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THE TALE OF TWO PRESS CONFERENCES
By Ryan Flynn | January 7, 2009
The past two days have produced two very different press conferences from Senator Norm Coleman and comedian Al Franken.
Al Franken makes a statement in front of his home and takes no questions from the media. The only people that happen to be accompanying him are his east coast transplanted staffers. The event had what can only be described as a very dull tone to it.
On the other hand, Senator Coleman held a press conference yesterday at the Capitol with people spilling out into the halls as he announced the next very important step in this process. The Senator graciously took many questions, including one from the Uptake (frequent partners of the George Soros funded MN Indy). At many points during the event the Senator was interrupted with raucous applause signaling the desire for people to know and feel the process was done accurately and fairly.
One line from the Senator’s statement struck me as particularly meaningful, “At this moment, I may not have a working office in D.C. or in St. Paul, but I still have my voice in Minnesota, and I certainly plan to use it.”
It appears a lot more Minnesotans than just the Senator are using their voices loud and clear, and for a very good reason.
Topics: Uncategorized | 68 Comments »
68 Responses to “THE TALE OF TWO PRESS CONFERENCES”
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January 7th, 2009 at 10:37 am
The difference is, Al Franken does not need to beg cheerleaders to attend his press conferences to make him seem legitimate.
Most Minnesotans believe that Al Franken has won this election. No amount of press conference theatrics on the part of our former Senator will change that fact.
January 7th, 2009 at 10:40 am
Who is this “senator” you refer to?
January 7th, 2009 at 10:43 am
“I may not have a working office in D.C. or in St. Paul, but I still have my voice in Minnesota, and I certainly plan to use it.†— FORMER Senator Norm Coleman
And how will ol’ Smokescreen be usin’ that voice?
“Yes, your Honor; no, your Honor; I have to report to ClubFed when, your Honor?”
Norm Coleman – the Court-Certified “Fourth Most Corrupt Senator.”
Except, now he’s “FORMER Senator.”
January 7th, 2009 at 10:43 am
That’s “Former Senator Norm Coleman.” You might want to make that correction.
Also, Al Franken didn’t turn his event into a pep rally. Norm Coleman invited half of the Republicans in the state. More on that here:
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/news_cut/archive/2009/01/political_dominos.shtml
Norm Coleman has no way of winning, even if in the very off chance he wins any of his court challenges. Why is he wasting our time?
January 7th, 2009 at 10:48 am
“Most Minnesotans believe that Al Franken has won this election.”
Leroy, Franken didn’t get even 50% of the vote, so you’ve lied right out of the gate.
Imagine our surprise.
January 7th, 2009 at 10:54 am
“Leroy, Franken didn’t get even 50% of the vote, so you’ve lied right out of the gate.”
Swiftee, you are an idiot. You don’t have to have voted for Franken or even voted at all to think he’s won the election.
I’m going to bet that a hell of a lot of McCain voters are pretty sure Obama won the election.
January 7th, 2009 at 10:54 am
Say, Cheeto boy?
It’s snowing outside…time to fire up the mighty “,a href=”http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/S/htmlS/sanfordands/sanfordands.htm”>Cheeto boy & Sons” Chevy and start hitting those parking lots.
You’re wasting time; drop that bag of Cheeto’s, pull your pants up and get to work, boy!
January 7th, 2009 at 10:57 am
Minnesota law guides the election process here. Minnesota has a provision for contesting an election. Coleman has a right to contest the election. If the result were reversed, I would say that Franken has the same right. The Senate should abide by the results of a contest. Neither candidate should be seated until the contest is decided.
January 7th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Dimwit, the overwhelming majority of the 52% of voters that didn’t vote for Porn-O-Rama know this recount was a scam, and so do the majority of people that have more than half their brainpans occupied by something other than air….that leaves you, and your nutcase pals to cheerlead for a guy that stole from kids.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:09 am
Swiftee: Clever, but ignorant.
You hear it here first!
January 7th, 2009 at 11:41 am
I agree with Woodbury- if things had gone the other way, the other side would be calling foul, same as anything.
