ST. PAUL, Minn. - Fifteen months after taking control of Minnesota's legislature, Republicans have put a gay marriage ban on November's ballot, moved to expand gun rights, and cast dozens of votes to cut state spending. But there's one issue where they failed to get traction: watering down the strength of organized labor with a right-to-work law.
The problem isn't so much opposition from Democrats. And it isn't a lack of enthusiasm for the idea, which many conservatives consider essential for creating a business-friendly economic climate. The problem lies with Republicans who fear triggering a huge rebellion among opposition labor unions and sending a surge of sympathetic voters to the polls in November to vote Democratic.
In Minnesota and elsewhere across the Midwest, the question of what to do about the right-to-work issue is pitting Republican against Republican, straining relationships among longtime allies, and weighing cherished ideals against political tactics.
[...] The Minnesota measure would actually be a constitutional amendment that would go before voters - a necessity to get around a certain veto from Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton.
By Patrick Condon - Associated Press. There must have been some internal party polling in neighboring states, from the gist of the ending of the report.
Wow. Minnesota is the poster child of GOP enthusiasm. Beyond Michele Bachmann being viewed nationwide as representative of this state and heritage. Hubert Humphrey, Paul Wellstone, others fade into history. Bachmann, and now Steve Drazkowski, as people others can hold in mind when thinking of Minnesota. It will cut down the crowding in from other states. Let a smile be your umbrella.
Perhaps the Republican Amendment-O-Rama-Thon may gain enough traction in furthering nationwide respect; especially if the MinnPost effort grows legs, per national recognition and reporting.