Minnesota Public Radio reports in Observers: Rep. Tim Walz positioned well despite GOP criticism:
[Republicans] accuse him of selling out constituents for the sake of liberal ideals. Walz also backs same-sex marriage and abortion rights, which lead National Republican Congressional Committee spokeswoman Katie Prill to call Walz "out of touch" with people in southern Minnesota.
"When he's in his district, he pretends to be a moderate. But when he's here in Washington he votes so far to the left on key issues that matter to his district," Prill said.
Poor Katie. It must be tough to be stuck in DC and forced to mouth talking point about being in touch with Southern Minnesota. She should visit. It's pretty nice this time of year.
Her bosses might also want to review the facts about Walz's 2006 run. He ran as a pro-choice candidate and famously said in a number of public forums that he supported same-sex marriage.
City Pages' Britt Robson interviewed The Republican Nightmare in June 2006:
CP: The First District runs along the entire border of southern Minnesota and is viewed as being socially conservative. There is a reference to your "Catholic values" on your website. Are you pro-choice or pro-life on abortion?
Walz: I am pro choice, openly pro choice. And the reason for that is that if our goal is to get women true opportunities, true choice, and to reduce the number of abortions, criminalization is not the way to go. That is just based on fact. The second part is the privacy issue: me extending my values and my beliefs into somebody else's values and beliefs on something as personal as that. Guess the Catholic values thing was more the social justice thing. . . .
CP: Do you worry about being too socially liberal for your district?
Walz: No. Because I think I am consistent on the subject of personal freedoms and where the line of government ends. I am a strong advocate for people's right to hunt and own guns. . . .
I never really saw how it was a conservative value for people to let government reach in and change your positions on health care. My wife and I spent many years having this little girl and that was a decision made at the fertility clinic and Mayo between my wife and myself and I don't want the government involved in that—no more than I want them to control my hunting decisions.
And his response to a question about marriage on "Lambert and Janacek," KTLK-FM, July 27, 2006 was repeated throughout the race:
And the best thing that ever happened to me was to get married and I don't see a reason to deny that to anyone. So I'm pretty consistent on that, of where government should not be in our lives.
Over at Minnesota Democrats Exposed, Michael Brodkorb--you remember him, right?--declared Walz's race over. Since then, Walz has won three terms.
Perhaps Washington Republicans need to get in touch with Brodkorb and discuss the importance of marriage.
Photo: Tim Walz in 2006, from the City Pages, photo by Michael Dvorak.
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