racheleggert
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Finally my home state is getting attention on national level even media (I don't meant to brag but that is the fact). Some of my friends are delegate to DNC Convention.. Read below:
Minnesota is belle of the ball
Suitors line up to court the swing state, lending its delegates national 'star power.'
BY TOM WEBB
Pioneer Press
BOSTON — When the Democratic National Convention opens for business today, the Minnesota contingent will discover what it's like to be the most popular kid in school.
They'll be treated to front-row seats. They'll be invited to hot parties.
They'll hear from coveted speakers each morning, and then each night, their prime seating location in Boston's FleetCenter means they'll probably appear on national TV.
This is all due, of course, to Minnesota's emergence as a political swing state. Minnesota has voted Democratic in 10 of the past 11 presidential races, but as everyone knows, this year Minnesota is a tossup. As old patterns shift, both national parties are eager to woo a state whose affections could go either way.
"When you're a battleground state, you do get more star power," admits Bill Amberg, a spokesman for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota.
Added Randy Wanke, spokesman for the Republican Party of Minnesota: "There's more media attention on Minnesota, and I think we can expect to see that at the convention as well. A lot of people outside Minnesota are starting to grasp this notion that it's no longer the state of Mondale and Humphrey."
Only four years ago, Minnesota Republicans were seated next to Guam on the convention floor, and their assigned convention hotel wasn't even in the same state — nor had it yet opened for business. (And it still hasn't.)
DFLers fared a bit better back in 2000. But they, too, remember the marathon bus rides from distant hotels two area codes away, and the dearth of big names among the morning speakers — folks like "the deputy secretary of state for sub-Saharan Africa," as Amberg jokingly recalls.
But nowadays, it's goodbye Guam, and farewell sub-Saharan. DFLers will sit next to the main stage, adjacent to the delegations from presidential candidate John Kerry's Massachusetts and vice presidential candidate John Edwards' North Carolina. And not only do the assigned hotels actually exist, they're even nearby. The DFL is housed in Cambridge near Harvard University; Minnesota Republicans next month will be in the heart of Manhattan during their convention in New York City.
"We have a great location to our hotel — we're usually in a different state," said Jack Meeks, a Republican National Committee member from Minnesota who has attended many party gatherings. "We heard that the president will be staying at the Waldorf, which is right across the street from us."
Each morning, state delegates gather for a breakfast meeting where the day's events are discussed and a pep talk is given. The tentative DFL morning lineup includes two homegrown radio personalities — Garrison Keillor and Al Franken — along with liberal presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich.
Truth be told, Minnesotans aren't playing major roles at either party's gathering, but they are filling some niches. Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar will address the full Democratic convention on Wednesday afternoon to tout nominee John Kerry's record as a prosecutor.
"He was actually the first assistant (prosecutor) in a county that was about the same size as Hennepin County," Klobuchar said.
Her speech will be carried on some cable stations. "I'm sure I won't be on the networks unless I do something really bad," Klobuchar said with a laugh.
U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., is traveling to Boston on behalf of the Bush campaign, basically to spend two days raining on the Democratic message.
"I want to accentuate the positive," Coleman told reporters Friday before citing Kerry's "extreme position" on intelligence cuts and calling Kerry "the most liberal member of the United States Senate."
Replied the DFL's Amberg, "I can't think of anyone in the Republican Party who'd have less credibility than (former DFLer) Norm Coleman to call John Kerry a flip-flopper."
Meanwhile, delegates will drop by the serious gatherings on important issues like global trade or civil rights, as well as the fun ones on the party circuit.
U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn., on Monday plans to attend an event for people with disabilities, and on Tuesday he'll go to a tribute to veterans. Later in the week, he'll drop in on the star-studded bash thrown by the movie and music industry.
For DFL delegate Kathleen Murphy of St. Paul, the convention is a chance to make the connections that she hopes will boost the Kerry-Edwards ticket to victory in Minnesota and beyond.
"We're trying to get the message out to the millions of women who didn't vote in the 2000 election," Murphy said. "That's kind of what I see as my role: representing Minnesota, meeting people and sharing ways to make sure that it happens."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Webb can be reached at twebb@krwashington.com or 202-383-6049.
