What the hell...
The Coleman campaign is faking their website crash?
P
A
T
H
E
T
I
C
Which leaves me pondering....
Ah hell, I'll let you wonder whether his marriage is fake too...
Showing posts with label US Senate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label US Senate. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Coleman's "Hail Mary"
So, when Norm was ahead, his lawyers argued that the rejected absentee ballots didn't need to be counted.
Now, Norm wants 12,000 of them counted.
Such is the life of our political chameleon.
Coleman's antics after the recount was completed by the State Canvassing Board show that a graceful exit will certainly not happen.
"Recounts are for really the loser to understand and see and then believe that they in fact did not win the election and for their supporters to come to the same conclusion.”
"My guy" didn't win either. Time to move on...
Now, Norm wants 12,000 of them counted.
Such is the life of our political chameleon.
Coleman's antics after the recount was completed by the State Canvassing Board show that a graceful exit will certainly not happen.
"Recounts are for really the loser to understand and see and then believe that they in fact did not win the election and for their supporters to come to the same conclusion.”
"My guy" didn't win either. Time to move on...
Sunday, November 02, 2008
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.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Coleman Whines Again
The editors of the Startribune need to "grow some balls" and rescind their endorsement Senator sleaze, Norm Coleman.
For crying out loud.
The Startibune endorses Coleman last weekend, and he proudly boasts the Stribs endorsement on his website.
One week later...
I'll say this...
I have some pretty generous friends. Granted, they're not as powerful and Coleman's cronies, but they are generous nonetheless. However, Blueman paid for his own suits. Bluewoman isn't getting $75k funneled from friends.
The Startribune is participating in the destruction of the reputation of Senator Coleman and his wife?
Please.
Senator Coleman is participating in the destruction of their individual and collective reputations. His alleged "unconventional marriage" alone, damages the Coleman family reputation. His rent free living in Washington damages his reputation. His ties to Nasser Kazeminy damage his reputation. His ties to Senator Ted Stevens damage his reputation.
Coleman has shown significant lapses in judgement, enough so that the Startribune and other mainstream media outlets in Minnesota should reconsider their endorsements.
For crying out loud.
The Startibune endorses Coleman last weekend, and he proudly boasts the Stribs endorsement on his website.
One week later...
Sheehan also said that the Star Tribune, by reporting on the lawsuits, "is actively participating in the destruction of the reputation of Senator Coleman and his wife.''
I'll say this...
I have some pretty generous friends. Granted, they're not as powerful and Coleman's cronies, but they are generous nonetheless. However, Blueman paid for his own suits. Bluewoman isn't getting $75k funneled from friends.
The Startribune is participating in the destruction of the reputation of Senator Coleman and his wife?
Please.
Senator Coleman is participating in the destruction of their individual and collective reputations. His alleged "unconventional marriage" alone, damages the Coleman family reputation. His rent free living in Washington damages his reputation. His ties to Nasser Kazeminy damage his reputation. His ties to Senator Ted Stevens damage his reputation.
Coleman has shown significant lapses in judgement, enough so that the Startribune and other mainstream media outlets in Minnesota should reconsider their endorsements.
Coleman/Franken: Pioneer Press 4 years ago!
I stumbled upon this neat little article this morning. My how things change!
A September 21, 2004 Pioneer Press story titled "Voters Like Coleman Over Franken"
A few interesting exerpts:
While Coleman's sunk like a rock, Franken is stuck somewhere in the 30's now.
With 3 days left, Franken will most likely climb above 30%, but in my humble opinion, not much more.
A September 21, 2004 Pioneer Press story titled "Voters Like Coleman Over Franken"
A few interesting exerpts:
Humorist and liberal talk-radio host Al Franken's first satirical book was "I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!
"They may like you, Al, but Minnesotans are not yet ready to elect you to the U.S. Senate.
A new poll shows that if Franken were to challenge U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman in 2008, the Republican incumbent would crush Franken like one of the bugs Franken used to flatten on "Saturday Night Live" during an infamous skit 30 years ago about the supposed indestructibility of cockroaches.
