The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

FYI- the salary database in the PiPress article lists my salary wrong. I'd be interested if the other state employees think the same thing.

The MN Senate race just got a little stranger, folks. The daughter of former MN AG Miles Lord has thrown her hat in the ring.

It's not as complicated as it seems. Party endorsements don't place anyone on the ballot. Anyone can file for office under the party's label. The party is free to give its endorsement to any candidate, but if more than one person files for a seat under that party there is a primary. The winner of the primary is then on the general election ballot.

Said the guy who votes for the party who voted into office an action filmmaker, Sonny Bono, and Gopher from The Love Boat.

But I'm sure your glass house is more stone-proof than most.

Hey, quit pickin' on Fred Grandy.

A political cartoonist drew a picture of an old chimpanzee watching on television the inauguration of Ronald Reagan.

The caption read: "Not even a card."

I lived in this state for my whole life and I still don't get how we get people on the final ballot for Senator ...

Unlike party nominations for president, I don't think the caucus system has a whole lot to with figuring out who gets to run for any other public office. A caucus can determine a preference but it's non-binding. As was pointed out earlier, the party convention will nominate a candidate ... but that doesn't prevent someone else afterward from seeking the same office under the same party affiliation. The final party nominee is determined at the primary level in September, at which point a candidate (e.g. Democrat/US Senate) wishing to run who doesn't have the primary victory will have to run as an independent. (Didn't Arne Carlson run as an Independent once when he lost a gubernatorial primary?)

Then again, voters are always free to write-in the name of anyone (or anything) they wish when they cast their ballots.

It's too bad civics isn't taught at the secondary school level anymore. I'm guessing this upcoming election is bringing out a lot of new voters who don't understand what they're really doing?

I'm guessing this upcoming election is bringing out a lot of new voters who don't understand what they're really doing?

They've all voted on American Idol. They pretty much know how it works.

Smoking in the voting booth is not allowed. Noooooooooooooo smoking in the voting booth.

Word.

It's too bad civics isn't taught at the secondary school level anymore. I'm guessing this upcoming election is bringing out a lot of new voters who don't understand what they're really doing?

But let's be clear here. I've got a BA in Political Science and a Master's in Public Policy and I still get confused.

I've never worked in the system since I'm a civil servant and a political independent, so I often forget that the caucus didn't mean anything, even though up to today we all pretended that it did. Teach it all you want, but when the media and the party all act like the nomination was the end all and be all, some of us get confused when we hear it is not.