Join the Discussion!!

A good discussion on the 2010 CD 6 race has broken out over at Liberal in the Land of Conservative!

Taxpaying Liberal is discussing matters with Aubrey Immelman (ran against Bachmann for GOP line on ballot), and Bob Anderson, the non-IP endorsed IP candidate in CD 6.

Honestly, I respect Aubrey for what he's trying to do, but don't necessarily agree. It's not as simple as getting 20,000 Dems to vote in the GOP Primary.

We already know the 2010 Governor's race is headed towards a primary in September 2010. Getting 20,000 Dems to ignore that race to put all our seeds in the primary basket seems a bit far fetched to me.

The pragmatic thing to do is to organize around the 2010 general election.

Like TPL, I helped the IP in 2008 as well. While I felt Dean Barkley was an obvious choice for the US Senate, after my initial rants and distrust in Elwyn Tinklenberg, we supported his candidacy.

I'd like to see the DFL extend a hand to the IP in our area in an effort to defeat Bachmann. Hell, if Anderson decides to do this again, maybe I'll have to take a shot at an IP primary in 2010, I could at least effectively stump to help defeat Congresswoman Bachmann, which afterall, is our goal.

Anyway, go hit up Political Muse's home on the blogosphere, he's got an interesting discussion going on over there.

Barkley on the budget woes

From the Startribune

The Legislature and the Governor have been playing "budget games" with Minnesota's budget since 2002. The last Governor that proposed a real budget fix was Governor Ventura. Sadly, his proposal was ignored by the Democrats and Republicans in 2002 and the state has been playing the shift and borrow games for seven years. Maybe our elected leaders will actually do something this year that will bring about a long term solution.

The piece of the puzzle that was ignored in 2002 was Ventura's proposal to broaden the sales tax to services. Service have become a larger part of our economy every year but we refuse to adjust our tax policy to reflect this reality. The first thing that I would do would be to expand the sales tax to services.

The next thing that needs to be done is to do an across the board reduction of 5%. We have all had to cut back our spending in this economy and it is about time the State Government followed suit.

The shift is the payments to schools should be used. Yes, this is an accounting gimmick but it is the one gimmick that I can live with.

We should then restore the income tax level for the upper wage earners to its 1999 level.

This would be a great way to actually provide a more stable income source to balance our budget not only for the next two years but into the future.

Taking a break

A few thoughts before I head out for a week or so.

Steve Sarvi did very well this election. Which is why I believe the blogosphere is big enough for us to provide support to all of our candidates, and not just a selected few who had raised over a million dollars, only to lose. I'm sorry I couldn't get more done for you Steve and the rest of Team Sarvi! I definitely have your back in 2010!

Ashwin's loss was a disappointment. But not as disappointing as Elwyn Tinklenberg losing.

I think the Bachmann attacks at the last minute, on Tinklenberg's MnDOT time hurt him significantly. The Tinklenberg campaign didn't push forth a strong push to attack the Bachmann ads and the last view of the voter was some shady stories about Tinklenberg's MnDOT days. I think his lack of response (other then the campaign emails) hurt him significantly.

Who the hell is Bob Anderson?

I'm proud of Dean Barkley and those I met on his staff. Even if this is a 236 vote difference, I still feel Dean was the best candidate for what we need in the US Senate and I would not have changed my vote.

So is the IP a spoiler? Tough call. I have not seen all the numbers yet. I did hear about how exit polls indicate Barkley voters would have gone 50% for Franken, 50% for Coleman.

Team Barkley ran a great campaign. Some criticize Barkley because it wasn't a Ventura like run.

a. Dean is not Jesse, although Jesse had some involvement.
b. Jesse got a large public subsidy from the State of Minnesota. If Dean had the same amount as Jesse did, he would have been on the airwaves much earlier.

Dean got out raised in this race 1600:1 by both Norm Coleman and Al Franken.

In other words, a $100 contribution to Dean would be like giving $160,000 to Norm or Al.

Coleman and Franken spent nearly $20 per vote they got.

Barkley spent .30 for every vote he got.

In the days after the election, some were pretty ticked off that I would support Barkley and encourage others to do so as well.

