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photo by Brie Cohen
The audience claps as Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie looks over at Rep. Tim Walz at the Union Center on Saturday and states why people should reelect Walz. Walter Mondale was scheduled to speak at the event but was unable to make it, so Ritchie came to speak instead.
DFLers rally in Albert Lea
Former Vice President Mondale cancels
Published Monday, October 20, 2008
Photo by Brie Cohen
Joe Brown finds a cookie with his wife’s name on it, Rep. Robin Brown. After finding it, he ate it.
Photo by Brie Cohen
Rep. Tim Walz and Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie embrace before Walz handed over the microphone to Ritchie on Saturday.
Photo by Brie Cohen
House District 27A Rep. Robin Brown, who is up for re-election this year, chats with people at the Union Center before Tim Walz arrived Saturday.
Photo by Brie Cohen
The audience at the Union Center listens to Rep. Tim Walz speak about why he should be reelected.
Photo by Brie Cohen
Many people took advantage of the Barack Obama buttons that were for sale for $2.
Though former Vice President Walter Mondale was unable to attend the local DFL meeting Saturday because of the death of a close friend, Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie in his place encouraged area residents to show their love for their country by voting in the upcoming general election.
“If you love this country, if you love your community ... then you take responsibility for it,” said Ritchie, a DFLer who was elected two years ago to a four-year term. “One of the ways you take responsibility for it is you vote.”
In a political climate where anything’s possible, Ritchie said, he also came out to endorse his friend and U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, DFL-Mankato, in the 1st District race against Brian Davis, R-Rochester. Ritchie talked of Walz’s patriotism and work to compromise on many issues.
He also talked of two cities in Minnesota that have voter registrations above 90 percent.
He said when he asked the people in both of those places why this was the case, they told him, “We love this land; we love this country; we are very patriotic, and we vote.”
It has been his goal since he ran for office, he said, to make sure everyone who wants to have a voice in the election process can be heard and to reassure people that all votes in the upcoming election will be tabulated accurately. The results of the election process can be trusted, he said.
Walz also spoke of the role of voting.
He said the most important thing the people in a democracy can do is vote. Minnesota has always had a leading number of voters, and he said, “When people cast their vote, they must be ensured it’s going to be counted.”
He showed his support for Democratic presidential nominee, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, and said the country also needs to keep a Democratic majority in the House and a working majority in the Senate.
The congressman said he knows people didn’t come Saturday to see him; they came for their country. People want to see this country respected again, he said.
“This is the most important election of our lives,” he said. “You’re not voting for the next four years, you’re voting for the next four generations.”
He said he sees a golden opportunity to turn back many of the mistakes that have been made in the last few years. However, the real work will start after the election — in getting this country’s soldiers home, figuring out a health insurance plan and getting people to start investing again.
“If we do not elect Barack Obama president, nothing’s going to change,” Walz said.
District 27A Rep. Robin Brown, DFL-Moscow Township, also spoke briefly and extended apologies from Mondale for not being able to come to the event.
She, too, showed her support for Walz.
“He’s done such a wonderful job for our district in representing our needs at the Capitol,” Brown said.
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Comments
Posted by speakup (anonymous) on October 20, 2008 at 6:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
No republican events lately ? Equal coverage would be nice.
Posted by NoDFL (anonymous) on October 20, 2008 at 7:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Not this year speakup people are to afraid to support what is right. It is better to get in line and follow the crowd. Don't question the all powerful DFL or their great leaders. I now Know why I left the party....
Posted by northernvoice (Andrew Dyrdal) on October 20, 2008 at 11:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
speakup:
this was a major event which was scheduled to include a vice president and included a U.S. congressman and our Secretary of State. No, their haven't been any "republican" events lately that deserved coverage like this. invite Dukakis to Albert Lea and the Tribune will coverate "equally."
Posted by mnisgreat (anonymous) on October 21, 2008 at 12:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Stop the Republican wealth redistribution FROM the middle class to the top 5%.
It is time to STOP the wealth distribution FROM the middle class into the pockets of the top 5%. I don't think any of us asked for triple the price of gas, 80% increases in our health care premiums, or 20% decreases in our home values, or 6.2% unemployment in Minnesota, or $700 billion of our tax paying dollars going to Iraq, or another $700 billion dollars of our tax paying dollars going to Wall Street. This ridiculous concept that Barack Obama and Al Franken are for redistributing the wealth to the poor is a political strawman to distract everyone from the fact that the Republicans have been redistributing money from OUR pockets into the pockets of their rich Oil company, defense contractors, and wall street buddies for decades. Al and Barack just want to right an 8 year long wrong and start growing this country from the middle up and stop the destructive and failed economic policies of “trickle-down”. Al and Barack know that small business is the economic engine here in Minnesota and this is why they will stop the shipping of Minnesota jobs overseas and will provide TAX CUTS for the middle class and small business owners (95% of all Minnesotans and Americans).
Posted by gone (anonymous) on October 21, 2008 at 6:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
During the last eight years has a Republican tax policy created new businesses or brought new jobs to A.L? During the past eight years have we made progress on energy self-sufficiency? Have we kept our place as a leader or world diplomacy or have we poured thousands of American lives and billions of dollars into an imaginary war against terrorism? During the past eight years have we developed a reasonable immigration policy? A.L., a city with no growth and no jobs certainly should be a hardcore Republican city; the past eight years have worked so very well.
Many people reasonably have come to the conclusion that we've had all the coverage of Carl Rove Republicanism that we need.
Posted by Truth (anonymous) on October 21, 2008 at 9:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Government can't create jobs by wealth redistribution. You both have no clue on what it takes to run an economy. The less they tax the more I have to spend on what I want. Government (both parites) has to get out of the way. Our city government has killed job creation not Bush or Obama. Get a life you have to do it yourself not the government. Stop with the Dem talking points and join the revolution.
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