Kennedy... SENATOR? Oh God... no

[stpalm]

Does anyone actually think this slime could beat the awesome Sen. Dayton? he ran a horrible campaign against Wetterling ("she accepted funds from radical extremist groups!") and still won, so I am worried.

I hate that guy. Such a creep.

[CatholicEdHead]

1. Depends on the mudslinging

No, I do not think Dayton would loose on a fair issue campaign, but look at the 2002 election. Things WILL get VERY DIRTY towards the end of this year and early next.

If Kennedy gets it (Kiffmeyer, Gutneckt and Yecke have also been mentioned that they want to run), he would be of course the hand-picked canidiate from the White House, not the state GOP.

It is possible, not probable, but it will be a very, very nasty race.

[bvar22]

10. The weight of the White House and the RNC...

...will be behind the repub candidate who will be handpicked by the White House.

If it is a replay of 2002, Dayton will be on his own. bush* Cheney, and other NeoCon heavyweights came to Minnesota every other week to help out their boy Norm.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember ANY Big Dems coming to town to help Wellstone, which was fine with Paul because he didn't owe anybody and could WIN on his own.

I fear Mark Dayton will need some help against the soulless NeoCon juggernaut. Hopefully, the glimmer of a Democratic reawakening may provide some support for one of our more Progressive Senators.

[rodeodrive1]

13. PS

Dayton is NOT the tiger that Wellstone was. Paul could give ANYONE a scrap. Sad, all around. To think that Paul was replaced by Coleman... with his absent, dumb as a post wife.

[rodeodrive1]

12. It will be god-awful

Dayton is a perfectly dreadful candidate, who only won because Grams had horrific personal problems, and I hear, is a complete nutcase. Kennedy is a royal PIT BULL, and tough as nails. Yes, Ed, it will be a VERY nasty campaign, as Dayton is the #1 target of the GOP, and cannot finance his own race this time, as he did in 2000. Kennedy will have whatever he needs, as THUNE is the new head of the Senatorial Committee. Kohl if Wisconsin in #2 on the hit list. The Upper Mid-West is THE battleground in '06, as the South was in'04.

[Tigress DEM]

2. Who are you against? Your use of pronouns isn't clear.

Kennedy good or bad? Are you calling him slime or being tongue in cheek?

Dayton good or bad? I can't tell if you are for or against Dayton.

Did you want Wetterling to win?

Which "guy" are you calling a creep.

<< My Duh too. Didn't realize I'd jumped to the MN from National >>

Kennedy just stood up for DEMS to the Gonzales appointment in the Judicial Committee and handed Bush his a** in a speech on the war in Iraq, so I hope you don't think he's a total creep.

[katinmn]

5. we have a MN rep called Kennedy. No relation to Ted

[stpalm]

11. Um...

Mark Kennedy is a creep who ran against Patty Wetterling and will likely run for Senate against Mark Dayton.

[Divernan]

3. You should clarify your heading RIGHT NOW

Evidently there's someone named Kennedy whom you think may run for Senate in Minnesota. However your heading, (whether in deliberate disingenuousness or from a very narrow world view), would lead 95% of readers to think you are referring to Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts.

[bunkerbuster1]

4. I thought JFK Jr. was running, somewhere...

shows what I know.

[CatholicEdHead]

6. Divernan is referring to Mark Kennedy

by his post. Mark did run against Patty Wetterling and won in MN 6th District this past fall.

http://markkennedy.house.gov/

[Tigress DEM]

7. Thanks

[Divernan]

8. No, "stpalm" not me (divernan) is referring toMark Kennedy.

Who's on first?

[CatholicEdHead]

9. What's on second

I don't know's on third

[stpalm]

16. I would expect those reading in a MN forum

whether in deliberate disingenuousness or from a very narrow world view


To know who I am talking about.

[dpbrown]

20. New posts show up in "Latest" and therefore attract out-of-state attention

Until new posts scroll off the page for latest posts, the original poster should expect that a non-exclusive Subject line is going to draw people in wondering what that person is talking about.

As to Dayton, he'll be just fine, and plenty of people are now sniffing around trying to predict his imminent demise.

