we don’t hire the people who designed MNsure or HealthCare.gov, we should be fine.

Technorati: Dan Severson, Military Voting, MNGOP, Steve Simon, Mark Ritchie, Voter Disenfranchisement, DFL, Election 2014

Tuesday night, I interviewed Dan Severson about his candidacy for the US Senate. Here’s what I learned from the interview.
Dan, People know that you’re a Navy pilot. How will that experience help you be the leader that Sen. Klobuchar isn’t?

A: It took me around the world. It helped me see people thirsting for America’s freedoms. Alot of people that I met while I was the GOP outreach coordinator attended tonight’s Grand Opening. We didn’t just ask for their vote. We made a connection with them. That’s why they attended tonight’s Grand Opening.

What will you do to capitalize on America’s abundant natural resources?

A: It’s clear that Rep. Severson is committed to opening up America’s abundant natural resources for exploration and production. Rep. Severson said that the EPA and the Interior Department have put too much of our energy supplies offlimits.

On an issue closer to home, Severson said that he’d join Rep. Chip Cravaack in making PolyMet a reality. While it isn’t an energy source, it is a source of high-paying jobs.

Rep. Severson said that Klobuchar’s failure to lead in making PolyMet a reality is something that the state simply can’t afford anymore, suggesting that Minnesota needs a leader, not a talker, as their senator.

I agree with Rep. Severson on this. I wrote here about Sen. Klobuchar’s proclivity to photo ops without offering actual solutions:

Minneapolis, MN – At a busy gas station, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar announced that she is asking the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to respond to high gas prices by acting immediately to limit excessive price speculation in the oil markets.

Klobuchar serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

In a letter sent today, Klobuchar urged Commission Chairman Gary Gensler to move forward with rules to restrict the size of speculative investments in oil and other commodities.

She noted that, in response to record high gas prices in 2008, Congress included provisions in the Wall Street reform legislation authorizing the Commission to rein in excessive speculation by hedge funds, investment banks and other financial entities.

However, the Commission has not yet adopted rules, called “position limits,” to restrict purely speculative contracts in oil futures. These rules would reduce price volatility by helping to ensure that supply-and-demand market factors, rather than financial manipulation by non-oil traders, determine gas prices for consumers.

“When we saw oil prices rise to record levels in 2008, I said we needed a cop on the beat to protect American families and businesses from artificially high gas prices created by excessive speculation,” said Klobuchar. “Now is the time to make sure the cop is on the job, vigilant and armed with the authority to enforce fair rules in the marketplace.”

Sen. Klobuchar is a pro’s pro at attending photo ops. She’s a total failure at figuring out solutions to Minnesota’s biggest crises.

If Minnesota decides that it’s more important to have a smiling lady with a far left voting record and a history of attending photo ops represent them, then Amy’s their clear choice.

However, if Minnesota decides that it’s more important to have a senator that listens to the people and is committed to creating real jobs in the private sector, then Dan Severson would be a great choice.

Technorati: Dan Severson, EPA, PolyMet, Leadership, Energy, Economy, GOP, Amy Klobuchar, Photo Ops, DFL, Election 2012

This morning, Jeff Rosenberg’s post gave me a hearty laugh. First, it appears to be written in reaction to this post. Jeff and I reference the same report:

A widespread voter fraud investigation has led to charges against 11 people in Washington County with prosecutors saying more charges were forthcoming.

All of the people charged are convicted felons who had not been cleared to vote, with most infractions occurring during the 2010 election….

“I didn’t know I couldn’t” said Asst. Washington Co. Attorney Rick Hodsdon, describing what was commonly heard when the suspects were confronted.

Here’s Jeff’s conclusion:

That doesn’t mean it’s not still a problem. It is, and it’s one we should fix. But it’s not one that could be fixed by instituting photo ID. These people weren’t trying to misrepresent who they were in any way. In a system with photo ID, they would have been properly identified and still allowed to vote.

If Jeff meant that these felons told the election officials their real names, then I’ll agree with him that they “weren’t trying to misrepresent who they were.” If he means that these felons didn’t hide the fact that they were felons, I won’t agree with that. We don’t know that they weren’t hiding this information despite their claim that they “didn’t know” they couldn’t vote.

I’m not willing to take the word of a convicted felon without first digging into things deeper. The reality is that these statements might be pure spin. Convicted felons shouldn’t be given automatic credibility.

The problem, instead, is that a handful of felons on probation aren’t being correctly marked on the voter rolls as being ineligible to vote. Without that indication, you could could check their IDs or even scan their retinas and it wouldn’t matter in the slightest.

