There have been a few diaries recently here on DailyKos where some Minnesotans (with varying degrees of tact) have asked out of state contributors not to convey an early endorsement to one nationally famous candidate by contributing out of state dollars disproportionately to that candidate's campaign. I will continue to suggest that the out of state donors that have pumped money into the celebrity campaign pump equal dollars into the coffers of the true Minnesotan and peace candidate running for U.S. Senate, Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer. For impeachment supporters (looks like 96% or better of you, Jack is the only candidate that has endorsed the PDA strategy of pursuing impeachment now to refute the crimes of the current administration). This diary is not about that, exactly....
What this diary is about is the fact that we have a strong sense of place, as no doubt you do, wherever it is that you read, comment, tip, rec and post from... While I could, I won't provide dozens of accurate quotes from Garrison Keillor about our comically overblown regional pride (which Garrison can pick up and describe because he is really derived from a different cultural perspective - that of the Anglo overlord - though he fell deeply in love with Minnesotan Scandihoovians and now knows us better than we know ourselves). Even non-Scandinavian Minnesotans have a shared sense of self that mixes a sense of fairness and social justice with the landscape of lakes, prairies and harsh winters that makes us Minnesotans first, Democrats, Americans, whatever second.
We also fully expect you have the same scorn for dollar driven political or cultural forces that come from outside your community, and we generally try not to be one. My case in point is the most recent post from Evil Bobby:
There was another point in the evening where I was less successful in suppressing my urge to speak up. Regarding the group activities which this newly formed coalition would conduct, we were told that we would play a role in the Iowa Caucuses. This perked up my eyebrows, though I seem to have been the only one perturbed regarding the idea of Southern Minnesotans invading Northern Iowa.
Maybe this comes from growing up hearing stories at family gatherings regarding Bleeding Kansas. During Bleeding Kansas, pro-slavery Missourians tried to influence the outcome of the Kansas elections regarding that most important issue of the time. My Mom’s family comes mostly from Eastern Kansas, and I am a 4th generation Jayhawk. A basic lesson learned, was that outsiders have no good business trying to influence the politics in places they don’t live. Kansas should have been free from Southern influence(If you ever go to Lawrence, be sure to stop in at the FreeState Brewery for a pint!).
Even today political purity is impossible to enforce. Money is being poured into the coffers of politicians which have gained favor with groups residing elsewhere. Worse still, is the increasing trend of activists operating within a district which they don’t vote in.
I personally feel this is highly unethical, though others may disagree. However it is roundly agreed upon that a political activist operating in an area in which he/she doesn’t vote, but is writing or acting as though they do, should be roundly condemned for this fraudulent behavior. Given that I’d already argued this point several times amongst other politically active friends, the Obama Campaign’s suggestion that we residents of Minnesota go door knocking in Iowa didn’t sit well with me.
Anyway, let us endorse our own Senate candidate. If you want to help in anyway, try to persuade the DSCC to list all of U.S. Senate candidates on the Minnesota page, not just those that appeal to Chuck Schumer's lobbyist driven-sense of centrist palatability. If you want to contribute to a candidate who will eventually defeat Norm Coleman, than contribute equally to all of our candidates... or help some of start some sort of PAC that can research and expose the vulnerabilities of Coleman without disrupting our democratic Democratic process, which doesn't begin here until February 5th. Let us have our votes first, we would probably not try to pick your candidates for you.
Thanks!
Update: While this diary was supposed to be a clue for out of state donors about how some Minnesotans feel about trespassing on other's political turf, and vice versa, being trespassed on by out of state forces like the DSCC and out of state blog-based PACs like blue-whatever, some Franken supporter turned nasty, desperate and started swearing. So now you can digg this diary as: Al Franken's out of state popularity undermining DFL endorsement process.
Seriously, the DSCC picking winners destroys public confidence in the Democratic Party because it exposes the party leadership's distrust of democracy and the very people they supposedly represent.