Category: Minnesota Politics

by Dave Mindeman

Day 2 of the Republican Convention in Rochester:

Upon entering the auditorium, the first thing I noticed was that all Ron Paul signs had been removed. Seems a little pissy.....

At 9AM, Governor Pawlenty, armed with his veto pen for all to see, gave the opening address. Used several metaphors about being the protector of Republican values...my favorite -- "I have all my goalie equipment on". In the middle of his speech, Pawlenty gave a little tribute to Ron Carey, the party chair. About 3/4 of the hall stood and applauded, but a good 20% remained seated and did not move at all.

The party officers gave their reports. RNC Committeman Brian Sullivan made an interesting note -- he blamed the 2006 losses directly on the House Congressional Leadership. He used the phrase, "When Republicans act like Democrats, Democrats win".

Then some of the Congressional candidates challengers got some podium time.

Ed Mathews is running against Betty McCollum. His loudest cheer came when he demanded drilling in ANWR and the Gulf. Good luck in the 4th District with that one Ed!

Then Tim Walz's (endorsed) opponent, Dr. Brian Davis gave his speech. (Note: He has Dick Day as a primary challenger). Now this guy is really scary... I mean really scary. From his speech, he is pro-nuclear, pro drilling (everywhere), has trouble with the Clean Water Act, wants to ban embryonic stem cell research, wants a Constitutional Amendment against Gay marriages or unions or any equivalent (maybe against gays themselves the way this guy is going), against cap and trade, and considers illegal immigration a tax burden on the middle class (he wants them gone). Frankly, I would be surprised if this guy beats Dick Day in the primary. He makes Dick Day look like the epitome of moderation....and that ain't a compliment. If this guy thinks the 1st District has those kind of values, then the 1st District is in the wrong geographic location...believe me.

Barb Davis White is the endorsed choice to oppose Keith Ellison. She is a fiery, eloquent African American woman and Keith had better not take her lightly. She spoke to the Ron Paul people yesterday morning...they loved her. She spoke to the full convention today...and they loved her. She is the only endorsee that can claim the support of all factions. She is funny and witty and as far right as you can get, but she may be a formidable opponent. She said something curious about "I'm not running against Keith Ellison...I'm running against MoveOn and Al Qaeda". What the heck does that mean?

Ron Carey gave the State Chair's report and he went into his give "glory to God" routine...and how "first and foremost, he serves his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ". Personally, I think that kind of stuff is out of line at a political convention. I know Republicans eat it up but to talk about "serving the Lord" while you screw over the Ron Paul delegates seems a bit insincere.

Another committee gave a report on "poll observers". Yea, that's right... they have a special committee to train people to go to the polls on election day and watch for "impropriety". They spend money on analyzing election data to look for high risk precincts -- you know places where illegal immigrants, seniors without drivers licenses, college students, and the like....might try to vote. The lady giving the report looked like the local librarian with a "gotta be quiet" fettish. She admonished the convention to go to the polls and pull out your drivers license and wave it around. That way, the riff raff might think they have to have ID and will leave. Nice.

Then Karl Rove was introduced by Ron Carey. A couple of boos came from the Ron Paul corner (most of them have already left).
Rove is actually a pretty good speaker. He knows how to frame the issues. Part of his speech may be giving us the McCain playbook for the fall. He went into detail about 3 of Obama's "mistakes".
(1) Flag Pins: By not wearing a flag pin, Obama dismisses the patriotism of those who do.
(2) Bitter Comment: Has to go to San Francisco to explain how rural Pennsylvania doesn't get it.
(3) Rev. Wright: If you thought this was over, forget it. Rove used phrases like "threw his grandma under the bus" and "Wright talks of hating America from his expensive suburban home on a golf course".

The attack machine is primed and ready.

That was it from the convention. This is a divided group and although Carey did his best to keep up appearances, I think there may be a permanent splinter group developing in the GOP. More on that later.

Category: Minnesota Politics

by Dave Mindeman

Yesterday, I attended my first Republican State Convention. It was, shall we say, a unique experience.

I drove to Rochester very early in the morning so I could catch a glimpse of the Ron Paul phenomenon. The "Federal Reserve hating" candidate was not allowed to speak to the convention, so he set up shop in the park behind the Mayo Civic Center. About 350 people showed up at 7:30AM to listen to a relentless rant against government intervention of any kind. Oh, Ron Paul, hates the war, to be sure, but he also hates welfare, FDR's New Deal, the printing of money, and the IRS.

And his audience of true believers eat it up. Ron Paul is not going to be the GOP nominee by any means, but he has obviously started something that is not going to go away either. He has a very dedicated following and they will not be going away quietly.

So, I proceeded to convention registration. I went to the media table to ask about blogging credentials. I realized this would be a long shot since I am not a member of the "club", but I thought, what the heck, freedom of the press (or informaton or access, whatever) and all that. Of course, I was denied access.... the reason given was that: All bloggers had to pre-register by the Friday before the convention and no blogging passes are allowed outside of the pre-registration. Well, since I don't get the Republican memos, I didn't know that....but I expected as much.

