Everyone knows that Al Franken is running for US Senate here in Minnesota. Everyone knows that he would be a much much better Senator, for Minnesota and for all of America, than the incumbent rubberstamper Norm Coleman.
But what many Kossacks don't appear to realize is that Mr. Franken is not the only candidate running. In fact, there are 2 other candidates who are up and running, one in an exploratory phase, and one possible future candidate.
I am a little uneasy about the influence of non-Minnesotans in this race. Let me explain why below the fold...
[disclaimers: I currently support another of the candidates and am doing some volunteering. I will enthusiastically support and work for whichever candidate wins the nomination against Norm Coleman.]
We all know of races where DailyKos users have gotten involved, and donated substantial amounts of money, before the nomination has been determined. I know that I gave money last cycle to Ned Lamont and Marcy Winograd (vs. Jane Harman).
But I think that one must be careful in getting involved in pre-nomination contests in places outside of one's home district or state.
For example, I knew quite a bit about the races I donated to-- both through my reading here and elsewhere and (in the case of Lamont-Lieberman) through having lived in the state in question while the other candidate was in office.
I would not get involved in a pre-nomination race if I didn't know quite a lot about the issues at stake and the candidates in the race. I would consider it generally to be the business of the local party members to make up their minds.
In a contested intraparty race, for me, there would have to be some pretty good reasons to get involved. In both races referred to above, there was an entrenched incumbent who had strayed far from the wishes of mainstream Democrats and an underdog challenger in need of exposure and support. Kossacks filled that void in both cases-- in one case actually pulling off a miraculous primary victory, and in the other case, causing the incumbent to reorient herself more closely to the wishes of the public.
Our race in Minnesota is quite different: we have one famous candidate, Al Franken, and the other candidates are much less well-known. The problem is that Kossacks know all about Norm Coleman and are eager to get going on the process of dumping him. Since most also have heard of Al Franken and have a generally positive impression of him (through his books, which I love, btw, or through Air America), they naturally are excited about his candidacy. But I would suggest that Kossacks might want to hold on and do their due diligence first.
Mr. Franken's prodigious fundraising, most of it from out-of-state donors, may make it impossible for the other candidates to get their message out. That's what I worry about. I think that well-meaning DailyKos members should be very careful about getting involved. I've read too many comments on diaries about this race which show that the commenter is not even aware that other candidates are running. That's disturbing to me.
I have some suggestions.
- Give to the eventual nominee. You can do this right now via ActBlue right here, or you can wait until the nominee has been determined.
- Educate yourself. Check out some of the diaries featuring interviews with candidates, comparisons of candidates by Minnesota bloggers, etc. If you have a few moments, go to the candidates' webpages. Here are a few links to get you started:
Local Blogger The Big E's candidate comparison diary
The Big E's interview with the Franken campaign
Big E's interview with Mike Ciresi (can you tell who the go-to blogger for this campaign is?)
His interview with Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer (exploring a run)
Jim Cohen's website
And the other candidates' websites: Franken, Ciresi, Nelson-Pallmeyer.
Also don't forget about Peter Agre, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist who has said he's considering a run (though it looks increasingly unlikely to me that he will do it).
Note that I'm not suggesting that only Minnesotans be involved with or contribute to this race. I just think that anyone who's going to go so far as to donate before the nomination should do their homework. And I think that Kossacks who do their homework may find that they like the other candidates in this race just as much, if not more.