Secrets of the City

OK, I’ll start:

Mark Kennedy actually knows what we are up against in IRAQ and has the stones to deal with it.

Hatch. He’s not the perfect candidate for the left or right, but he’s been one of our greatest AG’s. With Hatch, MN can honestly talk about spending priorities like transportation and schools.

Tammy Lee has really nice white teeth.

I would like to see Hatch’s daughters thrust into the limelight. Actually I just wanted to see “Hatch’s daughters” and “thrust” in the same sentence.

I’m not sure what kind of chance he has, but I would like to see Obi Sium win the 4th Congressional District.

I like Hatch because if he knew grote wrote that, and saw him in person, Hatch would punch him in the face. Hard.

I think Hatch is a sleezy douchbag. He got my vote. I hated doing it, but it was the right thing. Peter Hutchinson’s issue stances are almost the same – he’s clearly a more intelligent guy, and I wish he would have been the dfl candidate, but he was not. He’s only being a spoiler, and that makes me think he doesn’t really care what happens.

Same with the Senate race. Fitzgerald is a great guy. I watched at the MPR debate keeping the major party candidates honest and asking that they actually answer questions (and giving a particuarly awesome reply to a meth question). Klobuchar’s damn near as dirty as Mark Kennedy. But I just have to keep in mind what’s important as I cast the ballot…

Ellison. Tammy Lee’s pretty hot and all, but if Bachmann’s gonna win, then I need the most progressive candidate possible to win this one.

spaceman wins for comment of the day. if hatch punched me in the face i would laugh and ask him if that was the best he had…becuase pawlenty actually knocked me down.

I wanted to vote a straight Independent ticket but couldn’t, in good conscience, risk my votes for governor and U.S. Senate. Those were the only two offices I voted DFL. My votes there were less “for” than they were “against.”

I really think this whole campaign process needs an overhaul. I hated the negative advertising and, especially, the lies that were perpetrated by both sides. (OMFG, does Wetterling really believe a national sales tax will place an additional 23% tax on everything? What kind of dimwits does she have for a campaign staff? Bachmann isn’t any better.)

I wish I’d thought to say this earlier, but I’d really to see Farheen Hakeem take the one of the County Commissioner spots away from Peter McLaughlin.

Amy Klobuchar and more Dems. will provide a counterbalance to the runaway spending and corruption in DC right now. Also, the Dems. care about real investments in education, health care, the sciences and small business.

so noodleman I assume you voted yes to runoff voting then?

Your vote in the Senate was safe.

I can now change from future to past tense and say I voted a straight DFL/Take Action Minnesota (nee Progressive Minnesota) ticket. The lines were kind of hectic, and it’s not because the judges didn’t know what they were doing.

I wish I’d proofread my comment better, as well!

I’m all for third parties, but after hearing Farheen in a debate some time ago, I was definately not impressed. She seemed very uninformed and inarticulate.

Tammy Lee.
See my other 50+ postings for why.

Also:
* vote YES on the Instant Runoff question, and open up real competition in city races.
* vote NO to the transportation amendment, because our children’s education shouldn’t have to take a back seat to roads when money gets tight.

I voted for Hutchinson and won’t feel a bit of disappointment if Pawlenty wins as I honestly felt that Hutchinson was the best candidate. It’s a little irritating reading comments indicating a preference for Hutchinson but a lack of courage to follow through for fear of throwing the election to the bad guy. Voting for the lesser of two evils just perpetuates a broken election system.

I just want to address one usually-overlooked but critical part of this, and every, election – the unopposed incumbents running for judicial office.

Please, don’t just pass over these places on your ballot. It’s important to mark your vote in those elections. Incumbent unopposed judges who win their seats in these off-year elections with a vote total of 38-0 in counties with millions of voters suffer intense and sometimes debilitating attacks of damaged self-esteem. It can be crippling to know that, in a county with over a million residents, you got forty votes. And won. But Minnie Mouse got ten votes.

If you’ve ever had to appear before a judge – for a crim or a civil case – you know that the worse thing for you, no matter what side you’re on, is a judge who is wracked with – sometimes simply crushed by – self-doubt and tentativeness stemming from getting almost no votes in the last election. You stand up and say “objection, your honor!”, and everyone looks to the bench for a ruling, and the judge sits there, paralyzed, and you know he’s thinking “do I know this? What’s the law? where’s my Evidence text? Oh, god, why didn’t I study harder in law school! They’re all LOOKING at me! I should have gone into sales . . . I’m not good enough to make this decision . . . oh, gawd, I need a recess . . . ” and then nothing ever gets done, trials take forever, legal fees become unaffordable for the masses, and the system breaks down.

