Jason's breakdown in schools of thought regarding party endorsement is very constructive. I would further postulate a distinction between partisan and non-partisan races.
In partisan races (state leg, gov, congress, etc), I think party loyalty is the most important. (School 'A') There is (and should be) a high bar for a candidate to run against the endorsed candidate of the party in the primary in these races. In non-partisan races, especially in an overwhelmingly DFL town, I fall under Jason's 'B' category--it is a consideration. I would prefer candidates respect the endorsement if they are seeking it, but it's not mandatory. I would have preferred if R.T. had chosen the Randy Kelly route (not seek endorsement), but I don't hold too much against him for seeking it. What I do hold against the R.T. campaign, is their treatment of the process at the convention. The little trick to try to break quorum was disappointing to me. One week ago, I liked both candidates and was undecided. By the convention, I supported Peter, but had respect for R.T. Today, I've lost much of that respect for R.T. I think it's clear that the convention was a solid victory for Peter. But, I don't think anyone can credibly predict what will happen in September and November. The victor will be the candidate who best talks about the issues and their ability to get things done. Who can say how much the endorsing convention will make a difference? After the election might be a good time for the Mpls DFL to rethink its endorsement policies. -Derek Burrows Reise A 1st time delegate for McLaughlin (not 'old guard') in Longfellow, Mpls Jason C Stone <jason_c_stone at yahoo.com> wrote: The discussion about the endorsement process is a good one, but it would be better if it started with an understanding that DFL'ers put different weight on the question of 'will you abide by the DFL endorsement?'. DFL Delegates reach one of three conclusions: A) it is of utmost importance B) it is a consideration C) it is not even a consideration. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
