Ash Madia has been endorsed by Congressman Michael Honda (D-CA), who also serves as Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee.From the release:
After meeting Madia, the congressman said he was impressed by the candidate’s “articulate resolve on the most important issues of the day.”“Ashwin shares my strong commitment to preserving the constitutional rights of all people,” Honda said. “I have no doubt he’ll be a bold voice in Congress and a great representative for his district.”
I’m told Madia is going to have big news tomorrow as well.
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This race has lost alot of buzz for the moment…. too much going on nationally.
I say this one goes down to the primary. All 3 candidates (so far) have their advantages.
Hovland - public service track record and moderation in a moderate district
Bonoff - approachable mom-next-door persona and business accomplishment
Madia - good speaker and Iraq vet
Bonoff - approachable mom-next-door persona and business accomplishment
what exactly is the business accomplishment ? Working for a friends company ?
How many times do I have to repeat this. All of the candidates have agreed to abide by the endorsement.
There will not be a primary, unless one of the candidates breaks their word. Considering the candidates, I would be very surprised to see this happen.
Not true - Hovland is hedging…..
“Hovland said his intention is to abide by the DFL endorsement in the race but said he would leave the door open for participating in a September primary.” http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/house/13505456.html
Good question for the next forum…..to Hovland….under exactly what circumstances will you NOT abide by the endorsement? That unwillingness to abide by the endorsement looses my support for him completely.
I’m in Madia’s camp. He also earned the DFL Veterans Caucus endorsement recently.
RM if you’re going to post, you should do it responsibly and accurately. Bonoff did not work for a friend’s company. She’d never met the owner before working there. If I owned the company, I too would be-friend an employee who takes my company to the next level.
This endorsement means next to nothing as it is merely another vet supporting Madia. Bonoff has the experience and leadership to bring about real change in Washington, and will work on both sides of the aisle to do what’s right for her constituents. I couldn’t be happier as a current one. We will miss her in the state senate, but the time for strong leadership in DC is now.
News Flash: Madia is 29 and has NEVER held public office at ANY level. Entrusting US Congress in a time so utterly important as the present, forget about it.
“Hovland said his intention is to abide by the DFL endorsement in the race but said he would leave the door open for participating in a September primary.”
I guess if he wins the Primary then he will abide by the DFL endorsement :):):).
rm - Fair enough, Hovland previously said he would abide and I am taking him at his word. I’ve heard through some folks that Hovland’s campaign is claiming that they misconstrued his answer and took it out of context or something.
I also don’t know how you can abide but still go to a primary. I have no doubt that many many people will be asking him about that though.
Shouldn’t everybody demand that candidates go to the primary instead of the top-down endorsement method? Shouldn’t Democrats be as worried about maintaining a democratic and representative process within their own party as much as they claim to be for general election?
“RM if you’re going to post, you should do it responsibly and accurately. Bonoff did not work for a friend’s company. She’d never met the owner before working there. If I owned the company, I too would be-friend an employee who takes my company to the next level”
SD - are you categorically denying that Bonoffs executive “business experience” came at a company in which neither she nor her husband (a top lawyer) did not have a friendship or business relationship with.
You can fairly criticze Madia for not having experience. And i can point out where Terri Bonoff had neither and is aggrandizing triviality.
I am being responsible because I have done my homework on this.
SD - “This endorsement means next to nothing as it is merely another vet supporting Madia.”
Just like a bunch of good old boy DFL politicians performing “pass the pillow” endorsements for Bonoff.
Hmmm…..Tim Walz had never held elective office before being elected to congress. Did that matter? Paul Wellstone ran and lost for state auditor before being sent to the senate. Did that matter? Holding public office before running for office isn’t the criteria. Dismissing a veteran for endorsing another veteran? Does that mean that only state senator’s endorsements should count for Bonoff? Only mayors for Hovland? This is the vice chair of the DNC.
Sen. Bonoff has told people in her persuasion calls that Madia has never had a job. I would submit that serving in Iraq and Korea as a JAG attorney seems like a job to me. Also, that might be news to the Robins, Kaplan, Ciresi law firm who were paying him to practice law.
Hovland’s comments on not abiding were made at his public announcement speech per the StarTrib article.
