If Only In Your Dreams...

So I spent the day running around Park City with a bunch of other ladies looking for the bargain of the day (and we found some doozies). After I made myself some hot tea (we spent more time gabbing and laughing than anything else) I sat down to sort through some emails. One of the first ones I saw was a Google Alert for Al Franken. One of the links was to a site that commented on a WSJ column with the headline "Al Franken Camp Claims 4 Vote Lead". The other was to this progressive site which made the rather audacious claim that Franken actually had a 76 vote lead.

There is only one small problem with both of those scenarios. Reality does not match EITHER claim. According to the Secretary of State's website (and they have the final say on the results of this election kids) tells a completely different story.

Precincts Recounted: 99.98% (4129 of 4130)

Last update was: 12/5/2008 8:00:01 PM

	Totals
Nov. 4 Ballots Cast for Norm Coleman	1210995
Nov. 4 Ballots Cast for Al Franken	1210285

Yes there are still approximately 5000 disputed ballots out there, but the number of ballots are evenly distributed between the two candidates. If the votes that each candidate challenged were legit challenges (and most were not according to impartial witnesses) and upheld, there is not enough of a difference between the two. Even if you added in the "missing" 133 votes (which were overcounts for Franken in the first place) from Minneapolis Precinct P3-1 that is STILL not enough to make up a 710 vote deficit. So unless the US Senate decides to do something horribly stupid, it looks like Norm Coleman will indeed retain his US Senate seat.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but the numbers just do not add up in Franken's benefit.

Another Wild Ride

Talk about a roller coaster day. First the news of the recount starts of with a big Franken gain.

Remember when we used to brag about Minnesota’s election system? It seems to have developed a few blemishes since then. The state has now launched an investigation as to how 171 ballots suddenly materialized in a Maplewood precinct, giving Al Franken a 37-vote boost in the process. Soren Dayton points out that the original explanation — a malfunctioning machine — doesn’t wash:

The votes on November 4th were: Coleman 542, Franken 628. After today’s count, they stand at Coleman 596, Franken 719. A net increase of 37 votes for Franken.

One possible explanation, offered by the Maplewood City Clerk, was that the automark scanner malfunctioned during the day and a replacement scanner was brought to the precinct. The ballots that were already cast may not have been re-scanned. But when a scanner malfunctions, it is recorded on the precinct Polling Place Incident Log. Here is the log from Maplewood P-6, a malfunction is not listed.

That lead led the Franken campaign to claim victory.

Al Franken’s campaign attorney Marc Elias said today that, based on its latest internal tally, Franken has taken the lead over Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) for the first time in the recount process.

In a conference call, Elias said Franken leads Coleman by 22 votes at the end of last night’s count.

“We are ahead by 22 votes at the close of business at the end of last night,” Elias said. “We continue to believe we will gain votes during the challenge and review process, and feel good generally where we stand in the recount.”

Which in turn sent the lefty bloggers into spasms of joy! So confident was Team Franken at their pending victory that they magnanimously offered to drop a few hundred of their challenges.

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Democrat Al Franken’s lawyer says his campaign is withdrawing 633 of its ballot challenges in Minnesota’s Senate race recount.

Attorney Marc Elias says the campaign is reviewing more challenges, and probably will withdraw many more challenges.

Alas, that joy was short-lived.

What Maplewood giveth, Minneapolis taketh away.

Elections officials in Minnesota's largest city today discovered that one precinct came up 133 ballots short of election day totals, resulting in a net loss for Democratic challenger Al Franken of 36 votes.

The development wipes away what had been a boon for Franken in his bid to overtake Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, after Ramsey County officials found an additional 37 votes for Franken from a Maplewood precinct on Tuesday.

Which lead some lefty bloggers to pull their earlier songs of praise. Oh yeah and Scott County's recount (which Franken lost by 19%) started today!

Of course, Team Franken still has a couple of options open - like the courts, but some wonder if his Senatorial "nuclear" option is no longer an option thanks to Saxby Chamliss' victory in Georgia yesterday. I suspect Gary is right on that front.

Look guys - the bottom line is that the counting is NOT done and until such time as it IS DONE, we should not be declaring victory. That said, things are looking dark for Team Franken. Carver County is still counting and Scott County has not even started. Those are the two reddest counties in the state and if anyone is going to pick up votes there....

Challenging Times Two

Yesterday, the Minnesota State Canvassing Board dealt a blow to the Franken campaign.

Democrat Al Franken suffered a setback Wednesday when the state Canvassing Board unanimously turned down his campaign's request to include rejected absentee ballots in the U.S. Senate recount, prompting a Franken attorney to threaten to go all the way to Washington if necessary to get them considered.

The campaign handled it in it's usually classy manner...

"Whether it is at the county level, before the Canvassing Board, before the courts or before the United States Senate, we don't know yet. But we remain confident these votes will be counted," said Marc Elias, the campaign's lead recount attorney, who added that he won't appeal...

The problem for the Franken campaign is that these ballots were rejected for valid, legal reasons.

Subdivision 1. Check of voter eligibility; proper execution of certificate.

Upon receipt of an absentee ballot returned as provided in sections 203B.16 to 203B.27, the election judges shall compare the voter's name with the names recorded under section 203B.19 in the statewide registration system to insure that the ballot is from a voter eligible to cast an absentee ballot under sections 203B.16 to 203B.27. The election judges shall mark the return envelope "Accepted" and initial or sign the return envelope below the word "Accepted" if the election judges are satisfied that:

(1) the voter's name on the return envelope appears in substantially the same form as on the application records provided to the election judges by the county auditor;

(2) the voter has signed the federal oath prescribed pursuant to section 705(b)(2) of the Help America Vote Act, Public Law 107-252;

(3) the voter has set forth the same voter's passport number, or Minnesota driver's license or state identification card number, or the last four digits of the voter's Social Security number as submitted on the application, if the voter has one of these documents; and

(4) the voter has not already voted at that election, either in person or by absentee ballot.

If the identification number described in clause (3) does not match the number as submitted on the application, the election judges must make a reasonable effort to satisfy themselves through other information provided by the applicant, or by an individual authorized to apply on behalf of the voter, that the ballots were returned by the same person to whom the ballots were transmitted.