And for crying out loud, people, quit the name calling- you don’t help your cause, you just make yourself look like an ass.
January 7th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
As a republican I have become sick of this race a long time ago. It is a race Coleman should have won by a land slide after all it was Al (dumbass)Franken running against him.
If there is another vote for senate it is the first time I will not vote in an election.
January 7th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Leroy, Please point to proof of your assertion that “Most Minnesotans believe that Al Franken has won this election.”
The last poll I saw (Rasmussen) said 67% of Minnesotans thought Coleman won.
January 7th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Absolutely right, John. Coleman should have wiped the floor with a carpetbagging boob like Angry Al running.
Coleman ran a lousy campaign, was a moderate (at BEST) senator for 6 years, and did everything he could to have Republicans stay home. Minnesota’s version of John F–king McCain.
Now, I hear political pundits saying…Coleman will run for governor in 2012 if Timmy walks away.
GOOD LORD! Coleman loses to a wrestler, barely beats a octagenarian (sp?), and now loses to a carpetbagging comedian (a HAS-BEEN comedian at that)! And you think we’re gonna support THIS DOUBLE LOSER!
January 7th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Normie…if you lose the challenges…please…don’t go away mad. JUST GO AWAY!
January 7th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
At least Skip Humphrey had the common decency to take his spanking and never come back.
January 7th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
It’s snowing outside…time to fire up the mighty “,a href=â€http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/S/htmlS/sanfordands/sanfordands.htmâ€>Cheeto boy & Sons†Chevy and start hitting those parking lots.
HTML fail.
January 7th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
The last poll I saw (Rasmussen) said 67% of Minnesotans thought Coleman won.
You mean the poll from two months ago, when Coleman was winning, that was not about who had won, but who would be the winner when the recount was over? Yeah, I would have said yes to that question, because Coleman had the lead, and that obviously gave him the inside track. Now Franken has an even bigger lead with no votes to count; my guess is that ~75% think Coleman lost.
January 7th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Aaron, thanks for posting a link to a blog post written by someone almost as big of a liberal douchebag as yourself.
Don’t you have some pizza or catnip to go and review?
January 7th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Lets be fair about this. Norm Coleman and the Republican Party actively recruited supporters to show up at his press conference. Al Franken and the DFL did not do that.
In my opinion, the big difference between the two press conferences was attitude. Al Franken sounded confidant, even certain that he will be going to Washington DC as our senator. Norm Coleman was much more subdued, even resigned to his fate. One could sense that he may be pursuing his court case reluctantly,already aware that he is not likely to prevail or receive the remedies that he is seeking. He is a lawyer after all.
I was told that Al Franken would prefer to have taken questions but was advised by his legal counsel to say nothing outside of the prepared remarks, lest he say something that could be used in the pending court proceeeding. Coleman also stuck very closely to the points in his script.
January 7th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
“Al Franken sounded confidant, even certain that he will be going to Washington DC as our senator.”
Rod Blagojevitch, Jesse Jackson Jr., Bill Richardson, Ed Rendell, Rahm Emmanual…they’re all sportin’ that same look of confidence.
It’s a Democrat thang.
January 7th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
You’re such a fraud, Brodkorb. How many of your Republican staffer colleagues were rallying for Norm on state time in Room 181? Were you there? To suggest Norm’s “star power” somehow generated throngs of interested media is a joke. And so is your boss. Just remember it this way: Al Franken is the comedian and senator. Norm Coleman is the joke and former senator.
January 7th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Say, boatee?
Does Al teabag you while you service him so ably?
January 7th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
You’re a real good boy, aren’t you boatee?
Sure you are.
HAHAHAHAHA!
January 7th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Norm Coleman press confrence way cooler then Franken.
If Norm didn’t vote for the bailout he would have won by a quarter million votes, but now your worried about whos press confrence is more interesting.
Your a joke man.
January 7th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
It’s funny you mention that Mike.
When Norm ran for Gov., the sole reason he didn’t get my vote was because he was pushing for a publicly funded baseball staduim…in effect, a bailout for Carl Pohlad.
