I wanted to follow up this morning’s primer on the AFSCME endorsement with a some insights into the nuts and bolts of the process. Here is how it works:
AFSCME divides the state into six “PEOPLE Districts”. Members of the West Metro PEOPLE District will screen candidates for the CD 3 endorsement, members of the West Metro, East Metro and Metro PEOPLE Districts will screen candidates for the CD 6 endorsement. The members of the screening committees are “politically active” AFSCME members chosen by the Board. They are not Board members. The screening committee will be about a dozen people in CD 3, but “significantly more” in CD 6 (because CD 6 has three PEOPLE Districts). The screening committee will make a recommendation to the Board tonight, which will probably make a final decision on the endorsement tomorrow.
Terri Bonoff, Ashwin Madia and Jim Hovland will be screening in CD 3. Erik Paulsen was invited to screen but (make sure you are sitting down before you read this) he didn’t RSVP. Bob Olson, El Tinklenberg and IP candidate John Brockberg will be screening in CD 6. Michele Bachmann was invited but she RSVP’d by sending AFSCME a dead fish.
Each candidate will get a three minute opening statement and a three minute closing statement. In between they will answer questions from members of the screening committee and an audience consisting of AFSCME members. All candidates have already filled out a questionnaire.
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So for every Democrat who sees the AFSCME as a feather-in-the-hat for the general election, how many Moderates and Republics in the 3rd see it as a liability? 1? 2? 3?
I can see the screening going something like this:
Question 1: Are American employers inherently bad people? If “no”, you may go home.
Questoin 2: …..
DantheMan,
Mean while on the dark side, the screening might be something like this 1) Which is more important, the rethug agenda or the state of Minnesota? If you say Minnesota, you may go home.
1 word: Ramstad