An absentee ballot cast pursuant to sections 203B.16 to 203B.27 may only be rejected for the lack of one of clauses (1) to (4). In particular, failure to place the ballot within the security envelope before placing it in the outer white envelope is not a reason to reject an absentee ballot.

This is something that happens every two years. Election judges are trained on their duties and responsibilities before they go to the polling place so it is not like these volunteers go in not knowing how to handle these situations. In addition, the absentee ballots are handled only by state employees, who drive the absentee ballots out to their respective precincts where they are then handled by the head election judge. That person, is required to only handle the ballots with witnesses present and that is usually just to count the number of absentee ballots (to make sure that there are no discrepancies in what came from the state) and then to feed them into the SECURED optical scanner.

When the absentee ballots are scanned in the precinct (by the head election judge), those ballots that are rejected are noted (again by law) with the reason why they have been rejected. Note that a mis-matched signature is NOT one of the reasons for rejection - contrary to the rumor spread by the Franken campaign.

But that's not the only misinformation floating around: An elderly woman in Beltrami County whose absentee ballot was rejected because her signature did not match the signature on her voter registration card.

"Her signature was indeed different than what was on file with the county," said Mark Elias, Franken's Recount Attorney. "And that was because she had suffered a stroke."

But that's NOT TRUE.

Beltrami County election officials say there's no such voter they know about, and that no ballots were rejected because of mismatched signatures.

The Minnesota law is so clear and the training so thorough, that even DFL Attorney General Lori Swanson weighed in against Team Franken's claims.

According to an advisory opinion issued last week by the office of Democratic state Attorney General Lori Swanson, "Only the ballots cast in the election and the summary statements certified by the election judges may be considered in the recount process." A recount manual prepared this year by the office of Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, also a Democrat, makes clear that the canvassing board only supervises "an administrative recount" that is "not to determine if absentee ballots were properly accepted."

Emphasis mine.

The statement by SOS Ritchie could be the only nail that Team Franken has to hang any appeal on. The canvassing board IS indeed only an administrative body, but it has 2 state Supreme Court Justices sitting on it and 2 District Court Judges on it. One of the State Supreme Court justices is the Chief Justice of the court. This could be important should one of Team Franken's threats be pulled into play and it sounds like it is likely to happen based on this quote from Senate Majority Leader Harry Redid (D-NV).

The board's action drew a response from the Senate's top Democrat, Majority Leader Harry Reid. In a written statement, he called the decision a "cause for great concern."

"As the process moves forward, Minnesota authorities must ensure that no voter is disenfranchised," Reid said. "A citizen's right to have his or her vote counted is fundamental in our democracy."

I would venture to guess that the State Supreme Court justices would not appreciate someone like Senator Reid (who is NOT a Minnesotan) telling them that they don't know what they are doing. Just a wild guess....

Senator Reid had best be mindful of his own words. For if the US Senate steps in to attempt to over turn the votes of the PEOPLE OF MINNESOTA he could have a fight on his hands. The people have voted, Senator and they did not chose Al Franken. While the close vote does warrant a recount and the scrutiny of a recount, the interference of outside interlopers is NOT warranted and will not be accepted by Minnesotans without a fight. Should the US Senate decide to interfere in the will of Minnesota voters, you can be assured that Republicans nationwide will also get involved and that could turn a potential hot spot into a powder keg. Meanwhile the people of MN will be without both of its representatives in the US Senate.

It is my hope and prayer that Team Franken takes the high road and accepts the results of the recount without resorting to court challenges and bringing in outside influences. However, I fear that this will not be the case. It just does not fit with Al Franken's personality at all.

Challenging Times

I have not written much about the ongoing Senatorial recount in Minnesota for a couple of reasons. One is I am not quite as plugged in to the goings on now that I am several hundred miles away (even though my dear friend Gary Gross does his best to keep me up to speed) and two because I am very much content to be the spectator and wait to see what happens. However a couple of things have happened in the last couple of days that have changed my mind.

First (as my friend Gary points out) local Stearns County authorities have decided that the actions of certain Franken surrogates have gotten out of control.

Date: November 24, 2008
Contact: Randy Schreifels, County Auditor-Treasurer, 320-656-3901

U.S. Senate Race Recount Facing More Challenges

The process is slowing down in Stearns County’s hand recount of the U.S. Senate race.

Stearns County election officials are getting many more frivolous challenges, mainly starting with one challenger from the Al Franken campaign. When this happens, the Norm Coleman campaign will counter with another frivolous challenge.

By 10:00 this morning, there have already been seven ballots challenged, where voter intent is very clear. On Friday, there were 15 challenges, and most of them were frivolous as well. Compare that to just 8 challenges the entire first day and only 3 challenges the second day.

This morning, for example, a ballot was challenged because the oval wasn’t completely blackened, although the majority of it was filled in. Another ballot was challenged because there was a mark, or a small line, somewhere else on the ballot, not even near the U.S. Senate race.

Stearns County officials were hoping to wrap up the recount today, but that goal might now be in jeopardy. At the end of the day on Friday, Stearns County had approximately just 16,000 ballots left to recount, out of 79,000 total ballots, and officials were hoping to finish those today. But with the extra challenges, the process could extend into Tuesday.

Then my other dear friend Captain Ed pointed out a challenged ballot that must be seen to be believed.






A larger version of the ballot can be seen here.

Apparently, the Franken volunteer that challenged this particular ballot is unclear as to the intent of this particular voter! If they are that confused, then a lot of their challenged ballots may end up going back in the Coleman pile once the canvassing board rules on them.

One thing to keep in mind, as the counting marches toward it's conclusion. Hennepin County and Ramsey County are almost done with their counting. They are the two most populace DFL leaning counties in the state. Meanwhile, Scott County - the most populace REPUBLICAN county in the state has yet to count a single ballot. Their counting is scheduled to start on December 3!

The moral of this story is that you really should not count your chickens (or your votes) before they are all hatched - or recounted.

Angry Al Strikes Again

Last night the candidates for US Senate met for yet another debate - this one in Duluth. Duluth Politcs has a run down of the debate which was apparently not Mr. Franken's best outing.