Minnesota is belle of the ball
Suitors line up to court the swing state, lending its delegates national 'star power.'
BY TOM WEBB
Pioneer Press
BOSTON — When the Democratic National Convention opens for business today, the Minnesota contingent will discover what it's like to be the most popular kid in school.
They'll be treated to front-row seats. They'll be invited to hot parties.
They'll hear from coveted speakers each morning, and then each night, their prime seating location in Boston's FleetCenter means they'll probably appear on national TV.
This is all due, of course, to Minnesota's emergence as a political swing state. Minnesota has voted Democratic in 10 of the past 11 presidential races, but as everyone knows, this year Minnesota is a tossup. As old patterns shift, both national parties are eager to woo a state whose affections could go either way.
"When you're a battleground state, you do get more star power," admits Bill Amberg, a spokesman for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota.
Added Randy Wanke, spokesman for the Republican Party of Minnesota: "There's more media attention on Minnesota, and I think we can expect to see that at the convention as well. A lot of people outside Minnesota are starting to grasp this notion that it's no longer the state of Mondale and Humphrey."
Only four years ago, Minnesota Republicans were seated next to Guam on the convention floor, and their assigned convention hotel wasn't even in the same state — nor had it yet opened for business. (And it still hasn't.)
DFLers fared a bit better back in 2000. But they, too, remember the marathon bus rides from distant hotels two area codes away, and the dearth of big names among the morning speakers — folks like "the deputy secretary of state for sub-Saharan Africa," as Amberg jokingly recalls.
But nowadays, it's goodbye Guam, and farewell sub-Saharan. DFLers will sit next to the main stage, adjacent to the delegations from presidential candidate John Kerry's Massachusetts and vice presidential candidate John Edwards' North Carolina. And not only do the assigned hotels actually exist, they're even nearby. The DFL is housed in Cambridge near Harvard University; Minnesota Republicans next month will be in the heart of Manhattan during their convention in New York City.
"We have a great location to our hotel — we're usually in a different state," said Jack Meeks, a Republican National Committee member from Minnesota who has attended many party gatherings. "We heard that the president will be staying at the Waldorf, which is right across the street from us."
Each morning, state delegates gather for a breakfast meeting where the day's events are discussed and a pep talk is given. The tentative DFL morning lineup includes two homegrown radio personalities — Garrison Keillor and Al Franken — along with liberal presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich.
Truth be told, Minnesotans aren't playing major roles at either party's gathering, but they are filling some niches. Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar will address the full Democratic convention on Wednesday afternoon to tout nominee John Kerry's record as a prosecutor.
"He was actually the first assistant (prosecutor) in a county that was about the same size as Hennepin County," Klobuchar said.
Her speech will be carried on some cable stations. "I'm sure I won't be on the networks unless I do something really bad," Klobuchar said with a laugh.
U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., is traveling to Boston on behalf of the Bush campaign, basically to spend two days raining on the Democratic message.
"I want to accentuate the positive," Coleman told reporters Friday before citing Kerry's "extreme position" on intelligence cuts and calling Kerry "the most liberal member of the United States Senate."
Replied the DFL's Amberg, "I can't think of anyone in the Republican Party who'd have less credibility than (former DFLer) Norm Coleman to call John Kerry a flip-flopper."
Meanwhile, delegates will drop by the serious gatherings on important issues like global trade or civil rights, as well as the fun ones on the party circuit.
U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn., on Monday plans to attend an event for people with disabilities, and on Tuesday he'll go to a tribute to veterans. Later in the week, he'll drop in on the star-studded bash thrown by the movie and music industry.
For DFL delegate Kathleen Murphy of St. Paul, the convention is a chance to make the connections that she hopes will boost the Kerry-Edwards ticket to victory in Minnesota and beyond.
"We're trying to get the message out to the millions of women who didn't vote in the 2000 election," Murphy said. "That's kind of what I see as my role: representing Minnesota, meeting people and sharing ways to make sure that it happens."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Webb can be reached at twebb@krwashington.com or 202-383-6049.