Two things influenced my move to a more moderate mode.

a. The DFL crapped on the local units out in Wright County. After the Wright County DFL was dissolved at the State Convention, we were not notified of this until nearly 2 months later. Party officials were supposed to come out and explain how we reconfigure out here (even though it was promised to us that it would not occur until 2010 and that we would get a sufficient number of delegates). No party officials came out to discuss this with us, in fact, they even just failed to show up to an organized meeting and didn't call. There's some shady stuff behind the scenes of some of this stuff, and quite frankly, when the party leadership was confronted, they did nothing.

b. Poor candidate selection and endorsement.

So, to hell with it all. If the party folks (not local) are going to be deceitful and corrupt, I'm not going to be a party to that.

Which is why I will probably run for office next time as an IP candidate. I'm still sorting all this out, but it seems like the best fit for me right now. I'm tired of the BS and a lack of leadership.

Since the party doesn't want to listen, I'll go somewhere where my efforts and opinion are welcomed.

So, with that said...be good! We'll be gone for probably the next week.

I have our grooms dinner tonight and Bluewoman and I are getting married tomorrow afternoon, regardless of the snow!

Then off to Duluth for a few days of relaxation!

Thank you to everyone for your support!

A special thanks go out to the Ollie Ox and Political Muse! Keep up the great work!

Tom, Chris, Sally, Diana, Jim, Jim, Dean, Nikki, and the rest of Team Barkley...

Thank you! Your passion for change and independent thought inspire me.

See you at the wedding!

I Voted For Change

Bluewoman and I were in line before 7am this morning, getting ready to vote for change.

I was the 10th person to cast my vote in town today. I held true to my conscience and voted for Obama, Barkley, Tinklenberg, and Dave Detert.

I also voted no on the Constitutional Amendment as I think the legislature ought to have a little courage and actually pass it without the need for an amendment. I just don't think this stuff should go in the Constitution.

Anyway, it's going to be an interesting day!

Barkley weighs in

Meanwhile, Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley called the latest round of accusations and denials that are suddenly dominating the Senate race "a fitting end to the dirtiest campaign in Minnesota history."

There's really no exaggeration there. This has been the nastiest race in Minnesota history.

Will the Coleman scandal morph into a Rudy Boschwitz sized final stretch election mistake?

Granted, Coleman's sleaze was evident long before the last few days, however his reaction and inability to answer a question straight forward will cost him this election.

A Very Interesting Dean Barkley Memo

TO: Dean Barkley
cc: Names redacted

FROM: Bill Hillsman
RE: State of the Race/Closing Weekend
DATE: 10/30/08

Here’s where we believe the campaign stands entering the final weekend:

According to all the indicators we are looking at, Dean is between 22%-25% and rising. This comes from reviewing the available poll data and from key indicators like the Democratic primary vote, analysis of the Wellstone swing vote and the Ventura vote, the last two independent gubernatorial votes and Dean’s federal electoral performance.

It will be tough to win, but it’s possible if the campaign and the party pull out all the stops this weekend and on Monday-Tuesday to get out the vote and tell people why Dean is the right choice.

STATE OF THE RACE

We’ve seen this movie before. While the press and the other two campaigns seem to have concluded that Dean cannot win (and some have tried to portray him as a spoiler), independent Minnesota voters like underdogs and don’t like being told what is going to happen before any of them have cast a vote. So the reality right now is: Norm could win. Al could win. Dean could win.

Here’s why:

1. Historically, traditional polling has underrepresented independent voters in MN, especially in high turnout elections. Self-identified Independent voters approach 40% of the electorate in this state, with a baseline of at least 24%. So I wouldn’t put too much stock in any current polling, because their models have yet to reflect this reality.

2. Ten years ago, exit polls and our own analysis showed Ventura topping out in the high 20s or at 30%, maximum. But high turnout pushed him to 37%. And we know there will be not just high turnout, but incredibly high turnout this election.

Ten years ago, voters were angry at their government for what seems—in retrospect—to be no good reason. Today we have an economy in shambles, a continuing two-front war, one of the most unpopular Presidents in history, Congress with a 9% approval rating, more dysfunctional partisanship than ever, and a real demand for responsible, accountable change. There is a lot for people to be angry about.

So this is definitely a change election. Our fate rests in whether people want responsible, accountable change or if they simply decide to trade one partisan politician for another. If the candidate, the campaign, and the party can communicate that Dean represents the former, we have a solid chance at pulling off this upset despite the obscene spending deficit we are working against.

