Howard Dean and Al Franken were appearing together today. This is very interesting what the DNC plans to do.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5671345.htmlDemocratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said Saturday that the party intends to target the seats now held by U.S. Reps. Mark Kennedy and John Kline.
Both Kennedy, who represents the Sixth District, and Kline, in the Second District, are closely aligned with President Bush, whose administration is marked by "incompetence and corruption," Dean said in an interview before he spoke at Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake to the inaugural meeting of the Indigenous Democratic Network List, a new 527 political group trying to elect American Indian candidates.
Dean said recent Republican woes have pushed his prediction of tilting both the House and Senate back to the Democrats from 30 to 45 percent.
Later, he told a couple hundred American Indian activists that the Democratic Party needs to do a better job of asking everyone for their vote. "We need to compete in Oklahoma and Mississippi, not just Pennsylvania and Ohio," the former Vermont governor said.
Dean also praised former FBI agent Coleen Rowley, who is challenging Kline. "She needs young people. She needs young Native Americans to work on her campaign," he said.
Rowley welcomed the boost from Dean in her bid against Kline, the veteran of four congressional campaigns, two of which he lost before winning the seat in 2002.
"I am a complete novice. I will take all the help I can get," she said.
She knows what she faces: a well-funded, savvy and polished incumbent. She has raised $80,000 since entering the contest in July and said she will need $2 million.
Franken weighs in
Rowley picked up one campaign volunteer: comedian and radio host Al Franken, who also spoke to the group. "Coleen is a hero of mine," Franken said.
He said that he remains undecided about whether to challenge U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman in 2008, but that he is likely to move home to Minnesota in January and work for Rowley."