I’m a friend of Ashwin and a supporter of his campaign, so there’s my bias up front.
Despite my bias, I believe that “StrongDem’s” criticism of U.S. Congressperson Michael Honda’s endorsement of Ashwin is an objectively meritless argument.
StrongDem says that “[t]his endorsement means next to nothing as it is merely another vet supporting Madia.” First of all, StrongDem just plain has his or her facts wrong. While Rep. Honda has an excellent record of serving his country, the only “Corps” Rep. Honda ever served in is the “Peace Corps.” See for yourself at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Honda or http://www.mikehonda.org/biography.html.
But beyond this blatant misstatement, StrongDem, does the fact that Rep. Honda is a U.S. Congressperson mean nothing? How’s about the fact that he is the Vice Chair of the DNC?
I just checked Ms. Bonoff’s campaign website, and while she does have good endorsements, she has not been endorsed by any U.S. Congressperson or any member of the DNC. http://www.terribonoff.com/endorsements
So let’s get real, StrongDem - just as Ms. Bonoff has good endorsements, Rep. Honda’s endorsement of Ashwin is obviously quite significant and a great statement of support for his campaign.
Exactly what experience is Bonoff claiming.
She has clearly ginned up her resume and her supporters are now crying fowl because some of us who have real world experience could see thru that in a minute, and prove ourselves correct by doing a bit of research.
Her lack of experience shows when she bumbles her way thru speeches and debates. And we are supposed to just ignore that stuff and sit quiet when she claims Ash never held a job.
West Met. Honda ia also a Congressman with years of experience in that body. If he thought Ash was too young, he would have probably NOT endorsed him.
Wasn’t Kennedy and Nixon both younger than Ash when they got elected to Congress with no experience except the veteran status? Both turned out to be two of the most influential Presidents during the most trying time in the 20th century.
That company that Bonoff worked for was not her friends fathers’, it was her own father’s partner.
Her leadership in the Senate has left a lot to be desired for. A lot. She is good on the campaign trail but, watch her next month during session. Ask the supporting groups if she has ever broken her word to them as a Senator. They, including AFSCME, would hard pressed to say no.
Hovland has recently turned things around, or I should say turned them on. He’s got a homegrown experienced staff, some money in the bank (plus his own if he so desires) and a pretty good record. I assume his comments are aimed at the forces puching Terri to go on no matter what. At this point she is concerned that she may not be inevitable.
Couldn’t agree more on Bonoff, frankly, and I’m sad to make that statement. I only point out the different statements or interpretations of statements made by Hovland so that someone can correct the record. One way or the other, it would be nice to know. Going to abide or not? Let’s just know the bottom line. If it’s a primary, it’s a different ground game. If it’s an endorsement, ditto. It only matters so everyone plays by the same rules.
I liked Hovland when I heard him speak. He’s an unknown to me but I was impressed with his record and his positions. So far it’s Madia and then Hovland for me.
All of the legislative endorsements don’t really matter to me, though. Does it matter if Bonoff has everyone she works with endorsing her? Not really. They’d be fools not to endorse her, frankly. Could you imagine if she doesn’t get the endorsement and she goes back to her job at the senate and they have to work with her? Endorsements where there is no daily connection or blowback matter more to me.
Let me add that one advantage that Terri hax is that her staff and advisors are so Washington that DC will be leaning her way. Klobuchar couldn’t do more for her.
I’m thinking this open seat will be very interesting no matter who is the candidate for the DCCC……
If you have spent any time observing what actually happens in Washington, you know that personal effectiveness in negotiation and committee meeting settings is how you get things done for your district. As much news coverage as a great floor speech gets, it means next to nothing.
Mr. Madia might be a very effective speaker. If this vote was for “best speaker in the class”, I’d vote for him.
But this is about personal effectiveness, and I think that the body of effective work in the private sector from Bonoff and the private/public sector from Hovland cannot be ignored.
The most effective governor I can remember, Arne Carlson, was neither a brilliant speaker or particularly charismatic. But he was the best public servant.
“But this is about personal effectiveness, and I think that the body of effective work in the private sector from Bonoff and the private/public sector ”
And what exactly is the “effective work” that Bonoff has accomplished. Could you be more specific ?
Bonoff is a total joke and I hope that is who you knuckle heads put forth.
