Comments on: Ice Skating Possible in Hell Today

By: John

John — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:38:31 +0000

Mr. Keeler, you're wrong about the StarTribune being "more liberal than any paper in the country". It probably used to be true– not any more. I live in St. Paul, subscribe to the StarTribune, and read it daily. This year, they endorsed almost an equal number of Republicans as Democrats overall– in fact it might have been equal if you include a couple of former Republicans kicked out of the state Party due to (last spring) supporting a badly-needed gas tax hike for road construction.

Their endorsements for the U.S. Congress included not only Coleman for Senate, but also the very conservative John Kline in his re-election bid for the House. They also chose to refrain from an endorsement in the nasty fight to elect a successor to Jim Ramstad, who's retiring.

They also recommended against approving a 0.375% sales tax increase (3/8 of 1% increase, that is) on the ballot for the purpose of natural resource funding (a small part of the increase would also go to the arts).

So a fair-minded look at the paper today, at least in terms of editorial policy, leaves one concluding that they probably still lean to the left, but nowhere near "most liberal paper in the country" anymore. Or– if that is still true, then this nation's newspapers have moved way over the right.

By: Daniel Jack Williamson

Daniel Jack Williamson — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:12:17 +0000

The Philly weather didn't co-operate. Now, I don't care if the Rays come back to win it or not. The opportunity was missed.

By: Daniel Jack Williamson

Daniel Jack Williamson — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 03:22:46 +0000

I'm rooting for your Phillies to win this rain-delayed game 5 so that the World Series audience won't be tuning in to game 6 to find Obama on the tube.

By: Ben Keeler

Ben Keeler — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 02:09:14 +0000

Fear maybe….not anger.

More just I dont want to be embarrassed by Franken in the Senate.

By: Tammy

Tammy — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:24:19 +0000

Maybe I meant fear…fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.

By: Cleveland Frowns

Cleveland Frowns — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 23:24:52 +0000

Quite a strong message from the Trib, and impressive actually. Interesting post, Ben.

By: Kyle Kutuchief

Kyle Kutuchief — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:07:19 +0000

If this were an off year election, I think Franken gets beat if all things are equal. However, Obama is ahead by double-digits and those coat tails will pull Franken across the finish line.

By: Ben Keeler

Ben Keeler — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:33:28 +0000

I dont see one instance of "hate" in that post.

By: Tammy

Tammy — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:20:55 +0000

Wow Ben, This is quite a negative post, lots of hate. I would expect this kind of post if your team had already lost the election, not a week before. Take a breath man.

By: larry d.

larry d. — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:47:44 +0000

Franken thinks he is a very smart guy. Then again, he thinks he's still funny, too.

By: The Reverend

The Reverend — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:09:54 +0000

Funny how newspaper endorsements don't matter much…until they do.

Also interesting is that you give no reasons for disliking Franken. Is it simply because he is a Democrat? It sounds more personal than that.

Franken is a very smart guy. Coleman? Not so much.

By: frank

frank — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 23:54:59 +0000

coleman is about the best conservatives can hope for in minnesota

By: NixGuy.com | Unlikely Endorsements

NixGuy.com | Unlikely Endorsements — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 22:31:02 +0000

[...] Ohio Politics For an Ohio blogger, I have paid a lot of attention to the Minnesota Senate race. Well, there has been a shocking development: the Minneapolis Star Tribune has endorsed incumbent Republican Norm Coleman over Democrat Al Franken. When people talk about liberal newspapers, the New York Times is always the one that comes to mind first. The Star Tribune is probably more liberal than any paper in the country – including the NYT. This can be compared to what it would have been like had the Akron Beacon Journal endorsed Ken Blackwell over Ted Strickland in 2006 – only times about 100. Imagine if I announced tomorrow I changed my mind and was voting for Obama. That is how surprising this is. The Star Tribune has been a regular arm of the DNC in going after Coleman for years now. Minnesota Democrats Exposed says not a single newspaper across the left leaning state has endorsed Al Franken. As for the reasoning behind the Strib's endorsement, your guess is as good as mine. I suspect they know Franken would be a total black eye for the state and even they don't want a part of the divisiveness he would bring. I almost wonder what Coleman has done wrong to get this endorsement! And on top of it, the Strib could have endorsed third party candidate and former Senator Dean Barkley if they wanted to; Coleman wasn't their only non-Franken option. [...]