Asked for whom they would vote in the 2008 Senate election, 57 percent of likely Minnesota voters picked Coleman, while 29 percent supported Franken, according to a Pioneer Press/Minnesota Public Radio poll conducted Sept. 11 through 14. The poll had margin of error of 4 percent.
While Coleman's sunk like a rock, Franken is stuck somewhere in the 30's now.
The poll results were heart-warming to Sarah Janecek, a lobbyist and Republican co-editor of the newsletter "Politics in Minnesota," whom Franken criticized in his latest book, "Lies, and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them."
"As one of Al Franken's lying liars, I couldn't be more delighted that the guy couldn't even crack 30 percent," Janecek said.
With 3 days left, Franken will most likely climb above 30%, but in my humble opinion, not much more.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
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.
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.
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!
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.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
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!
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!
Monday, October 27, 2008
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.
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.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
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.
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
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
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
Friday, October 24, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Is a vote for a third party candidate a wasted vote?
A letter in the Worthington Daily Globe
Someone's paying attention, Dennis gets a gold star!
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!
KARE 11 Profile on Dean Barkley
From KARE 11
Dean Barkley found himself in familiar territory that afternoon in July when he walked into the Minnesota Secretary of State's office and filed to run for a seat in the US Senate under the Independence Party banner.
It's his fourth run as a third party candidate, dating back to 1992. And once again he's playing the role of the outspoken outsider, the under funded underdog fighting both his rivals and the two-party system itself.
"Ross Perot got me motivated, guilted me into doing something," Barkley recalls of his first foray into elected politics, "So I ran for Congress in 1992."
The ultimate deficit hawk adds, "And back then the debt was only 2.5 trillion! The sad thing is I could use the same campaign literature I did in 1992, only with more zeroes added!"
That year Perot's Reform Party movement tapped into voter frustration with the two-party system and Washington's gridlock games. Barkley, a Plymouth attorney and small businessman, looked to the same in Minnesota's Sixth Congressional District.
Appalled by the growing influence of political action committees, or PACs, Barkley began showing reporters pages from dictionaries as he compared what those organizations do with bribery.
"You go to Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, 2nd Edition, and it defines 'bribe' as the giving of money or something of value to someone in power with the expectation of influencing their decision-making."
In 1992 Barkley won the endorsement of both of the Twin Cities major metropolitan newspapers, but still finished behind incumbent Democrat Jerry Sikorski and that year's victor Republican Rod Grams.
Two years later Barkley was back in the mix, again rejecting PAC money and living without the vital TV time it can buy a politician. That year he also experience difficulty being included in officially sanctioned debates.
"The other candidates all say they welcome me," Barkley told KARE 11 in 1994 as he stood outside a debate in Saint Paul, "But privately they've gone behind my back and told every debate sponsor if I'm invited they will boycott."
Major Party Status
Barkley lost again to Rod Grams that year, but he accomplished something that put the third party movement on the map again in Minnesota. He grabbed five percent of the vote, giving his Reform Party "major party" status in Minnesota.
That comes an automatic spot on statewide ballots, assuming the party fields a candidate, and qualifies the party for state subsidies.
In 1996 Barkley would fill that spot again, going against incumbent Democrat Paul Wellstone and former Republican Senator Rudy Boschwitz
His standard line at debates that year?
"Hi, I'm Dean Barkley, the other guy in the race for US Senate,"
He finished third again that year, but won enough votes to retain major party status for his party, which paved the way for his biggest success in 1998.
That's the year he managed Jesse Ventura's shocking victory in the governor's race.
"You know we don't need a gun to have a revolution in this country," Barkley remarked, "It's called a vote. You can use your vote as your weapon of choice."
Senator Barkley
Barkley was also at the center of Governor Jesse Ventura's final shocker, four years later. A day before the 2002 election, and 10 days after Senator Wellstone died in a plane crash, Ventura named Barkley as an interim senator to finish Wellstone's term.
It was already as tumultuous time, with former Vice President Walter Mondale suddenly stepping into Wellstone's shoes on the campaign trail. And many -- including former Congressman Tim Penny -- urged Ventura to wait until after the election and appoint the winner to fill Wellstone's spot.
