No Runny Eggs

Over the past two weeks, speculation has been growing that Mitt Romney will be McCain’s VP.   In fact, several sources have flat out stated, that Mitt Romney will be McCain’s VP.  Even Intrade has shown a near doubling of the price for “Mitt for VP” as an indication that the market is quickly coalescing on this pick:

alt=”Price for 2008 Republican VP Nominee (others upon request)(expired at convention) at intrade.com”
title=”Price for 2008 Republican VP Nominee (others upon request)(expired at convention) at intrade.com” border=”0″>

But will Romney be McCain’s VP?  Let’s look at the events of this weekend to get a hint:

Other than what was spun by the Obama campaign, there were two story lines that followed the Biden announcement:

• Biden was picked to shore up Obama’s inexperience in foreign affairs
• Biden’s pick again showed Obama’s lack of core by picking a Washington insider after campaigning on Hope and Change

Neither of the main story lines were helpful to the Obama campaign.  Additionally, within a few hours of the announcement, the McCain campaign had ads running using Biden’s own words to reinforce the image of Obama being inexperienced and not ready to be “The One!”

The first rule of picking a VP is “Do no harm.”  It could be argued that Biden will help Obama get more of the Democrats to vote for him (latest polls show 20+% not currently doing so) but his dissonance with Obama’s message and his own harsh words about Obama’s readiness will make it difficult for Independents to see the Obama/Biden ticket as anything other than what George Will called a “Kangaroo ticket” where the hind legs are much stronger than the front.  People don’t vote for VP candidates who are presidential they only vote for Presidential candidates who are presidential!

If McCain picks Romney, the story lines following the announcement of his choice will be:

• Romney was picked to shore up McCain’s inexperience in Economic matters
• Romney was the pick because McCain had to satisfy his conservative base

Within hours of the pick, the Obama campaign will have ads out using Romney’s own words whacking McCain and they’ll point out how his “conservative credentials” are recently acquired and can’t be trusted.

With what McCain saw in the last 24 hours, why would he set himself up for a replay of this weekend only with different faces pasted on the animated bodies?

He won’t.

The selection of Joe Biden to be the Democrat VP and the experience of the past 48 hours following have determined who McCain will select for his VP.  John McCain will pick Tim Pawlenty as his VP.

As an experienced and arguably successful Governor from a blue state, Pawlenty passes the “do no harm” test.  While there will certainly be discussion about Pawlenty’s policy positions, there will not be any tape of him bad mouthing McCain nor will he be perceived to be upstaging McCain or filling a gap in McCain’s experience.  On the plus side, while Pawlenty is every bit as affable as Biden is reported to be, he is not enamoured with the sound of his own voice. 

The McCain campaign has had a good month.  With the Democrat convention this week, the momentum should naturally move Obama’s direction.  The timing of McCain’s VP announcement followed by the Republican convention should minimize both the height and duration of any Obama convention bounce.  Picking Romney would allow Obama a chance to expand his convention bounce and that’s not a mistake that the McCain team will make.

Tim Walz is one of Minnesota’s Congresscritters.  Walz, a Democrat represents Minnesota’s first congressional district which is the South end of the state abutting Iowa.  Included in the district are the cities of Rochester, Mankato, Austin (Home of Spam!) and the home of my collegiate Alma Mater, St. Peter.

St. Peter, like many other cities across the country, is having a tough time making ends meet this year.  The biggest culprit is the dramatic increase in energy costs that have made things like operating fire trucks, much more expensive than a year ago.

Enter Tim Walz.

Congressman Walz knows just how to fix the problem with the increased fuel costs: give the cities more money from the Federal budget!  Walz doesn’t want the cities to have to make difficult choices:

“What we don’t want is, we don’t want our fire fighters making that choice training or fuel. We don’t want to see them out fundraising again just to put fuel in their vehicles.”

Um, Tim? May I call you Timmy?

