November 1-7, 2010
Nov 01 01:00 DFL: Defining Depravity Downward Nov 01 08:56 Prediction Time Nov 01 19:16 What a Shocker!!! Nov 02 17:39 Notes From the Campaign Trail/Thrown Under the Bus Nov 02 21:26 Election Integrity Threatened, Media Worries About Conspiracy Theories Instead Nov 03 10:32 AP Calls It For Chip Cravaack Nov 06 12:52 Republicans Make History...Again Nov 07 06:38 Weren't They Paying Attention?
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009
DFL: Defining Depravity Downward
Last night, I heard that the DFL was planning on sending out the dirtiest mailer of the election season. Earlier this afternoon, Luke Hellier's post at MDE exposed just how vile, unethical and disgusting the DFL is. This is the most bigoted mailer I've ever seen, just slightly more disgusting than the DFL's anti-Catholic, anti-Christian mailer they sent out in SD-40.
This is what's on the front of the mailer:
King Banaian: More Interested in Egypt and Macedonia than St. Cloud
This is what the back of the mailer says:
St. Cloud needs a leader, not a King.
King Banaian certainly has a resume- jetting across the globe to consult the governments of Egypt, Macedonia, Armenia, Ukraine and Indonesia.
But what does all his travel tell him about the needs of families here in St. Cloud?
Banaian supports cuts to public schools as well as cuts in state aid to St. Cloud- His cuts could risk our children's future and place basic services like police and fire protection at risk.
Banaian's agenda is wrong for our families...And too extreme for St. Cloud
First, I'll start with the wisecrack about St. Cloud needing a leader, not a King. This is infuriating to me because I know more than a little about how King got his name. It's a family name, one that's quite common in his grandparents' country of Armenia.
Next, let's dispel this myth that King "supports cuts to public schools." While it's true that King told the St. Cloud Times Editorial Board that he wouldn't take anything off the table, King didn't come close to advocating for cutting public school budgets.
In fact, it'd be laughable if it wasn't so disgustingly racist for the DFL to say that a tenured professor with a PH.D. favors cutting education funding.
As for the only substantive argument that they feebly attempt to make in the mailer, the part questioning what King knows about St. Cloud families and St. Cloud's needs, yes, let's have this fight. Welcome to my briar patch.
First, King is extremely active in the faith community, with the United Way and with the education community. King's ties to those communities are deep, extensive and enduring.
Next, King has maintained connections with the St. Cloud business community through his work on the Quarterly Business Report and because he's committed to evaluating current economic policies. That's because King is committed to creating high-paying, private sector jobs that are sustained by thriving, prosperous companies.
I'll bet the proverbial ranch that King's understanding of what's happening with private sector companies is vastly superior to his opponent's understanding of the St. Cloud business community.
The DFL has been the party of last minute dirty tricks for too long now. Until this week, though, I thought I'd thought they'd hit rock bottom. Because of this mailer and their anti-Catholic, anti-Christian mailer, I'm forced to re-evaluate things and consider the probability that they're capable of sinking to previously unimaginable depths of depravity.
It's time old-fashioned liberals came to grips with the fact that today's DFL is nothing like the DFL of a generation ago. Frankly, it saddens me almost as much as it infuriates me to see the DFL stoop to this level.
The DFL's desperation should be rewarded with a massive backlash by all Minnesotans of just temperament and thoughtful demeanor. There's no room in our politicking for this type of depravity.
Posted Monday, November 1, 2010 1:00 AM
Comment 1 by The Lady Logician at 01-Nov-10 02:48 AM
"King Banaian certainly has a resume- jetting across the globe to consult the governments of Egypt, Macedonia, Armenia, Ukraine and Indonesia."
So does this mean that King is well qualified for the job?
LL
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 01-Nov-10 06:03 AM
YES, YES, YES!!!
Comment 2 by J. Ewing at 01-Nov-10 01:45 PM
Gary, "unimaginable" is the right word for the depths of DFL depravity, but I don't think we can use the word "stoop" any more. We need to ask what they will "slither" to next.
Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 01-Nov-10 04:48 PM
Point well taken Jerry.
Comment 3 by eric z at 01-Nov-10 09:15 PM
I am shocked. Shocked!
Next someone will be critical of Nancy Pelosi.
Goes around. Comes around. They say.
