Twin's are in First!

I was at the game last night. GREAT seats thanks to my good friend the Doctor. We were right off the edge of the netting, about 13 rows behind the Right Hand Batters' box. What a great view of the game.

We started losing interest in this pitcher's duel. Not too much excitement happening, two outs, two strikes, bottom of the 9th, and we are all but reaching for our jackets. And than *CRACK* Mauer barely sneaks one over the Right Field wall. Had the Fielder timed his jump just a tad better, this game would have been over.

It felt like play off baseball after that. The crowd was standing and hyping the whole rest of the game. I assume the three game series with the ChiSox will be even more intense. We must win out if we want a realistic shot at the division. But with Detroit fading and the Yankees losing yesterday, we still have a shot.

Go TEAM!

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Best of the Bunch!

If you haven't seen Amy's latest ad, it is one of the best of the season. It provides examples of her tough stand as a prosecutor culminating in a visit with the mother of Tyesha Edwards, including a little figurative finger wagging at Kennedy's inaccurate attacks on Amy.

The commercial ends with a very powerful statement from Tyesha's mom:

"Mark Kennedy, you should be ashamed"

What she doesn't realize, as we find out repeatedly from Paid Kennedy/Bachmann Operatives, is the Right has no shame. Sad, really!

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MN Republican Exposed

Michael 'MDE' Brodkorb claims that MDE is his personal playground. However, it is becoming more and more apparent that he is compensated quite well for his 'consultant services'. At the very least, his position within the party, and his pay from Mark Kennedy, put him in a position to have access to information in a timely manner, and a free flow of content for his Attack site. But from someone who is on the outside looking in, MDE is nothing more then a tool that allows the MN GOP to have someone else do their dirty work, while hiding behind a mask of independence.

MRW shares Michael's failed attempt to mask his reality:

His client list is not the only issue, and is not the biggest issue. Yet it is the only issue he acknowledges. Why?

Brodkorb himself claims — including in this latest defense — that his "ethics are not governed by legal interpretations." Yet he appears unwilling to defend his record and address numerous ethical issues raised by Minnesota Monitor earlier today

It's not about ethics, as much as it is about morals. Remember; An ethical man knows the difference between what is right and wrong; a moral one picks what is right.

I don't expect much more from the GOP, but the media seems to be giving them all a pass on this. Maybe they will wake up and start calling Michael what he really is, a Paid Mark Kennedy Press Consultant. The electorate deserves adequate context when they read his sensationalized, and in most cases intellectually innacurate posts. Is it too much to ask to give it to them.

Sidebar has been updated

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In Other News

Via the Boston Globe:

CONCORD, N.H. --An aide to Republican U.S. Rep. Charles Bass has been busted for posting fake messages on political blogs supporting his Democratic opponent.

Bass' office Monday acknowledged that one of his congressional staffers had posted the messages, which professed to support Paul Hodes, then discussed how difficult it would be to defeat Bass.

A GOP Congressional Staffer masquarading as a Left leaner. Its a little early for Halloween, isn't it.

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TWINS CLINCH!

After starting 9 - 15 in April, the best team in baseball since the All Star break has assured themselves a berth in the playoff. The Twin's crushed a struggle Royal club 8 - 1, while the White Sox fell victim to the Cleveland Indians Slam Fest, 14 - 1.

Next, Detroit, who is only a game ahead, with 6 remaining. Magic number for the division id only 8.

There are many post season acknowledgements deserving of this club, but if Gardenhire doesn't win coach of the year, the award will be meaningless.

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Why a Bump!

I mentioned in the post below, that the results of the latest Humphrey Institute poll was taken before all the fuss about Scott-Howell's website access. Some, especially those on the Right, were either laughing uncontrollably, or simply scratching their heads when I said:

There is no way of knowing at this point how much more of a bump Amy has received from her strong leadership and integrity displayed during this recent period.

I'll point out why I see an overall plus out of this for the Klobuchar Campaign. Let's go back in time.

About a month before the last Gubernatorial election, there was accusations of improper collaboration between the party and the campaign regarding TV commercials. A state review board validated the charges and issued consequences. From MPR:

Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Pawlenty has now accepted full responsibility for campaign practices that a state review board found illegal. The decision could represent a substantial setback for Pawlenty, who also announced he would temporarily suspend television ads while his campaign assesses its options. But Pawlenty vows he'll vigorously press the campaign until the end.

Just one day after the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board ruled against the Pawlenty campaign and the state Republican Party, Pawlenty gathered supporters around him to accept the board's decision.

But TPaw went beyond that, he took internal action as well.

Pawlenty says he's fired the Washington-based media consultant who acted as the illegal link between party and the campaign. In addition, he's temporarily suspended television advertising while the campaign assesses it's financial status.