So, please, don’t leave all of those unopposed judicial races blank. Strike a blow for continued mental health on the bench (in a relative sense) – Mark your vote for the incumbents.

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I vote for Diebold. All early indications are that once again the election process is a rigged sham.
So essentially despite anyone who you or I “endorse” or actually vote for, the outcome has been predetermined by Karl Rove.

Thanks for playing.

“You LOSE! You get NOTHING”

-Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka

mrowe, it is irritating, isn’t it. I assume you also voted yes to runoff voting then?
Good for you! A step in the right direction.

I voted DFL down the line, with the exception of school board (where I case a proest vote for Doug Mann).

I voted for IRV; against the transportation amendment.

Like bobby_b, I voted for all incumbent judges.

Vote Gene Wilder for Best Willy Wonka.

Yes to IRV.
No to transportation amendment.
Yes to anyone except Chris Stewart for Mpls School board….the reason for that should be obvious from yesterday.
Yes to Fahreen Hakeem. I disagree with her plenty, but I can’t help but vote for her in every election. It’s the Ventura factor to what would happen if a lesbian Muslim comedian won.

Any canidate whose name ends in D got my vote today.

You know, like Amy Klobachar (D), or Mike Hatch (D). D probably stands for ‘Dummy’ but what it really means is FUCK YOU, REPUBLICANS.

YES to transit. People, please understand this doesn’t take education money away from education, it slowly puts an end to education siphoning off the transportation budget. Education is it’s own problem, and needs to be fixed separately, but not at the expense of expanding transit.

Vote no and you will see:
Mediocre education budget, since no REAL solution has been forced.
No end in sight to the metro’s woes re traffic snarls and shitty roads and the wildy successful light rail, which…doesn’t really go anywhere.
Raised taxes.

Once again, when you vote no, you are saying, yes, I WILL PAY. Tax me harder!

As an independent voter, I’m voting for Mike Hatch for state Governor, as well as the rest of the DFL ticket for most state offices. I think its time to clean our political garbage and change course; Governor Palwenty and the rest of the GOP leaders have managed to drive this state to the ground, running like a South American military junta, due to their radical political philosophy in the last six to 12 years. For that reason, the DFL has an oppertunity to repair the damage for what the Neo-Cons did to our state’s political culture in the last decade; we don’t want to be like Ohio or Texas for which their political culture there is mearly corrupt and unethical and therefore many politicans are heading for the slammer as a result of their bad judgements. We want to be unique and more respected than any other state in the union. And even though the independence party is trying hard to woo dissasfied voters, they are seen by other independent voters as nothing more than spoil brats, working alongside with the GOP in order to keep the Republicans in power as long as the rest of enternity. This is too much at stake here; the United States is one step closer to become Klanville in which our rights are being eroded by K-Street lobbysist groups that have close ties to our current forgien policy overseas and the White House. And this is a moment in our life to change everything, or otherwise we don’t have a future in the next decade or more.

And surely folks, does anyone want a purple eye for our image worldwide because of our failed policy in Iraq? I won’t.

Voting For Pawlenty (kept a lid on spending and taxes as much as possible, what a Republican should do). Voting for transportation. Against IRV…if in any other area than MPLS I would vote for it but letting all the s o c ialists here vote green accomplishes nothing, other than the make IRV look incompetant. At a statewide level I would love it…i don’t think allowing it here in this voting local will be beneficial on any level.

Voting for Lee as a vote against Ellison. Can’t bring myself to cast a vote for either Kennedy or Klobi so I’m writing in Barry Goldwater.

Oh forgot to mention I used TakeAction Minnesota as a guide who not to vote for in things like School Board, county offices, so I will be voting against anyone they endorsed.

tubelcane–don’t you think pushing IRv at a local level may lead to more exposure, perhaps making it a factor in state and national elections? That’s why I said yes.

money isn’t the problem with education here, it’s how money is allocated and spent. plus dedicating funds to transportation (remember it’s graded to take effect slowly over several years) will hopefully make the government actually rethink the way they run and fund education and fix a terribly broken system (at the administrative levels).

Oh forgot to mention I used TakeAction Minnesota as a guide who not to vote for in things like School Board, county offices, so I will be voting against anyone they endorsed.

Way to be an independent thinker!