History repeats itself? Maybe.
January 7th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Say MDE, how come you’re not making a big deal out of this.
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2009/01/022489.php
January 7th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
I think that both D and JohnA made valid points about Coleman’s campaign.
There’s absolutely no way in hell that Coleman should have lost to a spectacularly unfunny and unqualified individual like Al Franken. If I were Coleman, I’d be deeply and horrifically embarrassed.
I was a volunteer for Coleman back in ‘02 and have been a small financial contributor for years. But I have said it on other web sites and I’ll say it again here…
Not many Minnesotans can tell you about one thing that Norm Coleman accomplished in his six years in the Senate. Coleman loved to play inside ball while there, something that most Minnesotans (of all political stripes) find infuriating.
Norm Coleman was (and remains) pure vanilla pablum in words and deeds. Now, I certainly didn’t expect him to be a firebrand or an agitator in the Senate. That’s not his type of personality. But I did expect more than what I saw. Even in his apearances on 1280 The Patriot, his words and comments were always vacuous and empty. So much so that they were the words of a man who was afraid to take a stand on anything for fear of upsetting someone.
His campaign was poorly run. His TV ads were empty. He had nothing to run on other than “Hi, I’m Norm Coleman and I’m running for re-election”. He looked like a tired punching bag in his debates with Franken and Barkley. I’d find myself saying to the TV set “Damnit, Coleman! Fight back! Stand up for yourself!”
In Coleman’s defense, there was nothing he could do about the large influx of useful idiots (aka young voters) who went to the polls telling their friends “Oh Dude, wouldn’t if be freaking cool to have a comedian in the Senate?” Those voters, already having been suckered in by Obama’s promises of Change, IOW, a free handout, willingly voted for Franken too.
If you believe the words of the guys at the Powerline blog, they seem to believe that the Coleman Team’s approach to the recount has not been too dis-similiar to the way Coleman conducted himself in the Senate and on the campaign trail – ambiguous and unmotivated.
I believe that if Franken does survive the court challenge, it won’t be long before a large chunk of Minnesota begins to have buyers’ remorse – the type of buyers remorse that occurred back in 2000 after listening to a bloviating ex-wrestler who just happened to be our Governor.
Minnesota, will you ever learn?
January 7th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
MplsSteve…
“In Coleman’s defense, there was nothing he could do about the large influx of useful idiots (aka young voters) who went to the polls telling their friends “Oh Dude, wouldn’t if be freaking cool to have a comedian in the Senate?†Those voters, already having been suckered in by Obama’s promises of Change, IOW, a free handout, willingly voted for Franken too.”
Doesn’t democracy suck? I suppose you are in the camp that says all voters must take a test before voting too, right?
Jerk.
January 7th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Was Eric Willems standing behind Coleman at his presser the other day?
http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/senate/37219649.html
Seems to me, he is just the sort of guy who allowed Norm to keep it this close.
January 7th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Dan-
That’s terribly ignorant of you to make such a statement. Nothing I said above supports a competency test before voting.
What I stated was an absolute fact. Many useful idiots (aka young voters) went to the polls for the reasons I described above.
I know a number of these useful idiots. I work with them on a daily basis. I listened to them for the few months before the election. And trust me, my comments are 100% accurate.
You don’t have to like my reasons – and frankly, I don’t care if you do.
Now in the future (if I’m not asking too of you), please don’t ascribe to me motives (a competency test) that you can’t back up.
January 7th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
“large influx of “Useful idiots.”
“large influx of “USEFUL IDIOTS.”
ВладиÌмир ИльиÌч ЛеÌнин: Translated in
English reads: Vladimir I Lenin,
who screams: MplsSteve!!
How dare you use my words without sighting their source!!! Those are my words!!!
January 7th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Lenin…it appears you need to work on your English a little. The word is “citing” not “sighting.”
January 7th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Senator Norm Coleman is just that a Senator. Whether the current or past office holder. Please see http://englishplus.com/news/news1200.htm.
It is rude and uninformed to call him the former Senator from Minnesota whether you believer he has won the election or not. We would not expect any less, though, from the Dems.
