A Minnesota Break for Franken

Last week's Minnesota primaries nominated three candidates, not two, for the U.S. Senate.

Republican incumbent Norm Coleman easily secured his party's nod.

Democratic-Farmer-Labor challenger Al Franken easily secured his party's nod.

And former U.S. Senator Dean Barkley, who was appointed to finish off former Senator Paul Wellstone's term in 2002/2003 by former Governor Jesse Ventura, won the Independence Party nod that some had wanted Ventura to seek this year.

The Barkley win was the most important.

Because of his own high-spending campaign, sly moves to the political center and stumbles by Franken, Coleman had maintained an advantage in the race.

But Barkley, though his campaign is short on funds, has a big name and more than a little good will accumulated over many years of independent political activism. And, this yeat, Barkley seems to be drawing more from Coleman than Franken.

A new SurveyUSA poll stacks it this way:

Franken 41%

Coleman 40%

Barkley 14%

If Franken can secure the liberal DFL base, he might just make it to the Senate without a majority -- as, it should be noted, Coleman did in 2002.

Comments (17)

1. I still won't bet big money on Al Franken pulling it out.

   The "Ventura" Phenomenon (aka electing celebrities) seems so....90s!

   Posted by Maskdelta at 09/16/2008 @ 3:01pm

2. Posted by Zero at 09/16/2008 @ 3:12pm

   Well, now ZERO, that's hardly fair...

   he was fairly good friends with Paul Wellstone and has lived in Minnesota for nearly a year and a half!

   McCain could pick him for Veep on those qualifications alone!

   heheh

   Posted by Maskdelta at 09/16/2008 @ 3:16pm

3. politicians are at their best failed comedians...

   Posted by dexter666 at 09/16/2008 @ 4:14pm

4. Suppose somebody had made the following predictions five years ago:

   1. In 2008 the leading candidate for Israeli prime minister will be named Zippy.

   2. In 2008 the Democrats will nominate for president a man with the middle name Hussein, whose father is a muslim and whose first political fundraiser was with a 60s radical who set a terrorist bomb at the pentagon.

   3. The stock market will almost double in the next few years.

   4. The Democratic party will complain that a woman cannot run for office because it would take time away from her duties as a mother.

   5. The chqir of the house Ways and Means committee will admit that he has difficulty understanding the law in filing his tax return.

   6. Hillary Clinton will be nominated by the Democrats to run for president.

   7. The Democratic party will try to abolish the secret ballot rule for union certification elections.

   8. There will be no terrorist attacks on U.S. soil in the next five years.

   9. The earth's average temperature will decrease.

   10. The 00s really will be the "Al Franken Decade"

   Which predictions would you have thought [back then] likely to come true?

   Which predictions did come true?

   Posted by Mistral at 09/16/2008 @ 4:53pm

5. Posted by Mistral at 09/16/2008 @ 4:53pm

   I got some...

   1. The Repubs will nominate a man who called the Bush tax cuts "dangerous" and "for the wealthy"...and supports the idea of man-made global warming....and worked campaign finance reform....and on citizenship for illegal immigrants?

   2. That man's main attack on his opponent would be "lack of experience"...and then he'll nominate a Veep with less time in state office and NO time in national office than the opponent he was attacking?

   3. That Veep will be supported by Religious Righties who believed (before) that women should not work and stay home with their small children?

   4. She'd support abstinence-only sex education...and have a 17 year old un-married pregnant daughter?

   5. She'll call herself an "opponent of abuses of power" and "fighter against her own party"...and it turn out that the "fighting against her own party"...is to try and stall an investigation into her abuse of power?

   6. After endless jokes about "Al Gore claiming to invent the Internet"...the GOP candidate's advisor says HE invented the Blackberry?

   Posted by Maskdelta at 09/16/2008 @ 5:00pm

6. The stock market will almost double in the next few years.

   HAH!

