Still waiting on results from several conventions:
SD33 SD34
SD44
SD52
Otter Tail
If anyone was in attendance and has results from these conventions, drop'em in the comments.
I'm reconciling some numbers from yesterday, but at present it appears that both Margaret Anderson Kelliher and John Marty had great days -- Marty appears to have moved into a virtual tie with Paul Thissen for third place in pledged delegates. MAK has put a little daylight between herself and R.T. Rybak in that measure, but we'll see what happens when we pull in those remaining conventions.
It is just as unnecessary for the media to worry about competition from Fox as it is to worry about competition from Nickelodeon (which, ironically, is a better source for news than Fox, and plays to a smarter audience).
Another Bachmann rally, this time in St. Paul. Thousands turn out.
From the Minneapolis Star Tribune, an account of the story. And something very weird going on: apparently, in the original of the story that appeared on line today, the Strib reporter wrote this:
"The rally flashed with anger at times. As Bachmann was saying, "American people are not going to take this lying down," one man shouted, "Kill the bastard!" a reference to President Obama. "Impeach them!" another shouted."
How do I know that appeared in the original story? Because it's quoted on another political blog today, and because commenters in the story thread at the Strib website reference it.
But now (apparently) the reporter or his editor or whoever have scrubbed it off the paper's site. If you go to the article at the link below, you won't find the quoted passage--though a Google cache search of the entire quote will take you to the Strib article, I can't find the quote in it, any more. And Google won't let you "look at" the cache any more.
And the story was filed today. That's pretty fast back-trackin' from the Strib, kind of Ministry of Truth/1984 stuff. The "kill the bastard" quote is still referred to in the comments though.
Anyway, here's from the reporting on the rally:
(CONTINUED)
There was an interesting discussion about how DFL candidates get selected here the other day. I'm running it here in front page article to see what you make of it.
The participants seem to be veteran campaigners and activists, some are critical of the current Dem procedure in Minnesota--some defend it. If you read the remarks below, you'll learn something about how DFL candidates get selected, and why some people are critical of that system.
First up is veteran Dem campaigner Dana Houle:
Hmmm, Well... (4.00 / 1)
...(Regarding) the notion that the local party, through the DFL endorsement process, is adept at determining who the nominees should be, that electability goes in to their calculations, and that this process has been shown to be as good or better than putting things to the voters to decide. I think that's a dubious assumption, especially considering that Minnesota--a pretty damn progressive state compared to the rest of the country--has gone longer than all but 2 states in electing a Democratic governor, and that the DFL hasn't endorsed a successful non-incumbent to that office in 40 years.
When I explain to just about anyone outside of Minnesota that a small number of people go through a months-long process to bestow their endorsement on a candidate, but that they generally will only bestow that endorsement on someone if before that process begins the candidate pledges to not let a broader universe of Democratic primary voters have their say, the people I explain this to are usually shocked at what a strange system exists in Minnesota. One can, I guess, come up with plenty of arguments why you should maintain this anachronistic process. But choosing candidates who are best suited and well-prepared to win in November is not, in my mind, something this process driven by only a couple hundred people willing to spend several nights and weekends in what can often be a tedious or chaotic endeavor, has been successful in doing
So, while I'm no fan of Maureen Reed, in particular because of her background as a spoiler, I can't get upset with her for taking her race to a primary, because that's a far more small-d democratic process, and also one which, I think is repeatedly shown outside the state of Minnesota, more often than not results in the nomination going to someone best or at least very well-suited to be a competitive general election candidate.
by: Dana Houle @ Wed Mar 10, 2010 at 16:33:39 PM CST
(CONTINUED BELOW THE JUMP)
Got a note from a reader indicating a couple of county conventions going on this weekend as well - as of right now, here's the list of conventions electing delegates today:
If you're in attendance at any of these conventions, please report the full subcaucus names and delegate totals in the comment on this post -- even if you're not attending, feel free to discuss any particular goings-on in the comments.
- Political Animal, on the media double-standard regarding political sex scandals being the opposite of what one might think, given Repug. sanctimoniousness.
- Two related posts, here and here, from The Cucking Stool on teacher-bashing. The second is actually mostly Dick Bernard's opinion piece in the Minneapolis StarTribune.
Over the last few months we've focused a lot, rightfully, on the governor's race. It's the most important thing on the ballot this coming November.
But there's also a big race underway in my home congressional district, currently "represented" by so-called Moderate Republican Erik Paulsen. In the 3rd District we have two DFL candidates vying for the party's endorsement. They've participated in three debates, at nine Senate District conventions so far, and have spent the last few months campaigning hard for every delegate they've earned.
But only one candidate has proven they have what it takes to win. My endorsement to follow after the break.
MN Gov. Tim Pawlenty addressed a meeting in Naples, FL, of the Forum Club of Southwest Florida, this morning. He's talked to them before, back in December, I believe. He's raising money for the Republican Governors Association in Orlando on Monday, and will presumably spend his time until then privately trolling for money and support among redneck Floridians.
TBag likes to pretend he's running his own office lean and mean, by using staff that technically work for other departments, and therefore appear on someone else's books. Here's an article.
This post includes a list of prominent MN contributors to Gutshot's Freedom First PAC.
