Coleman critique

As Minnesota Republicans prepared Friday afternoon to endorse U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman's reelection bid, Coleman's detractors were making their presence known outside the convention.

Denise Cardinal, executive director of St. Paul-based Alliance for a Better Minnesota, announced her organization's new blog that attempts to link Coleman's voting record in the Senate to President Bush. The blog, www.bushbuddy.org, aims to "remind Minnesotans of Norm's consistent support for the Bush agenda," Cardinal said.

Volunteers and staffers from the Minnesota DFL Party also made an appearance in front of the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, the site of the GOP convention. They held satirical signs thanking Coleman for supporting special interests. The mock letter was signed "Big oil, big pharma, big banks."

Photo: Bill Klotz