In this morning's edition of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Minnesotans read about how mediocre, Bush-supporting, empty-suit, incumbent Republican senator Norm Coleman is still beating DFL frontrunner Al Franken in the latest poll.
Now pundits may dismiss this latest example of Franken's losing to Coleman with a grain of salt, saying that Franken's latest tax-related woes have caused this latest dip. The problem with that is the fact that Franken has been losing to Coleman for a while (50%-43% to Coleman a month ago & 48%-46% in March). I guess that one thing that can be said is that despite Franken's latest problems, he hasn't gotten any worse.
This latest poll and the Star Tribune article that is reporting it raises several issues. First and foremost is the (I believe to be completely FALSE) perception that Franken is the most "electable" candidate. I personally love and respect Al Franken and I think that much of the negativity directed at him is unfair, but he of the DEEP pockets, HIGH name recognition, "oodles" of DFL ESTABLISHMENT support, and national celebrity status should NOT BE LOSING to a sleazeball like Norm Coleman. I find Franken's complete STAGNATION to be very troubling to say the least.
The second issue brought up in the Strib's polling is the fact that Franken's opponent for the DFL nomination, Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, has continued to enjoy steady growth in the polling as he becomes more and more known to the electorate (26% in Mar., 31% in Apr. and 38% today). Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer is a true progressive populist from the same mold as the late, great Paul Wellstone. His impressive grassroots effort has won more and more converts along the way and he doesn't have ANY of the baggage that Al Franken has. I have advocated a re-examination of this race here, and given the fact that Franken continues to stagnate even with EVERY imaginable advantage while Nelson-Pallmeyer keeps growing, I will continue to hammer that point home.
One of the most interesting things from the article is the fact that erstwhile candidate, Mike Ciresi, who dropped out last March is quoted as saying that he will watch this race with "intense interest", even though for the time being he does not intend to re-enter the race. What makes Ciresi so "intense"? The fact that he runs ONLY one point less than Franken in a head-to-head against Coleman. Ciresi hasn't been in the race for two months and Franken is ONLY ONE POINT better?
The DFL nominating convention is only two and a half weeks away. Franken and Pallmeyer have both pledged to abide by the decision of the convention. Franken currently has a delegate lead and may even have enough to get the endorsement on the first ballot (60% of the delegates is required to get the endorsement). Franken's most compelling argument in his favor was that he was supposed to be the "ELECTABLE" one. There may be many great reasons to support Al Franken, unfortunately, the evidence suggests "electability" is NOT one of them.