(Managerial note: we're staying out of the intramural race between Maureen Hackett and Jim Meffert. I got the same email and found it pretty humorous, but MPP will support anyone who ends up with a shot at retiring Erik Paulsen. - promoted by Joe Bodell)
Submitted by TwoPuttTommy on January 28, 2008 - 9:45am.
Folks, you just can't make this up - Erik Paulsen claiming to have, and I quote from his press release: "...years of working in bipartisan fashion, across the aisle, to get results in the business world and in the Minnesota legislature."
ROFLMAO!!!!!
Just who does Erik Paulsen think he's kidding??!?
ERIK PAULSEN, working in a "bipartisan fashion"??!? Those two belong together the same way "George W. Bush" and "articulate" do. Well, more like: "don't."
The whole thing is worth re-reading, as is this one.
So, what reminded me of what I wrote, last cycle? Go below the fold!!!
The following senate district conventions are coming up this weekend:
SD33
SD34
SD44
SD45
SD50
SD52
SD54
SD55
SD67
These conventions will elect a total of 161 delegates to the DFL state convention, to bring the overall total up to 1131 and leave just 69 left to elect next weekend.
I'm also pleased to report that the Delegate Tracker now includes every single convention held to date -- that means all 970 delegates elected so far are accounted for even if our results from all those conventions aren't quite complete.
I've added in a big block of county units that held their conventions and elected a total of 57 delegates -- I've coded those totals accordingly. You'll see when I post the tracker over the weekend. Of those 970, we're tracking 904.5 (93.25%) of them, so I feel pretty good about our numbers. With that additional block added in, Margaret Anderson Kelliher is holding an extremely slim two-delegate lead over R.T. Rybak, 145.5 to 143.5.
Of course, "Uncommitted" still leads the way with 414, but we've been through that topic a few times before.
If there are any conventions this weekend that are not listed above, let us know and I'll add them in. We're in the home-stretch here, so if you're attending any of these conventions, make sure to report in with complete results!
As always, thanks for your help with this project. It's kind of a big deal. Otherwise, treat this as an open thread for anything at all.
The first hit came in blogvirgin's diary here but there is definitely more room to break down the results of Rasmussen's poll in the gubernatorial race.
First, standard caveats apply: Rasmussen is a Republican pollster with a generally solid reputation but a 5-point house effect this cycle so far. That doesn't mean they're wrong, but it means their reading of the electorate skews a greater-than-the-margin-of-error distance toward the GOP.
Dayton now leads the GOP's Emmer 38% to 35% and trails Seifert by a statistically insignificant 39% to 38% margin.
Minneapolis' Democratic Mayor R.T. Rybak is equally competitive, also leading Emmer 38% to 35% and tied with Seifert at 38% apiece.
Margaret Anderson Kelliher, speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives, runs nearly as well against the two Republicans. She trails Emmer 37% to 34% and Seifert 39% to 35%.
Emmer and Seifert do equally well against three other announced Democratic candidates, leading them all by seven to nine points.
The two Republicans earn 36% to 39% of the vote against former state House Minority Leader Matt Entenza, State Senator Tom Bakk and State Representative Tom Rukavina. These three Democrats, in turn, pick up 28% to 30% of the vote.
This poll is still more about name recognition than anything else -- the lack of variance in the two Republicans' numbers (ranging from 36 to 39 percent against all opponents) probably means that's the statewide GOP base this year. The fact that the three best-known DFL candidates -- a former U.S. Senator, the Mayor of the state's largest city, and the Speaker of the State House -- perform best follows from those name recognition levels.
And again, don't forget that Rasmussen doesn't have a clue how the state's political system works. Note the incorrect use of the term "seeking their party's nomination" rather than the correct "seeking their party's endorsement" -- it's tough for outside pollsters to come in and get an accurate feel for a race in which the endorsement and the nomination are two separate things.
Numbers are good, but we should probably hold off on prognosticating too much about them until after the major party endorsements.
"I made Sen. Leahy late for a Judiciary Committee meeting," Franni Franken began. Franni is Sen. Al Franken's wife. "At Christmas during the healthcare debates and Snowmageddon, I brought in my pumpkin bread and freshly baked bread. Everybody really liked it."
Al said 'wait 'til you have her pie' so I recently brought a few in," she continued. "They were all so focused on eating they forgot about the time and they were all late for the Judiciary Committee meeting."
"I'm curious, I can't wait to see it," Franni replied. "I've heard that they've done other comics of politicians, a lot of them. I will say that they never consulted me. I hope they portray him as the hero that I see him as."
Of course, we had to talk about healthcare reform. Franni has always been confident that we'd pass something. I've never shared her faith we'd get anything, I'm way too cynical. While we both agree that we're not going to get a perfect bill, she had this to say:
"I think that once we get healthcare reform passed, everybody will see how great it is."
We agree that once we get something passed, no Republican would dare oppose it like only a few (like Bachmann) would call for repealing Social Security and Medicare.
"I'm just hoping they get it done by recess," she said. "It's the end of March covering Passover and Easter. It'll be nice to have a week off and then a week back in Minnesota."
MN Gov. Tim Pawlenty 
