Editorial: Keep Walz in 1st Dist. seat

Published 8:57am Thursday, October 21, 2010

Tim Walz gets things done. He cares about constituents. He tours the 1st District getting feedback. He gives straight answers.

If you don’t agree, perhaps you just haven’t sat down with him and talked.

His opponent, Randy Demmer, is a good man, too, but we see no good reason or cause to remove Walz from his seat.

We endorse Walz for the 1st District congressional seat.

Watching this race’s TV commercials, voters already know there are some outside interests trying to influence this race with false claims. (Thank you, U.S. Supreme Court.) Our suggestion is, in this or any race, don’t base your votes on TV commercials, especially ones that don’t have the candidate approving the message.

Why are these outside influences coming after Walz so strongly? He is a rising star in Congress. He is someone who has the respect of his peers, someone the 1st District would be wise to keep in Washington to bring greater clout to this district. Demmer can’t top that.

Before the health care vote, Walz participated in forums across the district, worked closely with the Mayo Clinic and did his research on how America needed more preventative measures, such as Albert Lea’s Blue Zones project. He read the entire bill before voting on it and knows it inside and out. He works hard. Still, he admits President Obama and the Democrats could do a better job of helping Americans understand what’s in it.

Walz is right about America’s energy policy and the need to spur research for homegrown renewable energy. He even favors more research on nuclear power. Homegrown power is a defense issue, something China is investing heavily in.

He notes the good side of No Child Left Behind but sees why it needs to end. He is open to alternative teacher licensing and outside-the-box ideas for education. He has a solid relationship with the southern Minnesota business community and is pro-fair trade.

Walz is an asset. Demmer presents no argument to remove Walz from Congress.

Vote for Walz on Nov. 2.

  1. Scott Bute

    “We see no good reason or cause to remove Walz from his seat”. Are you kidding me? Have you looked around the country and seen what is happening? The people are standing up and rejecting the policies of the Obama administration (which, as you noted, Walz is a huge supporter of). A Tsunami is coming on November 2nd, and for good reason. The Democrats over reached and are steering the country down the path to socialism. They were not given the power to do that and you will see the backlash coming. Walz is in trouble because of his support of Pelosi, Obama and Reid. His race should not even be close, yet he is in a statistical dead heat. He has lost the support of many independents and even some Democrats who don’t want his vision of what America should look like.

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