WELLSTONE CAMPAIGN CONTINUES RUNNING COMMERCIAL

Fox News ^

[Quicksilver]

If one of Wellstone's sons are put on the ballot as a replacement it'll be like Carnahan in 2000.

[rwfromkansas]

Call the Coleman campaign. I am not sure what the phone number is, but I know he has a website.

[IMRight]

That's not all, I heard they are considering allowing Dem absentee voters to vote 'again' at the polls also, if they like.

I can't think of any way you can do that. The MN law that allows switches this close to an election obviously does create some problems like what to do with absentee ballots for Wellstone, but some of them can't be fixed. Think about the alternatives:

A) Cancel all existing absentee ballots and re-issue (perhaps extending the deadline for receipt) - What happens to all Coleman voters who can't/or don't receive their ballot or get it back in time? They voted properly the first time around. Can you "disenfranchise" them?

B) Replace just the Wellstone absentee ballots & let them vote again (or vote in person like you suggested they might). - Not possible. It's likely that MN works absentee balloting just like most states. There is some sort of identifying information that is seperate from the actual ballot to confirm the identity of the voter. This is seperated from the balot (their supposed to be annonymous) which is then kept with all the other ballots. There is no way to determine who voted for Wellstone. C) Count Wellstone ballots for the replacement candidate - Can't possibly be done. People vote for a candidate, not a party. The man (or woman) who inherits Wellstone's spot on the ballot does NOT inherit his votes! Wellstone was more popular than a liberal democrat would otherwise be...there are certainly SOME votes for Wellstone that would otherwise go to Coleman.

D) What else can you do?

However, I think the "25,000" number posted here is probably very high. Nowhere near half of the ballots would be received at this point - I think they mostly come in the final week. If 100,000 ballots have been mailed out, I would expect that 10-20,000 have been received. And since the republicans are the ones concentrating on absentee voting in MN this year they are probably largely for him. This probably means a net pickup of about 5,000 - 7,000 votes.

Not exactly chump change in a race that was supposed to be a close one.

[Otta B Sleepin]

Please do not include us freedom-loving, country-loving Minnesotans in your statement !!!

I'm from MN, but am a die-hard conservative!!

Ditto for this Minnesotan!

[rwfromkansas]

To Minnesotans: I assume you will do your best to spread the word about how Coleman is still the best candidate and that sympathy voting is not democratic since it is not based on your agreement with a candidate....:)

[coder2]

Everyone I talk to agrees with your statement and still plan on voting for Coleman...

What pisses me off though, over the past 24 hrs, I have had a number of phone calls from people asking me if I feel bad because I said negative things about Wellstone's politics.

I feel bad that he is dead, I grieve for the survivors, but I do NOT feel guilty about my views on his politics !!!

Sorry == just venting here (just got another phone call... ugh).

[WOSG]

A message I sent to Coleman campaign ...

---

Dear Campaign staffers -

Is Coleman making the same mistake Ashcroft did? Please do NOT suspend your campaign for long!

I hear the Democrats are CONTINUING TO RUN NEGATIVE ADS AND
POSITIVE WELLSTONE ADS. Yet you've let your online presense get reduced to a single
statement. I hope you are not also stopping the campaigning!

The death of Paul Wellstone was a tragedy, and Norm Coleman's statement was an
appropriate and sincere response to this sad occurance.
But the bottom line is our hope is whomever the DFL picks to replace Wellstone,
the voters will pick Republican Norm Coleman. And they will replace someoone,
and they will try to use 'sympathy' as a pretext for putting another Liberal in the U.S. Senate.
Coleman needs to be fully prepared for that,
and fully prepared to explain to voters why he not the DFL candidate should be the next Senator.

Deep down, I know that Norm's common sense message and philosophy is better than
the DFL Liberal philosophy, whether advocated by Wellstone or another Liberal replacement.

Right??? So please, take up the mantle of 'fighting the good fight for Minnesota' without delay!

Coleman needs to get out there asap and remind voters there is a great and positive choice for Senate.
He needs to show he is the RIGHT CHOICE. There is no disrespect here for
Wellstone's surviving family members in continuing to campaign at this time. Whatever
events occur, the voters need to make a choice for the future, and we need to do our duty
to present that choice so voters can make an honest selection of the best candidate.

And please, update your campaign website and bring it back online.
All you can see is the statement. At this time more than ever, you should give voters a
chance to see who you are.

Regards

WOSG

[WOSG]

Isnt that absolutely bizarre ... when Troch imploded it was a tragedy that Democrats couldnt get a guy on the ballot.


Here we have a live, prepared and excellent candidate, but the voters should pick a sub for the dead guy over a living andidate who worked for a year to put himself in front of the voters.

WHAT ABOUT RESPECT FOR THE LIVING?????

[MAKnight]

Minnesota Freepers should make sure that Coleman's campaign is up and running by Wednesday at the latest. E-Mail and phone his campaign headquarters to that effect. New ads (that do not mention the late Senator) must start being cut.

