Tag: Norm Coleman

I’ll say it up front, I’ve always been bullish on Al Franken, even when others here were ripping on him, and already giving up on the race, and lamenting how the race would’ve been better with Ciresi or Nelson-Pallmeyer.  And one of the arguments used against Franken was that he had pissed off some other prominent Minnesota Democrats like Congresspeople Betty McCollum and Keith Ellison and Amy Klobuchar.  There was quite a bit of hand-wringing going on.

Well, take a look below the fold to see what’s happened in the last couple days.  (And from the links, yes, I got this stuff from MN Publius.

To start off, last week Al Franken visited homeowners facing foreclosure with Keith Ellison.  And unlike previous statements, Ellison offered praise for Franken.

Franken and Ellison also took part in last Saturday’s Minneapolis Urban League’s annual Family Day Celebration at North Commons Park and made stops at two small shopping malls in South Minneapolis. Franken said he’s proud to be on the Democratic ticket headed by U.S. Senator Barack Obama and including Ellison, who is seeking his second congressional term.

“He [Obama] is going to need as many Democratic U.S. senators as possible to make sure that his agenda gets through,” candidate Franken said of Obama’s potential presidency. “I know that Keith has worked hard to get bills passed for addressing and alleviating the housing crisis. When I get to Washington, I look forward to standing beside Keith as we take the next step.”

Having two Senate Democrats in Congress will be helpful to push forward needed housing and anti-predatory mortgage lending legislation, said Ellison. “We need both houses [of Congress] working together and an administration working for us. Al isn’t just another Democrat, but a dynamic, energetic, charismatic voice that can help rally the public will to real solutions.“

Then came the news that Sen. Amy Klobuchar is campaigning for Franken.

I’ve gotten to know Al well as he’s traveled the state building a grassroots movement for change, and I know he’ll be a champion for Minnesota families in Washington.

On issues like health care, energy, the war in Iraq, and our economy here at home, Al will reject the failed policies of the Bush administration and fight for change. In fact, just today Al offered some bold, common-sense solutions to strengthen Minnesota’s schools. Al will never sell out to the special interests – he’ll stay loyal to Minnesotans and advocate everyday to help the middle class.

And last but not least, Betty McCollum, who acknowledges her earlier reservations about Franken.

“Crisis” now describes a long list of issues facing Minnesota families and our country. From healthcare to energy prices, the economy to ending the Iraq war – America faces serious challenges that require urgent action.  In Washington, we need leaders who are willing to take America in a new direction.  I am proud of the work Democrats in the U.S. House have accomplished to pass important legislation.  Unfortunately, much of our work has been stalled in the U.S. Senate by an obstructionist Republican minority.  That needs to change.

As I look forward to 2009, I want to be represented in the U.S. Senate by two Minnesota senators who will support and vote to advance our positive, action oriented Democratic agenda to strengthen our economy, keep our nation secure, and invest in our country’s future.  That means in this year’s race for the U.S. Senate I will be voting for Al Franken.

This spring I voiced concerns about material from Al’s past career. To have remained silent when asked would have been hypocritical and dishonest.  I am confident my concerns have been heard and since then I have watched Al’s campaign take steps to address these matters. Now, I believe Al and his campaign are appropriately focused on building a solid relationship with voters based on our shared Minnesota values, ideals, and hopes for the future.  Like all candidates, Al understands that he is not only asking Minnesotans for their vote, but for their trust. As November 4th approaches, Al Franken will earn the trust of Minnesotans and I intend to work with him to win this election.

Fourth District DFLers, thank you for your on-going support.  This year I will continue to campaign hard to turn out the vote to elect Barack Obama to the White House, Al Franken to the U.S. Senate, and win my own re-election to Congress.  I know we will all work together in the 4th District to win in November and together take Minnesota and America in a new direction.

Franken has also just released this powerful ad called “Dr. Bob”, of a conservative Republican who praises Al for his patriotism and his commitment to our troops.

And please, don’t cite the SurveyUSA poll as evidence of how flawed Franken is.  The poll’s crosstabs are bonkers.

Lurking just beneath the surface was a raw reality for the Coleman campaign: the poll’s partisan splits were completely bonkers.

The poll showed a sample of 33% self-identified DFLers and 32% self-identified Republicans. I wasn’t the only one to notice how insane that split is — my former colleague Eric Black also noticed:

But Rasmussen, which doesn’t release full cross-tabs to non-members like me, suggests that Coleman’s share of Democrats has declined from 20 to 10 percent and that this may be the factor that cost him the lead he held a month ago.

Little change

SUSA has shown little change since its previous poll on the race a month earlier. The most suspicious thing to me about SUSA’s current poll is that the Minnesota sample consisted of 33 percent Democrats and 32 percent Republicans.  Most polls (including the previous SUSA poll in Minnesota) find that Democrats outnumber Republicans by 10-plus percentage points. The poll scholars on whom I rely for guidance tend to have a higher general opinion of SUSA than Rasmussen (and not too high an opinion of any robo-dialers). But if you’re looking for a reason to disbelieve this one, with its large and sturdy Coleman lead, the partisan makeup of the sample is suspicious.

