New Star Tribune Minnesota Poll on Senate race deals a wild card: Ciresi

Maybe the Strib wants Ciresi Three comments at this point:

I am a strong Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer fan, but I really like Mike Ciresi as a person and I fundamentally trust his integrity.  When his campaign was active, he repeatedly and publicly said that he would not run against the DFL state convention endorsement.  He could do it; he obviously has the money.  But, odd as it may seem, I just think he is a man of his word and I don’t think he will do it.

As a JNP person, I take no pleasure in how much traction these right-wing smears have had against Al Franken.  I have to say, I still think this is really absurd to claim that Franken is either trying to stiff his workers or trying to avoid paying taxes.  I think Democrats need to consider long and hard about how much the mainstream media has been in the pocket of the right-wing corporate interests.  If Minnesota Democrats Exposed had been the only place for these ridiculous charges to appear, it would not have inflicted much damage at all.  Having the Strib and others repeat the charges again and again is what has done the damage.  In the long run, this cozy echoing of false rumors does no Democrats any good.  Nor does, obviously, the near total ban of Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer’s name and record from their pages.  Obviously, the Strib could use a few reporters and ditch a few rumors.

Third, what in the world would motivate the Strib to include Ciresi in the polls at all.  He’s not a candidate.  And if they had any serious reporters on this Senate race, they would realize that Ciresi’s campaign was going nowhere for months (as much as I personally think Ciresi is about a million times more qualified than Coleman for that job).  No, I think Ciresi is the Strib’s candidate.  Of the Democrats, he is just more corporate somehow, and therefore more trustworthy in their book.  Well, they had better think again.  Seriously, Ciresi’s imagined potential candidacy is going about the same place as the Strib’s profits.

Wny not include Jesse Or Mr. Underwood, or myself?  At least Mr. Underwood has actually had his name before an endorsing convention as a candidate for the US Senate.

The Minnesota poll in general is not well regarded here in the blogosphere, and not without good reason.  Their polling timing is usually suspect and they include silly, outlying questions which can bias the rest of the poll.

I think that the endorsement struggle has very inflamed passions on both sides, and that both JNP and Al supporters think it is reasonable to expect they will emerge victorious.  As a result, any poll is going to return high negatives for Mr. Franken which will evaporate after the endorsement is settled.  I am greatly pleased to hear Mr. Underwood condemn the GOP attacks on Mr. Franken.  Regardless of whom the attackers claim to support, they are giving aide to the incumbent.

Even if it were not for the lively endorsement struggle, polling at this early date is less than useless.  We don’t even know who will be filling the third spot on the ballot.  Who will the Indpendence party spoil it for this time?  My guess is they’ll run someone else who supports the federal sales tax instead of the federal income tax, and sink Coleman.

Furthermore, Mr. Franken has not been playing to his general election strength yet – his moderate positions on actual issues.  Letting his opponents remind the DFL base about his contempt for the RW noise machine is an endorsement winning strategy.  After that we’ll hear about logical, incremental, and, well, rational (rather than blind) plans for Iraqi troop withdrawals.  We’ll hear about a reasonable plan to allow states to improve healthcare access.  We’ll hear endlessly about Coleman’s failure to serve our state adequately.

Including Ciresi seems like an insult to Al and Jack, who have worked so hard during this campaign.  He’s not in the race.  Sheesh.

Maybe the Strib wants Ciresi Three comments at this point:

I am a strong Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer fan, but I really like Mike Ciresi as a person and I fundamentally trust his integrity.  When his campaign was active, he repeatedly and publicly said that he would not run against the DFL state convention endorsement.  He could do it; he obviously has the money.  But, odd as it may seem, I just think he is a man of his word and I don't think he will do it.

As a JNP person, I take no pleasure in how much traction these right-wing smears have had against Al Franken.  I have to say, I still think this is really absurd to claim that Franken is either trying to stiff his workers or trying to avoid paying taxes.  I think Democrats need to consider long and hard about how much the mainstream media has been in the pocket of the right-wing corporate interests.  If Minnesota Democrats Exposed had been the only place for these ridiculous charges to appear, it would not have inflicted much damage at all.  Having the Strib and others repeat the charges again and again is what has done the damage.  In the long run, this cozy echoing of false rumors does no Democrats any good.  Nor does, obviously, the near total ban of Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer's name and record from their pages.  Obviously, the Strib could use a few reporters and ditch a few rumors.

Third, what in the world would motivate the Strib to include Ciresi in the polls at all.  He's not a candidate.  And if they had any serious reporters on this Senate race, they would realize that Ciresi's campaign was going nowhere for months (as much as I personally think Ciresi is about a million times more qualified than Coleman for that job).  No, I think Ciresi is the Strib's candidate.  Of the Democrats, he is just more corporate somehow, and therefore more trustworthy in their book.  Well, they had better think again.  Seriously, Ciresi's imagined potential candidacy is going about the same place as the Strib's profits.

Wny not include Jesse Or Mr. Underwood, or myself?  At least Mr. Underwood has actually had his name before an endorsing convention as a candidate for the US Senate.

The Minnesota poll in general is not well regarded here in the blogosphere, and not without good reason.  Their polling timing is usually suspect and they include silly, outlying questions which can bias the rest of the poll.

I think that the endorsement struggle has very inflamed passions on both sides, and that both JNP and Al supporters think it is reasonable to expect they will emerge victorious.  As a result, any poll is going to return high negatives for Mr. Franken which will evaporate after the endorsement is settled.  I am greatly pleased to hear Mr. Underwood condemn the GOP attacks on Mr. Franken.  Regardless of whom the attackers claim to support, they are giving aide to the incumbent.

Even if it were not for the lively endorsement struggle, polling at this early date is less than useless.  We don't even know who will be filling the third spot on the ballot.  Who will the Indpendence party spoil it for this time?  My guess is they'll run someone else who supports the federal sales tax instead of the federal income tax, and sink Coleman.

Furthermore, Mr. Franken has not been playing to his general election strength yet – his moderate positions on actual issues.  Letting his opponents remind the DFL base about his contempt for the RW noise machine is an endorsement winning strategy.  After that we'll hear about logical, incremental, and, well, rational (rather than blind) plans for Iraqi troop withdrawals.  We'll hear about a reasonable plan to allow states to improve healthcare access.  We'll hear endlessly about Coleman's failure to serve our state adequately.

Including Ciresi seems like an insult to Al and Jack, who have worked so hard during this campaign.  He's not in the race.  Sheesh.