The Senate is a very small club. Only 100 of them help control the fate of the nation. Their status is revered in many countries. Senators are men and women of distinction. (Another reason that someone like Franken should never have even gotten as close as he has) As such, along with Presidents, they retain their title for the remainder of their life.
January 7th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Senators are men and women of distinction.”
And ol’ Smokescreen’s “distinction” is the Court-Certified status as “Fourth Most Corrupt Senator.”
Some “distinction.”
As such, along with Presidents, they retain their title for the remainder of their life.”
And Normie will probably retain the title “convict” someday, too.
January 7th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
“It is rude and uninformed to call him the former Senator from Minnesota whether you believer he has won the election or not.”
And by “rude and uninformed,” you must mean “precisely accurate,” since former senator Coleman does not currently hold the office of senator, thereby making him former senator Coleman.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
Tommy Johnson you are very rude and disrespectful. There is NOTHING corrupt about SENATOR COLEMAN. There is NO LAWSUIT against him. He has served our state honorably. That is more than can be said for the way Mark Ritchie and the Dems handled the PAPER BALLOT RECOUNT.
January 7th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
“As a republican I have become sick of this race a long time ago. It is a race Coleman should have won by a land slide after all it was Al (vulgarity deleted)Franken running against him.
If there is another vote for senate it is the first time I will not vote in an election.”
This is the kind of thinking that made it so difficult for SENATOR COLEMAN. Many voters didn’t realize the overwhelming numbers of new voters that Obama would be bringing out to the polls mostly urban voters who overwhelmingly voted a straight DEM party ticket. If this were an off year Norm would have creamed Franken. If there were a runoff vote today SENATOR COLEMAN would win easily.
Conservatives are so good at cannibalizing their own if a candidate does anything they disagree with – Or they stay home as you suggest.. Something the Libs are good at is they stick together thick or thin — they seem to understand what is at stake!
January 7th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
Come on Mike, even Powerline says he should give it up…
January 7th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Tommy Johnson trying to reason with you while you play with words and phrases by stretching, contorting, boiling, slicing, tenderizing and dicing them makes as much sense as buying the family dog a new complete set of encyclopedias.
January 7th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Proud Republican. The dog would have more use for the encyclopedias than Tommy would. Tommy has been spewing the same BS lines forever.
Tommy – proof that even the stupid can use the internet.
January 7th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
Susan. I understand what you are saying but I do not agree with you completely. Republicans are to often willing to accept candidates that are not true conservatives and in the end we elect people that are not much better than Democrats. It is my belief that people put Republicans in power to put a stop to all the liberal policies. Unfortunately the Republicans began acting just like the Democrats and the people threw them out of office. The only way to get back in the game is to return to our conservative roots and stop electing Republicans that act like Democrats. It is time for conservatives to take the party back.
January 7th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
This election needs a full trial with unlimited discovery to answer all the questions that remain. Who has to be in a hurry to seat someone that the majority of Minnesotans did not support in the first place. I want a clear and unequivocal result from the court system. No BS and do not duck like the Supreme Court did.
January 7th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Amen Ranger.
January 7th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
MDE: the tale of two douche bags
January 8th, 2009 at 12:11 am
“George Soros funded Uptake”
This is false.
(comment error the first time, trying again)
January 8th, 2009 at 12:25 am
Dan Brome and Tommy Johnson: Tale of Two Idiots.
Swiftee, Tommy doesn’t drive a Chevy … his mom bought him a shiny red Ford!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU5pUIjDqI4
Notice that Tommy drives off without paying for his gas! (A gallon of gas was more expensive then, about as much as a jumbo bag of Cheetos.) Tommy must feel guilty when he goes back to plow their parking lot.
As Tommy talks with lots of drool-covered Cheetos in his mouth, he claims he’s a veteran. A veteran of what, Cheetos?
January 8th, 2009 at 2:07 am
SlowSlime, you’ve obviously never heard of “pay at the pump.”
Maybe someday, if you somehow learn how to manage your finances, VISA will extend credit to you, too.
