The Other Kennedy, The Other Mark

Mark Kennedy won the GOP Senate nomination with just under 80% of the vote in one ballot last night.

About 15% of the delegates voted for Harold Shudlick, which is about three times what I'd expected. I suspect there was a bigger protest vote from the solid right than the party's leadership expected; there's a serious strain among the delegates, I think, that is piqued (if not angry) with Kennedy over some of his moves, however tentative, to the center (Anwar being a big one). I don't think it'll translate to the general.

We were off the air by the time the vote came out, and King and I had left the building (it was a school night and I had kids at home) long before Kennedy took the stage.

Ringer, however, was there:

From an endorsement introduction speech that last mere minutes, Kennedy moved on at tremendous length to highlight some of the differences with his “unnamed” DFL opponent, albeit with the disclaimer of attempting to run a campaign with “civility.” And true to his statement, Kennedy says very little negative…other than whispering Amy Klobuchar’s name to laughs, boos and hisses…in that order. Indeed, Kennedy’s harshed criticism of Klobuchar this evening didn’t even invoke her name as Kennedy spoke of the violence that has reintroduced itself to the streets of Minneapolis.

Kennedy stressed improving education while invoking his family’s history as educators themselves while noting his opposition to No Child Left Behind or any program that places “Washington bureaucrats” over the needs and wishes of local control. In all, Kennedy’s message, although not delivered with the same rhetorical talent, was Gipperesque in tone—a Gingrich Revolution-era, small government, local control agenda.

All and more with a healthy dolp of strong national security—“cutting and running may be a path but it’s the wrong path”—and Kennedy’s comments tonight will earn the scorn of traditional liberals and should earn the praise and vote of traditional conservatives.