Which, uh… this time is respect?
My personal indignation at some of his supporters aside, I got to say that JNP is running a great race for Senate. Since he officially announced for Senate I have been officially contacted by his campaign more times than I have by any other, with probably twice as many contacts as Ciresi in the same time period.
I have received three mailings, four emails, and six or seven phone calls.
In his most recent email JNP touts the support of the blog-o-sphere linking to a KOSsack (personally I wouldn’t have included it, as it’s more than a little patronizing, and full of out and out hostility to Al Franken) — and to my esteemed colleague DJ Danielson at I Don’t Hate America! (who I think is a little more realistic).
An acquaintance from Minneapolis has also been calling me regularly on behalf of the JNPizzle camp, and while I may not always agree with him, his level headed support and conviction are very admirable. I don’t think I’ll be supporting Jack and I don’t think he’ll be the DFL nominee, but his campaign is fired up and the Peace in the Precincts folks are great organizers and know how to use the Caucus process.
After the fold is Jack’s most recent lit piece.
Click on the images to see them larger.
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Sean,
So why is being honest about Franken being “hostel”? Your hostility toward JNP is far more blatant and irrational than anything in the KOS piece. We get it, you want Franken to win for some reason that must be impossible to articulate.
It seems that Franken’s ability to hire a lot of DFL supporters to work on his campaign might be his biggest selling point because his position on issues and electibility are both sub-par.
The blog piece is smirking in tone about more than Franken, which is really why it’s a poor choice.
The point is less whether the post was perfectly fair to Franken, and whether or not a candidate’s touting of blog support should link to pieces that are derisive in tone. The post was also “hostile” towards the 2nd District DFL’ers. That might alienate some potential supporters, who might wonder if the campaign wholeheartedly agrees that they are “timid and defensive and hyperpatriotic.”
I wonder if he’s focusing all of his energy on 4 and 5. He’s been noticeably absent from the 3rd. I think I might have received one lit piece and one email from his campaign, and that’s about it. I also don’t think he showed up to our big fund raiser the other night, but I just might not be remembering him. His folks have otherwise not been around much though. Even Cohen has showed up to more stuff out here than JNP, although usually arriving just before whatever event is supposed to end.
Well KH — it’s hostile, but thats besides the point.
The reason why I think it’s hostile is this:
VS.
Gosh Bobby — it sure does sound to me like someones got a crush on Jackie-poo, he’s even written SERIOUS(!) books (well, serious if you think that anything turgid must be serious). Never mind the fact that its basically BS, and only in this guys head. What exactly is only in this guys head?
Which all three, and feel free to quote me here; are complete and utter bullshit.
The Franken office on University is basically made up of people who have been in Minnesota since at least before the last cycle if not their careers and lives. In fact, I’d speculate (and not all that wildly) that the Ciresi office has more out-of-staters and DC folks than does the Franken camp — from knowing some of the staffers to the multiple calls I received from friends nationally who were looking to work for Ciresi’s camp. And it should be noted, that I don’t think that Ciresi having folks from around the country is a bad thing, talent is talent and you want to have it no matter where it’s from.
The Wellstone bunch being furious at Franken for his support of the war? Really, in what world? It’s absurd on it’s face to treat the supporters of Paul Wellstone as some monolithic organization (especially given that there are Wellstone Staffers on both the Franken and Ciresi campaigns) but it’s extra absurd to think that an entire group of people are going to dismiss a candidate for a position that he held 5 years ago, and a position that he’s changed.
And finally, it’s in no ones best interest to ever disparage the hard working folks of the 2nd, the 6th, the 7th or the 1st congressional districts. They work damn hard to get Democrats elected and if some sanctimonious urban liberal blowhard wants to disparage them for being hyper-patriotic, he better be ready for a hyper-real cowboy boot stamped with an American flag in his ass (ditto for calling me a confident yuppie).
I have not (much to the consternation of my friends in both the Ciresi and Franken camps) decided who I want to win.
Thanks as always for reading. Sean
Sean,
So that saliva dripping rant was your way of showing how you are somehow less of a condescending ass than the person writing at KOS?
The people that are doing most of the work for Franken that I have met are indeed from out of state. The things he says do sound like they have had all the actual information and thought bleached out of them. I agree that the article did a disservice to the people of the 3rd and to those in South Minneapolis but that is not really an issue between Franken and JNP.
Most of the people I know that really supported Wellstone, I’m old enough to have voted in ‘90, don’t like Franken and resent those who treat his nomination as inevitable. These are people that were students in ‘90, people in Kenwood that held big-buck fund-raisers and life long iron rangers.
