Campaign Rally
I just returned home from a campaign rally for Representative Mark Kennedy, State Senator Michele Bachmann & Jeff Johnson, who I hope will represent me in the Minnesota state Senate this time next year.
Jeff spoke briefly & did a nice job in the 5 minutes that was alloted to him. Jeff's best line is that being pro life isn't just a policy position for him & his wife; it's their way of life. Jeff mentioned that "Some of my wife's biggest thrills as a doctor" have come from delivering babies. Jeff also said that education is a passion of his because he's an assistant professor in the Aviation Department at St. Cloud State.
Jeff didn't have alot of time to give a long, detailed speech on the issues but I was impressed with the speech he gave, especially considering the circumstances.
Michele Bachmann, the woman I've described as a GOP superstar in the making, was next to speak. That's my description of her & I'm sticking to it after tonight's speech. Michele spoke about the national attention that the CD-6 race is getting. Michele said she was told that the CD-6 race is "one fo the top 5 races" in the entire nation. Michele said that Democrats absolutely have to win this race to retake the House. If that's true, & I trust Michele's characterization, then the House is staying in Republican hands because Michele's such a charismatic candidate & dynamic campaigner.
In fact, I thought Jeff summed Michele up perfectly in his introduction, saying that someone had "paid Michele a great compliment, saying 'She doesn't sound like a politician.'" I totally agree with that. In fact, I said something similar in my first post on Michele: "She was articulate in her presentation. She had a ready answer for all of the questions posed to her. Most of the people I talked with said that they were either impressed or very impressed with her speaking skills."
Michele, in turn, introduced Mark, the night's final speaker. Mark's presentation was a strong stating of where he stood on the biggest issues facing the U.S. & Minnesota. Mark made it clear that he wants our troops home "as soon as possible without letting Iraq become" the next sanctuary for al Qaida. That got a big round of applause. Mark told the crowd that he opposed his opponent's position on taxes, saying the U.S. economy was strong & growing, adding 5 million new jobs over the past 3 years & with the economy growing at "over 5 percent" this year because of the Bush tax cuts. Mark made clear that he would work to make permanent the Bush tax cuts. That got the biggest round of applause.
Finally, he said that he'd vow to confirm judges that take the Constitution seriously. He said that that's another big difference between himself & his opponent. Ms. Klobuchar said that, not only would she have not voted to confirm Sam Alito but that she wouldn't have voted to confirm Chief Justice Roberts either. Simply put, that isn't where Minnesotans are on that issue.
After hearing the three candidates speak, I can honestly say that I'm excited about all of them. All gave very upbeat, issues-oriented speeches. All were articulate, too, which is something that we need more of in the GOP.
There was a little extra buzz in the hall afterwards because MSNBC has assigned a reporter to follow the Kennedy campaign, though I don't know how long he'll be following Kennedy.
Another bit of information that was getting talked about was the Ford Bell-Amy Klobuchar debate last night. Word from those attending was that Bell had outperformed Ms. Klobuchar, who they said looked a bit flustered. I'll have to go to Almanac's website & check out the video . The people that I spoke with said that Bell put her on the spot in demanding that she adopt his health care initiative.
Here's a portion of KvM's post on the debate:
When Patty Wetterling was endorsed by the DFL to run against Michele, Tarryl Clark characterized Michele Bachmann as "a devil with a blue dress on." After hearing her presentation tonight, that's the last impression you could imagine.
I'm in the process of setting up interviews with all three candidates. They'll most likely start in a week and a half or two weeks. Be sure to check back for those interviews.
Posted Saturday, May 27, 2006 9:56 PM
No comments.
Jeff spoke briefly & did a nice job in the 5 minutes that was alloted to him. Jeff's best line is that being pro life isn't just a policy position for him & his wife; it's their way of life. Jeff mentioned that "Some of my wife's biggest thrills as a doctor" have come from delivering babies. Jeff also said that education is a passion of his because he's an assistant professor in the Aviation Department at St. Cloud State.
Jeff didn't have alot of time to give a long, detailed speech on the issues but I was impressed with the speech he gave, especially considering the circumstances.