Response 3.1 by Gary Gross at 01-Nov-10 10:19 PM
Eric, Political differences are one thing but what the DFL put out in that hit piece is beneath despicable. If I find out that Melendez signed off on it, I'll hound him until he's a political pariah for eternity.
Prediction Time
After considering the polling data, the stories from the campaign trail and some supposition in terms of high GOP/independent turnout, it's prediction time.
Let's start close to home.
In SD-14, I'm predicting a clean sweep, with Sen. Michelle Fischbach winning handily, with Tom Ellenbecker defeating Rep. Larry Hosch and Tim O'Driscoll trouncing Rob Jacobs. (Hopefully, that defeat puts us out of our misery with Mr. Jacobs, quite possibly the worst local candidate in Central Minnesota since I became eligible to vote.)
In SD-15, John Pederson will defeat Bruce Hentges, partially because he's a serious businessman with the requisite skills to get Minnesota's economy going. Likewise, King Banaian will defeat Carol Lewis, another EdMinn drone who otherwise would be relied upon to rubberstamp Tom Dooher's agenda. Steve Gottwalt is running a great campaign and should easily win re-election.
A little further away from St. Cloud, I fully expect Mary Franson to win the seat vacated by Mary Ellen Ottremba's retirement. I fully expect Mike LeMeuir to defeat Al Doty, too. If I'm right about these picks, that's a net gain of 4 House seats and 1 Senate seat.
After talking with numerous House and Senate candidates, I predict that Republicans will retake the House of Representatives, making Kurt Zellers the Speaker-Elect. I can't predict whether Republicans will retake the Senate but I'm certainly not ruling that out. If I had to predict, I'd guess Republicans retaking the Senate by a 35-32 margin.
I'm predicting Pat Anderson defeating Rebecca Otto by 5 points, Dan Severson defeating Mark Ritchie in a close race, possibly by 1-2 points. I don't know if Chris Barden will win. What I know for certain is that he'd win handily if this was based on qualifications.
If the GOP wave that's rumbling through Minnesota is as big as the congressional races indicate, Chris Barden quite possibly be swept in, bringing in a much-needed house-cleaning in the AG's office.
Next are the high profile races. Two weeks ago, I wasn't certain how everything would work out for Tom Emmer. Now I'm certain. After watching Tom beat Sen. Dayton and Tom Horner like a set of bongo drums in Sunday's 26th and final debate, I'm confident Tom Emmer will succeed Tim Pawlenty.
Recent polling shows independents breaking hard against DFL candidates by a 5:3 or 2:1 margin.
I'm predicting my congresslady Michele Bachmann will win re-election by a minimum of 8 points. In a tip of the hat, I'll admit that Tarryl kept fighting to the end. Tarryl wasn't a great fit for this district but she worked hard.
Now for my upset specials. Chip Cravaack will defeat Jim Oberstar by 3-5 points. Teresa Collett will defeat Betty McCollum, making Mitch Berg the happiest man in the MOB. Randy Demmer will defeat Tim Walz, mostly because the man who promised to be an independent voice for southern Minnesota is actually Speaker Pelosi's lapdog, voting for the trifecta of the stimulus, Cap and Tax and Obamacare.
Nationally, I'm predicting Republicans to win a net of 60-70 seats in the House and 10 Senate seats, taking control of both houses of Congress.
The White House will argue that this wasn't a repudiation of their policies, which sane people won't buy into. This election will be so jarring that Democrats will start questioning whether President Obama should be their nominee in 2012.
After much infighting and bickering, though, I suspect he'll be the 2012 Democratic nominee.
There you have it. Believe all of it, some of it, little of it or ignore it.
Those are my predictions and I'm sticking with them.
Posted Monday, November 1, 2010 8:56 AM
Comment 1 by trs at 01-Nov-10 02:23 PM
what no 7th CD
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 01-Nov-10 04:48 PM
My bad. I think Lee Byberg would win if he'd gotten the funds to push Peterson. Unfortunately, that funding didn't come early enough. Still, I think this race will be alot closer than people think.
Comment 2 by MplsSteve at 01-Nov-10 04:43 PM
Gary-
I don't really disagree with your predictions - except for Theresa Collett in CD 4.
Yes, McCollum is an empty pantsuit but this is the 4th District. Unlike the 8th District, I don't think the 4th is ready to toss McCollum out yet.
