THE NAME

The “MN” part is simple enough: This blog is dedicated to the status of politics in Minnesota. The “Publius” part seems to cause a little confusion. First of all, it is pronounced “poob-lee-us” not “pub-lee-us” or the worst, “pube-lee-us.” The reference is to the three gentlemen at the top of this page: (from left to right) John Jay , James Madison , andAlexander Hamilton . These three historic Americans produced and published a collection of 85 essays from 1787-1788 in order to rally support for the newly drafted Constitution. The essays, collectively known as The Federalist Papers are considered some of the most eloquent essays on government in the history of the English language. The essays were published in papers across the colonies under the pseudonym “Publius” in honor of Publius Valerius Publicola who played a crucial role in establishing the Roman Republic. This blog is dedicated to continuing intelligent political discourse in the same vein as our forefathers (although we do not pretend to be as intelligent or eloquent).

THE AUTHORS

Matt Martin: [Matt has since left this blog] He founded MNpublius.com while at Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH). After  law school at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA), he returned home to practice law and now lives with his wife in Minneapolis.

You can contact his on twitter @voxmatt.

Sean Broom: I live in Minneapolis with my wife, Mrs. Broom and a cat. My hobbies include reading, cooking and napping.  Of the MNPublius contributors I’m the most likely to post, say or do something injudicious, but I like to think that adds to my roguish charm—all the same don’t be surprised if Matt or Zack disavow all knowledge of something I’ve written or done, as they probably didn’t know and weren’t contacted first. Occasionally I’m a college student at the University of Minnesota where I go when I have the time, money, patience and inclination.  I’m probably going to be a History major because my lifelong ambition is to be a crotchety, but well read janitor and lord knows there is no better preparation for service industries than a liberal arts degree.  I am a fan of music and from time to time I’ll will post songs that remind me of a story—or whenever I want to, really.  My political and personal icons are Winston Churchill, Harry Truman, Hubert Humphrey and Michael Collins.  If confronted angrily at a bar I’ll probably be drinking Miller Lite—I’m plebeian like that.  And finally I am one of 6 people who found the movie Club Paradise enjoyable. I can be contacted directly at Sean (at) MNpublius.com

Jeff Rosenberg: I am a policy wonk, technology enthusiast, and all-around nerd. After writing at MN Progressive Project and my own, now-defunct blog, the Twin Cities Daily Liberal, I joined MNpublius in March 2009. Here at Publius, I try to occasionally produce intelligent, thought-provoking content and original research to balance out my frequent, over-the-top partisan blather. I live in Minneapolis with my wife and an assortment of pets.

You can reach me at Jeff (at) MNpublius.com, or find me on Twitter @JeffRosenberg.

Brad Lippmann: I joined MN Publius in early 2011, after meeting Zack and Megan on the bi-annual statewide recount. I’ve spent the last several years working on my doctorate in social and political psychology at the U, and before that spent time at the National Institutes of Health and Colgate University. A Jersey boy by birth and a Minnesotan by accident, I like to think I’ve taken the best from each world. Look for critiques of tragically unserious politicians, some armchair economics, and the occasional piece of Springsteen lore (it can’t be helped). Follow me on Twitter @SprungFromCages.

Patrick Timmons: I am a Minnesota-born politics junkie fueled by a passion for progressive public policy and disgust with Republican efforts to undermine the policies, institutions, and traditions that make our state great. I’m currently living in Minneapolis with my girlfriend, a guinea pig, and a betta fish.

My blogging history includes several years writing about campaigns and politics at Minnesota Republican Watch, which I founded in 2004 to keep the GOP honest. Still working on that… For the 2006 Klobuchar/Kennedy race, I blogged alongside Jeff Fecke and Robin Marty at DFLSenate.

After shuttering DFLSenate (Mission Accomplished) and Minnesota Republican Watch (thirty page term paper > blogging) in 2007, I took a break from blogging to focus on school. Now, with a few blog-free years behind me, and a college degree in hand, it’s time to get back in the game.

THE TIMELINE

• MN Publius was founded by Matt Martin in March of 2005 while attending Dartmouth College in NH.
• Jon-David Schlough joined MNpublius in late May of 2006.
• Jon-David joined the Al Franken campaign in mid-February of 2007 and, as such, stopped blogging.
• Sean Broom, former President of the MY DFL, joined MNpublius in June of 2007.
• Matt began Law School at the University of Pennsylvania in Fall of 2007.
• In May of 2008 we had a huge database crash and our extended archives have been damaged ever since.
• In June of 2008 MNpublius 4.0 was launched.
• In July of 2008 Aaron Landry joined the blog.
• In March of 2009 Megan Gamble and Jeff Rosenberg began blogging for MNpublius—Jeff has pretty much been running the show here ever since!
• Matt left MNpublius
• In August 2010 the site was hacked; we jumped ship to Tumblr (from Wordpress) and launched MNpublius 5.0, but once again lost our archives, at least until we’re able to remove the malicious code that was left in our old posts.
• In December 2010, Aaron Landry left MNpublius to pursue political, media and technology consulting for a renewable energy startup in Hawai‘i.
• In January 2011, we had two new additions: Brad Lippmann and Patrick Timmons

THE DISCLAIMER

This blog is the sole product of its authors and is in no way affiliated with, funded by, or organized by any candidate, political action committee, party, or any other political organization.  In short, we don’t get any money from anyone other than the little that comes in via advertising.  And while we’re on that subject, ads are in no way a signal of endorsement of the ads’ message.  When we began running ads (to pay for hosting) we decided that it’s best not to pick and choose what we show at all; that way we can honestly say that the ad space is nothing more than a revenue generator.  What other items am I missing here… hmm… Oh, we are 100%  biased to the bone and have no qualms about admitting such.  Although we remain unconnected with any political organization, MNpublius is dedicated to helping out Democrats.  We don’t lie or misrepresent the truth, but we do select what stories to tell.  I think that’s it; so, enjoy!