I began the year as a strong supporter of Bob Olson to take on Michele Bachmann in the 6th District. By March, not so much...
Had he been able to more effectively communicate his message, I still believe he would have been the stronger candidate to take on Bachmann.
Had he been able to more effectively communicate his message, I still believe he would have been the stronger candidate to take on Bachmann.
Originally Posted March 16, 2008:
I have been a supporter of Bob Olson for some time now. After he came to me last fall and asked for my support and discussed the issues I was impressed enough to devote significant time on this blog advocating his positions. Through these past months I have worked hard to portray Mr. Olson in a positive manner and tried to convince others of his virtues. He is a good man with a good heart and progressive beliefs which closely mirror my own.
However, our beliefs diverge in how campaigns and campaigning should run. It is NOT my belief that slash and burn politics are an effective means to win an endorsement and it is NOT my belief that it is necessary to bloody our opponents in order to achieve victory.
Over the past few months I have witnessed a campaign that has gotten either progressively more desperate or progressively more bitter in its tone. In my naivety, I tried to justify this tone as the game of politics. The tipping point came tonight as I watched one of the most painful sights I have witnessed in my life. Mr. Olson took his campaign down a road that even his campaign team urged him not to travel. A campaign team that appears to be heading for the lifeboats while its captain pursues the "white whale" to his own eventual demise.
It is time, Mr. Olson, to take your exit from this race. It is time, Mr. Olson, for you have done significant damage to your image and to progressive politics. It is time, Mr. Olson, for you to apologize to Mr. Tinklenberg for the disrespectful way you carried yourself at the debate.
While the Tinklenberg campaign may need to do some courting of this blogger in order for me to fully embrace his candidacy, I can no longer count myself as a Bob Olson supporter.
On the other hand, it was equally disheartening to watch high level Tinklenberg supporters (campaign managers and such) openly mock, laugh, and ridicule as Mr. Olson spoke. The actions of Mr. Olson were certainly not excusable or even the slightest bit defensible but it also does not make supporting Mr. Tinklenberg easier when you watch the unprofessional manner that his staff display. Elwyn Tinklenberg handled himself well and I admire him for that but his campaign team does him a disservice by claiming the high road but acting in such a manner as they did in full view of the public. I have chastised the likes of Steve Gottwalt for similar actions and it would be hypocritical of me to ignore those actions when coming from a Democrat.
Within the next few days I will have up video segments of the debate for people to judge for themselves, but I can no longer be party to a campaign as vitriolic as the one I saw tonight. For now, I will be focusing on Michele Bachmann as I still believe she needs to be replaced but I will not be posting on the Democratic candidate in the 6th District until I can be convinced that they are respectful enough to warrant discussion.
However, our beliefs diverge in how campaigns and campaigning should run. It is NOT my belief that slash and burn politics are an effective means to win an endorsement and it is NOT my belief that it is necessary to bloody our opponents in order to achieve victory.
Over the past few months I have witnessed a campaign that has gotten either progressively more desperate or progressively more bitter in its tone. In my naivety, I tried to justify this tone as the game of politics. The tipping point came tonight as I watched one of the most painful sights I have witnessed in my life. Mr. Olson took his campaign down a road that even his campaign team urged him not to travel. A campaign team that appears to be heading for the lifeboats while its captain pursues the "white whale" to his own eventual demise.
It is time, Mr. Olson, to take your exit from this race. It is time, Mr. Olson, for you have done significant damage to your image and to progressive politics. It is time, Mr. Olson, for you to apologize to Mr. Tinklenberg for the disrespectful way you carried yourself at the debate.
While the Tinklenberg campaign may need to do some courting of this blogger in order for me to fully embrace his candidacy, I can no longer count myself as a Bob Olson supporter.
On the other hand, it was equally disheartening to watch high level Tinklenberg supporters (campaign managers and such) openly mock, laugh, and ridicule as Mr. Olson spoke. The actions of Mr. Olson were certainly not excusable or even the slightest bit defensible but it also does not make supporting Mr. Tinklenberg easier when you watch the unprofessional manner that his staff display. Elwyn Tinklenberg handled himself well and I admire him for that but his campaign team does him a disservice by claiming the high road but acting in such a manner as they did in full view of the public. I have chastised the likes of Steve Gottwalt for similar actions and it would be hypocritical of me to ignore those actions when coming from a Democrat.
Within the next few days I will have up video segments of the debate for people to judge for themselves, but I can no longer be party to a campaign as vitriolic as the one I saw tonight. For now, I will be focusing on Michele Bachmann as I still believe she needs to be replaced but I will not be posting on the Democratic candidate in the 6th District until I can be convinced that they are respectful enough to warrant discussion.
2 responses to "Year in Review: Bob Olson"
I agree. Problems in the banking industry that Bob could have addressed through his decades long experience as a community banker, his background in renewable/sustainable energy, etc...
It was tough watching his fall...
You were right with Olson. You were wrong with Tinklenberg.
Bob Anderson drew 2% more than Binkowski in 2004 when he WAS both the IP candidate and the IP endorsee.
These numbers:
2008
Bachmann(R-inc) 46%
Tinklenberg(D) 43%
Anderson (I) 10%
2006
Bachmann(R) 50%
Wetterling(D) 42%
Binkowski (I) 7%
I did not make the numbers up.
This site:
http://minn-donkey.blogspot.com/
What's that suggest to you?
That Bob Anderson was a great candidate, or that the only difference between Bachmann and Tinklenberg was the sack?
Bob Anderson is a good guy. He had the courage to face up to the IP boses putting the Tinklenberg fix on, despite what it did to IP credibility. He stood up. He got ten percent. Bless his integrity. Many could use more.
Think.