There remains a lot of elasticity in this race. Coleman, because of his ties to the Bush Administration and because of the damaged Republican brand, can’t rely on absolute solid support of much more than 28%-30%. A better Democratic candidate could count on close to 40% in these times in this state, but Franken is demonstrably not there. Al is having big problems closing the deal, and his true real core support is probably not that much higher than Skip Humphrey’s total in 1998.

There is also attack paralysis benefiting us, just as there was in Ventura’s race. One of the lessons we thought Coleman took away from 1998 is that he would attack Ventura if he had to do it all over again. In that race he was doing what he is doing now—which is to sidle up to the independent candidate and try to get rub-off from them to appeal to independent voters. That’s happening again. He will praise much of what Dean has to say, try to show how much they have in common, and then tell voters “… but Dean can’t win.”

Neither Coleman nor Franken really knows what would happen if they were to attack Dean in their ads, so they are frozen. Norm won’t attack Dean, which leads me to believe their polling shows that we have taken a lot of votes from Norm that they think they can get back late. The DSCC is attacking Dean (falsely, on Social Security privatization), and trying to tie him to Coleman and to Republican ideas, which indicates to me that their polling shows Al is getting very little support from Independents (certainly compared to Obama) and that Dean is siphoning votes from Al and continuing to do so, especially among older traditional Democrats. Al just can’t close the deal: independents and traditional outstate Democrats don’t like him or trust him. (More on the weaknesses of Franken below.

Dean has also found a message that is resonating with voters: that we have lost faith and trust in our government, our institutions, our elected officials, our economy, etc., and that it is in the hands of the people to restore that faith. Also that he is truly middle-class and most like the voters and their families.

OTHER IMPORTANT FACTORS

The debates have been important to and informative for voters.

Dean has done very well—arguably winning all of the debates to date—and we need to do well on Sunday. Coleman was much better in the Almanac debate, and Franken did not do all that well. Franken looks like he is sitting on the ball, hoping not to make a mistake in the final days, and counting on Obama’s coattails in the state and their GOTV effort to pull him through. But he is far behind both Obama and Wellstone in earning trust and winning votes among Independents and traditional Democrats; and he has looked ill-prepared for the job in many of the debates, reduced to mouthing partisan Democratic talking points. Norm knows he needs to look independent of his party to win; the same is true for Franken, but he hasn’t seemed to realize this yet. And for Dean to win, he has to continue to remind people that he is the true nonpartisan independent in the race. One of Franken’s weaknesses is that he is sharing a stage with two people who are prepared for the job—who have actually done the job—and he has been diminished in recent debates to looking more like a partisan trained seal, dodging questions and continually returning to party-approved talking points. He’s a smart guy who often comes across as too smart, so he’s been reined in, and he’s become repetitive and evasive in many of his answers. And his insistence that he will constantly “fight” for people is something that worked well for Wellstone—who had a long history of community organizing and political activism—but comes across as strained for someone who’s never been that politically active or run for office before.

The continuing onslaught of negative ads by both sides has gone far beyond the point of diminishing returns. Pulling his negative ads was a good move by the Coleman campaign, but probably too late to do him much good. Especially because the NRSC keeps hammering away at Franken, and because both the DSCC and the Franken campaign are up constantly with some of the most out-of-bounds attack ads I’ve ever seen or heard, there is strong potential for a big voter backlash. The message we have to deliver is that the only thing these two parties understand is victory: if Minnesotans never want to see this kind of campaign again, the only way to send that message is a vote for Dean Barkley.

Fear of 60. The national Republicans have moved to this messaging and it could benefit Dean’s campaign. Basically, the Republicans are arguing that if Democrats control the White House, the House, and have a filibuster-breaking 60 votes in the Senate, we will see unfettered socialism and liberals gone wild. It ignores how different many members of the Senate are, but it could be effective messaging for a desperate party in desperate times. We need to tap into this. Dean is an ideal candidate to act as the independent senator who could be a leader in bringing together the moderate, common sense centrist Senators into a bipartisan, decision-making swing vote group, and in doing so wield real power in the Senate. Senators from Maine, Arkansas, North Dakota, Nebraska, Virginia, Colorado, Montana and other states are ideal prospects. I’ve said for years that if someone could do this in the Senate, that group would control everything that goes on for at least two decades.