Michele Bachmann, the woman I've described as a GOP superstar in the making, was next to speak. That's my description of her & I'm sticking to it after tonight's speech. Michele spoke about the national attention that the CD-6 race is getting. Michele said she was told that the CD-6 race is "one fo the top 5 races" in the entire nation. Michele said that Democrats absolutely have to win this race to retake the House. If that's true, & I trust Michele's characterization, then the House is staying in Republican hands because Michele's such a charismatic candidate & dynamic campaigner.
In fact, I thought Jeff summed Michele up perfectly in his introduction, saying that someone had "paid Michele a great compliment, saying 'She doesn't sound like a politician.'" I totally agree with that. In fact, I said something similar in my first post on Michele: "She was articulate in her presentation. She had a ready answer for all of the questions posed to her. Most of the people I talked with said that they were either impressed or very impressed with her speaking skills."
Michele, in turn, introduced Mark, the night's final speaker. Mark's presentation was a strong stating of where he stood on the biggest issues facing the U.S. & Minnesota. Mark made it clear that he wants our troops home "as soon as possible without letting Iraq become" the next sanctuary for al Qaida. That got a big round of applause. Mark told the crowd that he opposed his opponent's position on taxes, saying the U.S. economy was strong & growing, adding 5 million new jobs over the past 3 years & with the economy growing at "over 5 percent" this year because of the Bush tax cuts. Mark made clear that he would work to make permanent the Bush tax cuts. That got the biggest round of applause.
Finally, he said that he'd vow to confirm judges that take the Constitution seriously. He said that that's another big difference between himself & his opponent. Ms. Klobuchar said that, not only would she have not voted to confirm Sam Alito but that she wouldn't have voted to confirm Chief Justice Roberts either. Simply put, that isn't where Minnesotans are on that issue.
After hearing the three candidates speak, I can honestly say that I'm excited about all of them. All gave very upbeat, issues-oriented speeches. All were articulate, too, which is something that we need more of in the GOP.
There was a little extra buzz in the hall afterwards because MSNBC has assigned a reporter to follow the Kennedy campaign, though I don't know how long he'll be following Kennedy.
Another bit of information that was getting talked about was the Ford Bell-Amy Klobuchar debate last night. Word from those attending was that Bell had outperformed Ms. Klobuchar, who they said looked a bit flustered. I'll have to go to Almanac's website & check out the video . The people that I spoke with said that Bell put her on the spot in demanding that she adopt his health care initiative.
Here's a portion of KvM's post on the debate:
Klobuchar, obviously surprised and frustrated that Bell's pestering candidacy will continue into the middle of September, lashed out that the philanthropist's decision would essentially hand the November election to Mark Kennedy. Unfazed by Klobuchar's likely accurate prediction, Bell assured Klobuchar and the program's viewers that the DFLers shouldn't emulate the GOP's process of "hand-picked" candidates.The Canadian health care plan is a single payer system. It's generally disregarded as the most impractical system to implement and/or run. Frankly, sticking with that plan is a loser for Klobuchar. I'd say that Bell's just put Ms. Klobuchar in a box: If she sticks with this position, she will have opened herself up as supporting the most far left wing position for health care; if she changes her position, then it's labeled a flip-flop. I'd have to think that this debate has the Kennedy people smiling from ear to ear.
The announcement was only the beginning of a poor night for Klobuchar who appeared distracted for most of the debate, attempting as usual to provide a slightly more moderate voice to Bell's Wellstonesque policies. But Bell's public decision to forgo the endorsement process seemed only to embolden the Democrat who was in rare form, confidently pushing Klobuchar to the left on issue after issue. Bell's impassioned defense of universal health care even put the Hennepin County Attorney on the spot to admit that the U.S. needs the Canadian-style health program in one of debate's few moments lacking any hair-spliting by the DFL frontrunner.
When Patty Wetterling was endorsed by the DFL to run against Michele, Tarryl Clark characterized Michele Bachmann as "a devil with a blue dress on." After hearing her presentation tonight, that's the last impression you could imagine.
I'm in the process of setting up interviews with all three candidates. They'll most likely start in a week and a half or two weeks. Be sure to check back for those interviews.
Posted Saturday, May 27, 2006 9:56 PM
No comments.