[rodeodrive1]

21. Dayton is in REAL trouble

Sorry, but Dayton is in DEEP trouble. His approval rating has sunk to 43%, which is lower than Grams's was. Just stating the sad facts.

[dpbrown]

25. This is hate-radio happy talk by brain-dead Republicans re: trouble

Dayton is universally beloved by the DFL, and he's making inroads on all levels.

The dip is nothing - meaningless - for an election that's two years away.

Republicans want to drive support from Dayton by fanning the flames of every little slip that Dayton might make.

It's all hogwash.

Bring Rod "I raised a criminal son" Grams back. Let's thrash his skinny ass again like we did when we drove him out of office last time.

Republicans WISH Dayton was in trouble.

Problem is, they are.

DPB

[no name no slogan]

14. He's a VERY weak candidate

Honestly, I hope he DOES run for Senate.

The Repubs are on the ropes right now all over the state. The Dems won a lot of seats in the leg, and Gov. Pawlenty's budget is not only pissing off the liberals, but also the conservatives IN HIS OWN PARTY.

Kennedy is a three-term incumbent, and has yet to win his seat with more than 10% of the vote. By now (due to the incumbency effect), he should be getting AT LEAST 60% each race, if not more.

Kennedy is a horrible choice for the GOP-- but then again, so are Kiffmeyer and Bachman, too.

Dayton will slaughter Kennedy, and Wetterling will easily beat Kiffmeyer in the 6th, if she ends up being the candidate.

IMHO Kennedy doesn't scare me at all. What scares ME is that Dayton may waffle around on some votes, because he fears the GOP slander machine turning up the heat. He needs to stay true, and stand up like a DFLer should.

We, the DFL, need to be ready to do rapid response to knock down the GOP lies that are bound to come about Dayton, and keep hammering on Kennedy's lackluster congressional record. We CAN win this-- especially if we keep the momentum of 2004 going strong.

[stpalm]

15. Michelle Bachman is AWFUL.

A one-issue candidate. I hope she runs- she would get flattened.

[rodeodrive1]

17. Michelle is GOD-awful

She WOULD get nailed, but I don't think they will nominate her. It looks like they have settled on Kennedy. Brace yourself for a NASTY race.

[loveable liberal]

28. Bachmann is a religious scumbag.

One of these new non-compassionate bible thumpers with an agenda. Her kind made Hitler possible.

[demjuli]

39. Remember when she and her friends prayed over the desks

of her legislative colleagues who disagreed with her on (I think) same-sex marriage? That gave me the creeps.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

18. You think Dayton is safe then?

I'd hate to loose that seat.

[rodeodrive1]

19. Dayton is NOT safe

Unless the GOP nominates Grams, Dayton will be in for an uphill race. That seat will most likely, be lost, unless he gets Grams again, which is very doubtful.

[no name no slogan]

22. That's awful pessimistic, considering 2004's events

Dayton has done a good job, overall, for the state, even though his current ratings are down.

Although we didn't gain any congressional seats, we ran good races overall. Political novice Patty Wetterling came quite close to defeating Kennedy, a popular two-term incumbent-- that says a lot right there when you think about it.

As a two-termer, Kennedy should be winning by 10%+ by now. The fact that he barely got a 6% margin says a lot about his vulnerability as a candidate.

The DFL had a good year in 2004, and has the momentum going into next year. We have a lot of newly-minted grassroots activists thanks to the 2004 presidential race-- most of whom are sticking around for 2006, too.

Dayton WILL face a tough race, true, but he's still going to be hard to beat, no matter who (and how much money) the GOP throws into the race.

[rodeodrive1]

23. It's REALISTIC

We may have run good races in 2004, BUT WE LOST, all the way around. Dayton, provided it isn't Grams again, is a sitting duck... just like Grams was in 2000.

[no name no slogan]

24. Again, what are you talking about? We WON in MN in 2004

We did not "lose" any of our current DFL seats-- in fact, we gained more state reps, and narrowed the GOP majority to two seats.

In fact, MN was the only 'blue' state from 2000 that went even 'bluer' in 2004. I would hardly call this 'losing'.