CRITICAL WEAKNESSES OF THE OTHER CANDIDATES

Contributing to the competitiveness of this race are the weaknesses of the other candidates:

Al Franken. It’s hard to be less authentic than Norm Coleman, but somehow Al and the Franken campaign are managing it. There is a palpable sense among independent voters and swing voters in MN that Al is not a candidate who is being true to himself—that he is being manufactured, manipulated and handled for public consumption. And the machinery is pretty visible. This is at the heart of why he is running so far behind Obama’s numbers in the state. While they can’t articulate it—and while this may seem like an odd comparison—the last time voters got sold a high-profile manufactured candidate in this way it was George W. Bush in 1999-2000. And we all know how well that turned out.

Independents and swing voters want a candidate to be himself. They prize character, individualism, and personal integrity. Al continues to try to be Paul Wellstone, and well… he’s just not. I knew Paul pretty well, especially as a candidate for office, and Al Franken is not Paul Wellstone. Paul knew how to demonstrate his independence, he knew how to resonate with traditional Democratic voters in greater Minnesota, and his swing vote (which is the independent vote in MN) would often vote for him in spite of many of his stands on the issues, just because they had a high regard for his sincerity and his personal integrity. Wellstone would be thriving in this sort of political environment; Franken continues to not get traction. Al’s a good enough guy, but Minnesotans just don’t seem to connect with him personally or trust him, certainly not in the way they did with Wellstone. He almost diminishes himself in the comparison, at least among swing voters.

We need to remind voters that Minnesota has a tradition of sending some pretty impressive people to the U.S. Senate, and for most voters, Al just doesn’t fit that mold. Minnesota deserves a Senator who is more than a performer who knows how to cry on cue or has to be told—repeatedly—when to apologize. Al hasn’t shown he can demonstrate the independent critical thinking or the good judgment that Minnesotans expect in their senators—lately he just looks like someone who is pandering to win an election, and that’s costing him with independents and older, more traditional Democratic voters.

Al is going to have to depend on the Obama coattails and a Wellstonian GOTV effort to win. If Obama came to the state, he would probably be tripping over Al trying to hold onto his coattails at every step. But I think the Obama campaign recognizes that getting too close to Franken might hold back their vote, so I wouldn’t expect to see him in the state to help Al. It’s remarkable—and confusing-- that traditional Democratic voters in this state are supporting in such great numbers an (obviously qualified) African American candidate (think Alan Page’s election) yet stiff-arming someone who has so consciously tried to remake himself as the second coming of Wellstone.

Norm Coleman. Norm is not an independent at all, and the press is letting him get away with this all too much. Some of the newspaper endorsements were nauseating in how they clung to this messaging, which is nothing more than a creation of his reelection campaign.

Norm has always come across as too slick and too personally ambitious for his own good, and independent swing voters have a good antenna for that. So voters don’t really trust him.

Where he has gotten too much of a free pass, and what we have to continually remind voters, is that he was hand-selected by the White House to run for the U.S. Senate. People forget-- and the press hasn’t really told the story enough in this campaign—that Norm really wanted to run for governor in 2002 and Tim Pawlenty was going to be the Republican U.S. Senate candidate. But Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, and George W. Bush decided otherwise, and mandated to the candidates and to the state party that they would switch positions. Coleman was given his marching orders, and he marched.

This totally undercuts his independent argument, and reinforces the notion that he does what the White House tells him to do. His “independent” votes are the usual ploys partisan incumbents use two years out from what looks like a competitive election to make themselves more palatable to the electorate, and this, too, has been grossly unreported.

One of Franken’s latest lines of attack-- that if Norm were truly independent and wanting to work in a bipartisan fashion, he wouldn’t be running for the highly partisan position of NRSC chairman—is devastatingly effective. People can’t be reminded of that too much. (That’s actually the ad they should be running against him.)

Coleman’s problem, besides the slickness and the lack of trust, is this: Minnesotans don’t like to be dictated to. The fact that we have put up for six years with two ambitious marionettes in two of our highest elected offices whose strings are being pulled by what may go down in history as the worst White House ever is something else voters can’t be reminded of too much.


