Dissent is Not Disloyalty

Political dissent is not wrong or disloyal. When an American, especially a Democrat, protests the Iraq War or the President or even criticizes the country, they are immediately called unpatriotic by the Right. Even when a Democrat tries to make a legitimate criticism, they are bashed for hating the United States. We saw it with John Kerry, we saw it with Michelle Obama. This often angers Democrats and deepens partisan divisions. However, we are now seeing this same mentality here in Minnesota in our own party. If a Senate candidate pledged not to abide by the endorsement, they would have been viewed as disloyal or even a traitor to the party. When Al Franken was endorsed by the DFL, all Democrats were expected to unite unquestionably behind him. It was a you're either with us or against us policy. Betty McCollum was booed and heckled at the DFL convention because she lightly criticized Franken's past statements.

The DFL endorsement is not the only decider of who the main Democratic candidate should be, it is the primary that decides who the two parties' major candidates will be. If a candidate or Minnesotan does not approve of the DFL endorsed candidate, they should be allowed to express their concerns. We must be loyal to our party and not only to our party's endorsed candidate. Many Minnesotans feel we have not nominated the best possible candidate on both a question of electability and character.

The primary should decide who is the best possible candidate. If Mike Ciresi challenges Al Franken in the primary, it can only make Franken a better candidate and determine who is truly the strongest candidate.