January 8th, 2009 at 3:00 am
Sorry Tommy, but the video doesn’t show you “pay at the pump,” and the only credit card you’ve ever used is your mommy’s.
What I witnessed on the video, was a “pump and run” The dumbest criminals used to be the ones that simply recorded their acts on camera. Now they take the extra step of putting in on youtube!
John Walsh: ” Our next fugitive is a part-time painter, caddy, and snow shoveler who goes by the name ‘CheetoBoy’.
January 8th, 2009 at 7:02 am
SlowSlime, you’ve obviously also never heard of “editing.”
If you ever manage to get off TheShortBusExpress, you’ll be eligible for those classes.
January 8th, 2009 at 7:57 am
What a stupid video. Tommy talking about running a clean campaign? Now that is a joke. Tommy is the rudest little pussy troll there is on the web. Proof once again that the Democrat party is full of liars and cheats.
January 8th, 2009 at 9:51 am
“Tommy is the rudest little pussy troll there is on the web.”
Close, but, no cigar!!!
Scrotee won that title long ago. The whereabouts of the trophy are unknown; urban legend has it Scrotee hocked the trophy after one of his many DUI busts….
January 8th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Does anyone else believe calling someone rude and then a pussy troll in the same sentence should qualify for double negative status?
January 8th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Well, Leroy, little rePete is just proving the consistent inconsistency of republiCons in today’s GreedOverPrinciples party…..
January 8th, 2009 at 11:09 am
Pffft. I love to come here and learn new and exciting news about myself.
I never knew I owned an imported, ratty motorcycle, or that I have a mullet, or that I’m bald, or that I have “whiskey” license plates..HA!
It’s really fascinating to learn what boatee and Cheeto boy like to fantisize about while teabagging each other in the basement.
HAHAHA!
Say, Cheeto boy? You know, instead of worrying about my driving record, what I ride, or what Al Franken is doing, you better get out there and plow some parking lots, boy.
January 8th, 2009 at 11:25 am
I don’t “worry” ’bout you, Scrotee. Really.
“pity” would be close, though.
BWAHAHAHAhahahahaHAHAHAHAhahahaha!
Save them empty beer cans, Scrotee – sooner or later, you’ll need ‘em for bail.
January 8th, 2009 at 11:32 am
Tommy, don’t forget to save your cans. Instead of peeing your pants in public at the Hopkins VFW – you can use an empty can!
January 8th, 2009 at 11:48 am
“Save them empty..”
Another proud graduate of public schools. HA!
Oh well, I don’t expect my plow truck drivers to be that bright…just so long as they get it done curb to curb.
You go curb to curb, don’t you Cheeto boy?
Sure you do.
Pffft.
January 8th, 2009 at 11:58 am
“Save them empty..â€
Scrotee, I just happen to write in a vernacular JackPineSavages* such as yourself can unnerstand.
*down south, they’re called “rednecks.”
Others just call ‘em trailer trash.
When Scrotee grows up, maybe he can salvage enough empties to buy one.
January 8th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Does anyone else wish that Swiftee and Tommy would just have sex and get it over with?
Or better yet start their own blog where they can talk in private to one another?
Every post on here seems to degenerate into the two of them debating each other’s genitalia.
January 8th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Well, that may be, Leroy – but ol’ Scrotee was the only one to post a link to full frontal male nudity.
Obviously, he has a vast collection.
January 8th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
I’m saving my cans to heat the garage so I can keep my kergerator tapped 24/7:
http://tinyurl.com/2tvkwq
January 8th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Tommy saved the link to that page. It keeps him busy many nights in mom’s basement.
January 8th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Say, rePete? I just got the link; only on Planet Denial – where delusional fools like you live – would that allow me the joys you dream of.
January 8th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
I think Cheeto boy has had that link tattooed onto his forehead.
I just hope he got someone a little smarter to spell it correctly for him!
HAHAHAAHA!
January 8th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
I rest my case.
January 8th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
You promise?
January 8th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
Tommy had it tattooed on his butt so that Leroy could keep an eye on it.