So while Candidate Pawlenty was displaying honor and integrity, what was the opposition doing, myself probably included, whining:

Others are pushing for even stronger penalties. DFLer Roger Moe's campaign manager, Bill Harper, says Pawlenty's punishment should go beyond the board's order and that Pawlenty should return hundreds of thousands of public subsidies he received as a condition of accepting the spending cap.

"But he has not addressed the more than $400,000 in taxpayer money that he voluntarily received with the understanding that he would play by the rules. That money needs to be returned immediately to the general fund," said Harper.

So what we have here is a candidate's campaign who was caught in wrongdoing, and when faced with a final decisions, accepted the action, respected the action, and moved on, while the opposition tried to twist it into more then what it was.

We all know how that story ended.

The main difference between that experience and the current issue is that the Klobuchar campaign didn't hide behind an investigation and wait to take action. Amy displayed true leadership by taking immediate and appropriate action. She dismissed Ms. McGuinness and contacted investigators in a timely manner to get to the root of the reality before her. She took responsibility and apologized to Mark Kennedy and the campaign. True leadership, true integrity!

Minnesotan's are a very forgiving people. The understand people make mistakes, and they evaluate how those individuals handle the diversity when those mistakes are made. Now the tables are turned, for it is the DFL candidate who is showing the highest level of character, and those on the Right are, well, whining like I was.

I suspect things will turn out the same why for Amy as they did for Tim.

But that's just me!

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Klobuchar 52 - 36 - 7

The Humphrey Institute has released their US Senate Poll continuing to show Amy with a powerful and commanding lead. The poll, conducted between Sept 13 - 18, was before any of the hub bub that has been swarming the blogosphere the last couple days. There is no way of knowing at this point how much more of a bump Amy has received from her strong leadership and integrity displayed during this recent period.

From the report (.doc):

The Democratic Party nominee for U.S. Senate, Amy Klobuchar, holds a commanding advantage over the Republican Party nominee, Mark Kennedy, according to a Humphrey Institute survey of 1,023 Minnesota voters in the week following the primary. Kennedy’s campaign is being badly hurt by President George Bush’s unpopularity and by deep concerns about the direction of the country and state. Klobuchar is strongly benefiting from extraordinary concern over Iraq and a huge lead among women voters even as she holds her own among men.

This may explain why the Kennedy campaign continues their stunt, pretending to have a closed website, when in reality it is just a media ploy.

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Kennedy Kamp Turns to Komedy

I had to wait a bit to post this as I have been laughing so hard. The true desperation of Mark's floundering campaign shined brightly with this message on his campaign website:

We were informed last evening of a serious security breach of sensitive Kennedy campaign information by a senior member of Amy Klobuchar’s campaign. Due to the fact this information was accessed via the internet, we are taking precautionary measures to protect our campaign information. We apologize for the inconvenience. The full features of our website will be restored once this matter has been resolved.

One page we are absolutely confident remains secure is our contribution page. You can access this page via a security enabled site by clicking here.

Now we already know that there was no security breach, since their was no security to begin with on the Scott Howell website. But the events leading up to today in no way involved the Kennedy website, it was a lack of any security measure on the Scott Howell site. But Kennedy takes his site down as a 'precautionary' measure. But don't worry, they are confident that their donation page is secure so go ahead and dole out your credit card numbers and give them money. How convenient.

Be sure to tip your bartenders and wait staff, the Kennedy Komedy show will be here till November 7th, at which time they will be taking a very extended and indefinite vacation!

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DFL Senate shows this is nothing more than a ploy approved and authorized by Mark Kennedy himself:

< ! – remove refresh when kennedy wants to get site back – >

Not 'When campaign receives word site is secure, but when 'Kennedy wants to get site back'

So Kennedy's definition of security is playing tricks with it. And he wants to be in the Senate?!?

Stuff Happens: A Kennedy Kampaign Flashback

MDE states:

"No Amy, this stuff doesn't happen all the time on campaigns."

Let's go back in time a bit, to let's say, this post last August. You remember, the Kennedy Kampaign was BUSTED for not only plagiarizing AP articles, but modifying them to give favor to their candidate and still resenting them as official news. the AP was not too please. From the article:

The headline on Mark Kennedy's U.S. Senate campaign website, over excerpts from an Associated Press article, said he is "A Common-Sense Get Things Done Guy," and the AP material under the headline made the case that the Republican congressman voted with Democrats on 10 key issues this year.

Missing from the story were 13 sentences in which Democrats and political analysts accused Kennedy of disguising a career of extreme conservative voting by only recently casting a few votes with Democrats as he prepares for a U.S. Senate race. No link was supplied to the original version of the AP story, so readers who came to this article via the Kennedy website might think that they were getting the AP's portrayal of the candidate as a bipartisan moderate.

