Of Senate candidates who have released figures for the second three months of the year, only Minnesota Democrat Al Franken raised more money in the quarter. The radio host and former Saturday Night Live performer collected $1.9 million in the quarter.
Candidates still have through Sunday to file, so Franken might still be beaten, but it appears as though his fund-raising efforts are currently at the top of the heap. This is nothing short of remarkable for a candidate running as a contested challenger in a 10EV state. I mean, when Ciresi, Franken, and the rest of the DFL field puts their cash together can there be any doubt that Minnesota’s DFL Senate candidates raised more than any other similar congregation in the nation? “Impressive” only begins to describe it.
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The only thing normy has to worry about is if his resume is up to date.
I can’t wait to hear Mikey’s spin on this one……..
Hey, Matt,
So I looked over all 15 posts you had on Al Franken. Nearly all of them are about how much money he has raised. The rest are about endorsements, with a couple thrown in that are critical of Norm Coleman (duh).
What I don’t see so far is any analysis of his positions on any important issues, and I am wondering if we could get you do dig just a bit deeper. Could you, for example, outline what Franken plans to do to end the tragedy in Iraq? Maybe you could actually outline his general inclinations toward military spending versus non-military spending, on invasions versus actual diplomacy. Could you tell where he stands on single-payer universal healthcare? What sort of solutions does he suggest to the massive climate change we have started? Does he, for example, propose any public policy initiatives for sustainable energy that doesn’t release massive amounts of CO2?
You get the idea. It is always nice to back a winner, but it might be even better too pick a senator who might dig us out of the huge hole we have dug for ourselves. Quite a few of us at this point want to pick the best person for the job of senator, not just the best fund-raiser. Please take a moment to talk about policy. We get enough of the horserace story from the Strib.
Charley,
Well put. Time to talk about issues, not fluff.
It appears as though John Cornyn (R- Advocates for Violence Against Judges) raised 2.1M this quarter.
http://www.kristv.com/global/story.asp?s=6787653 Sean
Charley,
You can easily go to Al Franken’s website (alfranken.com) to find information on his issues. This is a news blog, not a campaign blog, and I don’t know that it’s the most appropiate place for you to look for these things.
Al Franken, the best carpet-bagging, would-be Senator from Minnesota Hollywood can buy.
Raising 82% of your money from individuals outside the state of Minnesota is not a ringing endorsement from the locals.
If Norm taking money from PACs is an issue than Al taking it from out of state is an issue. Either where the money comes from is important or it isn’t. I don’t want my senator unduly influenced by people from the other side of the country any more than a corporation or interest group.
Well put KH. However, many would argue that where the money comes from doesn’t matter anymore anyhow, since all politics is national today. In Al’s case, we also have to remember that many Minnesotans are not going to pitch into his campaign or volunteer or what have you until they see him as a truly viable candidate, as opposed to just another entertainment politician, like Ventura before him. That time may be coming now that Normy looks like a lost cause practically. I tend to actually believe Al is very serious and that if I was in his shoes, running for Paul Wellstone’s chair, I would take the money wherever I could get it, and spend all of my energy running the best campaign I could.
Again, I wish we had a runoff system, so that third parties really could enter the game. So far, Al seems like the best to me, judging from his words and my gut.
One more thing: Although I realize this is not a campaign blog, and that we should not expect MN Publius to be our educator on the issues each candidate stands for, I am a little tired of seeing “raises” in the title of the blog entries. I know the money is the be all and end all in American politics, but it sure would be nice to get a break from the horse race of who is raising what. If we are going to spend time talking about the candidates, why NOT address the issues and leave the money to the fund raisers?
wtm - you’re not implying that Coleman’s Hollywood wife supports Franken, are you?
Dear That Girl,
The sign at the top says, “Tracking the status of Minnesota politics.” So you seem to say that a candidate’s position on the issues does not even fit into that status, only the amount of money that candidate has raised. Is that your position?
What concerns me is that we are in quite a mess here. There can always be legitimate disagreement about how to solve the problems we face, but I can’t really imagine how we will solve anything if we don’t even consider the candidates views. A focus on merely money is not really even news, if what the voters need are solutions. This much emphasis on money actually obscures the news and cheapens the entire process.
Really, couldn’t we please talk about the candidates’ positions? Is that really a taboo subject in a political blog?