Yesterday I wrote about the Democrats in Minnesota (their party is officially called the Democrat-Farmer-Labour Party, but that is just the name; they are Democrats) pulling some very insurrection-y shenanigans in an attempt to avoid having to deal with being in the minority due to one of their members having been ruled ineligible to serve because he broke election law.
If the Democrats followed election law, there would be a tie between Republicans and Democrats, but until there is a special election to fill the seat, the Republicans have a one-vote majority, and they are using it to good effect, electing a Speaker and organizing the House yesterday as specified by state law.
The Democratic side of the Minnesota House chamber is empty as the 2025 legislative session kicks off pic.twitter.com/Wm62VPEHVc
— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) January 14, 2025
The Democrats didn’t show up. They didn’t get sworn in as specified by law (they held a dubiously Constitutional swearing-in of their members over the weekend in the dead of night and in secret. While a member is not required to be sworn in at the Capitol, the black letter law does specify a date and time, neither of which was met by the likely illegal ceremony.
Minnesota Democrats compare Republicans showing up to the state House and electing a speaker to Jan. 6th. pic.twitter.com/ySr9rntL1h
— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) January 14, 2025
Harry Niska (a friend of mine and a super-smart guy) made the case for what the Republicans did yesterday.
“If you seek to overstep your authority, you are subject to removal and replacement by the body. Minn. Const. Art. IV § 15; Mason’s Legislative Manual § 581.”
— MN House GOP War Room (@MNHRCWarRoom) January 13, 2025
John Hinderaker of PowerLine is a power attorney and has been blogging about all this and described the fiasco:
As we have written about here and elsewhere, Minnesota Democrats have staged what is in effect an illegal coup in a desperate attempt to retain control over the state’s House of Representatives. Relegated to minority status because one of their candidates was caught cheating and therefore disqualified by a court, they have chosen not to participate, in hopes of bringing the House to a standstill.
Today the House convened for the opening of its 2025 session. All 67 Republicans were present; not a single Democrat chose to attend. Minnesota’s partisan Democrat Secretary of State, Steve Simon, has the ceremonial duty of convening the House. Simon abused that ceremonial role by purporting to find that there was not a quorum, and suggesting that the House should adjourn. That suggestion, which he has no legal authority to make, was based on absurd legal reasoning, as I explained in the post linked above.
Having delivered his ill-founded advice, Simon fled the premises. Republicans then took over. Majority Leader Harry Niska took the gavel and announced the presence of a quorum. The members who were present–all Republicans–then elected Lisa Demuth as Speaker. They adopted rules for the session and conducted a few other items of business, and will return tomorrow to continue the 2025 session.
WATCH: Minnesota Rep. Harry Niska blasts Secretary of State Steve Simon after he declared no quorum present during the first day of session, which DFL members skipped.
“The secretary of state is not a member of the legislative branch and has no constitutional authority over the… pic.twitter.com/Mnqs7t4OQq
— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) January 14, 2025
Steve Simon is our Secretary of State, a radical Democrat and former Member of the House, and is backing the House Democrats by trying to invent some law that doesn’t, in fact, exist. He tried to adjourn the legislative session after conducting the ceremonial swearing-in despite having precisely zero authority over the House at all.
WATCH: The Minnesota House cuts the audio and begins playing music while Republicans attempt to appeal Secretary of State Steve Simon’s ruling finding no quorum and adjourning pic.twitter.com/3aNPxFVB2c
— Anthony Gockowski (@AntGockowski) January 14, 2025
The House organizes itself and is not responsible to any Executive Branch member at all. That is the whole point of the separation of powers.
🚨 BREAKING: House Majority Leader @HarryNiska just let loose on DFL Secretary of State Steve Simon:
“Mr. Secretary, the House is not adjourned. You do not have authority over the House of Representatives. Minnesota law requires the members of the House of Representatives to… pic.twitter.com/239KoceOqd
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) January 14, 2025
But Democrats don’t believe in little things like the Constitution. Such things are beneath them.
Watch now as Speaker Demuth takes the oath of office. We’re honored to serve Minnesota, and the work begins today! pic.twitter.com/bnumBACR3o
— MN House Republicans (@mnhousegop) January 14, 2025
Ironically, the DEI-obsessed Democrats missed out on a historic moment they sorely wish had been made by one of them: the election of the first African-American Speaker of the Minnesota House, who happens to be a Republican named Lisa DeMuth.
Tim Walz still hasn’t chimed in on his party’s attempts to subvert the election of Minnesota’s first black Speaker of the House.
Republicans have the majority.
Speaker Lisa Demuth is inevitable.pic.twitter.com/ajiJP51gwC
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) January 14, 2025
Adding to all this drama is yet another contested House seat that the Democrats are trying to steal. An election in a swing district was too close to call, with the DFL candidate getting only 14 more votes than the Republican when it was discovered that 20 ballots had mysteriously been shredded and were unrecoverable. The matter is in court, but the judge in the case has ruled that the Democrat was duly elected and he was sworn in during that secret ceremony. No doubt this will wind its way up to the Supreme Court eventually, but in the meantime, he will be allowed to serve.
DEVELOPING: A judge has ruled that no new election is needed in the Minnesota House District 54A race between Brad Tabke and Aaron Paul.
House GOP leader Demuth responds: “The underlying facts of the case remain unchanged: there were 20 ballots destroyed in a race decided by… pic.twitter.com/3BEq1JhoDW
— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) January 14, 2025
Everything is going swimmingly here in Tim Walz’s state, as you would expect. Lots of respect for the rule of law, muh democracy, and democratic norms.
Not.
Read the full article here
