Monthly Archive for July, 2008

After Coleman released the first TV negative attack ad of the season, the media responded:

WCCO: “Coleman Ad Takes Personal Swipes At Franken”:

The latest ad from the Norm Coleman campaign doesn’t focus on the issues but takes some more personal swipes at challenger Al Franken.

MPR: “Coleman, Franken turn up the heat in latest campaign ads”:

“They’ve resorted clearly here to misleading smear attacks,” said Franken campaign spokesman Andy Barr. “But I guess that’s predictable. They didn’t have much to say for themselves.”

Barr says it’s not true that Franken didn’t pay his taxes.

“As has been stated many, many, many, many times, Al and Franni paid taxes on every cent of their income,” said Barr. “They overpaid in some states. They underpaid it in others. It’s a mistake that’s been rectified. The idea that there was a nonpayment of taxes is just simply wrong.”

Strib: “Coleman ad addresses Franken’s personal issues”:

Republican Sen. Norm Coleman weighed in Wednesday with a deceptively genial TV ad that offhandedly thrashes Franken…

The ad doesn’t address Franken’s stands on issues, and his campaign Wednesday characterized it as a “misleading smear” attack by Coleman.

MNindy: “Coleman throws a gutter ball in latest bowling alley commercial”:

The Norm Coleman campaign shows its first public sign of fear in a new :30 spot released yesterday. “Why Not” is a shorthand review of the personal gaffes committed by Al Franken in the race to date. There was no question the race would come to this, but it seems telling that the Coleman campaign is justifying the nasty turn by claiming Franken “went negative” first by highlighting Coleman’s close ties to the Bush White House.

In any case, it’s funny to see three men in a bowling alley tutting over “pornography” like octogenarian church ladies.

UPDATE: MinnPost: “Dirty early: Senate campaign goes negative”:

You could say that this ad, and Franken’s current ad, reflects the desire of Franken to make the race about Coleman’s record and Coleman’s desire to make it about Franken’s lack of one.

Despite its humorous tone, the ad represents the first pure attack ad of the year, in the sense that it goes directly after Franken on a personal basis.

The Coleman campaign can’t talk about the issues. What would the ad have been like if they talked about the issues that actually matter to Minnesotans?

UPDATE: Fixed title of Strib story.

The bowlers are back again. It’s not about Norm’s voting record, it’s not about how Norm may have helped a Minnesotan or two and it’s not even about Norm’s “biggest accomplishment”: bringing hockey back when he was a Democratic mayor of Saint Paul:

It’s verified and undisputed that Al Franken paid taxes on every penny he earned. The first line of this ad is a flat-out lie. The rest is stretching the truth and covering stuff the GOP is raring to bring back to the surface. It’s a blatant, shameful and dishonest attack. People will see right through it.

It’s about Coleman deliberately trying to distract Minnesotans from the issues. Not one single issue or Coleman vote was brought up in the whole thing. It’s the first Senate-race television attack ad of the season and it’s the only thing Coleman has on his side: trying to paint Franken as an unpolished, non-career-politician. If you keep letting the Senate race conversation continue about the issues that matter to Minnesotans, Coleman loses. Democrats know it and the Coleman campaign obviously does too.

Also, from what I’ve heard from a contact at TeamFranken, Al could probably beat them all at bowling. Their claim that they are better bowlers might be dishonest too.

Minnesotans will see right through this one. As the Pioneer Press’ Rachel E. Stassen-Berger states:

The ad skirts the truth in its attack, however. As careful Senate watchers know, Franken did pay state income tax but paid it to the wrong states and Franken didn’t pay enough workers compensation insurance taxes in New York state but no one went without insurance as a result. Question: The truth is bad enough for Franken, why bother to exaggerate and misstate it in a TV ad?

The Nation pens a great article today on the our Senate race. From it: 

Coleman’s recent efforts to distance himself from the president and reposition himself as an moderate Republican will have to contend with the fact that he has voted with the President nearly 90 percent of the time over the course of his term. As recently as last month, Coleman attended a fundraiser with and publicly embraced the president he once called “part of God’s answer.” According to Hannah August of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Norm Coleman is “one of the most vulnerable incumbents in the country.”

Franken unveiled some tax solutions today in Saint Louis Park. Read more at Minnesota Public Radio. Overall it’s a good read. The Coleman campaign’s response:

“Obviously we haven’t had a chance to really look at the different details of these plans, but what I can tell you is that Norm Coleman has been fighting for Middle Class issues like this for a long time,” Friedrich said.

Yeah, sure! In 2004 and 2005, the non-partisan Drum Major Institute for Public Policy, which advocates middle-class-supporting legislation gave him a big fat rating of FAIL. Sure, he got all the way up to “C” two other years and this year, being he’s up for reelection, he’s brought his rating all the way up to 69% (which unfortunately is still a “C”). That’s dedication for middle-class issues for sure.

Franken’s here to fight for the middle-class and is putting real solutions behind his words.