Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Bluestem Prairie and Gary Gross both write of Nelson v. Franson, an inner party top dog contest over a single legislative seat.

Sorensen, here, linking to Gross, here. Clearly, in Gary's comment thread the answer is Nelson believes she'd do a better job than Franson and that's her cause for the challenge. Not that such a belief constitutes too high a self image, given where the bar has been set.

Now, does Franson have any outstanding SBA loan, and if so is it being serviced? Ditto, for Nelson.

A brand spanking new litmus test, besides abortion-hate, for Republican candidates, thanks to circumstance.

CLARIFICATION/CORRECTION: Sorensen had two posts on point, not a single one, i.e., here AND as previously noted, here. Sorensen's "lesser evil" post details how Nelson appears well able to make it under the bar set by Ms. Franson's legislative/election performances. Huffed over all the wrong things, it seems. Except, Franson had a narrow brush with defeat last election, snatching the seat as remaining hers per recount, and for the GOP one wonders whether that's a greater sin than SBA loan default; posting of the Laura Brod skivies photo, or other deviance from strict orthodoxy.

There surely seems a resounding and universal lack of GOP concern to get to the bottom of that skivies photo thing. Among them, no, treat it as if it never happened, to Regent Brod, move on, nothing to see here, ....

Unresponsiveness to investigate and act tells a story.

UPDATE: Press coverage of Nelson v. Franson here and here. Curiously, a link to Bluestem Prairie, here.

___________UPDATE____________
Reader help needed. A link to any online bio of Sue Nelson. Franson as a legislator already has public pages, and has been in the news. Nelson has a generic name that makes websearch difficult, i.e., noise intensive - too many such Sues. Best I could figure, search = Gretchen Hoffman, then presume Gretchen was cloned, like Dolly the sheep, and the clone was given the name Sue Nelson. Readers, please send links by email or via comments, to flesh out who Sue Nelson is, her education, work and business experience, and her record of published public commentary. The race is interesting, and the Gary Gross post, its tenor, adds to the interest. Do read it. Just at a gut level, Franson appears as more a survivor, and Nelson a complainer. Hard to say, on scant evidence, obviously; but that race is interesting in itself and as an example of something else. Factionalism and opportunism are human traits that are innate as well as culturally shaped. Is there a "we" vs "they" dimension, or just two folks wanting one chair? On a gut level again, two at the other end of the political spectrum from where I am, Franson looks better. And that is a "Wow, really," assessment in a two-horse race on a rural minor track.

____________FURTHER UPDATE____________
And this is important. Instead of a lesser evil context as set out above, there appears to be a greater good consideration, or two, pending caucus decision making. MPP, here and here, most recent first. The Simon v. Hilstrom Secretary of State DFL contest is another one in greater good posture. And what dreadful alternative awaits us there, on the GOP side of things? Darkness, in the dreary ALEC land? Unfortunately, there is a recorded history, suggesting either a spiff and make up, or a lingering thing. Either way, abiding by the caucus endorsement process, working for the common good, should prevail, in all three contests - GOP in the hinterlands, and DFL focus on winning Secretary of State as well as holding onto a district seat. Party civil war, either party, involves casualties.

____________FURTHER UPDATE____________
It takes a total pompous idiot to make Mary Franson by comparison look good, and with a link sent by a reader, it appears Sue Nelson has that talent in her:

G.O.P.-- the Growth and Opportunity Party, is a call to action for our drive to put forth conservative values. And we shall perservere [sic]!

I pay tribute once again to Congressman Arlan Stangeland, who was called Home to the Lord this year. A true patriot, a can do kind of American, Arlan set the bar high for those of us who have inherited the Party of Lincoln. Arlan believed in our county, our district, our state and our nation and to him and all those who went before, we can, no we MUST carry on. Arlan was quoted, when asked by his daughter, why he kept doing all that he did. She explained to him that he had put in his time, that he could let others do the work..His reply is another reminder that we are in this fight for the long haul. He respnded [sic], "I don't have "quit" in me". How humbling and a call to US that this nation, GOD given, is worth the fight. NONE of us should have QUIT in us.

When the New Year arrives, as always, be thankful for all that the Lord has given us. Remember those who have given so much to this country. Our veterans deserve so much more than we can ever repay but we can start with respect and our prayers, with support and with gratitude. We owe them no less.

Cliche, typos, lots of GOD, "... our drive to put forth conservative values." Maybe she meant, "put fourth," as in after God, Country, and Family. Then after that, fourth, conservative values. Or would Apple Pie be in there too. Likely, apple pie would be subsumed in "consevative values" in the Sue Nelson worldview.

