In a new ad, a Coleman front group attacks Al for supporting the Employee Free Choice Act, which would help workers organize unions free from intimidation by management. The ad accuses Al of wanting to “eliminate the secret ballot.” This, of course, is an outright lie — the Employee Free Choice Act does nothing of the sort. Even local TV station WCCO’s ‘Reality Check’ called it a “distortion” and “false.”
Watch the video…
This week, Norm Coleman said something unbelievable. He told a reporter that even knowing then what we all know now, he STILL would have supported invading Iraq. And we have it on tape.
This week has been about a fundamental choice. Our new video shows that Norm Coleman was wrong then, he’s wrong now, and he’s just plain wrong for Minnesota.
Monday
Last Monday, Senator Klobuchar, Congressman Ellison, and many more DFL leaders united behind Al and DFL congressional candidates El Tinklenberg and Steve Sarvi at a news conference at the Minnesota State Capitol.
As soon as the news conference was over, Al was off on a four day “Standing Up for Minnesota” tour around the state. A Duluth rally at the Labor Temple’s Wellstone Hall kicked things off, where Al spoke to the crowd from in front of a portrait of Sen. Paul Wellstone. The Duluth News Tribune called it “an apt place to start a general election bid to unseat the late Sen. Paul Wellstone’s successor, Republican Sen. Norm Coleman.” Read the rest of that article, or watch TV coverage of the rally.
From Duluth, TeamFranken headed off for a meet & greet in Grand Rapids at Brewed Awakenings, where we met a “full house of local residents” (don’t take our word for it, check out the Grand Rapids Herald-Review article. ) We grabbed some of Brewed Awakenings’ excellent soup (Pad Thai!) on the way out and headed to Bemidji, where folks packed into the Green Mill to welcome Al. And Al got a chance to get some of his favorite walleye to go. The Bemidji Pioneer came by to cover the action:
“We want an economy that works for everyone, not just the special interests,” Franken said to about 50 supporters crammed into the Green Mill’s Lantern Room. “That means rebuilding the middle class in this country. That means rebuilding the labor movement in this country.”
Read more from the rest of the tour after the jump.
Last Tuesday, October 22nd Al participated in the SEIU’s “Walk a Day in My Shoes” program for political candidates and worked alongside Certified Nurse Assistant and SEIU Healthcare Minnesota member Ulysses Bridges. Ulysses shared his thoughts after the experience by penning the following blog post:
I got home Tuesday and had a smile on my face all night. My wife asked me why and I told her it was because for one day, a politician saw what it’s like to care for patients at the nursing home where I work.
Al Franken walked a day in my shoes, joining me on my 6am shift to begin the job I’ve been doing for more than twenty years. As a Certified Nursing Assistant, I care for eight residents-getting them out of bed, dressed, washed and shaved, feeding them, and providing care throughout the day.
This Tuesday, Al sat down with Matt Cooper, who’s now writing for Conde Nast’s new magazine, Portfolio. It was an unusual event - held at Chambers Hotel in downtown Minneapolis, conducted before a live audience, and open to other members of the press.
And everyone there certainly got their lunch hour’s worth - you can check out this no-holds-barred interview here. Don’t miss it!
Part I is below, click through to the full post below to view the other three parts of the interview.
