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A rally for conservatism [UPDATED]
Published 11:02am Wednesday, June 29, 2011 Updated 11:02am Wednesday, June 29, 2011Fergus Falls’ conservatives were out in force on Tuesday night for a budget rally at NP Park. Organized with help from Senator Gretchen Hoffman’s office and emceed by conservative talk show host Scott Hennen, the goal of the rally was to energize right-wing supporters to fight for their ideals by staging a grass roots effort to influence lawmakers.
“We have been told in our classes over and over that being successful and making lots of money is bad, while we are being shown that if you do not work, you are often rewarded,” said Danielle Saul, Fergus Falls resident and president of the Minnesota State University College Republicans. “This mentality needs to end now, with my generation, and you have the chance to show us that hard work and perseverance are two characteristics that will not be forgotten.”
Though billed as a budget rally, the topics of the gathering were wide ranging. Health care advocate Twila Brase spoke about stopping President Barack Obama’s health care plan, attorney and GOP activist Peter Balega thanked the nation’s servicemen and told attendees that they were engaged in an ideological struggle, and Hennen kept the crowd laughing with his lampooning of government and the news media (including jokes that State Government Innovation Committee is “an oxymoron” and that he sometimes refers to the Star Tribune newspaper as “The Star and Sickle.”)
But one theme was woven through all of the speakers’ talks: their frustration with DFL Governor Mark Dayton.
Hoffman, Senator Rick Parry and Senator Al DeKruif all spoke of Dayton’s unwillingness to compromise and inconsistency as a negotiator, with Parry going so far as saying that Dayton has been planning for a shutdown before the legislative session ended. Hoffman explained to supporters that the GOP has already compromised in budget negotiations, increasing its budget to $34 billion from a few billion less early on in the session and matching Dayton’s budget proposals for education, the judiciary and public safety.
“There are some core services that we want to fund, and we’ve done that,” said Hoffman. “We put together 11 bills, one that got signed (the agriculture bill), and 10 that got vetoed. We put together 10 responsible bills that not only kept our spending within our pocketbook, but it also put some reforms in there so that going forward in two years we wouldn’t be having these budget fights again. And Governor Dayton vetoed every one of them.”
Later she said, “We’ve compromised with Governor Dayton about as much as we can.”
Hoffman said Democrats’ assertions that Republicans are cutting the budget are false and based only on expected increases. She equated the situation with her kids expecting that she’d give them $20 when she only gave them $15.
“They thought they got a cut, but they were $15 ahead,” she said.
There were a few detractors in the crowd of 80 or 90, and a couple spoke up in a post-speech question-and-answer session with questions about what will receive funding in the case of a government shutdown. But by and large the audience was receptive, clapping and cheering at every rallying point in every speech.
Rep. Mary Franson, from the neighboring district of 11B (Alexandria), closed out the speeches by repeating a challenge to call Dayton (who she called “a socialist governor”) and tell him to sign the GOP’s bills. She likened the crowd to superheroes like Superman or Batman, saying that the state needs their help.
“Picture the Batman symbol over the Capitol, like Gotham City in need of help,” she said. “Right now, St. Paul is calling on our help.”
It was a very informative rally, and it was nice to see both sides be respectful even though there are such stark differences in the understanding of the facts.