Inspired by a comment from MinnPost’s David Brauer, I ask: when the Star Tribune gives their endorsement on the U.S. Senate race, who will it be, Dean Barkley or Norm Coleman?
For some background, the Star Tribune has not only gone anti-EFCA but even went “drill baby drill.” Also add that Susan Albright, the former editor of the Star Tribune editorial pages is now over at MinnPost and that the Star Tribune is now owned by Avista Capital Partners, a firm that invests primarily in oil companies and health care firms. And, well, because I can’t not mention it, Katherine Kersten is still around even though she’s batshit crazy. In fact, they put Kersten’s nasty, ill-informed anti-Franken tirade this week on B1 while they buried coverage of the Clinton/Franken rally on B4 while all the news stations gave it huge coverage on the 6 o’clock and the Pioneer Press put it on the front of the political section with a huge photo.
To be honest, I have no idea what’s up with their editorial board now but my guess is that their chances of endorsing Barkley are almost as good as the chances of them endorsing Coleman.
Remember when Tracy Eberly and the folks with Anti-Strib’s raison d’être was their view that the Star Tribune was left-leaning? For the month of October, the Star Tribune, or in their words, the “Red Star” was only explicitly brought up on Anti-Strib four times: three times to source the Star Tribune as trusted information and once to point out that the Star Tribune halted its debt payments.
I’d like to say to Tracy and Anti-Strib: You win!
Anyway, I digress. So who’s going to get the endorsement of the Star Tribune, Dean Barkley or Norm Coleman?
Coleman.
The Strib is rightwing, and they know they can (usually) count on Norm, ‘cause Norm knows they can rip him any time they want.
Maybe they don’t endorse.
I’ll offer a wild-arse guess and say they’ll jump the shark and go for Barkley. If, for nothing else than to throw a bone to all the readers who have become sick of the negative Coleman v. Franken campaign.
Norm will get it. Shit I think he already got it. I remember reading the Trib 15 years ago in high school and taking it at face value. 10 years ago I barely recognized the paper. Today it is laughable, a total rag. It is a disgrace for our entire state.
Today’s Strib story about the graffiti vandalism had three big photos of Norm & Laurie Coleman, one on the front page, and two on page 12, and no photos of the other members of Congress who were hit. If there had been just one photo, it would not have been unusual to use the Coleman picture, because theirs was the first to be reported to the press. But all three of the Colemans - it seems superfluous.
We don’t “win” until 425 Portland Ave is put to more productive use.
A parking ramp for the inevitable Vikings stadium would do.
I think they’ll endorse a write-in vote for Jon “The Impaler” Sharkey.
Thanks Aaron. You are correct that we have been remiss in our duty to continue to kick the Red Star as they go down. My only defense is that it really sucks to have to read that rag everyday.
We have had some discussions about whether to rename the blog when the Star and Sickle finally fires Nicolai Kolmanov and closes up shop for good. For now we’re leaning towards keeping the Anti-Strib name as a way to celebrate our inevitable victory over Pravda on the Mississippi.
Just to close the loop, the Red Star endorsed Coleman.
Broken clock, twice per day and all that.