Calm Before The Storm

As previously noted, there has been an eerie silence from the Republican Party of Minnesota since the DFL convention in Rochester. There have been few attacks on Franken and the media has seemed to of forgotten about the Senate race. This calm could be attributed to the fact that the fourth of July in approaching or because the summer heat has made people tired of the constantly active Senate race. But make no mistake about it, this is part of the Republican strategy:

Phase 1 of the Republican's plan: Allow Franken to breeze past Ciresi into the position of the lead DFL candidate. Phase 2: Hammer Franken going into the convention (but not so much that he would be denied the endorsement) so that he will be stained and weak once he is the endorsed candidate. Phase 3: Go easy on Franken once he is endorsed so that other potential candidates do not reenter. Phase 4: Once the filing date (July 15) is past, distract from the issues by hammering Franken with the mountain of opposition research they have compiled. Phase 5: Celebrate victory.

The impending storm will be unrelenting and will not only destroy Franken's campaign, but also seriously damage other DFL candidates. Make no mistake about it, the relative calm we are experiencing now is not because Franken has found his footing. We need Mike Ciresi to keep this election focused on the issues and on Norm Coleman. That is an election we can win.