Eric is in the right neighborhood here.  Most polls shoot for about a 36-28 DFL advantage in party self-identification, perhaps a couple of points more due to Barack Obama’s crushing victory in the Super-Duper Tuesday precinct caucuses. SurveyUSA is simply way out in left field with this poll.

According to one reader who apparently has a PhD in such things, if you multiply out the difference in partisan split between the last SurveyUSA poll and this one, Franken is actually doing about four points better than the previous S-USA poll — but I haven’t confirmed that yet…largely because I would need a PhD to understand what the heck I was doing.

I’ll add to that.  From looking at the crosstabs a bit closer, another thing doesn’t make sense.  Coleman’s best age group is young people.  Does that make ANY sense to anybody out there??  Like I’ve said in the past, to take this poll at face value, even forgetting the bizarre partisan split, would be to say that come November, there’s going to be a shitload (a statistical term) of young people that vote for Barack Obama for President, and then pull the lever for Norm Coleman.  Let that sink in.  It makes about as much sense as “Vegetarians for Bush”.

And all this is before the GOP convention heads to St. Paul, and Coleman is forced to be tied to the hip to the national party, which he’s trying to distance himself from.  Senators from other states who are up for re-election are skipping out, but Coleman can’t.  And keep in mind Al’s torrid fundraising pace, which will allow him to be financially competitive with Coleman.

So please, people, stop writing Franken off.  It doesn’t do us any good.

Don’t be alarmed by the title; the link is work-safe.

“Foul-mouthed attacks on anyone he disagrees with. Tasteless, sexist jokes. Writing all that juicy porn.”

It’s Norm Coleman’s newest ad against Al Franken. I’m just left shaking my head. On the one hand, this is such a cliched and overly broad exaggeration of how Washington (both parties, I’m afraid) visualizes the swing-voting blue-collar slob demographic that I have to hope this blows up in their faces. On the other hand, the ad goes right at Franken’s Achilles heel and keeps hammering at it… so expect to see more of exactly this for the next three months.

Rasmussen is out with new numbers in the Minnesota Senate race, the first numbers since Franken won the DFL nominating convention.

Rasmussen: (6/11, likely voters, 5/22 in parens)

Norm Coleman (R-inc.): 48 (47)

Al Franken (D): 45 (45)

(MoE: ±4.5%)

Almost no movement since the last one, despite Franken getting the DFL nod and the kerfuffle over his Playboy article. Things get a little dicier for Franken if Jesse Ventura enters the mix (although his entry into the race is pure speculation at this point, and, IMHO, not going to happen):

Jesse Ventura (I): 24

Norm Coleman (R-inc.): 39

Al Franken (D): 32

On the other hand, 60% of likely voters do not want Ventura to run; only 27% want him to. Ventura has till the filing deadline of July 15 to jump in.

Swing State Project rates MN-Sen as Lean R.

As a bonus, Rasmussen polled the Michigan Senate race. Carl Levin, the 30-year incumbent Dem, is up against State Representative Jack Hoogendyk of Kalamazoo. Frankly, there’s nothing to see here.

Rasmussen (6/11, likely voters, 5/7 in parens)

Carl Levin (D-inc.): 55 (54)

Jack Hoogendyk (R): 35 (37)

(MoE: ±4%)

Rasmussen (5/22, likely voters, 4/22 in parens):

Al Franken (D): 45 (43)

Norm Coleman (R-inc): 47 (50)

(MoE: ±4.5)

That’s a statistical dead heat.  This could be a good sign for us, as many polls lately have showed Franken slipping, in the wake of a tax scandal. The key finding in this new poll is, while the candidates' support among members of their respective parties have remained constant since last month– Coleman has 91% of Republicans, and Franken has 76% of Democrats– independent voters have become more disenchanted with Coleman.  That being said, with 47% of voters viewing Franken as favorable while 49% view him negatively, he has a higher unfavorability rating than Coleman, who breaks even at 49%-49% for favorable/unfavorable ratings.

There will have to be a few more polls before we can determine whether this one indicates a trend in our favor, but it certainly comes as good news that this race isn't completely out of our reach.

This is laughable – but I always like a good joke, as long as it’s on the GOP:

Grams, who was elected to the U.S. House in 1992 [and] the U.S. Senate in 1994, said… today [he] hasn’t yet thrown his hat into the ring.

“I haven’t said yes. I haven’t said no,” said Grams.

Grams was beaten in 2000 by the spectacularly forgettable Mark Dayton, who served only a single term because his re-election chances were so slim. But the ignominy did not end there for Grams:

Grams waged a brief campaign to challenge former U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy for the 2006 Republican nomination for Senate. He dropped out of that race and ran for the U.S. House against long-time 8th District Rep. Jim Oberstar.

Kennedy was trounced by Democrat Amy Klobuchar in the Senate race and Oberstar skated to his 17th victory in House race.

