The Next Senator from Minnesota Will Be…
"BLOG"05/17/2008
The Next Senator from Minnesota Will Be…
by Paul Munnis
Watching the DFL race to select a candidate to run against Senator Norm Coleman has been about as exciting as watching cheese age.
One DFL declared candidate, Nelson-Pallmeyer, has been campaigning mainly in the Twin Cities with appearances here and there around the State, mainly at DFL Caucus meetings. He is a good speaker but not very well known across our State. He is trying to woo DFL delegates to the State Convention and to gain their endorsement to run against Senator Norm Coleman. He has promised to abide by the decision of the delegates at the Convention and as a result his stock has risen considerably for the DFL Party does not want a primary contest over this seat. It saps funds needed elsewhere.
The opponent is Al Franken, a man who has worked long and hard to get the endorsement and has befriended the DFL Party on many occasions long before he became a candidate for the Senate. He was cruising along on 8 cylinders when his campaign hit a pot-hole in the form of a tax scandal. Franken has tried to perform damage control but he has left Coleman with a powerful campaign argument to vote against Franken. Al Franken has also agreed to abide by the decision of the Convention delegates. Franken has tons of Union endorsements -- all garnered before the current scandal was revealed. Franken is taken as a serious candidate but the tax issue has hurt him and now he is being bashed pretty heavily about it even before the endorsing Convention. Because of his radio comedy days his name is well-known across Minnesota.
Neither has the political machine put into place that Senator Amy Klobuchar fashioned and used to sweep to victory in Minnesota. Neither candidate is as a good of a campaigner as Amy Klobuchar was at this stage. What will happen after the endorsement is yet to be seen for a lot of muscle will be put into supporting the DFL candidate for Senator.
It is not as though Minnesotans love Norm Coleman. He is considered a Bush lap dog who votes for the Bush policies at every chance. He is on the wrong side of the political issues constantly and his whole professional life has been as a politician (he has never held a private sector job) yet he is not without friends, advisors, and donors. Coleman has had six years to accumulate a war chest for this contest and he has plenty of cash to spend against his opponent. Bush / Chaney support propelled him in his earlier election coming as it did on the death of Senator Paul Wellstone who was ripe to beat Coleman. Coleman has paid his dues for that presidential support to the GOP many times over. In a normal race the Democratic Party impetus would carry the competitor a long way against Coleman, perhaps accounting for 50% of the vote. But this is not a normal race. We have a weak Nelson-Pallmayer and a damaged Franken. That levels the playing field and gives the GOP hope of winning.
The real drama will be in watching the two compete for the DFL endorsement. That is well underway now and will be pretty close to a done deal before the gavel opens the Convention. Delegates are already making up their minds.
The Democratic Party really needs to defeat Norn Coleman and the reason is because Minnesota is a critical State in gaining Senate control by Democrats. Without such control we are in danger of more of the filibustering and cloture dominated Senate politics that we have been treated to this year.
For the delegates it comes down to a choice between a guy with a tax problem but lots of Union endorsements and a good war chest (Franken) or a relatively unknown candidate having a clean record (Nelson-Pallmayer). This is a tough choice and whoever is chosen will need the full support and strength of the DFL to win the contest against Coleman.
For the chosen candidate it means a whirlwind summer of shaking hands, sweating at County Fairs, admiring babies, and debating with Coleman.
The DFL determination will be made in June and then the final contest for a Minnesota Senator will begin.