What should Landslide Franson worry about, in that? Franson might as well look on to the general election. At least Ms. Nelson did not characterize Stangeland as having been "raptured," there is that in her favor. The word "died" was available, but apparently not fit for use by Nelson. Also, "went before?" As in, died previously, I think that's what she means.

Pompous to a fault.

How about, "Arlan Strangeland died, and we will miss him." After all, that's all she really wrote.

The quote is from "Notes from the Chair," http://www.otcgop.com/

Sally Jo Sorensen's first post on Nelson v Franson sets out an entire statement, lengthy not pithy, in which Nelson boldly declares, "You all know me to be issue based, and with that I ask that we realize that the true threat to our freedoms is the march of liberalism and those ugly tentacles that would destroy our rural way of life, our families, and our economy." Gee. Ugly tentacles, okay.

Lady, the truth is folks who read cannot find a word on "issues" in any cogent and sensibly presented manner to follow up on your claim. But there is "our rural way of life, our families and our economy," which also would put fourth, "conservative values," if separate and not subsuming all those things glommed in there with messy sticky apple pie to be a mishmosh named "conservative values."

Does any reader know of a link where this Otter Tail County Republican leader says "boo" one way or another on a real issue, a policy she'd pursue if elected, thoughts about bills she'd present if elected, (any of that boring old stuff she eschews getting into)? If so, please send a link. How would Nelson propose generating quality jobs for young college educated residents of Otter Tail County, to keep them there contributing to the local economy? God provides? Is there any more to it? What is the action plan she has in mind to help veterans, and with what problems? "Our veterans deserve so much more than we can ever repay but we can start with respect and our prayers, with support and with gratitude," is fine as a platitude. But, so what, Ms. N, unless you have distinct policy suggestions in there somewhere in your head? If so, it would not hurt to state them. At least one.

___________FURTHER UPDATE___________
Also from the Otter Tail GOP website, this item. Paralleling the text.

___________FURTHER UPDATE___________
I think I have found an issue. Guns-R-Us.

Facebook. Here and here. Screen capture, from last link:

click to enlarge, read, and shrug

This screen capture from the first link per this update, the Facebook page for the family business, hinting to Nelson having Second Amendment issues:


Want more? Click a thumbnail.


And that is the family business, as the family publicizes it to the world, on the web, Sue Nelson posting. Moreover, pinning things down beyond doubt, the Mike McFeely KFGO post on the Sue Nelson candidacy notes:

The Alexandria Echo Press newspaper says Nelson owns Nelson Talent and Event Management, and along with her husband, Brian, also owns and operates Tactical Defense Systems, teaching permit to carry/conceal carry classes and personal defense and protection classes.

Teaching guns, preaching guns, God, guns, and --- more guns.

Back in 2009, this. Back in 2010, this. 2010, behind a paywall but with a pic of Mr. Nelson, here.

Last, Sue Nelson writes LTEs, at least this one, in the same bloviating, flagwaving, God loving, wordy fashion as when posting on the county GOP website [as was quoted above].

Gun lust, at a cliche level, multiple cliche levels, boy does Mary Franson [yes her] look sound by comparison.

___________FURTHER UPDATE___________
This saddens me, as I wrote parts of this post that can be misread from my intention. First, when I say Sorensen posted and Gary Gross also posted, and this:

Sorensen's "lesser evil" post details how Nelson appears well able to make it under the bar set by Ms. Franson's legislative/election performances. Huffed over all the wrong things, it seems. Except, Franson had a narrow brush with defeat last election, snatching the seat as remaining hers per recount, and for the GOP one wonders whether that's a greater sin than SBA loan default; posting of the Laura Brod skivies photo, or other deviance from strict orthodoxy.

My intent was to suggest the GOP is huffed not over Franson's general performance, Gary Gross being an example where he says she is a favorite legislator of his. They are huffed over her almost losing a seat. I erred, as it might be read that I was saying Sorensen was "huffed," somehow wrongly.

WRONG. Dead wrong. A bad writing error on my part. Sorensen found and focused on something showing a bad aspect of Tea Party Gestalt, challenging its own people for not being pure enough by some hard to understand measure, since Franson and Nelson seem like two peas in a pod.

In a true sense I am mortified that I wrote something that could be read the wrong way.

The GOP per Nelson v Franson shoots at one another over negligible differences, while turning a blind eye to the Nienow situation and the fact that the Brod photo has to have been an internecine thing, not a DFL challenge of Brod.

I was not suggesting Sorensen was looking wrongly at the Nelson v Franson situation, or wrong in focusing upon it. She highlighted two GOP candidates with little difference sniping at one another, asking why, and I meant to say, moreover they snipe at each other while ignoring their worse inner-party contradictions while so posturing.

