As many Minnesota candidates skip the chance to face their opponents, the voters lose
October 19, 2006
Pioneer Press
Frederick Melo
Call it the season of the no-show.
With the exception of Republican Rep. Jim Ramstad, Minnesota's congressional incumbents are refusing to debate their challengers on commercial television — ducking the most visible political forums of the election season.
That means you won't see a knock-down, drag-out fight between Rep. Betty McCollum and Obi Sium on KSTP-TV — the only station that extended an invitation to all the congressional candidates — or a grudge match between Rep. John Kline and his opponent, Coleen Rowley.
Ditto for Rep. Gil Gutknecht, Rep. James Oberstar and Rep. Collin Peterson. Offered the opportunity to go face-to-face with their challengers before a large, general audience, they all blinked.
In an unusual show of bipartisanship, all but one member of the state's congressional delegation came up with a flurry of scheduling snafus that would make it impossible for them to participate in what would be their most high-profile, face-to-face political throw-downs of the season.
"We … offered different dates, and they said, 'No, it's still a scheduling problem,' " said KSTP-TV news manager Gary Hill.
Some political observers say they're disappointed, but not surprised. From statewide races to local and legislative campaigns, sitting pols stand to gain the most by drowning their challengers in silence, cutting off their opponents' opportunities to boost name recognition.
But by doing so, critics say, they're also cutting off important political discussion and leaving undecided voters without much incentive to go to the polls.
Full article: http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/local/15792934.htm
Senate candidates Amy Klobuchar and Mark Kennedy traded barbs over war and taxes on "Meet the Press."
October 16, 2006
StarTribune
Rob Hotakainen
WASHINGTON - "Coffee, water or whiskey?" joked Tim Russert, who seemed to be in a fine mood Sunday morning when his Minnesota guests -- Senate candidates Amy Klobuchar and Mark Kennedy -- showed up for a debate in his NBC television studio in Washington.
As the two sipped their drinks, Russert, a native of Buffalo, N.Y., and a fan of the Buffalo Bills, commiserated with his visitors, both Vikings fans. "You may have lost four Super Bowls, but we lost four in a row," said Russert, host of "Meet the Press."
After the laughs and pleasantries, the hard-nosed Russert got down to business and got Klobuchar and Kennedy to display big differences on some big issues in their network television debate.
As they sparred for nearly 40 minutes, they traded especially sharp barbs on the war in Iraq and tax policy.
Kennedy, a Republican congressman since 2001, said he stood by his vote to authorize the war in 2002 and vigorously defended his party's tax cuts, saying they've helped produce 6 million new jobs. Klobuchar, the DFL candidate and Hennepin County attorney since 1999, said it's time to change course in Iraq and to eliminate tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans.
When Russert asked Kennedy if he would vote today to back the war, even if the CIA told him that former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction, Kennedy replied: "We acted on the information that we knew at the time. ... I stand by my vote. We can't rewind. We acted on the information we knew at the time and acted correctly."
Klobuchar said that the war is now a civil war and that the United States should pursue "a diplomatic and political solution."We cannot, as Congressman Kennedy and the president are talking about, just stay the course indefinitely, with more troops dying, over $300 billion spent," she said.
Kennedy said the war will require the United States "to make adjustments," but he suggested it would be impossible to come up with a diplomatic solution: "You can't negotiate with people that are ruthless and glory in killing innocent women and children."
Klobuchar asked Kennedy to "admit that he was wrong about voting for this war." She told the stories of a mother in Mahnomen, Minn., who can't sleep because her child is going on his second tour of duty in Iraq and of a father in western Minnesota who cries when questions are asked about Iraq because he lost his son. "These are real people in the real world who are looking for solutions," she said.
Full article can be found at: http://www.startribune.com/587/story/744170.html