Al Franken is afraid to debate Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer

[Minnesota Raindog]

Al Franken is starting to sound an awful lot like Hillary Clinton--and that's sad. Now that THIRD PLACE candidate Mike Ciresi has bailed out of the race, Franken says he's "too busy" to debate SECOND PLACE candidate Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer:

from MPR:

Nelson-Pallmeyer said he wants to debate Franken as much as possible before the state DFL convention in June. Nelson-Pallmeyer said Franken's celebrity and money have driven his success, not his positions on the issues.


"I like Jack tremendously but he's not going to dictate what I do with my campaign," Franken said. Franken said he will not commit to another round of DFL debates.

"You know, we've had, I don't know, 16 debates or something and right now I'm really very busy doing all of the things I need to do to prepare for the general," he said.


If Al Franken is so sure of getting the endorsement, what could be better preparation for the general election than more debates on the issues? What's Al afraid of? Clearly, he's afraid that Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer will blow his doors off in a one-on-one debate. Franken is not the nominee yet. He promised to abide by the endorsement, so the first thing he should do is wait until the endorsement is bestowed on a candidate before he struts around like's he's already got it. But Franken, like Hillary, came into this race with a sense of entitlement to the endorsement and his arrogance in that regard is starting to show.

More than a few Democrats are sick and tired of the party hacks, big shots and "superdelegates" telling us who our candidates are going to be. We're sick of it in the 6th CD, we're sick of it in the Senate race, and we're sick of it in the presidential race. You might get our votes in November, but you won't get our muscle in the campaign if you keep it up.

Heed the warning.

[wellst0nev0ter]

1. I Heard The Three In The First MPR Debate

JNP clearly threw Franken off his game when he pointed out that his book "Lies and Lying Liars" had him supporting the war in the beginning, and poor Franken couldn't find an answer to justify that past position, unless regarding the entirety of that book as a "parody" is excuse enough.

[qb]

2. That's disappointing. I like Franken and expected him to excel in the debates.

his pissy attitude puts me off, too. I'll take a closer look at Nelson-Pallmeyer.

[kenfrequed]

3. well

I hope you are a delegate to your senate district, or better yet to the state.

[kikiek]

12. I wouldn't be so fast to take to heart the criticism of a Jack supporter. His words are being

twisted. Surprising no since this is a campaign. Al said he has been in 16 debates, and is concentrating on appearing at the conventions right now. He wouldn't let Jack dictate his campaign, which I agree 100 pct with. He hasn't said yea or nay to future debates, but that isn't his focus right now.

[ISUGRADIA]

4. Not to be snarky but this would be more like Obama

Clinton was the one calling for a debate a week against Obama and the Obama camp said no. It's natural for those who are in the lead not to give opponents any more exposure than possible.

[barefootguy]

5. I am seriously considering switching

my vote to JNP for the first ballot. I was elected from a Franken subcaucus, but this debate dodging is despicable. JNP was asked far fewer questions than Franken or Ciresi in previous debates, he deserves his shot now that the race is down to two candidates. I'm not sure what Franken is afraid of; if he is ahead by as much as he says he is and appears to be he should nothing to worry about.

[dflprincess]

11. By and large the activists in the DFL tend to trend left

they really are the Farmer-Labor wing of the party and I imagine Franken is worried about losing the too many on the left and the endorsement which could happen if his opinions get a side by side comparison to JNP's.

That said, unlike the presidential race - which I wish I could skip - I will have no trouble supporting Franken if he does get the endorsement. As one of the posts below mentioned, let's not turn this into GD-P. We can't split the DFL if we want to get rid of Senator Weasel.

[kikiek]

13. I don't think he is afraid of anything. He is focusing on the conventions. As he should. There will

be plenty of time after that if they need another debate. They've had about 16 Franken said.

[dflprincess]

14. After the conventions, the delegates will all have been alloted

and are committed on the first ballot to the candidate they subcaucused for. It's not impossible that this could locked up on the first ballot so, it would be nice to have a debate between just Franken and Nelson-Pallmeyer before all the delegates are selected.

[kikiek]

15. But when did Ceresi drop out? Days ago. He is telling Franken to drop everything and do as he says.

I don't see why Franken should change his campaign to suit Nelson Pallmeyer. He has been in 16 debates with him already. Not to mention delegates can really vote for either.

[dflprincess]

16. As long as the candidate whose subcaucus you were elected from

is still in the race and/or has not released his delegates, you are expected to vote for him on the first ballot at the convention. Delegates may change their votes on later ballots if there are any.

The past debates focused on Franken and Ciresi, JNP wasn't really given equal attention. And don't think of it as Franken changing his campaing to suit Jack, think of it as changing to give the voters a better look at both candidates.

[kikiek]

17. It isn't the debate part. It's the drop everything and suit my time frame or else crap.

[Minnesota Raindog]

18. Franken says he's too busy preparing for the general election

It's this presumption of endorsement that is arrogant of Franken. He appears to have no intention of doing anything with Nelson-Pallmeyer between now and the state convention, since he has already crowned himself the winner. So no matter what schedule Nelson-Pallmeyer presents to Franken, he's still not interested. That isn't exactly accommodating either. If Franken is so confident he has it all wrapped up, what has he got to lose?

[kikiek]

19. And what is wrong with that? He should be focused on the GE as the leader. The ultimate goal is

Coleman. Why is Jack being so ugly about it? It is mudslinging.

[Minnesota Raindog]

20. I don't think JNP is capable of being "ugly"

As for calling a challenge to a series of debates "mudslinging," well, your words speak for themselves, I'm afraid.
:wtf:

[kikiek]

21. Maybe Jack isn't being ugly but supporters are as evidenced by your twisting of my words.

The mudslinging is by you an obvious Jack supporter. Says a lot.

[Minnesota Raindog]

22. Here are your words. Nobody's twisting them.

Why is Jack being so ugly about it? It is mudslinging.


The reason many people voted for Ralph Nader in 2000 was Al Gore's and George Bush's refusal to let him into the debates, despite his considerable support among voters. Al Franken is taking a page out of Gore's book, and that's chickenshit. What is Al afraid of?

And if you think any of this is giving the Rethugs ammunition to use against Al, I don't think they need any more.

[dodger501]

6. Let's not turn DU-MN into GD:P, folks

Okay? What a snake pit that turned out to be, I completely avoid that forum.

[Minnesota Raindog]

7. There's nothing wrong with demanding accountability of our candidates

And that means debating the issues. Nelson-Pallmeyer has been treated like some dark-horse, also-ran candidate to this point by the media and the Franken anad Ciresi campaigns, even though he has held steady in second place since delegate counting started. Let's have statewide head-to-head debates between the two front runners for once and let the people really see the choice they have.

[CubFan7125]

8. I Don't Like Al

But I have to disagree with your statement that there are two front runners. There is one person everyone has heard of and one candidate few people have heard of. Like it or not, Al has name recognition and that means a lot.

[CubFan7125]

9. I Don't Like Al

But I have to disagree with your statement that there are two front runners. There is one person everyone has heard of and one candidate few people have heard of. Like it or not, Al has name recognition and that means a lot.

[Minnesota Raindog]

10. Do you really believe name recognition will be an issue in the general?

Seriously, a race with this high a profile will have Nelson-Pallmeyer's name as recognizable as Franken's-- at least among Minnesota voters--by November. Hardly anyone had ever heard of Paul Wellstone either before he felled the much-better-financed Boschwitz in 1990. And there was no internet to speak of and certainly not blogs or other alternate forms of media then either.

[Eric J in MN]

23. kick

kick