Sen. Jim Carlson & The Gang Running Against Him

Category: Minnesota Politics

by Dave Mindeman

State Senator Jim Carlson should work for Target -- because he has that red and white circle on his back.

Four, count 'em, four Republicans have filed for the opportunity of running against Sen. Carlson in November. Gosh, you would think that job is a gold mine!

I was looking over the websites of this quadrangle of opposition. It made for a good read. Briefly....

Rob Lambert: This guy had a job as a professional fund-raiser. How convenient is that? And currently is a rep for medical device firm. He has roots in southern Minnesota working for Gil Gutknecht. He notes that he is a life long member of Hosanna Lutheran Church in Lakeville....the church that broke from the ELCA over its dispute with the synod over gay clergy. In regards to issues, this is another guy who doesn't seem to like details. Wants funding for education but magically pay for it with tax cuts again. As to health care, he praises the current system (best in the world) but no ideas or changes or cost efficiency offered. On his photo page, he doesn't have much either...a) a picture of him and Gil Gutknecht, b) a picture of him talking on a cell phone while driving (ahem), and c) waterskiing???

Mike Kaess: Kaess makes some "bold" statements on his website. In one paragraph he says, "For the past 14 years I have been a Business Development Manager and all postions in Minnesota." Apparently he worked his way up the ranks of United Parcel Service. Later in his introduction he says, "I believe that my experience in the global business world, for the past 30 years, has given me the knowledge and ability to help correct our current government." I find that puzzling -- global experience from a UPS white board? He talks about how progressive taxation of wealth and corporate taxes has failed (umm, is he talking about current tax policy?)

Ted Daley: New "kid" on the block. This guy has a long military history. West Point graduate. Deployed all over the world. Served in Iraq in 2008. Back to Eagan in 2009. Nothing wrong with that...thank him for his service. Not a lot of information and not much for new ideas. Little bit bland -- but hey, he just got started.

But the rest of our discussion will focus on David Carlson.

First -- no relation. Second, this guy seems to be shopping himself around looking for the right place to get into the legislature. He ran in 2008 in District 67B in East St. Paul. That's a pretty Democratic area and he lost badly.

But now he pops up in Eagan and although he says he is running for the endorsement, his intro clearly says this: David hopes to earn your support and your vote in the primary election September 14, 2010. Sounds like he will be in the primary regardless.

D.Carlson is also a fan of Twitter. Although a lot of his entries show his love for the Vikings, he throws some interesting off the cuff remarks as well. When the failed Christmas bomb attack was going on, Mr. D. Carlson threw in his desire to use "waterboarding". (Carlson has a long history in the military). But his biggest controversy with Twitter came when he re-tweeted a post that included a racial slur. The MNPUBLIUS blog couldn't let that pass without comment. I won't dignify it with a copy of what it said but you can see the screen shot here.

Now I'm going to be fair. This was a retweet from somebody else. D. Carlson did not write this himself. But then again, what was the value in repeating it? Especially to make some kind of attempt at defending Rush Limbaugh? Really?

Mr. D. Carlson felt the need to engage a defense on the MNPUBLIUS blog site --here is his first comment post:

I retweeted a comment encouraging President Obama to “take care of” Rush Limbaugh in Hawaii. I found it offensive and troubling, as we don’t kill off political opponents. By retweeting it, I wanted to draw attention to the death wishes that were being levied against a private citizen who had chest pains and was admitted to the ER. My subsequent tweets also discussed that point.

As someone who graduated from Johnson High School on the East Side of Saint Paul, played on an all black basketball team, and has coached the summer program there, which happened to also be all black, I find it rather disingenuous to try and label me a racist. Perhaps, you should go ask the team that I helped receive a $2,000 grant for this season if they think I am a racist.

And for the record, the comment is still on my twitter as I didn’t take it off because I didn’t see anything wrong with retweeting it then, and I don’t today. Again, because I retweeted the comment, that does not mean that I CONDONE OR ENDORSE the comment. I simply wanted to expose wishes of death towards someone that I found a bit shocking and quite frankly, I was surprised at them. And for the record, I am not a “birther.”

Sincerely,

David J. Carlson

Hmmm, the phrase "me thinks he doth protest too much" comes to mind....but I digress.

Now I suspect what D. Carlson is saying is true. He is not condoning or endorsing what was said. However, since Twitter is a public forum, why repost this trash at all? It questions Mr. Carlson's judgment if nothing else.

But that is not the entire picture here either.

During that 2008 election in 67B, D. Carlson's campaign also drew the attention of the MNPUBLIUS blog with some questionable campaign literature. I would encourage you to examine the posting and the literature in question HERE.

The fear tactic involved with this is deeply troubling. Nobody, I mean nobody, is "soft" on violent crime. Legislative votes on public safety issues are always full of potential complications as well as funding problems. To try and link violent crimes to votes on public safety funding is a vulgar tactic. Republicans have resorted to this tactic way too often and to me it is detestable.

(As for the discussion about "doctoring" the photo...well, I will just leave that to your own judgment.)

If Mr. D. Carlson wants a vigorous discussion of the issues, I am sure Senator Jim Carlson is ready to become fully engaged. But if his district has to be subjected to "more of the same" in unfair attacks and distortions, then, please, Mr. David Carlson, save it all for your twitter account.