Given how, surprisingly, Dayton won by only a small margin over the likes of Emmer, I wonder whether Kelliher would have won or lost, had Dayton "abided."
The Dems stayed home, the Republicans voted, and think of how we'd be worse than Wisconsin if we had both houses of the legislature Republican, with Emmer governor.
It is bad enough already, but in that scenario ALEC would be bringing in the sheaves. Big time. Dayton forced and won a primary. And now is Governor, like it or love it.
I disagree with the majority opinion, as shown so far in the poll. My vote has been recorded, in the poll, and still there is the 2-to-1 favoring of abiding. I am unaware of Eighth District DFL politics, but given how local party leadership can narrow to a handful of willing individuals, many saying "not me," it can also become unrepresentative of a spectrum of opinion or can show closed ranks. He's from here for years. She's not.
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| photo from this link |
Should a party process, alone, or a vote testing citizen opinion be decisive, for picking a party's candidacy?
As one not in any party leadership circles, IP, DFL, or GOP - I like the idea of a vote, before the general election.
As one aware of how campaigns now have degenerated into a money game, with early entry into a candidacy being needed to start soliciting contributions, I do understand that the process and realities of money talking favors lessening spending at a primary election level in order to fight the best [best financed] fight possible in a general election. In the Dayton case, money to campaign was not an issue. Most often it is.
I think it is an overemphasized cliche that contests can become bitter and negative, and a bitter and negative - and extended - primary contest can harm general election chances. I expect one will see closed ranks behind Romney, or if there's a brokered convention the brokered candidate - Jeb perhaps - among the GOP. After all, while contesting each other and going negative, there's been no shortage of demonizing Obama as a unity theme, and once one is winner, GOP ranks will close on that theme.
Progressives are dissatisfied, big time, with Obama's inaction and compromise on health care and other things even before the contest starts, but with a Romney, a Jeb, a Gingrich or a Santorum as an alternative, progressives are not stupid. The GOP will never run Ron Paul, so that's not a consideration. Rand Paul as a Veep on a ticket is possible, but second spot almost never is a deciding factor.
At a brokered GOP convention a Jeb-and-Rand ticket would not be impossible. My guess, however, is Obama's seen as likely a two-term president, with Jeb and Rubio and others planning for 2016 and not wanting to be today's loser.
Romney seems uniquely fit for the role, first because he is a loser, and then because next go-round he can simply be told he's had his turn. Financially successful as a corporate raider, a serial killer if corporations are people, but a loser as a human with appeal to any general electorate outside of Massachusetts, where he surprisingly made it to Governor. Others may not see him as robotic as he appears to me, but each of us can only go by personal viewpoints that way. I have not seen much written online of how, "You can't help but love Mitt Romney for the human warmth he projects." Not that warmth and lovability matter much, (after all Gingrich has prospered), but just - "cold fish" seems the best brief description of Mitt Romney.
In 2016, who sees Santorum as again being any factor whatsoever? He is where he is now, trailing the likes of Mitt Romney, and that suggests he is destined for the scrap heap once the Republicans have convened. At least we can hope that.
_________UPDATE________
Diogenes is likely to keep the lantern on in facing Cravaack, unless/until the Chipper's campaign webpage (the about-page) is edited a hair more honestly:
Captain Chip Cravaack (US Navy Reserve-Retired) was born in Charleston, West Virginia but raised in a small suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. He is the third generation of military servicemen in his family. At an early age, his parents instilled in him the principles of duty, honor and country. Because of the demands of being a Navy Pilot and Northwest Airlines Pilot, Chip has lived in many different states and traveled to many different countries, but it is in Minnesota where he has chosen to settle his family. He believes that in Minnesota, the work ethic of the people, the educational opportunities, the focus on the family and the abundant outdoor activities are incomparable. These are the qualities that made him love this part of the country and why he decided to make Minnesota his home.
[...] Chip’s wife, Traci, holds an MBA from The Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota and they have two sons Nick and Grant.
Diogenes, shine your light on that.Wow. Nothing there about New Hampshire. He likes Minnesota "the focus on the family," (yes the man is innovative in picking phrases). Yet there is only that last paragraph throw-in about his family. All he has to say about Traci and the kids - names and numbers. What about the job? What about truthfulness about where they really live?
In the context of the highlighted lead paragraph text, Diogenes would say same-old, same-old, for sure. Lantern still bright. At least the truth is out, with Cravaack having admitted it [while not fixing the apparent and retained website misstatement].
Here, here, and here.
Check the Wikipedia page, where it says "Residence" - I did the screen grab in anticipation of dueling edits, on that thing, but this is as of today and now, how the page stands [red underlining added], excerpted:
Good luck, if you try to follow the Wikipedia, Note 22 link to reporting. There's a Catch 22 to the Note 22. Links that are publicly open, trouble-free, are given above. Also, here.
____________FURTHER UPDATE____________
That cockpit photo of CC from his website, is it from his Delta days, (back when it was Northwest with more jobs here), or from within a small commuting craft for the DC, District, home in New Hampshire loop the man maintains?
Or, short the District - after all, he is a strong family man.