She is a flyweight at best. Ashwin may not have the experience as some, but he comes off a whole lot better than that flunkie Bonoff.
However just as with Clinton, party elites will decide for you who you will vote for. :)
I agree 100% Big kahuna,
Everyone knows the Dummocratic party’s voters, such as any Liberaltard who goes to vote in Minnesota, or anywhere, first finds out what the party elite wants then to do, then votes that way, despite their yearning to vote for the candidate they think is best.
It’s a good thing the Republican party looks at issues independently, and votes independently. Like the great Bill O’Reilly always says, we’re independent. We just happen to agree with everything the Republican party stands for. :razz:
rm - I believe Bonoff was a VP of a public $100 million revenue company. You may have a skewed vision of the private sector being a place where fat guys smoking cigars give the good jobs to their buddies. The fact of the matter is rising to VP-level exec at a public firm indicates a level of effectiveness.
I can’t vouch for how she did at those jobs, but as a private sector person myself, someone who performed at a VP level in a company like that indicates a certain level of organization, negotiation, and analytic skills.
I don’t want to waste my words defending her or anyone else — fact of the matter is there is a 20% chance i’d vote for Hovland, and an 80% chance I’d vote for the Republican candidate once we know who that is.
According to the font of all knowledge, Wikipedia, she “retired” from business in 1999. That’s 8 years ago. She was at Tonka Toys when they began all of their outsourcing of their jobs…..interesting, eh?
Trust me….I don’t have a skewed view of the private sector. I am intimately aware of public sector employment as well as the military….
For anyone wondering about fundraising capability…..Madia just announced his Q4 number at a presser this am. $161,000. Pretty impressive, eh?
Yes, WMD - very, Very, VERY impressive.
Captain Madia is a SERIOUS candidate, running a SERIOUS campaign.
The company where she touted the VP status was in the family. Track her private sector record up to that point and you’ll see she was not exactly a highly trained and proven manager before being a VP. She was a manager at all.
To be fair, I beleive she has the support of one DNC member.
DJZ and WMD -
Is it at least safe to say that Bonoff has accomplished more as a contributor to the private sector workforce than Madia has?
Fundraising figures from both Bonoff and Madia are very impressive. Congrats to both.
“The company where she touted the VP status was in the family.”
WRONG
“That company that Bonoff worked for was not her friends fathers’, it was her own father’s partner.”
WRONG
Eric Paulsen owns the company, and as a close friend of mine I can assure you he hired Terri independently. I can also assure you that they ARE NOT family and he had ZERO relationship with her father. They not only did not do business together EVER they hadn’t even met before Terri’s position as VP. He couldn’t be happier about the work she did for him and it was only after she began working there that her husband did general council work as a top MN attorney. DJZ and RM you couldn’t be more wrong on the facts of her private sector work. I understand you’re support is elsewhere, but blatant lies have no place in this forum. RM you should hit the books and “keep doing your homework” until your rhetoric is fact.
Can’t help thinking the M in RM stand for Madia. Or are your homework skills really just that poor.
I’m still wondering about Hoveland and the endorsement. If I’m Hoveland, why am I even talking about the endorsement? Its often decided by the small groups of committed DFL types who organize at the scale required to elect convention delegates. If I’m Hoveland, I know I’m mayor of Edina with the support of suburban moderate Republicans, moderate Democrats, with a dash of limo lib Greens. I’m thinking that the people who vote for/are convention delegates are very, very hard to win over with my background (I used to have the Republican label), and my best chances are in a primary vote in West Metro.
After all, Hoveland already tapped into the large number of sensible Republicans who don’t like how people like BK now run their party. Also, I know that sat down in a room where the choice is me, or the committed types who nominated Wendy Wilde, your average CD3 DFLer voter (not, I should note, activist) thinks I’m the more sensible of the two. As gravy, I can trot a few pet Greens for cred.
Not to say that Bonoff isn’t the favorite here. She has organization, some appeal, and Ken Sanguin. But I can see a strong case for Hoveland ignoring the endorsement. If he ignored the DFL convention this year, he’ll probably rail against elites - and talk about change. All the cool kids are talking about change.
It is Hovland, not Hoveland.