You’re solution to keep cities from making budget decisions is to just give them more money? Gosh, why didn’t I think of that? Oh Yeah, it’s because that’s a horrible answer!

Timmy, how do you think my family is dealing with the increase in energy costs? Hint: I don’t get paid more just because I have to spend more. Com’ on, I know you can figure this out, you’re a Congressman after all. That’s right, we have to change our budget! We don’t get to spend as much on other things as we used to because we need to spend more on our fuel costs.

I know, you’re going to say that you support increased drilling (I heard you got permission to say that from Nana Pelosi.) You’ll probably even tell me that you have signed on to a “Bipartisan” bill that would do just that. Thanks for playing Timmy, I took that bill apart a couple of days ago here. The only thing that bill would expand would be the noses on the faces of Democrats who try to sell it as a bill that would increase drilling.

Timmy, rather than just printing more money to put a band aid on a problem, how about doing something that would actually bring down fuel costs for everyone? Can you guess what I might be referring to? Yup, sign on to that discharge petition and get a straight up and down vote on expanded drilling!

To hear it from the MSM, the entire world was enraptured by Barack Obama as he moved about his recent “Tour of Planet Earth.” Even the normally stoic Germans were reported to have 200,000 devotees clamoring to get near enough to touch his robe (messianic reference there.) After this successful tour I remain surprised that the presumptuous Presidential candidate would settle for being mere President of the US of A. I have been fully expecting the presumptuous candidate to announce that based on the world’s need for change, he would bypass being President of the US and move right to being elected President of the World.

However, with all the spit and polish that was used to produce his tour, it appears Obama missed at least one spot.

Andrew Bolt, a conservative columnist for the Australian newspaper Herald Sun had some observations about the way that the Republican’s presumed nominee and the Democrat’s presumptuous nominee responded to Russia’s invasion of Georgia:

Don’t Barack for Georgia
WE have just had a lesson in how the next president of the US would react to a real menace to the world’s peace.
…Here’s McCain: “Tensions and hostilities between Georgians and Ossetians are in no way justification for Russian troops crossing an internationally recognised border.”

Russia had “to immediately and unconditionally withdraw its forces”. NATO should swiftly accept Georgia as a member, which would oblige Europe and the US to come to its aid.

Now here’s Obama’s camp: “It’s both sides’ fault — both have been somewhat provocative with each other.” The United Nations should step in and send a peacekeeping force under “an appropriate UN mandate”.

Not a very flattering take on the presumptuous nominee’s approach to this international crisis.

Apparently unfazed by his messianic aura, Bolt goes on to point out Obama’s gaffe in responding to a “3 AM call” moment

Knock, knock. Excuse me, Mr Obama, sir. But Russia is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and would veto any UN move in Georgia it didn’t like.

Mr. Bolt goes on to sum up what a growing number of people are realizing:

One of these two men will next year take charge of the US - the greatest guarantor of freedom in a world increasingly threatened by freedom’s enemies. Pray the right man wins.

Apparently the whole world hasn’t become enraptured by the Obamessiah. While he may have won over countries that already have the characteristics of what Obama wants America to look like i.e. more socialism, more government, less individual responsibility, he hasn’t pulled the wool over the eyes of countries who still understand that capitalism and individual accountability are still key to a country’s success.

Days after the 35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Mayor R.T. Rybak announced that he needed to delay release of his budget proposal because the impacts of the collapse were unknown and expected to strain the city:

“At a time when investing in public safety and transportation infrastructure are as important as ever, we need to know more about all the pressures on our fiscal outlook,” Mayor Rybak added. “The I-35W Bridge collapse has affected our City in ways we are just beginning to understand.”

Four months later as his budget was approved by the council, Mayor Rybak lamented that the $1.4B budget didn’t have room in it to keep up with deteriorating infrastructure:

“We are nowhere near where we need to be in terms of investment in basic city infrastructure,” Rybak said. “Our city, our state and our nation have not invested as we must in roads, bridges and transit – and our lack of investment has serious consequences.”

