Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Tinklenberg interview thoughts

Dump Bachmann has a two part post of an interview with Elwyn Tinklenberg.

I thought it was a good interview. You can tell by the Tinklenberg's mannerisms that he was rather guarded (arms crossed, etc). As the interview went on, it would appear that he did drop some of his defenses.

Eva and Elwyn discuss many issues, including transportation, Michele Bachmann, and social issues.

It was hard for me to hear the interview, I was holding my laptop to my ear for both segments (Eva came in clear, Elwyn was a bit hard to hear), but I think I got it!

Elwyn has either...

a. Changed his position on the social issues.

or

b. Better clarified his position on the social issues.

I do find myself wondering if Elwyn changed his position to better suit his political activity, but I guess I'll leave it at that for now.

He does place the majority of the blame on the mainstream media sources for the ambiguity on these important issues.

Fair enough. But I do believe it's his own fault.

When the mainstream media has misconstrued statements I have made, I voiced my displeasure immediately and called for a retraction. It would appear as though Tinklenberg let the pro-life, anti gay marriage label stick.

So, apparently Elwyn is now rather moderate on the social issues. Since I have been critical of Elwyn on these and other issues, I'll say that I am pleased to see him in a more moderate light.

One of the perceived strengths of Tinklenberg was that he was socially conservative enough to be palatable to the voters in the 6th. This video and Tinklenberg's statements now place his social issue stances close to that of Bob Olson.

Does this mean that, because Tinklenberg has either changed his position, or at least articulated them much better, that he is not as well positioned as we once thought within the 6th? Has that perceived strength been negated now?

Can this be compared to his evolving position on whether or not he will abide by the DFL endorsement?

And what about his answers to the "lobbying question"?

With still many questions left unresolved, I will say that I am pleased that Tinklenberg has articulated a more moderate position on these important social issues.

Thank you to Eva and Avidor at DB for getting all this done. You have been of great service to the voters of the 6th.

1 comment:

Avidor said...

You're welcome, Hal.

My interview with Elwyn Tinklenberg for the Uptake will probably be up after the national election hoopla dies down... It may go up this week unless it's bumped by other newsworthy stuff.

I hope we can also get an interview soon with Bob Olson.... especially since the caucuses aren't too far off.

I spoke with both candidates about a month ago and I was impressed with both of them... they both have what it takes to defeat Bachmann.

Keep up the good work!