Participants at the DFL’s Scott County Unit 25 (Belle Plaine) and Rice County (Northfield) conventions were inspired by candidate speeches from two 2nd Congressional District Candidates 
Teresa Daly and 
Peter Idusogie. They hit upon similar themes: We have had enough of the Bush policies and Minnesota needs a Representative who will look out for the needs of Minnesotans, not follow lock step with the President and his Texas buddies. Peter stressed the need to see that ‘People are everything’ and wants to change the direction our current congress has taken in protecting the big money interests of corporations.
In Belle Plaine, Bruce Bjork, 
candidate for House District 25A, urged the delegates to think about values that truly matter, early childhood programs, living wages, healthy families and communities, all parts of a morality that puts the needs of people first and doesn’t get lost on issues that have little consequence in the lives of working people.
Cary Coop was elected the new County Unit Chair and expressed his commitment to do everything necessary to send a Democrat to the state’s House this Fall.
In Northfield, Steve McKelvey was re-elected to the position of County Chair and made a similar promise to transfer the leadership of the House. 
Patti Fritz, candidate for house seat 26b held up a photo of the gun warning signs that have appeared everywhere since the last session and asked the crowd if they wanted their legislator to pursue more important issues like economic fairness and living wage jobs. Senator Ann Rest stopped in to keep in touch with Rice County DFLers, and we had a good chat about the convention, Rice County concerns, and events this session. 
My adult children, Julia and Gareth, joined me as I waited for my turn. I spoke just before the delegates broke to elect the delegates who would move up to the 2CD and state Conventions. I thanked the delegates for giving up one of their Saturdays and the first day of Spring to do the party’s work. . . 
There’s never been a more important election, nationally and in the State of Minnesota. The future of our state and nation rests with the efforts we put forth. Our country and state have been taken over by a radical group of Republicans who want to undo all that has made us great. I ran two years ago because I was afraid of what they might do once they got into power. Well, they’ve done it and more. From union busting to loss of local control, to loss of and increased costs of services to local government and school cuts and tax increases. All this to prop up economic policies that continue to make the rich richer and drive down the middle class and close the door on the poor. Policies that started in the eighties and they wish to continue.
We must be united and have a common goal if we are going to win. Hubert Humphrey challenged Minnesotans to ‘dream boldly.’ And from the 1950s on, he inspired us to do that. Had we not invested in the future, invested in people, we would not be the strong economic center we are for our region. Now, they are dismantling that.
Speaker Sviggum last week gathered his leadership team around him and announced they had completed their supplemental budget. It includes further cuts and fee increases and what little government is left they want to pay for with gambling. It sounded to me like he was saying to Minnesotans ‘Close your eyes and hope.’ It is a continuation of government for the few, as they want to continue to protect those at the top of the income scale from taxes, wanting to carry out the plans of David Strom and the Tax Payers League. He says he liked to take us back to the fifties before taxes went up and government grew. But he must not have been there, he must not know what it was like. He would have us fall behind most other states. He would rather have government serve the interests of a few. I agree with Lincoln that government should be of the people and for the people not just for a few.
I was talking to a Republican friend the other day, coming out of a school district meeting, and he asked me about my plans to run again. He said, “An incumbent will be hard to beat.” But then added, “You know I got a letter the other day from our legislator, and he was talking about all the things he was going to do. But I don’t want to hear what he hopes to do, I want him to tell me what he’s done after he’s done it. I want him to do something about school funding.” I told him how the House leadership likes to use the analogy of the family budget and say, ‘when you sit around the kitchen table and look at all the bills sometimes you have to cut back on spending.’ But when you cut back on income when times were good, say, took a part time job when you had been working full time, sometimes you have to go back to work and bring in more revenue. That’s what we have done we cut taxes several times in the 90s and haven’t raised the revenue now that things have slowed. Both DFL House and Senate plans raised revenue.He said, “You know you’re right, I’d have raised taxes in a heartbeat.” He said that because he knows what this group of radicals is doing to his party, as well as to the state.
Recently, I attended a forum presented by a group called Growth and Justice who have put forth a study called, WorkforceFirst. A plan for a strong Minnesota Economy and a living wage for every family. Their goal is to have all families be able to live on the income they generate. A bold goal, but one worth striving for, a goal that puts people first. They conclude that the key to success of this goal is a strong educational system. By that they mean support for early childhood programs, support for childcare for workers and for workers getting education to return to the workforce. It includes k12 education and higher education,. not only so that students have access to affordable higher education to become the high wage workers we need, but so that institutions can continue their role in being a driver for innovation and development in our economic system.
We need to dream boldly and believe again in what we can be. We need to re-imagine the future not turn back to a past that never was. We must re-invest in what we can BE.