Here however I want to talk about Al Franken and how odd it was to listen to him talk tonight. It almost seemed like he did not know what office he was running for. Talking more about President Bush then Norm Coleman. Franken talked about President Bush and the last 8 years more tonight then I have ever heard him talk about it. I have listened the prior two debates and seen him in many speeches and tonight you would think that Franken was running fro President.

Franken maybe should have thought of running against President Bush four years ago. I think the other two candidates were a bit shocked at the amount of focus on the Bush that Franken did tonight.

However it was what happened after the debate that is getting the attention this morning.

Al Franken has shown himself to be an angry, easily enraged man and after the October 16 Minnesota Senatorial candidate's debate he allowed his overwrought emotional state to send him over the edge once again. After the debate was over and the Media had turned off their microphones and cameras, Franken rushed over to Senator Norm Coleman's table and proceeded to angrily get in his face over some point or another made during the debate. Franken was getting so angry that his own wife had to rush over and force him to back off from a mounting confrontation with Coleman.

Michael at MDE has video and photos of the confrontation.

And this man that wants to join the worlds most deliberative body? And others say John McCain has a temper?

New York State Of Mind

Scott Johnson brought this to our attention this morning.

When Democrats this spring sized up Al Franken's bid to win a Senate seat in his native Minnesota, they saw plenty of promising signs: an engaging and famously funny candidate familiar to voters, a stockpile of campaign cash, and a vulnerable incumbent Republican.

Less than three months before Election Day, however, the Republican seat held by a former New Yorker, Norm Coleman, looks safer than ever, and Mr. Franken's hopes could be doomed by his own New York past.

This gist of the article is that New Yorkers are not "nice" enough for Minnesota Nice. Now I do have to take slight umbrage with that as I am married to a New Yorker (upstate New York but a New Yawka all the same) and I do a weekly internet radio show with another upstate New Yorker (strangely enough from the next town over from where the Logical Husband grew up). I "get" the New York "state of mind" a little bit better than most Midwesterners do. What Minnesotans see as "brusque", New Yorkers call "getting business done". Where Minnesotans take their time when it comes to doing almost everything, New Yorkers are more decisive. The New York way of life is faster paced than life in the Cities is....something that still drives the Logical Husband to distraction - even though he has lived in the Upper Midwest for the last 20 years.

Time Magazine took a look at Franken's problems in Joel Stein's profile of the candidate.

If running for Senate were an Olympic event, Franken would win. If it were a battle of wills or a name-recognition poll or some kind of nerdy trivia battle, he'd win those too. Even if it were just a question of having people agree with your policies, he'd win a Senate seat in the state, where Barack Obama is ahead of John McCain. But getting elected means making people believe you can relate to them, and that's why Franken—writer, actor, comedian, talk-show host and longtime denizen of Saturday Night Live—is running behind Republican Senator Norm Coleman.

They are right that it is more a matter of connecting with people and Senator Coleman is pro at that. Having interacted with Senator Coleman on a number of occasions, I have watched him walking through crowds of people and speaking with someone as if they were the ONLY person in the room. Senator Coleman connects with the voters. Senator Coleman is also from New York so what is the difference here?

What has dogged Franken, throughout the campaign is his own well crafted persona.

Which is the other challenge that comes with tempering Franken's sense of humor: he can't use it to hide his aggression. Franken is that rare confrontational nerd, the tough Jew of a generation before him instead of the smoother, modern one that Coleman exemplifies. He still has the chest and disposition of a high school wrestler, and he famously took down a disruptive heckler at a Howard Dean rally in 2004.

Then there is the almost infamous incident at the 2004 Convention where Franken started shoving around the producer of the Laura Ingraham show. Franken spent many years, refining his public persona - first on Saturday Night Live as a writer and featured actor and then again on Air America where he tried to be the left's version of Bill O'Reilley. The main problem with that is O'Reilley has no plans on running for elected office so he can be as outrageous as he wants. That is killing Franken now.

I think a lot of Franken's troubles in the race for Senator Coleman's seat have not been his New York state of mind or his sense of humor. For as the New York Magazine said...

Priscilla Lord Faris, a former supporter turned opponent, sums up Franken's problem thusly: "We kind of call it the New York City problem," she said. Please. Franken doesn't have a New York City problem; he just has the same problem Giuliani had, which is that he's not very funny.

Some of his jokes were pretty funny, but many were not. His campaign for Senate has not been funny either. His has run this race for Senate from a defensive position almost the entire time. By not getting out in front of the offensive jokes and the Workers Comp issue AND the tax issues, Al Franken allowed his opponent to define his candidacy and THAT is what is killing him today. Now it is too late for him to get in front of these issues. The race is essentially over (barring another plane crash). At this point, all Franken can do is muddle through to the end so that he can go back to dong what he does best - being the brash confrontational Air America host that conservatives everywhere "love to hate".

I Wonder...

Al Franken released his "energy "plan" today and surprise, surprise it sounds so familiar.....

Franken said the United States should sell 50 million barrels of crude oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve between now and Election Day -- a move that he said would lower gas prices, generate revenue and deflate the speculator bubble that has helped send oil prices skyward.

I have one small question for Al, his supporters and the supporters of any other Democrat out there. If you think releasing 50 million barrels will lower gas prices, what do you think will happen when 90 BILLION barrels hit the market?

The area north of the Arctic Circle has an estimated 90 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil, 1,670 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable natural gas, and 44 billion barrels of technically recoverable natural gas liquids in 25 geologically defined areas thought to have potential for petroleum.

What do you think will happen when 800 billion barrels in shale oil crude hit the market?

I'm just curious....

Piling It On

On Monday, I wrote about the spate of bad news that Team Franken started the week with. Today it got worse. The Rassmussen Reports Daily update came out with these two polls.

Minnesota: Obama Leads by Twelve

Minnesota Senate Race Still a Toss-Up

Even worse came from MinnPost who reported on the latest Quinnipiac poll that showed Senator Coleman up be 15%.

In the same poll showing Barack Obama's margin over John McCain slipping to 2 percentage points, Quinnipiac University pegs Norm Coleman's U.S. Senate lead at 15 points over Al Franken, 53 percent to 38 percent.

The next paragraph has the money quote.