I voted for Tim Pawlenty’s brand new “I’m a man of the people” Carhartt jacket for Best Supporting Prop in a Television Ad. I just couldn’t help myself. There’s nothing like the straight-off-the-Fleet-Farm-rack look to help one look genuine.

I voted for Tammy Lee’s photo op with Martin Sabo as Best Device to Infer an Endorsement W/O actually be Endorsed.

Mike Hatch got my vote for Most Creative Use of Language in a Governor’s Race with his use of “Republican Hack” and/or “Republican Whore.”

Michele Bachmann, once again got my vote for the Just Plain Batshit Crazy Award.

Judy Dutcher got my vote for the Asleep at the Wheel Award.

Robert Fitzgerald got my vote for Best Response to Being Ignored in an MPR Debate for his performance on Sunday evening.

“So essentially despite anyone who you or I “endorse” or actually vote for, the outcome has been predetermined by Karl Rove.“

– - –

Exactly. Honestly, Democrats across the state – heck, the country – might just as well stay home. To even put in the effort to vote simply make Rove laugh at you.

Don’t give him that pleasure. Don’t be Rove’s playtoy. Fight the Rove. Stay home.

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I love how conservatives have just become openly undemocratic. What, precisely, are they conserving?

Wendy Wilde gets my vote for “Least amount of actual policy substance from a candidate since Tippercanoe and Tyler, Too.” She also gets my vote for “Best Air America talkjock to steal an Ozzy sideman’s name” although Randy Rhodes came in a close 2nd.

Tammy Lee gets my vote for “The safe, white candidate with nice teeth who isn’t a scary black muslim.”

Michele Bachmann gets my vote for “Most likely to be outed by a gay prostitute or meth dealer.”

Asleep at the Wheel gets my vote for “Ain’t No Body Here But Us Chickens.”

I did a couple of surprises…

I voted for Klobuchar even though until this morning I never intended to. I wanted to go straight Independent. But in this case, I wanted to send a message more at the U.S. level.

Went for Hutchinson with a clear mind and clear conscience. Pawlenty doesn’t scare me. Hatch does.

Went mix of Repubs and Demos at my local levels.

“I love how conservatives have just become openly undemocratic.“

– - -

??

Or, did you mean, openly unDemocrat?

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IRV: Yes, it’s just more democratic.
Trans. Amend: Yes, it won’t affect schools and it will give us lots of trains.

Guber: Hatch (I bow my head in shame.. I’m sorry, Peter)
Senate: Amy

5th: Tammy Lee, because she comes off as more professional than Ellison.

I filled in all the judges. I wrote myself in for County Commissioner because no one, not even Gail Dorfman, should run unopposed.

I voted IP for pretty much all the state offices except for governor and state senate/house (IP wasn’t running anyone in those. Whose going to vote against Dibble and Hornstein?)

So many people are spineless and say they want to vote independence but can’t because they don’t want to waste their vote. Well, I have a spine, and this morning I stood up against the two major parties and voted Peter Hutchinson and Robert Fitzgerald.

If all these people actually voted for who they WANTED to win, candidates like Hutchinson would actually have a chance. Instead, voters are told to be scared about wasting their votes by the major parties. It’s sickening and it’s wrong. Both sides in this election have just shown they will do anything to scramble for power, instead of focusing and logic and the real issues. Negative campaign ads, mudslinging, question dodging, etc. Meanwhile, the Independence party has built a positive platform of logic and reason that seems to me to be in-line with the views of your average Minnesotan, yet Minnesotans shun it because they are politically frightened.

I have talked to SO MANY people who say they agree with Hutchinson and most of what the Independence party is for, yet they say they will vote for someone else. It just makes no sense to me.

The third party revolution has to start somewhere, folks. Otherwise you’re gonna be stuck with the two parties of suck the rest of your life.

[I'm all for third parties, but after hearing Farheen in a debate some time ago, I was definately [sic] not impressed. She seemed very uninformed and inarticulate. »» Submitted by baker at 10:17 AM on November 7]

Your comment IS uniformed and inarticulate…

“Some rules: No candidate bashing. Just why you support a certain candidate, not why the other side is going to burn in hell. No personal attacks on other users.”

As an atheist, I don’t believe that Baker and Alan Fine will burn in hell…even if others shun them as if they were going there…

Hey you just attacked me!

Can’t help that I’m inarticulate, I’m intoxicated…

But that was considered a ‘bash’ on farheen?

