GOP's Spin On Coleman Reaches New Heights
It really is amazing to see where the Republican spin is going with Norm Coleman's challenge to the Minnesota election result, which has put the seat in limbo until such time as the conflict is settled.
Earlier tonight, I sent an e-mail to NRSC spokesman Brian Walsh asking him for comment on the new Research 2000 poll saying that 47% of Minnesota voters want Franken to be provisionally seated during the contest, compared to only 37% who prefer that the seat remain vacant. I expected him to say that the poll was commissioned by Daily Kos and therefore not credible. But that's not what he said.
"So a majority of the people of Minnesota do not think Al Franken should be seated?" Walsh told me. A few minutes later he sent me another e-mail: "Guess you won't report that a majority of Minn voters oppose seating Franken right?"
Of course, that's not what the poll says. A 47% plurality favor seating Franken, only 37% oppose seating him, and the remainder are in the undecided column. Note: "Undecided" does not mean they favor your position. And if it did, you could easily tell Walsh that 63% of Minnesota voters oppose keeping the seat vacant.
You can email Brian back and ask him what he thinks the GOoPers' chances of hanging onto 40 seats in 2010 are.
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January 11, 2009 12:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
Deep thought: Coleman is the last hurrah, of an administration that truly believed you could run an incompetent, rogue, ideologically-driven government on ALL-spin.
Facts be damned. As long as you could call black white and up down with a straight face, there was a 90% chance that the mainstream media wouldn't want to be so inappropriate as to call you a liar publicly. So you win. With spin. You didn't actually have to get the job done, or even know how to do it; you could be as corrupt as the day is long; all you had to do was know how to say, "That's not my hand in the cookie jar" without squirming, and it becomes a case of not believing your lyin' eyes.
Goodbye to all that.
Another thing:
It occurs to me that if Obama is truly aware that half-measures and capitulations to the right will only serve to render his programs ineffective and leave America festering anyway in a crapper of Bush's making... he is not about to make that his legacy. So he is probably not likely to let them bamboozle him.
Wishful thinking, to an extent, but I think maybe he's smart enough to see that the GOP is out to sabotage him.And therefore, I think in the end he's too ambitious to risk failure.
January 11, 2009 1:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think it may be simpler than all that. Coleman may see himself as less employable than Alberto Gonzalez who, as a Harvard Law grad and former Attorney General, still can's find a job. The job market for Bush loyalist hacks is pretty small. Coleman need a job and this is the only one in sight.
January 11, 2009 4:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Please send him another missive, and point out to him the following:
Recount shows that in November, Franken got 42% of the votes, Coleman got 42% of the votes, and Dean Barkley and others got 16% of the votes in the November Election.
But now the Barkley voters seem to "not know" or have "no opinion" about services. The Franken Voters plus 5% of the voters sho supported Coleman want Franken seated so as to re-open the 2nd Minnesota Senate Office, and the Coleman Voters less 5% of the November Coleman Voters, want those in need of services to suffer because Normie needs to go to Court, and wants to hold them hostage to his needs and strategy.
January 11, 2009 2:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Republicans chances are very good. First: the minority party usually gains in the off-year elections. Second: the economy will still be in the toilet. Third, the Democrats will lose the Illinois seat if Burris has it: Fourth there will certainly be some Democratic screw-ups due to venality, arrogance or sexual scandal now that they are nearly unopposed.
January 11, 2009 12:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
You make it sound as if the new Congress and Administration is DOA before they take office. Sounds more like you're just a sore loser. Perhaps you need to lose your job to realize just how difficult it is to find a job that pays a salary near to what you were making before. You can thank the repugs for making America a third-rated banana republic.
January 11, 2009 8:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
specter is casting aspersions at Eric Holder because Holder MIGHT be a corrupt moron like abu gonzo
have you got that ???
Eric Holder might be questionable because he MIGHT be like abu gonzo
A Democrat MIGHT have a problem because he MIGHT be like a repuglitard
specter's argument boils down to this:
Eric Holder might be a slimeball repuglitard like ME
so tell me AGAIN how the repuglitards chances look good in 2010
January 12, 2009 9:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
CityTrucker, now that you've told us how the Democrats are going to screw up like the Republicans before them, let me invite you to put on your patriotic hat and give us some ideas about how we could avoid such a dire scenario. You seem to be able to look into the future so this shouldn't be so hard for you. Would you suggest that Democrats work together to achieve positive results for the American people or would you be content for us to remain divided along partisan lines? You seem so bright that I'm sure you can give us some reasoned advice.
January 12, 2009 12:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's too early to know how things will play out for 2010. So much depends on how effective Obama is in dealing with the economy and the wars.
I agree that the Democrats should resist seating Burris if at all possible. Would be better to chance a special election. But I really do think the thugs are hurting themselves in Minnesota with their recount strategy -- which Pawlenty could come to regret if he winds up in a tough race.
January 11, 2009 12:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
The Democrats will be defending 16 seats in 2010, while the Republicans will be defending 19.
