On August 22, Zach Kayser reported in the Brainerd Dispatch that Cruel words - and rocks - thrown at local legislative candidates. While the pelting of a DFL candidate with pebbles by onlookers and a threat made to a GOP candidate were not acceptable, the rudeness seemed random and freelance.
Not so an episode during the Raymond Harvest Fest parade last weekend, when a paid tracker aggressively inserted himself into a DFL parade unit for two House candidates, Andrew Falk, 17A and Mary Sawatzky, 17B. Both candidates served in the Minnesota House, but lost their seats in 2014 in races that were heavily targeted by independent political committees.
For the larger picture, we recommend Catharine Richert's 2015 report at Minnesota Public Radio, 2014 Minnesota campaign cost at least $28 million.
Shortly after the Raymond parade--we were packing for our move and therefore missed it--we started hearing about a rude tracker from friends who had walked with the candidates. Willmar labor activist Steve Pirsch's Facebook post is a mild reaction:
Walked with Andrew Falk and Mary Sawatzky in the Raymond Harvest Day parade we were joined by a photographer from the Jobs coalition he was taping and taking pictures I am sure they will be used as a negative towards our candidates. Pretty sad that the republicans waste their money on such dirty tactics.
Andrew Falk shared a letter to the editor about the incident on Facebook. The letter appeared in the latest Clara City Herald. Falk writes:
Rude Parade Behavior By Republican Operative
I want to thank all of the people who helped to make the Raymond Harvest Fest a success. Thanks for the food, the kids’ games, and activities.
I also need to mention one thing. During the parade, there was a person with multiple cameras walking with our DFL entry. THIS PERSON WAS NOT WITH OUR ENTRY. His name is Kip Christianson and he is the treasurer of the Minnesota Young Republicans. He works for the MN Jobs Coalition, which is the negative attack group of the Republican Party and is working in support of Tim Miller.
During the parade, he rudely walked with our unit while filming, ran into and pushed our volunteers, stuck his camera in the window of our truck, walked right in front of our truck while it was moving causing a safety concern, and would not leave after being asked to repeatedly. These are the tactics being used to help Tim Miller. In all my years of campaigning, I have never experienced anything so rude.
The whole goal of these political stalkers is to antagonize and provoke candidates so they can use the footage in negative attack ads.
Two years ago, the MN Jobs Coalition spent hundreds of thousands of dollars running negative attack ads against me and in support of Tim Miller. We later found out that the MN Jobs Coalition had received corporate money via the Republican State Leadership Committee from Reynolds American and Altria (tobacco companies), Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Koch Industries, Las Vegas Sands, Pfizer (drug company), and many other corporations and special interests.
The next time you see or hear anything paid for by the MN Jobs Coalition, please remember whom they are working for, where they get their money, and how they operate.
Parades are supposed to be fun; Mr. Christianson and the MN Jobs Coalition crossed a line and made it obnoxious for a lot of people.
Respectfully,
Andrew Falk
DFL Candidate 17A
State Representative
This behavior is unacceptable--and doesn't seem isolated, since we've heard from a DFL activist in the Second Congressional District that "Kip Charles" has been very aggressive to suburban candidates. He was "in her face" to Lindsey Port (56B) in a parade and shadowed Erin Maye Quade (57A) on a doorknock.
In all cases, the tracker--who is indeed the treasurer of the Minnesota Young Republicans--should respect local traditions like parades where people gather to have a good time. One of the best parades this year in MN17A was held in Prinsburg, Rep. Tim Miller's hometown; parade watchers cheered and waved to both candidates. At their best, small-town parades are about pride and appreciation--not partisan antics and Independent Political Fund fodder.
For more information about the 2014 funding for the MN Jobs Coalition's independent expenditures, check out our earlier posts. Bluestem looked at the Open Secrets database and the IRS filings to put together a November 14, 2014 post, MN Jobs Coalition received [$325,000] from the RSLC; where'd that money trickle down from? and a Feb 2015 update: MJC received $325,000 from the RSLC; where'd that money trickle down from?, as well as some additional analysis in our Merchants of Daudt series.
Photo: "Kip Charles" in action.
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