Now, what you need to be reminded is, the claim by Kennedy that AP stated "A Common-Sense Get Things Done Guy," was a quote from Kennedy himself within the article. talk about major spin and twist.

Needless to say, AP was a bit testy about the whole deal:

The AP is not pleased about the Kennedy campaign's editing of the article, and its attorney in Washington called the campaign Tuesday afternoon.

The lawyer requested that the material be removed as quickly as possible, said Dave Pyle, AP's Minneapolis bureau chief. "Number one, they are not authorized to use the content. And number two, if they were, they'd never be allowed to alter the content the way they have," Pyle said.

So when Kennedy and/or his staffers get busted crossing the line, they play duck and cover. To the best of my knowledge the staffers involved were never consequenced.

The true character and credibility of a candidate is determined based on their actions when facing diversity. Kennedy spun like a top, Amy cleaned house, offered an apology and proved she is the ONE candidate who has the integrity needed to represent Minnesota in the Senate.

Besides, if Kennedy and his confidants can't even keep their own servers secure, how do we expect him to keep our families and this country secure.

Flash

Oh, and the really good news is now KvPolygraph and MDE will be working themselves into a hemorrhage about this and unable to concentrate on actual issue that could possibly promote their candidate. But that isn't their style anyway!

Noah Comes Clean

Just saw Noah from Blanked-Out as the mystery blogger on 'CCO. He insists it was an open link not requiring password access.

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Klobuchar Displays Class and Character

I received an E-Mail from a local news reporter regarding the developing story involving a 'blogger' leaking protected content from Kennedy's website to a Klobuchar staffer. Here is a portion of my response:

I would never even attempt to access protected information. Each campaign has a right to release their protected content on their own terms. I had not heard of the incident, so I took a quick peek at the Strib and found the article. It appears that the Klobuchar campaign is handling this situation in the most appropriate way possible.

In all sincerity, I have know idea who may have been the one to leak the video.

The Klobuchar campaign obviously has the E-Mail from the blogger, so it is only a matter of time before we find out who it is.

As unfortunate as the situation is, Amy is clearly showing how committed to integrity she is with her rapid response and inclusion of the necessary investigative procedures to resolve this issue in a timely manner:

Goldfarb went on to say that Klobuchar, the Hennepin County attorney, directed him to report the incident to federal law enforcement for review. In a brief phone interview, Goldfarb said the matter was turned over to the FBI, but said he wouldn't add to the information contained in his press release.

"What happened here was wrong," Klobuchar said in her own statement. "By reporting the blogger's activities and this incident to law enforcement, we are doing the right thing."

Klobuchar also apologized to Kennedy and his campaign.

This lady is pure class and I will be honored to have her represent me in the Senate.

Flash

I'm Young Again

A mortality gauge for me was the age of the players in professional sports. Morten Anderson, an NFL Kicker, happens to share my birth date:

Morten Andersen
Position: K
Height: 6' 2'' Weight: 221
Born: 8/19/1960, in Copenhagen, DEN
High School: Ben Davis (Indianapolis, IN)
College: Michigan State

Morten played his last game in 2004, for the Vikings. I officially became old.

Tuesday, he signed a one year deal with the Falcons!

Forty-six-year-old Morten Andersen is returning to the Atlanta Falcons after Michael Koenen flopped badly in his attempt to do all the kicking.

Andersen, the second-leading scorer in NFL history, returns to the league after last kicking with Minnesota in 2004. He will handle extra points and all field goal attempts -- except those well beyond 50 yards.

"In my heart, I knew I could still play," Andersen said.

George Blanda is the only player older than Andersen to play in the NFL. He retired after the 1975 season at age 48.

Some days its the simple things. Today is one of those days.

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Magic Numbers

It began last April. A cool crisp day similar to today. The garage stereo has a permanent preset to 'The Neighbor' as I blast Herb, Gordo, Dazzleman, and the rest throughout the neighborhood. It has been a long yet exciting Season.

It didn't start out well. Twins struggling out of the gate, Detroit dominating the league. But this young club persevered through injury and tumult not many other clubs could have dealt with.

Yesterday was the last 'day off' for the team, and now the 13 game stretch drive begins. Our two Rivals, Detroit and Chicago White Sox are beating each other up, we open a road series against the other Sox in Boston.

We have the toughest schedule of the three clubs vying for the two playoff slots. 3 against the BoSox, 3 more with Baltimore. 4 at home with the resurgent Royals, and then the final three with our ALC Nemesis ChiSox.

