Strange poll results from SurveyUSA and a major news outlet here in Minnesota:
Barack Obama's up in Minnesota by ten points following the DNC:
http://kstp.com/...
...but at the same time, fifty percent of Minnesotans favor an amendment that would effectively ban recognition of gay marriage. "Forty three percent oppose the amendment and eight percent are undecided..."
...and "sixty-two percent of Minnesotans support the idea of requiring photo ID's to vote on Election Day, while 31 percent oppose. Just 7 percent are undecided."
http://kstp.com/...
So what do you make of that? The governor of Minnesota is liberal establishment Democrat Mark Dayton, who replaced the conservative Republican Tim Pawlenty. We were hoping this represented a trend to make a purple state bluer--but jeez, talk about mixed messages from a poll...
Hand-wringing is never the proper response to a poll (a single poll, and the cross tabs aren't public at this writing.) But there's work to do here in Minnesota to deny Michele Bachmann, the Christian right, and the tea party a victory.
(CONTINUED)
In 2006 Bachmann leaped out of the Minnesota State Senate and into the U.S. Congress after two high-profile rallies in the state capitol against gay marriage. She used homophobia to rally conservative voting blocs--and those guys voted in other contests too on election day. The homophobe card has proven a winner for conservatives in Minnesota; that's why they keep playing it to raise money and election temperature.
The Minnesota Republican Party is currently caught up in a shitstorm of scandals--sex scandals, financial mismanagement, Ron Paul delegates on the rise, you name it. A strong showing on the "stop gay marriage" and "require photo i.d." amendments is a bone they really need right now.
We want Obama coat tails in the Minnesota congressional and state house elections. And we civil rights for gay Minnesotans--and for seniors and low-income voters who'll be slammed by an amendment mandating an unnecessary photo i.d. requirement.
ACTION LINK:
You can volunteer to stop Minnesota Voter I.D. here:
http://www.takeactionminnesota.org/...
ACTION LINK:
You can volunteer or donate to stop the "no gay marriage amendment" here:
http://mnunited.org/
ACTION LINK:
Stop the hate. Donate to Bachmann's Dem opponent Jim Graves.
http://jimgraves.com/...