Regarding those gubernatorial debates, I watched few of them. I'm certain Tom Emmer did very well and any uncommitted voter would probably walk away thinking "Tom Emmer is a sensible and qualified guy" but the problem is NOT MANY MINNESOTANS TOOK THE TIME TO WATCH THE DEBATES!
if the awful event that Emmer doesn't win, I surely hope the GOP can gain control of the state House or Senate. otherwise, this state is in for a s***load of trouble in the next two years!
By the way, how do you figure the GOP will gain control of the state House? Gut feeling? Or polling data?
Comment 3 by eric z at 01-Nov-10 09:13 PM
I will give you Bachmann, if you give me the eight point point-spread.
What's your point-spread on Emmer-Dayton?
If you take Emmer and give me three points, we have a second bet.
A dollar three eighty, riding on each contest.
Take it Gary, each bet, it will be easy money for you. I thought the Vikes would beat Miami, the Patriots.
We wait and see. It's touchdown time tomorrow.
What a Shocker!!!
After reading Derek Walbank's post about the U.S. House races, I'm stunned by how much I agree with his opinions. Here's one where we're in total agreement:
Tier One: Challenger favored
None.
Tier Two: Pure Toss-up
None.
If Walbank means that people like Charlie Cook aren't rating the Chip Cravaack-Jim Oberstar race as a toss-up, that might technically be true but it's awfully misleading. Michael Barone certainly thinks it's more than competitive.
UPDATE: Mr. Cook is now informing us that Mr. Wallbank's post is no longer technically accurate :
The Cook Political Report put four more incumbent House Democrats on notice Monday -- adding them to its very large Toss Up category.
The Report has moved Democratic Reps. Chellie Pingree (Maine), Jim Oberstar (Minn.), Mike McIntyre (N.C.) and Rick Boucher (Va.) into the toss up column. It has also moved Rep. Michael Michaud (D-Maine) from Likely Democrat to Lean Democrat.
These ratings changes show the rapidly widening play field for the GOP. Michaud was well off anyone's radar screen two weeks ago, as was Pingree.
The Report has also moved several Democrats from Toss Up to Lean Republican, a sign that their chances on Tuesday are slim. They include Reps. Frank Kratovil (Md.), Dina Titus (Nev.), Harry Teague (N.M.).
Charlie Cook doesn't change the ratings just on a whim. He's one of the most cautious progrnosticators in the business, which is why he's so well-respected across the political spectrum.
Two weeks ago, Michael Barone was interviewed, with Pat Cadell, on Hannity's radio program. Mr. Barone pronounced Chip's name correctly right from the outset. He even pronounced the names of the cities and counties properly. Back then, he thought this was a highly competitive race.
Last Friday night, the KSTP-SUSA poll showed the race at 1 point, prompting me to write these posts highlighting just how tenuous Oberstar's lead was, especially once you dug beneath the horserace numbers.
I'll guarantee that Cook's changing this rating from leans D to full tossup has Oberstar's undivided attention. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they're now panicking because of this shift.
Still, I can't feel much sympathy for Rep. Oberstar, mostly because he brought his defeat on himself by ignoring his district's needs by voting for Obamacare and Cap and Tax.
Rep. Oberstar's vote for Obamacare, which he's tried saying will make Minnesota's already great health care system "even better." Nobody bought that at the debate.
Rep. Oberstar's vote for Cap and Tax was a vote to kill mining. After the coal-fired power plants would've been forced to increase their prices by 40-50 percent, the mining companies couldn't have competed on the world stage.
This race is quickly spiralling out of Oberstar's grasp. It's no longer about him. It's, properly, about the people of the Eighth District.
Posted Monday, November 1, 2010 7:16 PM
No comments.
Notes From the Campaign Trail/Thrown Under the Bus
Early this morning, I attended a rambunctious Tom Emmer/GOTV rally in St. Cloud. When Tom's RV rolled into the parking lot at the Victory Office, the damage done to the RV from last night's 'fight' with a deer on the highway between Duluth and Virginia.
Tom gave us a great play-by-play of the event, saying that he'd swear that "a Democrat was down in the ditch and he threw the deer in front of the RV to slow us down", supposedly to prevent them from hitting all the stops they wanted to make before voting in Delano this morning.
I told Tom that I believed him because, though I didn't witness the event, this is so typical this fall, what with President Obama throwing people under the bus" so often.
(It's amazing how good a laugh that drew, which I attribute to sleep deprivation after leaving it all on the field here in terms of GOTV calling and lit-dropping.)