In simple terms, our Magic number for the Wild Card slot is 9, and 15 for the Division. Doable, certainly, but this spunky young club still has their work cut out for them. The sidebar has been enhanced with these figures.

I'll be in the garage tonight, listening, cheering, hoping, and reminiscing of what a ride it has been.

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Balance of Power

Since polling is whipping thru the blogosphere, and bias being used as the spin, I thought I'd take a peak at the Right's favorite pollster, Rasmussen. With an admitted Right lean, you won't get the bias sniping when Ras releases their numbers.

Monday we saw a major shift in their Balance of Power totals for the Senate:

The battle for control of the U.S. Senate is getting closer—much closer. Little more than a week ago, our Balance of Power summary showed the Republicans leading 50-45 with five states in the Toss-Up category. Today, Rasmussen Reports is changing three races from “Toss-Up” to “Leans Democrat.” As a result, Rasmussen Reports now rates 49 seats as Republican or Leans Republican while 48 seats are rated as Democrat or Leans Democrat (see State-by-State Summary). There are now just three states in the Toss-Up category--Tennessee, New Jersey, and Missouri.

Today’s changes all involve Republican incumbents who have been struggling all year. In Montana, Senator Conrad Burns (R) has fallen behind Jon Tester (D). Rhode Island Senator Lincoln Chafee (R) survived his primary but starts the General Election as a decided underdog. Sherrod Brown (D) is enjoying a growing lead over Ohio Senator Mike DeWine (R).

Four other seats are now ranked as “Leans Democrat”—Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Maryland, and Michigan.

Virginia is the only state rated as “Leans Republican.”

Hmmm, the 3 Tossups are Tennessee, New Jersey, and Missouri.

MO-SEN Rasmussen Sept 15 McCaskill (D) 45%, Talent (R) 42%
MO-SEN SurveyUSA Sept 14 McCaskill (D) 48%, Talent (R) 47%

NJ-SEN Str. Vision (R) Sept 14 Kean (R) 44%, Menendez (D) 40%
NJ-SEN Rasmussen Repts Aug. 28 Kean (R) 44%, Menendez (D) 39%

TN-SEN Rasmussen Repts Sept 15 Corker (R) 45%, Ford, Jr. (D) 44%

It will be an interesting Election evening.

Flash

UPDATE: I've added a cutsie graphic from Electoral-Vote.com that will automatically track their projection for the Senate's Balane of Power.

This is a GREAT site for Both Senate and House race polling information. Just click ont he graphic to take you to their home.

Dear Mark!

When someone writes a Dear John letter, it means they are breaking up. Fecke, in his masterful way, does one better with a Dear Mark letter. He calls it 'An Intervention':

Hello, Mark, sit down.

We’ve all come together today, Mark, because you have a problem, and we want you to get help. We know it started the way it usually does–with a little bit, here or there. You had a stressful time, and if you were going to succeed you needed something to give you a bit of an edge. But in the past few years, Mark, you’ve been spiralling. Look, there’s no easy way for me to say this, but it’s clear to all of us that you’re addicted to misleading, negative attack ads.

Part of it’s our fault, Mark: we’ve been enabling you. When you ran negative ads against David Minge, well, you were a challenger. You had to do it. At least, that’s what we told ourselves. Then, Janet Robert did the seemingly impossible and ran ads against you that were even more misleading than yours, and we told ourselves that you had to have the ads, you needed the ads.

Oh, it gets better. READ the rest!

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Best Thread Ever

Well, at least at Centrisity it is. If you haven't had a chance to read through these comments, take a moment to do so. A very interesting give and take.

I'll be in the lab testing most of the day, maybe more at lunch . . . . or maybe not.

Flash

UPDATE: I forgot to mention, at least someone knew where I was coming from on this.

56-32-3

You can say whatever you want about the Minnesota Poll, but it will still take an awful lot of spinning to undermine the reality of the MN US Senate race. Amy is running away with it, and it will take a whole lot more then the standard GOP smear machine to undermine the will of the Minnesota electorate.

Klobuchar is ahead of Kennedy in virtually every demographic category that the poll measured and has extended a lead among moderates and independents over the summer.

The poll, taken Wednesday through Friday among 820 likely voters, has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

The opposition continues to be in denial:

"This poll should be running in the comics, right next to Garfield," spokeswoman Heidi Frederickson said. She said the campaign had no other comment on the poll's findings.

And the Kennedy Attack blog responded by aiming directly at the messenger:

Determined to have more fun with numbers than an online sudoku tournament, word is leaking out of Portland Avenue that the Star Tribune is poised to print numbers in the Kennedy-Klobuchar race tomorrow that will defy credulity — no small task considering their ludicrous track record.

