You can do your own web search and find other reports or analysis, but the above is Eric Black's MinnPost item's lead paragraphs. Read his entire post and decide whether what he leaves unsaid is or is not fair to Clark, and to the process. My view is that Clark is one of the better people in the State to ever seek a congressional seat. She was head and shoulders the superior to Michele Bachmann, in the Sixth last cycle, but the Sixth District demographics probably doomed her from the start. Add to that such a feeble statewide DFL turnout that Dayton almost lost to a clown, and it simply was a bad turnout that, had Emmer won, might have had Minnesota worse than Wisconsin and Ohio, given Emmer and current majorities in both legislative houses in Minnesota. Now, Clark's not been "up there" for twenty to thirty years, and not a part of the DFL establishment there. But she can beat Chip Cravaack, and after his ambush effort catching Oberstar sleeping, he has proven himself deserving of single term status. Put simply we need the best people representing the State, not the worse, and if Clark wins a primary and general election she'd be one of the three best Representatives, along with Walz and Ellison. And that would replace one of the three worse, Kline, Bachmann and Cravaack. Bachmann is worse, but the Sixth District is a lost cause with regard to the woman and her limited capabilities and her wanting self promotion to trump doing the job and representing the district.
Because the last sidebar poll closed with a clear and decisive result, (Limbaugh is largely viewed as a divisive blow-hard without due regard for truth or decency), a new sidebar poll is in order. Have a look. Read the MinnPost - Eric Black item, look at some of the other coverage, and vote - Is Clark doing a good thing or bad, in stating early on that she will run in the DFL primary. In weighing the question, consider the narrow Dayton general election victory, and the hypothetical, if Kelliher as endorsed candidate had been the DFL general election candidate would we now more likely than not be suffering a Governor Emmer? Clearly as a hypothetical there is no "correct" answer, except as a subjective judgment each reader makes for himself/herself. So think it over, and then vote.
__________UPDATE__________
Something probably wrongly omitted in closing the post earlier, MinnPost, here, publishes the entire Clark email notice, which opens:
Since I announced my candidacy for the 8th Congressional seat, I’ve had the opportunity to travel all across this district, from Chisago City to International Falls; from Park Rapids to right here in Duluth. Everywhere I go, I hear the same message over and over again – Congress isn’t working for our families and communities.
It is the voices of the thousands of Minnesotans I’ve met that keeps me going in this campaign - Minnesotans who are struggling to pay a mortgage or find a job, or who are worried that their kids will have a future of smaller dreams.
The stakes are too high to let politics and process override the voice of the people. Today, I’m announcing that I will let the people decide who will be the DFL nominee in the election this year. As a former party leader – a former Associate Chair of the DFL, I vow to work with all DFL’ers to organize and bring more people into the party – to reach out to those who feel disenfranchised and disillusioned. It’s critical that we engage each and every voter in Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District to take part in the decisions that affect our futures.
In the tradition of many of Minnesota’s great DFL leaders, from Congressman Jim Oberstar to Governors Rudy Perpich and Mark Dayton, I will be seeking our party’s nomination in the DFL primary. By going directly to the people in the primary, I will encourage every senior, every student, every teacher, every veteran and every Minnesotan from the 8th district who cares about restoring the priorities of our families and communities to vote this August.
The consequences of our upcoming elections are enormous – and they affect all of us. We must ensure that all citizens engage in this important debate, and that is why I’ve chosen to partake in a more inclusive process this election cycle – one that will energize over 100,000 voters in the district, along with the 3,000 already engaged who attended the caucuses.
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It is an interesting statement from one who was in DFL leadership (where the endorsement process can be a major consideration), with, now, the Republicans seeming the party most vocally challenging one of their own not or possibly not "abiding by the endorsement process."