Well, if what I’ve been hearing is correct, the NRCC isn’t going to get their wish. A well-connected Minnesota Republican insider has informed me that the Congressman has no intentions to get back in this race. This seems to mesh with what I’ve been hearing in general but it’s difficult to say with any certainty what might actually happen without talking to Ramstad himself. Still, one has to assume that the Congressman weighed all these competing interests before he made his decision not to run.
I think that Jim Ramstad has been an admirable public servant, but hopefully he’ll stick with his guns on this decision if for no other reason than how fun this race will be to watch. Well, that and how much fun it is to watch the NRCC squirm…
I don’t think it would have been such a cake watch for Ramstad had he gotten back into the race. I don’t think Hamlet’s “To Be or Not to Be” type back and forth does a candidate much good. Voters tend to want candidates who are interested in the office they are running for - not someone who has said “I’m burned out.”
Ramstad getting out of the race will help things along for Erik Paulsen. That’s who this was really unfair to. Paulsen is stepping up to the plate and running - and it’s hard to be in limbo.
This goes the other way also. For every dollar the DFL spends to win this seat, that is one less dollar for Walz.
cakewalk
What possible means might the NRCC have for ‘putting pressure on’ Ramstad? That Ramstad has allowed this speculation to dribble on so long reveals his own sappy vanity. Paulsen’s Stepin Fetchit response — his groveling announcement that he’ll drop out instantly were Ramstad to unretire — tells us a lot about Erik Paulsen.
The GOP are going to have real problems retaining this seat as well as the seats of Kline and Bachmann. Bachmann is especially vulnerable because of her behavior. She will be marked as Minnesota’s “Mean Jean Schmidtt”. The demographics of the sixth are changing and people are tired of rolling their eyes every time someone brings up their batshit crazy congresswomen.
Richard saying so, don’t make it so.
As usual, Backman and kine will do just fine as well we will watch Bonoff screw up taking this seat.
I never really understood why the democRats every year tell the same tale of how they will win all, yet very rarely do they do as well as they tell us all they would. I guess it is their ploy to get non committed voters to their side of the table? Maybe you tell people you will win enough, they will just vote for you because you have them believing they would be voting for the winner? I am not sure about why you do it, I just know year after year I am told how Bachman and Kline are tost, tey here they still are doing quite well.
My guess is the noisy leftist think since they make so much noise that surely they must be the majority.
This state has gone more and more moderate and I would bet not long from now the DFL domination will be a thing of the past. The liberals had a good run, but now we have seen how their policies fail in the shinning examples of liberal run cities in Mpls and St. Paul.
Thanks for the laugh and the trip down Fantasy Lane, Big Kahuna. You are one funny person. Have you heard the comedy shows are looking for writers. Crossing the picket line as a scab doesn’t seem like it would be something that would bother one such as yourself.
Democrats never winning? Hello. Where were you in Nov of 2006? And with the shrub running our economy, the military, the environment and the middle class into the ground, voters in 2008 will happily repeat 2006.
Year after year you hear Bachmann is toast? Funny, she’s only ran once and this is her first term. The people’s impression of her wacko-religious, bush-stalking-and-groping behavior have made their mark on her reputation. She is by no means a shoo in.
Kline? His continued support of the disaster that is Iraq will be his undoing. With close to 80% of America wanting us out of there now, this fatal decision of his will be his downfall.
Although Pelosi and Reid have turned out to be afraid of the shrub, that doesn’t mean there aren’t other Democrats ready to step in and replace them as well. Along with the purge of the NeoCon-tainted Republican party members from DC, we will also be sweeping out the Republican-lite DINOs.
Count on it.
The NRCC is probably dangling a choice committee spot and making assurances that his bills will get priority, etc. But that’s probably too little too late for Ramstad. Especially since it’s not a guarantee that the NRCC mavens would be able to deliver on anything, and without Democratic help and allies not much gets done for him anyways. the incentives for Ramstad to save his caucus aren’t exactly at a premium.
This does not surprise me. I always thought that once Ramstad said he was out, he would stay out. It should be an interesting race.
I’m always a little surprised when people bring up the 3rd draining money away from Walz; where are all the indicators that he’s somehow in trouble? He’s been raising money quite effectively, maintained respectable approval ratings, and his opponents have done nothing to distinguish themselves as formidable threats to date.
Big Kahuna I again agree 100%.
Failure after failure marks the Democrats, from rising gas prices, an Iraq war that is costing 15 Billion dollars every month, rising food prices, rising health care costs, and a record setting rise in forclosures. Thank God that only effects those poor, lazy people they represent who don’t deserve my tax dollars anyway.
When are these liberalosers going to get out of our way and let the Republican party make the proper decisions that will set our Country on the right path again? We have to continue to downsize the government, lower taxes for us wealthy people who pay most of it anyway, and continue to show people why we own the moral high ground.
The Republican party is not gay, are not terrorists, do not hate America, do not give comfort to our enemies and most importantly, are not a bunch of hippie communists. Who’s party represents all of them, Liberalunatics? If you don’t like it, I hear Canadas pretty nice this time of year.
Think of the children!!!
Nice.
You let the reichwingers post all kinds of nasties, yet you deem my previous post as unprintable?!
Would you care to email me to let me know what was so offensive about my post? Probably not.
Lefties who bend over backwards to please the righties do us all a disservice.
No worries. I won’t “pollute” your site with my posts anymore after this one. Probably won’t be back here anyway. Good luck with your appeasement tactics. It’s working so well for Pelosi and Reid, isn’t it?
It’s not over. I don’t think Ramstad is officially out, otherwise there would be people lining up to run against Paulsen. There is an internal buzz keeping a couple strong R prospects out of the race.
No disrespect to Paulsen, but there are a couple additional candidates who the R’s could put up and would be stronger than Paulsen (at least with Paulsen’s presence in this race to-date, which is zero).
Big Kahuna-I would posit that Minnesota becoming more moderate is a good thing for the DFL. You would have to say that the recent Congressional and state legislature results points to that wouldn’t you?
Voters don’t invariably punish incumbents who change their minds about retiring and run again after all. In CA-24 voters re-elected Elton Gallegley after his farcically mis-managed retirement fizzle, last cycle. They re-elected Senator Lott despite his very public hesitation to commit to another term (and now they’re screwed, aren’t they?)
That said, voters do generally want a candidate who wants the job and means to keep it. There are numerous examples of incumbents who lost at least partly because they were known to intend to abandon ship mid-term, to run for higher office. Two words: George Allen. That’s why Crit Luallen decided to wait for Jim Bunning’s Senate seat, in KY. She knew the voters would resent it, if she went after the other seat right after being elected to her current office.