If you go by the 1,261-likely-voter survey, Franken's problems are manifest. He only splits union households 47-44; loses women 41-48, and is getting clocked among independents 32-55. Fully 19 percent of DFLers back Coleman; meanwhile Republicans support their nominee 94-3.

Emphasis mine. Minnesota gains it's purple reputation due to the high number of self-described "independents" in the state. Therefore, that demographic is still a key demographic to win over. However, when nearly 1/5th of your own party backs your rival, there are serious problems to be had...and Team Franken appears to have them in spades.

Bad News Gets Worse

Team Franken got a dose of bad news as the new week starts.

Just a few months ago, Al Franken had plenty of reasons to smile about his chances of unseating Minnesota’s Republican Sen. Norm Coleman .

Minnesotans oppose the war — and the president — that Coleman supported. Franken was doing his homework: he had entered the race early and was running a strong grass-roots campaign focused on local organizing and smaller-venue events.

And, in early June, he secured the DFL nomination at the state convention on the first ballot.

But costly mistakes in the campaign of former Saturday Night Live writer are now imperiling his chances of winning.

Poll trends in the past several weeks indicate that Coleman has increased his lead over Franken. Although the numbers have fluctuated, four of the last five polls show Coleman ahead of Franken - three by more than nine points. So now, CQ Politics is changing the rating on the race to Leans Republican from No Clear Favorite.

Part of the reason for change is that the reasonable voters of Minnesota are starting to see the candidate for who he really is. No small amount of credit for this goes to Michael Brodkorb - he has done a yeoman's work on exposing the candidate for the petty, mean individual that he is. However, there are a few Democrats who are coming to the realization that Team Franken is not the brightest bulb (or bulbs) in the bunch.

I’ve always felt that it’s hypocritical to only criticize candidates you oppose for positions that appall you while turning a blind eye to the missteps of those candidates you support.

That brings me to a current TV commercial for the DFL-endorsed candidate for U.S. Senate, Al Franken. Let me preface this by saying that although I am not committed in this race, my politics are much closer to Franken’s than they are to those of his opponent, Republican incumbent Norm Coleman.

Franken’s 30-second spot points out that the U.S. has built hundreds of schools, more than a thousand roads and thousands of sewer and water projects in Iraq. He goes on to say that instead, we should spend that money on education, health care, jobs and infrastructure in the U.S. He closes with, “We need to invest in America again” (emphasis his).

That’s what I call pandering. It verges on xenophobia-this statement more than implies that the choice is between spending money on Iraqi infrastructure or American needs. It is Us versus Them-they are the Other, we are Americans. This sort of message seems designed to appeal to Minnesotans who are bitter about the financial costs of the war and/or foreign aid in general. It says that once we stop spending money on them, we’ll have more for us.

The writer then goes on to tell about her interaction with Team Franken about this ad and the exercise did not leave the author with warm fuzzies.....to put it nicely.

When Team Franken starts loosing leaners like the author above, you know things are not going well. When things are not going as well as planned, it leads to desperation measures like we are seeing in the latest round of Franken ads. His latest round of ads claim that he was always against the war (unlike his opponent) but it has been widely reported that it was not always the case.

It is clear that the DFL's gamble on Franken is not paying off as well as they had hoped. They went with the comedien because of the name recognition. What the DFL failed to recognize is that name recognition and the ability to raise money outside of the state are not good reasons to nominate a candidate. The candidate has to have ideas and ideals that he can and will stick by. Al Franken was never that man and now the DFL has no other option. It seems that they have given up on regaining the "Wellstone seat".

Where's The Love?????

Like many bloggers, I have a set of Google alerts set to send me all the stories that are out there on the "inter-tubes" about candidates and races I am interested in (note to self - must set one for the Chaffetz race). Naturally, I have one set for the Franken/Coleman race. When I set it up, I set it up for blogs and news stories and every now and then, the blogs alert sends me a diamond that I obviously would have never seen, in my crazy day, had I not had the alert. Today, I got one of those diamonds...

Today we enjoy the Monticello Riverfest parade. I love a parade!

As usual, the people watching is remarkable.

Especially the dude who sits by me in a "Keep Kids Off Drugs" who is totally stoned and spaced out.

We stand for the color guard and are so proud of any of the military people we see marching or retired ones that are riding.

We marvel at the horses and snicker at the pooper scoopers that follow them (why is poop so dang funny?).

We clap like crazy for the bands and the flag/fake wood rifle girls.

When Al Franken's wife and his posse with Al Franken signs (i.e. those dirty hippies with floppy hats and ugly brown sandals) pass by there are crickets, I swear. It is pretty funny but even funnier is this guy at the end of the posse who tries to get the crowd fired up and yells, "Do you want change, or more of the same?!" and Trina my supercoolsistersays, "MORE OF THE SAME!".

Heh heh heh.

What more can you say?

How Low Can You Go?

According to Rasmussen Reports, Congressional approval rates hit yet another all time low....a whopping 9% (HT Ed Morrissey).

The percentage of voters who give Congress good or excellent ratings has fallen to single digits for the first time in Rasmussen Reports tracking history. This month, just 9% say Congress is doing a good or excellent job. Most voters (52%) say Congress is doing a poor job, which ties the record high in that dubious category.

This all time low is (in large part) fueled by Congressional inaction on the rising cost of fuel and goods. As the pocketbooks of average Americans are stretched thinner still, all Congress can do is blow hot air.

Democrats in Congress promised to make energy policy a high priority when they returned after the Independence Day break. Instead, they have quietly scrubbed the schedule of any votes on their energy bill, afraid Republicans will make them vote on increased domestic oil production and force them to choose between popular sentiment for drilling and their environmentalist allies. Their strategy? Well, the Hill chooses a good quote:

“Right now, our strategy on gas prices is ‘Drive small cars and wait for the wind,’ ” said a Democratic aide.

This lead one cartoonist to inspiration.

Into this atmosphere, Senatorial candidate Al Franken introduced his energy policy (as reported by Gary Gross).

In the short term, Franken would look to a windfall profits tax on Big Oil, with the money going to alternative energy research and in tax breaks to low-income and middle-income families struggling with energy bills, probably by adding more money to the Low-Income Heat and Energy Assistance Program.

He’d also end government subsidies to oil companies. And he wants to study the effect of speculation on oil futures trading, which some say are driving prices up.