But Ventura, already upset by the partisan tone of the Wellstone Memorial Service, was frustrated when he learned that his party's candidate Jim Moore would not be included in an election eve debate between Mondale and Republican Norm Coleman.
"I only had an hour's notice he was naming me to the Senate," Barkley recalls, "And it took me 40 minutes to drive there."
He got to the Governor's office only five minutes before Ventura's news conference announcing his appointment.
"Jesse sticks his head into the office, and these were his exact words, 'Ha Barkley! Now you're going to know what it's like to be me!' And out he went."
"That was my prep."
By then the Minnesota Reform Party changed to its current name, the Independence Party. And Senator Dean Barkley arrived in Washington with an "IP -Minnesota" next to title.
His time on Capitol Hill was brief but action packed. Barkley held the tie-breaking vote on the Homeland Security Bill, and used it as a bargaining chip to save Minnesota's unique public assistance program.
"I had been in Ventura's administration, so I knew it would cost us hundreds of millions of dollars if we lost our TANF waiver," Barkley explained.
Minnesota at the time had a waiver from the rules that went with the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, known as TANF. That waiver allowed the state more flexibility with its welfare-to-work program, but Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson wanted to end that waiver.
"One half hour before the Homeland Security bill was up for a vote I got the call from Air Force One, we made the deal with Tommy Thompson, we got the waiver, and I voted the way I was always going to, but they figured out they needed my vote, so I played the game.
Before the "game" ended, Barkley had also helped secure $10 million to build the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center in Saint Paul, which also serves as the home to the Neighborhood House resettlement center.
The Other Guy's Back
As the 2008 Senate race began to shape up as a two-way battle between incumbent Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken, Barkley and other Independence Party activists began to ponder offering voters a third choice.
Robert Fitzgerald carried the party's banner in the 2006 Senate race, but couldn't make a huge dent in the contest between Republican Mark Kennedy and Democrat Amy Klobuchar.
At a book signing at the Mall of America, Jesse Ventura seemed to flirt with the idea of jumping into the fray. He carried the suspense until the eve of the filing deadline, ultimately announcing on CNN's Larry King Live that he would not run.
The next day Dean Barkley filed, and in September won the Independence Party primary. He returned to the theme of out of control deficit spending.
"I have not heard Al Franken or Norm Coleman talk about the debt or the deficit once," Barkley told KARE, "Not one word out of their mouth, like it doesn't exist. It's the big gorilla in the room that they're pretending is not there."
Barkley, who has a 19-year-old daughter and a 22-year-old son, has often called the federal government's excessive borrowing "financial child abuse."
"Now we've moved beyond saddling our children with that debt," he complained, "We're mortgaging our grandchildren's future and beyond."
"Whether it's a $9.65 trillion dollar debt, about to go to $11.3 trillion if this bailout works, I mean how are we ever able going to pay that back?"
He said most people would be shocked to learn that China and Russia are helping fund our debt spending by buying US Treasury bills.
"How sad, that our economy depends on the good will of China and Russia!"
Barkley's prescription would require sacrifice, and a new pay-as-you-go way of looking at the world in the Beltway. New taxes would be a last resort.
"My first bill would be a four-year spending freeze," Barkley pledged, "And once we prove we can control our spending I might open up to the idea of targeted tax increases."
Health Care and Iraq
On the issue of health care he said universal health care is almost inevitable, "unless the private sector does something to control costs."
He would open up the Medicare program to people of any age willing to buy their way into it and pay a premium.
"Private insurance companies could then compete head to head with Medicare, and we'd get to see which insurance plan is more cost effective."
He would insist, however, that Medicare be allowed to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices. Congress barred the government from doing that when it passed the Medicare Part D prescription benefit.
"That's the most ludicrous thing in the world that we prevent them from lowering cost," Barkley argued, "We PREVENT them! That is absolutely insane!"
On the question of Iraq, he would ask the commanders to help set a timetable, and then make it stick.
"You set a time and at that time there's no more money and they have to get out," Barkley asserted, "That's how you do it. Congress has to have the guts to do something."
He admits it may take "guts" for some voters to go with the third party choice, and send him to a Senate loaded with Democrats and Republicans. But to Barkley's way of thinking, the only truly wasted vote is the vote for more of the same.