I agree with Jeff on this statement, though I’m sure he won’t agree with me that Mark Ritchie has blown it the last 2 election cycles. HAVA gave each state’s top election official the affirmative responsibility to frequently update the voter registration lists:

Section 303(a) of HAVA also requires State election officials to ensure that the computerized list is accurate and current by: (i) ensuring that all registered voters are included in the list; (ii) removing only the names of voters who are not registered to vote or who are otherwise ineligible to vote; (iii) removing duplicate names from the computerized list; and (iv) implementing safeguards to ensure that eligible voters are not removed from the list in error. 42 U.S.C. $5 15483(a)(2), 15483(a)(4).

HAVA REQUIRES state election officials to ensure the list’s accuracy. It doesn’t suggest it. It REQUIRES it. That means that Mark Ritchie didn’t do his job of putting this updating procedure in place, then monitoring the process to guarantee the list’s accuracy. In fact, he went further than that in this video:

About 5 minutes into the 14+ minute video, SecState Ritchie asked Rep. Severson “Why did you vote against the legislation giving our office the authorization to use the corrections data?” Rep. Severson responded saying that “that legislation didn’t address this problem.”

For years, literally, the DFL and their apologists have said, including in this video, that Photo ID “was a solution in search of a problem”, at times suggesting, other times saying, that voter fraud didn’t exist in Minnesota.

There’s been proof of attempted voter fraud in Minnesota since 2004:

Among the well-funded and supposedly independent groups supporting John Kerry in the campaign is Americans Coming Together (ACT). ACT has taken notice of Minnesota’s special vulnerabilty to vote fraud and organized a sophisticated effort to exploit it in a manner that violates Minnesota law. In Minnesota the Bush campaign has come into the possession of the following email from ACT to its Minnesota volunteers:

Election Day is upon us. You are confirmed to volunteer with ACT (America Coming Together - http://www.actforvictory.org/) on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov 2.

We will be creating name badges that include your Ward and Precinct information for each of the thousands of volunteers that day to make it easier to find a volunteer to vouch for a voter at the polls.

I am emailing you to request your street address, city and zipcode. We’ve already got your other contact information, but your record in our database does not include this information.

You can save us time on election day by replying today to this email with this information, or give us a call at [phone number with St. Paul area code].

In order to get your badge correct, please reply by Thursday.

Thank you for your help and cooperation. See you on Election Day!
This email is a smoking gun of massive premeditated vote fraud. The ACT effort contemplates the prepositioning of registered voters as volunteers at their precincts of residence to provide the “vouching” necessary to get individuals registered to vote on election day in the precinct whether or not the volunteer “personally knows” the residence of the unregistered voter. It is a recipe for illegal voting in every precinct of the state.

While it’s true that Photo ID might not have prevented these felons from voting, this email shows that a progressive organization had put a plan in place to get DFL activists to vouch for “volunteers” whose contact information was being requested so ACT could “make it easier to find a volunteer to vouch for a voter at the polls.” That’s more than a little strange. In fact, it seems particularly criminal.

Photo ID ends vouching, a system that’s particularly open to voter fraud. ACT was a well-funded organization. They had staff and leadership that put a plan together that would’ve assisted ACT to commit voter fraud on a pretty massive scale.

Photo ID makes sense if for no other reason than eliminating vouching voter fraud schemes. If Jeff won’t listen to any other argument, that’s the argument I’ll rest my case on.

While we’re at it, let’s destroy another DFL myth:

Photo ID would take away some Minnesotans’ right to vote while failing to stop illegal voting. It would be a travesty if we were to disenfranchise some Minnesotans but allow the real problem to continue.

In the above video, SecState Ritchie claims that 100,000 Minnesotans might not be able to vote if Photo ID is enacted. In Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, a Democratic special interest group argued that “up to 989,000 registered voters in Indiana did not possess either a driver’s license or other acceptable photo identification.” Judge Barker “estimated that as of 2005, when the statute was enacted, around 43,000 Indiana residents lacked a state-issued driver’s license or identification card.”

Further complicating this argument is Judge Barker finding “that petitioners had “not introduced evidence of a single, individual Indiana resident who will be unable to vote as a result of SEA 483 or who will have his or her right to vote unduly burdened by its requirements.”

The notion that large numbers of people won’t be able to vote if Photo ID simply isn’t supported by legal findings of facts. Here’s what Justice Stevens wrote in his majority opinion:

There is not a single plaintiff who intends not to vote because of the new law, that is, who would vote were it not for the law. There are plaintiffs who have photo IDs and so are not affected by the law at all and plaintiffs who have no photo IDs but have not said they would vote if they did and so who also are, as far as we can tell, unaffected by the law. There thus are no plaintiffs whom the law will deter from voting.

No doubt there are at least a few such people in Indiana, but the inability of the sponsors of this litigation to find any such person to join as a plaintiff suggests that the motivation for the suit is simply that the law may require the Democratic Party and the other organizational plaintiffs to work harder to get every last one of their supporters to the polls.

Simply put, there just isn’t proof that Photo ID prevents people from voting. There are tons of DFL allegations of that but allegations and suppositions don’t equal proof.

