Symbolic gesture will hurt St Paul taxpayers

St Paul Mayor Melvin Carter attempted to save his job by politicizing the August shooting at Minneapolis's Annunciation Catholic School shooting. Given his prospects of reelection were looking far from certain, he figured why not thumb his nose at state law by proposing an ordinance to ban certain firearms and accessories within his city? Maybe this self-anointed courage would inspire St Paul voters to elect him to another term?

Alas, this proposal wasn't enough to save Carter's job as he lost his reelection bid to Kaohly Her last week. Nevertheless, the St Paul City Council followed through on Carter's pledge. 

The St. Paul City Council unanimously approved an ordinance regulating firearms Wednesday, saying they want to be ready to put it in place if state law changes.

Minutes after, the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus filed a lawsuit against the city, as the group had said it would if the ordinance was enacted.

Last month, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and suburban mayors called again on the state to repeal a preemption law that bars cities and counties from regulating firearms, ammunition or their components.

Ah, but no such repeal was ever enacted. So as promised, there will be lawyers, for which the residents of St Paul will be on the hook for the cost to defend against this lawsuit.

Bryan Strawser, chair of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, said in a Wednesday statement after the lawsuit was served on the city: “This illegal ordinance will immediately have a chilling effect on peaceable gun owners in our capital city.

“It’s unfortunate that the City Council and Mayor have chosen to waste taxpayer dollars defending a performative ordinance that clearly violates state law,” he continued.

Say, you know else acknowledged this waste of taxpayer dollars? Why, that would be now Mayor-elect Her, who last month called out Mayor Carter on this toothless ordinance. 

🧵1/ Rep. Kaohly Her just torched Mayor Melvin Carter at a Mayoral forum for burning taxpayer dollars on performative, doomed-to-fail ordinances 🧨

"That's super performative"

“Don’t create new fights that will generate a ton of costs for city residents.”

Translation? 👇

2/… pic.twitter.com/cOf7YFHvQ1

— MN Gun Owners Caucus (@mnguncaucus) October 24, 2025

Enjoy Mayor Carter's parting gift, St. Paulites. 

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Progs lose a bloody shirt

Earlier this year, I had written about how a family member overheard their leftist workers lamenting the U.S. Supreme Court looking to overturn the legality of same-sex marriage. I had literally heard nothing about this, so I decided to put forth some research. As I dug further, I learned that there were toothless state legislative resolutions desiring to make such a union illegal, but little else. OK, much ado about nothing. 

Later on there was a petition to SCOTUS requesting them to hear a case to overturn the 2015 landmark ruling Obergefell v. Hodges, which essentially legalized gay marriage nationwide. Once again, there was gnashing of teeth among leftists fearing the "MAGA court" would fulfill President Donald Trump's desires to take rights away. As an aside, what a damning indictment on our education system that so many Americans don't realize that petitioning a court does not mean an actual case is being heard.

But I digress. 

On Monday, SCOTUS officially responded to the aforementioned petition. 

The Supreme Court has turned down a bid to have the justices revisit the court’s landmark decision a decade ago that guaranteed the right to same-sex marriage nationwide.

The high court on Monday turned down a petition from Kim Davis, a former county clerk in Kentucky who objected on religious grounds to issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Davis urged the court to use a lawsuit against her as a vehicle to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in all states.

No justice noted any dissent or released any opinion as the court rejected Davis’ case in a routine order list.

Back in August, conservative commentator Guy Benson (himself a gay man) was spot on as to how this faux controversy would conclude.  

I called it. With social media blowing up & doomy headlines blaring, I received a lot of pushback/grief for rationally rejecting the panic p*rn. But I was right. For those who bought into the fear, it’s important to remember who was misleading & misinforming you — and who wasn’t: pic.twitter.com/n2ENvFtbWC

— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) November 10, 2025

The left started with a conclusion that Trump is a fascist, so they had to generate narratives (no matter how far fetched) which validated that belief. Hence the ginning up of a (as Guy so eloquently put it) "moral panic" over an issue which has been long settled. 

The problem with this type of fear mongering is it puts lives in peril given there are leftists literally willing to kill those who they believe are a threat to the prog orthodoxy. So not only was this latest panic p0rn completely baseless, it was downright irresponsible and dangerous. 

Oh well, on to the next existential crisis. 

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Schumer shutdown shuttered

Democrats over the past six weeks: We will not vote to re-open the government until there's a renewal of the ACA subsidies that expired. 

Republicans: 

The Democrats openly bragged about how working people struggling was something they could use as leverage to get what they want. But in the end, the suffering was starting to hurt Dems politically, so they were left with no choice but to relent. 

The Senate passed legislation Monday night to end the longest government shutdown in history after a splinter group of Democrats joined Republicans to break the gridlock.