"Who's actually going to be able to deliver change?" Barkley asked rhetorically, "If you want to send a message to Washington that you don't like what they're doing, what kind of message are you going to send by sending Al or Norm there?"
Bailout Blues
At the time of our interview for this Extra, lawmakers in Washington were still grappling with the financial system rescue plan.
In a recent debate, Barkley said he hopes for the sake of everyone that the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act works as planned.
He laid the blame for the crisis at the feet of both of the parties in power in Washington.
"The Democrats let it happen because they wanted everyone in this country to have a house," Barkley said, "Republicans looked the other way because all their rich friends on Wall Street were getting richer."
Dean Barkley found himself in familiar territory that afternoon in July when he walked into the Minnesota Secretary of State's office and filed to run for a seat in the US Senate under the Independence Party banner.
It's his fourth run as a third party candidate, dating back to 1992. And once again he's playing the role of the outspoken outsider, the under funded underdog fighting both his rivals and the two-party system itself.
"Ross Perot got me motivated, guilted me into doing something," Barkley recalls of his first foray into elected politics, "So I ran for Congress in 1992."
The ultimate deficit hawk adds, "And back then the debt was only 2.5 trillion! The sad thing is I could use the same campaign literature I did in 1992, only with more zeroes added!"
That year Perot's Reform Party movement tapped into voter frustration with the two-party system and Washington's gridlock games. Barkley, a Plymouth attorney and small businessman, looked to the same in Minnesota's Sixth Congressional District.
Appalled by the growing influence of political action committees, or PACs, Barkley began showing reporters pages from dictionaries as he compared what those organizations do with bribery.
"You go to Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, 2nd Edition, and it defines 'bribe' as the giving of money or something of value to someone in power with the expectation of influencing their decision-making."
In 1992 Barkley won the endorsement of both of the Twin Cities major metropolitan newspapers, but still finished behind incumbent Democrat Jerry Sikorski and that year's victor Republican Rod Grams.
Two years later Barkley was back in the mix, again rejecting PAC money and living without the vital TV time it can buy a politician. That year he also experience difficulty being included in officially sanctioned debates.
"The other candidates all say they welcome me," Barkley told KARE 11 in 1994 as he stood outside a debate in Saint Paul, "But privately they've gone behind my back and told every debate sponsor if I'm invited they will boycott."
Major Party Status
Barkley lost again to Rod Grams that year, but he accomplished something that put the third party movement on the map again in Minnesota. He grabbed five percent of the vote, giving his Reform Party "major party" status in Minnesota.
That comes an automatic spot on statewide ballots, assuming the party fields a candidate, and qualifies the party for state subsidies.
In 1996 Barkley would fill that spot again, going against incumbent Democrat Paul Wellstone and former Republican Senator Rudy Boschwitz
His standard line at debates that year?
"Hi, I'm Dean Barkley, the other guy in the race for US Senate,"
He finished third again that year, but won enough votes to retain major party status for his party, which paved the way for his biggest success in 1998.
That's the year he managed Jesse Ventura's shocking victory in the governor's race.
"You know we don't need a gun to have a revolution in this country," Barkley remarked, "It's called a vote. You can use your vote as your weapon of choice."
Senator Barkley
Barkley was also at the center of Governor Jesse Ventura's final shocker, four years later. A day before the 2002 election, and 10 days after Senator Wellstone died in a plane crash, Ventura named Barkley as an interim senator to finish Wellstone's term.
It was already as tumultuous time, with former Vice President Walter Mondale suddenly stepping into Wellstone's shoes on the campaign trail. And many -- including former Congressman Tim Penny -- urged Ventura to wait until after the election and appoint the winner to fill Wellstone's spot.
But Ventura, already upset by the partisan tone of the Wellstone Memorial Service, was frustrated when he learned that his party's candidate Jim Moore would not be included in an election eve debate between Mondale and Republican Norm Coleman.
"I only had an hour's notice he was naming me to the Senate," Barkley recalls, "And it took me 40 minutes to drive there."
He got to the Governor's office only five minutes before Ventura's news conference announcing his appointment.