Next, a second thing that was simply very poorly written:

Sally Jo Sorensen's first post on Nelson v Franson sets out an entire statement, lengthy not pithy, in which Nelson boldly declares, "You all know me to be issue based, and with that I ask that we realize that the true threat to our freedoms is the march of liberalism and those ugly tentacles that would destroy our rural way of life, our families, and our economy." Gee. Ugly tentacles, okay.

To convey what I intended, I should have written:

Sally Jo Sorensen's first post on Nelson v Franson sets out a quote of an entire Nelson email statement, in which Nelson's email is lengthy not pithy, and in which Nelson boldly declares, "You all know me to be issue based, and with that I ask that we realize that the true threat to our freedoms is the march of liberalism and those ugly tentacles that would destroy our rural way of life, our families, and our economy." Gee. Ugly tentacles, okay.

Boy, I screwed up writing in a way that a reader might say I was aiming that criticism at Sorensen's work. No way would I want to say or imply that. She's a better writer than I am. How it is.

Again for crystal clarity: I was not and would not imply Sorensen's analysis and structuring her post was "lengthy not pithy" as that would be untrue. Yet the sorry way I wrote it might be read that way. The Nelson email is what was lengthy and not pithy. Read it. It is. Sorensen correctly posted it, and it speaks for itself.

So, correcting things as clearly as I can - Sorensen wrote two sequenced posts on Ms. Nelson, each of which was well written and gained my interest to try to see who Nelson is as a Tea Party and GOP leader in her part of Minnesota wanting to run against one who appears little different from Nelson and whose greatest sin to GOP folks there was almost losing an election; not any deviation from adherence to a Nelson-like world view.

Sorensen suggested Nelson might be a greater evil in the eyes of us who think differently than either Nelson or Franson, or that it's hard to call which of the two is a lesser evil. The observation was sound, and it was what got me wondering who Nelson is to be challenging Franson because Franson is a known entity statewide, and Nelson is not. Had Sorensen not written, Gary Gross would not have written, and I would have missed the issue. But for Sorensen's attention I had no notice of the quite interesting situation.

Another issue Sorensen has been on the leading edge is the fracking sand debate. I know nothing of it, and have hence not posted, but Sorensen deserves respect and honor for taking on the issue as well as she has.

BOTTOM LINE: Sorensen is an asset in Minnesota to those who think and read in Minnesota. Without her attention to things of interest to her, and her taking the time to write of them, many in the State would know less of things that are important politically.

I see how I wrote poorly, inexactly to a far too great degree, and there was nothing to do but publicly say so, and to clarify my belief, as sincerely as I can state it: Sorensen is an excellent writer, and her analysis of issues and choice of things to write of is also excellent.

____________FURTHER UPDATE____________
While Mary Franson is not one I would generally praise, in a Nelson v. Franson worldview juxtaposition, consider where the sounder perspective might exist in the context of this Strib item - medical marijuana in Minnesota. Or in terms of personal privacy from the reach of employer scrutiny or police data gathering. Franson's libertarian-flavored approach might be inferred from two City Pages posts, here and here. Nelson, the gun-bunny with a family history in narc law enforcement, is an unknown factor, and hard to guess even with what that background suggests. If this is to be an issue based contest, the position of each on such issues, showing libertarian vs authoritarian mindset, might be illuminating. Presuming either cares to get to such issues where disagreement might exist vs same-old same-old posturing by each on the "core" Republican base issues - where, not in that camp, I again could only guess there'd be a high congruence. With a split in the GOP between libertarian thinking and authoritarian Tea Party imposition of religion against the separation of church and state [e.g., Mary Kiffmeyer in the authoritarian camp], possibly Franson might be the lesser advocate of an authoritarian mindset, that way. It might be very refreshing if the two GOP candidates were to debate, and the local press and possibly statewide outlets were to give coverage. Right now it seems the Republicans are more into defining themselves and their range of membership than the DFL, in Minnesota. Progressives can be frustrated with the DFL camp's being the only real alternative they have, and with it being less progressive than it might well be. But DFL cohesiveness, despite that, now seems greater than in the GOP, making observation the GOP and its Angst more interesting to view and think about, from outside its ranks. The DFL, being more steady, is somewhat more boring. On a national level, having ones in the Dem camp such as Max Baucus, can make progressives puke.

___________FURTHER UPDATE____________
Sue and Brian Nelson, three generations of public paid paychecks, and Tea Party? Go figure.

The feeding hand deserves a bite, or two? The nature of gratitude?

