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LIVE-BLOG OF 2008 DFL CONVENTION
By Michael B. Brodkorb | June 7, 2008
2:38 p.m.: Wow…I had to post one more time. Franken is tearing into Senator Norm Coleman. Angry Al is in the house! As predicted in the MN GOP’s memo, Franken got choked-up.
2:35 p.m.: I’m signing off for at least the next 30 minutes. I want to cover the MN GOP’s press event about the Franken. Just a reminder, I’ll be on the radio later today on AM 1280 The Patriot with King Banaian of SCSU Scholars.
2:32 p.m.: $10 million bought Franken 62% of the vote.
2:31 p.m.: The MN GOP is have a press event in a few minutes to talk about Franken’s endorsement. The MN GOP’s statement on Franken’s endorsement is the top post.
2:27 p.m.: Al Franken, the DFL endorsed candidate for U.S. Senate, is about ready to speak.
2:19 p.m.: Al Franken is the endorsed DFL candidate for U.S. Senate. Nelson-Pallmeyer is giving an concession speech.
2:17 p.m.: Nelson-Pallmeyer is at the podium – he’s withdrawing from the race. As I predicted, Al Franken was endorsed on the 1st ballot. Told you so!
2:12 p.m.: MN Publius is reporting that Franken was endorsed on the 1st ballot with 62% of the vote. No confirmation yet from the podium.
2:05 p.m.: Upon closer examination of Franken’s speech – he didn’t apologize for his jokes and satire. He apologized that some people think “they can’t count on me to be a champion for women…I’m sorry for that.”
1:58 p.m.: Congresswoman Betty McCollum is speaking to the convention. She was booed by Franken supporters in my area as she was introduced.
1:39 p.m.: We are still waiting for the results from the 1st ballot. MN Publius is guestimating that it might take two ballots to endorse Franken. Sean Broom of MN Publius is showing his support today for Team Franken.
1:09 p.m.: The second Q & A session is over and the balloting will begin soon for the U.S. Senate.
12:59 p.m.: I had to do a radio interview and I missed some of Franken’s speech. I was given a copy in advance and it looks like Franken attempted to apologize for his jokes about drugging and raping a women. I think Franken will be endorsed on the 1st ballot. UPDATE: Franken didn’t apologize.
12:27 p.m.: Franken’s presentation looks like he has more than 60% of the vote.
12:20 p.m.: Nelson-Pallmeyer delivered a very passionate speech. But it won’t be enough. Franken’s presentation is about to begin.
12:18 p.m.: I’ve updated my Flickr page with new pictures. Supporters of Senator Hillary Clinton watched her concession speech during a convention debate on the platform.
12:13 p.m.: Senator Patrica Torres Ray introduced Nelson-Pallmeyer. Nelson-Pallmeyer is now speaking.
12:11 p.m.: Congressman Keith Ellison is wearing a Nelson-Pallmeyer button.
12:05 p.m.: The endorsement process is about to begin. Nelson-Pallmeyer’s presentation will be first, followed by Franken’s campaign.
11:54 a.m.: MN Blue is reporting that Congressman Keith Ellison has endorsed Jack Nelson-Pallmayer’s campaign.
11:20 a.m.: The convention is debating platform resolutions. The endorsement process is scheduled to being at 12:30 p.m.
11:14 a.m.: Representatives of Team Franken are pushing the idea that the endorsement for U.S. Senate could take four to six ballots. I think this is hogwash. Some liberal bloggers are playing along and pushing this story. I think Franken will be endorsed on the 1st ballot.
11:07 a.m.: According to a press release, Al Franken has been endorsed by the DFL Feminist Caucus. I haven’t seen any signs that DFL activists at the convention are concerned about Franken’s jokes about drugging and raping a woman.
10:44 a.m.: The Q & A session has ended. The last answer was from Franken and he talked about his books and satire. The crowd cheered. They don’t seem to care about Franken’s jokes about drugging and raping a woman. This was a perfect opportunity for Franken to talk about the reaction to his material. I still believe Franken will be endorsed on the 1st ballot.
10:38 a.m.: The Associated Press has story out about how only Nelson-Pallmeyer and Franken were nominated for the U.S. Senate. Mike Ciresi’s name was not placed into nomination.
10:21 a.m.: In answer during the Q & A session, Franken is now claiming he is against torture. In 2001 and 2002, Franken was pro-torture. Please read the comments below.
