Klobuchar, the marriage amendment, leadership and the latest poll

If you've been following the MN United campaign closely, you've noticed that almost every Democrat running for office in Minnesota is going to be actively campaigning against the Republicans so-called "Sanctity of Marriage" constitutional amendment.

Obama is on board. Gov. Mark Dayton is on board. Franken is on board. Ellison, McCollumn and Walz, too. And this is good. We have a nearly united front.

The name missing from that list is Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Here's an excerpt from an open letter to Sen. Klobuchar.

I'm writing to ask you to invest some of that political capital in making positive change here in Minnesota in 2012. Notice that I'm not asking you to "spend" your political capital, but "invest" it. With a bit of work, you'll make it back with hefty interest, making you not just the most popular but one of the most powerful politicians in the state. What is political power but the ability to affect change? And what is the point of amassing political capital if you can't use it to make things happen?

That's why I'm asking you to devote a portion of your time and energy this year to fighting the harmful constitutional amendments on the ballot this year and returning the DFL to power in the state legislature. Your overwhelming popularity gives you significant influence with swing voters, and your fundraising prowess could transform marginal seats in the legislature into major opportunities. Your involvement could mean the difference between winning and losing all of these fights.

Jeff Rosenberg over at MN Publius is so polite about it. Far more than me. My beef with Sen. Klobuchar is she's been absent on all the major issues of the day. Yes, she votes correctly most of the time (FISA being an exception), but she never leads on any major issue and she only takes a stand when everything is clearly drawn.

Maybe this will persuade her.

Minnesota's constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage now appears to be in serious danger of failing, a reversal from a PPP poll four months ago when it led for passage by a 48/44 margin.

Now only 43% of voters support the proposed amendment, with 49% of voters opposed to it. The shift since then has come with independent voters. After previously supporting the amendment by a 50/40 spread, they're now opposing it 54/37. Republicans continue to strongly favor the amendment (74/21) while Democrats are almost equally strong in their opposition (71/22).