The Press would go ape but it must be done. What happened to Senator Wellstone was sad and incredibly tragic but we cannot allow the Democrats (and their Press allies) to orchestrate a Missouri 2000 and coast over on a sympathy vote. So when they (the Dems and the Press) ask if it is appropriate for the GOP to continue the campaign in light of the tragedy the answer is; "WE UNDERSTAND, BUT ARE CONFIDENT THAT THE LATE SENATOR WOULD HAVE WANTED US TO CONTINUE WITH OUR EFFORTS TO DO WHAT IS BEST FOR THE REPUBLIC." - [credit due to Tacis for this quote]

The Coleman campaign must stress that this race was about ideas and the direction our nation is headed ... and while Wellstone was a straight shooter, he was also straight-out wrong. In fact, the next time Coleman is seen by Minnesotans, it should be to see him eulogizing Senator Wellstone, giving tribute to a worthy opponent, right before announcing the continuing of his campaign. Then, he needs to be seen at the funeral and memorial service. IOW, it MUST be stressed that the campaign continuing is not a sign of disrespect but a sign that our democracy still lives and, knowing him, Senator Wellstone would have wanted it that way. Stress also, that the GOP expects the Democrats to quickly choose another Democrat who would carry on with Paul Wellstone's campaign ...

Also, it's important that we put the Democrats on the spot by (VERY subtly but VERY clearly) stressing the fact, again and again, that we hope that the Democrat Party does not lack honor so much that it would seek to use this tragic event in ANY WAY to aid it on Election Day. We have to make sure they don't exploit this tragedy ... Paul Wellstone's picture, image or voice must not be used in any campaign ad. If they try, the Coleman campaign must attack them for all it's worth. Furthermore, the Coleman should not be afraid to respond in kind to negative ads by the replacement candidate's campaign.

In fact, the state GOP should immediately blanket the air waves with eulogies to Senator Wellstone, given by Tim Pawlenty, the State GOP Chairman, even President Bush, etc. (anybody except Coleman), i.e. " ... he was an honest and honorable man and a passionate believer in his views, even though he and I almost always saw things differently ..."

Get in contact with any Minnesota Republican Party big dog you know as soon as you can and try and get him to get in contact with the Coleman campaign with this. It may seem cynical but we have to be realistic. We still NEED to take back the Senate. The Democrats didn't hesitate in taking advantage when Coverdell died and while we're a great deal more principled, we should not throw this election away.

[nepdap]

Gee, how many dead Democrats are still "running"?

Hey, it's only reasonable to elect dead Democrats, since dead Democrats can vote.

[Gunder]

Mega Minneapolis Dittos!

[LiveFreeOrDie2001]

People who voted here in Mn. for Wellstone on the absentee ballot CAN RE-VOTE again if the word gets out....

[LiveFreeOrDie2001]

I hope there's not too big a sympathy vote here, but if Mondale is the canidate, Norm's in trouble...

Fellow Minnesotans: Please help Norm by stopping people from sympathy voting...!

[TC Rider]

Well put.

I was just reporting what I heard on Fox about the absentee ballots. It may have just been wishing and hoping on Dems part.

That strategy would kill them in NC. There are a huge number of Dem registered, Jesse Helms voters here (some day I'll explain why). If they let Dem absentee voters have a redo, it would mean tons of double votes for Jesse.

[TransOxus]

RINOs have taken over the the Republican party. Coleman should only stop running ads for a couple of days and then get back to campaigning. Unbelievable how wimpy the Republican leadership is. Read the history how Republican Party in its beginnings when it was a new party. There was no namby-pampy campaigning then - they had had no qualms about pulling fast ones or hitting back hard when the RATs did everything unethical. And they succeeded. Somewhere during the FDR era, they stopped fighting hard to win. Only times they did and showed it succeeded were during Reagan and Newt's times. Remember how the RATs went into a tizzy and frothed impotently. Stand and fight for what you believe in -the American Ideal- and voters will respond to the party who cares by showing the fighting spirit to defend what is right.

[Brian Allen]

<< Gee, how many dead Democrats are still "running"? >>

As many as it takes to represent that "dead"-set crucial percentage of their "voters" that swings "elections" to them.

[Wild Irish Rogue]

The Coleman people should say that they will celebrate Wellstone's life-by resuming the campaign-it's what he would have wanted, he believed in American politics and the Constitution,etc-make a positive out of a negative and do it,in Wellstone's honor.And donating 5 or 10k to a scholarship fund, in his name-wouldn't hurt either. The Republicans must NOT let the Democrats get away with- " Our candidate died, ergo-we deserve the seat, cancel the election!"

[Common Tator]

Read the history how Republican Party in its beginnings when it was a new party.

Yes but the Republican party at its start was the leftist party. Strongest amoung the left leaning. Republicans in the early years were for a very strong federal government and weak state govenrments. It was Lincoln who suspended habeas corpus. It was Repubicans that treated the killing of Lincoln as a FEDERAL crime. It was the Repubican partyof the 1800s that was the high taxes and lots of government control. The Repubicans fought a war to preserve the supremacy of the Federal government.... They called it the Union ...But that is another name for the supremacy the federal government over our lives ... of don't cha know. The UNION was the federal government wasn't it? When Lincoln said preserve the union, he did not mean pickle it.. did he? Formaldahyde it? Grow it?

In 1870 you would have been a Democrat unless you are really a liberal. The leftists in the early days of the Republican party were all Republicans. Democrats were the conservatives.

Someone once asked the difference between the policies of Republican Teddy Roosevelt and Democrat Franklin Roosevlet.

I replied.

The biggest difference between Teddy Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt was their last name.

[Endeavor]

I went to the Coleman campaign site - I'd gladly call the campaign folks to encourage them to fight on, but all I got was a statement acknowledging Wellstone's death.

[Endeavor]

"The Republicans must NOT let the Democrats get away with- " Our candidate died, ergo-we deserve the seat, cancel the election!"

Alan Colmes, the left wing half wit on Fox said last night that MN was leaning towards Wellstone so it'd only be right that the next senator from MN would represent his views. To that I say, BULLSHIT.