SD45 as usual put on a great forum last night. Republican Governor candidates Tom Emmer and Marty Seifert faced off in Plymouth. The moderator for the event was a complete let down, but luckily the candidates were skilled enough to get their messages out anyways.

There was some under handed behavior by some people there who are against Emmer. One Emmer supporter had to pull Tom Emmer lit pieces out of the urinals. There was also another Seifert person actually video taping Tom Emmer as he talked with people after the event. The person was wearing a Seifert t-shirt and fraternizing with the Seifert staffers after his super duper taping with a cell phone far enough away not to get the audio. Siiighhh

As for the debate you got to see the real differences between the candidates. Seifert had dumped a budget plan moments before the debate and used it numerous times trying to say Tom Emmer has done nothing. The petiness of it, not to mention the fact that introducing that to a GOP Debate, is not the same as introducing it in the Legislature.

Also cute by Seifert was the instant fact check docs that he had his staffers handing out to the press during the debate. Let the better man win, right?

As far as the actual debate, I think most of the information has come out in various outlets and forums. We know the Seifert attacks against Emmer. We know Seifert has been too nuanced from time to time on the issues at the legislature. That was also on display last night.

I didn’t take notes and the specifics aren’t coming to me this morning. But there were a few times that Seifert claimed to know Tom Emmer’s motives on issues like Tort reform. Trying to demonize him as a puppet of the trial lawyer bar. Of course for those who believe in the truth will be surprised when they hear it. But Seifert is going to try to paint Emmer as a liberal prosecuting trial lawyer in the mold of John Edwards.

That is the only real ammunition Seifert has. Emmer’s record and ratings are pretty consitantly better then Seifert’s. And the trial lawyer bashing plays well in the GOP. Unfortunately for Seifert, Emmer isn’t a trial lawyer like Edwards, he has been on the defense side of the court room. And he not only knows the problems with the justice laws when it comes to fraudulent lawsuits, but he has actually tried to pass comprehensive tort reform.

Not cookie cutter or dollar caps, but real reform that will not only prevent frivolous lawsuits, but reduce health care costs by eliminating the required defensive medicine doctors perform just in case they do get sued. Hopefully Emmer does release a response on Emmer truth. I’ve heard him address this complaint with Delegates and he can do far better service to his position on tort reform then Marty Seifert, his oppo researchers in his campaign, or I can.

Oh, one other thing that was noticeable, Seifert’s runningmate was in attendance, but it may have been far wiser to have had her out meeting with Delegates. She didn’t garner much attention and seemed to be isolated in the back of the room. Her time could have been spent much better talking to Delegates who weren’t there. That is the point of having a runningmate this early, to have the campaign message being spread in two places at the same time. Just advice.

More advice to the 2 sides coming out of the debate:

Seifert: He has got to get a handle on his staffers and supporters. I talked to someone who was around for the 06 CD6 endorsement battle who is seeing many of the same things that took years to get over. Negativity, mean spiritedness, and willing to do and say anything to win. Also, one debate point that  - for the lack of a better phrase – left me dumbfounded. In his closing remarks, or final question, Seifert was talking about the sacrifice he has made being in the Legislature for 14 years. Being away from his family 6 days a week, and such. And it did make me go, well yeah, if you put it that way, but then, with out skipping a beat, he went on to bash Emmer for having served longer then him (including Emmer’s local elective service) and how bad that was. You can’t make the case FOR public service to defend against the career politician angle, but then turn right around and attack someone on the career politician angle.   — Desperate.

Emmer: The tort reform issue is the one that is going to be a problem if Seifert continues to have his campaign and supporters mislead on the truth. You have to come out with a clear proposal for tort reform. Video, web article, or report. Heck, even a bill at the Legislature.  I also would urge you to make sure your campaign stays positive. I am probably biased, but I haven’t seen too much with own eyes that causes me to squirm, but it never hurts to lay out how you want people to behave on your behalf.  You remained calm, presented yourself well, and I will be in touch with more tips if you want.

Again, good job by SD45. Hey, everyone makes bad choices, the moderator didn’t ruin the event. Also great to see some many people at the Emmer event after. There is momentum behind Emmer. Let’s keep on trucking.