The Races - Lots of Minnesota political news today.
In the Governor's Race - A well-placed source in the Republican Party tells me Tim Pawlenty and the Minnesota Republican Party are both having money trouble. Fundraising this past week has picked up, with some big contributions - but Pawlenty will need it. Polls show Pawlenty anywhere between "slightly behind Penny" and "a close third" - my source notes "If the election were today, Tim Penny would be the next governor. The insiders are very concerned.".
The party is scheduled to start running a million dollars' worth of TV ads statewide on Pawlenty's behalf in about a month (early October) and Pawlenty's campaign will follow up with a similar-sized TV ad campaign.
Pawlenty's campaign management has also come under fire from insiders. Says my source: "Reportedly Tim Commers is not up to the job. This is not a knock on Tim. He has a family and a job...Pawlenty has been reduced to running his own campaign". My source also hears that
staffers do a lot of sitting around doing not much of anything since Commers is unwilling to crack the whip. This news is surprising. Tim has access to some very gifted staffers, particularly Chas Anderson. Talk has been that Dwight Tostenson may be called upon to move into that office. This would be a good thing. Dwight has no problem at all being the heavy.That should change, though - longtime RPM finance manager Dwight Tostenson has come over to crack the whip. "The staff who had been coming in at 10-11am and leaving at 4pm is now reporting to work at 830am and leaving at 9-10pm and everybody worked thru the Labor Day weekend", my source says.
It's going to be a hairy race, in any case. But we knew that, right?
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In the Senate Race - Rumors have it that Coleman is down in the latest polls by significant amount. Coleman's campaign has apparently brought in a consultant - the one that helped Asa Hutchinson rebound from a 15 point deficit late in that campaign. They've also brough in, apparently, another heavy-hitter to work with campaign manager Ben Whitney.
Says my source:
I heard 2 days ago that the White House is not satisfied and that Norm is a basket case. He has a nasty temper and is taking Karl Rove's criticism out on the staff. To be fair to Norm (which is difficult for me to do) he is in a close race and believe me, until you experience it, you can't imagine the pressure. The word is that the White House is arranging for 100 field workers to come into the state and situate themselves in every CD in order to push Norm over the top.The report on the field workers is unconfirmed.
This is obviously an important race - to everyone. Says my source: "The White House is calling the shots and it is really going to be expensive."
The Kline Race - The Kline campaign is suffering from internecine strife among the campaign staff - but the race is still Kline's to lose. "Kline's operation is dysfunctional. Joe Weber (Vin's brother) is the Campaign Manager and has not been working full time until recently", says the source, who adds "Apparently there is a lot of back biting in the office, particularly between the professional staff and volunteers from John's previous races.".
In good news for the Kline campaign, there are reports that George Bush the elder (the current President's father, or "George 41") will be visiting to raise funds for Kline.
Paging Oprah Winfrey- The LAX shooter - an Egyptian who constantly spouted hatred for Israel, and who bypassed a score of other terminals and gates to go specifically to the El Al counter to shoot two people on July 4, was not acting as a terrorist, says the FBI.
It was the "personal demons", says the report.
In related news, US and British Special Forces killed four personal demons as they tried to shoot at an American convoy in Afghanistan...
Anniversary Coverage - The first anniversary of the date 19 other personal demons killed 3,116 people is less than a week away. And the networks are all getting into full pretentious lather.
Here's a look ahead to the coverage.
Upset - Where's the anger over the attacks last year?
Lileks' Bleat today, for starters.
Hollywood Self-Absorption Alert - The great crimes facing this nation include murder, rape, child-abduction/murder, corporate malfeasance, and ageism against older hollywood actresses.
Doris Roberts, of "Everybody Loves Raymond", says
"When my grandchildren say I rock, they're not talking about a rocking chair," she told the Senate Special Committee on Aging. "Yet society considers me discardable, my opinions irrelevant, my needs comical and my tastes not worth attention in the marketplace. My peers and I are portrayed as dependent, helpless, unproductive and demanding rather than deserving. In reality, the majority of seniors are self-sufficient, middle-class consumers with more assets than most young couples and substantial time and talent to offer society. This is not just a sad situation, Mr. Chairman. This is a crime."Posted by Mitch at September 5, 2002 07:37 AM