Here's some serious-sounding noise from the paranoid Leftosphere:
ABetterMN We can't let @TomEmmer supporters suppress the vote w/ voter intimidation.
The lefties are big into imagining voter suppression, which makes sense when you think about it. It's well documented that lefties see things that aren't there and hear things that aren't said. Think Mark Dayton, October 2004, and the imaginary terrorist threat that only he heard.
Let's remember that he shut his office to protect his constituents and his staff. After all, Sen. Dayton cares so much for his staff that he fires staffers when they have serious heart problems , then fights the wrongful termination lawsuit all the way to the SCOTUS before losing a 9-0 unanimous ruling.
Over the past 6 years, lefties have cried foul so often that people aren't taking them seriously anymore.
Posted Tuesday, November 2, 2010 5:39 PM
Comment 1 by MplsSteve at 02-Nov-10 06:53 PM
I've been dropping Emmer and GOP lit thru Bloomington, Richfield and southwest Minneapolis. I've been doing it since Saturday afternoon.
The weirdest part was the until last night, I hadn't seen one piece of DFL lit nor one DFL volunteer out there. That's so unlike the DFL. Even in the safer districts (where I was working), you always see DFL lit. But there was none.
It got me thinking "Do these guys know something we don't? Are they hugely confident? Or are they dispirited?"
Last night in southwest Minneapolis, I was lit dropping a townhouse area and ran into a DFL volunteer doing their usual "Midnight Madness" lit drop where they walk up and down the streets, putting lit on peoples cars. I drove by slowly and told the guy he was "DFL trailer trash". He got this astounded look on his face and kept going.
Today I've been hearing anectodal evidence of fairly high turnout in the 4th and 5th Districts. I can't speak for the rest of the state - but that certainly doesn't bode well for the GOP if true.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 02-Nov-10 07:15 PM
I don't know that I'd agree with that opinion. The GOP has fielded 2 qualified candidates in Teresa Collett & Joel Demos. Higher than normal turnout likely means Republicans have a greater motivation for turning out.
Comment 2 by MplsSteve at 02-Nov-10 07:23 PM
Gary-
I'll go on record as being extraordinarily happy to be proven wrong. But being a resident of the 5th District for many years, a strong turnout generally does not bode well for GOP candidates.
I remember back in '04 sitting on the Bush-Cheney office on Election Night, watching the numbers come in from the 4th and 5th Districts as well as the first ring suburbs. Kerry-Edwards was just absolutely running up huge totals in those areas. I remember turning and saying to a guy next to me "With the DFL turning out numbers like that, I don't think we can win this state". The guy just nodded and looked at the computer.
But I will say that this is not a Presidential election year and the vote totals will be way down from '04 and '08. But nonetheless, the DFL seems to do disproportinately well in these areas.
By the way, how are things up in your area?
Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 02-Nov-10 09:39 PM
Steve, we're definitely seeing high voter turnout.
Election Integrity Threatened, Media Worries About Conspiracy Theories Instead
I just participated in a conference call with Minnesota Republican Party Chairman Tony Sutton and Republican Party of Minnesota Council Tony Trimble regarding reports of malfunctioning scanning machines.
According to Chairman Sutton, they had received reports of malfunctioning machines and reports that ballots that hadn't scanned properly weren't being stored properly while the machines were being fixed.
Reporters from MPR, WCCO and the Star Tribune questioned whether the reports were overblown, had been verified by the Republican Party, were being reported by Minnesota Majority activists or if these reports were being used to lay the groundwork for an appeal if the vote doesn't go the Republicans' way.
First, to the pinheads in the press, it's pretty straightforward that unscanned ballots should be secured while machines are being repaired or while the machines aren't working. That should be the election workers' highest priority.
Next, it shouldn't be either political party's responsibility to verify whether a report is baseless or accurate. They aren't equipped for those responsibilities. That's something for election officials to deal with.
Third, it'd be irresponsible for either political party not to document machine malfunctions and/or procedural difficulties, especially after the 2008 nightmare.
Many of the questions had a downright conspiratorial tone to them while others just had a conspiratorial tone to them. It's as if the media didn't think that legitimate election integrity questions weren't legitimate.
These reporters' first instincts in this instance was to dig for a complex conspiracy while completely ignoring the straightforward issues of election integrity and ballot security.