WHAT WE NEED TO DO

So it may be a long shot, but enough factors are in place for another big upset. In the final days, we aren’t going to be able to count on advertising the way we could in Ventura’s race. The lack of public financing for federal races means the money just won’t be there to do the same kind of job. But this is winnable if the candidate, the campaign, and the party do everything they can to get our message out over these final 5 days. We need to continually remind everyone that the most important people in this race—the voters—haven’t been heard from yet, and we need to remind people that our candidate:

-doesn’t have to study polls or listen to political consultants to understand the middle class, he IS the middle class, and the candidate who is most like us.

-he is the one candidate who is not evasive and who is giving them the real straight talk, with realistic and common-sense answers to the big problems facing us.

-he is a candidate of change, but the candidate for people who want responsible, moderate and accountable change instead of just a different flavor of partisanship.

-he has already done the job, performed admirably, and will be much more ready to do the job than Al Franken (Dean presents a rare opportunity for voters to get change plus experience).

-he could be very effective in the Senate and could in fact wield a great deal of power by forming a centrist, common-sense bipartisan coalition of moderate Senators who truly want to make the welfare of our country more important than their political parties.

-he’s the one candidate in the race who can bring us together and start to restore faith and trust in our government, our institutions, our economy, etc.

Dean Barkley hits the airwaves!

Fun!

Barkley to release TV Ad!

If I'm not mistaken, he'll do so at a press conference at the capitol this afternoon!

We're looking forward to seeing it!

Barkley in Waconia

From the West Central Tribune

For the next hour, Barkley talked about how to fix Social Security and the national debt – his favorite campaign topics – and fielded skeptical voters’ questions about his brief stint as a lobbyist and whether he could influence Washington when there are only two other independent senators.

“If I get there, the three of us could probably control the joint,” he said of the power they would yield.

Barkley answered all of the questions – except for the one about which presidential candidate he supports; he claims to be undecided – and made sure to take a few jabs at his opponents.

Barkley faults Coleman and other congressional incumbents for looking the other way in the lead up to the financial crisis.

“He was watching the store as this economic meltdown occurred,” Barkley said. “And he wants to go back for more.”

And Barkley has been no easier on Franken.

“Al flew in here to be our savior for the middle class,” he said of the former comedian. “He doesn’t know what it’s like to be in the middle class.”

With a laid-back, self-deprecating approach, Barkley insists he still could pull it off next Tuesday. He said he is polling only slightly lower than was Jesse Ventura at this point in the 1998 governor race.

Barkley, who led that campaign and later was appointed by Ventura to a brief Senate term after Sen. Paul Wellstone’s 2002 death, said independents are under-represented in polling.

“Ten years ago they gave Jesse a shot, and I hope they’re ready to do it again,” he said, adding that Ventura helped him raise money recently to pay for a TV ad he will begin airing today.

Franken takes "cowardly way" out

Barkley: Pro-Franken Ad Takes 'Cowardly Way Out'
IP Candidate Calls on Franken to Propose a Social Security Solution

For Immediate Release
Contact: Christopher Truscott
ctruscott@senatorbarkley.com

PLYMOUTH—Dean Barkley, the Independence Party candidate for U.S. Senate, released the following statement regarding a Democratic Senate Campaign Committee advertisement on Social Security:

"This DSCC ad exposes that Al Franken and the Washington insiders orchestrating his campaign simply don't have what it takes to ensure that Social Security remains viable for future generations.

"I have suggested solutions, including means-testing for benefits, raising the retirement age, raising the Social Security tax and raising the ceiling on income taxed to provide more revenue into the Social Security trust fund.

"Al Franken, despite a Social Security trust fund filled with IOUs, has repeatedly denied we have a problem. While this kind of head-in-the-sand approach might work for politicians looking to win an election, I refuse to take the cowardly way out. If that means subjecting myself to cheap shots for leading on an important issue, that's a price I'll gladly pay.

"It's time for real solutions. That means, above all else, having the courage to admit there is a problem. Will Al Franken live up to his mantra of change and propose a solution or will he continue to hide behind the same old Washington games that got us into this mess in the first place?"

* * * * *

Barkley, a 58-year-old Minnesota native, served as the director of the Minnesota Office of Strategic and Long Range Planning under Gov. Jesse Ventura. In November 2002, Ventura appointed Barkley to fill the final two months of the late Sen. Paul Wellstone's term.

The former governor said recently that Barkley is "measured minute by minute … the most effective U.S. senator in Minnesota history."