"Jesse sticks his head into the office, and these were his exact words, 'Ha Barkley! Now you're going to know what it's like to be me!' And out he went."
"That was my prep."
By then the Minnesota Reform Party changed to its current name, the Independence Party. And Senator Dean Barkley arrived in Washington with an "IP -Minnesota" next to title.
His time on Capitol Hill was brief but action packed. Barkley held the tie-breaking vote on the Homeland Security Bill, and used it as a bargaining chip to save Minnesota's unique public assistance program.
"I had been in Ventura's administration, so I knew it would cost us hundreds of millions of dollars if we lost our TANF waiver," Barkley explained.
Minnesota at the time had a waiver from the rules that went with the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, known as TANF. That waiver allowed the state more flexibility with its welfare-to-work program, but Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson wanted to end that waiver.
"One half hour before the Homeland Security bill was up for a vote I got the call from Air Force One, we made the deal with Tommy Thompson, we got the waiver, and I voted the way I was always going to, but they figured out they needed my vote, so I played the game.
Before the "game" ended, Barkley had also helped secure $10 million to build the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center in Saint Paul, which also serves as the home to the Neighborhood House resettlement center.
The Other Guy's Back
As the 2008 Senate race began to shape up as a two-way battle between incumbent Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken, Barkley and other Independence Party activists began to ponder offering voters a third choice.
Robert Fitzgerald carried the party's banner in the 2006 Senate race, but couldn't make a huge dent in the contest between Republican Mark Kennedy and Democrat Amy Klobuchar.
At a book signing at the Mall of America, Jesse Ventura seemed to flirt with the idea of jumping into the fray. He carried the suspense until the eve of the filing deadline, ultimately announcing on CNN's Larry King Live that he would not run.
The next day Dean Barkley filed, and in September won the Independence Party primary. He returned to the theme of out of control deficit spending.
"I have not heard Al Franken or Norm Coleman talk about the debt or the deficit once," Barkley told KARE, "Not one word out of their mouth, like it doesn't exist. It's the big gorilla in the room that they're pretending is not there."
Barkley, who has a 19-year-old daughter and a 22-year-old son, has often called the federal government's excessive borrowing "financial child abuse."
"Now we've moved beyond saddling our children with that debt," he complained, "We're mortgaging our grandchildren's future and beyond."
"Whether it's a $9.65 trillion dollar debt, about to go to $11.3 trillion if this bailout works, I mean how are we ever able going to pay that back?"
He said most people would be shocked to learn that China and Russia are helping fund our debt spending by buying US Treasury bills.
"How sad, that our economy depends on the good will of China and Russia!"
Barkley's prescription would require sacrifice, and a new pay-as-you-go way of looking at the world in the Beltway. New taxes would be a last resort.
"My first bill would be a four-year spending freeze," Barkley pledged, "And once we prove we can control our spending I might open up to the idea of targeted tax increases."
Health Care and Iraq
On the issue of health care he said universal health care is almost inevitable, "unless the private sector does something to control costs."
He would open up the Medicare program to people of any age willing to buy their way into it and pay a premium.
"Private insurance companies could then compete head to head with Medicare, and we'd get to see which insurance plan is more cost effective."
He would insist, however, that Medicare be allowed to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices. Congress barred the government from doing that when it passed the Medicare Part D prescription benefit.
"That's the most ludicrous thing in the world that we prevent them from lowering cost," Barkley argued, "We PREVENT them! That is absolutely insane!"
On the question of Iraq, he would ask the commanders to help set a timetable, and then make it stick.
"You set a time and at that time there's no more money and they have to get out," Barkley asserted, "That's how you do it. Congress has to have the guts to do something."
He admits it may take "guts" for some voters to go with the third party choice, and send him to a Senate loaded with Democrats and Republicans. But to Barkley's way of thinking, the only truly wasted vote is the vote for more of the same.
"Who's actually going to be able to deliver change?" Barkley asked rhetorically, "If you want to send a message to Washington that you don't like what they're doing, what kind of message are you going to send by sending Al or Norm there?"
