The Wake

Two U.S. Senate hopefuls, Congressman Mark Kennedy and Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar, have engaged in a war of words that’s become increasingly heated as the Nov. 7 election draws near. Both candidates have released television commercials and made statements recently that harshly criticized one another in their campaigns to become Minnesota’s next senator, replacing retiring Sen. Mark Dayton. Independence Party candidate Robert Fitzgerald has withheld from the fiery exchanges for the most part.

Republican nominee Kennedy recently aired commercials accusing Klobuchar of breaking promises she made in her successful bid to win the seat she now holds. Kennedy’s advertisement claims that Klobuchar promised to “crack down on drug dealers” and “be tough on repeat offenders” but “”52 percent of first degree drug felons were given lighter sentences” and “career criminals continued to get plea bargains.”

“We’re looking at her record as Hennepin County attorney,” says Heidi Frederickson, Kennedy’s campaign press secretary. “It doesn’t do any good to have laws on the books unless they’re being enforced.”

Klobuchar, the Democratic nominee, shot back at Kennedy in more ways than one. In her latest ad, the mother of a homicide victim tells viewers that “Amy saw to it that those gangmembers [who killed my daughter] were put away” and continues “Mark Kennedy, you should be ashamed.” Klobuchar also put out a press release in which Ben Goldfarb, Klobuchar’s campaign manager, says “Congressman Kennedy has failed in Washington for six years. Now he’s going to offer the people of Minnesota [weeks] of nasty, misleading campaign ads.” Goldfarb also says that Kennedy “has nothing to offer but more of the same. Same old policies. Same old attack ads.”

Klobuchar defends her record as Hennepin County Attorney. In the same press release, it’s stated that “the average prison sentence for first-degree drug offenders in Hennepin County is now 20 percent longer than the year before Klobuchar took office” and that “since 1999, more than 125 career criminals have received longer prison sentences because of Klobuchar’s focus on repeat property offenders,” according to Hennepin County records.

Likewise, Kennedy claims that Klobuchar’s statements against him are false. The Minnestoa native’s online biography says that he “frequently [led] bi-partisan efforts to address concerns ranging from health care and transportation to keeping spending under control” in Congress.

Fitzgerald seems to be the only senate candidate abstaining from the crossfire, with one exception. Earlier this year he appealed to voters’ sanity in a Minnesota Public Radio debate. “There’s a definition of insanity¬—that’s doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result,” says Fitzgerald. “Minnesotans have a choice this coming fall, and they can vote independent. And that’s where they can get an independent voice in Washington representing other Minnesotans.”

That’s not the only difference among the three candidates. The war in Iraq has become a serious point of contention.

Kennedy wants to wait to bring American troops home until “necessary milestones defined by our commanders on the ground” have been met, according to an issue paper. Kennedy wants to stay there until the job is done, Frederickson says. “[Kennedy’s opponents] want to see how fast we can retreat.”

Klobuchar, a native of the western suburb, Plymouth, wants 2006 to be the year that control of the country is handed over to the Iraqis. “It should be a year of transition in which we bring a significant number of our troops home.” According to her position paper, Klobuchar wants Congress to demand a withdrawal plan that includes a “realistic time frame based on specific milestones and benchmarks, with honest and current information from the administration about the status of our efforts, the training of the Iraqi forces, and the restoration of basic services to Iraq.”

Fitzgerald supports immediate withdrawal. On his Web site, he says “it’s time to get out of Iraq now. Congress has abdicated its responsibility of oversight while cost overruns and emergency funding have masked the true cost.”

Their differences are also highlighted by their positions on healthcare. Kennedy would offer tax credits to buy health insurance for those who don’t have any. “Giving government more control is the surest way to make things worse. We must put patients and doctors, not bureaucrats, insurance companies, and trial lawyers in charge of healthcare,” his issue paper says. Klobuchar says that she “believe[s] every Minnesotan— and every American — should have access to quality, affordable healthcare.” Fitzgerald says “the goal is to balance affordability with universality. Healthcare should no longer be tied to employment. Insurance should be used for the unexpected and unaffordable.”

Each candidate also considers education a priority, but again, their approaches differ. Kennedy wants to “help make college affordable again by requiring colleges and universities that take federal aid to explain and justify double digit tuition increases and limit aid to those that don’t,” according to his website, but “Washington, D.C. has an important, but limited role to play in helping educate Minnesota’s children.” Frederickson says that higher education is important to Kennedy. “[He] is a first generation college graduate… He knows what it’s like to pay back student loans.”

Klobuchar, on the other hand, says that she “will fight for a stronger federal commitment to higher education.” In her issue paper, she says that she will fight the current administration’s policy to undermine education. “It makes no sense for Washington, D.C. to cut access to grants and loans for students when higher education costs are skyrocketing.”

Fitzgerald, who was born in Fargo but has lived in Minnesota since grade school, states simply that “local communities and the states can best react to education needs.”

Regardless of their differences, Minnesota’s historical tendency to lean left might prove to be a benefit for Klobuchar this November. She’s already leading Kennedy by double digits in several polls. One pool from the Pioneer Press and MPR, conducted in late September, put Klobuchar at 52 percent, while 37 percent of registered voters surveyed said they would elect Kennedy.

However, some recent elections indicate that a “blue” Minnesota could be a dying trend. Republicans and Democrats currently hold an equal number of Minnesotan seats in Congress and one senator from each of those parties represent the state in the Senate right now. Klobuchar is hoping to hold on to Dayton’s seat for the DFL, while Kennedy and Fitzgerald hope to score it for their parties. Frederickson thinks Kennedy has a real shot. When people are informed of both Kennedy’s and Klobuchar’s stances on the issues, Kennedy “frequently polls ahead,” she says. Minnesota has become “much more of a purple state.”