People don’t dislike Franken just because he supported the war. They dislike him because he is a fraud. He isn’t a Minnesotan, he pretends to be in the mold of Wellstone, independent and authentic, while he does nothing but play it safe and us the Wellstone name. His idiotic support for the war and his obviously BS rational for it after the fact only proves the point that Franken is the worst candidate in the field. The fact that his only experience is as a mediocre comedian who found a rapt audience in politics is another sign. That he is the front runner says a lot about the people that support him and the DFL in general.
If you want to complain about another blog be bias fine but maybe you should clean up the MNpublius act at the same time rather than fight BS with BS. You could start by giving an even handed look at the position each candidate has on the issues and let people decide for themselves. I know be informative isn’t as fun as playing junior king-maker but it is a lot more constructive.
p.s. Has MNpublius ever posted the connections they might have to the different candidates? Close friends or family that are being paid by one campaign or another? Wasn’t an friend of someone working for Franken in I.T.?
p.p.s. Sorry for asking about issues. I know Franken people tend to hate that. They would rather it be about money, personality, and making people that don’t pay attention feel good about themselves. Kinda like Bush supporters in that way.
Actually Kerosene Hat, one of our members is working for Al Franken in IT (but I’m sure you knew that, you were just trying to hide it under that snazzy veneer of being a smartass).
But, in response to asking about our connections to the different candidates, its an straw man and a waste of our time. If I had to tell you every acquaintance and friend that was working for a DFL campaign in Minnesota I’d have a hard time writing anything else.
You repeatedly hint (this isn’t the first time) that we’re biased because JD works for the Franken camp. Shit, we may be. And, lets be honest here, it’s not like anyone doesn’t know. But I’ll tell you what I’ve told every other campaign that’s asked, I’ll happily post anything thats positive for a Democrat in the state.
But in the future you can either accuse us of being biased or continue with the passive aggressive approach you’ve taken so far.
And finally it’s not my responsibility to “provide an evenhanded look at the candidates positions and let people decide for themselves.” If you think it is, then maybe you’re looking at the wrong blog. Sean
Dan — Fair point. I know that Pallmeyer is probably looking for a lot of organizing support out of Peace in the Precincts and they are focused largely in the 4th and the 5th. I think he’ll also pick up some support out of the 8th but thats about it.
(and as a 5th district DFL executive committee member, it’s probably part of the reason why I’ve been courted harder than you have.)
And, I think that what you bring up is part of the reason why you can’t expect Pallmeyer’s campaign to win the endorsement or an election. There are just too many of those timid defensive and hyperpatriotic people in the state who Pallmeyer’s message doesn’t resonate with. Sean
at least you admit, Sean, that Wellstones funeral WAS a political event
Go to hell, John.
http://www.alfranken.com/pages/health_care/
http://www.jackforsenate.org/health-care.htm
http://www.ciresiforsenate.com/issues/healthcare
How’s that, some specific positions on issues. Maybe we should be talking about these.
Sean,
Honestly my knowledge of how you were connected to Franken was based on a weak memory of a post many months ago giving kudos to JD for his work and didn’t remember his name until you mentioned it. It seems as though you have made no effort (other than a line on the “about” page saying he is on sabbatical in order to keep the blog objective) to make any sort of continuing disclosure on the matter. The fact you note the blog has failed to stay objective is disappointing, if honest, admission. An admission that should be interesting to the non-Franken supporters, those looking for information and casual readers of this site.
While you pretend to be open to posting any positive information on any Democrat on this site this post makes it obvious what you mean. Headlines like “JNP Gets What He Deserves” should give any Democratic candidate pause before trusting you. The body of your post makes it clear that it is simply damning him with faint praise at best. It is a post that would be right at home on MDE except it doesn’t contain any original information.
While I would never expect you to provide balanced and objective coverage across party lines I have a feeling many here felt there were different and higher standards for discussions about those within the Democratic party. If you feel the purpose of this blog is as much to promote one Democrat over another as it is Democrats over republicans you should let that be known.
In the end you are probably right about having the wrong blog. This one it seems is just a front for you to promote candidates who are paying for it at the expense of any honest dialog. It may not be your responsibility to present an even handed view of the different Democratic candidates but it is a part of how this blog is viewed. I hope anybody else who held the same impression I did understands their mistake. Especially those who may have views that may not benefit your career or that of your friends.
This blog has subjective views?
Hang your heads in shame MNpublius, there are other blogs out there that only present their views in a unbiased fash…
wait, never mind.
Yes Spider Pig but those other site do not claim to “Track the Status of MN politics” so that the casual reader could think the site is not bias.
Which by Sean’s own admission above proves that this is a bias site.