Now Democrats keep talking about getting rid of the speculators, but they always completely miss the one sure fire way to end speculation....INCREASE SUPPLY! If the supply of crude oil is increased, the speculators would sell because the product that they are holding is no longer in short supply. That is the very nature of speculative trading.

I mentioned last week that this is the standard energy line, up and down the ticket. No deviation in talking points are allowed by the Masters of the DNC. Meanwhile, Republican candidates all up and down the ticket are talking about different ideas. Some are advocating an all emcompassing multi-pronged plan with increased domestic production of oil and increased nuclear, clean coal and alternative energy development (John McCain) and others are focusing on the drilling alone (Congressman Lynn Westmoreland for examply) and that is what is going to make the difference in this election.

Congressional Democrats are fiddling while Rome burns around them. If the American people are smart, it will be another "out with the incumbents" year and since this year the Democrats have more incumbents, their odds of losing more seats - and thus maybe the majority - are much bigger than they were even two short months ago. Good work guys!

Trouble In Paradise

In a really lame attempt to bail out their guy, Democrats across the country are trying to paint Senator John McCain with the same (or is it McSame?) tax dodging brush that candidate Al Franken was tarred with.

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) criticized his DFL opponent Al Franken when Al admitted to paying his taxes in MN and NY when they should have been spread over MN, NY and 17 other states. Al then corrected the problem. But now it comes to light that the Republican Presidential candidate Grandpa McSame owes back taxes on a California condo:

Newsweek is set to publish a highly embarrassing report on Sen. John McCain, revealing that the McCains have failed to pay taxes on their beach-front condo in La Jolla, California, for the last four years and are currently in default, The Huffington Post has learned.

Under California law, once a residential property is in default for five years, it can be sold at a tax sale to recover the unpaid taxes for the taxpayers.
(Huffington Post)

Will Norm condemn Grandpa McSame as he did Al?

There is one teeny, tiny problem with that theory E......Senator McCain has NO CONTROL over Mrs. McCain's property, thanks to a nice little pre-nuptial agreement that he signed. Contrary to Senator McCain, Al Franken was CEO and COO of his company....AL WAS the Company where Sen. McCain has no say in the matter.

Meanwhile, MPR (of all places) just released a poll that shows that Angry Al, LOOSES many of the "moderate" voters that intend to vote for Senator Obama. Things are must be really bad for Al back in Minnesota if that is the case.

Seriously - if this is all the left can come up with (on Senator McCain) they are in real trouble. Maybe things are not going to be as bad for the Republic as some think it will be. Time will tell I suppose.

With Friends Like These

The long knives are out in the DFL party today and they are all aimed at one Senatorial candidate - and it is not Norm Coleman. Whether it is Minn Post, the Star Tribune, The Washington City Post, USA Today or CBS News all everyone is talking about is Al Franken's flight of pornographic fantasy! Stories about Al Franken's 2000 Playboy Article have dominated the talk of all of the organizations tracking this high profile Senate race and most of the talk focuses on the fact that it is fellow Democrats that are the ones raising a ruckus.

Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum said that a Playboy column written by Senate candidate Al Franken eight years ago was offensive and presents a serious political problem for Democratic candidates this year. McCollum, who had supported Franken rival Mike Ciresi until he dropped out of the race, told The Associated Press on Thursday that she was worried that Minnesota Democratic congressional candidates will be running with a candidate “who has pornographic writings that are indefensible.”

Ed Morrissey, writing at Hot Air, asks an interesting question...why were these Democrats so quiet when the issue was Franken's tax problems.

I guess in the end it doesn’t matter much how Al Franken loses this election, but a broadside from two key members of the Minnesota DFL’s Congressional delegation reflects a strange set of priorities. Betty McCollum and Keith Ellison attacked Franken not for his serial tax evasions or his failure to provide workers-comp insurance to his employees, but for a sexually graphic and sophomoric piece of fiction Franken wrote for Playboy eight years ago. Apparently for the DFL, breaking the law doesn’t rise to the level of outrage, but idiotic fantasy is a disqualification:

In a way, I understand why Reps. Ellison and McCollum are on the attack now. Tax evasion is a "crime" against the government, but this kind of sexual exploitation is a crime against a DFL protected class and it simply can not be allowed to stand! However I don't agree with Ed that this is "column" is nothing more than a "piece of silly sexual fiction" that should be so easily dismissed. It is a window into the soul of the satirist. Yes satire can be offensive, but as we have seen in the past, there is a mean streak to Al Franken that takes his satire to a level of nasty thoughtlessness that most people do not want to see out of a member of "the worlds greatest deliberative body". Al Franken's form of satire is of the speak first, deliberate only if your words come back to bite you and it seems like lately everything Franken says is coming back to bite him.

I just hope that it blowing all of this political "ammo" now does not come back to bite the MNGOP in the next two weeks. Al Franken is a beatable candidate - especially if you have all of this intel in your back pocket. Why blow the wad now, in the last two weeks before the DFL Endorsing convention. What happens if the DFL decides to pull a stronger candidate off of the back bench. Say a Mike Cirisi or a Tom Bakk? What will the MNGOP do then?

Pity Poor Al Franken

Even Governor Turnbuckle is piling on. In an interview with TPT's Mary Lahammer for "Almanac", former Governor Ventura had this to say about Angry Al's tax troubles.

He says he won't rule out running for U.S. Senate and he repeatedly ripped Franken and Coleman with some very harsh words. He said he lives in Minnesota more than Al Franken and when he wrestled for 30 years in different states he knew he had to pay taxes where he earned the money. He wondered why a Harvard grad like Franken wouldn't know that. Moving on to Coleman, he was angry the Republican Party was using an old wrestling image of him in ads and said he'd like to see some images of a long-haired war protestor from years ago who was Norm Coleman.

This story gets worse and worse every day for Team Franken.

HT MDE

The Ghost Of The Machine

The AP released a story today on how Jack Nelson Pallmeyer has been the "surprise" beneficiary of the Franken campaign's self destruction.

On the Senate campaign trail, Al Franken frequently invokes the name of his friend, the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, as a major inspiration.

But as Franken moves to consolidate Democrats behind his challenge to Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, another Democrat is chipping into his support — one whose background and beliefs spark even greater Wellstone nostalgia for some voters.