- Al Franken: “It Might Be OK To Torture Someone.” “It surprised some people. You know, I live in New York and I feel strongly about the World Trade Center. I do. And I think that there’s an argument to be made that if you save a lot of lives, that it might be OK to torture someone. There’s different ways to do it. One is to give them to another country. Let someone else get their hands dirty? Or tell them that we’re doing that. That seems to be the acceptable way to do it — which is psychological torture, I guess. Tell the person, “Well, we’re giving you to the Israelis and they’re going to interrogate you.” And I think they’re doing that with the top-ranking al-Qaida guy now in custody. They’re telling him stuff that makes him think he’s going to be tortured, as opposed to actually torturing him. But you know, the remark at the National Press Club was meant to be a provocative joke.” (Douglas Cruickshank, “Al Franken,” Salon.com, April 20, 2002)
- Franken: Torture Should Be An Option. “Others in Franken’s crosshairs Tuesday included televangelist Jerry Falwell, and the post-Sept. 11 detainees, for whom, Franken said, torture should be an option.” (Alvin Powell, “Franken’s Scattershot Scores: Satirist Amuses, Provokes, Apologizes At Kennedy School,” Harvard Gazette, November 29, 2001)
10:19 a.m.: I’ve updated my Flickr page with new pictures.
10:10 a.m.: No question yet about Franken’s jokes about drugging and raping a woman.
10:04 a.m.: In response to a question about taxes, Franken passionately talked about the need to raise taxes.
9:46 a.m.: Both Franken and Nelson-Pallmeyer have said they will not run against the endorsed candidate.
9:45 a.m.: A question and answering period has begun. This is scheduled to last for 60 minutes.
9:40 a.m.: Nominations have closed. Mike Ciresi’s name was not placed into nomination.
9:38 a.m.: Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer and Al Franken have been nominated.
9:37 a.m.: MN Publius and MN Blue are also live-blogging the convention.
9:33 a.m.: The nominations are about to begin for the U.S. Senate.
9:30 a.m.: In a classy move, Chairman Melendez recognized Chairman Carey from the podium and congratulated him on his 27th wedding anniversary. Carey is spending his anniversary at the DFL convention. That’s dedication.
9:16 a.m.: MN GOP Chairman Ron Carey had a press event this morning outside the building. It takes guts for a Republican to have a press conference 10 feet from hundreds of partisan Democrats.
9:15 a.m.: Congressman Oberstar is now speaking. He’s talking about Obama.
9:10 a.m.: Congressman Walz is speaking. He has made no mention of Al Franken’s jokes about rape and drugging a woman.
9:08 a.m.: I will be uploading pictures to my Flickr page, so please visit this page for updates. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer’s campaign had a big rally this morning. I have posted a few pictures for the rally.
9:02 a.m.: DFL Party Chairman Brian Melendez started the convention on time. I have always been impressed at how precise DFL convention are run.
I’m in blogger row at the 2008 DFL State Convention. I want thank Kelly Schwinghammer, John Stiles and the Minnesota DFL for providing me with blogger credentials.
Please check back to Minnesota Democrats Exposed for updates throughout the day.
Tags: Mike Ciresi, Uncategorized
Topics: Mike Ciresi, Uncategorized | 39 Comments »
39 Responses to “LIVE-BLOG OF 2008 DFL CONVENTION”
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June 7th, 2008 at 9:22 AM
“He has made no mention of Al Franken’s jokes about rape and drugging a woman.”
Well how dare he! I am officially outraged that he wouldn’t abide by the Republican talking points that you have so conveniently laid out for him. It is high time we kick Tim Walz right out of the Republican Party.
June 7th, 2008 at 10:11 AM
Good thing there are others blogging here. The line was:
“We have to invest in our kids. And you see the return on investment right away.”
Please tell us, Michael, do you oppose early-childhood education?
June 7th, 2008 at 10:15 AM
Who needs investment in education? We ought to just expect that these kids will pull themselves up by their bootstraps.
June 7th, 2008 at 10:18 AM
As our good friend Al says, first you have to have the boots.
June 7th, 2008 at 10:19 AM
Personally, I think schools should have more bake sales and sell lemonade for funding.
June 7th, 2008 at 10:24 AM
$8,000-$12,000 per pupil = $200,000+ per classroom- for that amount of money we could buy every kid some boots- so what’s the magic number for liberals?
June 7th, 2008 at 10:24 AM
Good idea Hal! My problem is all that wasted money on things like heat and food for children. When are going to learn that coddling them with these comforts is only making them lazy.
June 7th, 2008 at 10:28 AM
Michael,
You are doing a great job as usual. Look at the liberals above whining and trying to change the subject. Thanks for being a patriotic American!
