A sad day for Minnesota. Not a time for celebration.

With the passage of the redefintion of marriage, the liberal media and political elites and gay activists are in celebration mode.  Love and equality.  It's a great day they say.  Unfortunately, they just don't get it.  

To celebrate Gov. Mark Dayton’s expected signing of the same-sex marriage bill, Mayor Chris Coleman and the city of St. Paul will be throwing an outdoor concert Tuesday evening at Ecolab Plaza downtown. 

The governor will sign the bill during a ceremony that begins at 5 p.m. at the Capitol. The concert will follow a procession led by the Minnesota Freedom Band from the State Capitol to Ecolab Plaza, 375 N. Wabasha St.

This is ultimately, the sexual revolution coming to fruition.  It seeks to enshrine in our laws social endorsement and acceptance of radical individualism and sexual expression.  It's all about having sex with whomever you want and having the state and society affirm it.

Why should it stop with homosexual relations.  There is now no rational basis for saying it should.  If the individual decides, then there are no limits.  Why not multiple parties - polygamy and polyamous relationships.  Gays have gained their stamp of societal endorsement.  Others will, are lining up behind them.

Of course this misses the point of marriage.  It's about the unique bonding - physically, sexually, emotionally - of a man and a woman.  It's about caring for the most vulnerable among us our children.  It's about ensuring children are connected with their mother and their father.  It's about the stability and well-being of society.  The next generation.  All this is jettisoned in the manipulated name of love and equality.  Terms which are distorted when used to promote same sex unions and the push for marriage redefinition.

The prime movers in our society - our elites - and many throughout are living under many delusions.  None more serious and consequential than the notion that marriage is a social construct we can recreate rather than the image of our Creator God.  Sadly, the truth of revelation and human experience says we will reap what we sow.  Maybe not today or tomorrow but it will come and in fact you can already feel the winds blowing.

Dayton and Horner want to push gay "marriage" on you!

Here's another TV ad on gay "marriage" and the governor's race. It points out once again that Mark Dayton and Tom Horner want to impose gay "marriage" on Minnesotans without giving them a say. The polls say a strong majority want the right to vote.

Will marriage be a game changer in the fall election for governor? I certain hope so.

Dayton and Emmer are tied in governor's race. Horner distant third.

An MPR poll out finds the governor's race between Dayton and Emmer is neck and neck. They're tied with 34% of the vote and Tom Horner is a distant third with 13%.

A previous Rasmussen Poll done nearly three weeks ago had Dayton up 45% to 36% over Emmer.

This poll suggests the election is anything but a done deal. A couple of observations. One is Republicans were probably right in thinking that Dayton was the best candidate for them to run against. Dayton's fringe position on taxes, to the left of Kelliher and Entenza, make him a big target especially when people are very nervous about the economy and their own jobs. They don't want to hear talk of taxes going up.

Second, Horner is really out of the running in terms of actually having a chance of being elected. The question is who will Horner be a spoiler for. This poll says at this point he's pulling more Democrats from Dayton than Republicans from Emmer. While it's hard to say what the end result will be, he's definitely positioned himself to the left in terms of taxes and social issues. He's calling for $2.2 million in new taxes and is pro-homosexual marriage and pro-abortion according to a past MPR story. That would suggest he'll continue to take more votes from Dayton.

If people view Emmer and Dayton as extreme opposites, which one will they vote for. Given our state of affairs, I don't think people want a massive increase in government and taxes. That should help Emmer. As for looking at Horner, I don't see him having a shot at winning. He's a creature of the political establishment and does not generate an image or communicate as an outsider. Horner is a policy wonk and that comes through when he communicates.

Planned Parenthood likes Mark Dayton's "vision for the state". Will mean abortion and condoms any and everywhere.

Not surprisingly Planned Parenthood of Minnesota/SD endorsed Mark Dayton after their first endorsed candidate Margaret Anderson Kelliher lost to Dayton in the DFL primary.

In announcing their endorsement, PP said they like Dayton's "vision for the state". I presume that means taxpayer funding of abortion on demand and a condom for every teenager. And of course millions of taxpayer dollars going into PP's coffers each year.

They say they want to point out Emmer's "abysmal record on women's health and safety." Let's see what are the effects of PP's record on "women's health and safety." With Planned Parenthood's philosophy of free sex the entrenched establishment policy we have an epidemic of STDs, teens struggling with suicide and depression, out of wedlock births, and over 12,000 abortions annually in Minnesota. If that's the result of Planned Parenthood and Mark Dayton's vision for the state, I think Minnesotans should unequivocally reject it.

Dayton squeaks through primary. Now on to general election.

