Polinaut: February 27, 2006 Archive

Briefing - Monday February 27, 2006

Posted at 7:40 AM on February 27, 2006 by Bob Collins

The Minnesota Legislature starts its session this week. Political editor Mike Mulcahy is writing The Capitol Letter, again, although I haven't figured out a home for it yet because there's no Session 2006 section on the site this year. Look for a daily Policast (podcast) coming from Mike in the next few days, too.

Kim Millman, a volunteer on the Sharon Marko campaign, has a letter in the Pioneer Press clarifying criticisms of the Coleen Rowley campaign.

You've probably seen -- or perhaps not -- the results of the St. Paul DFL straw poll held Saturday, the results of which are completely meaningless. But the blog Broken Nail has a colorful recap of the action.

He's got a PAC, he says he wants to run, he's moved to Minnesota. So how come Al Franken still is doing his radio show? (It's a joke, don't send answers). (Update: The Blog Residual Forces missed the point of this ... and not by a little bit.)

Check out Midmorning at 9 this morning for a show on "the crisis of polling." Audio will be archived for later listening by arund 10:30 or so.

Should be a new Rasmussen poll for Minnesota out this week --perhaps tomorrow.

Mike Hatch on Midday

Posted at 1:20 PM on February 27, 2006 by Bob Collins

Mike Hatch was on MPR's Midday today. As with the other candidates who've been through in the last week or so, I've stripped the answers to particular questions and put it on the candidate's Web page in our Campaign 2006 section.

Decipering the code

Posted at 1:44 PM on February 27, 2006 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)

Reporter Tom Scheck just gave me a copy of the CD the Republican Party is mailing out to voters in certain districts. It's a very impressive technical product (in Flash) featuring the top elected Republicans in the state talking about the need for a constitutional amendment defining marriage (aka: "the same-sex marriage ban").

I don't know how many people actually will put these things in the computer and take a look at them. Is there a lot left to say that people haven't already heard on this debate?

But here's the thing. The CD -- at least mine -- comes with an access code. And during the presentation, you're asked to "vote" on a couple of issues, including the 2nd Amendment.

OK, this is where I get suspicious. WHY is there a code. And where is that "vote" going? Is every voter being identified with a special code and therefore is input entered by the user during a presentation being sent back to the Republican Party of Minnesota?

I checked the "terms of use" and I could find nothing that gave me any indication. Nor is there a privacy statement anywhere that I could find.

Perhaps with the literature that is being sent with the disk (I didn't get literature), it has some sort of privacy statement.

I'm going to play around with it a bit more because it is a fascinating tool, obviously put together by a firm that knows what it's doing. I've been dabbling in Flash for years and putting something like this together isn't easy. The GOP in Minnesota has -- in recent years, anyway -- been a little more out in front than its DFL counterpart in recognizing new ways to use media. They don't seem to define the "m" word strictly as "newspaper, radio, TV."

But, like I said, I'd like to know what this disk is sending back about me and what personal information -- if any -- is being stored and how it's being used -- if at all.

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Bachmann suspends campaign

Posted at 5:55 PM on February 27, 2006 by Bob Collins

Just moved across the wire. Michele Bachmann has suspended her campaign in order to seek medical treatment.