And the four page Franken mailer has the message well presented, with these being scans of its two key pages (as always, click an image to enlarge and read it):
It is most unfortunate to me as a Congressional Sixth District voter, that the local DFL elite has hung a big-time boat anchor around poor Al Franken's neck. On this issue. A boat anchor to possibly pull him down to defeat. That boat anchor is named Elwyn Tinklenberg.
The DFL Sixth District leadership, by favoring and inducing endorsement of Tinklenberg down ticket from Al, for the House seat, have made it much harder for the Franken anti-"pay to play" message to resonate as true and more than a slogan.
They saddle Franken with a pay to play transportation lobbyist, Elwyn Tinklenberg, when Al is properly, sincerely and laudably running against exactly such abuse.
Tinklenberg has been all over creation in-state after leaving his position heading MnDOT, soliciting contracts for governmental entities to pay him and his Tinklenberg Group business subordinates money, many such arrangements being by no-bid contracts, with the money paid Tinklenberg and his people to lobby and promote and help arrange and/or secure federal transportation pork for pet local highway projects.
In doing so, Tinklenberg is shown in a number of online governmental minutes as dropping repeatedly the name James Oberstar, noting Oberstar is chairman of the House Transporation Committee, and implying he is privy to Oberstar thinking and priority setting, on federal road and rail fund allocation.
In effect Tinklenberg is saying, James Oberstar is a good friend, he holds purse strings, we talk and have talked, and if you pay me I will help you play your hand.
Pay to play.
Not literally pitched solely as pay me to play, but, go figure - what's unique about this man beyond his ability to say "Oberstar" and sit at the same table shuffling paperwork in parallel. Has he any real talent beyond that? As his main pitch for being elected has been that he is not Michele Bachmann, with little to offer otherwise and difficulty generating enthusiasm or fund raising until he got a treasure trove free gift from nationwide donations, not for any merit he might have, but because Michele Bachmann on MSNBC's Hardball shot her mouth off about patriotism of others and suggesting neo-McCarthism might be a fine thing.
That "I'm not Bachmann" theme is not unique, there are two other ways to cast your ballot than for either Bachmann or Tinklenberg - those being the Independence Party ballot choice, Bob Anderson, or the GOP write-in choice, Aubrey Immelman.
Each is more appealing in my view than either Bachmann or Tinklenberg.
I truly hope that Franken does not lose this election based on unfavorable Sixth District and Iron Range Eighth District voting, where papers on the Range inexplicably have endorsed Republican Coleman and Blue Dog Democrat Eighth District long-time incumbent Oberstar, suggesting voters split their tickets in a way unfavorable to Franken's chances.
And Franken's race might be the closest in the State, with his election needed to get a filibuster-proof 60 vote majority, so that the GOP in the Senate minority cannot blackmail concessions on needed legislation by threat of filibuster. That is a major issue of great importance. We need Franken to win.
In the best of worlds the Sixth District DFL elite would not have so saddled Al Franken in his Senate race.
But they did.
In the best of worlds Al Franken's superiority over Norm Coleman would carry the day, despite Tinklenberg, Oberstar, or any other local impediments he might need to overcome. Despite lukewarm love from the Eighth District.
We have to hope Obama has broad coat tails.
That and Franken's merit should do it.
We hope.
We wait.
We see.
Please, whatever else you do, vote Franken.