Bailout Blues
At the time of our interview for this Extra, lawmakers in Washington were still grappling with the financial system rescue plan.
In a recent debate, Barkley said he hopes for the sake of everyone that the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act works as planned.
He laid the blame for the crisis at the feet of both of the parties in power in Washington.
"The Democrats let it happen because they wanted everyone in this country to have a house," Barkley said, "Republicans looked the other way because all their rich friends on Wall Street were getting richer."
Barkley, Franken, and the 2nd Amendment
Barkley Campaign: 'It's Time for Al Franken to Clarify His Position on 2nd Amendment Rights'
For Immediate Release
Contact: Christopher Truscott
ctruscott@senatorbarkley.com
PLYMOUTH—The Dean Barkley for Senate campaign called on DFLer Al Franken to finally clarify his position on the 2nd Amendment:
"We're all looking forward to Nov. 4, but Nov. 8 is also a big day for tens of thousands of Minnesotans because it marks the opening of deer hunting season.
"Given that we're less than three weeks away from the start of this great Minnesota tradition, it's time for Al Franken to finally clarify his position on 2nd Amendment rights. At best, it's confusing.[1] At worst, it's misleading.[2] Is he promoting New York City values or defending Minnesota's proud legacy?"
* * * * *
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.
[1] "Todd Palin talks the Second Amendment" (Star Tribune, Oct. 16, 2008): http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/president/31125154.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUX
[2] Republican Party of Minnesota press release (via Minnesota Democrats Exposed, June 26, 2008): http://www.minnesotademocratsexposed.com/2008/06/26/mn-gop-press-release-franken-wrong-for-minnesota-gun-owners/
For Immediate Release
Contact: Christopher Truscott
ctruscott@senatorbarkley.com
PLYMOUTH—The Dean Barkley for Senate campaign called on DFLer Al Franken to finally clarify his position on the 2nd Amendment:
"We're all looking forward to Nov. 4, but Nov. 8 is also a big day for tens of thousands of Minnesotans because it marks the opening of deer hunting season.
"Given that we're less than three weeks away from the start of this great Minnesota tradition, it's time for Al Franken to finally clarify his position on 2nd Amendment rights. At best, it's confusing.[1] At worst, it's misleading.[2] Is he promoting New York City values or defending Minnesota's proud legacy?"
* * * * *
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.
[1] "Todd Palin talks the Second Amendment" (Star Tribune, Oct. 16, 2008): http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/president/31125154.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUX
[2] Republican Party of Minnesota press release (via Minnesota Democrats Exposed, June 26, 2008): http://www.minnesotademocratsexposed.com/2008/06/26/mn-gop-press-release-franken-wrong-for-minnesota-gun-owners/
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Barkley Bloomberg Story
Ventura Haunts Minnesota Senate Race as Barkley Taps Voter Ire
Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Minnesota has seen this movie.
Ten years ago, a gregarious professional wrestler, Jesse Ventura, won the race for governor by tapping into voter anger and running as a third-party candidate.
This year, Dean Barkley, Ventura's former campaign manager, is trying to produce a sequel by vying for a U.S. Senate seat. While one of the major-party candidates is favored to win the race, high economic anxiety and Congress' record-low approval ratings have given Barkley a lift in state polls.
``Something's got to be done and I don't think Republicans or Democrats can do it,'' Gary Lilya, a 64-year-old Democrat said after meeting Barkley at a diner in Rochester.
The race already had developed into one of the most closely watched in the country, with comedian Al Franken, a Democrat, challenging Republican incumbent, Norm Coleman.
Democrats had counted on Franken, 57, benefiting from the anti-Washington climate fueled by economic hard times. Enter into the race Barkley, who has a paid staff of two and $75,000 in campaign funds. He briefly served as a U.S. senator once already when Ventura appointed him to serve the final two months of Paul Wellstone's term after the Democrat died in a plane crash in 2002.
Dead Heat
Barkley, 58, has changed the dynamic by turning the race into a dead heat. In a survey conducted by Quinnipiac University Oct. 8-12, Franken was ahead of Coleman by 2 percentage points, within the poll's 3-point margin of error. Barkley, running this year on the Independence Party of Minnesota ticket, polled 18 percent, drawing almost equally from Democrats and Republicans.