More information is available online at www.senatorbarkley.com.

Send Dean Barkley Money!

Word on the street is that Dean Barkley raised a good amount of money yesterday.

Help Dean out, send him some campaign funds today! I'd love to see a Barkley commercial on TV soon!

Click here too to send money!

Barkley Campaign Responds to SC Times Endorsement

Dean Barkley Endorsed By St. Cloud Times

For Immediate Release
Contact: Christopher Truscott
ctruscott@senatorbarkley.com

PLYMOUTH—The St. Cloud Times has endorsed Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley for the U.S. Senate.

Excerpts from the Times endorsement (click here to read the entire editorial):

Our view: Barkley represents the middle class best

"In Minnesota's U.S. Senate race, incumbent Republican Norm Coleman touts the importance of finding common ground while Democratic challenger Al Franken promises to represent the middle class.

"And then there is Independence candidate Dean Barkley. His is the middle class and his positions already are common ground. Voters should elect him."
…

"That's why his stands on many issues, while far from shocking, invoke a sense of realism and moderation missing from the Coleman and Franken campaigns.

"For example, he supports capping federal spending the next four years to put America on track toward reducing the federal debt.

"Similarly, he notes that the solution to fixing programs such as Social Security and Medicare rest in one basic principle: either increase revenues or decrease benefits. He's open to ideas such as indexing benefits to life expectancy, means-testing benefits, raising the tax, reforming the health care system to reduce costs, or adopting a combination of these fixes.

"Yet would the special interests connected to either of his challengers let them examine any or all those options? It's a fair question considering Coleman's voting record the past six years and Franken's penchant for proposing new programs that lack details of how to pay for them."
Click here to read the entire editorial.

Barkley was endorsed by the Minnesota Daily last week.

* * * * *

Barkley, a 58-year-old Minnesota native, served as the director of the Minnesota Office of Strategic and Long Range Planning under Gov. Jesse Ventura. In November 2002, Ventura appointed Barkley to fill the final two months of the late Sen. Paul Wellstone's term.

The former governor said recently that Barkley is "measured minute by minute … the most effective U.S. senator in Minnesota history."

More information is available online at www.senatorbarkley.com.

Barkley Endorsed by SC Times

Barkley represents middle class best.

Finally, there may be concerns that supporting Barkley wastes a vote and potentially limits Minnesota’s voice in the highly partisan Senate. On the former, the tones of the Coleman and Franken campaigns speak volumes about what’s being wasted. And on the latter, unless the Senate tilts strongly one way, which we doubt, a moderate, middle-class Minnesotan could hold substantially more power than any traditional party-line politician.

DSCC / Franken Fear Mongering on Social Security

The DSCC released an ad yesterday attacking both Coleman and Barkley on Social Security and Higher Education.

Narrator: Three candidates for Senate, but only one has consistently opposed privatizing Social Security and cutting benefits.
Visual: Opposed privatizing social security and cutting benefits
Narrator: Al Franken.
He won’t let Wall Street gamble your retirement.
Narrator: Al Franken. The only choice for change.Visual: Al Franken. The only choice for change.

Narrator: Three candidates for Senate, but only one will give families a $5,000 tuition tax credit.

Visual: Give Minnesota families a $5000 college tuition tax credit.
Narrator: Al Franken. He’ll make college more affordable.

Narrator: Al Franken. The only choice for change.
Visual: Al Franken. The only choice for change.

Let's remember Al Franken at the Golden Valley KARE 11 debate.

Franken told reporters Monday that he did not think anything needed to be done with Social Security in the six-year term the Minnesota senator would serve.

Dean Barkley offered solutions.

Barkley, at a debate Saturday in Golden Valley, said solutions are available but people have to have the political will to enact them. He said the tax can be raised, the retirement age can be raised, the cap of how much the government taxes can be raised or the benefits can be means-tested.

“But if we accept the hard truths about entitlements and their funding, there’s no reason in the world we can’t save these programs. We don’t need another ‘Blue Ribbon Commission’ to study this issue again,” Barkley said in a statement issued Monday.

Barkley confronted Franken on the Social Security ad and Franken's inconsistency last night on Almanac.

Barkley faulted a Democratic ad suggesting he favors privatization of Social Security, but Franken said he had no control over that ad.

