Capitol View: August 9, 2011 Archive

President Obama to travel to Minnesota next week

Posted at 4:38 PM on August 9, 2011 by Brett Neely
Filed under: Campaign 2012

WASHINGTON - The White House says President Obama will travel to Minnesota next week as part of a campaign-style three-day, three-state bus tour of the Midwest.

The White House hasn't released much in the way of details but says he'll be in southern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa and western Illinois to, "discuss ways to grow the economy, strengthen the middle class and accelerate hiring in communities and towns across the nation and hear directly from Americans."

The trip is scheduled to start Monday, Aug. 15 and end Aug. 17. That puts Obama near the gaggle of GOP presidential contenders, who have been tromping around Iowa this week ahead of the Ames Straw Poll this weekend.

We'll have more on the details as they come out.

Group starts organizing to pass the marriage amendment

Posted at 5:26 PM on August 9, 2011 by Tom Scheck (6 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2012, Marriage Amendment

The Minnesota Family Council sent an e-mail to supporters today encouraging them to volunteer to help pass a constitutional amendment that would ban same sex marriage. Minnesota Family Council CEO John Helmberger said in the e-mail that the group would include the Minnesota Family Council, the Minnesota Catholic Conference and the National Organization for Marriage:

For our campaign to be successful, however, we need people of faith to rise up, speak, and participate in the campaign. We know that those who want to redefine marriage to their own purposes will benefit from millions of dollars in support from wealthy donors in Hollywood, New York, and other centers of "popular culture". They will not lack for resources. We must counter that with the power of our people, who will volunteer their time, speak the truth, and contribute of their resources to help our campaign.

Our campaign plan relies on recruiting and deploying thousands of volunteers throughout the state of Minnesota. We will be conducting a massive voter education effort - speaking one-on-one with every Minnesota resident about the amendment and why it is necessary to preserve traditional marriage in our state and prevent activist judges or legislators from ever redefining it without the support of voters.
(Full e-mail below)

Helmberger also said the media "overwhelmingly against the amendment and they slant news coverage to make it seem as if we are going to lose" and suggested that they would be outspent by opponents of the amendment.

Both sides are gearing up for what is expected to be a costly battle. 31 of 31 states have voted to amend the constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman. Groups working to defeat the amendment include Project 515, OutFront Minnesota and the Human Rights Campaign. The Minnesota AFL-CIO also announced yesterday that the coalition of labor unions would work to defeat the amendment.

"The labor movement is, and has always been about protecting and advancing the rights of all people," said Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson in a news release. "We will not stand by and allow discrimination to become part of Minnesota's constitution."

Voters in the 2012 election will decide whether the Minnesota Constitution should define marriage as between one man and one woman. The constitution will include the marriage definition if a majority of those voting in the election vote yes.

Here's the e-mail:

Marriage Amendment E-mail