No Gorilla
By Mitch Berg
Conventional wisdom is wrong; Norm Coleman is not running for Governor of Minnesota:
“I love Minnesota and I love public service, but this is not the right time for me and my family to conduct a campaign for Governor.
Timing is everything. The timing on this race is both a bit too soon and a bit too late. It is too soon after my last race and too late to do a proper job of seeking the support of delegates who will decide in which direction our party should go. The commitments I have to my family and the work I am currently engaged in do not allow me to now go forward.
At the moment, I am tremendously energized by the work I am currently involved in to create a positive, center right agenda for this country. Anger on the left and anger on the right will get us nowhere. In Minnesota, we face a jobs deficit, a budget deficit and a bipartisanship deficit. We must all put aside the bitterness and sniping and remember that behind every job loss and every home foreclosure is a Minnesota family losing hope and confidence.
That changes the Gubernatorial race again. Until this, it looked like the convention was going to be a movement-conservative rear-guard action to try to sway the primary against Coleman. Now, with this news and the departure of Pat Anderson from the race to switch to Auditor, it looks like it’s going to be a battle to see which movement conservative – Emmer or Hann – can overcome Marty Seifert’s big lead with the GOP (not necessarily conservative) establishment at the convention.
It’s a whole new race. And a big opportunity for conservatives – all of you, the Paulbots and Tea Partiers and Tax Protesters and pro-lifers and the whole works – to make a huge difference.
January 18th, 2010 at 3:22 am
I wrote about Norm, too. I titled the post Let’s applaud Sen. Coleman, Minnesota’s statesman.
January 18th, 2010 at 8:26 am
Thank you SENATOR Coleman!
I’m excited too, except I don’t know which horse to ride with the best field of candidates I can remember! Bring on the Caucus!
January 18th, 2010 at 9:48 am
2009 fund raising results will be available at the end of the month. From what I’ve read so far, Seifert will have a 2:1 edge on Emmer. This disparity will probably grow as Seifert has the biggest chance to grab Coleman donors.
It’s time for the “liberty-minded” supporters of Emmer to dig up some of those Krugerrands buried in the back yard and send them to Tom. Freedom isn’t free, and neither is “liberty”.
January 18th, 2010 at 10:02 am
I recall that “meet-n-greet” we had with Pat Anderson a couple of months ago. She was very adamant then that Coleman was not running. Apparently she knew something many others did not.
January 18th, 2010 at 10:06 am
“Apparently she knew something many others did not.”
Yet she claimed to get out of the Goober race because of Coleman’s near certain entry?
January 18th, 2010 at 11:42 am
I’m very happy Coleman is out and very excited about Sen. David Hann. My reasons here –
http://dogparkwalker.blogspot.com/2010/01/david-hann-for-governor.html
“The Republican Party made a mistake in the past 10-years when they ran candidates who were good politicians that could speak to conservatives. Theses candidates were reasonably successful for a time, but when the chips were down these big government pragmatist Republicans such as George W. Bush, John McCain and Norm Coleman acted to nationalize the housing, banking and auto industry in the name of corporate bailouts.”
Click the link to read the rest.
January 18th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
I couldn’t be more pleased with the news that Coleman is NOT running. Prayers answered!
January 18th, 2010 at 12:46 pm
Yet she claimed to get out of the Goober race because of Coleman’s near certain entry?
I think her concern was centered more around the fact that many GOP contributors were awaiting Coleman’s possible candidacy, thus hampering the rest of the field’s ability to raise money. Sure, she could have said “Norm’s not running” until she was blue in the face. But until Norm made a public statement, many people just didn’t seem to want to hitch their wagon to the likes of Anderson, Emmer, Hann, Seifert, etc.
January 18th, 2010 at 12:59 pm
Good call by Norm. The possibility of his entering the race was like a cloud obscuring the nomination situation. This should help bring clarity and get people more interested in the candidates who are in the race.
January 18th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
[…] Republican, DFL (Democratic), and Independence Party candidates. KSTP got the scoop (via Shot in the Dark): Former Senator Norm Coleman told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS Chief Political Reporter Tom Hauser Sunday he […]