In a year with a lackluster candidate at the top of the ticket, the DFLers did VERY well in MN-- a state in which BushCo campaigned furiously, hoping for a GOP victory.

We are in good shape going into 2006-- don't believe the right-wing talking points.

[dpbrown]

26. Minnesota: The only Blue State to Get Bluer in 2004

Quivering and quaking Republicans, realizing that they have nothing to offer, have settled on sniping at our public servants to cover for the fact that they're rudderless and tied inexorably to the wagon of George MABUS Bush and Crashcart Cheney and the entire PNAC Keystone Kosa Nostra.

Kennedy nearly got beat by a neophyte. If he runs against Dayton, he'll be toast, and Patty Wetterling will have his House seat.

The DFL will win twice.

Bring it on.

DPB

[lojasmo]

38. also 13 new democratic state house members

12/13 backed by the progressive caucus.

If we can get Dean/DFA/progressive caucus into the mix, Kennedy won't stand a chance.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

32. The DFL better channel Wellstone!

We need to bind together to keep this seat! We CANNOT afford to loose anymore seats in congress!

[loveable liberal]

27. the guy barely won over wetterling. I hope he runs, he'll lose.

So much to talk about with that guy, so little time.

[rodeodrive1]

29. We can't bury our heads in the sand

We can delude ourselves all we want, just as the GOP deluded themselves about Grams not being in trouble, but, any way you slice it, Dayton is in trouble. Unless he get lucky and get Grams again, which is highly doubtful, Mark will have an uphill climb.

[no name no slogan]

30. Nobody's advocating resting on our laurels

I don't know of ANY DFLer who thinks that Dayton's in for a cakewalk: far from it, in fact. We KNOW that Dayton's got a target painted on him-- and we ARE taking early action.

Just because Dayton has been targeted, though, does not make him a 'sitting duck'.

Mark Kennedy, the GOP's strongest contender, has won three very close races for congress. He has yet to win with more than 6% of the vote-- which is really pathetic for such a Republican district. In fact, he was nearly defeated by a political neophyte in 2004, despite having the GOP smear machine running against his opponent full-time.

If Kennedy doesn't run, who else does the GOP have left? Michelle Bachman, a woman who's so obsessed with same-sex marriage that she called it the 'defining issue' in MN? Or Rod Grams, a man who has alienated not only most DFLers and independents, but most of his own party, too?

Yes, the race will be tough, but we've expected that from January of 2001. Mark will definately face challenges, no doubt.

But to write off this race before it's even begun is a travesty.

[rodeodrive1]

34. A 43% Approval Rating SUCKS

Nobody's writing off the race... but Dayton's 43% approval rating is lower than Grams's was, and Kennedy is tough, any way you look at it. Bachmann doesn't have one chance in hell. Gutknecht is thinking of running and he would be tough, too. The only reason Dayton won in the first place was, that Grams had horrible personal problems. He is NOT the popularity king... or personality, that Wellstone was.

[dpbrown]

35. Note to Chicken Little: An acorn is not the sky

And one note does not make a song.

Thanks for playing.

DPB

[rodeodrive1]

36. And, living in a dream world is wrong

Being an ostrich is ALWAYS fatal. A 43% approval rating is GOD-AWFUL, and a warning shot across the bow, even if you think it's "one-note." It's the REALITY.

[no name no slogan]

31. Bachmann annouced her "exploratory committee" today

I heard on the radio this morning that Bachman has formed her "exploratory comittee" for a Senate run in '06.

If there truly is a god, s/he will make sure that Bachmann gets the nod. Remember, this is the same woman who said that same-sex civil unions were the biggest problem facing Minnesota last year.

GO MICHELLE GO!

[MsAnthropy]

33. I hope Minnesotans remember his nasty campaign againt Patty

He is a repuke slimeball.

[lojasmo]

37. Word has it that Dayton's seat is Bush's number 1 target. EOM

[rodeodrive1]

40. #1 Target

Dayton is the #1 target along with Kohl. Stabenow is right behind them. Unless Mark gets Grams (doubtful) it may be a long night come November of 2006.