Like Wellstone, Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer is a college professor with a long history of political activism and fearless liberalism. His green-and-white campaign signs mimic the Wellstone placards that still hang in the front window of many a Democratic household, and that's not an accident.

However, unlike Wellstone!, Pallmeyer does not have the devoted legions behind him. Pallmeyer ran a constant 3rd behind Franken and Mike Cirisi (before Cirisi dropped out of the race) and in a head to head battle against incumbent Norm Coleman, Pallmeyer finishes 18 points back! Now I fully understand that can (and most likely will) change after the conventions, but that is an awfully deep hole to start in and it will be even harder to get out of the hole with some of the policies that Pallmeyer espouses. While these policies play very well with the DFL base, they will not play all that well with many of the strapped taxpayers who just want a little relief to their financial ills.

On Global Warming, Pallmeyer advocates reducing our output of greenhouse gases by 80% by 2030. The problem is the last time we were ever at that level of greenhouse gas production, it was 100 years ago. Does he really think that the average consumer is going to be willing to give up heating their homes, their showers and powering their toys? I suspect that once people hear exactly what that lofty goal entails, the answer will be no!

On Immigration Reform, Pallmeyer advocates legalizing all illegals who are here already (out of respect to family unity) and pulling out of trade agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA. Senators Clinton and Obama are both already backing away from those remarks, one (Sen. Obama) even admitted that he was simply using the issue as an election issue - telling a Canadian official that he "really didn't mean" what he said in Ohio on the issue.

Pallmeyer's idea of education reform is to repeal the Bush Tax Cuts on employers and using that money to pay for increased funding. The only problem with that will be when those employers leave the country, who is going to pay for the workers unemployment compensation? He also opposes No Child Left Behind (well something we agree on!) and would work to repeal that - if it does not get done already by the current congress.

On health care, Pallmeyer supports putting the same bureaucrats that are in charge of the Veterans Administration in charge of your health care. Oh, I know he does not exactly say that on his issues page, but he does say that he wants a system that covers everyone and that is paid for at taxpayer expense. The government already has the VA in place, so if they do take over health care for the rest of us, you know that the bureaucracy in place will not rest until they get their hands on YOUR tax dollars - one way or another!

Jack Nelson Pallmeyer is probably a very nice man....definitely well meaning. However, former Senator Wellstone was that and much more. He was inspirational, he was thoughtful and he (most importantly) he respected ALL of his constituents whether they agreed with him or not. I still remember the interviews that he did with Jason Lewis when Lewis was still on KSTP-AM. Those interviews were some of the best radio I have ever heard in my life. While Lewis and Wellstone disagreed on just about everything, they did so in a way that was well sourced, well thought out and 100% respectful of each other. I simply do not see that respect for the other side in any of the current crop of state and local Democrats (and to be fair in a few Republicans as well). Wellstone was one of a kind and we are a poorer state because of his loss (yes this conservative did just say something nice about a liberal).

Does Pallmeyer stand a ghost of a chance against Franken or Coleman? Well, let's just say that as much as he wishes it were so, Jack Nelson Pallmeyer is no Paul Wellstone. At least not as far as I can see...

Accounting Accountability

Thanks to the commenters at Hot Air for this....

As you know, Al Franken has thrown his accountant (Allen Chanzis) under the bus for his tax problems, saying that Chanzis had advised him to not pay these other states taxes. Well come to find out, Chanzis is no ordinary CPA. Chanzis is a partner in the firm Wlodinguer, Erk & Chanzis- a firm that SPECIALIZES in Entertainment industry accounting! From Chanzis bio...

Allen Chanzis
Responsible for Business Management and has a unique expertise in all aspects of Tour Accounting and reporting. He also has extensive experience in our tax practice as well as royalty audit, computer and administration areas. Mr. Chanzis has the main responsibility for the Administration of our firms affairs.

Emphasis mine.

Now does this sound like someone who would make such a "rookie mistake" as to advise a client not to pay income taxes made while on tour? Remember...that is Franken's story...that his accountant gave him incorrect advice.

"We paid taxes on every cent of income we ever had," Franken told AP. "What happened is our accountant made a mistake, and all of these are repercussions of that same mistake. His mistake was not understanding the law, the obligation to pay these state taxes." Following his accountant's advice, he said, he and his wife, Franni, paid their entire income tax bill to the city and state where they were living at the time.

Emphasis again mine. I would speculate that this expertise is the reason why Chanzis told the Star Tribune that he was instructed to say "no comment" if asked about Franken's tax woes.

"I've been told to say, 'No comment,'" Chanzis said, without saying who had instructed him to do so. Refusing to discuss any mistakes, he added: "I've been told you have the information you need."

Emphasis once again mine. I've been told to say"no comment". Those words were very deliberately chosen....that is not an off the cuff answer. This man knows the whole truth but has been instructed not to say what it is!

As many have said...Franken needs to come clean and he needs to come clean FAST. The DFL nominating convention is a little over one month away (June 7). Thirty days is an eternity during an election. The sooner this issue is completely addressed, the sooner the candidate can start to distance himself from it. Today is the day Al - it's a slow news day and you know that the local press will bury it for you. Get it all out now!

UPDATE AND BUMP: The American Thinker has a great post up on this.

As a CPA I find the Franken tax situation an amusing lesson. I suspect the accountant probably advised Franken of the obligations and Franken told him not to prepare returns for the non resident states. I had that happen more than once with people who owned pass through entities that operated in several states...Income from the performance of services is considered earned where the services are performed. Technically speaking, whenever I spent a day at a client in a neighboring state, I had an obligation to file an income tax return in that state for that day's salary unless an agreement existed between that state and my state of domicile that I need only pay tax where I live.... A huge exception exists for athletes and entertainers. For one thing few people except the desk clerks at the motel notice when a team of IT consultants from California spends several weeks in Asheville, NC. People in three states knew when George Clooney and Renee Zellweger were in nearby Anderson, SC filming Leatherheads. One day is all it takes in some cases.