Mayor Rybak recommended City Bridge Repair and Rehabilitation be more than doubled in 2008 and increased over five years from $950,000 to $1,450,000.

A few months later, Rybak congratulated the Minnesota Legislature for overriding Gov. Pawlenty’s veto of the largest tax increase in Minnesota history:

Choosing leadership over partisanship, today the Legislature stood strong for a transportation solution that will help strengthen our economy and grow needed jobs in our state.

Facing economic uncertainty and 1 million more people expected to move to our region over the next two decades, the Legislature put years of political divide aside and instead chose to stand up for a fair and balanced solution to our transportation neglect.

Poor Mayor Rybak, can’t find $500,000 in a $1.4B budget to do needed road and bridge repairs. he couldn’t find $500K for that but he could find it for this:

Designs for a series of 10 drinking fountains to be installed in Minneapolis to honor the city’s connection to water were unveiled Tuesday.

Yup, 10 designer drinking fountains at $50K each! But wait! Before you heckle Mayor Rybak over his spending prioities you need to understand that these aren’t any old fountains, they are “Art!”

Arts advocates say the project — half from property taxes, half from water charges — is a continuation of the city’s ongoing public arts program, which has brought the city projects ranging from an oversized bunny sculpture at E. Minnehaha Parkway and Portland Av. S. to artist-designed manhole covers.

Yeah, that’s what I want, an oversized bunny sculpture and artist designed manhole covers! That will certainly move Minneapolis right to the top of the “Greatest Cities in the World” list!

Mayor Rybak, in his wisdom, understands the importance of these fountains:

The good news is people are talking about water in Minneapolis again,” Rybak said before the unveiling, a reference to the criticism he’s taken for the cost of the fountains.

I’m sure for Minneapolis tax payers, “Talking about water” is every bit as important as talking about $4 gas, 8% increases in city tax levies and 28% increase in gas taxes.

It’s good to know that Mayor Rybak understands the prioriities of Minneapolis tax payers!

Ever since the original inkling that the St. Paul Ford plant might be closed, various elected officials have been meeting with Ford in an attempt to change their mind.  Financial incentives (read that: tax reductions) had been discussed with Ford in an attempt to change their mind about closing the plant but none had appeared to provide enough incentive to keep the plant open.

On Thursday of last week, the city of St. Paul and the State of Minnesota received some very welcome news.  The St. Paul Ford plant which had originally been scheduled to close in 2008 got a reprieve until 2011.  The St. Paul Ford plant makes the Ranger truck for Ford and while sales had been down, the increased price of gas had created a resurgence in demand for the vehicle.

In the article that covered the closing reprieve, even one of the most notorious Minnesota tax and spenders (read that DFL/Democrat) is wanting to be on the “financial incentive” band wagon:

“This decision gives us a little breathing room to address the long-term viability of the plant,” said Rep. Frank Hornstein, DFL-Minneapolis, chairman of the Minnesota House Transportation and Transit Policy Subcommittee.

“We must act decisively on a package of incentives that enables Ford to produce the kind of fuel-efficient vehicles in St. Paul that will keep the plant thriving now and in the future,” Hornstein said. “We have been in conversations with Ford and we are confident that we can work together toward both short- and long-term solutions to keep jobs in St. Paul.”

So far, Ford has only indicated an interest in short-term incentives, Hornstein said. “They would like to see something similar to what exists in Kentucky and Michigan, which is kind of a payroll tax deferral,” he explained.

So here’s my question:
Rep. Hornstein has concluded that lowering taxes for Ford might cause them to keep jobs in Minnesota. What part of that and being the Coauthor of the bill that provided for the largest tax increase in the State of Minnesota’s history make sense?