Mark Dayton despite a 10 plus point lead in recent polls narrowly beat Margaret Anderson Kelliher in the DFL primary for governor. I spoke with a Minneapolis DFL politico who was supporting Kelliher. Asked him who he thought would win the primary and he said Kelliher because of her ground game. It almost happened.

The feeling among Republicans is Dayton will be the easier target in the general election. Dayton has personal issues and is much more radical on wanting to raise taxes than even Kelliher and Entenza were. I ran into Entenza last weekend and Dayton's tax proposal is one of the things he said to distinguish himself from Dayton.

That said, Dayton and liberal groups will pour boatloads of money into the campaign and his name is a household name to lots of Minnesotans.

I don't think Dayton will be able to avoid the public scrutiny he did in 2000 when he ran against Rod Grams for the US Senate. I recall then he was no where to be found publicly. He just ran tons of ads and avoided public appearances. Today, he won't be able to do that as easily and he'll have his record as a US Senator to live down. I recall it was reported in Time magazine that he was rated one of the five poorest US Senators.

It should be an interesting race for governor. The contrast between Dayton and Emmer will be great.

Follow the money. Liberal "fat cats" and Dayton's campaign.

The incessant attack ads on Republican candidate for governor Tom Emmer are being paid for by people with a lot of money. It's interesting learning where the money is coming from. It puts to bed the the notion that political "fat cats" are usually conservative. I think the opposite is true.

Katherine Kersten notes:

Few American political stereotypes are as durable as the myth that Republicans are the party of fat cats. You know -- the corporate tycoons and investment bankers who puff cigars in dark, paneled rooms as they bankroll elections for Big Business. Democrats, in the myth's telling, are Ordinary Joes -- lunch-bucket types who fight a lopsided, uphill battle against entrenched big-money interests.

Welcome to the real world, Minnesotans.

In the 2010 governor's race, it's Republican Tom Emmer -- an Ordinary Joe with seven kids to feed -- who's pounding the pavement for every $1,000 check he brings in. He and his team spend lots of time focusing on small donors -- the source, despite the myth, of a disproportionate amount of the Republican Party's cash.

But isn't Big Business pulling the strings for Emmer behind the scenes? Hardly. We saw that recently, when Target Corp. gave $150,000 to MN Forward -- a business-friendly PAC that supports Emmer against his three Democratic rivals, who have all vowed to raise taxes. Liberals and the media went berserk. As they tarred and feathered Target, their message was clear: Companies that support Republican efforts risk paying a big public-relations price.

She also notes the mega millions spent by Dayton and Entenza on their efforts to be the DFL candidate for governor. Together they've spent $9 million.

Meanwhile, the three DFL candidates for governor have raised a cool $9 million for their campaigns -- a sum that dwarfs Emmer's $910,000. Two of those candidates, gazillionaires Matt Entenza and Mark Dayton, are financing their races from their own capacious pockets. Unlike Emmer, they don't have to eat rubber-chicken dinners at rinky-dink fundraisers. They just write gold-plated checks to themselves.

Entenza has loaned his campaign $4.7 million heading into Tuesday's DFL primary. The money comes courtesy of his wife's fortune, made in the health care industry.

But the 800-pound gorilla in the governor's race is Mark Dayton, department store heir and current front-runner. Dayton's wealth has enabled him to make running for public office a hobby for 30 years.

In 1982 he dropped $6.7 million on a failed U.S. Senate campaign. In 1998, the figure was $2.1 million for an unsuccessful governor's bid. In 2000, he spent a whopping $12 million to become a U.S. senator. In the current campaign, so far, the sum is $3.3 million. All told, that's a jaw-dropping $24 million of Dayton dough.

Now we're learning that his family is pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into his campaign albeit through two DFL PACs:

Dayton's own resources are augmented by donations to DFL interests from his megarich family. In this election cycle, the family -- his son, aunt, cousin and ex-wife-- have poured $851,000 into two DFL political action committees: Win Minnesota and the 2010 Fund. That's almost as much as Emmer has raised in his entire campaign.

The biggest family donor is Alida Messinger, Dayton's ex-wife. (Must have been a friendly breakup!) She's contributed an eye-popping $550,000 to the two PACS.

The source of Messinger's money? She's the great-granddaughter of John D. Rockefeller -- founder of Standard Oil -- who nearly monopolized the American oil business in the late 1800s and died with a fortune valued at $670 billion in current dollars.

Wait. Isn't it Republicans who are supposed to be in the pocket of Big Oil?

The DFL's bottomless well of cash has another source: Big Labor. Since 2009, Minnesota's three largest public-employee labor unions have spent $750,000 on the DFL agenda -- five times as much as the Target gift to MN Forward that so incensed liberals.