   Posted by Balrog at 09/16/2008 @ 6:21pm

7. Posted by Zero at 09/16/2008 @ 3:12pm

   well actually... dislike Franken or no, it'd be a bit unfair to paint him as just a comedian trying to buy his way into a Senate seat. sure he's certainly using his name/fame. but while he's never occupied office, the Harvard grad (after his stint as a comedian) did end up a fellow at a journalism/politics/policy think tank--which is where he began writing those series of books that became some of the first salvos from the left to dismantle Limbaugh, Coulter, etc. Continuing on this progressive beat, he was a leading founder of Air America Radio---one of the few "progressive/liberal" radio stations, not as left-leaning as Pacifica or NOVA-M, but an oasis in a right-wing radio sea. And he's been a big time fundraiser for Democrats and Democratic causes. Does any of that qualify him to run for Senate? Maybe or maybe not. I don't live in Minnesota.

   Posted by sincere1906 at 09/16/2008 @ 6:30pm

8. I'd vote for Franken if I lived in MN just to confirm my opinion of all politicians, they are a joke and should be laughed at.

   Posted by Incoming at 09/16/2008 @ 8:23pm

9. The problem with Franken is...he was a flawed candidate FROM THE START.

   He had to overcome "carpetbagger" AND all the jokes AND the tax deal at the start of his campaign...

   thus allowing Coleman to manuever himself as a "centrist" and supposedly "not part of Republican Washington".

   If it had been a more established Dem, with a track record in Minnesota politics AND some experience...

   Coleman would still be down 40-50 to the Dem.

   Posted by Maskdelta at 09/16/2008 @ 9:21pm

10. I'm not sure now's the time to be arguing for the great status of the stock market (which I think Balrog expressed in a nice and succinct way :D )

    Also, addressed to Balrog...can you actually breathe fire? And if so...I would strongly recommend watching out for any elderly wizards that cross your path...

    Posted by Thrawn at 09/16/2008 @ 9:56pm

11. Franken is a retard and those that vote for him are showing their own retardedness. I would not for vote him like I would not vote for a Dennis Miller or the even biggest retard on HBO. Come, these guys are comedians and we want them running the country.

    Posted by apoorspic at 09/16/2008 @ 11:05pm

12. Franken is a retard and those that vote for him are showing their own retardedness. I would not for vote him like I would not vote for a Dennis Miller or the even biggest retard on HBO. Come, these guys are comedians and we want them running the country.

    Posted by apoorspic at 09/16/2008 @ 11:05pm

13. GOOD LUCK AL FRANKEN!

    Posted by GREYDOG at 09/17/2008 @ 07:53am

14. Posted by Darin_the_Troll at 09/17/2008 @ 08:01am

    Noooooo....This IS still Minnesota, Darin.

    Previously the US Senator was Paul Wellstone, as liberal as they come. Their other Senator is Amy Klobucher, who's DFL. Coleman NARROWLY beat Walter Mondale (as lame a pick as the DFL could come up with) in 2002...and if Wellstone hadn't died, Coleman likely would have lost.

    Soooooo....if the DFL in MN had gone with a more established and less controversial pick, it's likely Coleman (like a lot of Repubs this year) would be in BIG trouble.

    Posted by Maskdelta at 09/17/2008 @ 08:52am

15. "Also, addressed to Balrog...can you actually breathe fire? And if so...I would strongly recommend watching out for any elderly wizards that cross your path..."

    Fly, you fools!

    Posted by onthehelm at 09/17/2008 @ 09:59am

16. 11 March, 2003 - Down Jones close: 7,524.06

    http://money.cnn.com/quote/historical/ historical.html?pg=hi&close_date=3%2F11%2F2003&mode= add&symb=DJIA

    19 May, 2008 - Down Jones close: 13,028.16

    http://money.cnn.com/quote/historical/ historical.html?pg=hi&close_date=5%2F19% 2F2008&mode= add&symb=INDU

    Posted by HonestLiberal at 09/17/2008 @ 10:24am

17. Thanks, HonestLiberal. I'm sure everybody here knows zhat the stock market did, but I'm too lazy to find the references!

    Posted by Mistral at 09/18/2008 @ 09:27am