Wait, there’s more….From his website under “Priorities” Rep. Hornstein gives us these:

BUDGET

2008 Budget Debate

• Promote more progressive income tax policies and roll-back tax breaks for the most wealthy.
• Close corporate tax loopholes.

Rep. Hornstein is a Democrat so we all know that by definition he wouldn’t do anything to take jobs away, right?

Rep. Hornstein coauthored and was committee chair for the largest tax hike in Minnesota history.
Rep. Hornstein believes income taxes should be higher, dramatically so for higher incomes.
Rep. Hornstein believes “corporate tax loopholes” should be closed.

Obviously Rep. Hornstein doesn’t think any of the above negatively impacts jobs but yet….
Rep. Hornstein believes Ford Motor Company should receive tax incentives (lower their taxes) as a way to keep those jobs here.

Rep. Hornstein’s positions leave me with one of two conclusions. Either

Rep. Hornstein is logically unsound to the point that he is unable to see the severe inconsistencies in very simple positions.

Or.

Because the Ford Plant is in Rep. Hornstein’s district he is willing to bypass his principles to pander to his constituents.

Neither of the above options should make constituents of Rep. Hornstein supportive of his reelection.

Rep. Hornstein is not the only Democrat with this problem. Every one of them run to providing “incentives” the minute they hear that jobs are leaving. I’m beginning to think that Democrats have some kind of a debilitating genetic mutation that allows them to choose government greed over an expanding job base.  If only they would recognize that the high taxes that they are all in favor of, are removing jobs from Minnesota each and every day.

Dang, Jesse Ventura told Larry King he isn’t going to run for US Senate.

In explaining his decision, Jesse rambled about all kinds of issues. The one that seemed to clinch it for him was that he didn’t want to subject his family to the Minnesota press.

As with all of his complaints about Minnesota media, Jesse’s shot tonight should have been pointed back at himself. The media aggressively and rightly followed up on stories about Jesse’s son’s escapades. Shortly before he needed to attempt a reelection campaign Jesse’s son, Tyrel was accused of using the Governor’s mansion as a party house in a tell all book by the mansion director. By the time this book came out it was already apparent that any positive that Jesse may have had, had ebbed from the memories of most Minnesotans.

Jesse told Larry that unlike President Bush, God had not spoken to him in his 57 years. But, and this is the way Jesse handles nearly everything, he left the door open that if God talks to him before 5 PM CST tomorrow, he could yet get into the race.

I’m going to be praying from now until 5 PM tomorrow. I’ve got enough stuff to talk to God about that it should keep Him too busy to get to Jesse.

You can thank me later.

For all of you who thought CNN viewers were in the tank for the Dems…guess again!

Larry King, Almost Alive, has Jesse Ventura on tonight.  Jesse has promised to tell the world, on national TV, whether he’ll run for Senate in Minnesota.

To honor Ventura’s latest publicity grab and ego pat, larry’s folks have a poll out letting you vote on who should be elected as Senator.  Remember that recent polls show Ventura at about 25% support in the state. Here were the poll results as of about 5:30 PM.

I’m sure glad they told us this wasn’t a scientific poll! I would have hated to see the A/P and Reuters stories retracted!

On July 1st and for the next 2 weeks, the window to file is open, should one want to be on the November ballots.  The MN media is now atwitter as it tries to read the tea leaves to determine if Jesse Ventura will file to run for the US Senate seat against incumbent Norm Coleman and Dem endorsed Al Franken.

In this interview by the Rochester, MN ABC affiliate, Ventura’s former campaign manager, Dean Barkley pontificates on whether Ventura will run, the issues he will face and his prospects for the race.

On whether Ventura will run, Barkley says: 

I know his arguments pro and con of what’s going through his mind. If I had to guess I think it’s more likely he’ll run than not. He knows the opportunity is there. He’s not stupid. He knows this is probably a historic opportunity for an independent to win this senate seat.