So I asked for a visitor pass to observe. Nope. All visitors have to have a co-signature from a regular convention delegate. What? I had never heard of such a thing. I asked... "You have a visitor's gallery don't you?", Yes. "People are allowed to watch the proceedings aren't they?" Not without a pass.

So, I went back to the Media table. I actually got to talk to Mark Drake and asked about the blogging issue. He, again, gave me the pre-registration line, but said I could get a visitor pass for the gallery. "But they told me I had to have a registered delegate vouch for me." Mr. Drake said, "No, that is not true. Go back to registration. They will give you a visitor pass."

So, I marched back over to the information table and told the same woman what Mr. Drake had said. And she again, stated that the orders she had been given did not allow any visitor passes without a co-signature from a registered delegate.

OK, now I'm irritated. I looked over at the registration tables and I see that my Republican State Senator from Apple Valley, Chris Gerlach, is just finishing up his registration. I got his attention as he walked past me and I explained the situation. He was a little puzzled by the problem also...so he was gracious enough to volunteer to vouch for me at the table.

We went back to the information table --and now that I was armed with an elected State representative, she pointed us over to another table. Senator Gerlach was kind enough to stand in line with me as we made our way to the registration clerk. We talked for quite awhile... about his new printing business which was doing quite well and about general politics. He indicated to me that he suspected the registration problems were aimed more at the potential disruptions from Ron Paul zealots than any Democrats trying to get in. To his credit, he kind of sympathized with the Paulites situation. He felt the process should be kept open.... but he seemed to have a minority opinion, at least among party officials.

The clerk asked for identification and $15 (you have to pay to be a visitor in Republican land) and I got a visitor badge with my name and Senator Gerlach's name underneath.

As he left, Senator Gerlach joked, "Now don't go causing any trouble or they'll come find me", he said with a grin. (At least I think he was joking....)

Anyway, armed with my visitor badge I made my way up to the gallery and proceeded to listen to two hours of the most boring tripe I have every heard in my life.

When we got to the national delegate selection process, it was still boring but got a little more contentious. Apparently, the state party had fixed the rules so that the delegate selection process virtually guaranteed the chosen "McCain" slate of delegates (two big banners displayed the chosen ones on each side of the rostrum). This led to a never ending parade of "point of information" or "point of order" interruptions as the Ron Paul delegates executed every maneuver they could think of to get around the slate. Quite frankly, the Paulites are pretty skilled at parliamentary maneuvering -- they know how to get the most out of their minority.

But, in the end, the state party position prevailed (usually does when you fix the contest). However, going forward, the Ron Paul people plan to continue their quest for party influence. They will be giving the old party order a lot of headaches.

Then the Norm Coleman show began. After being re-nominated for the Senate endorsement by "acclimation", he gave his acceptance speech. At any mention of Iraq, you could hear some of the Ron Paul delegates shouting objections, but Norm sped along with his speech and went for applause lines to drown them out quickly. He kind of flew through some parts so fast that his words got jumbled together. He did manage to get in "Minnesota hockey" and the "success of the Xcel Center" twice in his speech.

He went for cheap applause lines like, "secure the borders first and foremost" and "never let the UN dictate our right to protect ourselves" and "I don't know about you but I am proud to be an American". Norm always likes those cheapies.

Incidently, I usually gag when he gives that "getting things done for Minnesota" line......I was gagging a lot.

Then it was on to more procedural stuff and I had enough for one day. I headed off to the hotel, a night's rest, and we will see about Karl Rove tomorrow.

Category: Mike Ciresi

by Dave Mindeman

I find it more than a little intrigueing that the Star Tribune has a prominent article about "turmoil" regarding Franken's Playboy article. That piece, coupled with an MPR story about the same issue makes for interesting political timing. We have about a week to go to the DFL convention.

The prominent figure in all this is Rep. Betty McCollum, which, if one were going to speculate, gives us this scenario:

McCollum was an early backer of Mike Ciresi for the Senate bid. But Ciresi dropped out...curiously just after loaning his campaign $2 million. The attacks on Franken by the Republican party have escalated with the Democrats keeping a low profile. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer has stayed out of the mess, focusing on issues, but has made some headway in the delegate hunt. (Another interesting note -- there is virtually no mention of JNP by McCollum in any of her interviews)

Going into the convention, Al Franken is still the odds on favorite but what if he doesn't get to 60% on the first ballot? That will probably change the game. With a little McCollum arm twisting and lots of behind the scenes pushing, there could be a move towards no endorsement. JNP supporters may not have enough to push over the top themselves, but a no endorsement opens up a game for the primary.

Which brings us back to Ciresi. He can restart his campaign, still holding his cash, and make it look like the party is asking him to get back into the race.... and off we go into a divisive and expensive September primary campaign.

The risk for Ciresi is that JNP could gather some serious momentum if Franken's effort stalls, and carry him to a surprise endorsement. But, I would guess that Ciresi and McCollum would be willing to take that risk....it is their only real chance to get back into the fray.

Meanwhile, Norm Coleman gets more use out of his dentally enhanced smile.