``The impact of Barkley on the race is very unpredictable,'' said Lawrence Jacobs, the director of the center for the study of politics and governance at the University of Minnesota.
Over a roast beef dinner at Grandma's Kitchen in Rochester on Oct. 14, Barkley said voters are ``sick and tired of Congress'' and that creates an even greater opportunity for an independent than existed when he managed Ventura's surprise victory.
``Ten years ago, the economy was good, everyone was happy, we didn't have a war,'' Barkley said. Now, ``the stars are in alignment much more now than ever before.''
Third-Party Tradition
Barkley said his candidacy is being helped by Minnesota's long tradition of third parties. The Democratic Party in the state is a combination of the Democrat-Farmer-Labor parties that fielded separate candidates until a merger 64 years ago. Barkley ran for the U.S. House of Representatives as an independent in 1992, and won 16 percent of the vote. This year, he is being included in all five candidate debates.
``There is kind of an acceptability, credibility, legitimacy for third-party candidates,'' Jacobs said. ``You look at some states, it's hard for them to be taken seriously. Not so in Minnesota.''
The two major-party candidates have had their stumbles, though Coleman has been battered by the plunging popularity of President George W. Bush and the crisis in the financial markets.
After Coleman, 59, voted Oct. 2 to back a $700 billion financial rescue package, his 9-point lead in a Minnesota Public Radio survey became a 4-point deficit.
Bailout Vote
``I may lose an election over that vote,'' Coleman said after speaking to supporters in Winona on Oct. 15. ``But I have no doubt that sitting by and doing nothing would have fed into the destruction of our economic system.''
Franken has had troubles, too; in April came news that he had been forced to pay $70,000 in back taxes and penalties in 17 states where he had made paid appearances from 2003 to 2006. He blamed an accountant's mistake for the problem.
And in May he had to apologize for off-color jokes about rape he made 13 years ago while discussing a skit for NBC's ``Saturday Night Live,'' and a humor article he wrote in 2000 in Playboy magazine about sex with robots.
Neither Coleman nor Franken said they were concerned about a third candidate siphoning off their support.
During a debate in Duluth on Oct. 16, Barkley said both political parties were ``equally guilty'' of causing the current financial crisis and that Americans have ``lost faith'' in their government.
`Wake-Up Call'
``Sadly, the only thing Republicans and Democrats seem to care about is power,'' Barkley said. ``Washington will get a real wake-up call if you send me to the Senate.''
Some of the sharpest clashes during the 90-minute debate were over the Iraq War. Franken, who like Barkley has called for troop-withdrawal timetables, said he was ``astounded'' that Coleman hasn't admitted the war is a mistake.
``I'm not going to tell the parents of any kid who died in Iraq that they died for a mistake,'' Coleman replied.
Even if Barkley doesn't win the race, he almost certainly will shape it. The Democrats calculate that if Obama wins the state by 10 points or more -- a Quinnipiac University/Wall Street Journal poll Oct. 14 gave him an 11-point lead -- he will carry Franken along with him.
Jacobs, however, said the Barkley factor may work to the Republicans' advantage.
``The Republicans tend to come back home more than the Democrats,'' Jacobs said.
Barkley said he remembers the 1998 movie starring Ventura. He said Ventura never polled higher than 27 percent in his successful campaign and if he can break the 20 percentage-point level this year, ``People start to think: `My God, maybe he can win.'''
Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Minnesota has seen this movie.
Ten years ago, a gregarious professional wrestler, Jesse Ventura, won the race for governor by tapping into voter anger and running as a third-party candidate.
This year, Dean Barkley, Ventura's former campaign manager, is trying to produce a sequel by vying for a U.S. Senate seat. While one of the major-party candidates is favored to win the race, high economic anxiety and Congress' record-low approval ratings have given Barkley a lift in state polls.
``Something's got to be done and I don't think Republicans or Democrats can do it,'' Gary Lilya, a 64-year-old Democrat said after meeting Barkley at a diner in Rochester.
The race already had developed into one of the most closely watched in the country, with comedian Al Franken, a Democrat, challenging Republican incumbent, Norm Coleman.