They did however finally release their internal numbers, albeit the old ones they claim to be the most recent available:

The Terrance Group notes: “Although we have not been in the field in about a month, our most recent polling shows the race is probably in single digits. Our last survey shows Kennedy capturing 39% of the vote and Klobuchar getting 49%. While the overall ballot shows Kennedy 10 points down, the turnout model argues that the GOP candidate is only about 8 points down 42% to 50%.

So no matter how you slice it, Kennedy has two choices. He can take it like a man and display the character he so desperately is trying to present to Minnesotans, or pull out all stops and continue the smear campaign he is running. I would think he would start presenting the truth behind who he is, and run on his ideas and principle, because it is clear that Minnesotans are fed up with the negativity him and his surrogates are filling the airwaves with.

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Live Blogging the Victory Day Dinner

Thanks to an invitation by the Amy Klobuchar Campaign, I have been seated with full press credentials to share with you the Victory Day Dinner and an evening with President William Jefferson Clinton. Matt from MNPublius along with Joe of MN Campaign Report are also here, so be sure to check them out as well.

Brain Melendez, DFL Chair, has opened the event with opening remarks. After the singing of the National Anthem, and an invocation, the NEXT US Senator from Minnesota was introduced.

Amy shared an anecdote regarding how she was honored to introduce the President several years ago at the White House.

Klobuchar and Clinton met in 2000 when Klobuchar and eleven other law enforcement officials joined President Clinton at the White House for a meeting highlighting successful partnerships between local and federal law enforcement agencies in preventing hate crimes. Amy Klobuchar introduced President Clinton at the event.

When they began playing Hail to the Chief, she took that as her cue to go out there an introduce the President,. At that point a hand touched her shoulder and in a deep voice stated "You are going to do fine out there, but when they play that song, I usually go first" What a moment that must have been.

Ms Klobuchar went on to emphasize several main points of her campaign. Follow the North Star not the Lone Star, pay as you go government spending, how she is grounded in responsibility and a commitment to energy, and a change in course in Iraq.

'It’s time to set our priorities straight and focus on what really matters to people. It is time to straighten out the budget – something President Clinton achieved – so we can focus on helping the middle class with health care costs, gas prices and college tuition,' said Klobuchar. 'It is time for a change in Washington. These guys in Washington have had their chance.'

I few things to share while they serve dinner and we wait for the remarks from President Clinton. The place is packed, easily a sell out. There are over 1400 people inside having dinner, and about a dozen or so outside protesting. Yes, a small group of Republicans are outside, taunting people as they we coming into the event, holding up signs 'This isn't your daddy's DFL' and chanting 'Say no to AKlo'!

Mark Dayton has been introduced and is sharing his thoughts on Hillary Clinton and his tenure in the US Senate.

Dayton introduces President Clinton to a roaring standing ovation.

Clinton called Hillary and asked if she had met Amy. She stated she did at the above mentioned event. Clinton then stated, that he forgot about the Hail to the Chief story, but won't now. He then expressed how he wanted a copy of Amy's speech she just delivered so that it could be shared with all House and US Senate candidates, because if that message gets out, we'll win both the House and the Senate.

From the Transcript: “I called Hillary on the way in and she said, “Have you ever met Amy Klobuchar?” and I said, “Yeah, don’t you remember? She was at the hate crimes event at the White House.” (I had forgotten the hail to the chief story, it’s pretty good.) And then she said, “But yeah have you seen her as a candidate? She may be the very best we have in the entire United States.” So I was sitting back there listening to the speech and when it was over I said, “Get me a copy of that, I’m going to send it to every candidate we have for the Senate and House and the United States because if we give that message everywhere the Democrats will win the House and the Senate in November. I know we can.”

"The Democratic Party has become both the Liberal and Conservative party of the United States'

'Since I left office, the number of registered Lobbyist have doubled. That's how they do things in Washington, now'

“One of the things I respect most about Amy’s campaign is that she doesn’t just say what she’s against. She tells you what she’s for and what she’s going to do if you hire her for the next six years. We all need to do that more.”

'This adminstration has run to the Right of even the Reagan administration'

'The Republicans need a divided America, we want a United America!'

'Someone asked me what I brought to Washington and I told them, All we did is bring Artithmetic to Washington'

'The reason we have flat wages in this day is that we have not found a source of good new jobs. And if you have a realitively open economy, you have to keep finding new jobs. One way is a commitment to finding a clean and efficient new energy alternative.'

'Whenever you have been in a tight, it is when it is most important to think. Don't let them Scare you Minnesota, THINK!

WOW! No matter what you think of this individual, President Clinton is one of THE best orators of our time. He can put words together like no other. To have him on the campaign trail is an asset to any candidate!

Flash
(I will be reviewing my audio of the event and making tweaks to this post so that the quotes are accurate and consistent. I will remove this disclaimer once the post is final.)