I’d agree that with Coleman, a well documented RINO who would get Conservative votes not just with a nose held but with full Hazmat suits on, and Al Franken, a candidate who makes Alec Baldwin appear logical and even tempered, running there is room for the incredibly enigmatic voters of Minnesota to go for an independent. The problem is that Ventura isn’t independent. While he could claim “independence” when he ran for Governor, this time he has a record. A quick review of his record as Governor will show that while he talked as an independent, he governed mostly aligned with the Left.

When queried as to how Ventura would be able to compete in a campaign that has become the most expensive in Minnesota history, Barkley says:

He’ll just have to go out and be Jesse. Just tell them the truth; tell people what he’s thinking, what he thinks is wrong

And there’s the rub. Most onions would have skins determined to be impenetrable in comparison to Jesse’s. Barack Obama would have a better chance of being considered “just one of the guys” in an Evangelical, NRA meeting in Pennsylvania than Jesse would of the vast cross section of Minnesotans. Jesse as Jesse is what took him from Minnesota’s man of “Hope and Change” to a historical political oddity.

Some may fantasize that Ventura will be able to do to the Senate race what he did to the Governor race. They believe that Jesse will be able to invigorate a section of the electorate to vote where they had normally not done so.  That, along with a dissatisfaction with the two party system, would put Jesse over the top. The problem with this thinking is that the invigoration has already been done by Barack Obama. The young folks who Jesse brought to vote are already in. The other problem is that unlike the first time around, Minnesotans now know Jesse.

In the end, other than some good theatre, it probably doesn’t matter much whether Jesse runs or not. A recent poll by KSTP-TV shows that Coleman is polling ahead by 12 points if only he and Franken run. Coleman has a 10 point lead over Franken and Ventura finishes a distant third if he enters the race.

If Jesse decides to run, he will likely find Minnesotans following the famous Chinese proverb: “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!”

From the Republican Party of Wisconsin -

MADISON – Republican Party of Wisconsin Spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski issued the following statement regarding the donation from Senator Russ Feingold’s Progressive Patriots Fund to Minnesota Senate candidate Al Franken. Franken’s campaign won Feingold’s “Pick A Progressive Patriot” contest and will receive a $5,000 contribution.

“As someone who has sponsored a Senate Resolution raising awareness of sexual assaults on college campuses, we are shocked and outraged to learn that Feingold’s PAC would donate $5,000 to Al Franken, who is under fire in Minnesota for joking about drugging and raping news personality Leslie Stahl. Feingold says his PAC is ‘dedicated to promoting a progressive reform agenda,’ so we want to know where joking about drugging and raping women fit in the ‘progressive reform agenda.’ Feingold should ask that the contribution be returned to him as Al Franken’s sick and twisted humor is clearly out of line with Wisconsin values.”

“The Progressive Patriots Fund is dedicated to promoting a progressive reform agenda and supporting candidates across the country. - Senator Russ Feingold” (Progressive Patriots Fund website, http://www.progressivepatriotsfund.com/, accessed June 25, 2008)

Feingold Sponsors Resolution Raising Awareness Of Sexual Assaults On College Campuses. “[Security On Campus, Inc.]’s efforts to improve campus safety got an important boost this week when the U.S. Senate took action to recognize September as the first ever National Campus Safety Awareness Month. Senate Resolution 221 ‘supporting the goals and ideals of ‘National Campus Safety Awareness Month’’ was passed unanimously Wednesday evening. ‘Raising awareness of the need for safety on college campuses should be a priority for all of us, particularly as freshman across the country are starting their college careers,’ said U.S. Senator Russ Feingold the sponsor of the campus safety month resolution.” (Security On Campus, Inc. press release, http://www.securityoncampus.org/reporters/releases/09162005.pdf)