An exchange over Social Security followed, with Coleman calling for a special commission to be the architect of reform, while Franken insisted that the retirement program's problems are far in the future. That brought a rebuke from Barkley.

"It's IOUs in the [Social Security] Trust Fund," he said, adding that the real problem was the refusal to talk candidly about Social Security. "We can fix it," he said. "Let's just be honest and do it."

Franken's political courage on Social Security is similar to the political courage he exuded on the bailout bill, opposing it only after it was passed. Coleman slammed Franken for it last night as well.

"I'm going to exercise my independent judgment as senator, and I think Minnesotans expect that ... just like Paul Wellstone did," Franken said.

"Paul Wellstone never would have waited until after the vote to tell you what he thought," Coleman said.

The DSCC as is misleading and works to spread fear amongst seniors while our nation faces a great financial crisis. It's fear mongering at its finest.

The truth is that Al Franken has had an unclear position on Social Security. He wants to fix it one day, thinks it's fine for his first six year Senate term the next day.

Coleman supports the Bush privatization plan and wants another commission to study it.

Recall Barkley's discussion of Social Security:

Noting that Barkley, in Saturday night's debate at the Breck School, outlined four clear options for ensuring the program's solvency, the Minnesota Daily editors wrote:"Franken talked about his commitment to fix the situation, but said 'eventually we would have to have a solution for this,' noting that he wouldn't want to invest it into the stock market like some politicians have suggested.

Coleman attacked Franken about not stating an actual solution, but didn't seem to offer a clear solution either and then stated his absolute commitment to young people and the obligation to fund social security.

"Since Barkley outlined his four ideas for social security, we call on Franken and Coleman to clearly address the funding of social security and their plans for a solution."

On Sunday, Barkley reiterated his commitment to Social Security, which can be preserved for future generations by either:

• Implementing means-testing to determine eligibility for Social Security benefits;
• Raising the retirement age;
• Raising the tax workers pay into the program; or
• Raising the ceiling on income taxed for contribution to the Social Security trust fund.

"The solutions are only difficult if your top priorities are simply serving the AARP or getting reelected," Barkley said. "But if we accept the hard truths about entitlements and their funding, there's no reason in the world we can't save these programs. We don't need another 'Blue Ribbon Commission' to study this issue again."

In Saturday night's debate, Franken argued Social Security is solvent for decades to come, despite the concerns of many young people that the program won't be there when it's time for their retirement.

"Congress has been robbing the Social Security trust fund dry for the past six years," Barkley said. "In 2000, Al Gore talked about implementing a 'lock box' policy, but the real trouble is that too many people today have keys to the lock box."

We need solutions, not blatant fear mongering.

Barkley Campaign Responds After Almanac

Straight-Forward Dean Barkley Continues to Gain Support

For Immediate Release
Contact: Christopher Truscott
ctruscott@senatorbarkley.com

SAINT PAUL—The Dean Barkley for U.S. Senate campaign released the following statement after Friday night's debate on Twin Cities Public Television's "Almanac" program:

"Our country faces serious challenges that we can't solve with more of the same Washington games that got us into this mess in the first place," said campaign chairman Jim Moore. "Minnesotans are looking for a senator willing to level with them and offer honest solutions, not political spin and catchphrases. That's why Dean Barkley continues to earn new supporters everyday."


* * * * *

Barkley, a 58-year-old Minnesota native, served as the director of the Minnesota Office of Strategic and Long Range Planning under Gov. Jesse Ventura. In November 2002, Ventura appointed Barkley to fill the final two months of the late Sen. Paul Wellstone's term.

The former governor said recently that Barkley is "measured minute by minute … the most effective U.S. senator in Minnesota history."

Last month Barkley was polling at 8 percent. Recent polls conducted by KSTP-Survey USA and the Star Tribune have placed him at 14 and 13 percent, respectively.

More information is available online at www.senatorbarkley.com.

Barkley is an Agent of Change

Another SC Times LTE:

While Norm Coleman and Al Franken throw dirt at each other from their senatorial sandboxes, Minnesotans can walk away from the quibbling. We can vote for Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley.

He believes in fiscal responsibility, ending the war and term limits. He doesn’t have the money from, or the allegiance to, special interests. He is free to work for the citizens of Minnesota.

Voting for the Independence Party and Dean Barkley is not throwing away your vote any more than voting for Jesse Ventura was in 1998.