June 7th, 2008 at 10:31 AM
Thanks CNC.
June 7th, 2008 at 10:32 AM
Shozzy: Obviously, the number is all of your money. That is the answer you are fishing for, right?
As a teacher I just want you to hand over every last dime of your cash and the cash of everyone around you so that I can be exceedingly wealthy.
June 7th, 2008 at 10:33 AM
I’ve got an idea — how about the Dems make the education funding formula fair and equitable.
Why do the schools in Minneapolis get thousands of dollars more per kid than the schools in greater Minnesota?
The DFL legislature only made this gap wider in the last session.
June 7th, 2008 at 10:37 AM
I am live responding from the upper deck of the Rochester civic center.
Is it just me, or is Michael neglecting to live blog anything about the OTHER candidate? To read this post, one would think Al was debating himself.
June 7th, 2008 at 10:41 AM
It is easier to talk about sex jokes and Playboy articles than debate issues.
Michael is one of the greatest shock bloggers there is and he is not disappointing today.
June 7th, 2008 at 10:54 AM
Are you letting you think Franken’s position(s) is/are on torture, torture you?
June 7th, 2008 at 10:58 AM
Wally,
Could it be that because according to Representative Laura Brod and the information that she did not present, the profile of someone being raped fits the students and their parents of an urban area more than it does in her area?
June 7th, 2008 at 11:17 AM
MBB/MDE: disappointed/waiting for statements about drugging and raping a woman: 9:10 a.m.; 10:10; 10:44
————————————–
Unfortunately, there might be those few who are also waiting for some comments about drugging and raping beasts.
June 7th, 2008 at 11:17 AM
Michael – Hillary’s concession speech will begin in 15 minutes or so. Any mention of it at the dfl convention? Do they intend to take a break in any way to show Hillary’s endorsement of Obama?
June 7th, 2008 at 11:27 AM
Sean2: The DFL will be showing Hillary’s concession speech in an room adjacent to the convention.
June 7th, 2008 at 11:28 AM
I’ll be shocked if Angry Al’s fellow perv’s don’t endorse him on the first ballot. The nutjob lefties that end up at this convention are not the same people who show up to vote Democrat because they’ve always voted Democrat.
June 7th, 2008 at 12:19 PM
Mike:
Did I miss read this? They do their Q and A which ends before eleven. Then they start the endorsement after noon. Shouldn’t they have done the endorsement right after the Q and A.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
June 7th, 2008 at 12:25 PM
Eric, AF will get his butt handed him when we get to that, too. His position on renewable energy is typical liberal garbage. There’s nothing there about increasing oil exploration & production. That’s a losing argument with gas at $4 a gallon, especially with 57% of Americans now favoring increasing oil exploration on federal lands.
Meanwhile, I think Minnesotans are repulsed that Mr. Franken thinks it’s satire to talk about such things as rape.
Character still matters & Franken doesn’t have any.
June 7th, 2008 at 12:40 PM
MBB/MDE 9:10; 10:10: 10:44; 11:07; 11:17
9:30 a.m. – Ron Carey, Chairperson of the Minnesota Republican Party, “previews” [as in his press release yesterday] the day of his 27th Wedding Anniversary, with MBB/MDE’s writings [and other GOP communications] of drugging and rape of a woman.
June 7th, 2008 at 12:58 PM
Gary, you know full well that I don’t support Franken and have indicated that even with an endorsement I will not vote for him. However, it is clear from the repeated references by Brodkorb that he is not interested in substantive discussion but would like to stick to the petty mudslinging.
June 7th, 2008 at 1:12 PM
I wonder if Ron Carey, MN GOP Chairperson & 27th Wedding Anniversary Honorable Mention at the MN State DFL Convention, will also “preview” NEW YORK NATIVE Norm Coleman slinging mud at NEW YORK NATIVE Al Franken, independent of a DFL endorsement.
Al Franken could be somewhat similar to a Pat Paulsen for President, and go around from State to State with an effective comedy routine.
June 7th, 2008 at 2:06 PM
Well done on the prediction Michael
June 7th, 2008 at 2:19 PM
Franken may have been endorsed, but look for a Grunseth-like (look up the 1990 Gov race if you don’t get this reference) forced exit between now and November because of future scandals.
June 7th, 2008 at 2:23 PM
Oh damnit.
Now we’ll have to tolerate Coleman the RINO for another 6 years.
June 7th, 2008 at 2:27 PM
what was the vote tally for the endorsement?