Al Franken Wins “Pick A Progressive Patriot” Contest, Wins $5,000. “A big thank you to everyone who voted for Al in the ‘Pick A Progressive Patriot’ contest. Because of you, that’s another $5000 in the bank as we wrap up this financial quarter! Our finance staff would be writing this themselves, but they’re pretty busy right now raising money (help them out and vote before June 25th for Al to receive the support of Sen. Barbara Boxer’s PAC for a Change!)” (Al Franken for Senate blog, http://blog.alfranken.com/2008/06/24/russ-feingolds-newest-progressive-patriot/, accessed June 25, 2008)

Franken Under Fire For Skit Idea That Included Rape Of “60 Minutes” Anchor Leslie Stahl. “In the 1995 New York magazine profile of ‘Saturday Night Live,’ [Al] Franken is described among a group of show writers sounding out a possible parody of Andy Rooney centered on a sedative pill bottle found in the ‘60 Minutes’ essayist’s desk. Franken and fellow writers Norm MacDonald and Jim Downey kick around fictional Rooney responses to the discovery of the bottle. The article quotes Franken putting an edgy twist on the discussion, saying in a Rooney voice: ‘And ‘I give the pills to Lesley Stahl. Then when Lesley’s passed out, I take her to the closet and rape her.’ Or ‘That’s why you never see Lesley until February.’ Or, ‘When she passes out I put her in various positions and take pictures of her.’” (Brian Bakst, “GOP blasts Franken over quotes in ‘95 article,” Associated Press, June 5, 2008)

Feminist Leader Steps Down Over Franken Endorsement. “Mari Urness Pokornowski of Cokato, president of the DFL Feminist Caucus, resigned Saturday when she learned that her group had endorsed Franken. As a mother and former teacher, she said, she didn’t see how Franken’s writings represented rural Minnesota values. The endorsement, she said, ‘was a choice made by the caucus, and once that decision is made, you have to make a choice where you stand, For me, my decision was to step down.’” (Patricia Lopez and Kevin Duchschere, “Franken sweeps to endorsement,” Star Tribune, June 8, 2008)

###

Brilliance, Russ. Sheer, unadulterated brilliance!

Yesterday the Senate had the “wind fall taxes” on oil companies bill before them.  In a 51-43 vote, the Republicans were able to kill this ignorant, patronizing and pandering bill.

Unfortunately,  6 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, they were:

• Grassley, IA
• Collins, ME
• Snowe, ME
• Smith, OR
• Warner, VA
• Coleman, MN

And it’s that last vote that makes me say I’m done. 

Coleman is a RINO in every bad connotation of that word.  He was a Democrat for years and became a Republican only because it was expedient for him to do so to further his political career.

Coleman believes in global warming, he believes in cap and trade, he won’t drill in ANWR, he has a lifetime Conservative voting record of 68.

I don’t like his position on many issues but I could give him some cover under the “we’ll agree to disagree” argument.  However, when a simple issue like artificially taxing a business because you don’t like them, comes up and he doesn’t have the courage of his convictions to vote NO, than I will show him how it’s done.

I will not vote for Coleman in November.  Neither will I vote for Franken.

I wonder if the Libertarians have a candidate for Senate? 

From AL Franken’s “apology” over “satire” aritcles that were anti woman and pornographic, given at the Minnesota Democrat convention on Saturday:

It kills me that things I said and wrote sent a message … that they can’t count on me to be a champion for women, for all Minnesotans. I’m sorry for that. Because that’s not who I am,” Franken told delegates.

Does anyone else notice a similarity here?

Barack Obama at an April 29th press conference:

The person I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago.

Now it’s bad enough when you’re surprised by the behavior of someone you’ve intimately known for 20 years but how bad must it be when you don’t recognize yourself after 57 years?

Is there some kind of a “How to make an excuse” handbook being handed out this year by the DNC?