The legislation, which passed 60-40, would fund the government through January 30 and provide funding for some government agencies through the end of the fiscal year. The House is expected to take up the legislation as soon as Wednesday.

Senate Democrats opted to shut the government down 41 days ago, refusing to back a House-passed continuing resolution and demanding instead that Republicans agree to extend Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year as part of any government funding bill.

Eight Senate Democrats ultimately chose to break ranks after concluding that Republicans intended to stand their ground as government services stalled and air travel degenerated with the holidays fast approaching.

“We had no path forward on health care because the Republicans said, ‘We will not talk about health care with the government shut down,’” said Senator Tim Kaine (D., Va.). “And we had SNAP beneficiaries and those relying on other important services who were losing benefits because of the shutdown.”

Kaine was joined by fellow Democratic Senators Dick Durbin, Maggie Hassan, Jeanne Shaheen, Jacky Rosen, Catherine Cortez Masto, John Fetterman and Angus King. Senator Rand Paul was the lone Republican to vote against the bill.

Since Durbin is not seeking reelection when his current term is up next year, he felt he could say what many of us already knew but his Dem colleagues didn't have the intestinal fortitude to convey.  

BREAKING: Senator Durbin just ADMITTED the democrat radical base wanted to STARVE kids & SCREW workers just to own Trump.

PATHETIC!

“Many of my friends are unhappy. They think we should have kept our government closed indefinitely to protest the policies of the Trump… pic.twitter.com/05WaADt56E

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) November 10, 2025

While I'm grateful the GOP stood firm in neither eliminating the filibuster nor agreeing to expand ACA subsidies, I am concerned they don't have much of a coherent economic message going forward. The fact of the matter is there is an affordability crisis in this country where millennials and Gen Z are drowning in student loan debt while also not being able to afford a home of their own. You can argue all you want that Republicans aren't ultimately responsible for those traits, but the fact of the matter is they're the party in power now. They'll ultimately pay the price if by this time next year Americans are still struggling financially. 

In their election 2024 campaigns, President Joe Biden (then later POTUS candidate Kamala Harris) and Congressional Democrats gaslit the public by insisting they not believe their lying eyes when it came to the steadily rising cost of everyday goods. I do not recommend this strategy for the GOP if they want to avoid a bloodbath in the 2026 midterms. 

It's not too late to broach legislation to make life more affordable, but time is definitely short. 

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Life imitates art

While attending Sunday's Detroit Lions-Washington Redskins Commanders game in D.C., President Donald Trump visited the FOX NFL duo broadcasting the game. Just for fun, Trump was asked if he wanted to do a little play-by-play during the series. 

His performance was......interesting. 

.@POTUS does a little on-air play-by-play during the @Commanders-@Lions game 🤣 pic.twitter.com/P9LLeLQNLZ

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 9, 2025

What's hilarious is this pretty much how comedian Shane Gillis depicted how Trump talked football. 

From this past July: 

Nailed it!

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A trend is a trend.

In the thirty seasons the Baltimore Ravens have been an NFL franchise, they have squared off against my Minnesota Vikings 8 times, including this past Sunday. With Sunday's loss, the Vikes are now 3-5 all time vs. the Ravens. 

In the three seasons the Vikings have prevailed against Baltimore (1998, 2009 and 2017), they advanced to the NFC Championship Game that year. 

In the four years (prior to 2025) the Vikes have lost to the Ravens (2001, 2005, 2013, 2021), they fired their head coach either during or upon the conclusion of each of those seasons. 

I guess this is my way of saying.......Godspeed, Kevin O'Connell.* 

Hey, I don't make the rules. 

*OK, the Vikings aren't firing O'Connell. At least not before the 2026 season. But it's clear his honeymoon with many Vikings fans is over. 

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The NARN Closer's playlist - 11/9/2025

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What's up with what's going down?

Another Sunday, yet another edition of my radio The Closer. This afternoon's broadcast will get started at 1:00 PM Central Time. 

In the the first hour, I'll discuss the election results for races in Minnesota. At 1:30, newly elected MN State Senator Michael Holmstrom (R - Buffalo) will join the broadcast to take a proverbial victory lap after his decisive win in the special election for SD 29. 

At 2:00, political wonk Matt Mackowiak will join the broadcast to discuss the results from Tuesday's off-year elections as well as the many ballot initiatives in his home state of Texas. 

So please call (651) 289-4488 if you'd like to weigh in on any of the topics we plan on addressing.

 

You can listen live in the Twin Cities at AM 1280 or, if you're near downtown Minneapolis/West Metro area, 107.5 FM on your radio dial. In and out of the Minneapolis-St Paul area you can listen to the program on the Internet by clicking this link, or check us out via iheart radio as well as Amazon Alexa (just say "Alexa, play The Patriot Minneapolis"). If you're unable to tune in live, please check out my podcast page for the latest show post.

