Walz draws national attention

By Mark Fischenich
The Free Press

MANKATO August 30, 2006 11:46 pm

— The day started around sunrise with Tim Walz recording radio ads.
Then came the conference call with a handful of reporters from across the nation, providing the Democratic response to an Iraq speech made by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
After that came interviews with Time magazine and National Public Radio for upcoming stories about the Mankato teacher’s attempt to defeat six-term incumbent Congressman Gil Gutknecht.
Then came the late-morning speech to hundreds of Mankato teachers and some quick volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity workers in North Mankato in the afternoon.
It ended with him talking to Rochester residents about the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Wednesday evening.
And it wasn’t an unusually busy day at this point in the campaign, Walz said.
“It’s starting to ramp up to be like this,” he said.
The activity isn’t the only thing ramping up. So’s his optimism.
On the air
After months of working to raise campaign cash — and outraising Gutknecht in the first part of the year — Walz is ready to spend some of it. His first broadcast ads will begin Friday on radio stations in Mankato and several other cities in southern Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District.
“We think we’ve been winning the ground war,” the former Army National Guard command sergeant said of the grassroots campaigning of the past year. “So now we go to the air war.”
The first ad will focus on health care. Walz recorded others as well at the pre-7 a.m. session at a Mankato recording studio, to be aired later.
Refuting Rumsfeld
At 8:30 a.m., Walz participated in a national teleconference organized by the Democratic National Committee to respond to Rumsfeld’s Tuesday speech to the American Legion national convention.
Rumsfeld compared people critical of the Bush administration’s handling of the war in Iraq to people who tried to appease Nazi Germany in the 1930s.
Walz said Rumsfeld’s comments, and those made by other administration officials and congressional leaders, are designed to shut down any debate on alternative strategies in Iraq.
“The American people are hungry for a discussion on this,” said Walz, who said the current strategy by Republican leaders is simply to hope things get better. “... The wishful thinking of this Congress and administration is not a foreign policy.”
While Walz offered specific suggestions on how to better support soldiers, their families and veterans, he provided no solution for the deteriorating situation in Iraq. He even suggested that a pillar of his previous plan to reduce Iraqi violence — stabilization of the country through fixing basic infrastructure providing water, electricity and other basic utilities — would be difficult to achieve in the growing chaos.
“Maybe the window of opportunity is getting to the point where we’re not going to be able to restore that infrastructure,” he said.
But an open discussion is desperately needed, he said.
That discussion will happen in January when Democrats take control of the House after winning a majority of seats in the Nov. 7 election, Walz said.
More national attention
He also demonstrated his optimism about the race in talking to his colleagues at the local teachers union annual meeting at the Midwest Wireless Civic Center at about 11:30 a.m.
After accepting a $4,000 campaign donation from Education Minnesota, Walz told his colleagues that he would be working for them when education policy is set next year in the nation’s Capitol.
He also talked about how little was expected of his campaign when he started a year ago, particularly since he had no experience running for office and few political connections.
“Now people across the nation are realizing ‘Holy smokes, this school teacher is going to Washington,’” Walz said.
While optimism is far from rare in political candidates, Walz appears to be moving into a relatively small group of congressional candidates receiving widespread national attention. Time magazine chose the race as one of 10 it is focusing on as it examines whether the war will have a major impact on the general election.
National Public Radio reporter David Welna was also tagging along on part of Walz’s schedule for a story on the First District race. That story could run as soon as Sunday, Walz said.
Nails and rails
By 2 p.m., Walz and campaign scheduler Liz McLoone were volunteering at a Habitat for Humanity construction project in North Mankato. Walz said the stop was as much about drawing attention to the housing program as it was about pounding nails.
“A congressional campaign gives you that platform to promote the things that matter to you,” Walz said.
After that, it was time to hit the road for an evening meeting where people were invited to share opinions of the DM&E coal-hauling project.
“We’re off to Rochester,” he said. “We’re doing a backyard meeting with a family that lives right next to the tracks.”
Like Gutknecht, Walz is straddling those tracks because farmers and other shippers want an improved railroad while many homeowners — and the Mayo Clinic — oppose a massive increase in train traffic. But for many homeowners along the route, the DM&E project trumps all other issues, including the Iraq war.
“It’s very emotional,” he said.

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