The Wake

Some say that the race to become the next U.S. Congress representative from the 5th District was decided in the Sept. 12 DFL primary. But Republicans are mounting an attack on the winner of the primary, Rep. Keith Ellison, that could shift the district from the liberal stronghold it has historically been to more conservative ground. DFL politicians have represented the 5th District, which encompasses all of Minneapolis and some of the surrounding suburbs, since 1963 when Republican Walter Judd was in office. Because of this, many doubt that the other candidates in the race (Republican Alan Fine, Independent Tammy Lee and Green Party candidate Jay Pond) have much of a chance.

“This district is way too liberal to elect a Republican and not liberal enough to elect a Green Party candidate,” says Nick Lambert, a University of Kansas political science graduate and a former staffer of Ember Reichgott Junge’s campaign for Congress. Reichgott Junge was one of Ellison’s DFL opponents and was defeated in the primary. “This is the 10th most democratic district in the country,” Lambert says.

But Lee, the Independence Party’s nominee, says that “the complexion of the district changed in 2000” when it was redistricted following the census. “Congress is desperate for a new direction,” Lee said in an interview, and she thinks she can provide some balance between the extremes. “People are fed up with partisan politics,” she says.

Fine’s recent attacks on Ellison prove that partisan politics are alive and well in this campaign. In recent candidate debates, Fine, a Carlson School of Management professor, has repeatedly brought up Ellison’s ties to the Nation of Islam and its leader, Louis Farrakhan. Fine has called the Nation of Islam a “hate group” whose agenda includes the “destruction of our country” and has called on Ellison to explain his association with the group. Fine says that “these are questions that need to be asked.” He says he feels that Ellison is trying to avoid the subject to dodge bad press.

Ellison has responded by saying that he was never a member of the group and has never met Farrakhan. “Never in my life have I held racist or bigoted views,” Ellison says. His supporters, he says, are a diverse group of people including Jews, Christians, Hindus, Muslims and “all of God’s people.”

But Lee may not be right when she says voters aren’t willing to put up with it anymore, as the DFL primary race showed. Though Ellison never went negative personally in the race to the primary, some groups supporting him did. Education Minnesota sent out fliers on his behalf criticizing the other candidates in the race. Ellison won the race with 41 percent of the 5th District’s support. Mike Erlandson, retiring Rep. Martin Sabo’s chief of staff and Ellison’s former opponent in the primary, also mailed literature attacking his opponents. Erlandson came in second place with 31 percent of the primary vote. Reichgott Junge, who took third place with only 21 percent, never mailed any negative campaign literature.

Ellison does say that he wants to maintain a positive campaign as “a reason of principle.” His basic strategy in responding to attacks has been to request a return to the issues. Ellison told the Star Tribune that Republicans “haven’t done much for homeland security, we still have a healthcare crisis. The Earth is warming up, and they’re not doing anything about it. What are they going to do? They have to try to engage in smear politics.”

Ellison has also called for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, calling it a “terrible mistake” on his Web site. Fine, though he doesn’t mention the War in Iraq on his Web site, says that he “believe[s] in a strong defense and will support policies that will enable us to maintain the security of our country.” He also says he “will support legislation protecting U.S. interests throughout the world,” but doesn’t explain if this applies to the current situation in Iraq. In an interview, Fine said that he is updating his position paper on Iraq as the situation there evolves and that it will be posted online soon.

Fine does include “protecting the environment, the welfare of our children, making our neighborhoods safer and more cohesive, and producing jobs and keeping our economy strong” in his priorities, according to his Web site. Ellison is for a single-payer universal healthcare system and says he “will not support any effort that will provide Wall Street investors with a short-term financial gain at the cost of long-term ecological degradation.”

Lee wants to balance the budget, invest in public schools, including early childhood education, convert to alternative energy fuel usage, and reform healthcare. She says her plan will “bring healthcare costs down and provides more affordable insurance for more people.” Lee also says she wants to get college tuition prices under control. “Higher education has increasingly become out-of-reach” for many families. She’s interested in creating a civil service program which would be the “21st century’s version of the GI bill where college students could give back to the community and possibly earn some loan forgiveness.” Lee supports a “graceful, pragmatic exit strategy” from Iraq.

Pond, the Green nominee, says on his Web site that the “major-party representatives do not work for the residents of their districts, but for the party elite and the corporate lobbyists. To break the cycle we need congresspeople who are independent of this system.” He supports a single-payer universal healthcare system, a reduction of U.S. forces stationed in Iraq and reparations to be paid to the Iraqi people, and a major overhaul of the nation’s energy system to convert to wind power.

Lambert may be right that this is a DFL stronghold and is likely Ellison territory. But, as was proven in the DFL primary, voters might be listening to negative attacks, and Fine has a good start. But, Lee points out, “It was college students who stood up and said ‘we want a change’ when Jesse Ventura was elected. Students have the power to make a difference.”