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BREAKING NEWS: IN INTERVIEW WITH AP, CIRESI AND SPEAR RIP FRANKEN’S RECORD OF “CALLING PEOPLE NAMES”
By Michael B. Brodkorb | February 11, 2008
"To offset that, the multimillionaire trial lawyer is delivering a simple argument to Democratic regulars: He is more electable than Franken.
'Al Franken has made a living calling people names,' Ciresi said in an interview.
Democrats see a strong opportunity this year to unseat Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, hoping to drag him down with his support for unpopular Bush administration policies, particularly the war in Iraq. Coleman got elected in 2002 after Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone was killed in a plane crash, and many Democrats still feel the seat is rightfully theirs.
The Republicans have appeared nearly as eager to take on Franken. For months, the state GOP and right-wing bloggers have exhumed dozens of edgy jokes, off-color remarks and sarcastic asides from Franken's long career as a comedian, writer and radio broadcaster. In a fundraising letter in October, the Coleman campaign asked donors for help in running against the 'vitriolic, partisan comedian' with a 'long history of fringe-left rhetoric and bitter partisan attacks.'
Talk like that has some Democrats worried.
'I just think there are a lot of things Al Franken has said over the years that are going to sound harsh and they're going to sound in some cases outrageous,' said Allan Spear, former state Senate president and a Ciresi supporter. 'I'm afraid we're going to end up with a campaign in which the focus is on Al Franken's record rather than Norm Coleman's record.'" Source: Associated Press, February 11, 2008
Click here for the complete story.
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The title of this article from the AP is "Al Franken's Democratic rival in Minnesota insists the comedian isn't electable."
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This post also appears on Blogs for Norm!, an online community and blog covering the 2008 U.S. Senate campaign in Minnesota. The primary goal of Blogs for Norm! is to organize bloggers who support U.S. Senator Norm Coleman.
Tags: 2008 U.S. Senate, Al Franken, Mike Ciresi, Norm Coleman
Topics: 2008 U.S. Senate, Al Franken, Mike Ciresi, Norm Coleman | 15 Comments »
15 Responses to “BREAKING NEWS: IN INTERVIEW WITH AP, CIRESI AND SPEAR RIP FRANKEN’S RECORD OF “CALLING PEOPLE NAMES””
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February 11th, 2008 at 6:44 PM
What’s the thought about the rumor that Rod Grams may challenge Norm – if not as a GOP’er then as an Indie….from the right?
February 11th, 2008 at 8:45 PM
Democrats are a delusional bunch, aren’t they. In addition to the roster of whoppers they’ve been telling over the last several years, they think that Coleman’s seat in the Senate “rightfully” is theirs.
Wow. I mean, Wellstone did die before he could lose the seat in an election. But the outcome is the same.
February 11th, 2008 at 9:20 PM
Unfortunately for your revisionist history, Wellstone was pulling ahead and would have won re-election. It is a DFL seat.
February 11th, 2008 at 10:33 PM
Wellstone was dropping like a rock. His poll numbers were sagging every day as the election drew closer. At best he was ahead by the margin of error the day his plane went down. Coleman was surging. The funeral debacle sealed the deal.
Minnesotans were waking up the the fraud and embarrassment that was Paul Wellstone.
What the hell are you talking about. Delusional is beyond a description for you WMD (nice acronym!).
February 12th, 2008 at 12:24 AM
West Metro, don’t worry about the tool here. He and Kuhuna like to throw out an anti-Wellstone bit every-so-often to bait Dems. They know as well as we do what the poll numbers said back then – they just like to get us all riled up. Don’t bother trying to call them on it.
But seriously, OF COURSE he isn’t electable. Coleman hired Scott Howell, the best negative campaigner in the country. If Howell can kick the hell out of Max Cleland, a certified hero, he won’t even have to try to do it to Franken, too.
February 12th, 2008 at 7:13 AM
Fact remain: in the weeks prior to Wellstone’s death, Coleman was rapidly gaining ground in the opinion polls. The day before the plan crash, the gap was only 6 percent. The trend for Coleman then as the trend is clear for Obama now.
Minnesotans realized that they’d been hustled by Wellstone, who went to Washington and chose partisan bickering over accomplishing anything on behalf of Minnesota. The jig was up.
The funeral debacle changed everything. Even Democrat overnight polls showed that 75 percent of Minnesotans thought it “went to far”; 52 percent strongly agreed with that statement.
Coleman won whole handedly, however, after he debated Mondale. Norm showed up with ideas and enthusiasm. Walter showed up with as a condescending jackass.
So neither Wellstone nor his torch bearer would have beat Coleman in 2002.
I only say this to reiterate the point that the idea of that Senate seat rightfully belonging to the DFL is delusional bullshit.
February 12th, 2008 at 7:15 AM
“Max Cleland, a certified hero”
How is Max Cleland a certified hero? The guy served o.k. in Vietnam, but it’s not like he was injured in combat or something. I feel bad for the guy who lost limbs, but he was drunk and playing with hand-grenades.
The myths on the Left are endless, aren’t they?
February 12th, 2008 at 7:53 AM
“I feel bad for the guy who lost limbs, but he was drunk and playing with hand-grenades.”
Chestnut: you know that – exactly – how?
February 12th, 2008 at 8:09 AM
“What the hell are you talking about. Delusional is beyond a description for you WMD (nice acronym!).”
Just so you know, Chestnut: Michael says he’ll ban me if I say that.
Isn’t it nice, that you’re so special? You get to toss insults that the ol’ TwoPutter can’t.
February 12th, 2008 at 11:18 AM
I can take it. My mother (a staunch Republican) always told me that people only throw insults when they can’t argue with logic.
February 12th, 2008 at 11:29 AM
Ah, Chestnut, just thought you might like to know I’m really not delusional. I really did read the rumor on a reputable blog…
http://checksandbalances.com/players
I asked for comments, not insults. Care to comment? I really don’t care for being insulted. I came for intelligent conversation on a topic.
February 12th, 2008 at 9:48 PM
West Metro Dems. Being called delusional is much better then being called a liar. Since what you said is inaccurate there aren’t a lot of choices left to describe the problem. I think Chestnut was being kind. I would have said your post is a lie – but please, don’t let facts get in your way…
February 13th, 2008 at 4:43 AM
Tommy, even the Wikipedia article on Cleland states that he was drinking at the time. However, he wasn’t playing with hand grenades. Although Chestnut is right, it wasn’t as a result of an enemy engagement. One of the other soldiers with Cleland had not bent the grenade pins and when he somehow lost the grenade (it wasn’t clear he if he was holding it or it was on his flak jacket), the pin came out. When Cleland went to pick the grenade up, it went off.
February 13th, 2008 at 7:22 AM
WMD, I wasn’t calling you delusional about the Grams rumor. I was calling you delusional for clinging to the fantasy that Wellstone was “pulling ahead” before his plane crashed.
I could care less about Grams. I commented on your delusions about Wellstone.
Stay with the conversation please. That’s sort of a minimum requirement for engaging in “intelligent conversation”…
Tommy, my point was only that Cleland isn’t a hero. He was injured in an accident… while drinking… Even so, having been injured doesn’t disqualify him from criticism for the lies he was telling in his last election.
February 13th, 2008 at 7:25 AM
Coleman’s Senate seat belongs to the DFL about as much as a Lombardi trophy belongs to the Vikings.
The Vikings haven’t won it either.