And if you're so inclined, follow along on Twitter at #NARNShow or "Like" our Facebook page, where we also conduct a "Live Stream" of the broadcast.

Until then.....

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Nancy Pelosi - DINO?????

With former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announcing she will not seek reelection to Congress next year, the initial reaction from the right was one of celebration. And while it's true that no more Pelosi means no more enduring her smug, elitist persona, it's also incontrovertible that when a far left politician retires from representing a left wing area, their replacement will definitely not be more moderate. 

Sure, right wingers were enthusiastically waving goodbye to Pelosi. But that celebration should be tempered given who is the early favorite to replace San Fran Nan.

If you think men don’t belong in girls’ bathrooms, kids shouldn’t get irreversible sex changes, or cops should stop street prostitution of minors, Scott Wiener probably thinks you’re a bigot.

Indeed, it seems easy to offend Wiener, the San Francisco Democrat running for former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D.) seat — and anyone who holds mainstream or conventional views on biology, women’s or parents’ rights, or conservative governance frequently does.

Last month, Wiener found it “gross” that San Francisco women turned up at his annual Halloween event to protest his transgender policies. He called the late Charlie Kirk a “vile bigot” before and after the conservative activist was brutally, publicly murdered. Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk are also “bigots,” and Republican diplomat Richard Grenell is a “self-hating gay man.”

The people he approves of are very different — like a gay porn-purveying drag queen from the anti-Catholic drag troupe Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, whom he honored on the California Senate floor as “one of the very best community leaders,” as well as San Francisco’s former soft-on-crime district attorney George Gascón, with whom he has collaborated on legislation. San Francisco’s Folsom Street Fair, a public nudity-and-group sex festival whose attendees are advised to watch out for men peeing on one another, is a “beautiful community” that Wiener is “proud to stand up for.”

This is yet further validation of my NARN colleague Mitch Berg's "Cano’s Corollary to Berg’s 21st Law." 

In Blue city (or in this case, Congressional District - ed.) electoral politics, “blue” never gets “lighter” or less “progressive”. There is only one electoral direction – more “progressive”. A symptom of this is when one sees people just barely to the left of a city’s Overton Window referring to the progressive politicians and institutions in power as “Conservatives” or “Republicans”.

Yep. Nancy Pelosi - milquetoast moderate. 

You knew this day wasn't far away when shortly after "The Squad" was elected 7 years ago, they and their ilk bombarded Pelosi's office to demand more serious proposals on "climate change." As we're witnessing, yesterday's fringe kook leftists are today's mainstream Democrats. 

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Not surprising, but still sobering (UPDATE: Mayor Jacob Frey re-elected).

There was nothing on my ballot in Tuesday's off year elections, but I was still engaged on what was going on outside my bubble. 

A few bullet points: 

- The DFL kept their 34-33 majority in the MN Senate as the special elections in SD 29 (Monticello, Delano and Buffalo) and SD 47 (Woodbury, South Maplewood) remained in GOP and DFL hands, respectively. Neither was close as GOP candidate Michael Holmstrom and DFLer Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger emerged with 20+ point victories. 

- St Paul Mayor Melvin Carter was defeated in his reelection bid by Kaohly Her, which means the capitol city now has an all female city council and female mayor. This will be touted as one of the most diverse municipal leaderships in the country except in perhaps the most vital category - ideology. 

On the west side of the river, Mayor Jacob Frey is in the fight of his life against Omar Fateh. As of Wednesday morning, votes are still being tabulated (UPDATE: Frey re-elected). The City Council, of course, is all left of center, but there were four DFL candidates endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America --- and all four were victorious. As my friend Bill Glahn often says -- "Decline is a choice." And Minneapolis voters have clearly opted for that. 

- Speaking of choosing decline....

Tomorrow's cover: Zohran Mamdani wins 2025 NYC mayoral election https://t.co/HwAuNmCFtL pic.twitter.com/nshFKpcvLE

— New York Post (@nypost) November 5, 2025

Congrats to Mr. Mamdani for not only being elected Mayor of the Big Apple but also instantly becoming the top selling realtor for most of the southern states. 

- Not surprisingly, Dems prevailed in all the key statewide races in Virginia and New Jersey. The only mystery was if incumbent Virginia Atty General Jason Miyares could fend off his Democrat opponent Jay Jones. Yes, Jones was the one who three years ago fantasized about shooting dead the former GOP Speaker of the Virginia House. Nevertheless, he eked out a 2-point victory. I've seen a lot of scuttle among conservatives on Twitter which suggested not enough focus was on Jones' awful background and too much time eating our own (i.e. ripping Tucker Carlson for platforming a hate monger, rightly calling out the vile text messages of the Young Republicans, etc.). I'll be charitable and say you're woefully misguided if you believe that was a factor. The sad reality is only a minority of voters even believed Jones' text scandal was "disqualifying." 