Democrats had counted on Franken, 57, benefiting from the anti-Washington climate fueled by economic hard times. Enter into the race Barkley, who has a paid staff of two and $75,000 in campaign funds. He briefly served as a U.S. senator once already when Ventura appointed him to serve the final two months of Paul Wellstone's term after the Democrat died in a plane crash in 2002.
Dead Heat
Barkley, 58, has changed the dynamic by turning the race into a dead heat. In a survey conducted by Quinnipiac University Oct. 8-12, Franken was ahead of Coleman by 2 percentage points, within the poll's 3-point margin of error. Barkley, running this year on the Independence Party of Minnesota ticket, polled 18 percent, drawing almost equally from Democrats and Republicans.
``The impact of Barkley on the race is very unpredictable,'' said Lawrence Jacobs, the director of the center for the study of politics and governance at the University of Minnesota.
Over a roast beef dinner at Grandma's Kitchen in Rochester on Oct. 14, Barkley said voters are ``sick and tired of Congress'' and that creates an even greater opportunity for an independent than existed when he managed Ventura's surprise victory.
``Ten years ago, the economy was good, everyone was happy, we didn't have a war,'' Barkley said. Now, ``the stars are in alignment much more now than ever before.''
Third-Party Tradition
Barkley said his candidacy is being helped by Minnesota's long tradition of third parties. The Democratic Party in the state is a combination of the Democrat-Farmer-Labor parties that fielded separate candidates until a merger 64 years ago. Barkley ran for the U.S. House of Representatives as an independent in 1992, and won 16 percent of the vote. This year, he is being included in all five candidate debates.
``There is kind of an acceptability, credibility, legitimacy for third-party candidates,'' Jacobs said. ``You look at some states, it's hard for them to be taken seriously. Not so in Minnesota.''
The two major-party candidates have had their stumbles, though Coleman has been battered by the plunging popularity of President George W. Bush and the crisis in the financial markets.
After Coleman, 59, voted Oct. 2 to back a $700 billion financial rescue package, his 9-point lead in a Minnesota Public Radio survey became a 4-point deficit.
Bailout Vote
``I may lose an election over that vote,'' Coleman said after speaking to supporters in Winona on Oct. 15. ``But I have no doubt that sitting by and doing nothing would have fed into the destruction of our economic system.''
Franken has had troubles, too; in April came news that he had been forced to pay $70,000 in back taxes and penalties in 17 states where he had made paid appearances from 2003 to 2006. He blamed an accountant's mistake for the problem.
And in May he had to apologize for off-color jokes about rape he made 13 years ago while discussing a skit for NBC's ``Saturday Night Live,'' and a humor article he wrote in 2000 in Playboy magazine about sex with robots.
Neither Coleman nor Franken said they were concerned about a third candidate siphoning off their support.
During a debate in Duluth on Oct. 16, Barkley said both political parties were ``equally guilty'' of causing the current financial crisis and that Americans have ``lost faith'' in their government.
`Wake-Up Call'
``Sadly, the only thing Republicans and Democrats seem to care about is power,'' Barkley said. ``Washington will get a real wake-up call if you send me to the Senate.''
Some of the sharpest clashes during the 90-minute debate were over the Iraq War. Franken, who like Barkley has called for troop-withdrawal timetables, said he was ``astounded'' that Coleman hasn't admitted the war is a mistake.
``I'm not going to tell the parents of any kid who died in Iraq that they died for a mistake,'' Coleman replied.
Even if Barkley doesn't win the race, he almost certainly will shape it. The Democrats calculate that if Obama wins the state by 10 points or more -- a Quinnipiac University/Wall Street Journal poll Oct. 14 gave him an 11-point lead -- he will carry Franken along with him.
Jacobs, however, said the Barkley factor may work to the Republicans' advantage.
``The Republicans tend to come back home more than the Democrats,'' Jacobs said.
Barkley said he remembers the 1998 movie starring Ventura. He said Ventura never polled higher than 27 percent in his successful campaign and if he can break the 20 percentage-point level this year, ``People start to think: `My God, maybe he can win.'''
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