Obama’s win in Minnesota helped pushed Al Franken close to victory on Tuesday, but perhaps not close enough. Coleman remains 2000 votes ahead and now both candidates must face a recount, which is automatic for any race with a margin of one percent or less in Minnesota.
The two candidates are not separated by only hundreds of votes and all ballots will now be counted by hand.
It is clear that the race would not have been close is the democratic candidate was not as controversial as Franken who was attacked for past statements and even pornographic writings. That is not exactly the stuff that appeals to Norwegian farmers. Franken proved a much better candidate toward the end of the campaign when he seemed to hit his stride. He started to close the gap with Coleman and then Obama’s win pushed him even closer.
The impressive performance of Independent candidate Barkley surprised both campaigns. He took 15 percent and appears to have hurt both candidates. His draw appears to confirm various pollsters that many citizens were “disgusted” by the two leading choices.
Democrats surprised by this close result in Minnesota should look closely at their archaic primary system and embrace a modern primary model. Peter Agre or other candidates would likely have performed much better against Coleman. Having said that, Franken is clearly very smart and showed some surprising skills as a candidate. However, he was heavily burdened by his past work.
For the current tally, click here.
Remember that most of the troops in Iraq have heavily viewed porn at their forward bases. If ever there was a disconnect between politicians and their real base, this would be it.
Nobody likes a goody-two-shoes.
Whoever thinks that the anti-pornographic vote isn’t literally dying off…ought to talk to younger people.
There is no future in an anti-porn, anti-premarital sex Republican Party.
On a separate isssue, I warned Coleman’s campaign, as a Men’s Rights Activist, that uncastrated males would not vote for him if he did not publicly renounce radical feminism which used to be something Republicans did daily. He wouldn’t do it. I hope he pays the political price.
All non-libertarian Republicans needed to have been voted out of office.
It would hurt the Republican Party to have many non-libertarian survivors in the Senate…who would end up telling future candidates what to do and say to be Republicans…which, if along the lines of social conservatism or “let’s check everyone’s ID before we allow them to go online, is precisely what will keep them from winning office.
Coleman’s lead is evaporating and now he is suing to stop the count. Sound familiar?
Look at it this way:
If Franken wins, his merciless ‘truth through jest’ style could only boost the ratings for C-Span and most likely the Senate itself.
Hate to say it but Franken is a tad creepy for my blood too. Standup does not make for prime qualifications for elected office. Call me patrician.
Rafflaw:
I am not sure if it was a pro-Coleman vote as opposed to an anti-Franken vote. Franken made for a very difficult candidate due to his past writings and statements, including explicit sexual passages that bordered on pornography. That does not play well with the Norwegian farmers. I truly believe that if Agre or another candidate were nominated, Coleman would have lost by a wide margin.
Minnesota voters need to re-examine their quirky primary system and embrace the modern primary model.
JT
I for one have my fingers crossed that the recount will push Franken over the top, but it doesn’t look good right now. I don’t get what the people of Minnesota see in Coleman who was a Yes man for the Bush/Cheney regime, until he started running for re-election.