Voinovich may be the 4th of those 19 to retire.
And Spector will be 80 in 2010. And John McCain might retire.
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January 11, 2009 1:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
Republicans will be defending 19 seats, Democrats 17 (34 Class III Senate seats + Clinton + Biden seats).
Kit Bond is retiring in Missouri, and Robin Carnahan is a bigger name than anyone the Republicans can put up here.
Jeb Bush ISN'T gonna be running in Florida, and retiring Republican Senator Mel Martinez isn't very popular.
Pennsylania is getting bluer by the minute, and polls are showing that Specter is anything but guaranteed re-election.
Grassley might retire and open up Iowa to the Democrats. Iowa is an increasingly blue state.
Even though Burris will likely get seated eventually, there's no guarantee that he'll be on the ballot in November 2010 - he could get primaried out by any number of other Democrats. Illinois is an increasingly blue state.
It's too soon to predict what's gonna happen, but suggesting that the GOP is definitely at an advantage at this point is absurd.
January 11, 2009 3:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
Even if they could get the ferret-faced fool back into the Senate, its still not clear to me how they'd spin the coming indictments.
January 11, 2009 12:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Easy, persecution by the politicized Eric Holder Justice Dept. ;)
January 11, 2009 12:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, but once you're really and truly indicted, it really doesn't matter what, e.g., Mitch McConnell is telling the WaPo. Spin's irrelevant. You still gotta go to trial, get convicted... and this time, there's no W to "commute your sentence".
The entire MSM, in fact, actually becomes irrelevant at that point, and can squeal like stuck pigs, for all we care. One down..!
January 11, 2009 1:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Walsh doesn't sound like he's very good at spin. If he'd said "A majority of MN voters don't want Franken seated," he'd technically be right. Saying that they "oppose seating Franken" is wrong. He needs to polish his talking point.
January 11, 2009 12:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Inquiring minds want to know if the Lizard People were polled.
Rethugs never quibble about facts getting in the way of their opinions/talking points.
January 11, 2009 12:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
1. CityTrucker above is right the Dems will lose Obama's seat if Burris is handed it. He has a long history of being unelectable for statewide office. Republicans just loving all of this, and they'll appreciate Burris returning to Washington this week to parade out the race card.
2. Intesting article on Politico; it looks like Al Franken will replace Jesse Jackson Sr. as the bugaboo most used to frighten Republicans into contributing campaign money. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/17233.html I didn't realize, but reportedly they despise the ground that "me, Al Franken" walks upon.
January 11, 2009 12:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
1) Primary! Burris won't make it through the Primary next election.
2) As for hating Franken, ask most work-a-day voters for Republicans, and they can name Pelosi, Reid, Barney Frank and Chris Dodd. Ask the names of their leadership, and it's blank-stare time. The GOP has managed to keep any names, and their part in the criminal conspiracy known as the Republican Party, from lodging in the minds of their followers. Ask about The Boner or Mitch McChinless...
Yankee fans know the line-up and management of the Bosox, the team they hate, as well as their own, and vice-versa.
The followers of the GOP are less informed than baseball fans, which explains a lot about how the last eight years happened.
January 11, 2009 4:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
yeah, right
in overwhelmingly BLUE Illinois, after the repuglitards' disasters are fully disclosed and examined
and after the repuglitards obstruct everything that moves, much to America's DISGUST
you think a repuglitard is gonna win a senate seat in Illinois ???
we're already planning on taking Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa and Florida senate seats away from repuglitards, and probably a few more
what's next ???
you gonna tell me you like peter king's chances in New York ???
your whole voter model depends on America suddenly forgetting what utter fucking imbiciles the repuglitards have been for the past 14 years and suddenly blaming all the repuglitards incompetence on democrats
good luck with that
January 12, 2009 10:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
Anybody see Obama on this week this morning? Amazing performance. Wow, it is a miracle to have an intelligent and well spoken president for once. Incredible performance. He can across as confident, on top of things, open to suggestions and input on his package within certain parameters, likable, knowledgeable, just all around amazing. Wow, the guy sure does inspire confidence. It is looking good. Go Obama!
January 11, 2009 12:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
And if it did, you could easily tell Walsh that 63% of Minnesota voters oppose keeping the seat vacant.
More than that--you could say: 63% of Minnesota voters oppose keeping the seat vacant, and of those, 75% favor seating Franken (that is, 47/63).
We usually talk about electoral majorities above 60% as landslides. Who is this Walsh guy to oppose the will of a double landslide?! I mean, if that's how we're counting undecideds.
January 11, 2009 2:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
The only way to reply to such unsportsmanlike bullshit is to call it that.
January 11, 2009 2:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is SOP for the republicans: blame your opponent for your own shortcomings. Turn the tables when you get backed into the wall. And the Dems still don't know how to handle them after all these years.
