I appreciate Catherine's clarification on my endorsement speculation. Like many other partisan activists I'm a very strong supporter of the party endorsement system of selecting candidates. I have seen too much damage done to our party by candidates bypassing the process or ignoring pledges, leaving us in a weakened position after a late primary. This was worth clarifying.
With respect to the lack of DFL in the lit: > Catherine responds: > That's simply not true, and it is unfortunate that > Niel feels the need to post this type of negative, > inflammatory rhetoric 2 weeks before the endorsing > convention. To date, the campaign has been on the > high ground, and I intend to keep it that way. > > For the record, my literature notes that > "Minnesota's proud tradition as a liberal > progressive state is on the defensive" and that > "Catherine doesn't just stand for Democratic > values...she gets things done." Anyone looking at the piece or the website can be the judge. It does indeed say Democratic values, in a headline no less. But there is no mention of the DFL, which for better or worse is the acronym of our party here in Minnesota, anywhere in the current literature nor on her website. Negative and inflammatory? Maybe a little but I try hard not to be. My apologies for that. It's difficult to make comparisons and draw out points during a campaign without pushing a bit. Hopefully the following observations will avoid that dubious distinction. Catherine's campaign has chosen to emphasize the shift in political power to the suburbs as a reason to elect her, implying that her opponent somehow isn't as able to work with "suburban" (read Republican) colleagues. In my opinion, this unwittingly lends credence to the Republican leadership's divide and conquer strategy. By demonizing Minneapolis and it's legislators, Swiggum and Pawlenty have justified their assaults on the budgets for our public institutions and infrastructure needs, starting with our schools and going right through to housing, health care and public transportation. The fact is, even in the minority Scott Dibble works everyday with rural and suburban legislators, all of whom are chafing under the extreme ideological regime of Swiggum and Pawlenty, to build coalitions on crucial issues like transportation and education funding, housing and health care. That's not rhetoric, it's reality. Catherine continues: It doesn't mention > my endorsement by the Minneapolis Building and > Construction Trades Council, because the literature > went to print before the endorsement was received. I'm guessing that this endorsement relates to Catherine's support for the taxpayer-backed stadium financing plan that's being proposed. We'll see soon enough whether this helps in the delegate chase. Niel Ritchie East Harriet Who believes Catherine Shreves is an exceptional school board member and ought to keep at that post until the district is on more solid footing. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Health - your guide to health and wellness http://health.yahoo.com _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