Finally, let’s recognize this important point made in the SCOTUS ruling on this lawsuit:

The State has identified several state interests that arguably justify the burdens that SEA 483 imposes on voters and potential voters. While petitioners argue that the statute was actually motivated by partisan concerns and dispute both the significance of the State’s interests and the magnitude of any real threat to those interests, they do not question the legitimacy of the interests the State has identified. Each is unquestionably relevant to the State’s interest in protecting the integrity and reliability of the electoral process.

That’s a stunning statement:

“They don’t question the legitimacy of the interests the state has identified. Each is unquestionably relevant to the state’s interst in protecting the integrity and reliability of the electoral process.”

States have an affirmative responsibility to make sure that people aren’t disenfranchised, either by voter fraud or by putting unreasonable burdens on people. The Supreme Court ruled that Photo ID doesn’t put unreasonable burdens on people.

It’s time the DFL and their media enablers put aside their myths and projections and dealt with verifiable facts. If the DFL isn’t willing to put aside their myths, then this issue will have to be settled by the voters in November, 2012.

Technorati: Voter Fraud, Mark Ritchie, HAVA, SVRS, Vouching, Photo ID, SCOTUS, Constitution, DFL

After considering the polling data, the stories from the campaign trail and some supposition in terms of high GOP/independent turnout, it’s prediction time.

Let’s start close to home.

In SD-14, I’m predicting a clean sweep, with Sen. Michelle Fischbach winning handily, with Tom Ellenbecker defeating Rep. Larry Hosch and Tim O’Driscoll trouncing Rob Jacobs. (Hopefully, that defeat puts us out of our misery with Mr. Jacobs, quite possibly the worst local candidate in Central Minnesota since I became eligible to vote.)

In SD-15, John Pederson will defeat Bruce Hentges, partially because he’s a serious businessman with the requisite skills to get Minnesota’s economy going. Likewise, King Banaian will defeat Carol Lewis, another EdMinn drone who otherwise would be relied upon to rubberstamp Tom Dooher’s agenda. Steve Gottwalt is running a great campaign and should easily win re-election.

A little further away from St. Cloud, I fully expect Mary Franson to win the seat vacated by Mary Ellen Ottremba’s retirement. I fully expect Mike LeMeuir to defeat Al Doty, too. If I’m right about these picks, that’s a net gain of 4 House seats and 1 Senate seat.

After talking with numerous House and Senate candidates, I predict that Republicans will retake the House of Representatives, making Kurt Zellers the Speaker-Elect. I can’t predict whether Republicans will retake the Senate but I’m certainly not ruling that out. If I had to predict, I’d guess Republicans retaking the Senate by a 35-32 margin.

I’m predicting Pat Anderson defeating Rebecca Otto by 5 points, Dan Severson defeating Mark Ritchie in a close race, possibly by 1-2 points. I don’t know if Chris Barden will win. What I know for certain is that he’d win handily if this was based on qualifications.

If the GOP wave that’s rumbling through Minnesota is as big as the congressional races indicate, Chris Barden quite possibly be swept in, bringing in a much-needed house-cleaning in the AG’s office.

Next are the high profile races. Two weeks ago, I wasn’t certain how everything would work out for Tom Emmer. Now I’m certain. After watching Tom beat Sen. Dayton and Tom Horner like a set of bongo drums in Sunday’s 26th and final debate, I’m confident Tom Emmer will succeed Tim Pawlenty.

Recent polling shows independents breaking hard against DFL candidates by a 5:3 or 2:1 margin.

I’m predicting my congresslady Michele Bachmann will win re-election by a minimum of 8 points. In a tip of the hat, I’ll admit that Tarryl kept fighting to the end. Tarryl wasn’t a great fit for this district but she worked hard.

Now for my upset specials. Chip Cravaack will defeat Jim Oberstar by 3-5 points. Teresa Collett will defeat Betty McCollum, making Mitch Berg the happiest man in the MOB. Randy Demmer will defeat Tim Walz, mostly because the man who promised to be an independent voice for southern Minnesota is actually Speaker Pelosi’s lapdog, voting for the trifecta of the stimulus, Cap and Tax and Obamacare.

Nationally, I’m predicting Republicans to win a net of 60-70 seats in the House and 10 Senate seats, taking control of both houses of Congress.

The White House will argue that this wasn’t a repudiation of their policies, which sane people won’t buy into. This election will be so jarring that Democrats will start questioning whether President Obama should be their nominee in 2012.

After much infighting and bickering, though, I suspect he’ll be the 2012 Democratic nominee.

There you have it. Believe all of it, some of it, little of it or ignore it.

Those are my predictions and I’m sticking with them.

Technorati: Wave Election, Kurt Zellers, Tom Emmer, King Banaian, Steve Gottwalt, John Pederson, Chip Cravaack, Randy Demmer, Teresa Collett, Pat Anderson, Dan Severson, John Boehner, GOP, Election 2010