Last Saturday, a reader sent the image above, an ad former state representative Steve Wenzel paid to have published in the Morrison County Record.
We believe it's an illustrative addendum to Riham Feshir's very fine story at Minnesota Public Radio, In Trump Country, immigration takes back seat to abortion, taxes and spending in many voters’ minds. Feshir reports in part:
Steve Wenzel hasn’t always been a strong and visible supporter of the Republican party. In fact, the former state representative from Morrison County served in the Legislature as a Democrat for 29 years.
Now Wenzel takes credit for helping his rural Minnesota county back Donald Trump by the state’s highest margin four years ago. The 73-year-old went from being inspired by Hubert Humphrey and John F. Kennedy to becoming a Republican delegate for President Trump the last two election cycles. He chaired the county’s Republican party and his name is well-known in a community influenced by his political activism in recent years.
“I didn’t leave the Democratic party, the Democratic party left me,” said Wenzel, now a political science instructor at Central Lakes College in Brainerd. “The Democratic party became so far left that it became unrecognizable.” . . .
But for Wenzel and farmers who support President Trump, what’s top of mind is the conservative U.S. Supreme Court appointments, an improved economy and a commitment to the anti-abortion movement.
“The average person, the little guy didn’t have a chance,” Wenzel said. “That resonated with people, little people, including the good people of Morrison County who felt that this was the only one that was speaking of their concerns.”
Wenzel provided the Editorial counterpoint: Why Donald Trump is the president we need, after the Minneapolis Star Tribune editorial board endorsed Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
There's more to the back story of Wenzel's ideological transformation. Minnesota Legislative Reference Library's page for Wenzel notes that beginning in August 2001 (George W. Bush's first term):
He was appointed State Director of Rural Development in the United States Department of Agriculture.
Wenzel had over a year left on his term. The page also states:
Steve Wenzel was a member of the DFL during his legislative tenure but became a Republican later in life, participating in the 2016 Republican National Convention and serving as a delegate to the 2020 Republican National Convention. (Star Tribune, August 25, 2020)
In 2009, the Forum News Service reported in Wenzel ready for the third act of his professional life:
After 29 years as DFL state representative and about 7 1/2 years as a Republican presidential appointee, Steve Wenzel of Little Falls is ready to start the third act of his professional life. And this latest act doesn't foretell a run for elective office. . . .
Figuring where Wenzel now fits in politically might be a bit of a challenge. He said the Democratic Party has moved too far to the left, even though he still considers himself a Democrat. In addition to accepting an appointment in 2001 from President George W. Bush to be state director of Rural Development in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, he has supported a number of Republicans in recent years. That list of GOP candidates includes former Sen. Norm Coleman; former Rep. Greg Blaine, who succeeded Wenzel; Gov. Tim Pawlenty; and unsuccessful House District 12B candidate Mike LeMieur, his nephew.
"I would describe myself as an independent, conservative Democrat," he said. "The party has become way too liberal for me."
As an example of how the DFL has changed he noted that in 1973 when he co-authored legislation to ask Congress to overturn the Roe v. Wade abortion ruling he said he obtained the support of 90 percent of the DFLers.
Looking at Minnesota's wide open governor's race he said that the Republican political landscape would be defined by whether former Sen. Norm Coleman decides to run. Without Coleman in the race, Wenzel said, former House Speaker Steve Sviggum is a person he admires and a candidate to be watched. On the DFL side, Wenzel predicted that former Sen. Mark Dayton would probably win in a primary contest. . . .
Although he wasn't looking for a new job, his long-standing interest in agriculture and rural communities prompted him to think seriously about a change when then-House Speaker Steve Sviggum said the Little Falls legislator was being recommended for the Rural Development post.
Did it occur to him that the Republican House speaker might have recommended him for the job to get rid of a Democrat who was firmly entrenched in a legislative seat?
"There was no question that was a part of the mix ... one of the motives," he said.
Still the honor of a presidential appointment and the chance to work in an area that he was interested in made the offer attractive.
"It was an opportunity to continue my work in agriculture," he said. "At some point you have to give it (elective office) up. You don't want to be disappointed." . . .
In 2017, Tyler Jensen reported in the Morrison County Record story, Mr. Wenzel goes to Washington... for Trump’s inauguration:
For Steve Wenzel, a former state representative and now a college professor in political science, the fourth opportunity to go to a presidential inauguration was the charm.
Wenzel was a DFL representative in the Minnesota state legislature from 1973-2001 and a delegate at President Jimmy Carter’s nomination at the 1976 Democratic National Convention.
He had been invited to Carter’s inauguration and wanted to go, but the inauguration was during the legislative session and he didn’t plan to take a day off.
Wenzel also had the opportunity to go to both inaugurations for President George W. Bush, but again, the first inauguration was during a legislative session. By Bush’s second inauguration, Wenzel had met him a few times and chose not to go.
For Steve Wenzel, a former state representative and now a college professor in political science, the fourth opportunity to go to a presidential inauguration was the charm.
Wenzel was a DFL representative in the Minnesota state legislature from 1973-2001 and a delegate at President Jimmy Carter’s nomination at the 1976 Democratic National Convention.
He had been invited to Carter’s inauguration and wanted to go, but the inauguration was during the legislative session and he didn’t plan to take a day off.
Wenzel also had the opportunity to go to both inaugurations for President George W. Bush, but again, the first inauguration was during a legislative session. By Bush’s second inauguration, Wenzel had met him a few times and chose not to go. . . .
While Wenzel was not a Trump supporter from the beginning of the campaign, going from Jeb Bush to Marco Rubio to Jon Kasich, he said he felt Trump was a better choice than Hillary Clinton, especially on the issues of abortion and combating terrorism.
If Clinton had been elected, Wenzel said, the Supreme Court would have justices who he said would continue the “abortion on demand climate,” in the country.
“I felt that this particular election was important for the future of the Supreme Court. . . .
Read the rest at the Morrison County Record.
Photo: The ad from the Morrison County Record, via a Bluestem reader.
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