Let’s “shock the world” again. Dean Barkley doesn’t have the flash and drama of a Ventura, but by electing him we can create change.

Join me in sending an independent citizen, Dean Barkley, not a career politician, to represent us in the U.S. Senate.

Bruno S. Gad
Clear Lake

Barkley: Candidate With Character

From a St Cloud Times LTE:

As an involved citizen who favors candidates who fit into the “Sensible Center,” I urge my peers, who also claim their political independence, to vote for Sen. John McCain for president, Dean Barkley for U.S. Senate and Elwyn Tinklenberg for Congress.

When given the opportunity, we must vote for the candidates who have demonstrated extraordinary character. After all, most candidates soon forget their promises once the polls close.

These candidates offer an extreme dose of character. We must choose candidates who, regardless of which party you may lean toward, will work with the opposition to find solutions. With allegiance split nearly evenly between the Democrats and Republicans, half of the population is in the other camp and gridlock is equally devastating to both sides.

These three candidates would rather do without the lustful, pervasive and gluttonous special interest money. It is important that our elected officials don’t have IOUs out to the various special interests, and have just our best interests in mind.

This time “for real” the nation finds itself at a crossroads. Please don’t waste your vote on charisma or unsubstantiated idealism, but rather spend your vote for substance. Our future and our children’s futures will depend on the leaders who will take office in January 2009.

Mike Landy
St. Cloud

Barkley Fundraiser Saturday!

Where: Barkley's Campaign HQ

11255 Highway 55, Suite 50, Plymouth, MN 55441

When: 5-8 pm Saturday, October 25th!

$25 for wine and pasta!

RSVP to melissaanddaisy@aol.com

Dean Barkley Endorsed by Minnesota Daily

A Senate swing-vote

PUBLISHED: 10/23/2008

Disgusted with the ever-present negative ads, predictable partisan unoriginality, well-polished pandering and meaninglessness of much of the political discourse, apathy besets voters leading up to the election — who cynically march into the voting booth on Election Day to fulfill their duty to check off the lesser of two evils.

Tragically, the very political archetypes for which citizens clamor routinely receive little support. But there is one candidate out there who threatens to break that mold this year: the Independence Party’s nominee — and one of its founders — for U.S. Senate, Dean Barkley.

The Barkley campaign strives to be “issues-based” and runs only positive ads. Among other principled ascetics vowed by Barkley is a refusal to pander. He countered Franken’s $5,000 college student tax credit proposal with discipline: “I’m not going to … promise tax credits and new programs because we’re basically $11 trillion in debt.”

Moreover, Barkley would contribute a necessary swing vote to a Senate hindering on a Democratic takeover. Checks and balances absent within government’s branches is as dangerous of a concept as checks and balances absent between government’s branches.

Barkley stresses ethics reform and proposes criminalizing campaign contributions to congressional leaders serving on related committees. His realization that the Bush administration misled the nation on the war in Iraq and it should shift focuses to Afghanistan is as precise as his view that the equal protections clause applies to everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation.

Barkley, furthermore, correctly argues drug use won’t be quelled by waging a war and that because 18 year olds can die in war and vote, they should certainly be able to consume alcohol.

We urge readers to consider sending a refreshing and independent voice to a chamber utterly lacking those qualities.

Is a vote for a third party candidate a wasted vote?

A letter in the Worthington Daily Globe

In the recent Senatorial debate on KARE11, the question was asked — what would you do to fix the coming crisis in funding for Social Security? Senator Coleman said that he would form a study group to seek the answer. Mr. Franken said that social security was OK for a while, and he wouldn’t change anything.

Senator Barkley said that we had already had enough studies, including one Congressman Tim Penny participated in, which came up with a few workable but tough solutions. We need to raise Social Security taxes, increase the eligible age, limit the amount of Social Security a wealthy person would receive, or a combination of these ideas.

I think the next Congress should have the courage to fix this problem, and that Dean Barkley is the best person to face the difficult problems that face our country — especially as he doesn’t have to “toe the party line” and can truly do what is best for our country. So yes, let’s really vote for a change in Washington by returning Sen. Barkley to the Senate. Also, a vote for Barkley says no to all the ads that both the other parties have run and show that outside money can’t buy a Minnesota Senate seat.

Someone's paying attention, Dennis gets a gold star!