[Speed Gibson,
Thursday July 2, 2009 at 7:59am]
Is Norm Coleman Done?
First, we all owe Norm Coleman our thanks for sparing us six years of Walter Mondale and six months of Al Franken in the U.S. Senate. He was mostly a good Senator, always strong on defense, and points for that. And points for conceding gracefully now, something Al Franken never would have done.
But let's face it, he made a few too many liberal votes for his and our own good. That's been his style, to reach across the aisle to moderate Democrats, only they no longer exist. He gained nothing while losing the confidence of enough Republicans to cost him the election. Has he learned his lesson, like Pawlenty apparently did this term?
I don't know. I think most of those liberal votes were political calculations, not principled stands. I will therefore be wary of any return to a firmly Conservative domestic policy. As such, it would be easy to declare his political career over. He failed to generate much heat in his run for Governor in 1998. One could argue that Wellstone Memorial is what put him over the top in the Senate race of 2002. His 2010 prospects for Governor or Senator (vs Klobuchar) look no better. But I think he's got one strike left.
That would be the Fourth Congressional District that includes St. Paul, his old Mayoral stomping grounds. Incumbent Betty McCollum would normally be safe, but she could also get caught up in President Obama's wake of economic destruction. The right candidate could have a chance. Well-known in St. Paul as a former Mayor, Norm Coleman might be that candidate. His liberal dalliances may actually prove valuable here among voters ready for a change but not ready for a Conservative.
The irony has been that Coleman has defeated traditional, dogmatic DFL candidates like Walter Mondale and Skip Humphrey. It's populist road apples like Jesse Ventura and Al Franken that make him look clueless. That won't be the case here in the Fourth District assuming McCollum seeks re-election.
So run, Norm, run, where you're needed, where you're known, and where you can win. It'd be good for St. Paul.
But let's face it, he made a few too many liberal votes for his and our own good. That's been his style, to reach across the aisle to moderate Democrats, only they no longer exist. He gained nothing while losing the confidence of enough Republicans to cost him the election. Has he learned his lesson, like Pawlenty apparently did this term?
I don't know. I think most of those liberal votes were political calculations, not principled stands. I will therefore be wary of any return to a firmly Conservative domestic policy. As such, it would be easy to declare his political career over. He failed to generate much heat in his run for Governor in 1998. One could argue that Wellstone Memorial is what put him over the top in the Senate race of 2002. His 2010 prospects for Governor or Senator (vs Klobuchar) look no better. But I think he's got one strike left.
That would be the Fourth Congressional District that includes St. Paul, his old Mayoral stomping grounds. Incumbent Betty McCollum would normally be safe, but she could also get caught up in President Obama's wake of economic destruction. The right candidate could have a chance. Well-known in St. Paul as a former Mayor, Norm Coleman might be that candidate. His liberal dalliances may actually prove valuable here among voters ready for a change but not ready for a Conservative.
The irony has been that Coleman has defeated traditional, dogmatic DFL candidates like Walter Mondale and Skip Humphrey. It's populist road apples like Jesse Ventura and Al Franken that make him look clueless. That won't be the case here in the Fourth District assuming McCollum seeks re-election.
So run, Norm, run, where you're needed, where you're known, and where you can win. It'd be good for St. Paul.
You think Senator Coleman has made a few too many liberal votes? Wait until you see Franken vote. You haven't see anything yet!
I do agree that populist candidates win over dogmatic candidates, and this is a flaw that conservatives have. I think too often conservatives chose a dogmatic candidates that agrees with them and subsequently loses over a more populist candidate that could win, even if they have a few differences ideologically.
I'm not so sure I can see Coleman running for the house seat, although he'd be better then the candidates the Republicans in the 4th have put up the last few years. When Randy Kelly was defeated in 2005, I thought that the GOP should have convinced him to switch parties and run against McCollum. But that opportunity slipped through the 4th's fingers as well, assuming it was ever an oppportunity.
I think Norm will run for governor and be a very strong candidate. He damaged himself politically a bit, during the long recount struggle, but his gracious and eloquent concession speech on Tuesday, was a substantial step in repairing that damage.
Norm doesn't have a lot of principles, and I don't mean a lot of disrespect in saying this. His appeal is as a pragmatist who will do what he feels is best for the people of Minnesota, and that's not necessarily a bad way to approach being governor. I think he would be well advised to take a break for a while, gather his energies, distance himself a little bit from the sore losers who currently run the state Republican Party, and in a month or two come back stronger than ever. I assure you, he would be the Republican candidate for governor the Democrats most fear.