Other that than correction, I agree with everything you say. The 3rd has a history of electing moderates. What are the chances of two endorsing conventions giving us moderates to choose from?
I say Hovland should run through the primary no matter what. He is not going to get the endorsement. And while that would tick off the party leadership, most 3rd district constituents would welcome it.
And am I wrong, or is this election about the 3rd district constituents?
Friend Of Eric
I can categorically state that RM does not stand for Madia in English or Spanish or Ebonics. The host of this web site can feel free to contact me on my submitted email.
I repeat my question that i asked earlier
“are you categorically denying that Bonoffs executive “business experience” came at a company in which neither she nor her husband (a top lawyer) did not have a friendship or business relationship with. ”
Try Mr. Friend of Eric or whoever you are to directly answer that statement…..
My homework skills are really not that poor…I’ll give u a clue…you can ask Eric, “Who ran NetRadio from 1996 onwards”….go do your own homework…
Some of us admire Mr. Madia whose family came up by their bootstraps…and Ashwin doing so on his own merits…not some……
“Some of us admire Mr. Madia whose family came up by their bootstraps…and Ashwin doing so on his own merits…not some……”
rm - I’ll be the first to admit that I admire people like Ashwin Madia’s family. America has been built by millions of bootstrapping families coming to America. Without them, we wouldn’t be the country we are. I commend all of our hardworking immigrants. It took alot of courage.
But admiring someone’s plight doesn’t necessarily translate into wanting to send them to Washington as my Representative. There are lots of people I admire out there, but I can only choose one Congressperson.
So I admire Madia. And I probably won’t vote for him.
DantheMan, you say that you are either going to vote for Hovland (20% chance) or the republican candidate (80% chance), but you seem to support Bonoff more than anyone on all of your posts… Interesting…
“DM - So I admire Madia. And I probably won’t vote for him.”
Based on his fund raising numbers, responses to his debate performances etc…it looks like I have a lot of company. People are sick of politics as usual….by the usual set of politicians…
“DantheMan, you say that you are either going to vote for Hovland (20% chance) or the republican candidate (80% chance), but you seem to support Bonoff more than anyone on all of your posts… Interesting…”
Don’t confuse “support” with “defend”.
My defense has not been so much of Bonoff the person as it has been defense of her business experience being discounted. I welcome candidates who bring results-focused private-sector experience into public service. I think they are more effective. When it is two lawyers vs. one businessperson, I will admit I become sympathetic toward the businessperson. Maybe it is the Republican in me. I see one of Government’s roles being to enable businesses to create and provide, which in turn improves quality of life for all.
That is why I think the best Democratic candidate of them all is not even in this race. Eden Prairie’s own Kelly Doran. Complete outsider who has a track record of accomplishment and persistence and results.
RM and friends — you can sidetrack as much as you want trying to presume Bonoff’s business prowess and attempting to deduce how she landed her jobs, but the fact is she was elected in a traditionally red district because she was the stronger candidate against a well-liked mayor. And then she did it again. She came to politics with not only a business background but as a very involved citizen who spent a lot of time lobbying legislators on behalf of public schools. She brings the depth to this race that Madia has yet to show.
RM - “She came to politics with not only a business background but as a very involved citizen who spent a lot of time lobbying legislators on behalf of public schools. She brings the depth to this race that Madia has yet to show.”
The depth of Madias experience and knowledge was quite visible in each and every debate and public forum. Take time to review this and other blogs if you care.
Bonoffs claim to fame or “depth” is “business experience” and I as a corporate curmudgeon am having valid and pointed questions regarding that “experience”…it is not a sidetrack…it is a valid question…what was the depth of Bonoffs executive “experience” that she more often than not trots out at every forum…..
I asked “Friend of Eric” a pointed question….I will await his reply…I have done my homework on this and in my opinion ready to connect some inconvenient dots on this “experience”
Because she got elected to one office where no one questioned this “experience” does not mean u get an automatic pass. The same question of “experience” is being asked of Hillary Clinton when she claims she has 30 years of experience….
DM - “But admiring someone’s plight”
I was not admiring Ashwins “plight”…rather admiring his success…a top 5 law school…leading law firm….service to country in the Armed Forces…serious contender for public office…
All based on his own merit….there is a lot to be proud off.
rm -
Honest question here - what kind of experience justification are you looking for? She lists the firms that she has contributed to, the positions she has held and risen to at each.
