Dueling House Parties

The real battlefields of the DFL endorsing contest to run against GOP U.S. Senator Norm Coleman are being held in the living rooms of DFL activist homes. In PIM's view, this is a good process: Democrats have the opportunity to judge the candidates up close and personal. We sent Pam Steinle to the front lines, armed with PIM business cards and escorted by her DFL-leaning cousin, Renee Mueller Steinle. What follows are Pam’s observations (not to be confused with scientific comparisons), nonetheless from anecdotal reports we’ve heard elsewhere, she is right on target.

I, a Republican armed with my Politics in Minnesota business cards, rode alongside my undecided cousin, Renee, into delegate hunting grounds. Renee had been conveniently invited to both a Franken and Ciresi meet and greet event, which were located in her neighborhood and a mere week apart. She cleared my presence at both events with the reception hosts: Franken’s December 6 event, hosted by Roann Cramer and David Zimmerman, which was specifically designated as a meet and greet event; and Ciresi’s December 12 reception, hosted by Laurie and Phil Seiff and Kathy and Vince Moccio, that strongly encouraged campaign donations on the invitation.

Round 1: Al Franken

Renee was invited to Franken’s event via a casual, verbal invitation from Cramer accompanied by a flyer. We entered the South Minneapolis home (once owned by Floyd B. Olson) and were amazed to see about 250 casually-dressed people crammed into the living room wing, as well as the dining room/kitchen room wing. The food table appeared to be a potluck of sorts, with a hand-written sign designated "No Pork" sandwiches, an array of crackers and spreads, as well as cookies and fudge. The drink table had a variety of wines and mixers, including a random container of prune juice (we asked ourselves, do you drink this straight or is it a mixer?). A stage was set at the intersection of the two rooms, complete with a sound system, and Franken even brought along a small step-stool to make himself more visible to the throng. Minneapolis City Council member Betsy Hodges (Ward 13) introduced Franken as a man who was “dead serious” about his candidacy. And Hodges was introduced by Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) – quite the formal program.

Franken continued the theme of being a serious contender by limiting his humor – most of his jokes were ad lib (for example, commenting on the loudness of a baby’s cries). The speech was continually interrupted by cheers and applause – at one point, while discussing renewable energy, a spontaneous question about nuclear energy was asked. Franken responded directly, saying he though nuclear energy had to be part of the equation. There was no applause after that response. Franken did not entertain any more questions from the floor (he told a woman with her hand held up that he wasn’t taking questions).

Afterwards, Franken (flanked by campaign staff) and his wife, Franni Franken, began to meet and greet the crowd. He held a black marker and signed campaign literature, posters and books. Renee's big issue is immigration. She was told by a campaign staffer that now was not a good time to ask that question. They directed her to their website, and offered to take down her name and number to follow up. I asked anyway a minute later when Franken was free. To Renee, his response showed he had knowledge of the subject, but because of his briefness she could not conclude anything substantial about his platform. Our exchange with Franken was rushed: He shook our hands, we chatted for a minute, and off he went ... in fact, he left the event before we did!

Round 2: Mike Ciresi

The following week Renee and I drove a few blocks over to Ciresi’s event at the Moccio home. Renee received an invitation in the mail, and then received a follow-up call from Kathy Moccio, who she knows professionally. We felt much more conspicuous, not only because we were underdressed (we had been overdressed the week before, and in attempt to fit in had dressed down a bit – oh the irony!) but also because there were only a few dozen people in attendance. Ciresi’s style is much more personal – every attendee was sought out and greeted by him or his wife Ann Ciresi. The food table at this event was laid out like a Martha Stewart centerfold, with fruit kabobs, cheese plates and M&M’s galore. Eventually, the crowd of 50 was ushered into the living room and Moccio (Ciresi's law firm partner) gave a short, informal introduction of Ciresi.

Ciresi stood in the center of the home, without stage or sound system. The crowd did not cheer and holler. Ciresi's speech mentioned unions several times, and elaborated on his leadership in the tobacco law suit. At the conclusion of his speech, he opened the floor for a public question and answer session. Another attendee asked Ciresi about immigration, and his response was very similar to Franken's in content, although exponentially longer. When Ciresi was finished, he continued to mingle with guests and even had time to sit down with me, the PIM reporter. We were anything but rushed – he even took time to ask me a few questions about my background.

At The End Of Two Rounds?

Too close to call. Renee thought Franken's storytelling style was engaging, and his campaign speech convincing at dispelling any preconceived notions one might have had about him. He firmly established his "smarts" and how his satirist eyes and his years of watching politics gave him his experience. Ciresi, on the other hand, did a good job of contrasting his candidacy with Franken's – specifically, Ciresi reminded the audience of his established record as an advocate for Minnesota, which caused Renee to verbally ponder, "Maybe that is better..." In the end the candidates each showed and played up their perceived strengths. At least for Renee, her loyalties will be officially decided when they debate head to head.

It is a battle of campaign styles. For Franken, his background in show biz creates a campaign of glitz and glamour; For Ciresi, his background in courtrooms creates one of networking and persuasion. The November Rasmussen poll showed Ciresi to have a better chance against Coleman than Franken. DFL insiders agree that Franken might have a lead in the endorsement race, but Ciresi has the momentum.

In conclusion, I think Ciresi's parlor-chat settings might make the difference in this endorsement race. While it is fun to bask in the fame of a celebrity, at the end of the night most voters are looking for a candidate who cares about individual people, and Ciresi's one-on-one approach is very effective in creating that image.