colemanstartribunemoveonfrankenad-317x5801While the U.S. Secret Service investigates the recent data leak from former Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman’s campaign Web site that exposed thousands of donors’ credit card numbers, here’s a footnote to the affair: A second leaked Coleman database contained a less-noticed trove of often scathing comments from supporters of Coleman’s DFL rival, Al Franken.

The records the Coleman campaign kept on Franken fans are scattered within a vast database of nearly 50,000 contacts. A spreadsheet created by the secretive Wikileaks organization, which made the donor database available on the Web last month, contains several hundred comments apparently left at the Coleman campaign Web site.

Unlike the smaller donor database, the contacts’ data include no financial information — only names, mailing addresses, e-mail addresses, IP addresses and sometimes phone numbers.

About 800 of the records, including some duplicate entries, have the word “Franken” listed for “signup_type.” These appear to be contacts generated after Coleman placed a full-page ad in the Star Tribune in September 2007. Titled “‘Ridiculous,’” the ad takes Franken to task for using that word to describe a U.S. Senate vote that condemned MoveOn.org’s own full-page ad, titled “General Petraeus Or General Betray Us?”

Coleman’s ad asked readers to “Send Al Franken a message to condemn these ridiculous personal attacks on our military … Log on to www.colemanforsenate.com/ridiculous to find out how.”

Judging by the leaked data, most who logged on as instructed did use the opportunity to attack Franken. But a significant proportion had only praise for Franken and venom for Coleman:

Im writing from colemanforsenate.ridiculous Thanks for not being being a venomus (sic) hypocritical turd like norm “can’t even win st paul” coleman.

Future-Senator Franken: Thank you for not having a knee-jerk reaction to MoveOn.org’s ad. It’s not a matter of whether the ad is correct; it’s a matter of free speech and not using the ad for political posturing. Feel free to contact me for campaign work on your behalf.

Good Job Al Franken! You will get my vote… Keep it up!!

GOOD FOR YOU AL FRANKEN – YOU ARE NOT AFRAID TO SPEAK THE TRUTH!!! It is RIDICULOUS that NORM COLEMAN want so to censure FREE SPEECH in this country.

Dear Al, I am so glad that the Coleman campaign has given me this opportunity to tell you that I agree with you 100% . It is amazing that the people associated with the Swift boat campaigns can be so hypocritical!!. Coleman is the slimiest weasel ever to be a Senator from Minnesota, and it is rather nice that his mean spirted (sic) lackies (sic)  would take out a full page ad of this kind. … By the way — nice picture!!

Al, you are right on. I thank you for what you said. Thank you for being honest; thank you for standing up for the constitution and our right to dissent with this government administration.

Thank you for pointing out how riduculous (sic) this whole “General Betray Us” nonsense is. With thousands of American lives at risk and millions of dollars wasted in a stupid war in Iraq “to protect our freedom”, the US Sentate (sic) votes to condemn a newspaper ad and in the process condemning free expression in our own country. “RIDICULOUS” is exactly the right word.

Please don’t let this incredibly poor effort on the part of the Coleman camp deter you. It is ridiculous and you are right on. You have my vote. ps. it will be interesting to see if Colemanites send this message

Go, Al!! You were absolutely right. The entire situation was ridiculous. The Senate voting on an ad!! I’m so embarrassed to be represented by two Senators who don’t know that issue ads by groups with a bias are part of the political scene right now, that I would vote against both of them if the election were held tomorrow. … Al was right! Ridiculous!

Thanks, Al, for continuing to stand up for this country, against idiots like Norm Coleman, who can’t even get his email list correct. I wish you every success in your fight against the Bush/Cheney kleptocracy and the Republican idiocracy. I also wish you success in exposing and halting the shameful, immoral war of choice that Bush, Cheney, and the neocons have lied us into.

Hi Al, I saw Norm’s ad in the paper attacking you and thought I’d visit his site to add my two cents. On Normie’s bandwidth. I totally agree with you. While I’m not surprised by Norm’s ridiculous vote, I was disappointed that Amy Klobuchar followed suit. … Keep up the good work and good luck in your thrashing of Norm next November.

Norm Coleman is a disgusting excuse for a representative, who has colluded with the President and lobbyists, in blatant disregard of his constiuants (sic). Please continue to stand up to him.

Thanks Al for your principles. I’m going to your website now to send you money.

Dear Al: Thanks for all you do. I think it’s great to use Mr. Coleman’s weblink to say hi. The photo of you here looks as if you’re saying (appropriately) “Hey Norm! Pull my finger!”

Thank you Al for doing the right thing. I am a Republican who will vote for you in next year’s election because it is time we have a Senator who doesn’t folow (sic)President Bush and his corruption.

Among the dozen or so Franken supporters contacted by the Independent, not all recalled the “Ridiculous” ad, while others said they did, but only vaguely. A few said they suspected instead that they had landed in Coleman’s files via e-mails they had sent or comments they had submitted on other occasions. None seemed upset about their personal data being exposed, in part because Coleman’s online donors had suffered much more seriously from the breach.

“I believe we contacted Coleman via his SENATE web site asking him to vote against drilling in ANWR,” said John Pususta in an e-mail co-signed by Janine Holter. “We … were contacted by Wikileaks via email [about the breach] … We received no information from the Coleman office. … It distresses us that donor information was compromised. Lucky for us we did not donate to Mr. Coleman.”

Another Franken backer identified as A. Tagento said: “I have heard much about the leak, but did not realize that common constituents’ info was leaked in addition to that of donors to his campaign. I have not been contacted by Sen. Coleman or his people in regard to this leak.”

David Wunderlin said: “I had signed up for campaign news from Coleman during the election. Just to see what misinformation Coleman was spreading against the Democrats.”