Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken and Independence Party Senate candidate Dean Barkley will be vying for your votes in November – in Minnesota…
Hours after polls closed, Coleman had received better than 90 percent of the Republican vote and Franken had garnered just under 70 percent of the vote in the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party primary.
Former Minnesota planning commissioner Dean Barkley, whom Gov. Jesse Ventura had appointed to serve out the term of late Sen. Paul Wellstone in 2002, bested the other Independence Party candidates in his party’s primary with about 60 percent of the vote.
The already low expected primary turnout will likely be rock bottom in the Independence Party when all votes are tallied. With about half of precincts reporting, there were about 7,000 votes in the Independence Party’s primary compared to about 80,000 in the Republican primary about almost 160,000 in the Democratic primary.
Tee hee.
Actually, there’s some news coming down the pike about radio programs in weeks ahead. It should interest folks moving ahead in the 21st Century.
Radio programming didn’t really account for much in the 19th Century. McCain can confirm that.
He is well versed on politics but I don’t know if he is qualified, kind of like Palin.
#3, not qualified for the Senate? I thought the ability to pontificate was the only qualification.
# 4 Sea Lawyer
Apparently so.
#4 “I thought the ability to pontificate was the only qualification.”
You forgot one; the willingness to take large amounts of special interest money.
That is supposed to be Jesse Ventura in the comfy chair, isn’t it?
#3: Al is knowledgeable in politics, and seems to be a decent guy (I met him once), but the big problem will be fund raising.
“Franken had garnered just under 70 percent of the vote in the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party primary”
“I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, and 70% of the DFL like me.”
Stuart Smalley
“Franken had garnered just under 70 percent of the vote in the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party primary”
“I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, 70% of the DFL like me.”
Stuart Smalley
Stuart Smalley running for the Senate. Folks, you can’t make this stuff up!
Well, you should read his books: “Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations” and “Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right” …
Franken is an order of magnitude smarter and more articulate than the nearest republican candidate. I suppose his comedian/entertainment background does not help but he’s exactly what I love to see in government.
I love it when he runs circles around that clown, err, I mean newscaster, Bill O’Reilly.
# 10 JimD
I did they are great books.
so can Mr Franken be a senator and a convicted felon for tax evasion. Can he serve from prison?
I used to listen to him on air America in Dallas before it went broke and I found him entertaining and one of the few liberal who could actually argue his case with out resorting to name calling ( I still totally disagreed with him but I did actually have some respect for him)
Oh my. All we need is Bill O’Riley on the other side. Same deal, different sides but just as bad.
@James Hill
Pot meet kettle.
Franken had to pay a big back tax bill due to income in other states being incorrectly reported. I believe his accountant goofed on this. He paid the bill. This is the first time I’ve heard him described as a “convicted felon for tax evasion.”
Franken is a nice guy, a very funny guy and a very assertive liberal. I live in Minnesota and will be voting for him.
I love this (in spite of the fact that I am very conservative.) Looking forward to his shaking up the people currently entrenched on Capitol Hill!
Franken would make a great Senator. He is intelligent and has scruples. Plus, unlike so many of the conservative bloggers around here, he passed his gr. 6 Civics Class.
If Franken is so brilliant, why doesn’t he know the basics of the tax code?
St. Paul, Minn. — Minnesota Public Radio News contacted 60 local accountants, and heard back from a dozen of them. They all said Franken is ultimately responsible for making sure he pays taxes in the right states.
#18 Jim H – You need to do some research on Franken before blindly voting for him.
Franken tried to use the “dumb accountant trick” to avoid paying taxes to 17 states he performed in. But even the dumbest sports star knows they have to pay taxes in the states they perform in. It was not a simple oversight. He got nailed and had to pay back taxes, penalites, and interest. If Franken did not know this basic fundamental tax law, he should not be in the U.S. Senate making more tax laws!
He also evaded paying his workers’ compensation insurance for employees of his namesake corporation from 2002 to 2005. The state of New York hit him with a $25,000 fine for his evasion.
I bet that 6 months after he loses the election, he will be moving out of Minnesota back to either New York or Hollyweird.
#22, HannahMontana,
They all said Franken is ultimately responsible for making sure he pays taxes in the right states.
No one said he isn’t responsible. There is a huge difference between purposely avoiding your due taxes and making an error in a complicated system. As any accountant or lawyer will tell you, it is the intent that counts.
There was no intent to evade any tax on Franken’s behalf. The tax money had been paid, only it was paid to the wrong States. This happened because as an entertainer, Franken travels around the country earning a self employed living in many States. He must pay taxes in those States but then deducts that amount from the owed taxes in his home State. Every State has their own version of taxes and methods of calculating and paying.
Because of the complexity of the situation, he is not the first nor will he be the last entertainer to fall victim to this.
#23, jerkbenson,
But even the dumbest sports star knows they have to pay taxes in the states they perform in. It was not a simple oversight. He got nailed and had to pay back taxes, penalites, and interest. If Franken did not know this basic fundamental tax law, he should not be in the U.S. Senate making more tax laws!
The league and teams take care of the “dumb” jocks. Franken did the right thing, he hired an accountant that knew more about this than he did. Again, he did not avoid the taxes, he paid them to the wrong States. And many entertainers fall victim to this complicated mix of 50 State laws on taxes.
Several retired sports stars have been nailed for tax evasion for simply charging for signatures at sports shows.
The Worker’s Compensation issue is complicated because there is a dispute over whether or not he was a registered New York based company and who qualifies for WC. When Franken’s accountant agreed that New York was correct, Frankin paid the amount without complaint. Even several Republicans have screwed up on these rules.
When there are 50 different rules for taxes plus the Federal Government plus 50 different rules for Worker’s Comp, as well as other rules, it isn’t difficult to make a mistake. There is also the issue that NY State sent the notices after Frankin officially moved to Minnesota.
#24
I’m sure Mr. Franken appreciates your work as an apologist for him, but he obviously hired a hack to do his taxes, which makes you wonder how he’d handle real public money. $50 for a copy of Turbotax would do a better job than this.
1, Well isn’t the Democrat’s backup plan the “Fairness” Doctrine?
3, Might as well throw Barak into that mix as well since he’s been running as President far longer than he’s been actually doing his senatorial duties. LOL.
12, Liberals say this every time. LOL.
18, First I’ve heard of it too. Believe it or not, he’s friends with Ben Stein of all people.
20. Well why not throw in Bill Cosby while you’re at it.