Culture of Corruption

When you compare the misdeeds of current Republican office holders, it makes their claim against endorsed DFL candidates kind of moot:

Ney to plead to criminal charge

Washington — Ohio Republican Rep. Bob Ney has agreed with the Justice Department to plead guilty to at least one criminal charge in a deal that could be announced as early as Friday, Capitol Hill sources said Thursday.

**snip**

Ney’s woes stem from dealings with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff that became public in 2004. A Texas Indian tribe told the Senate Indian Affairs committee that Ney agreed to help them re-open a closed casino in exchange for political donations and a trip to Scotland to play golf.

Just a bit more then a parking ticket don't ya think!

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It's About the Baggage

Let's be clear right out of the shoot. I find Keith Ellison an honorable and passionate human being. He has evolved into an individual who deserves respect and trust. The 5th district will be represented well by his stewardship. However, the Right Wing smear machine will have a free for all with his candidacy, and that distraction may be enough to effect other races.

This isn't about race or religion. It's about the ability of the opposition to make something out of nothing, or more out of something than really exists. Now is not the time for those distractions. With another option in the primary, like Mike Erlandson, we could have taken an entire arsenal away from the MNGOP in their struggle to remain in control. Now we risk the onslaught from a party that wasted no time beginning their viscous vicious attacks:

THE PARTY OF HUMPHREY BECOMES THE PARTY OF ELLISON

ELLISON IS THE NEW FACE OF THE DFL

MN GOP RAISING MONEY TO COMBAT THE PARTY OF ELLISON

When I used the word short sighted yesterday, it was in no way a dig on 5th district voters. I was merely pointing out that the 40+% of the voters may not have taken a look at all the variables involved in an Ellison endorsement. If the campaign season was all about issues, the DFL would win in a walk. When it's about individuals, anything can happen. And since the Right can't win on the issues, they have no choice but to go on attack, with a formula that has been successful over the last several cycles.

Of course, the flip side is the electorate may be getting tired of attack politics and the MN GOP strategy could blow up in their face. We can only hope that is the case.

Flash

Post Primary Ponderings

A surprise, a disappointment, and a flurry of no-brainers is how the evening went.

Both gubernatorial candidates held of challenges from within, but neither contender came close to bumping the endorsee. TPaw and Hatch are now officially paired to battle it out. The way the polls have been trending it is still anyones game, however I still would be somewhat surprised if Gov. Tim is knocked off. It is his to lose.

In the AG race, Lori Swanson shocks many by holding off endorsed candidate Steve Kelley in what was thought to be smooth sailing for him. Luther's stealth candidacy, relying on Congressional name recognition and out state radio ads was enough to give him a respectable vote count, but not enough to be in the mix. When all the analysis and breakdown is done on this, I wonder if Bill's run was designed more to siphon votes of Kelley with his name recognition, allowing Swanson to run a well organized, independent campaign. There is no doubt she won the sign wars leading up to the primary. That in itself may have been enough to get her out there. An aggressive campaign by the former congressman, including seeking the DFL endorsement, would have made him a more formidable contender.

Kelley, on the other hand, may have relied too much on party support and thought his endorsement would be enough to carry the day. I did receive a few 'pretty' mailings, but that was it. No signage, no ads, no effort to get out there in the mainstream. Those of us political junkies knew all that was going on, but when it came down to main street mom and pop voters, the person on their mind was Swanson, and the vote count shows it.

I'm disappointed my candidate didn't win, but I will have no problem supporting Lori Swanson in the General.

But the disappointment I have is not that my AG candidate lost, but the shortsightedness of the 5th district voters. That deserves its own post, which may go up later today. It will be my only post on the race since because of those results, the DFL now has their work cut out for them all the way up the ticket.

Flash

Primary Primary Links

Start at the Minnesota Monitor for your BEST comprehensive coverage.

MNPublius all over the place

State Wide
SoS Results
Steve Kelley HQ

5th Congressional District
SoS Results
LiveBlog

- - -
An Upset in the making?!?

ATTORNEY GENERAL
Precincts Reporting: 2.72% (112 of 4121)

3728 38.28 LORI SWANSON
3156 32.41 BILL LUTHER
2855 29.32 STEVE KELLEY

- - -

Attorney general
DFL
3191 of 4121 precincts (77%)

103,312 41 Lori Swanson, D
093,910 37 Steve Kelley, D
053,319 21 Bill Luther, D

I Voted!

And you should to!

As much as it is important WHO you vote for, it is MORE important that you vote. So get out there!

For those that know me at all, my ballot was pretty predictable.

More later, but this AM I will have my head buried in a Data Base.