Afterwards, the DFL posted this tweet :
MNGOP claims are completely fabricated.
My first question for DFL Chairman Melendez is how he knows this. Did he send people out to these specific polling places or did the DFL call these polling places and accepted the judges' or pollwatchers' word that they weren't experiencing any difficulties?
If the DFL didn't do either of those things, how can they make such a definitive statement? What are they basing their statement on?
UPDATE: I just got a call from the MNGOP saying that they've received a letter from Secretary of State Ritchie's office stating that there are legitimate problems, thereby totally refuting the DFL's statement.
Posted Tuesday, November 2, 2010 9:27 PM
Comment 1 by The Lady Logician at 02-Nov-10 10:01 PM
This comment from my friend (a former cheesehead) who has been helping me out here....
"you expected different?"
LL
Comment 2 by Mister at 02-Nov-10 10:20 PM
Considering one of the "major problems" found was a machine plugged into a faulty outlet, the reports may have been a little blown out of proportion. And out of the thousands of voting machines in Hennepin County, only 4 were reported to be having any problems at all.
Comment 3 by Mister at 02-Nov-10 10:24 PM
And no the DFL is not as b@t$hit crazy paranoid about "voter fraud" as the GOP. So I would guess that there are more GOP people at polling places (to "question" voter eligibility and generally harass citizens) than there are DFL representatives. The funny thing is you hear widespread accusations by the Republicans about voter fraud, and when it comes down to it, none ever turn out to be true. That is straight from their playbook though - keep repeating a lie enough and eventually some will start to believe it.
Comment 4 by william patrick at 03-Nov-10 08:12 PM
Anyone ever notice that every time there is a major election, including presedential, that there is always someone talking about a plot of the election being rigged? That in itself seems like a conspiracy to me...Its like incase someone finds out that they election was tampered with then automatically they can point to these articles saying how it could of possibly happened because of this....We are being lied to.
Response 4.1 by Gary Gross at 04-Nov-10 01:16 AM
Ever notice that Ritchie admitted that they had difficulties & that ballot security sucked? Doesn't that indicate that the system needs to be dramatically improved? When did these thing happen when Mary Kiffmeyer was SecState? Try NEVER.
AP Calls It For Chip Cravaack
The Twittersphere just exploded minutes ago when Michael Brodkorb announced that the AP had called the Eighth Congressional District race for Chip Cravaack. With 97.5 percent of the precincts reporting, Chip Cravaack is leading with 131,670 votes to Rep. Oberstar's 127,497 votes, a margin of 1.5 percent and 4,173 votes.
Here's the AP's article :
Democratic Rep. Jim Oberstar is out.
The dean of Minnesota's congressional delegation and the powerful chairman of the House Transportation Committee has been defeated by newcomer Chip Cravaack.
Cravaack is a former Navy and Northwest Airlines pilot.
In TV ads, Cravaack said he ran against Oberstar "with all due respect." But he criticized Oberstar for federal spending and supporting the health care overhaul.
On Oct. 14, I predicted that Chip would win :
Based on Michele's fundraising ability, I wouldn't be surprised if Chip's coffers fill up fast. If Chip can start running ads about Oberstar's voting for Cap and Trade and his indifference towards getting the PolyMet mine running, rest assured that Chip will cast Rep. Oberstar in an extremely negative light.
In fact, I'll take a big step here. If Chip gets the money to run those ads on Oberstar's voting for Cap and Trade and his indifference toward getting PolyMet up and running, Chip will win.
While I have bragging rights on the prediction, the real story is Chip and his campaign team. Their messaging was crisp. The fights they picked resonated with Eighth District voters. They fought in parts of the district that, frankly, most previous GOP candidates didn't attempt to campaign in.
Chip's message resonated, too, with Iron Rangers because Rep. Oberstar voted for Cap and Trade, which, if it'd been implemented, would've ended mining and killed thousands of jobs.
The other thing that can't be overemphasized is the negative impact that the debate at the DECC had on the race. While Oberstar's performance likely didn't change anyone's mind in the hall that day, I'm positive that Oberstar's performance turned off unafilliated voters. Without those voters switching over to Chip's column, Chip wouldn't be celebrating right now.
Posted Wednesday, November 3, 2010 10:32 AM
Comment 1 by Gretchen Leisen at 03-Nov-10 12:02 PM
Gosh, Gary, after the all-night stand at the Holiday Inn, I see you still had energy to follow the MN US 8th Congressional district through to the close! Congratulations for your savvy prediction of Cravaack's surge and probable win several weeks ago. Congrats also on staying vertical long enough to post Chip's winning info on this blog!
