Posted on 08/01/2004 3:13:26 PM PDT by hawaiian
St. Paul Mayor Kelly Supports Bush for Re-election
St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly broke Democratic Party ranks on Sunday to announce his support for President Bush's re-election.
"George Bush and I do not agree on a lot of issues," Kelly said in a statement. "But in turbulent times, what the American people need more than anything is continuity of government, even with some imperfect policies."
Kelly, who said he's remaining a Democrat, said the economy is going in the right direction. "There's no reason to believe a change of course will produce better or quicker results," he said.
And the mayor said the United States will bring the troops home from Iraq a lot sooner if "we don't try to bring in a whole new leadership team to run the show. We must stay the course."
Governor Tim Pawlenty, who co-chairs the Bush-Cheney campaign in Minnesota, praised Kelly. "His bold decision is courageous and a welcome move toward working across party lines," Pawlenty said in a statement.
U.S. Senator Norm Coleman, the Bush-Cheney campaign's other co-chair in Minnesota, called Kelly's announcement "bipartisanship at its finest."
"Mayor Kelly recognizes that jobs are being created and that tax cuts have stimulated that job growth. He has done the same for St. Paul," said Coleman, Kelly's predecessor as mayor of Minnesota's capital city.
But the St. Paul DFL Party said Kelly "has traded the values of St. Paul for the agenda of the Republican Party's far right."
"Rather than advocating the needs of St. Paul, Mayor Kelly's decision to not support John Kerry's strategy for building our cities does the voters of St. Paul a disservice," the party said.
Kelly, who was elected mayor in 2001, is up for re-election next year.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Are you familiar with this guy? Did he suddenly see the light or merely an opportunist?
Dubya and the Vikings ping...
I heard a rumor about this yesterday, but I forgot about it. It's nice to have a piece of good news - for what it's worth - after watching Fox News Sunday this morning and generally feeling downhearted afterward. I sure hope this guy's a trendsetter!
Patrick
All Democrats: Abandon ship! Abandon ship!
LOL.....The rats are JUMPING!!!! (That was my image with what YOU said, i.e. "Abandon ship!"
Republicans still mostly believe that. See Dole and McCain during Bosnia. Democrats appear to have lost interest in anythng but the partisanship that will allow them to Tax Tax Tax, Spend Spend Spend, and Elect, Elect, Elect.
We are winning ~ the bad guys are losing ~ trolls, terrorists, democrats and the mainstream media are sad ~ very sad!
And I should have also mentioned that it makes one proud to be a Minnesotan! (GO TWINS!)
good man...thinking of the country
As I alluded on another thread: Kelly, while a Democrat, owes his election to Pawlenty and Coleman. Kelly squeeked into office by beating out a more liberal Democrat who was the favorite of the party apparatus. Like Coleman, Kelly will have to becme a Republican if he wants to run for higher office.
Minnesota for Bush!!!! Wisconsin for Bush!!!! Maybe even Iower!
w00t - it's just like a dream I had. Everything was so perfect, and even Minnesota went Bush...
w00t - it's just like a dream I had. Everything was so perfect, and even Minnesota went Bush...
Yes he was. It wasn't that many years ago that a centerist pol. like Coleman woulld still be in the democrat party.
I remember distinctly reading that Hennepin County was less liberal than Ramsey County..........but I don't know how to come up with the article.
Do you have stats on the 2000 election regarding the two counties?
"I believe that Minneapolis is more conservative than St. Paul, so this is REALLY good news!"
I hope you're talking about Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Kansas, not Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota.
The only place Minneapolis is more conservative than is San Fransisco and Lenningrad.
No. Minneapolis is SUPER liberal. It's city council consists of 2 Greens and 11 Democrats. A Republican couldn't win a city wide (or council) race if they were the only one on the ballot. St.Paul is also heavily Democrat, but much more of the traditional, blue collar, conservative type. The growing suburbs of both cities, meanwhile, are trending Republican, as are many of the rural areas.
My friend, the opposition party here in Mpls is the Green party. For all practical purposes there is no republican party in Mpls, and there hasn't been since the mid 70s.
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