Flash

Luther v Johnson Updates

A couple updates on Luther v Johnson this Primary eve.

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We Remember after Five

Five years ago from this morning I was a nervous wreck. This day was already going to be momentous for me and the future of my children. See, my ex-wife appealed the custody order and this was her last chance to appear in court and plead her case. I lay it all out here, well worth a read.

The Cliff notes version is she was a no show, again. The judge held her in contempt and issued an arrest warrant and I was given full legal and physical custody. Five years later these boys are 13 and 14, healthy, happy, and just as much a handful as they were back then. Their older brother, whom I raised from 11 months to 11 years is aboard the USS Iwo Jima as a Marine Cpl fixing helicopters. The oldest in the house is a Senior in High School on his last leg of public academia. I am just damn happy they are on the path to success. I am proud of each of them for the successes they have already had, and what the future holds for them.

So you see, I have a completely different perspective of 9/11. I will never forgot those who lost their lives that day. Those that sacrificed of themselves so others could live. Those who went from ordinary citizens to citizen heroes. But we also must not forget that there was also good things that happened that day. There were Births of children who are now 5 years old, and the future of others secured.

Smile at a child today, and hug your children if you have them. This is a day of remembrance, but also an opportunity to remember how fragile life is, and how we as parents and adults are bound to ensuring the safety and security of those that will come after us.

Flash

Sunday Funnies

The STRIB shared this one in their 'Drawn and Quartered' section. I didn't want you to miss it:

MOBapalooza

Tonight is the annual meeting of the MOB. Stop by and meet your favorite bloggers and other noted personalities. Oh, and I'll be there, too. *laughing*

Keegan's Pub, across from Surdyks on East Hennepin. 7:ish or so


Flash

Collapsing Campaigns for $1000, Alex.

Answer is: White Flag

What is the Kennedy Kamp waving now that they know there is no hope left for their flawed candidate?

Erik Black shares:

This week, DFL U.S. Senate candidate Amy Klobuchar, and Independence Party candidate Robert Fitzgerald granted interviews to the Big Question about their Social Security positions.

I asked for an interview with Republican Mark Kennedy and he declined. Through his spokester, Heidi Frederickson, he said that he will not grant further interviews to the Big Question

This is simply amazing considering how the early goings of this campaign had Kennedy and the K v Polygraph blog screaming 'WWAD?' because they claimed she wouldn't answer questions, although she did and has the most clear and concise positions of any candidate.

It will be interesting to see how they wiggle out of this. I am sure they'll blame it on bias, but we know it is just that they picked the wrong horse in this one. Even Grams would have been a better bet for them. Now all they can do is spin their wheels in their own mud.

Flash

You Do the Math

The election season's Rovian slam fest begins with the first set of misleading information. The film's producer proclaims to the Press:

Marc Platt, the film's executive producer, said that although it "does contain composite and conflated scenes and representative characters and dialogue, we've worked very hard to be fair. If individuals feel they're wrongly portrayed, that's obviously of concern. We've portrayed the essence of the truth of these events. Our intention was not in any way to be political or present a point of view."

and then the brain trust reassures Hugh:

The Disney execs met all through the weekend - unheard of in this business - debating what changes would be made and what concessions should be given. Here is what looks to be the conclusion:

- There will be a handful of tweaks made to a few scenes.
- They are minor, and nuance in most cases - a line lift here, a tweak to the edit there.
- There are 900 screeners out there. When this airs this weekend, there will be a number of people who will spend their free evenings looking for these changes and will be hard pressed to identify them. They are that minor.
- The average viewer would not be able to tell the difference between the two versions.
- The message of the Clinton Admin failures remains fully intact.(emphasis mine)

After this, the smear boaters will be unleashed and only those who have been following along will be able to sort the wheat from the chaff. Which is what all magicians do, misdirect through slight of hand to lead you to believe one thing, knowing full well it is just a trick.

My guess is the electorate is getting bored with these games, especially since it is getting way to expensive for them.

Flash

Been There, Done That

Mitch and I live within a Justin Morneau shot, so I can empathize with this experience:

It was 5PM at the Superamerica on Snelling at Englewood.

The little old SA with the cramped corner parking lot was as busy as the deck of an aircraft carrier, with cars slipping around each other with mere feet to spare, cooperating in that peculiar way Saint Paul drivers do to get around in our narrow-streeted city.

And then you came in, with your Dodge Ram (the one with the hood like a '34 Dusenberg). You pulled into the lot. And you decided you had to "combat park" - to back your truck into a perpendicular parking spot so you could drive out faster, later.

It's worth a roll of the dice if you have never been there. Parking in this little cubby hole is like a jigsaw puzzle as it is. Half the time I just take up a pump slot, which I believe to be poor form itself.

