Open thread -- Friday April 14, 2006

Posted at 8:12 AM on April 14, 2006 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)

(Updates added here during the day... hopefully)

Is Ted Kennedy hanging with the wrong crowd? Some folks think so. But maybe it's just political genius. It reminds me of something a Republican elder noted the other day about the Senate. He said the older senators are more collegial, willing to actually talk and be seen with the "other party" members. The younger ones can't stand the "other side," regardless of the individual.

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Tom Scheck with the sharp eyes today points out that the Washington Post's The Fix has met Mark Kennedy and likes him.

5. Minnesota: The Fix sat down with Rep. Mark Kennedy, the Republican nominee for this open seat, and came away impressed. Kennedy is not a typical politician -- he is neither slick nor particularly polished. But he is smart and practical, two essential traits for winning candidates. Kennedy acknowledges that the national political climate is a hurdle, especially given the Democratic tilt of Minnesota. But he also makes a strong case that his image as a unorthodox politician with a business background (he says he would be the only CPA in the Senate if elected) could appeal to voters looking for an agent of change in November. Democrats counter that Kennedy is nothing more than a rubberstamp for President Bush and say they have the votes to make the case. Both Kennedy and Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar, who has effectively cleared the Democratic field, will be well-financed. Kennedy narrowly outraised Klobuchar in the first quarter of 2006 ($1.5 million to $1.3 million) and has a $900,000 cash-on-hand edge. This seat is -- by far -- Republicans' best chance at a takeover (Previous ranking: 6)

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Shoot, I was supposed to be a panelist yesterday at a Chamber of Commerce event on how blogs are changing politics with two talented folks -- Tim Nelson of City Hall Scoop and Michael Brodkorb of Minnesota Democrats Exposed. I didn't write down the date when they asked me, but I told the person to be sure to call me a day before to remind me. She didn't. Shoot, I was really looking forward to that too. I was going to win you all over with my charm and boyish good looks. Shoot. Now I've got nuthin'.

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Rquired reading. Matt Welch in his goodbye to blogging today says "I used to think blogs would transform ideologues into nonpartisan truth-seekers. Man, was I wrong."

But as I look back at December 2001, and prepare to hang up the blogging fun of Reason’s Hit & Run for the stodgier print pages of the L.A. Times, I can’t shake the feeling of nostalgia for a promising cross-partisan moment that just fizzled away. Americans are always much more interesting than their political parties or ideological labels, and for a few months there it was possible for readers and writers alike to feel the unfamiliar slap of collisions with worlds they’d previously sealed off from themselves. You couldn’t predict what anyone would say, especially yourself.

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We interrupt this political dialog for a non-political item. This is always a special date in our house -- a sibling's birthday. My oldest sister turns 56 (I think) today. She was a straight-A student, always had the champion cow in 4H, was a champion skier, and the best baseball player in the Collins clan. Tough footsteps to follow in, but we never felt we had to.

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Anybody going to the Twins-Yankees game tonight? If so, stop by Section 118 Row 32, seat 021 & 022. I'll be the one with the Yankee fan. But I love him anyway. He's my son.

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Comments (4)

Bob: We did miss you...BTW: It's Brodkorb, not Broadkorb.

Posted by Michael B. Brodkorb | April 14, 2006 10:38 AM

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D'oh. Sorry.

Posted by Bob Collins | April 14, 2006 10:39 AM

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As my Dad used to say to me, rooting for the Yankees is like rooting for US Steel.

Posted by Steve Timmer | April 14, 2006 11:33 AM

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Being from the Boston area, my family used to say the same thing. Although we used different words.

Posted by Bob Collins | April 14, 2006 11:58 AM

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