June 7th, 2008 at 3:18 PM
Eric, I know that you don’t support AF, which is a feather in your cap. I applaud you for not putting partisanship ahead of moral decency.
I know from talking with Michael that he cares about issues. It’s just that Michael was appalled, as I was, with Mr. Franken’s behavior.
I find Mr. Franken’s talking about drugging & raping a woman almost as repulsive as what Mark Olson did.
June 7th, 2008 at 3:48 PM
“MN GOP Chairman Ron Carey had a press event this morning outside the building. It takes guts for a Republican to have a press conference 10 feet from hundreds of partisan Democrats.”
One might say that it takes more guts to have a convention so open and accessible to the other party’s operatives…
June 7th, 2008 at 4:32 PM
“”he didn’t apologize for his jokes and satire.”"
Hmmm, let me use your own words:
“”If you”"
actually listened to Al Franken’s Speech
“” and can’t figure out that “”
he apologized
“”you are a moron. Turn your computer off and get your head examined.”"
Why is the MNGOP so scared to talk about actual issues, because if this campaign came down to debating the issues they wouldn’t have a chance in hell. All they have is smear and slime, and MDE is the King of Smear and Slime!!
Keep it up Mike, your track record of electing Democratic candidates is better than your GOP one. The party must be proud!
June 7th, 2008 at 5:04 PM
Flash:
Lets talk about issues. Why was Clarence Thomas given hell but people like Bill Clinton and Al Franken get a pass? Before you have the right to talk about the issues you have to apologize for the way that Clarence Thomas got treated. Or else this an issue.
Half the voters in Minnesota are woman. Are you saying that a man who talks even in a joking manner deserves the vote of a woman. Maybe you can show me where Norm Coleman has joked of raping a woman?
Okay if you want an issue why bash Coleman because Coleman wants the oil companies to be drilling for oil in places where the Democrats for years have said no. Just think Flash if years ago we had allowed drilling and oil won’t be at $139 a barrell today. Oh that’s right as long as we don’t do policies that look like they are giving benefits to Exxon you don’t care what the price of oil is.
I’m looking forward to an issues campaign. And issue number one is that Al Franken has shown that he’s not qualfied to be a United States Senator.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
June 7th, 2008 at 5:37 PM
Curt: I want to discuss issues and Franken is an issue. His joke about drugging and raping a woman is an issue. According to Team Franken, his satire is good training for a U.S. Senator. Franken’s satire about drugging and raping a woman is an issue.
June 7th, 2008 at 11:16 PM
MBB/MDE: Three of a four-sentence paragraph on June 7, 2008 (Saturday), Ron Carey’s 27th Wedding Anniversary.
-1. “Curt: I want to discuss issues and Franken is an issue.”
-2. “His joke about drugging and raping a woman is an issue.”
-3. “According…Senator.”
-4. “Franken’s satire about drugging and raping a woman is an issue.”
June 8th, 2008 at 8:19 PM
The convention was great, and if you dont believe Coleman was a waste of a vote your crazy. What has he done for us, besides help drag us into a useless war. Please tell me how you enjoy being , “The workingest state in the country.” Im guess you enjoy working more hours for less pay. Wait maybe you enjoy watching our children get less of an education than we did for a unbelievable price. Please tell me how Norm has been everything but compationate to his state. Lets not even start on Michele Bachmann , in District 6, glad Tinklenburg ending that era.
June 8th, 2008 at 8:22 PM
Fraken apologised yesterday in his speech for his jokes and comments when he was a writer, with great sincerity.
June 8th, 2008 at 8:29 PM
Census says that 50.4 of Minnesota citizens are female. Correct on that, although you think back 15 years even 10 years and tell me if you will not have something to regret. Yes, that was inapp., although he applogised what else can one do.
In retrospect, I was very weary of Al in the beginning and went to tt him. After TT him I realised he was very sorry and his respect for his wife shows it all. Jack was agreat canidate that should move on to Gov. if possible I would vote for him there, but not Senate. Rep will tear down Al because they fear he can truely take down Norm
June 8th, 2008 at 8:32 PM
Drill for oil are you nuts. It is the year 2008, and our global situation is dire. We need to be an example of the future, Oil Independance. I would rather see a windmill or mass solar field than an oil field any day. We are one of the windiest states. We could be leading the Green energy world as a state alone.
October 2nd, 2008 at 8:25 PM
[...] 7th, 2008 • 11:53 amMichael’s Adventures From the Pits of Hell Michael Brodkorb should be applauded for reporting from the pits of hell, aka the DFL state convention. Here’s a couple posts that I found noteworthy: 9:40 a.m.: [...]