Dodgeball is a fun sport, I don’t care if you think it’s hurtful and oppressive.

baker: Actually left to vote after I posted. I was fully planning on voting no on IRV but I couldn’t pull the trigger…I do think it is the best way so voted yes. I cringe to think of how it will be percieved though with the people who vote in the city of Minneapolis…judging by how I think they will use it (voting greens/socia list) I think any publicity and reaction from a broader audience will be negative.

The third party revolution has to start somewhere, folks. Otherwise you’re gonna be stuck with the two parties of suck the rest of your life.

Cary…before you start talking down to those of us who are too mentally feeble and spineless to vote for a 3rd party independent or Independence Party candidate, you might want to do a little research on modern Minnesota politics. The 3rd party revolution started and ended in Minnesota. Burn me once shame on you, burn me twice shame on me.

g_rote:

I don’t want to bring this offtopic, but just because one third-party candidate is not agreed upon to have done a good job does not mean that every third-party candidate will do the same job. Also, I’m not quite sure that criticisms of Ventura are based on anything more than superficialities; many governors before him have performed similarly in office yet do not garner so much hatred.

I can identify many Republicans and Democrats who have done poor jobs, yet people still vote for them. Personally, I feel burned many, many times by both the Democrats and Republicans, therefore I have stopped voting for them.

There’s also nothing “modern” about Minnesota politics these days, except maybe Instant-Runoff voting in Minneapolis. Just the typical mud-slinging, lying, and poor showing at all of the debates.

My point is, I think many people WANT to vote for third parties, but they are too frightened to do so, which is very sad. It’s a real good indication on the sad status of our society, when people cannot feel free to vote for who they actually want in office.

Anyways, I’m straying off here, so let’s just agree to disagree.

ken pentel got my vote – again.

farheen is funny as hell and has a lot more balls than peter “i know better than you” mc sleezball. got my vote.

fitzgerald isn’t affraid of mary jane. got my vote.

cary, the wheels have already come off. I’ll try to stay within the restrictions, though…

I’ll continue supporting DFL candidates, particularly at the executive level. They may not play nicely with Republicans, but at the very least, they can count on on their party caucus in the legislative houses.

Senate: Klobuchar because she is ready and able to do the job, while Kennedy is a part of the whole Republican mess that has divided this country on issues like the Iraq War, stem cell research, gay marriage, etc… Republicans have had their chance and they have failed miserably!

Governor: Hutchinson because Pawlenty plays down and dirty with the legislature and then acts as if he’s been wronged when something doesn’t go the way he wanted it to. His personal philosophy is too close to that of Bush and the self righteous, intolerant evangelical Christians across this country. Hatch has the perfect temperament for the AG’s job, but it’s all wrong for the Gov.’s job!

5th district Rep.: Lee because Ellison came into this race with too many unanswered questions about his constantly changing past (N of I, tax problems, driving violations, etc…). If he can’t properly deal with those items, how can he be expected to represent us in an effective manner??
Fine never was a threat to take this seat.

Instant run off proposal: YES

Transp. amendment: YES

Henn. Co. commissioner: McLaughlin cause he’s got the experience and was a major force behind getting the Hiawatha line up and going!

Isn’t ‘Farheen” KIND OF A TERRORIST NAME?

Yes, but so is McVeigh…what’s your point?

I don’t get to vote anyway, so who cares what I think

i know i don’t — get off it already. you’re an adult; read the rules and follow the directions.

Yeah Tmay suck it up and take it like a man. Your acting like a child and blaming others for a situation you completely created yourself. Also acording to my high school civics teacher, if you don’t vote you also lose your right to complain…so I expect a moratorium on political commentary from you until next election.

I voted Democrat across the board this time because I feel the other party has seriously lost its way and cannot govern effectively.

Favorites Canidates:
Keith Ellison
Ken Pentel
Michael Cavlan
Farheen Hakeem
Papa John Kolstad

blow me, tubelefuck. I did manage to vote after jumping through a bunch of hoops. I’m sure you’d rather there be more hoops because I didn’t vote for the same people as you, though. for some reason people of your disposition are more than happy to see fewer people voting if they’re the ‘wrong’ kind of people (but still legal citizens entitled to a vote).

blow me, tubelefuck.

comedy gold

Klobuchar, because her name sounds like a Pokemon, and Pokemon are pretty cool from what I remember of middle school.

KLOBUCHARMANDER 06

Tammy Lee — because she’s got some nice milk bags.

yeah I voted for lee and hutchinson

So Lee does have some sex appeal, then?

Oh yeah, she’s got a rack that rivals Katherine Harris…