Michele won. Fair and square? I say no. Within the rules, yes. Within the spirit of GOP races of yesteryear? Not at all. Does she have ethical baggage? Yep, and it will haunt her throughout the general election. I guarantee there will be many who will bring those to the front of the discussion. And considering one of the GOP planks has long been “character matters” I expect the GOP to stand up demanding answers to her issues.

What does that mean for the GOP? That means they will be selecting an ethically challenged candidate and forcing themselves to choose their platform at the expense of “character matters.” Any GOPer that supports Bachmann loses all credibility in the future on “character” issues of McKinney, Kennedy, Kerry, Clinton…ect.

The candidate is a nasty person behind the scenes and her supporters were nothing but disrespectful to everyone at the conventions. Good luck rebuilding the 6th CD GOP in 2007…you’re going to take a bath in 2006.

And because of that, Republicans will LOSE the 6th district this fall.

Bachmann does not represent the ideals of individual liberty and responsibility that most CD6-ers hold dear. Yes, she’s passionately pro-life (as are Krinkie, Esmay, and Knoblach), but she is the most divisive, “I know what’s good for everyone else, so let me pass more laws to regulate your behavior” candidate imaginable. What, nanny gov’t is OK as long as the nanny is right-wing?? I don’t think so.

There are plenty of moderate CD-6ers (even the ones who congenitally vote DFL even though they work hard, pay taxes, hunt, believe in traditional marriage, etc) who will not be enthused by a Bachmann win and will not fight and campaign for her, even if they want to vote against Patty. Personally, I hope Krinkie or Esmay carries the day. At least they can answer a debate question in 30 seconds or less.

Delegates, Please use the big brains God has given you to make a thoughtful, independent decision on May 5-6, not just go in lemming-like according to what you said you’d do a month ago. Do what is best for Minnesota.

I realize that Bachmann means well and genuinely believes she knows what’s right for Minnesota and the USA. That’s what scares me.

Perhaps the most critical item missing in the entire process is one person with leadership ability in the 6th CD-RPM , who can command the respect of all the candidates and the delegates of the convention, without given to favoritism to anyone. It’s been five years and I’m still waiting for that person to step forward.

As for Krinkie missing the ceremony, my information is the Phil Kinkie was chairing his committee at the time. Putting his elected responsibities over his campaign is something to be respected, not used as campaign spin.

My question is: Why did it take so long to make this request of the candidates and put together a public relations event? If any one would have asked, (Which they did not) I would have been happy to provide copies of the endorsement pledge for all four candidates. I have had them all since the first part of March 2006.

They better let me into that convention with those kegs…

Give me a call sometime. I certianly did not mean to beat up on you. I respect your work, and the work of the grassroots. I share your frustration and more.

Andy Parrish

I argue that Michele is not attacking Krinkie, but pointing out differences. Now, before you jump down on me, hear me out. I have thought about this quite a bit.

To me, a true “attack” is a nasty, personal insult, i.e. “Joe is a liar”, “Mary is ugly”, etc. Or, an attack is an outright lie. (i.e. “Krinkie supports kicking puppies”). To differ in opinion, to voice differences is not attacking. All in all, I would say, that with a few exceptions, all of the GOP candidates have done pretty well on this. However, lines were crossed (Krinkies letter to Bachmann being one example).

If anything, pointing out discrepencies in the Taxpayers League Ratings is showing us that we, as delegates, cannot simply rely on the Taxpayers League Rating as a sole indicator of “fiscal conservatism”. Because, if Phil is the “unquestioned” fiscal conservative in the race, why did Michele have a higher TPL lifetime rating as of 2004. Is it spin? Sure, of course, anyone should be able to see that for what it is. And, Phil certainly outperformed Michele in 2005 on the TPL scorecard (and let everyone know it), just like Michele and Jim outperformed Phil on the MCCL scorecard. But, this isn’t a game. We aren’t/shouldn’t be electing candidates based on a number on a report.

I am a Bachmann supporter, so what I say certainly colors my comments. It has become clear to me, based on your posts, though you haven’t directly said it, that you are a Krinkie supporter. That’s great, it’s certainly your right to voice your opinion on your blog. You also, it appears, value the endorsement process (despite its flaws) and understand the importance of party unity. But why do you give Krinkie a pass on this? Krinkie could have made a very simple effort to sign the pledge and set everyone’s mind at ease. But he didn’t. How did he respond? He turned it into an attack piece (see his eNewsletter). How did you respond? You turned it into an opportunity to question the other candidates intention to abide by the endorsement…

Despite the DFL’s hopes, DFLers need to be honest with themselves: the Sixth is a Republican district. As much as the DFL justifiably loves Patty, it is the one district she (or any other Democrat) cannot win. (It’s neck-and-neck with the Second.) With the exception of parts of Stillwater and St. Cloud, and small parts of Fridley and Cottage Grove that border the Sixth, the district votes overwhelmingly Republican. Look how many Republican state legislators the Sixth elects. With the exception of Tarryl Clark, Larry Hosch, and Larry Haws (all from St. Cloud), think of another DFLer whose district is entirely within the Sixth. (Hint: there aren’t any. Half of Don Betzhold’s and Sharon Marko’s districts are within the Sixth, and Dean Johnson’s has a sliver.)

Thus, the GOP endorsement virtually guarantees that that candidate will win. Bachmann, Krinkie, Knoblauch, and Esmay are competing against each other to go to Congress, not the DFL nominee.

The same holds true for the DFL in Fifth.

Actually, ALL the campaigns we notified on Monday the 17th that the State Party and the 6th CD set this up for today, April 21 at 11:30. The state party was notified 1 hour before hand that Rep. Krinke was not going to attend the press conference, after the campaign said that they would attend earlier in the week. It is also worth noting that Rep. Krinkie’s meeting was one floor above the press conference in the same building, and Rep. Knoblach was able to leave that same meeting that Krinkie was in, walk down the stairs one level sign it and leave.

I can tell you from my years in the Minnesota Legislature that it is common practice for Reps. to leave a meeting for five minutes, as chair of the committee Krinkie actually had the power to call a recess, or pass the gavel onto the ranking member for five minutes to come sign the pledge.

Finally, Krinkie could have signed the pledge before hand, or afterwords. So I ask you Andy as a BPOU Chair, and grassroots activist, why are you not upset at YOUR GUY for not signing this when there were plenty of chances for him to sign the state party pledge with cameras and press around?

Also read his e-update it is very clear that he is not going to sign the pledge.

If you honestly believe that he did not intend to dodge the signing ceremony I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.

Andy Parrish