Whenever the Seahawks play the Patriots in New England, everyone on the team has Massachusetts income tax withheld because of the 24 hours they spent in that state. Same thing when a Disney affiliate films a movie with scenes shot in multiple locations. If the director insists on spending five days in Central Park while the rest of the movie gets filmed in California, both New York state and New York City expect taxes to be withheld on everyone involved in establishing the story takes place in Manhattan. Ditto if a TV show goes on the road and films at a special location for a week. The local government offices that help arrange locations and permits also check that tax laws are being fully complied with. Thus networks, studios and sports teams are used to sometimes issuing Forms W-2 to a half a dozen different states or more on behalf of a single employee.

Given these industry practices, it's hard for me to believe that TV veteran Franken did not know his state income tax filing obligations.

I have to agree with Smith's conclusions. It would take a "willing suspension of disbelief" for us to take Team Franken's excuses at face value any longer.

The Defenders

ECM Publishing (publishers of numerous small local newspapers) interviewed several DFL Legislators who are coming to the defense of Al Franken, in light of his current financial troubles. All of the legislators interviewed (including Eagan's Sandy Masin and Apple Valley's Shelly Madore) have endorsed Al Franken for the DFL nomination for US Senate.

Revelations concerning DFL U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken’s taxes has not shaken the support of local lawmakers who have endorsed the comedian.

Indeed, several lawmakers point to a perceived quickness on Franken’s part in dealing with the tax flap as evidence of a take-the-bull-by-the-horns mentality desirable in a public official.

It’s always a big deal politically when the unpaid taxes issue crops up for a candidate., said Rep. Shelley Madore, DFL-Apple Valley. “It’s unfortunate that this wasn’t vetted out before (by his campaign),” said Madore.

“But now that it’s been vetted out — he took responsibility quickly, didn’t hide behind the, ‘I didn’t understand,’” she said. “I still believe that he’s a truthful, honest person and that was an oversight,” she said.

Quickness? Taking the "bull by the horns"? This story has been flying around the internet of over a month and in the local media for weeks! The excuses have changed daily (as well documented in the Star Tribune). If the way that the Franken campaign handled this is there idea of "quick", I certainly hate to see what a slow reaction would be.

While he may not have hidden behind the "I didn't understand" excuse he DID hide behind the "it's the accountant's fault" excuse. However, if you talk to an accountant, Ms. Madore, you will find that is not exactly a vaild excuse (HT who else but the expert on this story).

The divvying up of tax payments based on where you've worked is called apportionment, and while accountant Michael Shaffer says it can be complex to calculate, it's not exactly an obscure accounting principle.

"I learned it in my first tax class in college" he says.

In other words, it isn't exactly a "rookie mistake" and it is something that someone should tell Sen. Don Betzold (DFL Fridley)

Sen. Don Betzold, DFL-Fridley, isn’t mulling over his endorsement of Franken. “No. I think he’s a good candidate,” said Betzold.

If Franken’s accountant made mistakes — Franken signed-off on the taxes, true — but then Franken shouldn’t be held completely responsible, he opined.

The "experts" have a differing opinion Senator...Speaking of Fridley, Rep. Tom Tillberry (DFL-Fridley) weighed in with this:

Rep. Tom Tillberry, DFL-Fridley, also opined Franken reacted quickly to the tax issue.

Tillberry views Franken as moving ahead politically undamaged. “I mean, if he is — if people think that — I can’t agree with them,” he said. “What it points out to me is how well someone can take care of problems when they come up,” said Tillberry.

“If a person steps up and says, ‘This is my fault this is happening and I’m going to take care of it,’ isn’t that the type of integrity we want,” he rhetorically asked.

One minor problem to that theory Rep. Tillberry....Franken DIDN'T DO THAT. He didn't take responsibility - he blamed it on his accountant! Because he did not react quickly, honestly and decisively he is damaged goods. People much smarter and less partisan that I and who get paid to do this for a living have said so.

However, I am going to take Senator Betzold's advise and "move on" to talking about the issues. Important issues like TAXES....those pesky little things that Democrats like to raise, but some (like Franken) don't seem to want to pay. Gary Gross put up a post last June that is still instructional today. It is about the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce's rating of our legislators based on the legislators votes on tax issues. Senator Betzold voted 6 times last year to make our state tax system MORE COMPLICATED by raising taxes. Reps. Masin, Madore and Tillberry all voted for 11 of the 12 tax increases that were put before the House in 2007. Then there is the debacle that is the Transportation Bill of 2008 which the ALL voted for (and all voted to over-ride the Governor's veto).

I have no problem with these legislators sticking by their "guy". I find it admirable actually. However, their defense of Franken (along with their voting records) do give us insight into their "Happy to pay for a better Minnesota" mindset. It tells us that they are happier to have YOU pay your fair share if you are a wealthy entertainer or middle class Minnesotan. However, if one of theirs isn't so happy to pay...well it's no big deal...even when they get caught.

This Is The Post In Which I Come To The Defense Of...

Fair Warning note for all readers, right and left...grab your duct tape. I am about to post something that will make your head explode. Ready? Here goes....

This is the post in which I come to the defense of...AL FRANKEN. Yes, I am going to attempt to defend Mr. Franken and give him a few ideas that he might be able to use on the campaign trail to make this a positive event. You can mail the residual checks directly to me Al....

In defense of his not paying approximately $70,000 in taxes in 17 different states, candidate Franken has said that he is the "victim" of an overly complex tax code and he is CORRECT! As the Logical Husband reminded me last nights, the states in question all have tax laws on the books that are designed to soak wealthy performers (like baseball players, football players and artists like Mr. Franken). Minnesota has one of these laws as well. These laws were proposed and passed by legislatures that are predominantly controlled by Democrats. If Candidate Franken really wanted to make lemonade out of the lemons of his own sowing, he could stand up in front of the press and pledge to propose legislation to make these laws illegal should he become the next Senator from Minnesota. He could further pledge to work across the aisle to get real tax simplification and reform passed in the Senate. He could also pledge to advocate for either the Flat or Fair tax (yes I understand that there are issues with both proposals but stay with me here). If Franken did that, he would appeal to a broad spectrum of independents and Republicans for whom tax reform is a major issue. He would also brand himself as his own man and not a shill for the "progressive" wing of the Democrat Party.