What does this flood of money make possible? Among other things, an endless barrage of anti-Emmer TV ads. They're being underwritten -- to the tune of $685,000 so far -- by a PAC called Alliance for a Better Minnesota. Where does its money come from? Win Minnesota and the 2010 Fund -- the Dayton family piggybanks -- are major sources, having funneled it $1.6 million in this election cycle.

Will the millions carry the day for Dayton in the general election? Not necessarily.

The Democratic money machine may succeed in buying the governor's mansion for Dayton -- whom Time magazine named as one of the five worst senators in 2005.

Then again, maybe not. In 2009, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey -- a fiscal conservative and scourge of public-employee unions -- surged to victory after being outspent three to one by his multimillionaire Democratic opponent. Christie might have a word of caution for Mark Dayton.

It will depend on whether the word gets out on his personal competency, the fact that he wants to raise Minnesota's income tax rates higher than any other state in the nation and his radicalism on social issues.

Big, big, bucks spent in govenor's race.

It's interesting that the big, big money is being spent by two DFL candidates for governor -- Mark Dayton and Matt Entenza. They've spent over $3 million and $4 million respectively in the primary which has ten days to go.

It says they have a ton of money and are willing to spent it to be elected governor which pays around $120,000.

It suggests the power and prestige of being governor is much more important than the millions of dollars they are spending.

Kersten columns does very good job of pointing out dangerous implications of legalizing homosexual marriage in Minnesota.

Katherine Kersten in her Star Tribune column lays out the threat to Minnesota religious liberties and freedom of conscience posed by legalizing homosexual marriage in our state.

She notes that all the DFL and Independent candidate Tom Horner supports legalizing homosexual marriage.

Is same-sex marriage just over the horizon in Minnesota? Many say yes. A suit to legalize it has been filed in Hennepin County, and a slew of bills on the subject were introduced in the last legislative session. All the Democratic candidates for governor -- along with Independent Tom Horner -- endorse gay marriage.

And then she goes into the actual consequences of homosexual marriage will affect all of us.

Same-sex marriage would transform American law and social life. That's because it's grounded in a radical idea: that male-female marriage, an institution rooted in human biology and intended to create the best setting to beget and raise children, is just irrational bigotry.

The implications of this revolutionary notion are far-reaching, and many are unforeseeable. But one thing is certain: If adopted, it will put government on a collision course with religious institutions and believers, and it's a sure bet government will win.

Male-female marriage is a foundational tenet of all the major world religions, including Christianity, Judaism and Islam. If gay marriage becomes government policy, people who believe that kids need both a mother and a father will be treated with the contempt formerly reserved for racial bigots.

If you think I'm exaggerating, listen to Mark Dayton, who may be Minnesota's next governor. In 2004, he told a crowd of gay-rights activists that people who support a constitutional amendment to protect male-female marriage are "the forces of bigotry and hatred" who "spew hatred and inhumanity," according to the Star Tribune.

Today, we're already seeing the implications played out elsewhere:

•If gay marriage becomes law, churches and religiously affiliated organizations may be denied tax exemption, on grounds that their beliefs are "contrary to public policy." The threat is "credible" and "palpable," according to Robin Wilson, a law professor at Washington and Lee University. In New Jersey, for example, a Methodist ministry had to fight government officials to defend its tax exemption for a facility after declining to allow two lesbian couples to use it for civil union ceremonies.

•Some faith-based charities may have to stop providing social services. Catholic Charities in Boston -- which specialized in adoptions involving hard-to-place kids -- had to give up adoption after gay marriage began in Massachusetts. Religiously affiliated hospitals, rehabilitation centers and homeless shelters that get government contracts or deal with Medicaid and Medicare may be similarly threatened.

•Public employees may be disciplined or dismissed if they refuse to approve of homosexual acts. Recently, for example, a professor who taught Catholic theology at the University of Illinois was fired after a student accused him of hate speech. The professor had written in an e-mail that Catholic theology teaches that "sexual acts are only appropriate for people who are complementary, not the same," and had said he agrees with this view.

•In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Christian Legal Society at the University of California, Hastings, College of the Law could be denied status as a registered student group because it holds that the only rightful form of sex is between a man and woman within marriage -- a view that violates the school's nondiscrimination policy on sexual orientation. The ruling may sound the death-knell for orthodox Christian, Jewish and Muslim campus groups.

•Small-business owners could be liable under discrimination laws if they decline to provide goods or services in contexts that violate their beliefs -- providing wedding photography at a same-sex marriage, for example. Boards that license professionals, including psychologists and social workers, may require approval of same-sex marriage for licensure or admission to professional schools.