Comment 2 by MplsSteve at 03-Nov-10 12:08 PM
Excellent! I was wrong! And I'm thoroughly glad to be wrong too!
OTOH, I just can't see Emmer winning a recount. There's just way too many votes separating him from Crazy Eyes Dayton. I can only hope that there's another bad count out there (other than Hennepin County). But I'm afraid I'm clutching at straws.
And not being able to regain the SOS or State Auditors offices...that sucks too.
On the good part, the GOP gained control of the state legislature. I know that hell has at least partially frozen over when the GOP won the state senate!
There will be discussion of why Tom Emmer lost. It's easy. It was the sleazy campaign waged by the Alliance for a Better Minnesota. The constant barrage of ads (unfairly) framed who Tom Emmer was in the eyes of many metro area voters.
The worse part was that neither Emmer's campaign nor the state GOP responded back. I've been in enough campaign over the years to know that you have to fight fire with fire.
Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 03-Nov-10 02:12 PM
Trust me on this: the Dayton's money bought alot of corruption. TV stations should've rejected their ad buys. They were that dishonest.
Comment 3 by eric z at 03-Nov-10 12:41 PM
After winning the election, now they have to govern.
We live in unusual times.
Will Emmer concede and waive right to a recount?
Response 3.1 by Gary Gross at 03-Nov-10 01:59 PM
After all of yesterday's voting irregularities, there's no way he'll wave the white flag.
Comment 4 by eric z. at 05-Nov-10 10:51 PM
Well, Gary, there will be a recount, that's surfaced as a certainty.
You missed on your forecast of Bachmann v. Clark, and I was wrong by more. The margin exceeded your prediction.
It astounded me. Clark was a far, far better candidate than Tinklenberg, but he had a closer margin when Obama's then popular coat-tails did not prevail.
This time, it was very sad to see a sounder individual than last cycle do worse.
Two more years of Bachmann. Whew.
Weren't They Paying Attention?
Based on Carrie Lucking's statement , the Clark campaign didn't see the tsunami coming:
Lucking said the national wave of Republican congressional pickups was "the reason" for the outcome of the 6th District campaign. "I don't think anybody expected the tsunami that was coming," Lucking said.
I'm not buying the Clark campaign's post-election public statement because it completely contradicts Tarryl's strategy during the debates and in Tarryl's advertising. I wrote here about Tarryl's momentary transformation into a fiscal conservative.
During the debate and in her advertising, Tarryl tried portraying herself as the conservative in the race. That was foolish because I'd already published posts that exposed Tarryl's lies.
I'd further argue that Tarryl and Tarryl's campaign knew that she'd trailed from the outset. This, too, was obvious from Tarryl's debate performance during the St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce debate. Tarryl's strategy that day was to attempt to force a mistake out of Michele.
If Ms. Lucking wants to argue that Tarryl couldn't be expected to see this size of tsunami coming when she announced, I'd say that's a rather patronizing comment. I first wrote about rumors of Tarryl's potential run against Michele in this post . I wrote about Tarryl filing her paperwork in this post .
The point is this: By the time Tarryl filed her paperwork, the health care debate was well underway, with Democrats everywhere taking alot of heat over the then-impending Obamacare legislation. People had already soured on the administration for their stimulus legislation, too, followed by a lengthy parade of bailouts.
The TEA Party movement was picking up steam. People of all political stripes were expressing their disgust with the Obama administration's willingness to ignore the voters while pursuing their radical agenda.
The TEA Party movement wasn't just a registering of complaints like other recent movements. The TEA Party movement's complaints were visceral complaints, things that wide swaths of the voting public were disgusted with.
If that's Tarryl's argument, then I'd simply ask whether she was paying attention to the people or if she was urged by the labor unions in exchange for their undying loyalty to Tarryl's campaign. Based on the supporters page , Tarryl's union support was in full evidence with these unions highlighted:
American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO, EdMinn, AFL-CIO of Minnesota, the Minnesota Nurses Association, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the United Steelworkers Union, SEIU, Minnesota Building Trades Council, IBEW, Teamsters, AFSCME Council 5 and the Communications Workers of America.