His ability to make trouble for Coleman is surely slim indeed. But who doesn’t love a little GOP infighting? And even if Grams is just a lousy vessel for winger discontent, that’s a good sign in and of itself.

(Hat-tip: The Big E.)

Hold onto your furry winter hats, folks; a poll conducted by the University of Minnesota shows comedian-turned-Democratic-activist Al Franken edging out the incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman, 43% to 40%.  Granted, that is still within the margin of error . . . but it is the first time Franken has led.  It goes to show that the comedian is no joke, and that we just might be able to take back the seat that belonged to the late, great Paul Wellstone.  

The PDF of the poll is available at Minnesota Public Radio’s homepage:  http://minnesota.publicradio.org/

(From the diaries – promoted by James L.)

Today, it is with great excitement that I am able to announce that Al Franken has been added to the Blue Majority Act Blue page that is collectively maintained by Dailykos, MyDD, Swing State Project and Open Left.

Last month, in a post on Open Left, I wondered if Al Franken was the best example of a progressive movement candidate we had seen to date, given that his campaign is overwhelmingly people powered (over 45,000 donors so far), he passed the “bar fight primary” with flying colors (more than willing to take the fight to Republicans), he comfortably and repeatedly self-identifies as a progressive, and that he came into politics as an outsider, specifically from progressive media. The response I received to that post was almost universally positive, and while I don’t know if he is the very best example, he clearly is an excellent case, and so I urge you to contribute to Al Franken on the Blue Majority Page. Let’s build the progressive movement together by supporting a first-rate movement candidate.

Today is a particularly appropriate time for us to make this endorsement because, as Jonathan Singer has noted, George Bush is in Minnesota raising money for endangered Republican incumbent Norm Coleman.  Tying himself further to George Bush will only push Coleman’s already low approval ratings in the state even lower, and make him more vulnerable than he already is. Progressives in the state are countering Bush’s visit through a variety of actions, including protests coordinated by Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, and by the Franken campaign itself looking to counter Coleman’s big money fundraiser with small donor, people-powered energy:

Let’s be a part of this effort. With his connections to George Bush, there is an opportunity to knock Coleman all but out of the race in 2007, the way Rick Santorum was all but defeated by a progressive swarm against him in 2005.


As a final note, I want to mention that while Al Franken is involved in a competitive primary in Minneosta, this endorsement comes entirely because Al is so fantastic, not because his primary opponents are clearly defective in any way. Al is a Democrat who I believe will never let us down, and always make us proud. He comes from the progressive movement, and will take the fight to Republicans. He is exactly the sort of candidate many of us have looked for these past few, and we are happy to reward that with our support in and of itself, not just relative to other candidates in the campaign. It certainly is great to make an endorsement for someone, rather than against someone else.

• Contribute to Al Franken on Blue Majority
• Al Franken for Senate official page
• Minnesota Senate race tracker wiki

The Hill is reporting that Norm Coleman may be facing a primary challenge from one of his former advisors.

http://thehill.com/l…

Minnesota is a Democratic-leaning state and has no real love for the war, but if this is a strong enough primary challenge, Coleman will have to move to the right on the war in order to win a Republican primary, this is defintely a good sign.

Dailykos diarist Elruin has picked up a scoop from the Huffington Post regarding comedian and Air America host Al Franken’s future plans:

Al Franken, the best-known host of the liberal network, will announce his expected departure on his show later today, to explore a run for the U.S. Senate from Minnesota.

I’ve met Al Franken.  I like Al Franken.  But is he the right guy to beat Norm Coleman in 2008?  I’m not so sure about that.

Cross-posted from MN Campaign Report – now with even more snarky wonkishness!

U.S. Senator Norm Coleman has made it clear that his vote is available to prevent deadlock in the Senate once Democrats take control in January.  The writing is on the wall – Coleman is vulnerable in 2008, representing a state that kicked out Republican officials up and down the ticket and didn’t give him 50% of the vote against a dead incumbent and a former VP thrown into the race at the last moment.  In light of these factors, Coleman has flip-flopped on his party – all too happy to go with the flow when the Republicans have a majority, his vote is available to the Democrats when it’s their turn in charge.

I’ve written before about some of the factors affecting this race before it begins – the 2008 Republican National Convention will be held in the Twin Cities, perhaps seeking to bolster Coleman’s vulnerable profile.  2002 was an up year for the Republican Party in general, and if the 2006 winds stay at the Democrats’ backs, 2008 promises to be a dangerous year indeed for Coleman.

Coleman has called the new Democratic majority an “opportunity” for him to extract gains for Minnesota.  An “opportunity” indeed.  Much like the “opportunity” that presented itself in the late 1990s to switch his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican for a gubernatorial run, and the “opportunity” to play the blame game with Michael Brown over the FEMA/Katrina debacle, Coleman’s career is full of opportunistic moves that betray a lack of conviction on important issues facing our nation today.

Having betrayed the DFL once before, and now betraying the Senate Republican caucus for political gain, Coleman’s latest move begs us to ask, “who’s expected to vote for you in 2008?”