TINKLENBERG ONE OF WETTERLING'S TOUGHEST CRITICS
After saying she wouldn't, Wetterling runs for Congress
Before he started running for Congress last year, Elwyn Tinklenberg made sure fellow Democrat Patty Wetterling - a bigger name and a higher profile - wasn't going to enter the race.
He asked Wetterling the question several times. She always gave him the same answer: She was running for U.S. Senate, not the House seat. Tinklenberg's wife even gave her $500.
But the answer changed Friday. Two weeks after Wetterling ended her Senate campaign, she jumped into the 6th District race and set up what could be a prickly fight for the DFL endorsement in May. Both candidates said they would defer to the other if they're not the party's pick, lowering the chances of a primary campaign that would stretch into September.
But then Tinklenberg came out swinging as one of Wetterling's toughest critics - to the delight of Republicans, who have four candidates vying for the seat being vacated by Rep. Mark Kennedy, now the presumptive Republican Senate candidate.
"I'm sad to say that I believe one of the things that has changed the most has been Patty," Tinklenberg said after Wetterling launched her campaign in a news conference. "We find it a little ironic that the money we contributed may now be used against us. It's disappointing."
State GOP Chairman Ron Carey said: "Patty Wetterling sadly became just another politician today."
Wetterling decided to seek the congressional seat for a second time - she lost to Kennedy with 45.9 percent of the vote in 2004 - after being wooed heavily by supporters, she said.
She became a household name in Minnesota after her 11-year-old son Jacob was abducted in 1989. He was never found, and Wetterling became a national advocate for children's safety.
Earlier this week, she turned down Attorney General Mike Hatch's offer to be his running mate if he is the DFL Party's candidate for governor this fall.
'"The best way I can have my voice heard in Washington is to respond to the people in the 6th District,'' Wetterling told reporters and supporters at the Anoka County Government Center.
Wetterling had to answer questions about a statement she made to a Pioneer Press reporter 10 months ago - that she couldn't win in the conservative district. She chalked it up to lack of political savvy, saying she was still smarting from the 2004 loss at the time.
"I'm clearly not a typical politician. I said I couldn't win - that was really dumb," she said. "I do believe I can win this race,'' she added.
Wetterling supports abortion rights. That should make for a marked distinction with Tinklenberg, an abortion opponent. He's a Methodist minister who has served as state transportation commissioner and mayor of the Twin Cities suburb of Blaine. Organized labor is backing him.
One union activist erupted in anger at Wetterling after the announcement.
"When she ran for Congress two years ago, I felt that Patty Wetterling was the most loyal and had the most integrity of anybody I'd seen come up in our state for a long time,'' said Mickey Hansen, of Buffalo. "Today I question that.''
Wetterling supporters defended their candidate.
"Patty Wetterling through her life didn't have it easy. She lost a son, so she is a very, very strong woman," said Lillian Schultz, 77, of Otsego. "She has a lot of people behind her."
Wetterling had $218,000 in the bank as of Dec. 31 and will be able to transfer that money to her House race. Tinklenberg finished last year with $185,000 in his campaign account.
Meanwhile, GOP candidates were falling all over each other to attack Wetterling. State Rep. Jim Knoblach and St. Cloud businessman Jay Esmay each said he would be the best candidate to defeat her, while state Rep. Phil Krinkie questioned whether voters could trust her.
State Sen. Michele Bachmann is also seeking the Republican endorsement for the seat. Source: Associated Press, February 3, 2006
Before he started running for Congress last year, Elwyn Tinklenberg made sure fellow Democrat Patty Wetterling - a bigger name and a higher profile - wasn't going to enter the race.
He asked Wetterling the question several times. She always gave him the same answer: She was running for U.S. Senate, not the House seat. Tinklenberg's wife even gave her $500.
But the answer changed Friday. Two weeks after Wetterling ended her Senate campaign, she jumped into the 6th District race and set up what could be a prickly fight for the DFL endorsement in May. Both candidates said they would defer to the other if they're not the party's pick, lowering the chances of a primary campaign that would stretch into September.
But then Tinklenberg came out swinging as one of Wetterling's toughest critics - to the delight of Republicans, who have four candidates vying for the seat being vacated by Rep. Mark Kennedy, now the presumptive Republican Senate candidate.
"I'm sad to say that I believe one of the things that has changed the most has been Patty," Tinklenberg said after Wetterling launched her campaign in a news conference. "We find it a little ironic that the money we contributed may now be used against us. It's disappointing."
State GOP Chairman Ron Carey said: "Patty Wetterling sadly became just another politician today."
Wetterling decided to seek the congressional seat for a second time - she lost to Kennedy with 45.9 percent of the vote in 2004 - after being wooed heavily by supporters, she said.
She became a household name in Minnesota after her 11-year-old son Jacob was abducted in 1989. He was never found, and Wetterling became a national advocate for children's safety.
Earlier this week, she turned down Attorney General Mike Hatch's offer to be his running mate if he is the DFL Party's candidate for governor this fall.
'"The best way I can have my voice heard in Washington is to respond to the people in the 6th District,'' Wetterling told reporters and supporters at the Anoka County Government Center.
Wetterling had to answer questions about a statement she made to a Pioneer Press reporter 10 months ago - that she couldn't win in the conservative district. She chalked it up to lack of political savvy, saying she was still smarting from the 2004 loss at the time.
"I'm clearly not a typical politician. I said I couldn't win - that was really dumb," she said. "I do believe I can win this race,'' she added.
Wetterling supports abortion rights. That should make for a marked distinction with Tinklenberg, an abortion opponent. He's a Methodist minister who has served as state transportation commissioner and mayor of the Twin Cities suburb of Blaine. Organized labor is backing him.
One union activist erupted in anger at Wetterling after the announcement.
"When she ran for Congress two years ago, I felt that Patty Wetterling was the most loyal and had the most integrity of anybody I'd seen come up in our state for a long time,'' said Mickey Hansen, of Buffalo. "Today I question that.''
Wetterling supporters defended their candidate.
"Patty Wetterling through her life didn't have it easy. She lost a son, so she is a very, very strong woman," said Lillian Schultz, 77, of Otsego. "She has a lot of people behind her."
Wetterling had $218,000 in the bank as of Dec. 31 and will be able to transfer that money to her House race. Tinklenberg finished last year with $185,000 in his campaign account.
Meanwhile, GOP candidates were falling all over each other to attack Wetterling. State Rep. Jim Knoblach and St. Cloud businessman Jay Esmay each said he would be the best candidate to defeat her, while state Rep. Phil Krinkie questioned whether voters could trust her.
State Sen. Michele Bachmann is also seeking the Republican endorsement for the seat. Source: Associated Press, February 3, 2006
1 Comments:
Tinklenberg's whining is getting old.... It seems that rather than addressing the issues, Tinklenberg is trying to use this non-issue to give him attention in the press. Where are the grass roots Tinklenberg supporters pushing his campaign?
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