On Saturday, Minnesota Democrats endorsed Al “It’s just satire” Franken to be their candidate for US Senate.  The MSM had the usual glowing reports making it sound like Al is the perfect candidate and that the Dems are over flowing with love for their candidate:

ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP)- Al Franken won a resounding endorsement for the U.S. Senate on Saturday from Minnesota Democrats, quickly dispatching with concerns about jokes that offended some and promising a tough challenge to Republican Sen. Norm Coleman.

However, not unlike Barack Obama’s coronation last Tuesday, not all is as the MSM would like you to believe. From the Star and Sickle:

Mari Urness Pokornowski of Cokato, president of the DFL Feminist Caucus, resigned Saturday when she learned that her group had endorsed Franken. As a mother and former teacher, she said, she didn’t see how Franken’s writings represented rural Minnesota values.

The endorsement, she said, “was a choice made by the caucus, and once that decision is made, you have to make a choice where you stand, For me, my decision was to step down.”

And further from Politics in Minnesota:

There’s no doubt that Pokornowski has had a tough week as head of the caucus.

After U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill, became the presumptive Democratic nominee for president after a bruising battle with U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-NY, Koryne Horbal, 71, who founded the DFL Feminist Caucus, said she would not support Obama and wanted to organize a write-in campaign for Clinton.

Pokornowski was forced to issue a press release distancing her group from its founder’s actions. “It was as much of a surprise to us as it was to you,” the press release said in part.

How many candidates can the Democrats run that lose the vote from Minnesota Women? So far, it’s 2 and counting

Thursday, Al Gore endorsed Al Franken to be the Democrat candidate for the US Senate from Minnesota.  The endorsement caused the local, and some of the national media, to be all a twitter.  From the local Star and Sickle:

DFL U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken got a welcome boost on Wednesday with an endorsement from one of the more revered figures in the Democratic Party — former Vice President Al Gore.

Gore, who has become a crusading environmentalist since leaving elective office, sent an e-mail to DFL delegates on Wednesday afternoon that warmly praised Franken, calling him “exactly the breath of fresh air our government needs.”

I really don’t understand all the excitement.

If you’re not aware, Franken has been having some trouble with articles he’s written. The first was a 2000 article for Playboyin which amongst other things, Franken wrote about his son using the internet to write a report on bestiality. Another article, written in 1995has Franken making jokes about rape. Franken’s response to the article is that he did it as a satarist, it was a long time ago and Minnesota people know that that article is not who he is now. Like Barack Obama, Franken also tries to argue that the associations and activities of his personal life are not reflective of who he would be as a political leader. However, the article is so egregious and sexist, that even female Democrat leadership from Minnesota are asking him to remove himself from nomination.

Al Gore, if you remember, had his own problems with Playboy. In his 2000 campaign, one of Al’s California supporters had scheduled a fund raiser at the Playboy mansion. Al spent a great deal of time trying to reconcile his stated belief, that men and women were equal, with the fact that his fund raiser was being held at a place that clearly didn’t portray that perspective. While the venue was later moved, Al could never bring himself to return the contributions he had received from the various Playboy Executives. Like Franken and Obama, Al tried to tell us that the contributions didn’t reflect his views and were only a tiny fraction of the funds raised by the campaign.

So I really don’t understand the excitement of the endorsement. After all, they’re a part of the same secret society. As such, one would expect members of the society to stand and fully support one another. 

What society you ask?  No, I don’t mean the Secret Society of Al’s, I mean the secret society within the Democrat party that believes the objectification of women is a positive attribute.

I attended the MNGOP State Convention yesterday as a delegate. I’m not as smart as Steve to bring a recorder and camera so that best I can do is give you some impressions and some short hand notes.

In some respects, the convention was pretty standard fare, lots of boring administration interrupted by a few speeches and the occasional entertaining give and take.

