In a Rochester Post Bulletin article about barnstorming by the congressional candidates in the white-hot First, we found this information about Gil Gutknecht's new ad:
Both campaigns continued to flood the airwaves with paid advertising. Gutknecht this week unveiled an ad in which he points to a 2001 award from the National Guard Association of the United States, the Charles Dick Medal of Merit, as proof of his support for veterans and soldiers, counter to criticism of him by Walz.
Gutknecht says the award is from the National Guard and that it is the highest award that can be given to an elected official, but those claims are not completely accurate. The award is not from the guard but from the association, a private nonpartisan organization of 45,000 current and former guardsmen, and the award is given to elected officials and typically a handful a year are so honored, a spokesman said Thursday.
The association's highest accolade is the Harry S. Truman award, given to one individual annually. The 2006 winner was Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., who stands to become the next chairman of the House Armed Services Committee if Democrats win a majority in the House on Tuesday.
On the other hand, we find that Gutknecht may have played a key role in the War On Typos:
Gutknecht spent the day making appearances with U.S. Chamber of Commerce Vice President Doug Loon. The chamber has endorsed Gutknecht, and on Thursday the Gutknecht campaign circulated a letter from Nebraska Chamber of Commerce President Barry L. Kennedy that challenged Walz' claim that he won a 1993 award from the Nebraska chamber.
Walz amended his Internet site to note the award was from the Nebraska Junior Chamber of Commerce, also known as the Jaycees, and Salsbery characterized the flap as a "typographical error." Kennedy said in an interview that he had not spoken with Walz before sending the letter.
More about the typo at The Wege and Mr. Barry Kennedy at Yowling.
OLLIE OX UPDATE
The Walz-Gutknecht contest makes the pages of the Guardian in London:
And in Minnesota, Tim Walz, who was deployed to Italy after the September 11, 2001 attacks, surprised Democratic strategists when he made his race competitive against Republican Gil Gutknecht. "We were kind of the dark horse that nobody expected," says spokeswoman Meredith Salsbery.
There are many legendary curses in sports, with the best known being that you do not want to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated … well, if anyone offers you the Charles Dick Award of Merit … don’t take it.
Let’s look at the class of 2001 – yes, we’ve all seen the commercial with Gil proudly holding his plaque – but the class also included Sue Kelly of New York and Mike (Mac) Collins of Georgia … guess who will not be going to Washington as a returning Congressman next January ? ( Hint … you can pick any of the three and you’re a winner)
The alumni group of former winners and also losers on Tuesday include : Mike DeWine (2003), Rick Santorum (2002) and Conrad Burns (2000) … and Robert Simmons (2002) is waiting a recount to seal his fate.
Posted by: MinnesotaCentral | November 09, 2006 at 12:46 PM