Former U.S. Senate Dean Barkley is holding at about 16% in his race against Norm Coleman and Al Franken. As the candidate of the Minnesota Independence Party, Barkley’s showing will ensure that Minnesota remains a three party state for at least the next several years.
It looks like Norm Coleman is inching ahead of Franken at this moment. Had Barkley not been in the race, some speculate that Coleman would have walked away with this victory.
Your party is not going to survive much longer unless it has defined regional, economic and cultural base to it to separated it from the two major parties. Simply being spoilers is not going cut it much longer.
Dean Barkley was a George McGovern supporter back in 1972. As one Minnesota put it in a Letter to the Editor in the Strib after the 2006 governor’s election, “the IP or petite bourgeoise of the Democratic Party ever since the days of Eugene McCarthy has once again contribed to cost the DFL the governor’s chair yet again,”
Proudly federalist!
The IP in Minnesota is federalist for the record. Government at the most local level possible. Our 2008 US Senate candidate called for a spending freeze. IN 2006, USHouse 5 candidate Tammy Lee (my district) wanted to replace income tax with sales tax in order to stimulate savings. US House 6 candidate John Binkowski agreed and advocate getting rid of the US Dept of Education. Jim Moore 2002 and Jim Gibson 2000 very hands off on what feds should do.
We advocate healthcare reform…but not at the federal level. We advocate some government action…just not at federal level..but at the state and local levels where it belongs.
Our platform has this throughout.
I am the 5th CD Chair. We brought 20 more cops to MPLS last year through our 50 more cops campaign (hey–that’s progress). Now our school reform campaign starts.
BTW- I can’t believe Sean is so concerned about us. I just looked up his website. I can’t believe he would be concerned if the dems lost some votes.
Sorry Sean…exit polls suggest otherwise.
If Dean was not in the race, 45% of his voters would not have voted (disenfranchise), and 24% each would have gone to Franken and Coleman…remaining percentage elsewhere. Survey USA suggested Dean captured 30% of small “i” independents. Of the 70% he did not capture, they broke Coleman’s way…so if he was not in that 30% of independents w0uld have gone another way.
CD6 is so anti-abortion that Bachman was sure to win. Hell, in my home legislative district 12B (just north of CD6 western area), the DFL’er almost lost (Al Doty, my high school teacher…and I am very glad he didn’t).
BTW_ we cross endorsed Tinklenberg (not a liberal).
Governors race…yep we cost you in 1994- we cross-endorsed Arne Carlson, after he requested it. We then got fusion voting briefly for one year, before…guess what…the people you like killed it.
You have the right to your opinion but not your facts (can’t dig up the late great Senator’s exact quote this late so a paraphrase)
http://electionresults.sos.state.mn.us/20081104/ElecRslts.asp?M=S&R=all&P=A&Races=”
Let’s see the IP just cost the DFL two Congressional seats and perhaps a U.S. Senate seat this election cycle. Two years ago it was the governor’s office and a Congressional seat. The IP has kept the DFL out of the governors chair for more than 17 years. Pretty soon voters are going to figure out that a party that really has no identification other than costing Dems elections isn’t much of a party at all.