NEW: Just 46% of VA voters thought that Virginia AG candidate Jay Jones' texts, in which he fantasized about murdering then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his kids, were disqualifying.

"We asked voters what best describes their opinion of those leaked texts..."

"Almost half… pic.twitter.com/JeerW3he5l

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 5, 2025

It also didn't help that the GOP candidate at the top of the ticket, gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears, was utterly inept. I don't know that any Republican gov candidate could have prevailed in that environment, but they certainly wouldn't have been as big a drag on down ballot races. 

- If you've followed politics over the past ten years, there's been one undeniable trend which has emerged. When Donald Trump is not on the ballot, GOP turnout is feeble. While Trump may endorse candidates and even campaign on their behalf, the fact of the matter is Republicans have become low propensity voters in the Trump era.  And since Trump will never again appear on a ballot, the party needs to make a definitive decision as to how to move forward, both in terms of its brand and turnout apparatus. 

The one incontrovertible truth which we can take away from Tuesday's results - it's still the economy, stupid. Erick Erickson provided a sobering reminder. 

Like it or not, inflation is growing faster than wages again. And yes, tariffs are playing a role, but not the only role. Republicans promised they’d lower grocery prices, and grocery prices are on the rise. It’s not a coincidence that coffee prices and banana prices are showing up repeatedly in stories about grocery prices going up. The President has placed a big tariff on the countries from which we get those things. Yes, Republicans, the economy still matters, and, contrary to the President, tariffs are hurting people.

Since Trump and Congressional Republicans haven't been serious about addressing this, perhaps they'll be given a life line from the U.S. Supreme Court? While Trump wouldn't view a SCOTUS ruling nullifying his tariffs as a positive, it would be a step in the right direction economically. It would certainly be a blessing Trump and the GOP don't deserve. 

On to 2026.

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Speaker up

The current Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives is officially seeking a new office. 

Demuth's star has definitely risen over the past few years with her ascendence from obscure state rep out of Cold Spring to the House Minority Leader and then ultimately House Speaker. And she appeared poised and ready with every step, never appearing as though the moments were too big for her. 

As expected, the other GOP entrants in the gubernatorial race immediately looked to draw distinctions. 

First up - Kendall Qualls: 

REMINDER: I’m running for governor to SAVE Minnesota, fix our economy and take back our streets and classrooms.

Some career politicians are treating this race like a promotion. Not me. I’m a political outsider who will bring a complete and total transformation to St Paul.

I’m the only candidate who can WIN statewide and I’ll continue to make that case across the state.

Political outsider? Is that a euphemism for "multi time loser in both runs for political office?" Look, I like Kendall a lot and would wholeheartedly support him were he the general election candidate next year. But to pretend like he walked out of the private sector just this year to jump into the gov race is, to be charitable, a stretch. 

Then you had the reaction of Demuth's MN House colleague Kristin Robbins, who didn't pull any punches. 

  

Speaker Lisa Demuth has been a friend since we were both elected in 2018, but I’m the only conservative Republican who’s a proven winner in the suburbs, and the only one who can actually defeat two-term Governor Tim Walz. I’ve led the fight against the rampant fraud in the Walz Administration, and as Governor, I’ll fight the fraud, lower our taxes, and stop the insanity.

After meeting with grassroots Republicans across Minnesota for months, it’s clear there’s no appetite for a Republican who sides with Tim Walz on raising taxes and making our streets less safe. Lisa Demuth agreed to a backroom budget deal that raised taxes and shut down the Stillwater prison with no plan which will result in releasing criminals back into our communities. Demuth and Walz raised our taxes and made our streets less safe, and that’s exactly what I’m fighting against.

If anyone should know the dynamics of divided government in St Paul, it's Robbins. The GOP literally had no majority in any of the three legs of the stool in this year's legislative session, yet Demuth was able to secure the banning of healthcare funding for illegal alien adults. The fact she got Dem Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman (may she RIP) to agree to that is no small thing. Again, I get it. Robbins is looking for an advantage in the GOP race. But this line of attack seems pretty disingenuous. 

I've yet to see any response from Dr. Scott Jensen, but I imagine he'll just stick to pontificating via videos on social media and then work towards the party primary since he'll likely not be endorsed by GOP delegates next year. 

In the end, I just want Walz defeated. Whichever of these candidates emerges I will enthusiastically support. And given the rhetorical shrapnel Demuth has received upon her entering the race, the candidate forums nex year oughta be spicy. 

Game on!

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