Second, he could take the advise of fellow True North poster, Pat Shortridge:

If Al Franken REALLY wants to take responsibility ….he will, along with his lawyers, accountants, financial advisers, et al, hold a press conference and answer the many lingering questions about this mess. I’m sure the press corps, both local and national, would welcome the opportunity, as should Franken if he really wants to get out from under the cloud hovering over his campaign and put it behind him.

Some questions that quickly come to mind include:

How did Team Franken decide on $70,000 and 17 states?

Does the $70,000 include penalties and interest?

Who told him he had no tax liability in the first place?

Who signed off on the termination process for Al Franken, Inc. in California?

How come the stories out of the Franken Campaign kept changing?

Does this settle all outstanding legal and financial issues for Al Franken, Inc?

This could be the tough one. One of the few things that Team Franken knows about their candidate is that he has a hair trigger temper. This is one reason why they keep their candidate as far away from the press as possible. However, the only way to make this GO AWAY is for Candidate Franken to answer these questions. Until Candidate Franken sits down for as long as the press wants him to answer these questions, the tax problems will be a lingering issue for Team Franken!

The ball is in your court Al. What's your next move?

Uff Da!

That is all I can say after reading the latest in the Al Franken tax saga.

DFL U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken, frontrunner in the race to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, owes $70,000 in back taxes in 17 states, where he earned income going back to 2003.

$70,000 in 17 states! Uff da!

Franken on Tuesday told the Associated Press that he never intended to avoid paying taxes and that on the advice of his accountant, had paid taxes to the city and state where he lived.

While it is good that Franken finally came clean, one has to wonder why Wesley Snipes attorney had not come up with the same "I never intended to avoid paying my taxes" defense?

Franken's campaign staff initially said Franken had dissolved the California entity in 2003, producing an unsigned letter on blank paper, dated September, 2003, in which a tax accountant said the company would "no longer be doing business in California."
Franken has had numerous engagements in California during those years, and in his U.S. Senate Financial Disclosure Report, filed May, 2007, stated that he does business not only in California, but in New York, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Delaware, Michigan, Kentucky and elsewhere.

I wonder how many other states Franken has made money in and not paid taxes.

One of the most tired old saws of life is this..."it's not the wrong doing that gets you...it's the cover-up". Franken's ever changing excuses as to why he didn't pay his workmans comp ("we were disputing the findings", "we didn't know the state of New York was looking for us", "we never got the notifications" and then when shown that they signed for the notifications finally "we are working out payment with the state of New York") and now California show us much about candidate Franken and it is not good! I mean here we have a candidate who says in a campaign appearance that he loves businesses that "play by the rules" and then he turns around and IGNORES the rules that other businesses are expected to play by!

This latest revelation has got to be the final straw for DFL delegates. You have to think that the phone lines between the DFL Headquarters and Mike Cirisi's house are buzzing as the DFL leadership scrambles to find a credible candidate that will stand up the scrutiny of a "premier" campaign.

Decisions, Decisions...

The fallout continues for Team Franken. Friday and Saturday saw stories in the Star Tribune on the Franken tax issues. Both stories have a common theme....that it is the fault of those nasty Republicans that Franken is having these troubles....

Responding to new Republican charges that DFL U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken hid income from California tax authorities for years, Franken's campaign said Thursday that his accountant is trying to sort out whether taxes are owed.

Republicans, who for more than a year have eagerly unearthed controversial tidbits from Franken's comedy routines and books, have in recent weeks discovered several slip-ups in the celebrity's business life. On Thursday, they claimed to have found another possible irregularity, a charge that has yet to be resolved.

While Republican opposition researchers (or in this case a FORMER Republican opposition researcher) may have uncovered these financial "irregularities", let's be perfectly clear here....the government of the states of New York and California are the ones making these charges...not the Republican Party.

Speaking of Michael....he has posted a video clip from Friday's Almanac program that has some very harsh words for Team Franken.



The most damaging comment is this...

They don’t have a professional seasoned campaign manager and the result is they’re making rookie mistakes. They should have scrubbed Franken, they should have known this beforehand and they should be doing a lot of other fairly plain vanilla, sort of professional activities to set up the campaign.
“…and there’s even some talk out this week, that there’s some folks in the Democratic Party wondering about running in the primary. What’s going on in the Franken campaign is unnerving. Anyone who is a professional, watching this race, it is alarming. This is just not the way a top-flight, top national race ought to be run”

The DFL is at a cross-roads in the Senatorial campaign. They can either find another candidate between now and their state convention, they can find someone to run a primary challenge to Franken (which will no doubt help Senator Coleman perserve campaign funds since he won't have a challenger until September) or they can stay with a Franken campaign that is self destructing at a rapid rate.

Decision time is almost upon us. What will the DFL do? We shall probably know in the very, very near future.

Update and Bump....

Michael has a link to the Star Tribune's Pig's Eye Podcast for today. There were a couple of interesting quotes in the podcast. First comes from Lori Sturtevant of all peopleand it echo's what was said on Almanac last Friday.

This doesn't just suggest disorder in his business life, but also in his campaign and that is what has the DFLers that I talked to over the weekend were actually LIVID about. Why is this now coming to light...at this late in the day...why is it coming to light with dribs and drabs of information from the Republican Party, tee heeing at every turn. Why wasn't this all cleared and vetted TWO YEARS AGO when this man first began to surface as a major potential candidate. This is, after all, one of the premier races in the country.

The second point comes from Doug Grow and it has to do with how long it took Team Coleman to answer the State of New York's claims of impropriety.

They gave an answer beginning with the idea that New York was wrong and that they would get this thing corrected and some weeks went by and they finally issued a fairly indirect statement acknowledging that New York, after all, was correct and I'm not sure that worked so badly for them...I think it's going to be more difficult for them in this case because of the underlying situation feels a little more serious.

We are almost a month away from the DFL state convention which would endorse Al Franken for Senate. He does not have the luxury of having research time. These allegations need to be answered ASAP. Worse - if there are ANY other tax irregularities that come forward, there will be no recovering from it. There is no indication from Franken as to whether he regrets the oversights etc which makes this issue even more troubling. IF there are any further allegations of tax irregularities, you can stick a fork in the campaign because it will be done!

UPDATE II - Welcome Hot Air and Memeorandum readers. Poke around, kick the tires and come back often!