Eden Prairie News - Commentary: A note to a former classmate: Stop the negative advertising - Comments

For Franken, a math

Gino G — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 13:11:56 -0600

For Franken, a math problem.
Challenged ballots may offer the Senate challenger a path to overtaking Coleman, but numbers indicate it would be a tough route.

By PAT DOYLE and GLENN HOWATT, Star Tribune

Last update: November 30, 2008 - 12:52 PM
While a tiny margin separates the candidates in the Minnesota U.S. Senate race, it is wide enough that Democrat Al Franken faces a daunting task in challenging votes to erase Sen. Norm Coleman's lead.

The two sides have disputed thousands of the other's votes, but many of those challenges are regarded by experts as frivolous.

To win his case before the state Canvassing Board, Franken must prevail on more than 6 percent of his challenges of Coleman votes even if Coleman fails to succeed on any of his challenges, a Star Tribune analysis shows.

If the outcome of past election disputes provides a clue, Franken will have a hard time reversing enough votes to win, said one veteran elections official who has been involved in the Senate recount.

"Based upon the kinds of challenges I've been looking at in the last two weeks, I think that's just not going to happen," said Joe Mansky, Ramsey County elections manager.
http://www.startribune.com/politics/35263049.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEy...

You would think liberals

sd42webmaster — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 11:19:06 -0600

You would think liberals would be celebrating this month. You would think they would be reveling in their smashing success -- in a few short weeks Obama will be President, Democrats will have near veto-proof majorities in both houses of Congress, they can go ahead with their socialist plans and no one will be there to stop them.

But no, they aren't happy. They need another round of Erik Paulsen-bashing.

Vile? Here is what is vile, Mr. Bromelkamp, Democrats like you who write screeds about "vile attacks" and then spend all day long on websites like Minnesota Democrats Exposed . . . making vile attacks.

Democrats actually want you to believe Republicans are full of dirty tricks while they are pure as the driven snow. Do you want proof? Four years ago -- or so the story goes -- John Kerry was "Swiftboated". Never mind the fact that 264 of John Kerry’s fellow Swift Boat veterans signed a petition against him, and only 13 took his side.

And Barack Obama told Tennessee Republicans to "Lay off my wife" for attacking some of her public statements.

You can’t get lower than THAT, can you?

Until we start to learn that liberals will dredge to the depths of hell to get as low and dirty as they can, and then they will keep on digging. And they will stop at absolutely nothing until they have reached absolute rock bottom.

In the three days after Sarah Palin was announced to be the pick for VP, the NY Times ran no fewer than 67 articles attacking her. Everything from "she’s no Hillary" to "her hair looks 20 years out of date" to "she’s got a Fargo accent". They attacked the church she goes to and repeated the lie that she’s a seperatist nut-case, that she wants Alaska to break off from the United States.

But it's funny. I don't remember you or Ken writing ONE WORD defending Sarah Palin or complaining about how she was treated in this campaign.

The smears went on and on. They said that Palin was a bad mother who put her own ambitions ahead of her baby to advance her career. Democrats are all heart. They smear their opponent as someone who doesn’t even care enough to watch over her own children.

But the attack machine does not stop there. Then Democrats claimed that Sarah Palin is not the mother of Trig. No, the baby born with Downs Syndrome, according to Democrats, is really her granddaughter from her daughter Bristol.

And even that isn't low enough -- oh no! Soon stories were out that Sarah's husband, Todd Palin, was the incestuous father of the kid. Sarah, according to some Dems, faked her pregnancy in order to explain away the fact that her husband’s DNA was in the baby.

One blogger, Charles Martin, at last count, compiled at least 84 lies about Sarah Palin.

And now the slime merchants and bottom feeders who dragged Sarah Palin's family through the mud want to lecture the rest of us about clean campaigns? Yeah -- good luck with that!

Erik knew the vile charges

danbrome — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 13:37:14 -0600

Erik knew the vile charges against Ashwin were wrong:

* Not "one of us"
* Liar, Liar, Liar.. he lie here, and here, and here.
* Ashwin's face darkened to look like a terrorist at best.
* $2600 per family in fictitious Madia tax increases
* Carpetbagger with no connection to the 3rd CD

Erik knew, but he accepted the attacks as his way to "win".

"I'm Erik Paulsen, and I approved this message."

Like you said Ken, the look on Erik's face said it all. In his heart he was troubled by the ads, but he allowed them anyway because he had to win even if it meant selling his soul.

Commentary: A note to a former classmate: Stop the negative advertising

Karla — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 07:00:00 -0600

By Ken Shindler

Editor’s note: This is an open letter from Ken Schindler to his former classmate, newly elected Congressman Erik Paulsen.

Dear Erik,

I was reminded of why I wanted to write you on the way to work today. I saw your face up on the massive billboard just past Highway 6 on 494 North. You know the one. You’re standing next to current Congressman Jim Ramstad. Both of you wearing smart suits and easy smiles. Summer foliage in the background. Your name in blue block letters set in a blaze of orange.