January 11, 2009 3:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Spin indeed, but--and as much as I hate to say it--he may have a point. Based on this post, at issue is a syntactical argument that while subtle, may technically be true. It's the difference between not thinking Franken should be seated and thinking Franken should not be seated. The former is more passive; the latter is more active.
The "opposed" plus the undecided do add up to a majority that does not actively think Franken should be seated.
Again, I hate to say it, but it does seem that less than a majority of the voters actively thinks Franken should be seated. At the same time, the good news is equally clear: *of the people who have an opinion,* the number of those in favor wallop the number of those opposed by 10 points.
Personally, I hope he's seated. And right quick.
(One other thing I find striking: the large number of undecideds. For crying out loud, these people are missing 50% of their representation in the United States Senate!)
January 11, 2009 3:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Quick addendum: if Walsh's position has any validity, it's only in the first email. The second email is clearly horses**t.
January 11, 2009 3:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is my theory ..... take it for what you will.
Remember the OJ Simpson trial? Absolutely everything pointed to a jealous raging homicidal OJ slicing the life out of two innocent human beings. There was DNA evidence of the victim's blood in his car and his house, OK. Yet week after week we were told not to believe our lying eyes and logical minds but believe whatever convoluted bullshit the defense would answer with. Those weren't his gloves, yes they were.... those weren't his shoes, yes they were.... and on and on until you thought it would never end. Then finally with a slap in the face that could wake the dead we all were told he was in fact completely innocent and that was that.
I think that day in America every lying cheating con man had a light go off in his head that "YES WE CAN" get away with murder, or whatever bullshit we have the balls to pull off. I believe that was the moment the raping and burning of any sense of common justice began. If you could stand up and tell the biggest lie of your life and WIN then the possibilities were endless. The truth of any situation no longer mattered, just your ability to spin, spin, spin your way to what benefited you and to hell with the honest suckers who get in your way. I think the FoxNews moniker of "fair and balanced" was born out of the unmitigated arrogance of the OJ Simpson defense. If you can stand there with the DNA evidence literally dripping from your fingertips and say you are innocent and pure and in fact a victim yourself ..... well then ANYTHING is possible isn't it!?! The sociopaths and the con artists of the right wing have never feared the darkness, or the facts, again.
January 11, 2009 3:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Now that is an interesting theory and it makes sense. It kind of dovetails with the nazi propoganda of the 30's as well. Repeat the same most outrageous lie over and over again and people will start to believe it. Propoganda 101, which the king's administration aced in war criminal school.
January 11, 2009 3:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is a great noose...for NORM COLEMAN!!
January 11, 2009 5:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Look at the picture of Coleman above and tell me if he doesn't look just like Smilin' Bob from those "enhancement" commercials...
SMILIN' NORM?
Maybe they're related. Smilin' Bob may be Smilin' Norm's cousin, or even his little (snicker!) brother.
So, then, does that mean that smilin' Bob's last name might be Coleman?
Logic dictates...
January 11, 2009 8:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
...And now George Voinovich is out for 2010 as well.
Expect young Ohio Democratic House member Tim Ryan to surge to the top of the first polls coming out on this 2010 race.
That's two Republican seats that WERE safe one week ago that no longer are - Bond and Voinovich.
January 11, 2009 8:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
They really do hate Al Franken, with a visceral animosity which makes any emotion you or I feel about Dick Cheney seem positively mellow.
Not much sign of anyone really standing up and punching back on behalf not just of Al, but also in defense of the election officials and state judges who are being smeared and punked by the rightie noise machine along with our honest Secretary of State. Repetition of "they stole it" has Minnesotans pretty much convinced that the recount wasn't clean and fair.
what is really frustrating here is that the Republicans DID steal two Presidential elections, and the Dems said and did NOTHING in protest . . . but ordinary citizens do not like the thought that elections might not be fair and honest. It would have been both a good political issue, and an important matter of principle, for the Dems NOT to roll over so supinely when Rove rigged the Florida and Ohio results. the FACTS ought to matter!
In Ohio and Florida, and in the Washington state recounts, the GOP doesn't care as much about the facts or fairness of the process, just the outcome.
Oh what's the use. Reid could have a majority of 90 to 10 and he'd still cave.
January 11, 2009 10:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, it's understandable, of course. There's nothing more infuriating than to have one's most cherished lies and liars exposed to the light of day.
Republicans don't really get Franken's humor, either. His punchlines don't involve an image of someone he disagrees with meeting a violent death. What's so funny about not blowing someone up or poisoning them?
Speaking of Cheney, I'm pretty sure that Franken has more composure than to be telling someone to go fuck himself on the Senate floor.
January 11, 2009 11:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Cut to the music in Norm's head...
Doot, doot, duhh.
Risin' up, straight to the top
Have the guts, got the glory
Went the distance, now I'm not gonna stop
Just a man and his will to survive
It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight, risin' up to the challenge of our rival. And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night, and he's watchin' us all in the eye of the tiger.
We now return you to our regular broadcast...
January 12, 2009 9:02 AM | Reply | Permalink