Spot has made no secret of the fact that he is a Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer supporter. You can read a little more about why that is here and here. Spot did not intend to endorse anybody in the endorsement or primary races: the races are not what Spot is really about. But in a momentary lapse of his non-conviction, Spot decided that he really liked Jack. And, boys and girls, Spot thinks you should, too. But there is an assortment of conventional thinkers in the DFL who will tell you that Jack should be dismissed as an inconvenience to Al Franken. You can hear a little of the Clintoneque sense of entitlement creep into their voices:
Ah, a puff piece on the guy who's running against Al Franken for the DFL endorsement. Look, I respect what JNP is doing, and will no doubt get several comments from Pallmeyer boosters (Hi Charley) on this post. And Pallmeyer has made a better effort in this race than Ciresi did -- namely, he has actually defined himself positively instead of telling delegates constantly only that he is not Al Franken.
But to say that Pallmeyer "ousted" Ciresi from the race is just downright disingenuous. Ciresi himself and Franken did that well enough on their own.
Again, I have deep respect for what Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer has accomplished for his issues and for his supporters. But there's very little chance at this point of Jack actually winning the DFL endorsement. The Star-Tribune, which claims to be the leading newspaper in the Twin Cities traditional media, needs to step up and actually analyze the situation in this race instead of sitting back, taking a few quotes from Pallmeyer and his field organizer (who's a good guy, by the way), and just telling the story of a day at a local convention.
The fact is that Jack had been raising more money that Ciresi - except for money that Ciresi "loaned" his own campaign - just before Ciresi dropped out. And he's within spittin' distance in-state fund raising vis-a-vis Al Franken. (Spot will get those numbers for you, boys and girls.) So it is pehaps just a tad cavalier to suggest that Jack had nothing to do with Ciresi's dropping out.
Joe and Flash, too, would rather have you focus on polling data more than a half a year before the election. Just as a gentle reminder, everybody (including Spot) thought John McCain was DOA six months ago. Since it is the delegates coming out of the conventions who will make the endorsement, perhaps observing conventions is not such a bad way to gauge a candidate's support (and the softness thereof), potential, and momentum.
Spotty says, boys and girls, be chary of breezy assertions that Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer has no chance. He does.
And now for a little disclosure: Spot's alter ego is a Nelson-Pallmeyer delegate to the state DFL convention.
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