I don't know what I would have done facing Mitch;s situations, but I think he was far more patient then I would have been.

Flash

One week to go!

One week from today the political field will be trimmed to the final contestants. The Governor and AG races highlight the statewide combatants. But many eyes will be on the 5th.

The statewide candidates have been pretty stealth, running barebones campaign to save money for the post primary battles. The 5th, however, has seen some interesting jossling.

By the end of this week, I should have completed the transition back to work, and found a routine that will allow me to fully engage in the election season. But for now, I am still shaking out the cobwebs as we begin another school year.

Have a great week, and I'll be watching for anything interesting so you don;t have to.

Flash

Govies are WORLD CHAMPS!

CONGRATULATIONS to the St. Peter Govenaires for their World Championship performance last evening in a much drier Rochester NY. The Govies (78.625) held off challeneges by the White Sabres (76.513) and Southern Cal Dream (76.113) to take top honors. This was the Govenaires third trip to DCA Championships, and their first Title after consecutive 2nd place finishes.

In Open Class, the Reading Buccaneers defendined their 2005 title by a mere 3 tenths (97.238) over hometown favorite Empire Statesmen (96.950). Minnesota Brass, Incoporated finished in a very respectable 5th place with a 92.325.

2006 DCA FINALS Scores

CLASS A:

78.625 - Govenaires WaHOOOOoooooooo!!!!
76.513 - White Sabres
76.113 - SoCal Dream

Caption awards (based on Prelims score)

High Brass - SoCal Dream
High Percussion - Chops, Inc.
High Visual - Govenairs
High Overall Effect - Govenairs
Best Colorguard - Govenairs
Best Drum Major - John Mayer, Govenairs


OPEN CLASS

97.238 - Reading Buccaneers
96.950 - Empire Statesmen
95.638 - Bushwackers
95.000 - Hawthorne Caballeros
92.325 - Minnesota Brass, Inc.
91.538 - Syracuse Brigadiers
86.738 - Connecticut Hurricanes
86.238 - San Francisco Renegades (2 point penalty)
85.750 - CorpsVets
84.775 - Carolina Gold (.2 penalty)


Caption awards
High Brass - Bushwackers
High Percussion - Reading Buccaneers
High Visual - Reading Buccaneers
High Overall Effect - Empire Statesmen
Best Colorguard - Bushwackers
Best Honor Guard - Connecticut Hurricanes
Best Drum Major - David Bruni, Empire Statesmen
Best Showmanship - Colorguard, Connecticut Hurricanes

'Crocodile Hunter' gone!

via CNN:

SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Steve Irwin, the TV presenter known as the "Crocodile Hunter," has died after being stung by a stingray in a marine accident off Australia's north coast.

Media reports say Irwin was diving in waters off Port Douglas, north of Cairns, when the incident happened on Monday morning.

Irwin, 44 was killed by a stingray barb that went through his chest, according to Cairns police sources. Irwin was filming an underwater documentary at the time.

2006 DCA World Championships

Icky wet swampy Ernesto remnants put a damper on the festivities in Rochester, NY this afternoon and evening, but the show must go on.

Minnesota corps fared pretty well. Chops missed finals by a hair and are unable to defend their Class A Championship. However, the Govenaires (whom I marched with last year) look in prime position to capture their first Class A national championship.

MN Brass, Inc is sitting in 5th place overall, which is a bump from their 6th position going in.

The weather should be a tad better tomorrow, but still a bit chilly.

Here are the complete results:

2006 DCA Open Class Prelims Scores

97.275 (0.0) Buccaneers
96.963 (0.0) Empire Statesmen
95.363 (0.0) Bushwackers
95.325 (0.0) Caballeros
92.500 (0.0) Minnesota Brass (St. Paul, MN)
91.063 (0.0) Brigadiers
90.275 (0.0) Renegades
88.263 (0.0) Hurricanes
87.363 (0.0) CorpsVets
87.250 (0.0) Carolina Gold
^^^^^^^^^Finals ^^^^^^^^^
84.213 (0.0) Kilties
82.438 (0.0) Crusaders
80.613 (0.0) Music City Legend
80.288 (0.0) Frontier
79.150 (0.0) Skyliners
77.700 (0.0) Sunrisers

= = = =

2006 DCA Class A Prelims Scores

78.900 (0.0) Govenaires (St. Peter, MN)
75.500 (0.0) White Sabres
74.525 (0.4) So Cal Dream
^^^^^^^^^Finals ^^^^^^^^^
73.700 (0.0) Chops, Inc. (Mpls, MN)
72.725 (0.0) Lakeshoremen
72.463 (0.0) Alliance
69.300 (0.0) Gulf Coast Sound

Flash