I'd argue that, with a veteran GOTV operation provided by union workers within Tarryl's campaign, there's no way Tarryl didn't see this wave building months before the election.
Posted Sunday, November 7, 2010 6:38 AM
Comment 1 by walter hanson at 07-Nov-10 01:30 PM
I think they're trying to make excuses for the fact that Clark ran the campaign they wanted. In 2008 where Bachmann barely won they expected with the right campaign that they could win.
I think what has Clark so mad is why didn't she run in 2008 when she still had her senate seat and could ride Obama to a possible victory.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Comment 2 by Ryan at 08-Nov-10 11:00 PM
While Bachmann won, she's not a sure thing in the 6th. She just won reelection in the best Republican year she may ever face, in a district that is clearly Republican. Yet she managed only 52.5% of the vote. That appears to be the ceiling of her support.
Bachmann's national personna and borderline outrageous statements will always ensure that she has a well-funded challenger. Even Tinklenberg came within 3% points in 2008.
Bachmann has proven that she's vulnerable. Look at Paulsen in the 3rd; he increased his total by 10% from 2008. Bachmann went from 47 to 52. Her win this year does not prove that she has this seat nailed down. She should have won over 60% in the 6th.
Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 08-Nov-10 11:29 PM
Apples & oranges, Dude. Paulsen was in a 2-way race. Michele in a 3-way race. Eliminate the IP candidate & she wins with a significantly bigger margin.
Republicans Make History...Again
Friday afternoon, the Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus made history for the second time in less than a week. Here's the details on their history-making votes:
The newly elected Senate Republican Majority Caucus today chose Senator Amy Koch (R-Buffalo) as the new Senate Majority Leader. According to records kept by the Legislative Reference Library, Senate Majority Leader Koch will become both the first Republican (since the Senate began using party designations in 1972) and first female Senator to be elected to the Majority Leader post.
Later that day, they made history again:
Senate Majority Leader Koch issued this statement after her election as Senate Majority Leader:
Additionally, the new Senate Republican Majority chose to nominate Senator Michelle Fischbach (R-Paynesville) to become the new President of the Senate. After being confirmed by the Senate in January, Senate President Fischbach will become the first female Senator in Minnesota history to preside over the Senate according to records kept by the Legislative Reference Library.
"I'm honored that my peers have chosen me as Majority Leader," said Senator Koch. "The excitement we collectively feel cannot be overstated. With this majority, we are committed to delivering on our message of smaller, more efficient government, lower taxes and reining in state spending."
Following her election, Senate President Michelle Fischbach issued this statement after being elected Senate President:
"I'm honored to be nominated by my colleagues in the majority to become President of the Senate," said Senator Fischbach.
In making these choices, Senate Republicans chose women of character and competence as well as making history.
In addition, the following people were named to Senate Republican leadership positions:
Senator Gen Olson (R-Minnetrista) as President Pro Tem, and Sen. Chris Gerlach (R-Apple Valley), Senator David Hann (R-Eden Prairie), Senator-elect Doug Magnus (R-Slayton) and Senator-elect Dave Thompson (R-Lakeville) as Assistant Senate Majority Leaders.
This is the most talented leadership team in recent state history.In addition to Sen. Koch and Sen. Fischbach, Sen. Hann was one of the most respected gubernatorial candidates this year. Though this is his first election victory, Dave Thompson is well-versed in policy debates, far more than your typical freshman. Doug Magnus isn't a typical freshman, either, in that he's still the representative of HD-22A .
The first thing this Republican legislature must do is get the economy started. That means rejecting a major bonding bill like the last legislature campaigned on. That just takes money from private industry, the key to sustained economic growth.
If they do that, this GOP majority could easily become an enduring majority.
Posted Saturday, November 6, 2010 12:55 PM
Comment 1 by Stonewall Jackson at 06-Nov-10 02:42 PM
Great news, but in the final anaylysis it means little. That's because the DFL will control the governership thanks to the incredibly inept campaign of Tom Emmmer.
Comment 2 by MplsSteve at 07-Nov-10 04:44 AM
Does anyone know why Dave Senjem chose not to run for Senator Majority Leader?
Was he told (prior to the voting and behind the scenes) that he wasn't the dynamic figure that the GOP caucus was looking for?
Immediately after Tuesday's election, I figured he had the inside track to be Majority Leader.
Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 07-Nov-10 05:08 AM
Steve, I don't have any particulars on that.
