U.S. Senate: Unplugging our ears
Submitted by Charley Underwood on May 5, 2008 - 12:46pm.
I have been fuming for weeks about the sequestering of Al Franken. No more debates with Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer. No more joint appearances of any kind with Jack. At congressional district convention after convention, Franken people on the rules committees have proposed 2 and 3 minute candidate speeches, with no question and answer period. Even though the times have been increased, Franken delegates have been quite stubborn in voting down any Q & A. Imagine a willful child, plugging his ears and shouting, "I can't hear you." And they haven't wanted undecided delegates to hear the candidates either.
Naturally, this tactic makes campaigning hard for my candidate Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer. Jack is magnificent in his stump speech, and he shines even more during questions. Franken, on the other hand, has lost every debate ever held and has done even worse during the Q & A. Franken has seemed tired, often rambling and sometimes even bored with the process. One gets the feeling that the candidate was to be selected on the basis of fame and fortune alone, and that any other considerations were somehow an affront.
Beyond the partisan advantage of restricting access to my favored candidate Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, I have always believed that such curtailments were fundamentally undemocratic and part of an insider game. Restricting delegate access to candidates belittles their endorsing role, and it alienates newcomers to the process.
The Duluth CD8 convention on Saturday, however, was different. First, the rules committee proposed 10 minute speeches instead of 2 or 3 minutes. Second, the amendment to add a question and answer session was approved, with many "Team Franken" shirts standing up in favor of the Q & A.
By happy circumstance, Franken, Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer and candidate Soren Sorenson were all there at the same time. Each was able to give a 7 minute speech, and each answered a series of essential questions in turn. It was perhaps the last such joint candidate forum we will be able to see until the state convention. Provided that the Franken people on the state rules committee don't shut off access in Rochester as well.
My guy did very well, of course. He always does. But more than that, I feel that the entire process has opened up and let a bit of fresh air in. Suddenly, it seems possible that we might broaden the conversation beyond money and celebrity, and that we might begin to discuss which candidate would actually represent us best in Washington. Suddenly, it seems as if me might return to the proper role of the state convention delegates: selecting the best candidate that the party can find, rather than just rubber-stamping the foregone conclusions of a few hasty insiders.
Today I am very optimistic about Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer. It is looking quite good. Even more, I am happy that the entire caucus/convention system seems to be working in a more open way. There may be hope for us still.
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Frontrunners and challengers
Well, frontrunners and challengers tend to have different interests when it comes to debates, so this is really nothing new. I don't remember district conventions getting turned into mini-debates in the past, and the delegates probably already have the information they need. So I think the "willful child, plugging ears" analogy here is overdrawn.
However, if this goes to a primary, I would very much appreciate a public debate between Franken and JNP. I think primaries in general are a good thing, and I think a primary in this case would be a good thing also. I and the other primary voters could use the information from a face-to-face. In this scenario I would probably hold it against Franken if he declined to debate.
Imagine
Voting Present, if you were the candidate, how much money would you figure to budget for a U.S. Senate primary in September?
Follow-up question: Should the DFL only seriously consider candidates with that sort of money, eliminating grassroots candidates without the wealthy patrons?
Debates
I'm happy to see the delegates voted for a Q. and A. in CD8. Believe it or not, the delegates are not necessarily politcal junkies like us who have all seen the senate candidates speak and debate multiple times. Obama (to his credit) brought out a lot of new people this time who are first time delegates that have not paid much attention to the U.S. Senate race.
who's talking about a primary?
I don't know why this issue of a primary race keeps raising its head. Al and Jack have both said countless times that they will honor the endorsement. In fact that was a 6th and 30 second question at the Q and A at the CD8 convention. Jack said yes he would honor the endorsement, and the reason is because the months until the election should be spent focused on the race against Norm, not on a race between democrats.
Al said he would honor the endorsement, and if Jack won, the very next day Al would have a fundraiser for Jack with all his Hollywood friends. (It's not the first time he's said this of course, and he included Jack's stock answer, which is that he will have one for Al with his Hollywood friends. Jack got up and corrected him "Hollywood friend." Jack can be a funny guy too, you know.)
Al and Jack are allies when it comes to beating Norm.
Yes, the mini debate at CD8 was unprecedented. But I didn't see anyone leaving their seats out of boredom or impatience.
The vote for the Q and A went something like 83 to 67. As Charlie alluded to, sometimes the political insiders are out of touch with the rest of the folks that have gotten involved.
"Well, frontrunners and
"Well, frontrunners and challengers tend to have different interests when it comes to debates . . . "
If a candidate wants the endorsement, he ought to be willing to do it the party's way. Spot's with Charley, only Spot would have used the word truculent rather than willful.
As far as the delegates having the information they need, that is manifestly untrue. One important ingredient in a successful candidate is the ability to engage in a one-on-one give-and-take debate with an opponent. We really have little idea how Franken would do against Norm Coleman. On his radio show, Franken was easily agitated and combative; he was always proving that he was the smartest guy in the room.
Well, guess what? Against JNP, Al is not the smartest one in the room.
yes it was extremely encouraging!
Thanks for getting the word out about how the CD8 convention went, Charlie. I was there too, and as a Jack supporter, it was magnificent. Not only did they vote to allow for 15 min Q and A for each candidate, but Jack's campaign managed to draw in lots more volunteers than Al's.
I was wondering where all the "grassroots" support is for Al? It surprised me. From what I heard about the 3 CD conventions the previous weekend where Jack visibility outweighed Al's, I was expecting that Al's campaign would try to get as many people there as possible. But there was only a handful of Al volunteers compared to dozens for Jack.
Consequently, I think that those delegates who have been supporting Al because of his supposed popularity were given some food for thought.
The Q and A format was agreed to by the two campaigns over the lunch break. The floor was given 15 minutes to submit written questions, and then the campaigns got together and chose 5 questions. Each of the 3 candidates was given 3 minutes to answer, and the order of who got to answer 1st, 2nd, and 3rd was rotated through the 5 questions. It really came out like a debate, and I can't imagine anybody thinking that 45 minutes was a waste of time.
I agree with Andrew, that many of the delegates have not taken the time to look seriously into the senate race, and I hope that the same kind of format can happen at the last CD convention for the 7th district on the 17th.
By the way, I was worried that including Soren Sorenson in the speeches and Q and A would be a waste of time. But Soren kept his speech and his answers brief and he brought out some very relevant and important aspects of all the issues addressed.. I hope we hear more from young Soren as the years go by.