Minnesotans - Who are you voting for in the Senate?

[AstroManLuca]

I am still undecided between Barkley and Franken. This is an important race - one of the closest in the country. Thing is, it's hard to decide between them because I like both in their own way. Barkley has a lot of common-sense policy positions I support (explained here).

On the other hand, I see Al Franken as a real fighter. He's outspoken, which is a very good thing. Barkley's advantage of not being beholden to support one party's positions are just about matched, in my opinion, by Franken's strong independence. A lot of people think that as a comedian, he's not "fit" for office, but I think comedians are some of the few people who really do get it. Certainly better than many career politicians like Norm Coleman.

I'm torn because Barkley is a good guy and he has a not-insignificant number of supporters (polls show him at around 15-20%). He's no fringe candidate. But I still like Franken, and with him and Coleman neck and neck in the upper 30s, he needs all the help he can get.

I might just say screw it and vote for Barkley anyway purely because of his policy positions. If Norm Coleman wins, it's not like it's the end of the world... the Democrats will still win a majority in the Senate, and it's probably better not to have a filibuster-proof majority. Besides, Coleman is still more moderate than a lot of Republicans.

EDIT: Whoops, I accidentally posted this in OT... obviously meant to put it in P&N! Could someone move or lock?

 

[Ramma2]

Voting for Franken, not because of his position on issues or party affiliations, but only because likely he will stir the pot nice and good.

 

[Vette73]

I think Coleman will win. Not because the majority want him but because so many people vote for Barkley instead of Franken.

Barkley and Franken will end up with the majority vote, but split and Coleman wins by default.

I hope franken wins but doubt it.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Funny thing is, though, there are a fair number of Republicans voting for Barkley. Maybe because Republicans are fed up with their current elected officials but who also don't want to vote for a Democrat. FiveThirtyEight.com said this about the race:

Minnesota remains too close to call, if tilting very slightly to Al Franken. The key factor here is the support for independent Dean Barkley, who is still polling at about 18 percent, but much of that support is likely to collapse by election day. From parsing the SurveyUSA cross-tabs, it appears that about 29 percent of Barkley's vote comes from Democrats, 20 percent from Republicans, and 51 percent from true independents. Also, roughly two-thirds of Barkley's voters are pro-choice. This means that the race is probably Franken's to lose, but with so much advertising on both sides, it can be hard to drive a message.

 

[ggnl]

I vote the Minnesota sucks.


Suck it gopher staters!

ATOT OUT!

 

[SirStev0]

Minnesotans neffing? or even doing something other than ice fish? NEVAR!

 

[Kirby]

If I lived in Minnesota, I'd vote for Franken because it sounds like Frankenstein.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Originally posted by: nkgreen
If I lived in Minnesota, I'd vote for Franken because it sounds like Frankenstein.

Looks like him too.

 

[middlehead]

If I lived about 200 feet to the east, I'd be voting for Franken. Wrong side of the river, though.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Originally posted by: Atomic Playboy

Originally posted by: nkgreen
If I lived in Minnesota, I'd vote for Franken because it sounds like Frankenstein.

Looks like him too.

Franken Berry vs. Al Franken