You want her performance evals from HR?
I’m taking Madia’s military experience at face value. Why won’t people take a businesspersons experience at face value?
rm - “I believe Bonoff was a VP of a public $100 million revenue company. You may have a skewed vision of the private sector being a place where fat guys smoking cigars give the good jobs to their buddies. The fact of the matter is rising to VP-level exec at a public firm indicates a level of effectiveness.
I can’t vouch for how she did at those jobs, but as a private sector person myself, someone who performed at a VP level in a company like that indicates a certain level of organization, negotiation, and analytic skills.”
Firstly don’t assume that people like me who are questioning Bonoffs “experience” are some socialist tree-huggers who never had corporate experience. Au contraire, I have held pretty senior position in companies where I never knew my empployer from Adam before they hired me. I have experience in looking at resumes.
“DM - “Honest question here - what kind of experience justification are you looking for? She lists the firms that she has contributed to, the positions she has held and risen to at each.””
I am asking people to evaluate her claims of “experience”. I am asking questions whether the “positions she has held and risen to at each” came due to her merits or because the person who put her in that spot in the only one executive position she has had was a family friend.
There is a Big difference DM especially when a potential voter tries to correlate the quality of her public performances with her resume.
Voter - “you can sidetrack as much as you want trying to presume Bonoff’s business prowess”
This “business prowess” is so laughable. Just look at her resume. She has never started a business and the only “executive” position she has held was for 24 months years…..at a company where i am asking questions regarding how she got hired….
I asked a pretty pointed to the guy/gal who claims to be a friend of the then CEO…..and gave him/her a clue as to how i connected the dots as to the basis of my question/concern whether Bonoff’s was based wholly on her merits….
“Is it at least safe to say that Bonoff has accomplished more as a contributor to the private sector workforce than Madia has?”
Dan, I would not say it’s safe to make that assumption in this forum. How do you evaluate or rank accomplishments in the private sector?
I’m not familiar with Madia’s accomplishments as a civilian lawyer, but I do find his accomplishments as a military lawyer impressive, and unique. He ‘won’ a case defending a Marine that was being processed for discharge from the military for ‘Homosexual’ reasons. Here is a person that doesn’t just stand up and say, ‘I support Civil Rights,’ this is legal precedent in defending Constitutional Rights.
As a Marine Corps Officer, Madia took an oath ‘to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, against all enemies, foreign and domestic.’
It appears Madia took that oath very seriously. In the candidate debate at the Ridgedale Library, Madia promised to read National Intelligence Estimates before making any vote, and to do his homework and be the smartest Congressperson casting a vote. He seemed very sincere and compelling in expressing that commitment. Considering the serious debts our country has now, and how we landed ourselves into the Big Deep Red Hole after many public officials worked so hard to get us out of the deficit situation in the 1990s , I’m compelled to put a lot of stock, and hope, into that commitment.
In Iraq, Madia worked on enforcing the Rule of Law and reviewed the legal files of detainees. He worked with Iraqi judges and officials of the United Nations. Think that required only public speaking ability and no skills in negotiation? Then get thee a uniform and go to Iraq and do it, and come back and tell us all about it. Tell me it’s easy. Tell me it’s insignificant to the ‘private sector.’
And I would not consider Congressman Honda’s endorsement of Madia to be insignificant either. I remember Honda was in Minnesota in 2006, supporting Keith Ellison in his campaign in CD5, and we all know how well that worked out. The Honorable Congressman Keith Ellison did not raise as much money in early campaign fund raising as Mr. Mike Erlandson, but that ‘achievement failure’ did not keep Ellison from getting the title of Congressman and Honorable.
Oh, and for those of you interested in geography, the last time I was across the Pacific, Okinawa was part of Japan, not Korea. Okinawa was the ‘other place’ that Madia served the United States Marine Corps, besides in Iraq.
“How do you evaluate or rank accomplishments in the private sector?”
- Economic value that your firm has created
- Jobs and paychecks that the company has provided for people in the region
- Products or services your firm makes that makes peoples’ lives better
Three ideas.
Interesting thread. You all better be careful or this one is going to play into Paulsen’s hand…