In California in 2008, we saw what's in store for traditional-marriage supporters who stand up for their beliefs. Same-sex marriage activists there vandalized property, targeted jobs and defaced houses of worship. Here in the Twin Cities, leaders of the recent Gay Pride celebration also refused to tolerate dissent. They went to court in an unsuccessful attempt to bar a lone Christian evangelist from handing out Bibles in the public park where their event took place.

She also notes the over the top views of Mark Dayton regarding marriage amendment supporters:

If you think I'm exaggerating, listen to Mark Dayton, who may be Minnesota's next governor. In 2004, he told a crowd of gay-rights activists that people who support a constitutional amendment to protect male-female marriage are "the forces of bigotry and hatred" who "spew hatred and inhumanity," according to the Star Tribune.

She does a good job of pointing out that tolerance is a one way street with many homosexual marriage advocates.

In its early years, the gay-rights movement marched under the banner of tolerance. No more. Activists are demanding conformance with and approval of their agenda, and are punishing those who dare to disagree.

Race for Minnesota govenor is wide open.

Rasmussen did a poll of various candidate scenarios in the Minnesota governor's race. Emmer or Seifert versus Horner, the independent, versus Dayton, Anderson Kelliher, Rybak, etc.

All the races are within the margin of error. It should be an exciting race for governor.

The only thing it’s safe to say about this year’s governor’s race in Minnesota is that both parties will pick their candidates in primaries on August 10. Other than that, the race is a free-for-all.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in the state shows the top Republican candidates, former Minnesota House Minority Leader Marty Seifert and State Representative Tom Emmer, running essentially even with the top three Democratic contenders in match-ups that also include Independence Party contender Tom Horner.

But at least 10 candidates are seeking the nomination of Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. Some of the lesser-known candidates don’t fare quite as well against the GOP hopefuls.

There’s uncertainty on the Republican side, too. Ex-Senator Norm Colman far outdistanced Seifert and Emmer in a survey of the governor’s race in January but has since announced that he is not running.

Complicating the picture even more is the fact that the number of undecided voters in these match-ups ranges from 16% to 27%.

The numbers suggest that voters for now are making their decisions more on the basis of party labels than the positions and personalities of the individual candidates.

Gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton wants to tax the rich in Minnesota - big time.

Former US Senator Mark Dayton, who wants to be our next governor, announced his proposal to "tax the rich" and receptivity for a new state owned casino.

Former U.S. Senator Mark Dayton, a DFL candidate for governor, is offering new details of his "tax the rich" proposal.

Dayton has frequently talked on the campaign trail about his proposal to raise income taxes for the wealthiest 10 percent of Minnesotans. He said the change would bring fairness to the tax system and provide the state much-needed revenue.

During a wide-ranging news conference Monday, Dayton said he would propose three new income tax tiers. He also said households with annual income of $150,000 and above would have to pay more.

"You've got three ways you can balance the budget," said Dayton. "You can raise taxes on the richest Minnesotans. You can raise taxes on the rest of Minnesotans, or you can pretend you're going to wave some magic wand and $5 billion to $7 billion is going to disappear from state spending without consequence to anyone, which is the Republican answer right now, which belongs more on the comic page than it does on the front page"...

In another place, he suggests this would raise about a $1 billion.

This tax favoritism for the rich is costing our schools, universities, hospitals and other essential services upwards of $1 billion per year. It may be great for political support and campaign contributions. But it's terrible for Minnesota. It's unfair, and it's wrong.

Then he says he wants to open a state run casino to raise $200 million a year.

Dayton also said Monday he would consider supporting a Twin Cities casino to raise money for Minnesota's ailing budget, but not for a new Vikings stadium. He said a metro-area casino would raise about $200 million a year.

He says such a facility would bring "much needed competition" to Mystic Lake Casino, the only tribally run casino in the Twin Cities. The Prior Lake establishment is owned by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.

A few observations.

• He would seem to not realize or care that "the rich" are also the people who create jobs which employ lower income folks. So one can expect his proposal to hurt employment and cause businesses to leave the state.
• His casino idea will no doubt alienate the Indian Tribes which have been huge DFL supporters.
• Casinos and gambling actually cost the state money in terms of all the social problems which result.
• Raising taxes on the wealthy would only hit a small portion of the current state deficit. If it's a $5.4 billion deficit that's $1,000 per man, woman and child. I'm curious how much of that deficit he'd be willing to eliminate through spending cuts.
  
• I have to give him credit for being very up front with his desire to raise taxes rather than being vague and non-committal. Hopefully, his announcement will make people realize that this is probably the tip of the iceberg. There will be a lot more tax increase proposals following this one if it's already a centerpiece of his campaign.