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Coleman shows trademark political agility (Rino,MN)
StarTribune ^ | 1/12/07 | Rob Hotakainen

Posted on 01/13/2007 10:43:39 AM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo

Norm Coleman was talking about the war this week on the Senate floor: "Our current path isn't working," he said. "You have to be flexible and you have to shift, you have to make change." The Minnesota Republican could just as well have been talking about his own political life. After a career marked by nimbleness, Coleman is again switching gears, putting distance between himself and President Bush and vowing to work with Democrats who control Congress.

And he's gaining plenty of attention for doing it.

On Friday, for example, the New York Times saluted Coleman with its "quotation of the day," highlighting the senator's doubt over the readiness of Iraqis to stop sectarian fighting: "Why put more American lives on the line now in the hope that this time [Iraqis will] make the difficult choice?"

(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; Politics/Elections; US: Minnesota
KEYWORDS: flipflop; intelligent; rino; senatorcoleman; truthful; waffle
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1 posted on 01/13/2007 10:43:42 AM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo
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To: MNJohnnie; cibco; defconw

PING...this guy has to go...hopefully you guys can find a conservative candidate next time,..ugh


2 posted on 01/13/2007 10:48:16 AM PST by Txsleuth (FREEPATHON TIME-Please become a monthly donor, or Dollar a Day donor.)
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To: Txsleuth
...hopefully you guys can find a conservative candidate next time...

Absolutely. Maybe we can get the last guy who ran against Klobachar to carry the GOP banner. I don't remember anyone on FR objecting to him. Then we could have a Senate delegation of Klobachar and Al Franken from the great state of Minnesota on the '08 congress.

3 posted on 01/13/2007 10:51:50 AM PST by MovementConservative (The US will win in Iraq. Thank you all US troops.)
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo

Rino,MN?

map coordinates, please ;)


4 posted on 01/13/2007 10:52:33 AM PST by sageb1 (This is the Final Crusade. There are only 2 sides. Pick one.)
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To: sageb1

Voting with President Bush 98% of the time in '03 is the directions to being called a Rino by some of the finer thinkers on FR.


5 posted on 01/13/2007 11:00:06 AM PST by MovementConservative (The US will win in Iraq. Thank you all US troops.)
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To: sageb1

Obviously you did not get the message Norm. The Dimwits may be in, but the RINOs are definitely on their way out.
Just ask your old pal, Linc Chaffee.


6 posted on 01/13/2007 11:01:11 AM PST by acapesket (never had a vote count in all my years here)
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To: MovementConservative

Hey...I have been sort of disappointed in Norm before...because of his vote against ANWR...but, I let it slide, because he campaigned...saying he would vote against it.

I gave him points for integrity...instead of bashing his lack of foresight.

However...when he goes squishy on NATIONAL SECURITY...the other 98% of the time he votes GOP doesn't mean anything.


7 posted on 01/13/2007 11:08:40 AM PST by Txsleuth (FREEPATHON TIME-Please become a monthly donor, or Dollar a Day donor.)
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To: Txsleuth
I guess I will wait and see if this stands or they end up having to retract it. The whole spin on this article is based on two out of context quotes pulled out by the "Journalist" who then put his own emotion based interpretation on them. Any time they put out these hit pieces on a Republican, I always want to see the statements in context. More time then not it is the Journalists who is the slime.

However it would not surprise me. Coleman is a Democrat who switched parties. This is not the first time he has gone wobbly. He was wobbly on ANWAR. The fact of the matter this is about the best we can do here. The last time a "Conservative" won in Minnesota was probably the 1940s. By the current 100%er dogma of the "Conservatives" talking heads, Pawlenty is RINO too.

The only Conservative we have here anymore are the few Repubs from safe districts. More of the "having to think about all this nasty war stuff makes me feel bad so I want it all to just go away" stupidity of the current crop of Americans voters on display.

It was a nice experiment while it lasted but the current crop of Americans are to busy being fat, dumb and sanctimonious whiners to bother dealing with reality of how the rest of the world really works.

That can work for the sheep only so long as the guard dogs are willing to defend the sheep, what happens when the guard dogs decide the protecting the sheep are not worth the sacrifices they have to make?
8 posted on 01/13/2007 11:08:45 AM PST by MNJohnnie (I do not forgive Senator John McCain for helping destroy everything we built since 1980.)
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo

His new position won't save him. He will be defeated next election.


9 posted on 01/13/2007 11:09:23 AM PST by montag813
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To: MovementConservative

I sent him $. How could I have been so stupid? This man lacks loyalty. He can go get his $ from AIPAC and his votes from the RATS.

Will we have a primary opponent? I hope so. President Bush told Pawlenty not to oppose him in the Senate primary. Pawlenty didn't and then Wellstone died and Mondale ran in his place. Coleman won because Mondale seemed somewhat senile and out of sorts. But without POTUS old Coleman baby would have been working as a poorly paid lawyer. After all, he had let Jesse Ventura beat him in a previous run for governor. Definitely not a winner without outside help.

