It isn’t surprising that Tarryl Clark talked fellow former lobbyist El Tinklenberg into writing a fundraising letter for her. It isn’t surprising that the DFL-endorsed candidate in 2008 would call Michele an extremist either. Still, it’s funny watching how predictable the fundraising letter is. Here’s a sample from the fundraising letter:

Divisive rhetoric and extreme right-wing views have become Michele Bachmann’s calling card, and it’s paid off for her. The far-right is rallying around it’s darling, Michele Bachmann, filling her campaign coffers, in fact, Bachmann just announced that her campaign raised more than $1 million last year.

I’d love to give Mr. Tinklenberg a shot of sodium pentathol, then ask him if it’s an extremist viewpoint to vote to uphold the rule of law. Then I’d ask if it’s extremist to vote against legislation that isn’t constitutional.

Then I’d ask him if he thinks it’s extremist for a congressional candidate to commit to voting for impeachment before articles of impeachment had been drafted:

“I [Elwyn Tinklenberg] would support a resolution for impeachment if it was brought to me. I would not introduce one. I think there are so many issues that have been waiting for resolution. So many issues that have to be addressed from the war to the economy to health care that we need to move on and move on aggressively.” Source: Star Tribune, May 10, 2006

I said it then and I’ll say it now: Voting vote to impeach a president of the United States isn’t something that happens very often. Promising that you’ll vote for impeachment before articls of impeachment have been drafted is the political equivalent of a jury issuing a trial verdict before the attorneys have delivered their opening arguments.

Mr. Tinklenberg made that statement before the DFL’s CD-6 endorsing convention. In fact, he said it because he knew that he was trailing Patty Wetterling badly and he was pathetically desperate to win.

QUESTION: What kind of spineless person would throw principles to the wind in an attempt to win a political endorsement?
ANSWER: An unprincipled politician.

Here’s another laughable quote from Tinklenberg’s fundraising letter:

In fact, she skipped the House Republican meeting last week with President Obama to travel to California, rallying TEA Party activists and hobnobbing with the Orange County conservative elite instead of doing her job.

It isn’t surprising that Mr. Tinklenberg would call TEA Party activists elitists. It’s just a stupid thing to say. The DNC has called TEA Party actisists part of “an angry mob”, sore losers who can’t get over the fact that Barack Obama won the presidential election in 2008. Speaker Pelosi called TEA Party activists astroturfed activists. (I’d say that those astroturfed activists were effective judging by Bob McDonnell’s landslide victory in Virginia and Scott Brown’s improbable victory in Massachusetts.)

Tarryl Clark knows how to win in districts that have been tough for Democrats; she’s already done it. She was elected to the State Senate in a special election to fill a previously Republican seat.

That’s true. Then again, it’s worth noting that Tarryl won Dave Kleis’s seat by pretending to be a moderate. I’d submit that Tarryl would find it infinitely more difficult to win this year with her liberal voting record of increasing taxes, both income and property taxes, on small businesses. Without the support of the business community, Tarryl would be fighting an uphill fight.

The bottom line to this is that Tarryl will probably raise alot of money but that she’ll lose because Tarryl’s voting record won’t appeal to 6th District voters.

Technorati: Activism, Fundraising, Impeachment, El Tinklenberg, Patty Wetterling, Tarryl Clark, Extremism, tax Increases, Property Taxes, Income Taxes, DFL, Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin, TEA Parties, Rule Of Law, Constitution, Conservatism, Election 2010