Is Tinklenberg lying about Wetterling and Walz endorsements?

[Minnesota Raindog]

El Tinklenberg has told several audiences recently that he has been endorsed in his 6th CD race by both Patty Wetterling and Tim Walz (he implies Walz by saying the entire DFL congressional delegation has endorsed him). However, others have contacted both Walz and Wetterling and say neither has endorsed Tinklenberg.

This is pretty serious stuff if Tinklenberg is making these false claims at district conventions in order to secure delegates. Who's telling the truth here?

[Eric J in MN]

1. This webpage says no endorsement from either of them.

http://www.mnblue.com/node/1260

There's A Race, In The Sixth!

Submitted by TwoPuttTommy on March 9, 2008 - 12:19am.


...I simply couldn’t believe that Tinklenberg, in his speeches, claimed, in essence, “all Minnesota's DFL congressmen have endorsed me.” Betty? Sure. Oberstar? Of course! But Walz? Quite frankly, I didn’t think Congressman Walz had endorsed, so I called Mankato. Nope! was the answer; no endorsement.

And commenters say that Patty Wetterling didn't endorse Tinklenberg, either:

He's claimed the endorsement of Tim Walz as well, which is equally as false as Patty Wetterling's endorsement.

Looks like he did this back in 2006 too! Scroll about 1/2 way down on these posts.

http://markkennedy.blogspot.com/2006_02_01_archive.html

[Pierre.Suave]

2. If true

this is really sad...

[Minnesota Raindog]

3. Here's video of Tinklenberg claiming the "support" of Wetterling and DFL congressional delegation

http://youtube.com/watch?v=SnR7o8Q1cw0

When there's a contest for the endorsement, you don't throw out names of people "supporting" you in the same breath as you throw out unions who have "endorsed" you unless you're trying to be deceptive. And that's clearly what Tinklenberg is up to here.

He also sent an e-mail out to folks in the 6th CD trying to clear up some other issues people have with him, yet he completely avoided any mention of this problem. And yes, Tinklenberg pulled this same stunt in 2004:

http://buildourparty.blogspot.com/2008/03/blog-post.html

[Minnesota Raindog]

4. Tinklenberg will win endorsement in spite of his disingenuous endorsement claims

Tinklenberg was asked by Bob Olson at yesterday's debate about the endorsements he claims to have. For whatever reason, Olson failed to name the two endorsements in question--Patty Wetterling and Tim Walz--and Tinklenberg proceeded to read letters of endorsement from Betty McCollum, Keith Ellison and Colin Peterson without ever addressing the Wetterling and Walz "endorsements." And Olson let him get away with it. Too bad Tinklenberg wasn't forthright enough even before Democrats to admit that he made a claim about endorsements that was premature.

It was not a great showing at the debate by Olson, and his repeated questioning about a taconite tailings issue that Tinklenberg was involved with seems to have little if anything to do with the 6th CD. Sadly, it was not a great showing by Tinklenberg either, who seemed to carry an attitude of "the rules don't apply to me" throughout the debate when the moderator tried to cut him off on several occasions (and when Tinklenberg claimed a right to answer a question that wasn't asked). Tinklenberg will get the votes of Democrats in the 6th CD, but he's got a long ways to go before he gets much else out of many folks in the district who are fed up with candidates annointed by party hacks and labor. In case nobody has noticed, there are a lot of new Democrats getting involved who owe their allegience to neither.

[Eric J in MN]

6. In MN-3, we have two good candidates to choose from....

Terri Bonoff and Ashwin Madia.

[Minnesota Raindog]

5. Rumors are flying that Bob Olson is bowing out of the race

His performance at yesterday's debate in Anoka didn't help. But Tinklenberg's performance did little to remove the doubts many of us have about him either. I hope his much-touted labor endorsements translate into lots of labor's boots on the ground in the 6th CD this fall--and lots of labor's big bucks. He's going to need 'em both against Michele and God.