So it is back to the drawing board in Minnesota. Maybe we can get Mark Kennedy to run against him. This time as a real conservative and not some phony effort to picture himself as a Washington outsider like Mr. Smith goes to Washing type.


10 posted on 01/13/2007 11:12:29 AM PST by shrinkermd
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To: montag813

Well, I certainly won't vote for him.


11 posted on 01/13/2007 11:15:59 AM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo
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To: Txsleuth
However...when he goes squishy on NATIONAL SECURITY...the other 98% of the time he votes GOP doesn't mean anything.

Rhetoric is nothing. Coleman nor any of the other 99 senators are commander in chief. Bush is, and until legislators start voting to cut funding, let them express doubt all they want. I believe that Bush has a real shot here in Iraq this year and I believe Coleman, Smith, Hagel, and others want us to win too. What they say about troop increase matters nothing. The US will go forward to great victory in Iraq this year, or we are all majorly f*cked.

12 posted on 01/13/2007 11:17:48 AM PST by MovementConservative (The US will win in Iraq. Thank you all US troops.)
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo
After a career marked by nimbleness, Coleman is again switching gears, putting distance between himself and President Bush and vowing to work with Democrats who control Congress.

I'm sorry I donated to this bozo's campaign in 2002.......

13 posted on 01/13/2007 11:19:27 AM PST by Rummyfan (Iraq: Give therapeutic violence a chance!)
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To: MovementConservative
The US will go forward to great victory in Iraq this year, or we are all majorly f*cked.

You can say that again!

14 posted on 01/13/2007 11:21:39 AM PST by Rummyfan (Iraq: Give therapeutic violence a chance!)
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To: MNJohnnie

Yeah...you are right about the possible spin put on this story by the reporters.

I am just as disgusted with the "100%ers" as you are, Johnnie...which is why we are in the minority.

I just get very unhappy when politicians decide to "distance" themselves from the POTUS/CIC on national security matters, during the time of war.

I have also noticed that depending on what one's pet complaint about the POTUS and GOP is....one will use THAT as the reason we lost..and that that particular interest is what "Americans want changed".

Notice that the border controllers are sure that it was Bush's immigration policies is what lost the election..the same with the anti-Bush war plan people...the same with the economic too much spending crowd....the "no child left behind" and Medicare Part D ers....the embryonic stem cell people...

ALL of these groups SWEAR that it was their cause that was unfulfilled to their liking that lost the election for the GOP!!

Under these circumstances, how will the GOP ever find a candidate that they like?? Pres. Bush was re-elected with ALL of the above things KNOWN at the time...but now, those are the reason that no one, like Norm Coleman and others want to be seen with Pres. Bush.

Oh..well.


15 posted on 01/13/2007 11:24:13 AM PST by Txsleuth (FREEPATHON TIME-Please become a monthly donor, or Dollar a Day donor.)
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To: MovementConservative

Do you really think that when they express their "doubts" to the media...that that will NOT affect our troops, and the enemy??

Of course is give the enemy hope...and puts the troops in more danger...and then when they hear that from a GOP Senator...and then have Hillary show up in Iraq, telling the press that the USA can't succeed...I am sure they will cheer his "freedom to express his doubts".

He said the troops want to come home...in that article...well, of course they do...no soldier LIKES to be away from home and get shot at. I wonder if he would tell us if the troops want to come home as LOSERS..and seeing Iraq taken over by al-queda or Iran.


16 posted on 01/13/2007 11:32:05 AM PST by Txsleuth (FREEPATHON TIME-Please become a monthly donor, or Dollar a Day donor.)
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To: Txsleuth

Like I said, I will wait until I can actually read all he said instead of trusting the claims of a wako way Left Junk media outlet like the Star Trib claims he said. However, I am so cynical these days nothing surprises me. Be really nice if even a FEW people in DC other then GW Bush were more worried about the good of the country then the politics of 2008.


17 posted on 01/13/2007 11:39:28 AM PST by MNJohnnie (I do not forgive Senator John McCain for helping destroy everything we built since 1980.)
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To: montag813
His new position won't save him. He will be defeated next election.

God, I hope not.

Senator Franken?

18 posted on 01/13/2007 11:40:43 AM PST by highball ("I never should have switched from scotch to martinis." -- the last words of Humphrey Bogart)
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To: MNJohnnie

Great point...but, the media seems to want to frame every single bit of news around 2008...and that is the prism we get.

If you hear anything there...from a source you trust more...please let me know.

I don't want to bash Norm anymore if he is being mischaracterized in this article.


19 posted on 01/13/2007 11:48:44 AM PST by Txsleuth (FREEPATHON TIME-Please become a monthly donor, or Dollar a Day donor.)
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To: MNJohnnie

You forgot about Sen. Rod Grams, he wasn't a liberal.


20 posted on 01/13/2007 11:51:21 AM PST by fieldmarshaldj (Cheney X -- Destroying the Liberal Democrat Traitors By Any Means Necessary -- Ya Dig ? Sho 'Nuff.)
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