Wellstone Campaign Manager Apologizes for Memorial Service

The New York Times ^ | 10-30-02 | By JODI WILGOREN

[Oldeconomybuyer]

[snip] 

The manager of Mr. Wellstone's Senate campaign, Jeff Blodgett, apologized that one of the speakers at the memorial service, Rick Kahn, had turned his eulogy into a rousing call for Democratic votes.

"I deeply regret if anyone took offense or was taken by surprise at some of the content," Mr. Blodgett said outside the Wellstone headquarters, where a memorial shrine continues to grow and draw visitors. "I was as surprised as everyone else."

Mr. Blodgett said the service was not "orchestrated or scripted" and that the family of each victim had asked individuals to "speak from the heart."

"It would probably have been best not to have the election mentioned," said Mr. Blodgett, who also announced that the Wellstone campaign was shutting down and that workers would be getting their final paychecks.

The controversies obscured what appears to be a remarkable resuscitation of a politician who was last on a ballot in the 1984 presidential race, when he barely won his home state and lost in a landslide to Ronald Reagan. If Mr. Mondale is elected, he would be one of more than 30 people who left the Senate and later returned, though his hiatus — 26 years — would be the longest in history.

A new poll published in this morning's Minneapolis Star Tribune shows Mr. Mondale has 98 percent name recognition across the state, and leads Mr. Coleman 47 percent to 39 percent, a slightly larger gap than Mr. Wellstone's 6-point lead two weeks ago.

But the newspaper cautioned that its poll had been conducted in just one night, while it usually stretches phone calls over several days. The percentage of voters who said they were undecided in the race rose from 7 percent to 11 percent.

At Tuesday's memorial service, which has drawn complaints from Republicans for its partisan tone, Mr. Mondale was greeted by the crowd with chanting of his nickname, "Fritz! Fritz! Fritz!"

Mr. Coleman has acknowledged that he faces a daunting task in this campaign. At this morning's rally, and on interviews with NBC's "Today," MSNBC and a local radio station, he said several times that it would be like "running against Mount Rushmore." He admitted that the Republican state chairman's call for five debates over five days is unrealistic but said he hoped to have "a couple."

[brewcrew]

What the hell? Wellstone himself would've been proud to be part of such a blatant display of socialist manipulation.

[AmishDude]

First, it turns out the poll is bogus because they oversampled Democrats (I'd link but FR is just too slow for me to find it). Second, it isn't so much about Rick Kahn, it's about the audience. There weren't a bunch of people who were shocked, shocked! at what they saw. They cheered. Third, the toothpaste is out of the tube.

[KC Burke]

Rather than thinking of himself running against Mt. Rushmore, it would be better to keep saying, "I didn't know ol' Fritz was back in the country from the Far East influence-peddling he was so tied up in during the Clinton Administration...gosh, I remember when my dad was campaigning against him."

[blam]

Wellstone was a socialist puke!

[ctonious]

This was, among many things,a blatant sucker punch. Aside from the ghoulish behavior of the Democrat leadership dancing on the grave of Wellstone, this absolutely flawlessly scripted campaign convention for control of the Senate, belies the sanctimonious deviousness of all the indignant Democrats demanding that Republicans completely stand down on all campaign activities while they wipe away their crocodile tears.

Today, parties on both sides of the aisle stand in bewilderment. Many Democrats stand with open mouths, saying "Wha...what's the problem?", just like the kids that brutally murdered the poor Wisconsin man who had the temerity to defend his home against a bunch of juvenile, criminal rats. "Wha..?"

And most Republicans stand silently aghast, disbelieving just what they saw, and trying to figure out where one would start with explaining how absolutely disgusting this display was, and the party that would be proud of it.

[ffrancone]

IT'S 6 DAYS 'TIL THE ELECTION

GOOD INTENTIONS DON'T WIN ELECTIONS.

YOU CAN HELP, TODAY. GO TO:

TakeBackCongress.org

A resource for conservatives who want a Republican majority in the Senate

[Askel5]

lol ... it's ludicrous, is it not?

[rightwingextremist1776]

Just replace the chants of “we will win, we will win” with “sig heil, sig heil” and that about sums up this Rat feast . Like a bunch of vultures these Rats. Led by the head Rat McNasty himself.

[boomop1]

They got their free 4 hours of BS with the chief dic*head clinton running the scam, please Mn voters win this for Coleman and further humiliate the impeached scum bag.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

It's interesting that the apology came from the Wellstone campaign manager and was printed in the NY Times. The overnight DNC polling must have been f'ing brutal!

[MNlurker]

I think they're beginning to realize they screwed the pooch on this one.

Radio all day here has people calling in VERY upset. Republicans even more juiced for vote. Money is pouring in. Democrats even calling in saying they are now voting for Coleman (we'll see...).

I think they are seeing the election blow up in their faces and are trying to do whatever they can.

Jesse may be an idiot, but people still listen to him here and his railing against last night will not help the Dem cause.

[jmaroneps37]

This is great stuff, when you are apologizing, you're not scoring points. With the remarks from the wrestler and the bull shiite poll which will be exposed as such, who knows?

[Letitring]

More lies from the Democrats. The speakers read from their notes. It was indeed scripted and lying about it makes it worse, if that could be humanly possible. They took a dead United States Senator and made a lewd, crude, vulgar mockery of him and the office he held.

[Feiny]

Exactly. Oh, you guys thought it was awful...we apologize....forgive us? Then get out & vote for Paul!

I remain disgusted.

[I still care]

The manager of Mr. Wellstone's Senate campaign, Jeff Blodgett, apologized that one of the speakers at the memorial service, Rick Kahn, had turned his eulogy into a rousing call for Democratic votes.

It was a little more than one speaker - it was the whole disgusting thing. My friend said she thought she turned on a rock concert. Also was booing the Republicans part of the "service"? Rush said today that lots of the "mourners" were bused in for a crowd. So you hire rabble, you get rabble.

[OReilly]

Rick Kahn, had turned his eulogy into a rousing call for Democratic votes.

From the clips I saw, Paul Wellstone's son turned his eulogy into a Dem Convention Cheer, no?

I'd love to hear the response from the local TV stations as to equal time requests from the Republican side

[KC Burke]

Jim Robinson posted a nice Nesmax article about all that dirty money and Mondale. Be sure to look it up.

Are you back in the Big Easy, or are you still out runnin' around the country side. I need to know so I can put that bail bond money back in the bank.

[mwl1]

good post #6. Everyone should read. You are correct, the whole political orgy was so tasteless, so presumptuous, so crass, that it really defies description.

And, sadly, even beyond the election it will tear the parties in the Senate further apart.

The Senate is broken under Daschle. Regardless of ideology, every honest and reasonable observer can see that. Daschle is a divider, not a uniter.