"There's nothing wrong in America that can't be fixed by what's right in America," according to the sign taped to the inside of the broken window at the Winona County DFL headquarters.
The Winona Daily News reports in Rocked by the vote? Winona DFL headquarters vandalized early Wednesday:
Winona DFL party headquarters was vandalized early Wednesday when three rocks were thrown through its street-front windows.
Two of the rocks pierced a poster of President-elect Barack Obama, who was projected the winner of Tuesday’s presidential election just hours before the incident. . . .. . .“It’s a very overtly aggressive act, and it’s not how this country can move forward,” said Anne Morse, chairwoman of the Winona County DFL party. “It’s more than a shame, it’s a sign of a very troubled individual.”
Morse suspects the vandalism was planned, because the rocks were large and did not likely come from the sidewalk or street nearby the headquarters, 685 W. Fifth St. No one was in the building at the time.
Police responded to the headquarters about 2:25 a.m., when someone noticed the broken windows. Officers suspected the incident happened about 2 a.m., and they have no suspects, according to police reports.
DFL officials replaced the glass early Wednesday, but Morse kept the rocks as a reminder of the incident.
Our friend Max Hailperin, a mathematics prof at Gustavus, left a comment about another measure of the enormity of Congressman Walz's victory on Tuesday:
It was certainly a sweeping victory. By my count, Rep. Walz lost only 71 precincts out of 749.
Additional context for the win can be gained by looking at the last few elections in the district. With re-districting, the First lost counties like Dakota, Goodhue, and Rice to the new Second (Luther/Kline), while southwestern counties formerly in the old Second (Minge/Kennedy) were added. The re-alignment led to two lop-sided victories for Gutknecht.
In 2002, Gutknecht received 61.5 percent to Steve Andreasen's 34.65 percent, with then Green Party candidate Greg Mikkelson garnering 3.75 percent of the ballots cast.
In 2004, Gutknecht was the choice of 59.60 percent of voters, while DFLer Leigh Pomeroy received 35.52 percent of the vote, with Greg Mikkelson, carrying the IP standard, bringing up the rear with 4.80 percent.
Walz won in 2006 with 52.74 percent to Gutknecht's 47.12 percent.
Because of post-2000 redistricting, results from 2000 and earlier are more difficult to apply, since counties now in the western part of the district were in the old Second. Nonetheless, however different the candidates, political climate and campaign dynamics of the contest between Blue Dog incumbent David MInge and challenger Mark Kennedy, a look at those western counties can also help in understanding Walz's win. Minge had won the part of Nicollet County that was in the old Second, along with Cottonwood, Jackson, Nobles, Murray, Pipestone, Rock and Watonwan Counties. Kennedy had won Martin and Brown Counties.
Walz's win Tuesday returns the western counties to the DFL fold on the congressional level; these are what Walz himself might consider "pragmatic" districts that look for problem solvers, regardless of party. In the state legislature, DFL State Senator Jim Vickerman and GOP Representive Rod Hamilton (one of the so-called Transportation Six so scorned by anti-tax ideologues for he supported on the gas tax override) are fair illustrations of this tendency.
So what explains the flip from Gutknecht's glory years to Walz's dominance on Tuesday? The biggest long-term shift seems to be happening in the eastern part of the district, which is trending blue on both the federal and state level. However, our personal sense is that the shift is influenced more by cultural, economic and technological changes than by a wholesale adoption of the DFL platform.
The rapid acceptance of the Internet, the growth of bioscience and tourism as industries, Land Stewardship's hand in developing a vital sustainable and organic agriculture coupled with the local food movement, and other developments have made Southeastern Minnesotans less patient with a Republican party that seeks platform purists on conservative social issues and free market ideologues. It's down-home cultural creativity, or creative capitalism gone country, and it's comfortable with the prairie pragmatism found to the west.
Throw in a team-builder like coach, sergeant, and now Congressman Walz whose leadership style involves listening and respect, a political tail wind, strong fundraising and great grassroots organizing, and Tuesday happens.
The lead in the LaCrosse Tribune article, Reps. Kind, Walz call for cooperation as Dems increase control of Congress:
Democratic Congressmen Ron Kind and Tim Walz weren’t gloating over their re-elections Wednesday, or the prospect of a strengthened majority working with a Democratic administration.
Calling for “a dose of humility,” Kind said Democrats must work with Republicans to govern effectively. . . .
Walz on Work Ahead on KEYC-TV.
The Owatonna Peoples Press reports in Steele County sees more DFL support:
Democratic Congressman Tim Walz won a lopsided victory against his Republican opponent Dr. Brian Davis. Walz collected 11,994 votes in Steele County compared to Davis’ 6,144. Independence Party candidate Greg Mikkelson picked up 1,004 votes.
That result is huge contrasted with Walz’s 2006 finish in Steele County. That year, Walz captured 7,006 votes while then-Congressman Gil Gutknecht, a Republican from Rochester, captured 8,166 votes.
McGuire said Walz has benefited from what he called the “Tim Penny effect” — making an effort to be at as many places in the district as possible, including Steele County. . . .. . .Kath’s victory, along with state Rep. Patti Fritz’s re-election to a third term, now leaves state Sen. Dick Day as the lone Republican from District 26 serving in St. Paul — something that the Owatonnan Republican has never known in his near 18 years in the Legislature. And though he plans to work with Democrats, Day said on Wednesday there will still be at least one conservative voice for the county. . . .
More on Kory Kath's win in A lesson in civics. Great story about an under-the-radar win. We'd been hearing great anecdotes about Kath from people volunteering to door knock in Owatonna. Kath won the seat opened by Connie Ruth's retirement.
CQPolitics looks at Congressman Walz's new colleagues. The Worthington Globe, which had endorsed Coleman, editorializes that Turnout merits Senate recount. We agree, and Coleman's whining about the cost of the automatic recount, when fewer than 500 votes seperate the top two candidates, speaks to the man's unquenchable opportunism.
There's a fine feature in this morning's Mankato Free Press about those who gave their all for candidates on both sides, Campaigns leave volunteers spent. The lead:
Amanda Barr donated hundreds of hours to Barack Obama’s Mankato field office and worked tirelessly Monday and Tuesday to get out the vote at Minnesota State University. But in the end, Barr decided not to spend election night with her fellow volunteers on the victorious night they’d all been working toward for weeks.
“I talked to my kids. They said, ‘We miss you Mommy,’” said Barr, a 23-year-old graduate student at MSU. “I told my supervisor I had to go home — they’re why I started this.”
We met Barr after the Debate Minnesota forum at MSU-M, an impressive, energetic and witty young woman. The article sensitively balances the perspectives of those who worked for winners and losers.
The Repede Family blog writes Yes We Did!
The Strib reports in Sleepovers coming to the White House:
. . .As first lady, Michelle Obama has said, she plans to make herself an advocate for working parents, particularly military families, urging better access to child care for all. As a first lady trying to juggle public duties with two young children, she will be a living illustration of the very issue she describes. . . .
We recently read a profile of Michelle Obama in More magazine, which related an anecdote from the beginning of the First Lady's freshman year at Princeton. The family of her assigned roommate complained to the administration that their daughter would have to share living space with a black woman. Now that shunned student will move into the White House as the President's best friend, love, and "his rock."
Summons an image from a very old song, and this newer adaptation by Bob Marley. The Good Book often draws these sorts of domestic analogies to explain far more unfathomable things than marriages or building projects--or elections, for that matter:
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