Running that gun business together. "Friday gun porn" posts and all. Latest, a "Radically Invasive Projectile" featured. That's R.I.P. for you, folks. And yup, the gunslinger website does note that.

click image to read
And -- WOW!! Look at that melon. If you intend to shoot and kill somebody, that's the latest and greatest round to load. Yes/no?

Back to biting the hand, since that galls. Shrink government but not police forces? Come on.

Brian, 35 years on public paychecks, per the headline here. Number one son, same life goal reported:

When Mac recently told his father [Brian Nelson] that he, too, wanted to enter law enforcement, Nelson did as his father had done years ago: He tried to talk his son out of it. The profession is characterized by unusual hours, physical and mental stressors and a high divorce rate, Nelson said. There’s also the fact that officers are often dealing with people at their worst.

Mac says some of his earliest memories are of his father’s absence during the Nelsons’ years in Washington County. Nelson’s narcotics job had him working at all hours and Mac remembers waking up some mornings to learn his father had been called away hours earlier. In one instance, Nelson was gone for a few days on a series of drug busts, his location unbeknownst to his family. During his patrol days, Nelson went years before spending Christmas Eve with his wife, Susan, who eventually signed a ride-along waiver so she could spend the day with her husband.

Those stories haven’t swayed Mac, who would one day like to work in narcotics.

As to attitude, reporting from a 2010 Perham Tea Party is:

PERHAM — A grassroots effort calling for less government spending and limited government involvement in Americans’ lives came to Perham last Friday.

An estimated 350 braved the icy roads and filed into the Perham Area Community Center for a Tea Party hosted by Heart of the Land Conservatives.

[...] “The Tea Party Friday night was a huge success on so many fronts,” said Sue Nelson. “It was a great turnout considering the weather; great response to the speakers and citizen participation, and a wonderful reflection of what the Tea Party movement is all about: a non-partisan gathering of individuals who are mobilized to bring attention to excessive government spending and taxation.”

[...] Nelson blames both Democrats and Republican politicians for creating big government.

“Big government is not the answer and it is high time we realize that, knock off the party crap and recognize first and foremost we are Americans and read the Constitution,” she said.

[...] Perham Police Chief Brian Nelson spoke about protecting Second Amendment rights, which is the right to keep and bear arms.

“I know we’re not supposed to be single issue voters, and I don’t think I am. But the one thing I do look at is how a candidate feels about the 2nd Amendment,” Nelson said.

Nelson said he uses where candidates stand on this issue as a barometer for whom he may support.

“This isn’t about guns. It’s about freedom. It’s about individual rights. It’s about trust and the liberties of people living in a free society.”

Wow, freedom, individual rights and liberties, a free society.

Young Mac wants to become a narc.

Anything else?

Well not that far apart, Alexandria and Perham, and one may expect the town police to know each other.

Does that factor at all, into this?

Franson says she had two drinks in three hours and was more than sober enough to drive herself home. But as she prepared to exit the bar and restaurant, something strange happened -- one of the employees began "interrogating" her about how she was going to get home and then began "laughing at [her] hysterically," according to Franson.

It seemed to Franson that she was being ridiculed, and as she left she had a strange premonition that employees might call the cops as part of an effort to "harass" her.

On her way home, she says she was followed by a cop for a bit, but wasn't pulled over. And that was that.

Or so she thought. [...]

Food for thought. Perhaps and perhaps not. It might be that for now Franson needs to move and act most cautiously. Somebody in her own party wants her legislative seat. Gunning for the seat, one could say.

_____________FURTHER UPDATE_____________
This is a hoot. Gretchen Hoffman, possibly others, started this sorry thing called "Heart of the Land Conservatives," with a legacy blog presence mission-values page. Note the footer, copyright 2009. Dilettante entry, inability or unwillingness to maintain an effort. But read that stuff. Global warming denial too.

Gretchen also affiliated a short-lived blog, also copyright 2009, here. Where the hoot comes in.

The last of Gretchen's three (3) posts before abandonment of the thing, is a guest post, by "Sue N."

From all the capitalization and multiple exclamation points, it has to be Sue Nelson. Her way, that way.

What is the hoot, besides the meandering repetition within the post, is how the thing has been comment spammed with nither Gretchen nor Sue N., caring a whit, here, e.g.:

[...]

I kid you not. So "focused" on the rhetoric I suppose, that a laughable spam infested comment thread was permitted.

Check out the link. Is this the legislative mind and quality to send to St. Paul? Even with Mary Franson there now? Credible at all? In your view?

P.S. I did a website capture/save, in case the thing is ever scrubbed from the Internet. It deserves preservation.