Ron Carey, MNGOP State Chair was up first with a message for UNITY. Unity seemed to be a recurring theme. Former Governor Al Quie, Senator Norm Coleman and others pleaded for unity within the Republican party. I find the plea ironic because as I surveyed the folks attending as delegates or alternates, I would bet that 95% of us agree on about 90% or more of the issues. Unlike the Democrats, the Republicans have adopted platforms that come back to the same issues of fiscal accountability, individual rights and keeping government focused on what it should be focused on. My take is that if there is a concern for unity, it doesn’t have to do with the bottom end of the Republican party. The “disunity” is being caused by the top of the Republican party.

A good example of the disunity caused by the top was a proposed amendment to the MNGOP constitution. The amendment would allow the State GOP to toss out a BPOU chair if that chair didn’t do everything the State GOP thought they should do. That proposal (which was soundly shot down) and the emotional supportive comments from Ron Carey did nothing to convince at least this delegate, that the State leadership understands the reason for disunity. I think the leadership believes the disunity has been caused by the fight amongst candidates i.e. Thompson, Paul, Romney, etc., where in reality, the disunity (to the extent it exists) is due to the fact that leadership does not want to abide by the will of the people who voted them into office.  A good example of this came in Senator Coleman’s acceptance speech.

Senator Coleman was unanimously endorsed by the convention.  However, I’ll tell you that his reception was not enthusiastic.  As Coleman was announced, a polite but tepid applause greeted him (I contrast this to Second Congressional District Representative John Kline’s later greeting which was raucous).  Coleman’s speech talked about eight key points that he thought should be focused on.  For the most part it was “motherhood and apple pie” items for Republicans until he started talking about increasing ethanol and focusing on fuel cells.  Coleman has been a visible opponent of ANWR drilling.  He also thinks coal is only good if it is in someones Christmas stocking.  As Coleman was talking about his “let’s live without energy” approach to energy, there was a very audible chant of “ANWR, ANWR” amongst the delegates.  Coleman never slowed down or missed a word.  His ANWR position and his belief in man made global warming are two significant issues that separate him from most of the Republican base and is a reason that we don’t have unity.

Another issue that showed leadership causing disunity was in how they handled the Ron Paul delegation.  As in other district and even State conventions, the Paul folks showed up ready to do battle.  I’ll hand it to them that they came with a high degree in enthusiasm.  Unfortunately, while they were loaded with enthusiasm they did not come loaded with parliamentarians.  The lack of a parliamentarian strategy left the Paul folks playing catch up all day.  As the Paul folks attempted on multiple occasions to suspend the rules to try to get their delegates seated for the national election, they were unable to garner the votes necessary to do so.  The Chairs were also successful in pointing to the adopted rules of the convention to thwart Paul efforts. 

Late in the day, after delegates had been elected, the Paul folks pointed out that the nomination committee did not follow the rules of the convention in determining their slate of candidates.  The specific point was that the rules required people intent on running for those slots to interview, in person, in Rochester with the nominating committee.  The Paul folks found that at least Tim Pawlenty, perhaps others, did not personally meet with the committee.  Now a reasonable person would likely say “no big deal.”  However, the Chair and state leadership had been pointing the Paul folks noses back at the rules all day as a way to thwart their efforts.  I can’t say I’m a fan of Ron Paul but I fully support their position of “either the rules are the rules or there are no rules.”  Unfortunately the state leadership handled this situation by simply ignoring it.  They never provided a satisfactory answer or solution for the predicament they had created….That’s CRAP!

I came away from the convention feeling less enthused for the bulk of the Republicans than I did going into it.  It’s clear to me that some of the candidates and much of the leadership does not yet understand what has happened in the base.  My impression is that they largely think that they know better and if you disagree you ought to shut up.

Last thought…The youth and enthusiasm of most of the Paul folks was refreshing, invigorating and much appreciated.  For the few folks who thought the way to voice your displeasure was to make repeated references to Nazi Germany….learn your history and then grow up!

Matt Lewis points us to a very-special birthday video from the NRSC…

Hey Al, here’s to #58 seeing you back home in New York City.